Every gaming news site has covered Good Old Games decision not to provide support for Linux. Network World published a related article that outlines one of the problems with developers and Linux gamers. Some Linux gamers can be a bit too passionate in their defense of Linux, and their reactions to developers can err on the side of rudeness.
This is where another problem within our greater open source/Linux community rears its ugly head – whenever someone talks about having a hard time figuring out how to support Linux without losing money, the mob tends to get angry and hurl insults at the speaker.
If you look through the comments you’ll find many along the lines of “their argument is just stupid,” “It’s bull**** and they know it,” and “they just want to be a-holes is all.” There are not a lot of constructive ideas or suggestions on how to achieve profitability by packaging and targeting for Linux desktops.
These two issues join forces to create a sort of “super-problem.”
I believe that folks who engage in such behavior are not representative of the entire Linux gaming community at all. Most gamers seem to appreciate efforts being made to develop games for Linux, or even companies that haven’t made a decision but are considering the Linux gaming market.
We need to make sure that we are offering whatever support we can to developers, and we also need to understand that they have to have a viable business model to survive. If they can’t make a profit, they will be hard pressed to continue to develop games for Linux.
So please be positive and helpful if a company disappoints you. In the short term that company may not release games for Linux, but they may reconsider over the longer haul if the Linux gaming community offers useful feedback and advice.
Venture Beat has an interesting article about Disney’s videogame division’s decision to use a blend of OpenStack and Cloudstack for their cloud needs.
But instead of going with one vendor or open-source environment, the video game division of the Walt Disney Co. created a solution stitching together some OpenStack and some Cloudstack, said Peter Lopez, Disney Interactive’s system architect, at CloudBeat 2013 today.
Disney Interactive comprises a portfolio of game studios it has gradually acquired, Lopez said. So its cloud must be hybrid…it needs to support applications built in multiple environments.
This strikes me as a smart move on Disney’s part. They knew what they had to do, and they did it well. More companies should follow in their footsteps.
Using open source products in such a customized way provides a great base for cloud efforts, while still preserving enough flexibility to change and grow later on.
SJVN has a very helpful article here on ITworld for those you looking for the best Linux server for your business needs.
I think the single most important factor in choosing a Linux server is how experienced (or not) your IT staff already is with Linux. While Linux expertise is easier to find than it used to be, there’s still nothing like enough Linux IT professionals out there.
When I went to OSCon, the major open-source convention, earlier this year in Portland OR, everyone, and I checked and it really was everyone (even some company named Microsoft), was looking to hire people with Linux and open-source experience.
In particular, employers are having trouble finding staffers with a few years of Linux experience under their belts. That is to say, exactly the employees you need to keep your Linux server trains running on schedule.
It doesn’t surprise me that so many companies are looking for people with Linux experience. It just makes so much sense to use Linux whenever possible that it’s totally understandable that experienced Linux folks are in high demand right now.
So if you have Linux experience, this is a great job market for you.
Reblogged from: itworld.com
Paradox Interactive announced that they will be bringing the mobile meta-RPG game Knights of Pen and Paper to Linux, Mac, and Windows PC platforms in a new version called Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition. The publisher is forming a partnership with Behold Studios to bring the game to consumer desktops with new features, improvements and content. The +1 Edition will also be released to mobile devices when it launches across all platforms in the Second Quarter of 2013.
“When we first saw Knights of Pen& Paper, the game scored a natural 20 on its Charm Person roll,” said Shams Jorjani, VP of Business Development and Corporate Paladin at Paradox Interactive. “We knew it was the kind of title that was right up our alley, and we’re glad to be able to keep supporting the Brazilian developer community with new partners like Behold studios.”
The Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition is an RPG where players control players that are gaming at their dungeon master’s table. Players will be able to go on adventures with other tablemates and spend their loot to boost their warriors and mages while also improving their snacks, game table and source books. Full campaigns can take player characters through a wide selection of monsters and quests, all classically rendered in retro pixel art. All this and the joy of watching the characters fight with the DM about random encounters.
You can find more info about the game by visiting Paradox’s Website.
