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Path of Exile hands-on: The sequel Diablo II deserved
Like many gamers in their mid-20s, I spent countless hours in my teenage years smashing through dungeons and hunting for loot in Diablo II. The deep itemisation system made building effective characters a real challenge, and periodic ladder resets kept the loot-hunting economy fresh. Fast-forward 10 years and the highly anticipated sequel Diablo III was released to some serious complaints. The servers were unstable for weeks at launch, the always-online DRM caused a stir, and the endgame item grind was severely underwhelming. Indie developer Grinding Gear Games aims to beat Blizzard at its own game with its new free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile. The game boasts a dark art style and an unprecedented level of character customisation that lets players build truly unique characters. Each skill is itemised as a gem that can be slotted into your gear and augmented with dozens of different support gems. The sprawling passive skill system is better described as a "skill octopus," with millions of different ways to build a character. I've spent the past few weeks smashing up monsters in the Path of Exile open beta and absolutely loving it. Read on to find out why I can honestly say that Path of Exile is the sequel Diablo II deserved.
Drama Mamas: Witch hunt
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Mobs and justice don't tend to mix. Drama Mamas, I joined a new guild, and everything was great. People were happy and talkative, they were doing things together, and the guild leader had made it clear people could approach him if they had a problem with his leadership and he would step down if they thought someone would be better. This lasted all of about 2 days after I joined. I came home and was immediately pulled into a conversation where I was told the leader was sexually harassing female members, sending them creepy messages and making them feel unsafe. This was serious, and the first thing I asked was did anyone bring this to him. I got a vague 'he was told' and no more information, so I accepted what they were telling me. They initiated a public vote on the forums to have him removed from the guild, after telling everyone unaware about it (before giving them a chance to hear the leader's side) and expected us to vote based on that.
Harwell Dekatron revived as the world's oldest working, original digital computer
Over 60 years since the first digital computers switched on, the chances of seeing one of these pioneers in action have grown incredibly slim as time (and recycling) takes its toll. Take a visit to Britain's National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park as of today, however, and you'll see one working. A finished 3-year restoration effort lets the Harwell Dekatron -- at one point renamed the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computation from Harwell, or WITCH -- claim the title of the world's oldest functional digital computer still using its original design. Aside from its room-filling dimensions, the 1951-era mainframe may be worth the trip just for recalling a time when there were no hard and fast rules in computing: the Dekatron operates in its namesake decimal system, not binary, and puts most of its components on full display. The computer is part of the regular exhibit lineup and should be easy to see; the daunting part may be realizing that virtually any chip in a 2012 smartphone could outmuscle the Dekatron without breaking a sweat.
Meet Heckerty, well-known British children's story, makes its way to the iPad
Meet Heckerty is a delightful British children's story starring Heckerty, a "zany, 409-year-old, upside-down-on-her-broomstick, green-faced witch," and her sidekick cat Zanzibar. The traditional story has made its way to the iPad with a wonderful adaptation that takes advantage of the interactivity offered by Apple's tablet device. Children can choose to read the book themselves or have the voice of Jan Ziff read the story to them. Each page is filled with at least one tappable element that'll jump, move or make a noise when your child touches it. The storytelling is outstanding and the story is the perfect length for the younger set who can only sit still for a short period of time. My children loved the iPad storybook, and there's little doubt that Meet Heckerty sets a high standard for other children's books to follow. We got a chance to speak to Jan Ziff and Allan Davidson, the husband and wife team that brought the Heckerty series to the iPad. We asked them about their experience in adapting the popular children's story to the iPad and their future plans for the series. You can read the interview below. You can also find out more about Heckerty on her website. The Meet Heckerty app is available from iTunes for 99-cents. At that price, it's a must-have for parents with young children. Q: One the first things I noticed about the book is its excellent storytelling. Can you tell me a little bit more about the Heckerty story and the storyteller behind the app? A: The Heckerty stories do have a "secret sauce" - it's the great British oral storytelling tradition