Tag: PC Gaming

Intel Video Superstars Expands to Include Game Trailers

Intel has expanded its Video Superstars contest to include videogame trailers and short films. Previously, the contest allowed creators of music videos to compete for prizes. Adding videogame trailers to the mix gives independent developers a chance to shine. Fans of music, movies, and games are encouraged to check out the smorgasbord of content and vote. From what I understand, there will be some special surprises for those that participate. Stay tuned for news on those incentives.

Voting begins on May 24, 2012. There will be separate “best of” categories, including Action/Adventure/Shooter, RPG/MMO/Strategy, Casual/Puzzle, and Sports. According to the press release:

Video Game Trailer submissions begin May 7, 2012 and run through June 29. The first phase of fan voting begins May 24, and runs through June 29. Following the initial submission period, 10 semifinalists from each sub-category will compete for the top five slots within the Game Trailer category. A panel of judges will review the top 5 category finalists and winners will be announced in late July.

Please check out Video Superstars when you have a chance and let me know what you think (please!)

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What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Unfortunately, I can’t let you know what I’m playing this weekend. It’s a secret Xbox 360 game for a secret project. I will tell you that it’s cool and a reboot of a classic franchise. Any guesses?!? If you guess correctly then…I still can’t tell you what the game is, but you’ll get magic/secret points for being awesome.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Watch Diablo III: Wrath!

Blizzard, Peter Chung (Aeon Flux), and Titmouse have joined forces for Diablo III: Wrath. This slick and stylish animated short gives some background information in the highly anticipated Diablo III for Mac and Pac, which is due out next week. Here’s the official description…

Blizzard, Peter Chung (Aeon Flux), and Titmouse have joined forces for Diablo III: Wrath. This slick and stylish animated short gives some background information in the highly anticipated Diablo III for Mac and Pac, which is due out next week. Here’s the official description:

Long before the creation of Sanctuary, the Eternal Conflict between angels and demons raged on for untold millennia. Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with renowned director Peter Chung and acclaimed animation studio Titmouse to create this unique vision of a fundamental moment in the battle between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.

Watch the video when you have a chance and leave your thoughts in the comments section (please)!

Coffee Talk #476: Making Games Without Coding

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Floyd Mayweather’s surprisingly exciting victory over Miguel Cotto, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2012 inductions, or remembering MCA, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Do you ever dream about making your own games? Perhaps you have a sweet game in your head, but can’t get it on screen because of a lack of coding skills? Here are two visual programming tools that can help you make games without knowing how to code. First up is GameSalad Creator. This robust editor allows you to make games for Android, HTML 5, iOS, and more. It offers an almost shockingly diverse amount of options, including a robust behaviors editor. GameSalad Creator is free, with a more powerful Pro version available for $299.

A simpler and more focused visual programming tool is Codea for iPad. This $9.99 editor allows you to make games for the iPad on the iPad. It offers a mix of drag-and-drop and straight code editing. To give you an idea of what Codea can do, TwoLivesLeft has published Cargo-Bot. While it’s not as diverse or as powerful as GameSalad Creator, Codea offers a surprising amount of power considering its price and platform.

Don’t expect either of these editors to let you make the next Skyrim or Gears of War. These tools are meant for people that don’t know how to code or don’t like to code. With that in mind, of course the options are relatively limited. That said, they do offer numerous and powerful ways to unleash your inner game designer.

Are any of you interested in making games this way? Do products like GameSalad Creator and Codea interest you?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This week has been somewhat stressful. I need to chill out. This is where thatgamecompany’s Journey comes in. It’s soothing and moody and atmospheric. I might have to throw some Flower in the mix too. In general, I don’t want to play anything new. I just want familiar and comforting games this weekend. Of course Civilization: Revolution for iPad will be in the mix.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

David Hayter and Jennifer Hale Confirmed For Republique

Camouflaj has announced that David Hayter and Jennifer Hale will be reporting for voice-acting duty for its upcoming game (and hyped Kickstarter project) Republique. Camouflaj founder Ryan Payton worked with Hayter and Hale when he was at Kojima Studios working on the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Millions of gamers know Hayter as the voice of Metal Gear’s Solid Snake, while uber-geeks also know him as the writer of the X-Men and Watchmen movies. Hale is a veteran videogame voice actor known for providing the pipes for Samus Aran (Metroid), Commander Shepard (Mass Effect), numerous other BioWare games, and multiple roles in Metal Gear Solid titles.

