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Report: Cutscene from Halo: Master Chief Collection leaks
A cutscene from Halo: The Master Chief Collection reportedly leaked during a Twitch stream of the game. The video briefly shows a loading screen that lists The Heretic level from Halo 2 before showing Agent Locke talking to Arbiter about hunting down Master Chief. Some viewers believe the scene may bridge the original Halo trilogy with the coming Xbox One exclusive, Halo 5: Guardians, as Locke has a role in the next game in the series. Head past the break to check the video out for yourself, but act fast, as these types of leaked videos tend to disappear quickly. Halo: The Master Chief Collection will launch on November 11 for Xbox One. [Image: Microsoft]
The Digital Continuum: Lost in worlds divided
In the many MMOs I've played, the ratio between games that got world design right and those that got it wrong is surprisingly skewed towards the latter. Nothing kills the thrill of discovering a new online world faster than feeling like you're being kicked around seemingly unconnected environments without possessing any real understanding or control. This week's The Digital Continuum is aimed at discussing practical ways to address this problem. Obviously this is -- as per usual -- my personal opinion taken mostly from my brain and the experience gathering within it.
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ drama continues as 7 Studios countersues
The tangled web of developers, publishers and the various lawsuits between them, has just gotten that much more complex as 7 Studios countersues Scratch: The Ultimate DJ publishers Genius Products. According to court documents obtained by The Cut Scene blog, 7 Studios is asking for $1 million in damages, allegedly attributed to a variety of "unlawful and unsavory business practices." Among them, 7 Studios alleges Genius Products repeatedly delayed production of the game, didn't deliver various assets on time (music, that is), considered creating a Nintendo Wii version of the game (then subsequently canceled it), and when things didn't work out, tried to cut and run. In so many words, 7 Studios is accusing Genius of asking them to create a game without adequate support and then, when the game was nearly finished, trying to shop it out to other publishers. We've reached out to all parties involved (repeatedly) and, like the Cut Scene blog, heard nothing back. We'll update this post accordingly if we hear anything, but at this point, we're suggesting that you don't hold your breath. [Image]
Former EGMer Dan Hsu launches new video show, Cut Scene
Though he wasn't ousted by the 1UPocolypse, we're always happy to see a former EGM-er land on his feet. That's the good news we got today when Game Cinema HD revealed their new show, "Cut Scene," starring real-life sweethearts Raychul Moore and former EGM editor-in-chief Dan Hsu.We're a little cautious of the show's proposed formula, which seems to be a blend of video game talk and inter-couple strife, but we'll hold out judgment until the first episode of the show (which is specifically designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch) appears.
Top 5: Worst. Cutscenes. Ever.
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Top_5_Worst_Cutscenes_Ever'; According to Activision (and after all, they made Pitfall!), video games will "eclipse" all other forms of media. Head honcho Mike Griffith went on to say that "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors." I'm not sure how much I agree with that statement. Strictly in terms of cash flow, it's already happening. Gaming is a fairly pricey hobby, and it's been outpacing the other forms of media for several years (in terms of growth). Yet I have a difficult time imagining a time where video games are everyone's preferred form of escapism. Although their respective industries may see drastic changes with direct, indirect, or unrelated connections to gaming, music and film will always have a place. As much as I love gaming, it's not rare that I find myself preferring to zone out with TV or just listen to music and read instead of playing a video game. What I do see is a further merging of the three into ubiquitous, all-purpose media devices. Microsoft and Sony currently do this, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo catches up. While most households currently don't rely on gaming consoles as their sole provider of film / TV and music, I imagine that this will change. Perhaps the mediums will start to bleed into one another. With Metal Gear Solid blurring the lines between game and film and Audiosurf doing the same for games and music, perhaps media will merge and propagate a completely new and unique form of entertainment. Interesting stuff. What was this Top 5 about, again? Oh, right: cut scenes. A lot of them stink. Here's the 5 worst ones. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
The anatomy of a cut scene
When you watch a cut scene (assuming you didn't skip it, when possible), do you ever think about what goes into making that cinematic? Why did they choose this angle, and this part of the storyline? In games like Guild Wars, the cut scenes are game-engine-based, so your characters are standing there engaged in deep, dramatic story-driven dialogue with an important NPC, all the while a Jagged Horror decides he wants to stand directly on top of the camera. Ravious over at Kill Ten Rats discusses the issue we sometimes can have with the different types of cut scenes out there. For example, in Lord of the Rings Online, there are the ones where you can't do anything, and you're forced to sit and listen to the big bad boss talk about how he could have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids. Then there's the type where you can, as Ravious puts it, "hop over Samwell(wise) Gamgee's hobbit head to your heart's content while Elrond bids the Fellowship farewell."So what's your favorite kind of cut scene? Do you feel they need to be giant cinematic productions, or do the brief game-engine scenes do well enough?
Ask Cryptic explains how Star Trek Online will handle canon
The latest Ask Cryptic focusing on Star Trek Online addresses a number of questions sci-fi fans have about where the IP is heading in the MMO space. Not surprisingly, many of the questions asked of Cryptic deal with how well they'll adhere to Star Trek canon. The Cryptic Studios devs were asked about how they would handle the iconic story and characters of Star Trek, namely with voiceovers and cut scenes. The devs state that Star Trek Online avoids issues of tampering with Trekkie canon by setting the game in 2409, a good 30 years after Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager. So while some of the locales familiar to Star Trek fans will be present in the game, players shouldn't expect to bump into any (or many) familiar faces.
Fable 2 won't have heads-up display, pre-rendered cut scenes
Heads-up displays? Pre-rendered cut scenes? Those are so 2004. Realistic visual indicators of your character's status and interactive cut scenes are all the rage in the salons, and most trendy developers have included one of these features into their recent blockbuster titles. Lionhead Studios, however, have elected to include both in their upcoming canine-friendly adventure, Fable 2. They're like the Isaac Mizrahi of video game development.This report comes from OXM, who recently got a chance to play a content-complete version of the much-anticipated title. According to them, Lionhead has eschewed the inclusion of the standard action-RPG health and mana/magic/energy bars in favor of a screen uncluttered. They also claim that "non-interactive cinematics take up less than five minutes" of Fable 2, making us wonder if Peter Molyneux is actually the Bizarro World version of Hideo Kojima.
