Today is Sunday and it's Day 2 of the Portland Retro Gaming Convention! Jon and I are manning the booth, talking to people and right now we have a speed running competition for Super Mario Bros 3! If you are at the convention come stop by!
"Within ten years the computer games of today will probably seem very basic and primitive. The games of the future will be faster and more exciting with superbly realistic screen displays."
I always love reading old ads or articles of how people viewed the future of gaming. This article pretty much nails most of what gaming has become. The ad even sort of plays at room scale VR, which isn't something i'd really have thought would have been a thing even after watching Lawnmower Man so many times I wore out the VHS tape. "Within ten years the computer games of today will probably seem very basic and primitive. The games of the future will be faster and more exciting with superbly realistic screen displays."
I always love reading old ads or articles of how people viewed the future of gaming. This article pretty much nails most of what gaming has become. The ad even sort of plays at room scale VR, which isn't something i'd really have thought would have been a thing even after watching Lawnmower Man so many times I wore out the VHS tape.
I always love reading old ads or articles of how people viewed the future of gaming. This article pretty much nails most of what gaming has become. The ad even sort of plays at room scale VR, which isn't something i'd really have thought would have been a thing even after watching Lawnmower Man so many times I wore out the VHS tape. "Within ten years the computer games of today will probably seem very basic and primitive. The games of the future will be faster and more exciting with superbly realistic screen displays."
I always love reading old ads or articles of how people viewed the future of gaming. This article pretty much nails most of what gaming has become. The ad even sort of plays at room scale VR, which isn't something i'd really have thought would have been a thing even after watching Lawnmower Man so many times I wore out the VHS tape.
I love predictions like this, especially the visions of the future from the 50s and such. I'd never seen one like this for video games though.
Me too. This one stops at predicting flying cars so it's a bit more accurate. 
If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.
Sign Up / Log In
When Plants VS Zombies came out in 2009 I was hooked. It's fun take on the tower defense genre but if I had one gripe it would be the game was pretty easy and as such you could use the same strategy over and over to win. Plants VS Zombies 2 was launched as a free to play game and it was a fun game to start but it didn't quite live up to the original.
Recently it seems like each company is releasing their own digital collectable card game to get a piece of the huge Hearthstone and Magic online money making machine. EA recently dropped Plants VS Zombies Heroes on smartphones and since I enjoy the franchise well enough I decided to download it. If you have spent any time... Read All When Plants VS Zombies came out in 2009 I was hooked. It's fun take on the tower defense genre but if I had one gripe it would be the game was pretty easy and as such you could use the same strategy over and over to win. Plants VS Zombies 2 was launched as a free to play game and it was a fun game to start but it didn't quite live up to the original.
Recently it seems like each company is releasing their own digital collectable card game to get a piece of the huge Hearthstone and Magic online money making machine. EA recently dropped Plants VS Zombies Heroes on smartphones and since I enjoy the franchise well enough I decided to download it. If you have spent any time playing Hearthstone or Magic the game feels very familiar. Plants VS Zombies Heroes is a free to play game where you can grind in game currency to open packs or spend real money to open premium packs. Not quite sure what's in a premium pack vs a normal pack you can earn in game but I imagine the cards you open are better. The game also features Zombie and Plant heroes that grant you different abilities that change how you play the game.
In the end Plants VS Zombies Heroes is a fun smartphone game and brings a quirky simplicity to the digital card space but doesn't bring anything new or terribly interesting to the table. If you are looking for a new free app to try, I recommend you check it out but if you are looking for something a bit more deep then you should be playing Hearthstone, Elder Scrolls Online, Faeria or plain ol' Magic.
Recently it seems like each company is releasing their own digital collectable card game to get a piece of the huge Hearthstone and Magic online money making machine. EA recently dropped Plants VS Zombies Heroes on smartphones and since I enjoy the franchise well enough I decided to download it. If you have spent any time... Read All When Plants VS Zombies came out in 2009 I was hooked. It's fun take on the tower defense genre but if I had one gripe it would be the game was pretty easy and as such you could use the same strategy over and over to win. Plants VS Zombies 2 was launched as a free to play game and it was a fun game to start but it didn't quite live up to the original.
Recently it seems like each company is releasing their own digital collectable card game to get a piece of the huge Hearthstone and Magic online money making machine. EA recently dropped Plants VS Zombies Heroes on smartphones and since I enjoy the franchise well enough I decided to download it. If you have spent any time playing Hearthstone or Magic the game feels very familiar. Plants VS Zombies Heroes is a free to play game where you can grind in game currency to open packs or spend real money to open premium packs. Not quite sure what's in a premium pack vs a normal pack you can earn in game but I imagine the cards you open are better. The game also features Zombie and Plant heroes that grant you different abilities that change how you play the game.
