North American Star League StarCraft 2 tournament has $100,000 prize pool
The North American Star League have announced that their first StarCraft 2 competition will have a prize pool of $100,000. The competition will start on April 5 and run for thirteen weeks, with matches being broadcast every weeknight.
Microsoft releasing Kinect SDK this spring
Microsoft have announced that they will be releasing a non-commercial version of the software development kit for their motion sensing peripheral Kinect. The pack is designed to let academics and enthusiasts play with the technology ahead of the release of a full commercial version in future. The official SDK will give programmers more advanced control over Kinect, and should give rise to some even more incredible Kinect hacks.
Dali’s take on Portal, and other gaming masterpieces
In 2007, PC Gamer commissioned artist Drew Northcott to produce a series of pieces inserting game characters into classic masterpieces of art. They were awesome. Drew is amazing. We used one piece per issue as our back page, and it’s just occured to us that they deserve a wider audience. It also occured to us that they’d make gorgeous wallpapers, so we’ve put together some reformatted versions for various size desktops. If yours isn’t listed, let us know in the comments. Check out Drew’s site for more of his work.
Mexico moves to ban Call of Juarez: The Cartel
Call of Juarez: The Cartel is a gunslinging sequel set in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Chihuahua state legislators are trying to get federal authorities to ban the game for its depiction of warfare between the drug cartels of the city. With 6000 drug related deaths in the city in the last two years, Ciudad Juarez is one of the most violent towns in the world. Mexican authorities are worried that a videogame will make things worse.
Minecraft documentary shows start of Mojang Studios
A film company have released what they call a proof of concept for a feature length documentary on Minecraft and the formation of Mojang Studios. It’s a 21 minute movie in which Notch and the other members of Mojang Specifications give their views on the success of Minecraft as they move into their new offices and plan the future of the game.
The film studio initially set out to make a short movie, but are now aiming to turn this short film into a full length documentary, and are looking for funding. You’ll find the full film below, along with details on how to donate.
And in other PC gaming news…
Today Bethesda announced that they’d give a mystery prize to the parents of any child born on Skyrim’s release date, so long as they called the child Dovahkin. Right now I’m announcing that the parents of any child born on PCGamer.com’s birthday on the June 10 2011 will receive a prize, so long as he or she is named Percy Gamer. And that prize shall be this spare Chewit I just found on my desk.
If you’d like a competition that’s much easier to win, we’ve got one below. Read on for your list of what’s happening around the world in PC gaming, and for a chance to win a lovely book of Eve artwork.
DC Universe Online interview – Squashing bugs, animation glitching
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview DC Universe Online’s Game Director Chris Cao. We talked about everything from what bugs the dev team is focusing on fixing first, March’s big update, future power and weapon sets being added to the game and if they’re planning to add mod support for the PC version. We’ll be releasing a new portion of the interview every day this week up through Friday! Today we talk with Chris about what the dev team’s top priorities are right now and what’s really going on with major bugs like animation glitching.
Blizzard “struggling” to create Battle.net Marketplace
Blizzard announced the Battle.net Marketplace at Blizzcon in 2009. The idea was to create a place where players could buy and sell mods and maps for StarCraft 2, but design lead Dustin Browder describes their status as “struggling”.
Risen 2: Dark Waters announced, will have pirates and guns
Deep Silver have announced that Risen 2: Dark Waters is in development. The RPG sequel will take place several years after the first game, and will be set across a series of islands in a world devastated by aquatic titans. More importantly, it will feature pirates. Your nameless hero must explore a series of southern islands on the rumour that the local privateers know a way to fight back against the monstrous creatures of the sea. A new website has been launched, along with some concept art showing off the brighter, more exotic world.
Company of Heroes gets beta patch, Company of Heroes Online gets more maps
Company of Heroes Online is shutting down on March 31, but that hasn’t stopped the developers from releasing two new maps for the game. The four player skirmish map Road to Montherme and an eight player version of the classic Hill 331 maps were added to Company of Heroes Online on Friday. A beta patch for the original Company of Heroes is also available to test now on Steam.
Minecraft iPhone and iPad versions in development
The lovely Michael Rose of IndieGames.com and Gamasutra reports that Minecraft developers Mojang are indeed working on an iPad and iPhone version of the game.
This might be of interest to financially comfortable PC gamers who like to caress things other than mice, particularly since there’s been a long string of highly unofficial apps attempting to cash in on the game’s gigantic success on PC. Mojang honcho Markus Persson says the iOS version won’t get all the same updates as the PC one, only those that make sense for the platform.
Bethesda advise on when to conceive if you want your child to be a Skyrim competition entry
Vice President of Bethesda Softworks Pete Hines has issued a challenge to potential parents everywhere. If your child is born on the game’s release date – 11/11/11 – and you name them Dovahkiin – the protagonist’s title – you will receive… an unknown reward. He adds that Friday was the optimal time to conceive if you wish your child will be born on that day and therefore eligible to win a prize.
The quest was announced on the Bethesda blog, with an entertaining disclaimer and a mock screenshot.
Bioshock 2 Protector’s Trials DLC accidentally released on Games for Windows Marketplace
Over the weekend the Bioshock 2 Protector’s Trials DLC appeared for sale on Games for Windows Marketplace in spite of the fact that it’s not finished, doesn’t work, and promised for free. The DLC has since been removed from the store, but not before a number of people had bought the pack.
Bulletstorm PC demo release details
A demo is in the works for People Can Fly’s psychotic shooter, Bulletstorm. Vice President of EA games made the announcement on Twitter, “Bulletstorm PC demo is in the works! Won’t make it in time for ship date but should be available shortly after.”
The game’s due out tomorrow in the US and February 25 in the UK. Bulletstorm has been kicking up some controversy recently, both in the mainstream media and the games press. Here’s why, and some shots.
Danger Close are making a new Medal of Honor
Despite their first game in the franchise’s reboot receiving lukewarm reviews, Danger Close are developing a second game in the modern-day-set Medal of Honor series.
Producer Greg Goodrich revealed in a blog post entitled “In case you were wondering…”: “Yes, Danger Close is currently working on the next Medal of Honor.”
Goodrich went on to say: “Since our launch last October, we’ve studied, listened and absorbed much of your feedback and are very excited to be marching forward on the next title. We can’t wait to tell you more about it, so check back often to the website and the fan page on Facebook.
“It’s going to be a fun ride for the Medal of Honor franchise. We are happy to have you aboard.”
Whilst Danger Close had already announced it was recruiting for a new AAA FPS title, speculation had been than the EA studio would be working on a different franchise. Tonight’s confirmation demonstrates that even in the face of it’s ridiculously high-selling rival Call of Duty, Medal of Honor still plans to persevere.