Few days back we reported that Linux Game Publishing is planning to bring all games in their catalog to Ubuntu Software Center and Desura. Some of their games like Sacred Gold and Majesty have already been released in these distribution services.
Now RuneSoft, another company that specializes in porting games for Linux, is planning to bring their games to Desura. Alongside their own published games, they have also ported games like Software Tycoon and Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom for Linux Game Publishing.
RuneSoft’s Linux games are otherwise available on discs only and having them on Desura will allow users to get their favorite games as digital downloads.
To start with, RuneSoft has released Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood on Desura for $15. Check out a gameplay video:
You can check out all the games they have ported for Linux from here. I hope RuneSoft will bring these games to Ubuntu Software Center as well.
Reblogged from: UbuntuVibes
Through a recent Twitter post, the details about a Kickstarter game called Maia caught my attention. Immediately I started scanning the page looking for Linux support. A very apt DRM free final product and an alpha due out in Januray 2013. WOW!!
Check it out…..
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Maia is a new god game from indie developer Simon Roth.
Inspired heavily by the 70’s Sci-fi aesthetic, Maia is a colony management simulator where you must keep your colonists safe, fed and happy. Liberally influenced by nineties god games, the game will have a dark sense of humour and more toys to play with than you can shake a Molyneux at.
“[Maia is] right up there in the top branches of indie games to stare at with creepily unblinking desire.” – Alec Meer. RockPaperShotgun
“Sounds suspiciously like the best idea ever.” – Futile Position
“Maia is still in an early alpha stage, but it already looks like a fascinating game with a great deal of potential.” – Paul Dean. Eurogamer
“I’m hugely excited for Maia. It’s great to see developers with this much ambition, and Simon’s already made some fantastic progress.” – Lewie Procter. SavyGamer
“I’m no Ninjaologist. But that shouldn’t diminish one unassailable fact: Simon Roth is a Ninja. I cannot wait to throw my money at the screen…” – Mike Bithell. Thomas was alone
“it’s fair to say that the features list reads like many of my wildest dreams” – Rowan Davies. IndieGameMag
In 2113 the human race began its first extra solar colonisation program. One of the targets of this endeavour was Maia.
Maia, sitting a mere twelve light years away in the Tau Ceti system, was a world in flux. Due to its home in a dense debris field, the planet had been subject to constant meteor impacts on its surface. The energy released into the planet’s crust distorted the magnetosphere, leading to frequent storms of dangerous ultraviolet and X-ray radiation that scour the surface of all but the hardiest of life.
The colonization process had commenced almost twenty years earlier. Barrages of satellites equipped with powerful solid state lasers were placed in geosynchronous orbit around the planet. Their mission to slow and deflect major meteoric threats. The dense volcanic atmosphere was then seeded with sulfur, in an effort to calm and cool it. After a brief fourteen years of orbital terraforming, earth’s political elites deemed the planet safe for human settlement, despite little being known about the surface.
After an outcry from the scientific community, a brief study was commissioned and the planets surface was found to be: “Mostly harmless”.
Mostly.
You must excavate an underground colony to escape the hostile surface of the world. Mine minerals for construction, build rooms to house, feed and entertain your colonists and defenses to protect them from dangerous wildlife.
Research sources of power, water and food. Explore the surface and perform science to produce the technology you need to survive your new home.
Maia is currently in early alpha. A playable release will be available as soon as mid January. The game will run on Windows, Mac and Linux and have absolutely no DRM.
The game will ship in summer 2013. After that, development will continue indefinitely, with regular updates, and swathes of new content every month.
Todd B..
Linux Game News
It’s here!! The Fall Bundle from Indie Royale. Oddly enough, this time there are TWO games that support Linux, Oil Rush (Deluxe edition) and Reprisal. Both come with their own Official Soundtrack and obviously all games are issued with a Desura key and Steam keys (except for Reprisal which runs on Adobe AIR). Having purchsed the bundle, I was keen to see if Reprisal worked in Linux without any issue. As you know, Adobe no longer supports the Linux edition of AIR, so I was taken back when I saw the game working without effort, and rather well.