In the end Plants VS Zombies Heroes is a fun smartphone game and brings a quirky simplicity to the digital card space but doesn't bring anything new or terribly interesting to the table. If you are looking for a new free app to try, I recommend you check it out but if you are looking for something a bit more deep then you should be playing Hearthstone, Elder Scrolls Online, Faeria or plain ol' Magic.
Well, #$&@ me! If it has the power, I'm all in.
What do you guys think?! Well, #$&@ me! If it has the power, I'm all in.
What do you guys think?!
What do you guys think?! Well, #$&@ me! If it has the power, I'm all in.
What do you guys think?!
I pretty much with you. This looks like all the rumors were true. My only question at this point is if the system will take some kind of game cart or is it digital only.
But yeah, this looks really neat. I think... did I see Skyrim in the trailer?
At about the 54 second mark, you see the player loading what looks like a DS sized cartridge into the device. I assume that's a game cart. And, yeah, that looks like Skyrim! That's a really good sign, showcasing GPU power on the go.
One thing I'm initially worried about is scratching that screen from frequent loading/unloading from the base.
I'll admit, I wasn't sold on the premise of a hybrid system, but seeing it in action is impressive.
Yep. Hopefully the screen has some kind of orotect Be coating.
Shut up and take my money!
It looks like this system will make me popular!!!
And I am not sure about the name.
Bethesda games confirmed https://mobile.twitter.com/bethesda/status/789125712196341760
Looks cool! Wow Skyrim! Since I saw Mario Kart and Splatoon, I wonder if it will some how be backwards compatible with the Wii U or if it's getting its own version of the games. I'll have to check later for more details.
I watched it a second time. The detachable controllers seem a little small to me. They also show a controller where you can attach the detachable controllers and another controller. That final controller seems to be the way to go.
From a game standpoint, I saw what I believe is a new mario, and then some Wii U games (Mario Kart and Splatoon). If these are true Wii U re-releases, I hope there is some upgrade pricing for people that already own the Wii U games. I doubt there will be though, but one can dream.
Some more details and images on engadget: https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/20/switch-is-nintendos-next-game-console/
You're right, Will_Ball, the detachable controllers do look small. Like Wii remote usability, but so tiny. I do like that they each have analog sticks. The Voltron controller, which I'm assuming is the core option, looks...odd. Maybe even uncomfortable to hold? I hope it comes with the "pro" controller, though that's not likely.
Wow! I can't wait to demo one. I don't know if I *need* one right now, but it looks pretty rad.
You need one right now Adam!
PS4 and Xbox One use AMD GPUs. I wonder if there will be hurdles in developing cross-platform with Switch's custom Nvidia GPU. Or is that a benefit? I imagine 1st party and exclusives will be impressive. Nintendo has historically struggled with 3rd party, though. Will it be different this time?
It looks to have decent support, but time will tell: http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/13345640/nintendo-switch-third-party-support-bethesda-ea-activision
Bethesda is in on the Switch. Either Nintendo paid them a lot or it's a system they can work on easily. Hopefully it's the latter.
Also, NVidia is huge on PC and most companies don't have issues working with those cards. So I think it should be OK.
505 Games? Terraria on the Switch confirmed!
Interesting concept, i.e. Nintendo tablet with a dock... I'm not sure if I'll get it though. My Wii U ended up just being a Pikmin 3 and Mario Kart machine... which is pricey for really only two games...
I really want one. It's nice being excited about a Nintendo console. The titles will make or break it, but if it's getting some of the biggies like Bethesda, who knows?
The multiple controller configurations are great. This is Nintendo's forte and they're really shining here.
Want. Very want.
Nvidia for the win! Terraria confirmed! More win! The new Zelda looks awesome. Skyrim on the Switch, for the win! It all looks win, win to me. I might get one, we'll see.
As for the small controllers, I think it makes sense. Technology seems to shrink over time as parts get smaller. They may be a bit small, but it does fit the system and seems to make it easier to carry around allowing multiple players.
The Switch seems to be the next step from the Wii U. One thing I thought was cool about the Wii U was that you could play it without the TV on.
Marketing!!! "Make the Switch with Nintendo!" :)
Yeah Terraria for the Switch is a great move just because it runs on literally everything at this point it seems, but I'll still stick to PC. But Terraria needs to be experienced by everyone who can experience it.
> Yeah Terraria for the Switch is a great move just because it runs on literally everything at this point it seems, but I'll still stick to PC. But Terraria needs to be experienced by everyone who can experience it.
I completely agree! I have a very strong preference for the PC version of Terraria. I just feel like it's more of a mouse and keyboard kind of game. I wish it could get the console-specific items and especially the extra holiday events. I did play a bit of it on the Kindle and very little on the PS3. Although I bought the Wii U and DS versions for Vinny, I haven't really given them much of a try.
