Designer Jake Solomon says he would not be able to sleep at night if portable version of RTS allowed gamers to pay extra for powerups.
Purchasable stat-boosting items are common in many mobile games today, but the upcoming iOS version of will not offer any such microtransactions.
"Oh God, please#133; no. I'm not sure I would be able to sleep at night," Firaxis Games designer Jake Solomon told . "My food would taste like ashes in my mouth."
XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS is a port of the full console and PC version optimized for mobile devices. The game features touch controls, allowing players to rotate the camera using two fingers or tap on a location to queue up a movement order.
Pricing for XCOM: Enemy Unknown on iOS--due this summer--has not been divulged, though Solomon explained to GameSpot this week that the will be "priced appropriately" for a premium game.
He would not comment on the possibility of an Android version, saying that Firaxis is focusing only on the iOS version at this time. XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS was .
Information from GameSpot editor Maxwell McGee was used in this report.
Age of Empires 2 HD comes out in three days, but a pre-release version just came out for all pre-orders and with it comes a great many issues. Age of Empires 2 HD doesn't come out until April 9th, but those who pre-ordered the game have just received access to the game and there already a great many problems.
When I first heard of issues with this release it was due to Reddit, but then I also checked out the Steam forums and found a number of complaints. First, there are about fifty to sixty complaints about Age of Empires II HD not starting correctly and coming up with numerous errors, like Failed to start game (Unknown Error) or Unable to initialize graphics system. Device may not meet minimum specs. Subcode=3, but then there are also more complaints of the game randomly crashing at various points.
When it comes to new features or improvements to the mechanics Age of Empires 2 HD is also lacking. On the plus side they have added Steam workshop integration, so mods shoul...
Last weekend, 2K Games made the surprise announcement that it plans to bring the award-winning XCOM: Enemy Unknown to iOS devices. Even better, it's currently under development at Firaxis Games, the same studio that worked on the console and PC versions from 2012.
In case you missed this title, the game puts you in control of a squad charged with repelling an alien invasion. To succeed, you must carefully monitor/utilize each unit while also gathering resources.
To get a better idea how XCOM will work on a touch screen, watch this in-depth video from lead designer Jake Solomon.
The Overseas Connection, the official G4TE.com Community weekly podcast discusses gaming news, community feedback, new releases and the podcast teams current play lists. Tune-in and listen to this combination U.S. and U.K. video game podcast as they discuss this weeks topics:
* We discuss gaming mice for pc vs the standard mouse you get in the box.
* We talk up: Gears of War Judgement, Defiance Beta, The Walking Dead Survival Instinct and Bioshock Infinite..
* This weeks new releases get covered.
* Top 10 games in the U.K. last week.
* Borderlands 2 continues to get love in the way of DLC.
* Double Fine reveals the name of their Kickstarter game.
* Xcom Enemy Unknown coming to Apple devices near you this year.
and much more
Thatgamecompany's adventure title beats out Mass Effect 3, Walking Dead, and others to secure top honor; Cart Life wins grand prize at Independent Game Festival Awards.
The votes are in and has taken top honors at the 13th annual Game Developers Choice Awards this evening in San Francisco, California. Journey not only took home the top award, but also accolades for innovation, best visual arts, best downloadable game, best audio, and best game design.
Thatgamecompany's adventure game beat out to secure the Game of the Year Award.
Jenova Chen, cofounder of Thatgamecompany, thanked his parents and his educators for helping him get where he is today. He said creating Journey was no easy task, but noted he has learned a great deal since beginning on his own journey to make the game.
The 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards was hosted by Double Fine founder Tim Schafer. Last year's winner was .
The GDC Awards were preceded by the 15th annual Independent Games Festival Awards, where Cart Life took home the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. In addition to the top prize, Cart Life--developed by Richard Hofmeier--won the excellence in narrative and nuovo award.
A full list of the night's nominees with winners in italics follows below.
GAME DEVELOPERS CHOICE AWARDS
Game of the Year
Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games) Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Debut
Humble Hearts (Dust: An Elysian Tail)
Polytron Corporation (Fez)
Giant Sparrow (The Unfinished Swan) Subset Games (FTL: Faster Than Light)
Fireproof Games (The Room)
Best Game Design
Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
Spelunky (Derek Yu/Andy Hull) Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
Best Downloadable Game
The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Spelunky (Derek Yu/Andy Hull)
Trials: Evolution (RedLynx/Microsoft Studios)
Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios) Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Technology Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment)
Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch/Activision)
Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Gravity Rush (SCE Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Hero Academy (Robot Entertainment)
Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment) The Room (Fireproof Games)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (Sora/Nintendo)
Best Narrative
Spec Ops: The Line (Yager Entertainment/2K Games)
Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks) The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
Virtue's Last Reward (Chunsoft/Aksys Games)
Best Visual Arts
Borderlands 2 (Gearbox Software/2K Games) Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
Innovation
Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios) Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow/Sony Computer Entertainment)
ZombiU (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Ambassador Award Chris Melissinos, curator of The Smithsonian's The Art of Video Games exhibit
Pioneer Award Spacewar creator Steve Russell
Audience Award Dishonored
Lifetime Achievement Award BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk
INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL AWARDS
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games)
FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games) Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier)
Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)
Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Excellence in Visual Art
Incredipede (Northway Games and Thomas Shahan) Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Guacalamelee! (Drinkbox Studios)
Loves in a Dangerous Spacetime (Asteroid Base)
Year Walk (Simogo)
Excellence in Narrative
Thirty Flights of Loving (Blendo Games) Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier)
Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Dys4ia (Auntie Pixelante)
Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)
Excellence In Design
Samurai Gunn (Beau Blyth) FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
Starseed Pilgrim (Droqen & Ryan Roth)
Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Super Space (David Scamehorn and Alexander Baard/DigiPen)
Excellence In Audio
Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer)
Bad Hotel (Lucky Frame) 140 (Jeppe Carlsen)
Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games)
Pixeljunk 4AM (Q-Games)
Nuovo Award Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier)
Spaceteam (Henry Smith)
Dys4ia (Auntie Pixelante)
Bientot l'ete (Tale of Tales)
7 Grand Steps (Mousechief)
MirrorMoon (SantaRagione + BloodyMonkey)
VESPER.5 (Michael Brough)
Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)
Audience Award FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
