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I’m a no-name nobody who enjoys observing the games industry, and blogging about Xbox (mostly). About.

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    World of Goo 2

    World of Goo 2 releases on August 2nd, 2024.

    Releasing on Switch, Win/Mac (Epic), and Linux – but very interestingly not on mobile, where it originally made a huge splash.

    In their own FAQ section they answer the available platforms question:

    [Dandy Wheeler, PR specialist]: Yes, let’s enjoy this moment, right now, where anything is possible. Can you play it on your 2004 Discman? Maybe. Let’s just let the vast expanse of uncertainty fill our hearts with wonder, while we fill our bank accounts with exclusive distribution contracts.

    The original World of Goo came out in 2008, which means it’s now ‘officially’ a retro game. 👴

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    Now playing: Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

    Flintlock seems to be doing well on Xbox, sneaking up the Game Pass and Most Popular charts.

    I’m about 90 mins in, and my experience so far echos the impressions I’ve read from moots on Bluesky/Threads.

    Overall it feels slightly janky, a little overambitious, a game that perhaps doesn’t quite add up to more than the sum of its parts, with occassional clunky combat or inaccurate traversal.

    And yet… the further I progress, the more the core gameplay starts to slowly expand, with more combat variety appearing through skill-unlocks and upgrades. Exploration also becomes moreish over time, with loot discoveries and upgrade/currency collectibles hidden in various nooks and crannies.

    I’ve been playing Dungeons of Hinterberg and Neon White recently, but Flintlock is getting its claws into me more than I expected – I’ll almost certainly complete a full playthrough. More soon…

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    More game dev unionisation at Microsoft

    World of Warcraft workers have voted to unionize the popular video-game franchise, expanding organized labor’s new foothold at Microsoft Corp. by around 500 employees…

    Their organizing effort, which brings the number of unionized US gaming employees at Microsoft to around 1,750, was buoyed by the company’s unusually union-friendly stance…

    Rather than campaigning against unionization on its gaming teams, Microsoft continued its recent practice of staying neutral and agreeing to voluntarily recognize and negotiate with the group if it secured majority support, according to the CWA.

    – Bloomberg

    This follows previous unionisation at Bethesda Game Studios where over 200 employees voted to form a union, which was similarly voluntarily recognised by Microsoft.

    Excellent news for employee rights and advocacy in game dev at one of the world’s biggest companies, Hopefully the momentum continues to build.

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    Generative AI in gaming development is already here, and it’s going to get messy

    Brian Merchant for Wired:

    A recent survey from the organizers of the Game Developers Conference found that 49 percent of the survey’s more than 3,000 respondents said their workplace used AI, and four out of five said they had ethical concerns about its use.

    Brian’s piece is thoroughly reported, and presents a messy, transitional state of affairs, as the gaming industry navigates a new reality where automated creativity (gross did I really type that) has become available during a shaky economic period.

    Managers at video game companies aren’t necessarily using AI to eliminate entire departments, but many are using it to cut corners, ramp up productivity, and compensate for attrition after layoffs. In other words, bosses are already using AI to replace and degrade jobs. The process just doesn’t always look like what you might imagine. It’s complex, based on opaque executive decisions, and the endgame is murky. It’s less Skynet and more of a mass effect—and it’s happening right now.

    Though many of the game workers and artists were queasy about this proliferation, and some were even afraid for their livelihoods, few spoke out. “I think we all didn’t talk about it much for fear of losing our jobs,” Noah says. He claims Activision assured its artists that generative AI would be used only for internal concepts, not final game assets—and importantly, that AI would not be used to replace them.

    Yet by the end of the year, Activision made an AI-generated cosmetic available for purchase on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 store.

    Essential reading.

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    NBA Street spiritual successor announced

    Several former EA developers, including former Visceral Games GM Scott Probst, have formed a new studio to make a spiritual successor to NBA Street — the beloved 3v3 street basketball series released back in the early 2000s.

