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Nintendo kills 3D 'Zelda' tribute game on the web
About a half million people were amused by a browser-based Zelda tribute, but Nintendo's lawyers weren't among them. As we predicted, the company told the folks behind Zelda30Tribute to take it down on account of copyright infringement. "I guess [the game] was a little too pixel perfect," say developers Scott Lininger and Mike Magee. Overall, the duo feel that building the 2.5D enhanced demo was worth the legal action, though. "We learned a bunch and wrote some code that others might learn from, too," they say.
'Bayonetta' is now a stupidly difficult 16-bit browser game
Nintendo essentially saved Bayonetta 2 from cancellation, which pleased many Wii U fans given it became one of the best-reviewed games of 2014. However, if you're one of the people that's yet to buy Nintendo's latest home console, you can still get a fresh fix of Platinum Games' shapeshifting witch. The developer just released a free browser game that has you fending off waves of supernatural monsters in a retro 2D shooter. The controls are ridiculously simple -- space to jump, enter to shoot -- but in true Platinum fashion, they're devilishly hard to master, especially when the number of enemies on-screen keeps increasing. Funnily enough, this isn't the first time we've seen the game either; the company once teased a similar-looking title as an April Fools' joke five years ago. This isn't quite as ambitious, but it's still a terrific way to waste five minutes on your lunch break.
Microsoft unleashes 'Settlers of Catan' on the web
Microsoft has something of an extracurricular activity: When it's not releasing Office for iPad or updating Windows, it has a habit of helping other companies build websites. Its latest project is a web version of Settlers of Catan, the popular board game, which it co-developed with Bontom Games. As with previous Microsoft-backed sites, the appeal is that anyone, even Microsoft haters, can use it: The web version will run in any browser that supports HTML5 (in other words, not just IE). That's obviously a different approach from the existing Settlers of Catan apps for Android and iOS, which are of course reserved for people using those platforms.
Eldevin launching on November 30th
Browser-based fantasy title Eldevin announced today that it will be launching globally on November 30th. Those who have supported the game by purchasing a founder's pack may get into the game as early as November 27th, however. The team's been hard at work patching in improvements including auto-attack, new abilities, an improved tutorial, server-wide chat, a revised UI, and additional crafting items. The game's first open-world PvP area will be part of this launch package as well. Eldevin claims to provide a robust AAA-like game experience as a free-to-play title that runs great in a browser.
Fantasy MMO Eldevin enters closed beta
Last month we introduced you to Eldevin, a new browser-based fantasy MMO being developed by Hunted Cow Studios. If you're looking for a story-driven game filled with quests, PvP, and dungeons, all set in a corrupt fantasy world, Eldevin might be the place for you. And now, you can jump in and experience the world as the game moves into the closed beta stage. Developers are also very eager for player feedback. John Stewart, the studio manager of Hunted Cow, stated: "The closed beta test is a very exciting milestone for us in our development of Eldevin, our goal was to create the best browser-based roleplaying game on the market. Our small studio has been working on Eldevin diligently for the best part of 8 years and we're incredibly proud of what we've accomplished. We hope players enjoy the close beta test and we're looking forward to finding out what they think of the game!" The first wave of invitations for beta testing has already been sent out, but more will be sent over the course of the beta. Players wishing to participate should head on over to the official site to apply. [Source: Hunted Cow Studios]
Browser beauty: Hands-on with City of Steam
Browser games aren't supposed to be like this. Browser games are supposed to be Flash-based trifles and social "gaming" money printers. They're supposed to have simple graphics, shallow gameplay and zero narrative. Put simply, browser-based games are supposed to be bad. City of Steam, a free-to-play, browser-based MMO developed by Mechanist Games, isn't content to live in this world of assumed browser-based inferiority. In fact, the game almost feels like a challenge to the industry: If this is what browsers can do, why isn't everyone doing it? City of Steam has the potential to shake the foundation of the MMO world by proving that full, engaging game experiences can be delivered instantly and on-demand, as long as its final execution lives up to its current promise. From what's been revealed so far, Mechanist appears to be on the right track.
GDC presenter talks about $100,000 whales
Have you always wanted to purchase a really expensive in-game whale to be your beloved pet? Then, sadly, this GDC Europe presentation by Reality Squared Games CEO Jared Psigoda probably isn't for you. If you're interested in how Asian game studios manage to attract players willing to spend $100,000 and more on their games, this is just the presentation for you. Psigoda, a former gold farmer, talked about how Chinese browser games and other free-to-play titles increase the cost of virtual goods depending on the level or power of players' characters. This model is dependent on a smooth pricing curve that gets players used to the idea of microtransactions with low-cost items and exchanges and gradually raises the cost in such a way that players don't dig in their heels at a sudden change. Check out GDC's Vault for an in-depth look at squeezing money out of players.
