It would be hard to imagine the world of modern gaming without the efforts of Epic Games and their series of Unreal Engines. I mean just look at the list of games that have used the engine to craft their worlds; there are too many for me to list here. It’s easy to think of the Unreal Engine as an engine for shooters, but in looking at the list there seems to be no limit to the type of game that can call Unreal home. With the next-gen consoles on the horizon, Wired sat down with Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney to talk about the where Unreal started and what Unreal 4 has to offer.
About: Dave Bast
Humpday Bump: Blizzard’s Cartoony Vengeance Edition
On Wednesdays I spend my time looking for a digital buffet of gaming goodies – I post them here on the Humpday Bump.
Today’s bump features a pretty funny inside joke from Blizzard regarding their not-so-secret cow level in Diablo 3. If you remember, a few years back fans of the Diablo series were up in arms about the possibility that the next installment in the franchise looked a little too bright and cartoony for their tastes. Roughly 2,000 went so far as to formally petition the game’s release. Well now it appears as if Blizzard will get the last laugh, as they are parodying the drama with an all new secret cow level.
YouTube Tuesday: Being a Better Gamer Edition
Every Tuesday I like to take some time to focus on the hardworking and dedicated “YouTubers” within the gaming community. This week I’ll be focusing on a caster who needs little introduction. Sean Plott better known as Day[9] has been commentating on Starcraft II games for the past few years, and before that was a successful Starcraft: Brood War player. His Day[9] Daily is now on episode #463 and focuses on making players better gamers with his in-depth, humorous, and highly analytical commentary. You can watch his shows live on his channel or simply head over and watch old ones on YouTube.
Eating my Words, Space Quest Kickstarter Launched
Ok, so remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about the Two Guys from Andromeda, Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, making a Space Quest reboot without the help of Kickstarter? Well now they have a one. It seems that their pre-Kickstarter buzz has done a fairly good job of getting the ball rolling without actually starting the clock, in only a little over a week the Two Guys have raised over $150,000 for another classic adventure game. That’s pretty damn good especially considering that these two haven’t made a game in over 20 years.
Valve Allowed to use Dota Name, Blizzard Backpedals
Back in February I reported on the legal skirmish between Blizzard and Valve over the use of the name Dota in Valve’s upcoming Dota 2. Well it appears as if the battle is over, and even though Blizzard’s press release says the agreement was mutual, it’s pretty clear Valve came out on top as they’re the ones that get to keep using the name Dota. Blizzard on the other hand has now changed the name of their game from Blizzard Dota to Blizzard All-Stars. I may not be a legal expert, but I’m pretty sure that this all backfired on Blizzard, I mean they are the ones who originally filed and yet they ended up being the ones to change their name while pretty much nothing happened to Valve. Then again, this could all be just a case of, to quote Notch, “lawyers being lawyers.”
Assassin’s Creed III Gameplay Trailer
Ubisoft has released a new trailer for Assassin’s Creed III featuring a protagonist named Connor who once again exists in the morally grey shadows of a larger historic conflict, in this case the American Revolution. At first glance the gameplay appears to have a less stealthy feel to it. I’m sure there will still be aspects of the game that play by more traditional and sneaky Assassin’s Creed rules, but some of the gameplay looks like it takes place in open musket-to-musket combat. This is the natural progression of the franchise, opening up the gameplay mechanics one sequel at a time. Take a look at the new trailer after the jump.
Humpday Bump: Late Night Portal Swag Edition
On Wednesdays I spend my time looking for a digital buffet of gaming goodies – I post them here on the Humpday Bump.
Today’s bump features a look at NECA’s next foray into bringing the Portal franchise to our reality with P-body’s Official Portal Device Replica. Apparently the original replica was so popular that NECA has decided to crank out 5,000 more units of the co-op version. This means that those looking to turn a profit over at E-bay will have to start coming up with less dimension splitting prices.
YouTube Tuesday – Spotlight on Failure Edition
Every Tuesday I like to take some time to focus on the hardworking and dedicated “YouTubers” within the gaming community. This week features another “Top 5” League of Legends series, unlike the last one however, this one is all about the fail. Every week Jumpinthepack posts their top 5 fails of the week submitted by users. As the page now boasts over 120K subscribers, there are plenty of fails to keep the series moving.
Japanese CAA says Konpu Gacha Violates Sales Law, Stocks Plummet
Yesterday, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency announced that the popular Konpu Gacha or Completion Gacha sales method used in many of Japan’s online social games violates Japanese law, according to Daily Yomiuri Online. The games that used this mechanic came under fire recently when a middle school boy managed to rack up 400,000 yen in one mouth, which amounts to roughly $5,000. In an effort to limit excessive spending, Japanese social giants Gree and DeNA placed spending caps on underage users last June, but with rising complaints Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency chose to outlaw the method all together.
Play The Dirt Showdown Demo Before Its May 29th Release
For all of you gritty racing fans, Dirt Showdown has a new demo available for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. The demo is of their new ‘Ultimate Hoonigan’ game mode which will be released with the game on May 29th, and offers players a chance to not just race, but battle their friends as well. Even if you aren’t a fan of previous Dirt games, or if you’re not a racing fan in general, check out the demo anyways as this time around Dirt is really pushing the competitive envelope.
Black Ops 2 Breaks Records, Annoys Anonymous
Ah it’s that time of year again; the birds are chirping, the trees are in bloom, and we’re all about to spend the rest of the year loving, hating, hyping, and debating the next Call of Duty game, Black Ops II. Some will endlessly analyze the smallest details available to the community, while others will spend their time wondering whether or not this is the year fans finally admit they’re sick of the franchise. Somehow the game already smashed the 1st day pre-order sales of its predecessor,Black Ops, by about 10 to 1. While some of this might be genuine excitement about the franchise, I think some of it has to do with the fact that this game takes place in the future, territory that is foreign to the Call of Duty series. If this is true, and this success is due largely to the new setting, then Activision will probably place the next game somewhere in the 31st century, but I digress.
Humpday Bump: Angry German Edition
On Wednesdays I spend my time looking for a digital buffet of gaming goodies – I post them here on the Humpday Bump.
Today’s bump features the angry antics of the German court, and their decision to pretty much prohibit Microsoft from selling anymore Xbox 360’s or copies of Windows 7. It seems more like a haughty threat more than anything else, apparently a U.S. court has granted an injunction in the matter so until this is all over Microsoft is free to sell whatever products it likes.
