BioShock 2 Announced for 2009 Release

BioShock was the biggest sleeper hit of 2007. While those who follow games from developer Irrational (now 2K Boston and 2K Australia) knew that BioShock was going to be something special, the late-summer shooter of last year quickly became a media and critical darling. It is no surprise then, that parent company Take-Two Interactive has announced that BioShock 2, which could end up being a prequel, is currently in the works.

The game is expected to hit sometime between August and October 2009, two years after the first game. The team(s) that handled the first game won’t be on the next BioShock, as new development house 2K Marin will be taking over. But fear not, BioShock fans, as 2K Marin is composed of several individuals who worked on the first BioShock, and designer Ken Levine will still be contributing to the upcoming title.

RIP Mr. Dungeon Master - Gary Gygax, 1938-2008

Gary Gygax the first Dungeon Master, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and one of the fathers of tabletop role playing games, died Today on Tuesday 2008-03-04 at the age of 69. He had suffered from heart problems.

The news was first announced on the message board of Troll Lord Games, the publisher of Gygax’s most recent works. It has since been directly confirmed by the company, which will post an announcement on its web site later today.

Gygax was best known for helping create Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and pioneered tabletop role playing games. If not for his contributions, video games probably look much different than it does today.

Using the wii remote for more than games

Anyone I know that has played the Wii has found it be an incredible piece of gaming hardware, but it turns out the Wii remote is capable of even more than we thought. Johnny Chung Lee, a graduate assistant in the human-computer interaction department at Carnegie Mellon University, has adapted the Wii remote to serve as a digital whiteboard and a head tracking for VR displays.

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Hopefully Nintendo will figure out a way to use this in a game.

(Thanks to Penny Arcade for featuring the video)

Update: I talked with Lee about his applications of the Wii remote, and he said the whiteboard and head tracking headset were “relatively old research concepts.”

“I basically just looked at those ideas and then mixed that technology with the Wii remote,” Lee said.

Lee, who said he plays “a fair amount of games,” said a great variety of games could benefit from the headset.

“The nice thing about the head tracking is that it provides you with a concept called motion paralax,” he said. “So any game that uses space could be retrofit to use head tracking: 3D games, and even 2D games or tabletop games.”

Lee also said he has gotten e-mails from hundreds of educators from around the world who have used his whiteboard software, and the head tracking headset could also have military and medical applications.

Lee said he hopes games are made using this technology, but developing hardware such as this is a “pretty big risk.”

“It will sort of have to be up to a marketing department to say if it’s safe enough to make a game like this,” Lee said, “but hopefully that’ll happen.”

Duke Nukem Forever teaser trailer

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Well, it’s finally here. After 10 years, we’re finally seeing something from 3D Realms about Duke Nukem Forever that’s more than a tiny screenshot. However awesome Duke Nukem and his various games are, I’m kind of confused as to why there’s all the celebration about a minute long teaser that really doesn’t tell us anything. If this game didn’t have Duke Nukem attached to it, I don’t think anyone would care. We really haven’t heard anything about what the game is going to offer. I suppose, at this point, people are only interested because they want to know whether anything could be worth a 10 year wait. It’s definitely too early to allow for any excitement, though.

Activision blocks GHIII guitar compatibility with Rock Band, looks like douchebag

Harmonix was all set to release a patch for Rock Band for the Playstation 3 that would have made Guitar Hero controllers compatible, but at the last minute Activision blocked Sony from releasing the patch, according to a statement from Harmonix on Joystiq.

The patch, which would have been released on Dec. 4, was approved by Sony and was all set to be released before Activisions’ guitarblock. In Harmonix’s statement, they said releasing the patch would be what’s best for the consumer, and if any other companies want to make their products compatible with Rock Band equipment they would have the full support of Harmonix and MTV.

The full statement to Joystiq:

“As we have said in the past, Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity.

Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision’s Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the release of the compatibility patch. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision’s continued objection.

As is the case with the Microsoft Xbox360, we believe that Sony PLAYSTATION 3 users should be able to use the peripheral of their choice with Rock Band. We sincerely hope that Activision will reverse its decision and allow release of the compatibility patch and further, that Activision will allow Guitar Hero III to support Rock Band guitar controllers as well. We welcome all third party developers who wish to support our controllers and will provide any required support in order for them to do so.

We believe that when consumers have choice, everyone wins. Harmonix and MTV Games hope that Activision and others in the industry will also adopt this philosophy.”

Seriously, way to look like a money grubbing douchebag Activision. There’s no way to come out of this looking good except to allow the patch to be released. Of course, it would make Activision look even better if they took Harmonix’s suggestion and allowed the use of the Rock Band guitar with Guitar Hero. I can’t see how this wouldn’t be more profitable for them. I haven’t heard of anyone who prefers the Rock Band guitar to the Guitar Hero one, so they could probably sell more of their peripheral.

Also, I must praise Harmonix for their apparent interest in what’s best for the consumers. I suppose this just goes to show the different aims of developers and publishers.

No Arnold for Conan

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is distancing himself from the new Conan game, GamePolitics.com is reporting.

GamePolitics cited a Contra Costa Times article saying one of Schwarzenegger’s aides said he was in no way involved with game.

The new Conan is the sword-wielding, decapitating star of a new ultra-violent video game, “Conan,” which is drawing criticism from [State Sen. Leland Yee] and warnings from [the National Institute on Media and the Family] to scratch the game off Christmas lists for children and teenagers.

Schwarzenegger has “no association with this game,” said Aaron McLear, the governor’s spokesman, who did not elaborate on how the governor feels about the character becoming a video game. Schwarzenegger is fighting for a law to restrict the sale of violent video games, and “Conan” would be among those regulated.