City of Steam offers players barrels of fun before beta
Primitive human beings didn't understand many things. They didn't understand quantum physics or literary theory or fine French cooking. But they did understand one important thing: Somewhere in the world, there were barrels and crates, and smashing those barrels and crates would yield items and riches. It's that primordial instinct that the development team behind City of Steam has tapped into, and with the devs' newest development blog about the joy of smashing barrels, they're inviting you to indulge it. You see, aside from just talking about the game approaching its closed beta testing phase, this particular developer journal contains an old gem from early internal testing: a minigame built specifically to allow the team to test barrel destruction effects. And wouldn't you know that you can now play with that same tool yourself in your browser? Go ahead and read for updates on development, but stay to wipe out a room full of barrels with an exploding barrel.
The Daily Grind: Is Ubisoft cashing in with Silent Hunter and Anno Online?
Last week's Gamescom saw publishing giant Ubisoft dip its toe into the free-to-play browser game market. It did so with a pair of titles based on ancient, beloved franchises. First up was Silent Hunter Online, a riff on the submarine sim that's been playable on your PC since 1996. Ubisoft followed that up with Anno Online, a simplified version of the long-running Anno real-time strategy series that debuted in 1998 (if you've never heard of Anno, you might be an American who played it under the Dawn of Discovery moniker). A cynic might say that Ubisoft is looking to milk the nostalgia factor by taking a couple of complex titles and turning them into accessible MMO-lite affairs. An optimist might say that this is the logical next step if franchises are to remain relevant in the age of casual gaming. What do you think? Is Ubisoft cashing in, or will Silent Hunter Online and Anno Online be worthy of their names? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Massively Exclusive: Gauging the pressure on the City of Steam alpha
City of Steam doesn't look good for a game in alpha; it looks good for a game in beta. And yet you can tell that the game is still in alpha testing if you read through our last tour of the game and compare it with the state of the game players will experience over the weekend. This is a game that's growing by leaps and bounds, making huge strides in development at each turn. And that's all the more impressive when you realize that it's a browser-based title from an independent studio working on what I can only assume is a shoestring budget. If you haven't heard of City of Steam before now, I invite you to take a look at our last tour through the game at the hands of the inimitable Justin Olivetti, who gives an overview of what the game is and how it played during the previous alpha test. But what about now? What's been improved and expanded? I took a brief tour with Mechanist Games' Gabriel Laforge to see the latest client and get a sense of the game for myself.
Original version of Spelunky now playable in your browser
Before it was a frustrating XBLA game, Spelunky was a frustrating freeware PC game. And now it's a quietly, addictively frustrating browser game. Using a new version of the Game Maker software in which Derek Yu coded the original game, developer Darius Kazemi ported Spelunky into HTML5, allowing us to link to a playable version right here.The port isn't perfect – current issues include a lack of dark levels, the removal of any (random) level that starts on the right side, and ... no sound. But on the upside, it's Spelunky in your browser, for free.
Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers resume play on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times (update: HTML5 explained)
The perpetual crisis of casual gaming is that need for just one... more... turn. After all, those 29 levels of progress aren't coming with you to the office, are they? Big Fish Games wants to ease our consciences (or at least our egos) with Big Fish Unlimited. By using HTML5 to constantly save progress, the cloud service remembers exactly where a player was and ports it to the next device: it's possible to hop from a Android tablet, to a Roku box, to a Windows PC's browser without having to replay anything. The nature of the streaming games themselves won't give OnLive players second thoughts, but their lighter footprint won't demand as much from an internet connection, either. Most of the intended audience will appreciate the price -- the now active service costs $8 a month for access to more than 100 games from the full catalog, and free play is on tap for 20 of the games as long as you can endure periodic ads. Whether or not coworkers can endure another round of your hidden object games is another matter. Update: We've since talked to the company directly, and it turns out that the HTML5 is more for the cross-platform support; it's the server that tracks progress whenever you quit a given app.
Shadowrun Online aims for Kickstarter funding
Are you excited about the prospect of being able to play Shadowrun Online? You might want to vote for that with your wallet, as the developers have just put up a Kickstarter project to help fund further development of the title. But if you thought that the title would be setting the bar low for a browser and mobile-based client, think again -- the project is aiming for $500,000 total by August 14th. Like every Kickstarter project, the game offers increasingly visible rewards to those inclined to drop the money, culminating in the $10,000 reward level that puts your face on billboards in the game. Lesser rewards include special backer images, guaranteed beta access, and of course, the gratitude of the project managers. So if you can't wait for the joy of playing a Decker in an online game, jump on over to the project and lay down your cash. [Thanks to Hue for the tip!]