that goes all the way back to The Canterbury Tales through Alice in Wonderland to Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh, and recently to Harry Potter. Ann Rachlin created the Heckerty stories and refined them for many years in her renowned Fun With Music classes in London. Jan really was the original Fun With Music student, along with her two siblings, and often served as a test audience for ideas that were later integrated into Fun With Music, and became part of Ann's many records and books for 2-9 year-olds. That's where Jan learned to combine words with the rhythms of music, which you may not always hear but is definitely part of the what creates Heckerty's magic. And Ann's wonderful storytelling skills made all the difference as we developed and recorded the stories for this series. But to your question - it was in late in 2010 that Ann asked us whether we thought Heckerty could be brought to life on an iPad or iPhone. We loved the idea, did some research, thought about it and decided to do it. It's been a fascinating ride with all kinds of unexpected turns and plot twists but Heckerty's now out the door and everybody that's seen the app so far has loved it, something we've all found tremendously rewarding! Q: Did you use iBooks Author to develop the book? If so, can you summarize your experience with the tool? If not, how did you bring the book from printed pages to digital format? A: No, we didn't use iBooks Author for several reasons - first, it wasn't available when we launched, second, even though iOS was the dominant and most creative platform, it was clear that there would be other competing operating systems and that we'd need to serve them. That's how we ended up using Flash for this project. And Flash turned out to have been a great decision - it let us go straight from the original text and Ann's storytelling to the "living" graphics and child-friendly form factor that distinguish the iPhone and iPad and other mobile devices. We could really bring out the rich interactivity and audio that these devices are so perfectly suited to. From a production and technical perspective, we had to shorten and tweak them so that they'd work well, then let Colin and Dave, our extraordinary programmer and animator team do their magic with the images, design and the audio we had developed -- the collaboration turned into Meet Heckerty and additional stories that are already in production. Q: As someone who now has experience with both traditional and digital media, what do you think of the iPad? Will it replace or complement printed books? A: We think the iPad is arguably the most exciting development in the history of personal computing. From its form factor, the screen resolution and the superb audio in the latest version, the iPad is changing the way stories can be told and the way they are told. Will the iPad and similar devices completely replace the printed book? We don't think so but it will continue to rapidly take over many of the functions that many print products like books, magazines and newspapers have traditionally provided. And the reason is simple, we think - where the iPad offers a substantially better experience, people will naturally gravitate to it, and over time, the capabilities of the iPad will both grow rapidly and the cost will drop dramatically. There will always be people who want a book, who enjoy the smell and the heft of a book, and love to see rows of spines on shelves. And then there are the voracious readers who could never take 12 printed books on vacation with them, but who can easily take an iPad - each sees different benefits in the book experience, each for different reasons. We also believe that the iPad is changing the way stories are told. And that rather than replacing or even complimenting printed books, the iPad and similar devices will have material written and produced for them, bringing the best of the story and leveraging the strength of the device to better tell that story .... that's what we've tried to do with Heckerty. Q: What was your biggest challenge in producing the iPad version of the Heckerty story? Did you have to modify the storyline (make it longer or shorter, for example) to accommodate the digital reading experience? A: We shortened and tightened the story to suit the iPad and how kids use the devices - the most pleasant surprise was how well-suited the Heckerty stories turned out to be for the iPad and iPhone - the biggest challenge on from a story perspective was letting the story's strengths come through and let the iPad make each one a unique experience. Q: Do you have plans to bring additional titles to the iPad? A: Absolutely!! Several stories are already in production - the next one to appear will be "Heckerty Cook" (that's the working title). Let's say that Heckerty's cooking skills and menus leave a lot to be desired ... and her cousins decide to fix the problem. Until you see the story, we'll leave the ingredients of the story to your imagination, but we can tell you that we still break down laughing every time we come to some of the scenes as we work on them! Hopefully, you and your audience will have time to talk about Heckerty again once Heckerty Cook ships!
