Source-powered cyberpunk: EYE trailer
Two things are immediately apparent when you start to investigate the progress of EYE, a Source powered FPS/RPG-in-development. The first is that they love cyberpunk so much that they’ve made a game where you work for the Secreta Secretorum, which is either a secretary’s union or a pretty damn secret organisation. The second is that you want to play it.
See what Half-Life looked like in 1997
The marketing for Half-Life 1, before Valve got seriously good at it, was bizarre. Remember the magazine ads with a glowing baby, a lambda for an iris? It looks like they also weren’t quite as good at making trailers back then – or perhaps publisher Sierra wasn’t. Soxy discovered an ancient trailer for the game on his copy of 1997 quiz game You Don’t Know Jack – Volume 3, and it’s funny to see what they thought was impressive back then. Doors opening, for example, apparently warrant a smash cut.
Something looms in Looming, I don’t know what
While I was supposed to be doing something productive, I stumbled upon a dandy of a flash game that’s about, well, I have no idea. Despite you being a little man that runs around a huge expanse of land trying to figure out an unknown something, I don’t think it’s a life sim, but then again, maybe it’s a metaphor for life. In spite of, or perhaps because of its ambiguity, Looming has kept me going for two hours, and what’s more, I’m going to keep playing.
Reminder: Enter to win PCG US’s Flip Mino HD
Remember everybody: tomorrow we draw the winner of the Flip Mino HD videocamera that accompanied us to E3. Click here for details.
Maxis seeking director for “online simulation”
This is from a job description on EA’s job listing site: “Maxis is seeking an experienced Development Director to lead the development of an unannounced next-generation Online simulation game.” Ladies and gentlemen, either EA have gone insane and they’re doing The Sims Online again, or they’re doing a browser based Sims thing that may or may not end up on Facebook. EA have already had some success with Lord of Ultima in the free-to-play browser game area, certainly. The job listing is here.
[Superannuation via Evil Avatar]
Star Trek Online: more levels, weekly content
“Every week we plan to have something new for players to do,” Star Trek Online’s executive producer Daniel Stahl told MMOGames.com. Cryptic’s plan is to emulate the weekly, episodic “tee vee shows” that Star Trek was apparently based on in the distant past, before it was made into a movie for the first time ever in 2009.
Tim Schafer held game jam to save company
Tim Schafer’s company Double Fine have only made two games, Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, but they’ve had four publishers. Both were cancelled once before finding a new home. At Schafer’s Develop conference keynote, he explained how his company turned their turbulent game development process into a new beginning for the company.
Chile legislates net neutrality
Chile has beaten the rest of the free world to legislating a net neutrality law. It now appears to be illegal for a Chilean ISP to restrict certain websites or offer a tiered service where you must pay a higher rate to get better websites. The law was passed with an incredible majority of 100 votes for, 0 against, and one abstaining vote (that’s what you get for sleeping in the senate, son). The actual wording of the law is, obviously, in Spanish. Here’s the page via Google translate.
[Slashdot via Gamepolitics]
Punch a unicorn! Fighting nature in Oblivion
A four-year-old game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion continues to draw thousands thanks to a hallmark of PC gaming–freedom. The game raises you from a rutty hole in the ground, and with a “go-on, git!” and kick, you’re in a world were just about anything is possible. Today, I’m an orc. My mission: Kick. Nature’s. Ass.
Natural Selection 2 is go for alpha
Having just blasted pre-order bonuses, I would encourage you to consider pre-ordering Natural Selection 2. Why? Because it’ll let you join in on the Alpha test when it opens on July 26, and you’ll have special black marine armour whenever you play. Come on, black armour!
The future isn’t on console, says Dr Bioware
Bioware’s co-founder, Dr. Greg Zeschuk, dropped this somewhat incendiary quote during his keynote at Develop: “The future isn’t necessarily on console. That’s the past.”
System Shock 2 concept art uncovered
Every month, Irrational hand us a free news post by putting up some interesting tidbit from the inception of one of their various classic titles. This month, it’s System Shock 2′s concept art. System Shock 2 was Bioshock’s cool uncle who got him into most of the music he likes. Well. Maybe it was a bit more than that. Check it out here.
Dr Who downloads “made the BBC sit up”
At the Develop panel detailing the making of Dr Who: The Adventure game, announced in PC Gamer 213, the BBC have revealed that 1.2 million episodes have been downloaded, a figure that was beyond the BBC’s “wildest dreams”.
Medal of Honor offers MP7 as pre-order bonus
Medal of Honor is touting it’s “Limited Edition” version of the game via a bombastic trailer with lots of shooting. Beware: it’s a trick. It’s basically a pre-order bonus, and the bonus is just an exclusive MP7 sub-machinegun and early access to shotguns. Bloody pre-order bonuses – trying to tempt us to buy before the review. Here’s the trailer:
The secret of Bioware’s success: being nice
Bioware’s keynote speech at Develop surprised me. The talk, given by Dr Greg (Dr Ray was supposed to appear, but he’s made it to day 5 of the World Poker Tour), focussed on how Bioware don’t take any chances with their development culture. For a company that makes games built on dice rolls, it was a bit of a shock.
