Death is an underrated business, at least in videogames. It often feels so cheap. Normally, all you get is the animated slump, the fade to red, and the prompt to restart or return to the main menu. Spelunky doesn’t settle for that kind of thing. Instead, it understands the power of death – both the pathos of mortality and the potential for weird, wriggling comedy.
A recent Court of Justice of the European Union ruling has deemed that the sale of second-hand software does not contravene any laws, stating that software authors and publishers "cannot oppose" the resale of previously purchased games on physical or digital formats.
A recent Court of Justice of the European Union ruling has deemed that the sale of second-hand software does not contravene any laws, stating that software authors and publishers "cannot oppose" the resale of previously purchased games on physical or digital formats.
The first issue of Edge’s new, dedicated iPad edition is now available to purchase here.
Journalist and author Jake Adelstein was the first American to be hired as a staff writer for the Yomiuri Shinbun, Japan’s largest newspaper, and spent 12 years with the publication. In his book Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter On The Police Beat In Japan, he tells the story of his time covering organised crime, during which he came face to face with some of Japan’s most notorious yakuza.
Journalist and author Jake Adelstein was the first American to be hired as a staff writer for the Yomiuri Shinbun, Japan’s largest newspaper, and spent 12 years with the publication. In his book Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter On The Police Beat In Japan, he tells the story of his time covering organised crime, during which he came face to face with some of Japan’s most notorious yakuza.
Puzzle fatigue is a condition that will be familiar to anyone who plays firstperson puzzlers. It’s that brief sinking feeling you experience upon entering yet another new chamber – like showing up at the office to do a job you may enjoy but for the umpteenth day in a row, unable to shake the impression that it’s Monday morning and there’s no weekend imminent. Another batch of puzzle elements is shuffled into a fresh brain-stumping configuration; another locked exit door silently declares that you shall not pass.
DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson has criticised the lack of innovation present in many firstperson shooters today, believing that too few studios take the need for technical evolution seriously.
"The FPS is a very hardcore genre, and the hardcore crowd of the FPS is probably bigger than some other genres," he tells us. "And that crowd has extremely high demands on what the games are and how they develop.
DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson has criticised the lack of innovation present in many firstperson shooters today, believing that too few studios take the need for technical evolution seriously.
"The FPS is a very hardcore genre, and the hardcore crowd of the FPS is probably bigger than some other genres," he tells us. "And that crowd has extremely high demands on what the games are and how they develop.
Burnout and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit developer Criterion is advertising for a number of roles at its Guildford studio, including producer, senior visual effects programmer and audio director. Find all Criterion's jobs here.
Rich, lore-filled questlines; a world map freckled with famous names and beloved landmarks; and an IP still basking in the glory of yet another multimillion-selling instalment for Bethesda: it says a lot about the terrifying reality of the contemporary MMOG scene that The Elder Scrolls Online sounds like a risk.
EA Labels president Frank Gibeau has questioned the relevancy of market research group NPD, which publishes sales data and analysis on the game industry, while proposing a future in which the publisher will see most of its revenue come from digital sales.
Master Chief and Cortana opened Microsoft's E3 presentation this year, with the first gameplay footage from 343 Industries' forthcoming Halo 4, and we got to see more behind closed doors. Halo 4, then, adorns the cover of issue 243 and constitutes our lead preview. We speak to development director Frank O' Connor and Microsoft IEB corporate vice president Phil Harrison about the game, and there's also a design showcase in which we take a close look at how 343 is introducing a new visual signature to the series.
A girl is being assembled before us, her suspended head plugged into a column of chrome and white plating as mechanical arms weave and whir around her torso. This is Kara, the eponymous star of a seven-minute-long short film shown at GDC designed to illustrate the new engine and motion-capture tech from Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream.
Sony's acquisition of Gaikai, in a $380 million deal announced this morning, will enable the company to launch a cloud gaming service of its own, promising to bring core and casual games to internet-connected devices everywhere. It's a smart move for a company with business interests in many areas that suit cloud gaming - smart TVs, internet-connected Blu-ray players, smartphones and tablets - but what does it mean for PlayStation 4?
While there could only be one winner and two runners-up in our recent Edge Create Challenge, the diversity and quality displayed across all 50 entries to the competition, which tasked entrants with developing a game using Unity with the theme 'edge', is testament to the intelligence and creativity of the teams involved.
Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that it is to acquire cloud gaming firm Gaikai for $380 million (£243.5m).
The National Film and Television School is an internationally renowned film school that, from this year, began offering a two-year MA in games design and development. Situated in Beaconsfield, 25 minutes from London, the NFTS is increasingly positioning itself as a supporter and driver of the indie dev scene. It’s an interesting alignment that is reflected in the course’s small intake – just eight students per year – and a close relationship with the Unity game engine.
Throughout this week we've been serialising an extended interview with Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, The 3DO Company, and social gaming firm Digital Chocolate.
One of the world’s top ten universities and able to claim 21 Nobel Prize winners among its alumni, University College London has plenty to crow about. Founded in 1826, UCL is London’s oldest university, and offers the decidedly futuristic sounding MRes in virtual environments, imaging and visualisation (VEIV), as well as ten fully funded places on its engineering doctorate.