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Interview: Valve on 13 things they’ve failed at
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Last month I was at Valve HQ in Bellevue to play Portal 2 and interview seven of their key staff. You can read the resulting preview and feature in the current issue of PC Gamer in the UK, and we’re also putting an interview up every day for a week here on the blog. Yesterday MD Gabe Newell, project manager Erik Johnson and marketing director Doug Lombardi explained their history of surprising decisions, and teased three more major surprises in the next year. Today, I innocently ask them if there’s anything in their history they see as a failure, and get thirteen different responses.
5 lessons SupCom 2 could learn from StarCraft 2
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Yesterday, I listed five things I thought StarCraft 2 could learn from Supreme Commander 2. It was like leading an army of SupCom 2 fans against an outraged throng of competitive e-sports fans. Today, I’m going to betray my allies and side with the Blizz folks. What can SupCom 2 learn from StarCraft 2?
5 lessons StarCraft 2 could learn from SupCom 2
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Before StarCraft came along, we all played Supreme Commander 2 at lunch. It’s a great game with a dedicated development team who are committed to firing out updates and improvements months after release, even as their company at large is working on a new title. I returned to it yesterday after the recent patch, and I got to thinking – StarCraft 2 and Supreme Commander 2 are hugely entertaining RTS experiences with wildly different approaches to the genre. As you know, I hate diversity almost as much as I hate joy, so I started compiling a list of things that each game could learn from the other. Here are five things I reckon StarCraft 2 could learn from Supreme Commander 2.
Update: Servo at Gas Powered Games offered some insights into how feasible these would be. Here’s what he said:
How to avoid being hacked in World of Warcraft
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World of Warcraft isn’t just a game, it’s a money-making empire for both Blizzard and an army of criminals that would love nothing more than to make real money from your virtual gold. You might think you’re safe, but the techniques they use to get their hands on it go far beyond guessing your password.
Aion 2.0: Silentera Canyon survival guide
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Here it is, the final installment to our guide through Assault on Balaurea, Aion’s upcoming free expansion. Within this tome, we’ll reveal the ins-and-outs of Silentera Canyon with selfless devotion to your survival; many Shugo died to bring us this information. Behold–the future.
Aion 2.0: Elyos Leveling Guide (53-55)
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At long last, we guide the Elyos to level 55 in Aion’s September 7 free expansion, Assault on Balaurea. You’ve likely slain many beasts to get this far, but you’ve faced nothing so fearsome as what awaits in the Abyssal Splinter. If you’re clueless right now, maybe try the level 51-52 baby Elyos leveling guide first.
Valve on the future of Team Fortress 2. Part Two
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Team Fortress 2 has updated all nine of its classes now, so everyone’s curious about the future of the game. I posted myself to Mann. Co headquarters in the hope of wrestling Saxton Hale for answers, but when I arrived I found only project lead Robin Walker, in his throne room at Valve. Disappointed, I clambered out of my box and interviewed him nevertheless.
He talked about where TF2 can go from here, how many people are still working on it, what they plan to include in the next update, why unlocks work the way they do, why they might start a new TF2 beta, and what the point of hats is. Accordingly, the interview is long. This is part two, part one is here.
Aion 2.0: Asmodian Leveling Guide (53-55)
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As our journey continues through Assault on Balaurea, Aion’s huge free expansion releasing on September 7, we take a look at levels 53-55 as an Asmodian. In this update, NCSoft hopes to alleviate many of the problems early adopters had with the game, like too much grinding and a distracting number of bugs. One thing’s for sure, no matter how user-friendly they make it, the blue guy with crystals coming out of his head will always want to kill you.
Interview: Valve on the future of Team Fortress 2
14 Comments
Team Fortress 2 has updated all nine of its classes now, so everyone’s curious about the future of the game. I posted myself to Mann. Co headquarters in the hope of wrestling Saxton Hale for answers, but when I arrived I found only project lead Robin Walker, in his throne room at Valve. Disappointed, I clambered out of my box and interviewed him nevertheless.
He talked about where Team Fortress 2 can go from here, how many people are still working on it, what they plan to include in the next update, why unlocks work the way they do, why they might start a new TF2 beta, and what the point of hats is. Accordingly, the interview is long. This is part one – part two is here.
Aion 2.0: Elyos Leveling Guide (51-52)
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Yesterday we took you on a tour of levels 51-52 in Aion’s upcoming free expansion, Assault on Balaurea, from an Asmodian’s-eye-view. Today, it’s all about navigating those first treacherous two levels as the Elyos, and of course, we have new usually-friendly guides to lead the way.