The remaining games, To the Moon, Blackwell Deception, and AVSEQ I have yet to play.
So if anyone gets them running in WINE, by means drop a comment and let me know about your experience.
Without further ado… The Fall Bundle….
Leaves are falling and the weather is cooling – Fall is here! It’s a great reason to offer you five great indie games in the Fall Bundle from Indie Royale! This compelling bundle is led by hit RPG To the Moon, along with the graphically gorgeous Oil Rush and critically acclaimed adventure Blackwell Deception, not to mention other great titles too! With deals like this, who cares if it’s getting dark earlier since that’s even more reason to stay in side and play these great indie games!
The first game in this seasonal bundle is RPG/sci-fi adventure game from Freebird Games To the Moon (Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-Free). Adventure Gamers celebrates To the Moon for offering “(a)n incredibly moving narrative with a unique premise, sympathetic characters, and a powerful climax.”
Also included is challenging RTS/Tower Defense game Oil Rush from Unigine (Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam, Desura and DRM-Free); standout adventure game from Wadjet Eye Games Blackwell Deception (Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-Free); audio-visual sequencer/color-matching puzzler AVSEQ from Big Robot (Windows and Mac on Steam, Desura and DRM-Free); and Populous-inspired RTS Reprisal from Reprisaluniverse (Windows, Mac and Linux on Desura and DRM-Free).
To the Moon | by Freebird Games
Oil Rush | by Unigine Corp
Blackwell Deception | by Wadjet Eye Games
AVSEQ | by Big Robot
Reprisal | by reprisaluniverse
And for those who pay $8 USD or their currency equivalent during the Fall Bundle will get a great fantasy electro 8-bit album from Makeup and Vanity Set: ‘88:88’, inspired by the short film 88:88 directed by Joey Ciccoline.
You can find more information on the Fall Bundle at their official blog or via ourFacebook and Twitter pages. And remember, you’ll want to get in early while the prices are still low (unless kind purchasers lower the price) so you can get in on this Fall Bundle before it’s gone!
Todd B..
Linux Game News
If you have yet to catch the Twitter and Google+ announcement from Linux Game Consortium. We received an email from Kot-in-Action Creative Artel, who now have Steel Storm: Burning Retribution on SALE through Steam (PC) @ $2.49.
Why is this so important?
Kot-in-Action is diligently working on Steel Storm 2 using idTech4 game engine. So the money earned from this sale is going into the development of the new title. Taking the already fantastic top-down, 3rd person aspects of Steel Storm and bringing them to a first-person experience.
“I apologize for e-mailing on short notice, but Steel Storm: Burning Retribution is on sale on Steam for the next 24 hrs. This sale is critical for us, as it funds future full time development of Steel Storm 2.”
Up to now, success with the first Steel Storm game has brought a more personal gameplay experience. With advancing the development process to a more than progressive ideal, the team has been working to avoid crowdfunding campaigns, keeping focused on developmental aspects instead.
Now they are bringing the whole experience to a completely new environment. Making the already intriguing content more viable through a progressive landscape.
The Steel Storm 2 update using idTech4:
Personally, I think Kot-in-Action have the right idea. Using their resources to bring an epic title to the mix of an already great arsenal of games. But that does not mean it all stops there.
It would be great to see further fan interaction going on in forum, influencing the further development of Steel Storm 2. Creating a gameplay experience unique to the Steel Storm series.
Follow Kot-in-Action News and Press information.
And post comments and interact on the Kot-in-Action forum here.
Todd B..
Linux Game News
“You remember that Battlestar Galactica episode called ‘33’?” he said. “Where they have to make a faster-than-light jump every 33 minutes, or else they’ll get blown up by the Cylon fleet?”
Star Citizen is HUGE space game in developed with one of the best and detailed graphics we have ever seen to date. It’s being developed by Chris Roberts who brought us the legendary space games Wing Commander, Privateer and Freelance.
João Santos contacted Chris Roberts asking him about the possibility of a GNU/Linux version and he said that while a GNU/Linux version it’s high on their “wish list,” it will depend on community interest.