Switching back (see what I did there?), it looks like some of the Wii U Mario games were included in the video. I'm assuming that was Mario Kart 8 we saw and one of the other regular Mario platform games (I can't recall the title at the moment). So, I'm wondering if the Switch will somehow be backwards compatible. I didn't notice a disc drive, so my only guess is that if you want to play older games on it, you'll have to purchase the game via the Nintendo Store and download them. I guess we'll see specifics with more information.
As for Skyrim, I'm going to guess that it's the Special Edition, at least that's my assumption. It might be a safe assumption that it has the hardware for it. I'm not sure that it would make sense having the current edition of it, since the other newer consoles will have the Special Edition. Again, we'll see in time with more info.
This article is titled "Everything You Need to Know" yet doesn't include everything I want to know, however there are some additional details, for instance that Skyrim may not be on it even though it appears in the video.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-everything-you-need-to-know/1100-6444673/
LOL Even if some people have negative opinions about Nintendo's last few consoles, I think they deserve some credit for being the most innovative. The other consoles have hardly changed, they've pretty much only received hardware upgrades (more memory, disc space, faster CPUs, etc.). Playstation only added motion controls after the Wii came out.
The best thing about the innovation that the Switch offers, is that this seems to be something that a lot of people have wanted for a long time: seamless integration between mobile and console gaming. Motion controls with the Wii were neat, but it wasn't on the top of anyone's "want" list (and, actually, Sony played with motion controls on the PS2 with the EyeToy). It almost seems obvious that the Wii U was a prototype for the Switch, but the Switch seems much more thought-out and functional from a practical standpoint. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the entire Wii U catalog available for the Switch. There doesn't appear to be any disc drive, so they'll likely be re-released, or made available through a digital storefront.
I don't know what people have been wanting. I agree about the Wii's motion controls, but I thought it was a cool addition. I must have forgotten about the EyeToy on the PS2, I never messed with it. I was thinking of it out for the PS3. I agree, and that's pretty much what I was saying, regarding the Wii U being a bit of a prototype for the Switch. It's like the Switch is really an upgrade and seems to do it well (or so I hope). I wouldn't be surprised either to see Wii and Wii U games available for download for the Switch, but I don't really want to have to re-buy games. So, if I get the Switch, I'll keep my Wii U. I didn't get rid of my Wii either.
I learned a long time ago to not get rid of consoles.
I still have my Wii hooked up to the TV. Sad when my PS3 died, but I don't really talk about that anymore.
I don't understand trading/selling consoles but that might just be me. Just because a new generation comes out doesn't mean I won't want to play a last gen game.
It's unlikely that you'll be able to get every Wii U game on the Switch, but even if that isn't a factor (like the PS2 having total backwards compatibility with the PSX) I still keep them for sentimental reasons I guess.
This is coming from a guy with three NES consoles just in case they die, I'll have backups, so take it with a grain of salt :D
It looks like the Switch is going to cost $250 according to a source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K02RK01DACw
The new Zelda game has been delayed again and may not be available until this time next year. However, it's expected that a new Mario title will launch with the Switch. In this video, it looks like that will be Mario Galaxy 3 and Mario Sunshine HD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-g6ZcrwT6Q
Also, it looks like Pokemon Sun and Moon is coming to the Switch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOGaNZh42Cw
$250? That's seems crazy cheap. I can understand a Zelda delay but this time next year? Wowee they must have really missed the target on that one. If it's great then that's fine but that's unfortunate if true.
Considering a New 3DS XL is $200 and the PS4 Pro is double that, yeah! I think it's supposed to be powerful. A special edition of the Wii U was about $250. I got used to console prices of about $200 and Nintendo seems to be the only one keeping up with that.
Zelda got delayed because of localization (from an article I read) and that it'll go through about 6 months of testing once that's completed. I think the article I read and the video I included mentioned 4-6 months of testing, which would put it's release date to September, but the video says December.
When you consider that consoles in the 80s were $200 and inflation has lowered the value of the dollar, it's kinda nuts that anyone can still do that.
I agree. That said, this isn't quite as powerful as a PS4 or XBone and that might mean they are pulling more profit in on it.
Yeah, look at this chart titled "36 Years Of Console Prices, Adjusted For Inflation": http://kotaku.com/36-years-of-console-prices-adjusted-for-inflation-1485353267
The $200 console was still alive in 2001 with the GameCube, however it's inflation adjusted price puts it at about $260. I don't expect the Switch will be as powerful as the PS4 or XB1, but I do expect or hope it to be at least as powerful as the Wii U and more powerful than the 3DS. I read (or saw in a video) that the Wii U sold at a loss and Nintendo didn't want to do that with the Switch. I also saw somewhere that Nvidia called the Switch "ground-breaking."
Is anyone planning to get one at launch? I thought I might for the Zelda game, but since that's getting delayed, I probably won't get one until (at the earliest) when that game is released. I still may wait to find out how it performs on the Switch compared to the Wii U, because it'd be cheaper for me to just buy the Wii U version, although I think I'd prefer the one that performs better.