Aeria Games announces its new MMORTS, Dragon Crusade
While years have gone by without many entries into the MMORTS genre, the list of contenders is slowly but steadily expanding. Add Dragon Crusade to the list; it's an upcoming free-to-play browser title just announced by Aeria Games. The game will feature six different races, each with its own strengths and weaknesses as well as a unique racial capital. The core of the game, however, isn't meant to simply be your choice of race; it's building an actual kingdom over multiple cities. Kingdoms are meant to add an important strategic resource to the game. Players are responsible for the defense of their cities, forcing a balance between gaining new ground and protecting what's already there. Players will also be granted a variety of different heroes, mounts, and pets, all of which have special development paths to give player forces a unique flair. There's no word yet on when the game will go into general release, but potential players can register for the upcoming closed beta on the official site. [Source: Aeria Games press release] %Gallery-154144%
Abduct yourself a UFO Online beta key from Massively!
You've seen our first impressions -- does that make you want to get in on UFO Online? For a lot of people, that's not quite possible yet, seeing as how the game is still in closed beta testing. However, as in the past, the team at Massively has you covered. Thanks to the folks over at gamigo, we've got 2,000 keys for the second closed beta test, and we're handing them out to whoever wants one. If you're up for some tactical browser action, go ahead and click the button below, grab a code, then enter it in the appropriate spot on the front page of the official site. After that, you should be golden. Luckily, unlike many other betas, this one doesn't make you worry about a cumbersome client download since the entire game plays in your browser. So grab yourself a key, and please, go gentle with your probing of the game. It's still in testing.
GDC 2012: Bigpoint discusses the Game of Thrones MMO
The Game is coming. It had to be said. And for fans of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, that one little phrase elicits some powerful and mixed emotions: excitement (to actually wander about Westeros) and dread (will it actually be Westeros?). There was even a collective cringe among some Massively staff when the announcement was made that Game of Thrones was becoming an MMORPG. Could such a complex world translate well into the virtual realm? It made the transition to television pretty well in HBO's series, but a free-to-play browser-based MMO is a whole other beast. We're pleased to say that fans of the books and the series can breathe a little easier and even look forward to the upcoming title becuse it's going to be gritty, it's going to be gory, and power will shift like the winds across the Dothraki Sea. Massively was able to sit down with Jorgen Tharaldsen (Producer at Artplant), Alan Dunton (Public Relations Director at Bigpoint), and Rob Ollett (Executive Producer at Bigpoint) to discuss details about what's coming.
'Hexagon' is Terry Cavanagh's latest jam
We hope you weren't planning on getting anything done for the rest of your entire life, because every waking moment of productivity you had in your future will be consumed by Hexagon, a browser-based twitch game by Terry Cavanagh of VVVVVV fame.You control a small triangle that orbits the hexagon in the middle of the screen. Various shapes and line segments fall toward the hexagon, and it's your job to avoid them in a frantic-yet-calculated, reverse Tempest-style gauntlet of adrenaline and frustration. You must last predetermined amounts of time in order to advance to the next level, at which point the game speeds up and the incoming shapes increase in complexity. The whole experience is set to a phenomenal chiptune track courtesy of Chipzel; it feels like we should be playing it in that rollerblade techno club from Hackers.The game was created yesterday morning for Pirate Kart V, a two-day event in which hundreds of programmers around the world attempt and create as many games as humanly possible in the short span of 48 hours. It's a wonderful example of game design in its purest form, and we challenge all of you to beat our best time of 35:23 at Level 4.
Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances headed to browsers, mobile
EA continues the expansion of its "play4free" portfolio with the announcement of Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, developed by Phenomic. The browser- and mobile-based strategy MMO will begin a closed beta on December 15. Interested generals can sign up at the game's official site. The mobile Command and Conquer comes hot on the heels of last weekend's announcement of Command and Conquer: Generals 2, currently in production at BioWare Victory for launch on PC in 2013.%Gallery-141788%
Google's Native Client focuses on apps and games, brings Bastion to the browser (video)
In case you missed it, Google's Native Client launched at the end of the summer, promising to ease cross-OS deployment by letting developers run x86 code natively in Chrome. Early adopters have had a few months to tinker with Google's new trick, and now the outfit is eager to show off their best work. Supergiant Games, for instance, has ported Bastion to the Native Client, opening up the Xbox Live hit to Mac, Linux and Chrome OS users. Google's Christian Stefansen says Native Client makes porting existing code bases written C, C++ or C# easy, citing Spacetime Studio's Star Legends -- an MMO with over half a million lines of code -- as an example of a large project that was ported in as little as two weeks. Google touts application middleware ports (such as Unity, Moai, Mono, fmod and more) and easy distribution to the Chrome Web Store as a major boon to developers, and encourages interested studios to check out its new Native Client site to help them get started. Interested? Hit up the links below, or simply skip past the break to hear Mr. Stefansen's spiel for yourself.
Mini Ninjas playable in Chrome soon
Google's "Native Client" isn't merely a technology used to play Bastion in a browser window. It will also allow you to try ... Square Enix and IO Interactive's 2009 game, Mini Ninjas. The publisher announced that Mini Ninjas for Chrome is going into open beta sometime this month. It's designed to run in the upcoming version 17 of the browser. Square Enix plans to make more games from its "group-wide lineup" playable in Chrome in 2012. Perhaps those will include some more memorable fare.