Then João Santos asked him if a petition would help and he said it could help because : “it’d be good to know how many people really want a Linux version. I’m getting a LOT of requests for a Macintosh version, but not so much mention of Linux…”
So here is our chance to ask for a GNU/Linux version of this excellent to be, space game.
If you are interested, please sign the petition.
The developers are also raising funds to continue the development of the game (like a Kickstarter, but in their own website), the campaign ends in 30 days – but till the GNU/Linux client is not confirmed, I won’t propose to donate to this project. This why we have this petition first.
Here is the introduction video of the game :
Originally posted by Linux Gaming News, so spread the word.
In the works at Dodo Games, Divine Space is a science fiction space game with a third-person view, free camera, casual click-n-go controls and arcade action in real time. The platform for the first version of the game is iOS; later versions are for Android, PC, Mac, Linux and likely Ouya. Later – a big massively multiplayer online game (MMO).
Here is the Kickstarter campaign. Behold… it covers alot of detail. ALOT!!!
The $2.5 million that Project Eternity has raised so far through Kickstarter isn’t just paying for the role-playing game’s development; it’s paying for freedom, Obsidian Entertainment chief creative officer Chris Avellone told Polygon today.
In an interview at GDC Online, Avellone explained that crowd-source funding wasn’t just the best option for getting the game made; it’s the only option. One issue is the studio’s resolution to developing the game solely for PC, Mac, and Linux, a narrowly-tailored release strategy that clashes with the multiplatform approach most publishers follow. Moreover, Avellone says that the kind of role-playing games Obsidian creates have fallen out of fashion somewhat.
“It’s really also hard to sell this type of role-playing game in today’s role-playing game market,” Avellone said. “I think the expectations have changed, and I think there’s a percentage of the RPG audience that remembers the Infinity Engine games and likes them, but I don’t know if that’s the zeitgeist of RPGs nowadays in terms of what people expect from them.”
Avellone explained that RPGs are effectively on a gradient: One one side, players have the greater share of control over their character’s every attribute. On the other side — the side many current RPG developers favor — the game’s creators make those kind of decisions for their players.
“I feel like the designers put more of their mark on the characters,” Avellone said. “It’s hard to say. When you’re dealing with Shepard in Mass Effect, you do get customization options with Shepard, but ultimately, at the end of the day, he’s still speaking with one voice, or with the female voice, and that’s who he is. In essence, that sort of sets a level of fan expectation right there that’s difficult to sell a game that’s not like that. Even Skyrim, to an extent, they kind of left their mark on characters with the advertising campaign in terms of his looks and his silhouette that I think people immediately start leaving a mark on him in that respect.
“There are always some elements that you have to design around, you always have those constraints,” Avellone added. “But when it comes to my character, I get a little sensitive about it.”
The effects of crowd-funding the development of Project Eternity have been nothing but positive, Avallone said. The development team is overjoyed to share what they’re working on as they’re working on it, and in turn is bolstered by the community’s immediate feedback. That feedback has come in the form of suggestions for the game’s artistic and systemic design — sometimes even volunteer work on the game’s environment and character art.
Avellone was never worried that their input would evolve (or, as the case may be, devolve) into a sense of funder’s entitlement.
“Their sense of entitlement wasn’t really ‘Oh, you must have this,’ it was more like, ‘Here’s what we feel about this,’” Avellone said. “Like, they didn’t want social tie-ins, for example, and like, if you don’t want that, and you don’t want to back a project that has elements like that, there is absolutely no need for us to put that in. We’re absolutely fine that you’re telling us this now, and not two months before ship, which is normally how people react to things like this with today’s publishing models.”
Aside from that feedback, the team at Obsidian has almost no external input on what kind of a game the studio is going to make. Starting with a clean slate has its fair share of benefits and problems, but before weighing them against one another, Obsidian had to decide what kind of an RPG it wanted to create. That core inspiration, Avellone explained, came down to one question.