Witch window manager on sale for 48 hours
The folks over at Many Tricks have put Witch on sale for US$10 (normally $19) until 7 AM Pacific Time on Friday, January 28. It's been awhile since we talked about Witch on TUAW, but it's a perennial favorite utility to switch between windows. Witch shows you not just which applications are running, but it also shows you all of the different windows that are running in those applications. For example, right now I have three different windows open in BBEdit; if I use Cmd+Tab switching to move between applications, I can switch to Safari and then back to BBEdit, but Witch doesn't just let me switch to BBEdit, it allows me to specify that "I want to switch from Safari to the BBEdit window that has the article I'm writing about Witch." If you haven't seen it in action, you can download a free trial from the Many Tricks website, which also has some screenshots available. Witch is available for purchase either through the website or through the Mac App Store.
Dungeon Fighter Online readies a new awakening
What's better than a free-to-play side-scrolling beat 'em up MMO from Nexon? A free-to-play side-scrolling beat 'em up from Nexon that makes us forget about the dreadful Nic Cage vehicle Season of the Witch, currently burning itself at the stake in a few remaining multiplexes. Nexon's season of the Witch, on the other hand, is the latest class "awakening" for Dungeon Fighter Online, and it's coming to your PC on January 26th in the form of the Act VII: Witching Hour update. As you've no doubt surmised by now, the content patch brings a new Witch subclass to the table, a Mage derivative who specializes in alchemy and "makes battle decisions based on probability," according to a Nexon press release. The new patch also features a high-level Hellkarium weapon quest as well as a new dungeon called the Screaming Cavern. The Cavern is home to Giant Nugol, a massive worm that guards the level 54 instance as if her life depended on it. Check out the brief teaser video after the break, then head to the official website for more info.
Pets *ding* in Wizard101
A wizened sage once asked, "How much is that doggie in the window?" Perhaps he was contemplating the tangible cost of loyalty and companionship. Perhaps he was attempting to ascribe value to an animal's existence. What he missed was just how awesome pig ninjas can be when unleashed in a wizardly world. Wizard101 just released their May 2010 patch, which revolves around an incredibly beefy and interactive advanced pet system. While pets have been in the game since launch, it's with this patch that they've been given a life outside of pure vanity. Pets can now roam around player housing, engage in mini-games, be bred to perfection, and even cast a handful of spells in a fight. It is possibly one of the deeper pet systems in MMORPGs to date, and worthy of any young (at heart) wizard's or witch's attention. This Wizard101 patch also includes a host of other updates, ranging from badges to characters, housing, spells and more. If you're into this colorful title, make sure to take a few minutes to digest the whole list of notes, which can be found here.
Bayonetta's first dev diary explains protagonist's origins
Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya and Yusuke Hashimoto may not be taking the story super seriously in upcoming third-person action game Bayonetta, but that doesn't mean no effort was exerted in creating the title character's backstory. As it turns out, she came from the future to kill someone's mother so that ... okay, yeah, we're just making that up. Everyone knows that you couldn't bring back all those fancy guns through time! Duh! It's really that her family was attacked when she was a baby and even though the attacker came after her, she lived and ... alright, it's not that either. Rather than trust ourselves to relay it, we'll just let the developers explain Bayonetta themselves in the video after the break. %Gallery-22955%
Kill Southern zombies with four new characters in Left 4 Dead 2
The Left 4 Dead 2 announcement at the Microsoft press conference gobsmacked us this morning (didn't they just release Left 4 Dead like last November? What is this, Madden?), but apparently the sneaky folks at Rock Paper Shotgun weren't surprised: they've already seen the game in action. We're hoping to see it this week ourselves, but until then, here's a few juicy zombie tidbits to hold you over: the game takes place in the Southern United States, and the five campaigns will take you on a Southern odyssey from Savannah to New Orleans. There are four new characters also: a rough high school coach who's used to taking charge, a female cable news reporter, a rustic Southern mechanic type, and a Sawyer-style con man. The characters keep the snappy dialogue, and the campaigns will tell an overarching story as you move through them.
