Virtual Katz Writes: The rumor mill has been swirling for years that Apple would be jumping into the console race with a similar device to the upcoming Steambox. Well, it seems that the possibility of the rumor coming to light maybe closer than we all think. According to Computerandvideogames.com, at the Game Developers Conference just last week, Apple took time to meet with developers and inform them that they are in the process of developing a official gamepad for the iOS operating system. The news isnt surprising considering even Samsung showed off the gamepad that they are releasing for use with the next iteration of the Samsung Galaxy S series phone. On top of that, the other swirling rumors of the next iPad being shown off at a press event this month, only pays homage to the development cycle for new accessories which at that point, is not all that shocking. What may come as more of a surprise is the possibility that the controller could have bigger implications on the next i...
Touch your favorite fighters in public and feel like a creep.
I was riding the train home from the Game Developers Conference last week and noticed a few people staring at me as I poked and prodded at Kasumi on my Vita's large screen. The fan favorite fighting series Dead or Alive makes the jump to PlayStation Vita in Dead or Alive 5+, but I was still on the fence as to whether this port made necessary improvements or simply colored by numbers in the change to handheld form.
Following today's rumor that Apple was quietly polling developers at this week's Game Developers Conference about support for a forthcoming gaming controller for iOS devices, the ever-reliable Jim Dalrymple has quickly quashed that report.
Creative director Josh Holmes says doubts were raised during development about being able to pull off "human" relationship between the two.
Several members of the 343 Industries development team were "skeptical" about 's Master Chief-Cortana storyline. During a Game Developers Conference panel today, creative director Josh Holmes said Halo 4's "human elements" were controversial within the team and the studio was unsure if it could pull off a compelling drama.
Holmes explained that one of the main goals for Halo 4 from the onset was to focus on storytelling and to allow players to see the "human heart" of the game's campaign. This was a major focus for 343, Holmes said, because he felt this kind of storytelling was largely absent in past Halo games.
One of the ways 343 attempted to create a human story in Halo 4 was to dig into the relationship between Master Chief and aging artificial intelligence Cortana. Holmes explained that after seven years, AI tends to break down and lose its mind, similar to dementia in the elderly.
The game would not only focus on Master Chief saving the universe, but also his best friend. This kind of narrative was a new direction for the series, Holmes said.
"Telling a story in a game like Halo is incredibly challenging because it's a very action-oriented game. And as we started embarking down this path, there was a lot of skepticism from members of the team," Holmes said.
There was a turning point in Halo 4's development, Holmes said, when one of the game's writers approached him and said he was having a "crisis of confidence" and struggling to get the story right. It was at this point when 343 considered scrapping the Master Chief-Cortana "B story" and focusing only on pure action.
Holmes, however, was not going to let this story fade away. He explained that at the beginning of Halo 4, his mother was diagnosed with dementia. And so the Master Chief-Cortana relationship was no longer alien to him, but a reality of his life. This reality helped inform the writing in Halo 4 and the Chief-Cortana storyline was kept intact.
"Over the course of production of the game, I watched her deteriorate as a human being and become someone I couldn't recognize," Holmes said. "And that was really hard, but it was also an inspiration for me to want to tell a perfect story."
"For me, it was really important that we tell this story because this was the human heart of Halo 4's campaign," he added. "I was very adamant about wanting to deliver on that part of the story."
With the Game Developers Conference in full swing, a lot of developers feel the need to impress fans and game journalists by throwing swanky parties. Mojang, the studio behind everyones favorite LEGO-set-disguised-as-a-video-game, Minecraft, threw their own party under the title .party0 that included an appearance by Skrillex.
But there was controversy brewing, and it had nothing to do with questionable taste in music.
Above you can watch the full demo for Unreal Engine 4 that Epic Games has been showing to reporters and developers at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco for the past week. Unreal Engine 4 is, of course, the next piece of development technology following Unreal Engine 3.
Epic Games president says next-gen technology won't be available for developers on Nintendo's latest console.
The Wii U will not receive Unreal Engine 4 support, creator Epic Games has confirmed. asked vice president Mark Rein this week at the Game Developers Conference if the technology will be offered on Nintendo's latest console, to which he gave a blunt response.
"No," Rein said.
Rein further explained that the Unreal Engine 4 is targeted at next-generation consoles, which he does not consider the Wii U to be.
"Our goal for Unreal Engine 4 console-wise is next-gen consoles. That's really what our energies are focused on," Rein said. "If you want to make a Wii U game, we have Unreal Engine 3, and it's powering some of the best games on the Wii U already."
Epic today a new Unreal Engine 4 technology demo video called "Infiltrator" showing off what next-generation games using the engine could look like. It is embedded below.
Crystal Dynamics reveals first-week sales of action-adventure better than any other entry to date.
Today during a Game Developers Conference panel, Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher revealed that set a franchise sales record. He explained that the series reboot enjoyed the highest week-one sales in the history of the series.
Tomb Raider was also the "biggest opening" of 2013 thus far, Gallagher said.
The game .
Analyst Billy Pidgeon believes Tomb Raider .
Gallagher said today that Tomb Raider was the biggest game Crystal Dynamics had ever made. Its development was spread across two studios: Crystal Dynamics in California (single-player) and Eidos Montreal in Canada (multiplayer).
Additional art for Tomb Raider was made at third-party studios in Shanghai, India, Los Angeles, and "a number" of other places.
Crystal Dynamics reveals first-week sales of action-adventure better than any other entry to date.
Today during a Game Developers Conference panel, Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher revealed that set a franchise sales record. He explained that the series reboot enjoyed the highest week-one sales in the history of the series.
Tomb Raider was also the "biggest opening" of 2013 thus far, Gallagher said.
The game .
Analyst Billy Pidgeon believes Tomb Raider .
Gallagher said today that Tomb Raider was the biggest game Crystal Dynamics had ever made. Its development was spread across two studios: Crystal Dynamics in California (single-player) and Eidos Montreal in Canada (multiplayer).
Additional art for Tomb Raider was made at third-party studios in Shanghai, India, Los Angeles, and "a number" of other places.
Touch your favorite fighters in public and feel like a creep.