“What were exciting RPGs we’ve played, and why,” Avellone said. “We all got together in a room and said, ‘You know what, there are certain things we love about Forgotten Realms, there are reasons that’s appealing to us.’ Not because we want to do Forgotten Realms, but it seemed like wherever you went in Forgotten Realms, there was some cool locale that was waiting to be explored, some dungeon to loot. And from all the D&D days from long ago, that’s what we love about dungeons: Solving puzzles, going through the dungeon crawling experience.”
That level of freedom often carries with it a kind of developmental paralysis, as constraints — commonly established by a publisher or the franchise in which a game is set — help focus every single aspect of the game development process. Obsidian is used to dealing with those kinds of restraints, but Avellone says he isn’t worried about Project Eternity getting hindered by freedom.
“I don’t think that our studio is ever in danger of getting lost in the woods when it doesn’t have a franchise parameter around it,” Avellone said. “That’s never really been a problem for us. In some instances, some folks might need those parameters to help them focus, and sometimes having bookends like that helps you design more creatively within the box. But we’ve been doing RPGs for so long, we know what those scope constraints are. Now we get to express ideas that we just think are cool, period, without any sort of obstruction. It has our voice, I guess is the best way to put it.”
That voice belongs to other RPG development veterans like Avellone, includingArcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura project lead Tim Cain, and Black Isle Studios head Feargus Urquhart. Obsidian has put together something of a supergroup of RPG visionaries, and Avellone said that the group hasn’t stopped looking for new members.
“We made a list of people that we want to get to contribute to the project, and we’ve been sequentially asking them one by one if they would come aboard and help us out with it,” Avellone said. “Hopefully, it will bear fruit.”
Source: theverge.com
Recently posted on Linux Gaming News and certainly a fine Kickstarter campaign for Gnome Templar. This is another project well worth paying attention too.
Saga Kingdoms is a revolutionary real time MMORTS, focusing on questing and empire building.
They say it’s what Star Craft 2 could have been (in terms of gameplay).
It will be free to play (as it seems from the rewards), but you can pay for additional content.
Currently the project managed to get ~$8,600 of the $100k goal ,with 29 days to go.
From past experiences it’s very hard to get the funds for “free to play” games and I personally doubt that this project will reach it’s goal (although there is always hope).
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SAGA was designed to show what is possible in an RTS when it is made for the players and not by the big studios who may be too scared to try something new. We asked ourselves questions such as, What if the world never reset? What if we could figure out how to balance not just two or three factions but six? and most importantly, What if every play session enhanced your virtual empire and not just a rating?
Most RTS games we’ve ever played focus on player vs. player combat. This is understandable because creating 10 maps and relying on players to provide variety is much less time consuming than creating 600 quests. SAGA, however, embraces that players love a rich story and while PvP has its place and is certainly not an afterthought in our design, we felt it was a lot more fun going on quests not just alone but with groups of friends.
In Saga Kingdoms each player will control a capital city that will serve as the seat of their power, however we have greatly expanded on this concept by giving each player a full Island as a starting point. In addition we plan to allow players to take over both resources and outposts on the main continent as their empire expands.
Similar to SAGA, Saga Kingdoms will feature hundreds of quests to test your skill. While some quests do have prerequisites that you must best, you can always go back and do old favorites for loot and XP.
The power of our new engine means we can create much grander quests that can be enjoyed by large groups of friends.These epic battles will be much more difficult but we promise the rewards will be worth it.
Players will be able to choose from one of six factions, each with a unique look and play style.
Primary Race: Elves
The oldest of the races, the elves have long ago learned to live in harmony with Gaia – the spirit of the world itself. Through their allegiance and honor of Her, they have learned to master Her powers, and now control the most destructive forces of Nature. As warriors, they possess terrific skill, and have made strange allies in some of the oldest creatures on Gaia, including treants and elementals.
Primary Race: Orcs and Ogres
The orcs and ogres live for war. They have long pursued it, and have fashioned their living around it. They have traded refinement for mass, and like a blunt instrument, will bludgeon the life out of their enemies. Their spells and abilities are targeted inward, purposed with instilling their warriors with greater power in combat. Individually, their warriors are skillful, en masse: terrifying.