Still, a Pokemon Sun/Moon game (perhaps called Stars according to the video I shared) is definitely another Switch temptation.
Interesting article, thanks Greg.
> The $200 console was still alive in 2001 with the GameCube, however it's inflation adjusted price puts it at about $260.
Looks like Nintendo always wins on cost at least recently. Which makes sense, they aren't the most powerful but they do sell at a value which I think is a pretty good strategy.
> but I do expect or hope it to be at least as powerful as the Wii U and more powerful than the 3DS.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS
The 3DS is fairly underpowered by modern specs which is why the games don't look terribly amazing. It has a ton of fun games though. If the NX has specs on par with the Wii U or better it should be great. The Wii U is like a PS3 and i'd say that graphical level is still quite good and moreso for a handheld system.
> Is anyone planning to get one at launch?
If the Zelda game is held back I might wait now. But we'll see maybe they will drop something at launch that makes it more appealing.
I will get it on launch. I'm saving up Amazon gift cards for it!
I am definitely adopting a wait and see approach. I'll buy Zelda on the Wii U whenever it comes out, but I don't know if I *need* the Switch.
LOL I was just about to post that link Jon.
The Switch gets more praise: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-could-be-a-game-changer-that-expan/1100-6445671/
"GameStop Suggests Zelda: Breath of the Wild Could Come Out Before April," which defies recent rumors about a delay: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-suggests-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-could-c/1100-6445669/
If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.
Sign Up / Log In
FTL is an spaceship simulation turn based roguelike that features an incredible score by composer Ben Prunty. If you liked the FTL score Ben has just released an all new Halloween themed EP called ElectroCrypt you can checkout by heading over to his Bandcamp page.
I recommend checking out the title track "Welcome to the Crypt," "Welcome to the Gravediggers Hut" and "Ghima's Revenge."
That is... if you can stand the... horror....
"Happy Halloween! This EP is a collection of what I'm calling 'Halloween electro-funk'. Let's make that a genre. The music was inspired by Danny Elfman, the old Super NES game Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and the gleeful indulgence of OCRemix, a... Read All FTL is an spaceship simulation turn based roguelike that features an incredible score by composer Ben Prunty. If you liked the FTL score Ben has just released an all new Halloween themed EP called ElectroCrypt you can checkout by heading over to his Bandcamp page.
I recommend checking out the title track "Welcome to the Crypt," "Welcome to the Gravediggers Hut" and "Ghima's Revenge."
That is... if you can stand the... horror....
"Happy Halloween! This EP is a collection of what I'm calling 'Halloween electro-funk'. Let's make that a genre. The music was inspired by Danny Elfman, the old Super NES game Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and the gleeful indulgence of OCRemix, a community of game music rearrangement artists that I love.
This was all originally written for the indie PC game FranknJohn, which is currently in early access on Steam, but I decided to release the music early in its own collection as a celebration of my favorite holiday. The track titles and cover art have been chosen to evoke a campy, spooky, horror-themed story. "
https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/electrocrypt
I recommend checking out the title track "Welcome to the Crypt," "Welcome to the Gravediggers Hut" and "Ghima's Revenge."
That is... if you can stand the... horror....
"Happy Halloween! This EP is a collection of what I'm calling 'Halloween electro-funk'. Let's make that a genre. The music was inspired by Danny Elfman, the old Super NES game Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and the gleeful indulgence of OCRemix, a... Read All FTL is an spaceship simulation turn based roguelike that features an incredible score by composer Ben Prunty. If you liked the FTL score Ben has just released an all new Halloween themed EP called ElectroCrypt you can checkout by heading over to his Bandcamp page.
I recommend checking out the title track "Welcome to the Crypt," "Welcome to the Gravediggers Hut" and "Ghima's Revenge."
That is... if you can stand the... horror....
"Happy Halloween! This EP is a collection of what I'm calling 'Halloween electro-funk'. Let's make that a genre. The music was inspired by Danny Elfman, the old Super NES game Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and the gleeful indulgence of OCRemix, a community of game music rearrangement artists that I love.
This was all originally written for the indie PC game FranknJohn, which is currently in early access on Steam, but I decided to release the music early in its own collection as a celebration of my favorite holiday. The track titles and cover art have been chosen to evoke a campy, spooky, horror-themed story. "
https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/electrocrypt
The second song actually grossed me out (which is awesome for an instrumental song to do). The bubbling sounds got to me!
It's a good one.
If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.
