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Tag: Games

They don’t make them like they used to!

The saying “they don’t make them like they used to” is getting a whole new meaning when it comes to video games. Back in the day, games lacked all the flashy effects and graphics they have today so, in order to be successful, they had to offer their players something more than just visuals: actual atmosphere and insane amounts of fun. And they truly left a mark, as confirmed by the revival of some of the greatest retro gadgets like The C64, the PlayStation Classic Mini (complete with 20 PS1 games like Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild Arms), and many others. Today, ‘serious’ gaming divides people into two – maybe three – camps. First, there is the divide between PC gamers and console fans and second, there’s the divide between Xbox and PlayStation…

Reimagining The Past of Hanamura from Overwatch

Sam Gao talked about his fan art environment based on Overwatch’s location Hanamura as well as painterly stylized art on the whole. Introduction Hello, My name is Sam Gao and I am from China/Australia. Currently, I reside in Sarasota, Florida, finishing my BFA in Game art and specializing in environment art. What attracted me into game development is the whole package of experiences. I enjoy almost every aspect of game art including character, VFX, sounds, and game design. Environment art is the combination of all these things and that’s why I am fascinated by it. Stylized Mountaintop Biome About The Project This project started as a cherry blossom themed environment with Mountain Fuji. Later, I transformed it into a Hanamura fanart because I was inspired by Overwatch’s interpretation of this classic imagery…

Life Off the Grid, Part 2: Playing Ultima Underworld

[video src="https://www.filfre.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/UW1.mp4" poster="https://www.filfre.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/UW1.mp4"]I rarely play or even see current games; the demands of this historical project of mine simply don’t allow for it. Thankfully, though, being a virtual time traveler does have its advantages. Just when I’m starting to feel a little sorry for myself, having heard about some cool new release I just don’t have time for, I get to experience a game like Ultima Underworld the way a player from its own time would have seen it, and suddenly living in my bubble is worth it. It really is difficult to convey to non-time travelers just how amazing Ultima Underworld was back in March of 1992. To be able to move freely through a realistically rendered 3D space; to be able to walk up and down inclines, to jump over or into chasms, even to swim in underground streams……

Resident Evil 2 Remake Looks Stunningly Vintage in Fixed Camera Perspective

Does Resident Evil 2 remake feel a bit too modern for your taste? Do you miss the nostalgic, fixed-camera technique from the original? The community certainly thinks so, with YouTube channels re-creating fixed-angle gameplay in a bid for Capcom to add the perspective in a future update. For those of you who are new to the series or joined on to enjoy the Mr. X memes, Capcom’s latest reimagining of Resident Evil 2 replaced the original’s more controversial mechanics: fixed camera perspective. In other words, like many PS1 games at the time, the player was not able to control the camera like you can in modern games. For an idea on how this looked like, just catch a quick glimpse of gameplay from the PS1 original: Every time Leon walks offscreen, the camera will change with him. While this was development technique to help…

China giant NetEase acquires ‘minority stake’ in David Cage’s Quantic Dream

Although it’s easy to think of Quantic Dream as a Sony subsidiary (kind of like one might erroneously ponder Next Level Games and Nintendo), it’s actually been a completely private company based out of Paris since 1997. That changes today. NetEase and Quantic Dream have jointly announced this morning that the former has acquired a “minority stake” in the latter, primarily for the purposes of “further[ing] the development and distribution of global online games.” According to the duo. Quantic Dream will be able to operate independently under David Age and Guillaume de Fondaumière’s leadership. Ethan Wang, VP of NetEase, notes that the deal allows them to secure “partners that compliment [NetEase] in the development and creation of next generation games.” It’s all a bit vague, but Quantic Dream is no longer 100% independent and there is certainly room for NetEase to increase their pull…

Poor investments and engine woes at centre of Starbreeze’s untimely demise

We now have a better idea of what went on at Swedish games firm Starbreeze in the last few years. That’s thanks to an in-depth article from Eurogamer , with the media brand having spoken to staff from the studio to see what went wrong in the months and years leading up to its descent into administration. One of the main factors behind Starbreeze’s demise was large amounts of money being spent unn…

Facebook Facing Criticism Over New “Friendly Fraud” Info Involving Games Revealed