Primary Race: Giants and Humans
Noble, powerful and indomitable – the forces of Light are truly magnificent to behold. Their ancient civilization has reached a glorious age of wisdom and refinement, and their armies have long ago mastered the art of war. They are a balanced and formidable force, able to draw on heavily armored soldiers and powerful magic alike to crush their enemies into submission.
Primary Race: Dwarves
Dwarves are particularly skilled in the arts of mechanical engineering. Hidden deep in their mountain hideaways, they have created terrible machines of war and destruction. In all their tinkering though, they have lost the art of magic and must rely on their own ingenuity and cunning.
Primary Race: Dark Elves
The dark elves are the masters of magic. They have studied many dark arts and have mastered the secrets of daemonology, allowing them to conjure up horrible beasts. By tapping into the powers of the Underworld, they have possession of mighty spells, with which they terrorize their enemies.
Primary Race: Undead
When the god of the Undead was all but defeated he called upon his powers to bring to power the newest of the factions to gain a foothold on Gaia. Adept casters, the undead use their powers of decay to manipulate the course of battle and weaken their foes while gargantuan undead abominations rush forth to devour their prey.
We love variety in most RTS games. Trying to find the perfect balance of troops is an integral part of the strategy. As difficult as it was to balance 6 factions, that task was nothing compared to trying to create over 100 distinct troop types. Saga Kingdoms will bring back many of the old favorites and will commit to creating many more in upcoming free content expansions.
Saga Kingdoms is a Free-To-Play Collectible game
Collecting troops was one of the best received and unique features of SAGA. Booster packs which can now be purchased for gold farmed in game will provide a random assortment of troops. Nothing beats the excitement of ripping open a new pack or the exhilaration of finding a dragon as your rare card.
Every aspect of your empire can grow in power. This means that every play session will reward you with some type of progress.
Each unit in your army will be led by a hero as detailed as any character in an MMO. Heroes can gain levels, learn spells and possess a range of abilities and bonuses that they confer to the unit they lead.
We’re also expanding the number of available heroes slightly from the dozen available in SAGA to many hundreds. (OK maybe more than slightly)
Not only will be we able to create items with a larger variety of abilities, but Saga Kingdoms will feature many thousands more magic items since Heroes can equip armor in multiple slots in addition to weapons and trinkets, rather than the limited 2 slots in SAGA.
Since Units in Saga Kingdoms are built around heroes not troop types, you will have much more freedom when designing your units. Each troop type will possess a special ability, allowing you to have much finer control over the type of army you field. For example, if halberdiers grant increased damage to the whole unit and swordsmen grant increased armor, a unit consisting of 15 halberdiers and 5 swordsmen will play very differently than one with 15 swordsmen and 5 halberdiers. Adding a hero who brings its own set of unit enhancements means an unlimited set of strategies.
Using the Unity engine means being able to do battle on a PC, Mac, or even using Linux. While the client will be available for all of these platforms, developing in Unity means that when you’re at work or school and can’t resist checking your empire or doing a quick quest, Saga Kingdoms will also be playable in a browser. In addition, developing in Unity opens the possibility for a mobile version.
We have been working on Saga Kingdoms for over a year. Some of our players have even had a chance to try the Alpha version.
We can field troops, move them around, and cause havoc to our enemies as well as build a city. The funds raised on Kickstarter will help us port the remaining SAGA features, finish our quest design tools and make the necessary changes to magic items and heroes to bring Saga Kingdoms to the next level.
Source: Linux Gaming News
Steam for Linux is set to get a raft of classic gaming titles at launch, if new entries on Valve’s CDR database are anything to go by.
Entries in Valve’s Content Description Record database for Steam have appeared listing native Linux support for a raft of games, giving those looking forward to the digital distribution system’s appearance on the open source OS a hint of things to come.