Sign Up / Log In
An http://www.inquisitr.com article quotes a Takashi Mochizuki (Wall Street reporter) tweet saying "Speculation is Nintendo would unveil NX details in coming week. I guess all we can do is just wait. No announcement from company yet." and speculation that details will be announced as soon as this week!
http://www.inquisitr.com/3606799/nintendo-nx-release-details-imminent-and-beyond-good-and-evil-dated/
The article also pulls a lot of information from this reddit post, by FlapSnapple:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/56jomc/leak_goodies_from_a_large_retail_partner/
I really hope some real information comes soon! But until then, hearing about some packaging and... Read All An http://www.inquisitr.com article quotes a Takashi Mochizuki (Wall Street reporter) tweet saying "Speculation is Nintendo would unveil NX details in coming week. I guess all we can do is just wait. No announcement from company yet." and speculation that details will be announced as soon as this week!
http://www.inquisitr.com/3606799/nintendo-nx-release-details-imminent-and-beyond-good-and-evil-dated/
The article also pulls a lot of information from this reddit post, by FlapSnapple:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/56jomc/leak_goodies_from_a_large_retail_partner/
I really hope some real information comes soon! But until then, hearing about some packaging and poster art is fun :) (The packaging for the NX is slightly larger than the packaging for the Wii U. Read into that what you want lol)
http://www.inquisitr.com/3606799/nintendo-nx-release-details-imminent-and-beyond-good-and-evil-dated/
The article also pulls a lot of information from this reddit post, by FlapSnapple:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/56jomc/leak_goodies_from_a_large_retail_partner/
I really hope some real information comes soon! But until then, hearing about some packaging and... Read All An http://www.inquisitr.com article quotes a Takashi Mochizuki (Wall Street reporter) tweet saying "Speculation is Nintendo would unveil NX details in coming week. I guess all we can do is just wait. No announcement from company yet." and speculation that details will be announced as soon as this week!
http://www.inquisitr.com/3606799/nintendo-nx-release-details-imminent-and-beyond-good-and-evil-dated/
The article also pulls a lot of information from this reddit post, by FlapSnapple:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/56jomc/leak_goodies_from_a_large_retail_partner/
I really hope some real information comes soon! But until then, hearing about some packaging and poster art is fun :) (The packaging for the NX is slightly larger than the packaging for the Wii U. Read into that what you want lol)
Would be really cool to hear something official. These posts, especially the reddit from FlapSnapple, leave huge holes for skepticism. Highly doubt that the packaging for the new system will be similar to the Wii U, as Nintendo will want to make the distinction very obvious on the store shelves (the reddit post suggests the packaging is also "white and blue," rather than "the Wii U's blue and black." The base model Wii U packaging was white and blue.).
Speculation can be fun, though! I really like the idea of a Beyond Good & Evil reboot being a launch title :D.
I totally agree. It's all speculation and should all be taken with a hefty grain of salt :)
I already have one.
Speculation and rumors are why I've pretty much ignored what I've read about the NX. However, I've discovered in recent months that many rumors related to gaming actually turn out to be true, or extremely close. I'd like to know more about the NX as the new Zelda game is tempting me to get one. However, what I want to know most regarding that subject is if the game will be different on both consoles. I expect it'd probably perform better on the NX, but I guess we'll see. I might wait after the game's release when I can find out if there are differences in the two games. I'd be much cheaper for me to just buy the Wii U version, since I already own a Wii U. I also have some kind of high hopes for the NX. I've been loving Nintendo since the NES and I think the company seems to have lost some popularity over the years which I'd like to see make a come back.
"Highly doubt that the packaging for the new system will be similar to the Wii U, as Nintendo will want to make the distinction very obvious on the store shelves"
I agree, then disagree, then re-agree here. Agree: companies definitely want to differentiate their products. Disagree: Nintendo did a poor job of that-- people thought the Wii U was an addon to the Wii. Re-agree: But Nintendo is smart, so you'd hope they would have learned and would want to really differentiate now. So honestly I wouldn't be surprised either way :D
I really want Nintendo to drop some real news about the NX soon. I bet most of what we've heard is accurate, as Greg says, rumors are often more true than not and I imagine it will be a sort of handheld that attaches to a TV. Thew rumored price seems fine and all the other details too but some real information soon would be better.
After Scrypt commented about the packaging, I looked back through the boxes of all the Nintendo consoles, and I really hope they swing back to the SNES red and black scheme. Nintendo already has the reputation of being a soft, kids company, and I want it to be rad again. Blue/black, blue/white, neither seem like good options to me #MakeNintendoRadAgain
(I've gone from speculation to just simply want I want now lol)
If you know me then you'll know that I must fully disagree. I think they should go with the blue/black color scheme. Red/black is so 90's! It's time to continue to look forward with blue/black. Hahahaha Well, that's just my personal preference. It doesn't really matter to me what color scheme they use. I'm more interested in specifics.
Of course you say blue Greg ;)
:) Congratulations Adam, you know me. Haha
I know someone's about to post an article here about the reveal. I would but I'm on my cell, and more nimble fingers would likely beat me to it. Sooo...post that article! :D
If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.