While Schwarzenegger has appeared in other violent video games, that didn’t make him above signing into law 2005 legislation from Sen. Leland Yee that would have criminalized the sale of M rated games to children under 18-years-old and required retailers to separate M-rated games from games for children. Though the legislation was quickly slapped down a federal judge on constitutional grounds, it’s currently under review in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Incase Of Moose Attack Play Warcraft

I was going to do an intro for this story that I found on Wired, but I can not stop laughing to even come up with anything. Keep reading and you will know why.

Hans Jørgen Olsen, a 12-year-old Norwegian boy, recently survived a moose attack by feigning death, “just like you learn at level 30 in World of Warcraft.”

In WoW, “feign death” is a skill acquired by hunters at level 30 that allows them to take a page from the possum playbook, collapse to the ground, and convince their enemies — who lose all ingrained animosity in the process — that they’ve died.
According to Norwegian site Nettavisen , Hans and his sister apparently enraged one of the local moose (mooses? meese?) during a walk in the forest near their home. After shouting at the gigantic creature to ward it away from his sister, Olsen dropped to the ground, and presumably his lifebar plummeted to zero.

[Source Wired]

Microsoft And US Army To Sponsor Halo 3 Tournament

Microsoft announced plans to hold a Halo 3 Championship Tournament, co-sponsored by the US Army. The tournament will be preceded by three online “Training Schools” where players will learn new tips and tricks in “Sniper School”, “Heavy Weapons” and “Vehicles”. The registration for the actual tournament begins in February with prizes like Halo 3 artwork, Microsoft points and more.

Microsoft and U.S. Army Present First Ever “Halo 3” Championship Tournament on Xbox LIVE

Microsoft announces a winner-take-all “Halo 3” tournament March 2008; Gamers can prepare for battle with a series of Basic Combat Training exercises starting Christmas Day 

More than five million gamers have been glued to their Xbox 360s since the launch of “Halo 3” on Sept. 25., including scores of fans in the U.S. Army.  Microsoft Game Studios and the U.S. Army today announced that U.S. gamers will have a chance to prove their fragging skills in the first ever “Halo 3” Championship Tournament, hosted exclusively on Xbox LIVE.  The tournament kicks off this March, complete with prizes for winners and finalists, and registration will begin in February.

In preparation for any battle, a soldier must train and prepare for combat. As such, gamers will have the opportunity to participate in a series of Basic Combat Training exercises leading up to the tournament kick-off. Registration for these training sessions begins on Dec. 18, and the games begin on Dec. 25, exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

Designed specifically to prepare gamers for the Championship Tournament, these Basic Combat Training sessions will help gamers hone their skills with different weapons groups by setting up specific games where only one or two focus weapons will be available to play. Winners of these Basic Combat Training competitions will receive prizes, including Microsoft Points, exclusive “Halo 3” art, and more.

The Basic Combat Training schedule is as follows:

•  Registration begins: 12/18, Training begins: 12/25 – Sniper School
• Registration begins: 1/8, Training begins: 1/15 – Heavy Weapons
• Registration begins: 2/5, Training begins: 2/12– Vehicles
• Registration begins: TBA February, Tournament begins: TBA March – Championship Tournament

To further ensure that players are trained to the top of their games, the Army is also hosting a Destination Experience blade on Xbox LIVE. When the program begins, gamers will be able to access the blade via their Xbox LIVE dashboard, gaining access to multiple videos and a Tips and Tricks section dedicated to providing the best combat strategies and advice the Army experts have to offer.

Training registration opens Dec. 18. Gamers should watch Xbox LIVE and xbox.com for upcoming registration details, full contest rules and regulations.

DMC4 demo confirmed for early 2008

A downloadable demo of Devil May Cry 4 should be available over Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Store in early 2008, Capcom announced in a press release today. The demo will showcase new protagonist Nero over a variety of locales before culminating in a battle against Berial. Players can use a variety of the new abilities bestowed by Nero’s devil bringer in the demo, including “the ability to slam creatures to the ground, cover great distances in a single bound or even grab enemies while on the ground or in the air and pull them towards Nero to continue the attack combo.”

Capcom also announced a new weapon, named Lucifer, which fires glowing red swords that pierce enemies and explode when Dante throws a rose, which he holds between his teeth. Kay. Capcom also announced a new boss, One Winged “Dark Knight.”

Keep in mind the game is scheduled for a February 2008 release, so it’s entirely possible the demo will come out in very close proximity to the game. The press release says players will have a chance to play the demo before purchasing the game, but whether that means the demo is coming out before the game or not is unclear.

Capcom also released a bunch of hi-res screenshots and some artwork, so look for those and the full press release after the jump.

Full Story »

Too Many Beta Testers Hurt Tabula Rasa

Gamasutra offers some insight from Richard Garriott during the 2007 Independent Game Conference. Richard was asked about the marketing of Tabula Rasa. While he feels the marketing was “fine,” he points out the real problem was himself and the development team by saying what hurt the game was the invitation of too many beta testers before the game was fun enough to be worth playing.

“We burned out some quantity of our beta-testers when the game wasn’t yet fun,” he said, adding, “As we’ve begun to sell the game, the people who hadn’t participated in the beta became our fast early-adopters.”

He continued, “And the people who did participate in the beta, we’ve had to go back to and say ‘look, look, we promise: we know it wasn’t fun two months ago, but we fixed all that. Really, come try it again.’ We’ve had to go out and develop free programs to invite those people back for free before they go buy it. So the beta process, which we used to think of as a QA process, is really a marketing process.”