    Titled The Run: Got Next, the new project developed by Play by Play Studios is a “character-driven, full court 3v3 hoops game that celebrates the attitude, style, and skills of streetball culture” developed in Unreal Engine 5, with players stringing together an extended winning streak against opponents either solo or with friends online (discussions are “ongoing” about whether it will include a complete offline mode). Similar to roguelites like Balatro, players will be able to visit a shop between games to acquire “items, sponsors, abilities, kicks, and more.”

    – IGN

    The world is ready for an NBA Street successor, imo – but, to be frank, the online-only rogue-ish concept feels like a wobbly approach to me.

    Will keep an eye on this one, but the announcement is unconvincing.

    (Awful name too, jebus).

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    Rolled credits: Control

    Well, I definitely waited way too long to play this game.

    While you can fairly level a few criticisms at the game (an uninteresting skill tree, not enough definition in the weapon variety, the ending?) it’s an excellent game.

    More and more, I tend to vibe with a game based on how well-realised the world is, or how close the developers hit the mark with what they “were going for”. Control oozes style – a sense of place, mood and tone. And the game gives the spaces a reason-to-be with kinetic satisfying combat.

    Highly recommended.

    Watch after playing:

    “Brutalist buildings have a tendency to loom. They’ve got too many windows, or none windows…”

    Simone de Rochefort – Polygon
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    Now playing: Control

    I started, then bounced off Control back when the Ultimate Edition first went on sale.

    At the time, I recall, there was a dire lack of save points in the game – which meant early on when I found a difficult room, I had to run down 8 hallways to get back to the death-room just to die all over again.

    Maybe I was getting frustrated, or maybe I was just worse at gaming (probably both), but that experience was enough to send me looking for something else to play.

    So after I finished Jedi Survivor I decided to forgo the enticing call of Diablo IV and head to The Oldest House instead.

    Well, I love it.

    It’s conceptually deep, with fun combat and a unique way of presenting the world. It’s probably my favourite game I’ve played this year so far.

    Let’s see how it holds up.

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    Rolled credits: Jedi Survivor

    Combat, movement, romance, drama – everything about Survivor was dialed up from Fallen Order.

    The levels are excellent, both in design and dressing, with gorgeous textures, foliage and lighting. Combat is tight and responsive, with much better boss balancing as compared to Fallen Order. Story and production are top-tier, which incredible music and sound, and wonderful performances.

    The only real shame was performance. I played 30fps for the vast majority of the game, which took a little getting used to, but to me fell more immersive. Even then certain areas on Koboh absolutely chug, and I switched to 60fps for the final bosses (no spoilers).

    Jedi: Survivor is up there for me in the best game I’ve played this year – it’ll definitely be on my top ten. Highly recommended!

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    The coolest games I saw today – Summer Games, Dev of the Devs, Devolver Direct

    Despite the ghost of E3 looming over June, the Summer Games Fest, Day of the Devs and Devolver Direct all went live today.

    I sorted through the avalanche of announcements and trailers to find the *coolest* stuff!

    Keep reading

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    Rolled credits: Planet of Lana

    Planet of Lana wears it influences on its sleeve, and while I don’t think it reaches the highest highs of Playground’s INSIDE, the fact that you can fairly compare the two is a huge compliment to Wishfully Studios – made even more impressive by the fact it’s their first game.

    Planet of Lana is a genuinely polished experience – it’s well paced, beautifully art directed and staged, wonderfully scored. The story and acting are simple but very effective, with the gameplay journey propelling you towards an emotionally resonant conclusion via puzzles, traversal and cinematic moments.

    Recommended: Luke Lohr’s interview with Creative Director, Adam Stjärnljus has some fantastic insight into the game’s development, including composer Takeshi Furukawa emailing him out of the blue to discuss scoring the game (Adam initially thought it was a hoax).

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