Sign Up / Log In
Even though i'm more than a couple days late to writing about the second day of Steam Developer Days I wanted to get out my thoughts while they are still nearly fresh in my mind. Spoiler alert, day two was incredible but the drive home from Seattle to Portland that night was precarious as I had to navigate the freak storm that occurred as some remnants of Typhoon Songda hit the west coast. I feel bad for my steering wheel as my clenched fingers strangled it for many tense driving moments but the wheel and I made it home safely.
One of the most interesting parts of the second devs days was Mike Ambinder's talk on The Psychology Of Games. When the talks are released from... Read All Even though i'm more than a couple days late to writing about the second day of Steam Developer Days I wanted to get out my thoughts while they are still nearly fresh in my mind. Spoiler alert, day two was incredible but the drive home from Seattle to Portland that night was precarious as I had to navigate the freak storm that occurred as some remnants of Typhoon Songda hit the west coast. I feel bad for my steering wheel as my clenched fingers strangled it for many tense driving moments but the wheel and I made it home safely.
One of the most interesting parts of the second devs days was Mike Ambinder's talk on The Psychology Of Games. When the talks are released from Steam Developer Days I plan on featuring the talk in a post for people to watch and talk more about it. There were many standout parts to Mike's talk but the thing I thought about was how Developer choice can effect player preference. Mike also talked about cognitive dissonance and how they used that to change toxic behavior in DoTA 2. His talk also featured the hilarious picture of him and Gabe embedded above and I want to thank Mike letting me use the image in this blog post.
Another interesting talk was by Ronimo Games(the creators of Awesomenauts) about games as a service. Traditionally a game was released as a physical product and after the initial wave of sales you were done with it. You'd maybe drop a patch or two and sometimes an expansion but for the most part, after launch, developers and companies were done with the game. Ronimo takes a different approach to this with Awesomenauts as they are always releasing content in the form of game patches, heroes, skins and expansions. They've been utilizing the games as a service model since 2012 and it seems to have served them and the fans of the game well. Fans get more of what they love and Ronimo can keep the studio lights on. I found a few things out in this talk in that when players buy Awesomenauts skins one reason they often do that is to support the developers. Players see it more as a patronage of the company and want to support them as a studio. Ronimo also was straight up honest that they held back some content at launch so they could focus on post release promises and be able to fund fixing bugs. Usually companies are not transparent about this but Ronimo was pretty straight forward about the costs of running a studio and being able to keep post release commitments by having the work done in advance.
If I had one suggestion for next years Steam Developer Days it is that I would focus on more advanced topics. It's good to cover things from a beginner level but I wasn't finding each talk to be as meaty or topical as i'd of liked. The talks I highlighted in my two posts were superb but not every talk was as deep as i'd have wanted. That said, I loved that Steam Developer Days was only two days as i've had a rough time when conferences overstay their welcome. All that said, I really enjoyed this years Steam Developer Days and can't wait to head back when Valve does it again in 2018.
If you want to read up on my thoughts on the first day of the conference hit the link below
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3127/steam-developer-days-day-1-vr-is-all-around-you
One of the most interesting parts of the second devs days was Mike Ambinder's talk on The Psychology Of Games. When the talks are released from... Read All Even though i'm more than a couple days late to writing about the second day of Steam Developer Days I wanted to get out my thoughts while they are still nearly fresh in my mind. Spoiler alert, day two was incredible but the drive home from Seattle to Portland that night was precarious as I had to navigate the freak storm that occurred as some remnants of Typhoon Songda hit the west coast. I feel bad for my steering wheel as my clenched fingers strangled it for many tense driving moments but the wheel and I made it home safely.
One of the most interesting parts of the second devs days was Mike Ambinder's talk on The Psychology Of Games. When the talks are released from Steam Developer Days I plan on featuring the talk in a post for people to watch and talk more about it. There were many standout parts to Mike's talk but the thing I thought about was how Developer choice can effect player preference. Mike also talked about cognitive dissonance and how they used that to change toxic behavior in DoTA 2. His talk also featured the hilarious picture of him and Gabe embedded above and I want to thank Mike letting me use the image in this blog post.
Another interesting talk was by Ronimo Games(the creators of Awesomenauts) about games as a service. Traditionally a game was released as a physical product and after the initial wave of sales you were done with it. You'd maybe drop a patch or two and sometimes an expansion but for the most part, after launch, developers and companies were done with the game. Ronimo takes a different approach to this with Awesomenauts as they are always releasing content in the form of game patches, heroes, skins and expansions. They've been utilizing the games as a service model since 2012 and it seems to have served them and the fans of the game well. Fans get more of what they love and Ronimo can keep the studio lights on. I found a few things out in this talk in that when players buy Awesomenauts skins one reason they often do that is to support the developers. Players see it more as a patronage of the company and want to support them as a studio. Ronimo also was straight up honest that they held back some content at launch so they could focus on post release promises and be able to fund fixing bugs. Usually companies are not transparent about this but Ronimo was pretty straight forward about the costs of running a studio and being able to keep post release commitments by having the work done in advance.