Here are more details from Payton:

David will voice the role of the head revolutionary in the Orwellian world of République who authors much of the anti-Overseer propaganda that players come across in the game. It’s a character I wrote specifically with David in mind, as he’s not only very politically active but also an accomplished writer.

Jennifer will play the role of a villain character we’re simply calling The Mentor. I’m thrilled to work with Jennifer again, this time on a new character who will be a central antagonistic force for players. The Mentor is incredibly complex.

As of this writing, Camouflaj has obtained $167,127 of its $500,000 Kickstarter goal for Republique with eight days left to go. Hopefully this star-studded announcement will help the company reach its goal.

Any of you contribute to Republique? Does the involvement of big-name voice-actors like David Hayter and Jennifer Hale make you more likely to support a Kickstarter project?

The Elder Scrolls Online Coming to Mac and PC

Bethesda Softworks has officially announced the much-rumored MMO The Elder Scrolls Online. The game will be available for Mac and PC. Development is being handled by ZeniMax Online Studios and headed up by Matt Firor. In today’s press release, Firor said…

Bethesda Softworks has officially announced the much-rumored MMO The Elder Scrolls Online. The game will be available for Mac and PC. Development is being handled by ZeniMax Online Studios and headed up by Matt Firor. In today’s press release, Firor said:

We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted. It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made — and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.

Expect more details on the release date, pricing, etc. at E3 2012.

Millions of gamers around the world love The Elder Scrolls games, but are they anxious to explore the world in MMO form? How will the game do against Blizzard’s monstrously successful World of Warcraft and BioWare’s recent Star Wars: The Old Republic? Most importantly, are you interested in The Elder Scrolls Online? Kindly leave your thoughts on the game in the comments section.

Coffee Talk #473: Judging Student Games at USC

Instead of my usual evening of WWE Monday Night Raw, I spent last Monday at the USC School of Cinematic Arts judging student projects. My excellent friend Joseph Olin teaches a graduate school class there called The Business of Interactive Media. The projects covered a wide range of topics. I got to see traditional…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, devouring New York pizza, devouring New York chicken parm sammiches, or Ashton Kutcher going on vacation with Mila Kunis (nooooooo!!!), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Instead of my usual evening of WWE Monday Night Raw, I spent last Monday at the USC School of Cinematic Arts judging student projects. My excellent friend Joseph Olin teaches a graduate school class there called The Business of Interactive Media. The projects covered a wide range of topics. I got to see traditional games, social networking apps, educational projects, and even a modern interpretation of Hindu scriptures. The projects were very cool…

…but not as cool as the students! It was inspiring and refreshing to hear pitches from MFA students instead of people already in the gaming business. You could feel the passion and energy as the students spoke about their projects. There was a certain purity in their visions — a charming mixture of smarts, bravery, and naïveté combined with a lack of experience that didn’t let them know, “Hey! You can’t do that!” It was beautiful to watch, listen to, and learn from these cats.

The shocking part was that I offered a bunch of suggestions on how to monetize their projects. As most of you know, I’m not the most business-minded person in the world. So I was surprised that I became that guy for one class. “This would be a cool project for Microsoft Surface. Have you thought about partnering with MS?” “This seems like a project XXXX would grossly overpay for!” “How about partnering with AT&T to sponsor an event like Coachella and using your app to sponsor signal trucks?” I felt a little dirty trying to taint these pure visions. Ha!

Anyway, that was a brief rundown of my Monday spent judging interactive media projects at USC. It was a lot of fun and very inspiring. Thanks to Joseph and all the MFA students for the experience!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m still in New York, so my only gaming device is my iPad 2012. Thankfully, it’s awesome and it has awesome games! Jetpack Joyride and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP received big updates this week. That’s a good excuse to revisit those fine games. Skylanders: Cloud Patrol is always great for several rounds of cartoonish shooting. Of course I still play Civilization: Revolution every day. Yeah, for work and play, the new iPad completely rules.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

IGDA Makes Finding Kickstarter Gaming Pitches Easy

Last week I was talking to my pal Gordon Bellamy, executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). He mentioned that the IGDA has this nifty curated page on Kickstarter that helps prospective backers find cool videogame projects on the site. In addition to new pitches, a backlog of old ones is kept so that people can see and learn from past projects. The descriptions are written by IGDA staffers. For example, I would bet $1,000 that Gordon himself wrote the description to Sira the Game, which begins with, “This game is hot, like the sun.”

If you’re interested in keeping up with Kickstarter videogame pitches but don’t have the time to scour the site every day then I recommend bookmarking the page.