Held by Valve itself, the Content Description Record (CDR) database is used to distribute information regarding available games to the Steam client software. Access, however, is open, which has led to the development of CDR parserscapable of providing data above and beyond that revealed by the Steam client itself. With games appearing in the CDR database ahead of their reveal in the Steam client, this includes pre-release information – and, in this case, support for an as-yet unreleased Linux Steam client.
According to a community list of Steam games with native Linux versions those taking part in the Linux Steam Beta can expect to play a selection of somewhat outdated games at launch comprising Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Crusader Kings 2, Cubemen, Dynamite Jack, Eversion, Galcon Fusion, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Solar 2, SpaceChem, Steel Storm: Burning Retribution, Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP, Trine 2, Waveform and World of Goo.
Of those games, native Linux versions have been available for some time making them obvious choices for Valve to test out its native Linux Steam client while it works on improving the performance of its own first-party titles on the operating system. While a good selection of games, the list is but a small percentage of the overall number of games already listed on Steam which have a Linux port available – suggesting that the quantity could grow rapidly at launch.
With Valve boss Gabe Newell personally overseeing the Steam for Linux client development, and vocal in his dislike for Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 OS, the Steam Linux client looks on set for a high-profile launch – just nine years after the service appeared on Windows.
Source: bit-tech.net
Valve is inviting fans to visit its offices and test out unreleased games and hardware prototypes.
Announcing the move on the Steam Forum, Valve’s Burton Johnsey (BurtonJ) said that those interested should fill in a playtester survey about their playing habits, what genres they play and on which platforms.
The Half-Life and Portal developer is looking for people located in the Seattle/Bellevue area, although it said it would look to add international playtesting in future.
“We’re looking for folks to come to Valve and playtest both released and unreleased versions of our games as well as play around with some of our hardware prototypes,” said Johnsey.
“If you have interest in stopping by (most sessions last around an hour), please fill out the survey below. We’re looking for people local to the Seattle/Bellevue area, but you’re welcome to fill out the survey no matter where you live as we may have plans for remote playtests in the future.”
You can fill in the survey here.
Valve previously teased that it would begin public beta tests for it’s hardware prototypes next year, whilst it is already running internal betas on its products.
The studio however has yet to go into detail publicly on exactly what it is working on, with speculation suggesting it could be working on virtual reality headsets and even a new console.
Bringing in playtesters from the public however could mean that Valve is readying up a reveal in the coming months on what it has been working on.
Source: develop-online.net
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3089 will be a futuristic 3D open-world action role-playing game with randomly generated terrain, items, customizable weapons & more!
After the demons were cleared in 3079, a new, much more dangerous threat was able to organize…
3089 will be a futuristic, randomly generated 3D action role-playing game. It is the sequel of my previous game, 3079. It will feel like a first-person shooter, have the depth of a modern role-playing game & be set in a randomly generated world.
All quests, terrain, biomes, weapons, items, enemies & textures will be randomly generated providing a truly unique gaming experience.
3089 will take inspiration from games like Borderlands, Fallout 3 & Just Cause 2.
I’ve been making open-world action role-playing games for years. I started with 3059, experimented with 3D development on 3069 and most recently made 3079, which went on to sell thousands of copies worldwide.
I’ve also recently created Gentrieve 2, which allowed me to explore better combat mechanics, dynamic lighting systems, visually unique world generation & more. I plan on using many of the learned skills from Gentrieve 2 in 3089.
3089 development has just begun. Much of how the game will work will depend on what type of resources I can raise here. However, core mechanics like terrain generation & physics are already well underway:
Mostly modeling. I will have better models than I did for 3079 & Gentrieve 2, but I would like to have all sorts of robots & characters with limbs that walk over the terrain realistically. However, since this is a 30×9 game, the models would need to be in parts that would be procedurally generated — so characters can be uniquely put together. Getting these parts & texturing them might be expensive!
I’d also like to hire some artists to oversee texture generation & placement. I’ve learned quite a bit during Gentrieve 2 development, but more talent will help!
Nope, I am not. That is because I am serious about making this game and I know every little bit helps. If I only make $1,000, I will make the best of that money. However, with more resources will come more 3089 goodies.
Source: Kickstarter