If I had one suggestion for next years Steam Developer Days it is that I would focus on more advanced topics. It's good to cover things from a beginner level but I wasn't finding each talk to be as meaty or topical as i'd of liked. The talks I highlighted in my two posts were superb but not every talk was as deep as i'd have wanted. That said, I loved that Steam Developer Days was only two days as i've had a rough time when conferences overstay their welcome. All that said, I really enjoyed this years Steam Developer Days and can't wait to head back when Valve does it again in 2018.
If you want to read up on my thoughts on the first day of the conference hit the link below
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3127/steam-developer-days-day-1-vr-is-all-around-you
Skyrim Special Edition comes to Xbox One, PS4 and PC on October 28th and Bethesda has released this trailer showing off just how good the game will look. As a fun bonus if you already have Skyrim on Steam on PC it will be available to you at the ultra low cost of zero dollars. It's nice that Bethesda is making this available to owners of new consoles because if you haven't played it now is a great time. Not does it come with an incredible graphical upgrade but Skyrim will also come with all DLC included.
If you are interested in joining the Skyrim Special Edition launch hype train join the Cheerful Ghost launch event discussion below
... Read All Skyrim Special Edition comes to Xbox One, PS4 and PC on October 28th and Bethesda has released this trailer showing off just how good the game will look. As a fun bonus if you already have Skyrim on Steam on PC it will be available to you at the ultra low cost of zero dollars. It's nice that Bethesda is making this available to owners of new consoles because if you haven't played it now is a great time. Not does it come with an incredible graphical upgrade but Skyrim will also come with all DLC included.
If you are interested in joining the Skyrim Special Edition launch hype train join the Cheerful Ghost launch event discussion below
http://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/events/133/skyrim-special-edition
If you are interested in joining the Skyrim Special Edition launch hype train join the Cheerful Ghost launch event discussion below
... Read All Skyrim Special Edition comes to Xbox One, PS4 and PC on October 28th and Bethesda has released this trailer showing off just how good the game will look. As a fun bonus if you already have Skyrim on Steam on PC it will be available to you at the ultra low cost of zero dollars. It's nice that Bethesda is making this available to owners of new consoles because if you haven't played it now is a great time. Not does it come with an incredible graphical upgrade but Skyrim will also come with all DLC included.
If you are interested in joining the Skyrim Special Edition launch hype train join the Cheerful Ghost launch event discussion below
http://cheerfulghost.com/GregoPeck/events/133/skyrim-special-edition
*Updated header image, because that announce went rather quickly!
Rockstar Games tweeted this lovely image today (http://i.imgur.com/WDqivMq.jpg), leading many to believe it's an implication of a new, much anticipated, Red Dead Redemption game. Earlier in July, Rockstar brought XBox One compatibility to the original Red Dead Redemption, and since then a lot of fans have been champing at the bit for news of a new title in the series.
While I never finished the Redemption (I spent way too much time just riding around doing side-story missions and hunting), I'd love to see a new Red Dead come around in the very near future. Anyone else excited by that image? *Updated header image, because that announce went rather quickly!
Rockstar Games tweeted this lovely image today (http://i.imgur.com/WDqivMq.jpg), leading many to believe it's an implication of a new, much anticipated, Red Dead Redemption game. Earlier in July, Rockstar brought XBox One compatibility to the original Red Dead Redemption, and since then a lot of fans have been champing at the bit for news of a new title in the series.
While I never finished the Redemption (I spent way too much time just riding around doing side-story missions and hunting), I'd love to see a new Red Dead come around in the very near future. Anyone else excited by that image?
Rockstar Games tweeted this lovely image today (http://i.imgur.com/WDqivMq.jpg), leading many to believe it's an implication of a new, much anticipated, Red Dead Redemption game. Earlier in July, Rockstar brought XBox One compatibility to the original Red Dead Redemption, and since then a lot of fans have been champing at the bit for news of a new title in the series.
While I never finished the Redemption (I spent way too much time just riding around doing side-story missions and hunting), I'd love to see a new Red Dead come around in the very near future. Anyone else excited by that image? *Updated header image, because that announce went rather quickly!
Rockstar Games tweeted this lovely image today (http://i.imgur.com/WDqivMq.jpg), leading many to believe it's an implication of a new, much anticipated, Red Dead Redemption game. Earlier in July, Rockstar brought XBox One compatibility to the original Red Dead Redemption, and since then a lot of fans have been champing at the bit for news of a new title in the series.
While I never finished the Redemption (I spent way too much time just riding around doing side-story missions and hunting), I'd love to see a new Red Dead come around in the very near future. Anyone else excited by that image?
I remember reading something about "games to look forward to in 2017" and RDR2 was on that list. I'm looking forward to it as I enjoyed RDR, but I'm hoping it comes out for Steam.