Facebook reportedly allowed developers to obscure real-money transactions, while profiting millions from minors who made purchases without permission from their parents.CBS News reports that just-released documents from a 2012 lawsuit show that Facebook was aware of the problem of kids making purchases through its games and apps without their parents’ consent. In part, the suit alleges, this was because Facebook allowed developers to obscure the transactions in which a credit card would be charged.The suit was filed by Glynnis Bohannan, whose 12-year-old son racked up almost $1,000 playing Ninja Saga. When she discovered the charges and asked her son about them, he showed her that the stack of in-game currency would blink when it depleted, and he would click to make the coins replenish–all without any indication that it was charging real money.The practice is called “friendly fraud,” a common anti-fraud…

Ikari Trilogy Brings Top-Down Mayhem to SNK 40th Anniversary Collection

As the weeks whittle down towards the release of SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for PlayStation 4 we’re treated to another trailer that’s bursting at the seams with retro gaming goodness. This time around, the focus is firmly on the now iconic Ikari trilogy. Originally released on Nintendo Switch late last year, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is a celebration of titles released in the early days of hefty SNK’s career which has now spanned four decades. However, during that time we were introduced to a pair of no-nonsense commandos named Ralf and Clark through the Ikari trilogy who later went on to appear in the ever popular King of Fighters and Metal Slug franchises. Originally released in 1986, Akari Warriors was an intense top-down shooter. Its run-and-gun gameplay made it a title that’s still fondly remembered more than 30 years later. The…

Gamers and Raspberry Pi enthusiasts who would like to build their very own pocket sized mini arcade console…

Gamers and Raspberry Pi enthusiasts who would like to build their very own pocket sized mini arcade console may be interested in a new tutorial published to the Adafruit website by Peli de Halleux. Created by Microsoft, MakeCode Arcade is open source And freely available via the GitHub website and offers a web-based beginner-friendly code editor to create retro arcade games for the web and for microcontrollers. MakeCode Arcade uses 7 buttons to you can use a variety of different hardware combined with the Raspberry Pi Zero mini PC to create the mini arcade. Such as the Adafruit Joy Bonnet and likely a plastic case for Pi Zero Arcade Cabinet and Joy Bonnect Pack with Pi Zero which includes many of the components. “If you’re using the Joy Bonnet, then congratulations, you’re done! Just connect the Pi using HDMI cable to a…

Worlds Adrift and other MMOs safe as Unity and Improbable dispute ends

The past week’s flurry of accusations, counter-claims, big-money deals and license revocations between Unity and Improbable seems to have come to an end. Developers using Improbable’s SpatialOS cloud server tech can breathe easy, and resume development as normal without fear of the floor dropping out under them. In a Unity blog post here, the company say they’ve reinstated Improbable’s Unity licenses, and have altered the terms of service so that they are no longer in breach. Developers are now free to use any third-party services they wish, although not all will be officially supported. (more…)

Homemade Odroid-go Compatible Game Console

An introduction video about my homemade Odroid-go can be found here. A full demonstration of the steps can be viewed in this youtube link Odroid-Go is a great invention from hardkernel. It can function as a game console with many emulators. Though the no. of emulators is only a small portion of thos…By: cheungbxContinue Reading »

Our Most Anticipated Tabletop Games Of 2019

2018 brought us a ton of great tabletop games, and you can read about some of our favorites in our awards for the best board, card, and miniature games, as well as a separate list that recounts some of the very best tabletop role-playing products of 2018. If you’ve already turned your eye toward the future, you’re ready to get a glimpse of what’s coming next in the hobby. To that end, here are some of the most-anticipated games coming to your table in 2019. Entries are listed alphabetically. Batman: Gotham City ChroniclesPublisher: Monolith It didn’t manage to make its way to our tables as we hoped it might in 2018, but players are still eager to see how it all comes together. In this latest twist on the Dark Knight’s adventures, most players work together…

Epic Games Store brings refund policy in line with Steam

The Epic Games Store has updated its refund policy. Now, just like on Steam, you can return a game for any reason within 14 days of purchase, providing you’ve played it for less than two hours in total. As well as updating the terms on their site, Epic’s director of publishing strategy Sergey Galyonkin (who you might know better as ‘that guy behind SteamSpy’) tweeted the announcement, where he also shed some light on a few of the store’s other frequently asked questions. (more…)