I really hope that means it's coming to PC. I've heard stuff about why that might not happen, but my PS3 died before I could play it.
This new image all but confirms it: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cu-LRSTW8AAszBG.jpg:large
It could come to PC, but I would think it unlikely. Rockstar is typically a console-first developer. It could happen, though.
GTA V came to PC after a bit. I mean I hope that Red Dead Redemption comes to PC as I have it on PS3 but it died before I could try it.
I see what you're saying. Yeah, it would be cool for Redemption to come to PC, and soon!
I've seen some speculation that this is leading up to an announcement of RDR Remastered, but I would think that would be too much fanfare for a remaster. More likely that it's a sequel, but maybe it comes with the original remastered. I'd love to play that on PC.
I'm hoping for near-simultaneous release with PC. Because I don't want to buy a new console for a game, but RDR 2 might be the one that makes me do that.
> I'm hoping for near-simultaneous release with PC. Because I don't want to buy a new console for a game, but RDR 2 might be the one that makes me do that.
If Rockstars latest release is something they will repeat going forward it seems the game gets a one year lead on consoles then a PC launch. That's a really long time to wait if you want to play the game. That said, buying a console for one game? Yikes.
> I'm hoping for near-simultaneous release with PC. Because I don't want to buy a new console for a game, but RDR 2 might be the one that makes me do that.
I agree with Travis, in part. I have very few reasons to get a new console and honestly, I kind of want to keep it that way, I think, because there are so few console games I'm interested in. For a PS4, my only interest lies in Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts releases. I say that, yet now I will contradict myself. The new Zelda game (one single game) is tempting me to get an NX, but I want to see what that system is like and how and if the game is different between the NX and Wii U versions. I may end up just getting the Wii U version, since I already own a Wii U. Other than that, the PC (Steam mostly) has once again extremely dominated my platform preference. I'm hoping the FF games I'm interested in come to Steam, too. Then that would be even less of an excuse to get a PS4.
Back to RDR, I'm not sure if I'd buy a console for it, although if I decided to get a PS4 (I'm just not even considering the XBox), then that would be a good addition to the games to add to my very short list of ones I'm interested in.
Confirmed! Red Dead Redemption 2, no mention of PC.
rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption2
And there it is: https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/788363842329903104
PS4 and Xbox One listed as release targets. As you guys are speculating, probably (maybe) a year or more for a PC release, traditionally from Rockstar. Anything earlier than that would be awesome, but uncharacteristically unexpected.
The PS4 isn't so bad ;). There are a number of great games available there. Maybe hold out for the PS4 Pro at this point, if you're going to take the console leap.
Ah damn. I posted a link without the linkiness. That's what I get for not confirming!
http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption2/
No PC huh? Well it's not a bad launch strategy I suppose. I imagine they will get follow on purchases on PC from PS4 owners.
I mean, it sucks but it's not a bad launch strategy as limiting platforms does make launch simpler.
Trailer! https://youtu.be/gmA6MrX81z4
RDR is coming to PS4 and PC next week! http://www.gamespot.com/articles/red-dead-redemption-heads-to-ps4-pc-through-playst/1100-6445850/
WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT
Oh come on.
That's not coming to PC.
That's Playstation Now.
I was super excited.
Sorry Greg that's not on you, that's on the headline at Gamespot. :D
Oh, I think I see it now. You have to have a PS4 and you can stream it to your PC via the Playstation Now app. So, it's not coming to PC. Yeah that headline and some of the article is a bit misleading. Or wait...you can get the Playstation Now app for your PC, but you have to pay for it.
Yeah it will be playable on PC and PS4 but you have to stream it from the net. So it's tied to an internet connection and it's a subscription service in a sense.
If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.
Sign Up / Log In
I have really enjoyed Double Fine's documentary videos. It's something they started with Broken Age that has carried through each game and they are continuing it with the development of the much anticipated Psychonauts 2. The video covers the games reveal at the Video Game Awards as well as successful funding on Fig.
I have really enjoyed Double Fine's documentary videos. It's something they started with Broken Age that has carried through each game and they are continuing it with the development of the much anticipated Psychonauts 2. The video covers the games reveal at the Video Game Awards as well as successful funding on Fig.
Any videos for the speed running comp? I used to enjoy speed running the Mario games. I never was good enough to be even remotely competitive but it's crazy fun.
Also I want one of those shirts!
Good idea Travis, I'll try and get some.
I'm pretty jealous to be honest. One of these times I need to make a trip up there to attend this with you guys!
I saw you got a Retron 3 while you were there. I want to pick your brain about it later! I think my SNES is showing the first signs of failure, so I may need to look into a replacement system soon.
Absolutely! We are already planning on a bigger booth for next year.
I'll do a Retron formal review in the next couple weeks for sure!
Hey everyone. I'll be writing up all my thoughts about the convention tomorrow so check back then.
Expect a few pictures.