A Witch's Tale casts a spell on us
NIS America's workload for the rest of 2008 is greater than we initially thought. Not only are there localizations of Disgaea and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure to take care of, but the company is developing an entirely new ARPG, A Witch's Tale.Due in October, the game tells the story of a tribe of witches who lived beneath the world's surface, practicing rune magic. One day, they set out to invade the surface world, but are stopped by a mysterious figure by the name of Alice, who seals the witches underground again with their own magic. The trailer above is the only media of the title released thus far, and features no gameplay sections (though Siliconera reveals that players must draw runes on the touchscreen to attack enemies), but we like what we're seeing so far: there's a fairly charming gothic fairytale vibe to proceedings.
Doki Doki Majo Shinpan Duo forgoes nipples
Since Doki Doki Majo Shinpan Duo is risqué in its essence, we're not surprised that the boxart would also be rather ... bold. The blue bar that wraps its way around the cover lets perusers of the box see through the girls' clothes, hence the assaulted looks on their faces.The girl on the left used quick reflexes to cover herself up, while the girl on the right only had a sliver of indecency exposed. The girl in the middle, though? Not so lucky -- not even because her breasts were displayed for gaming consumers to see, but because she has no nipples. Maybe she's related to the guys in Duel Love? Or, maybe that's how you go about proving she's a witch.In all seriousness, we don't expect SNK to put nipples on the front of the box. Maybe they should have gone with a different design, though, so that the girls wouldn't look like ... well, freaks. Still, we know most guys aren't too picky when it comes to this kind of thing, and will enjoy the opportunity to stylus-poke the ladies of the game nonetheless. Oh, and the little pointing hand in the bottom right says "touch," lest your forget your task.
Witch 2.0 goes shareware
Peter Maurer has announced the release of Witch 2.0, an update to the handy pop-up window switcher from Many Tricks. Witch lets you to use the keyboard to bring up a bezel listing of the titles of all open windows, and allows you to switch between, "zoom, minimize/deminimize and close windows on the fly."From a user point of view there doesn't seem to be all that much new in Witch (which we covered previously), but behind the scenes the architecture has apparently been radically overhauled to future-proof the application. One notable addition is keyboard shortcuts for jumping directly to a window. They had also intended to add Spaces support but were unable to do so. The other significant change is the move from donationware to shareware status, though anyone who had previously donated for Witch will receive a license.Witch 2.0 is €9.95 and a demo is available.
Doki Doki Website Shinpan Duo
The website for Doki Doki Majo Shinpan Duo is open, and it really reflects the first game's success. While the website for the original game had an intentionally low-budget look (which had the nice bonus of being low-budget), this one has navigational graphics and everything.In addition to screens (which we've seen before) you can read (Japanese or machine-translated) character bios, and listen to short audio messages from each character. There's also downloadable character art, if ... you need a fairly high-resolution image of a Doki Doki Majo Shinpan Duo character. You can browse all the screens and portraits in our handy gallery.Two unused buttons remain in the navigation, so we look forward to uncomfortably salacious surprises in the near future![Via Famitsu]
Doki Doki Majo Shinpan manga is just like you'd imagine
Good to see that the official Doki Doki Majo Shinpan manga, which has been collected into trade paperback form, stays true to the series' hallmarks. It is in fact a manga about a guy compelled by an angel-thing to go poke girls until they reveal themselves as witches. It's significantly more unsettling in the manga, because, while it lacks the agency of the games (you're watching girls get poked instead of taking part), the ways in which these poor girls get messed with falls outside of the limitations of the game. One girl is stuck in a gigantic spider web, for example, and another has her Neo Geo Pocket knocked out of her hands by her own breasts when Lulu the "angel" begins harrassing her.The poor Neo Geo Pocket. [Via Kotaku]
Play Wii games with a PS2 controller, consort with witches
GameCube adapters for PS2 controllers are nothing new, but this $13.70 one from UGame seems targeted to the Wii and, most importantly, has some wacky boxart. You should be well aware by now of our weak resistance to goofy packaging. They pull at us, whispering cryptic messages into our ears, like dead children trying to give us clues about their murderers.There are so many odd things going on in this UGame cover: The redhead witch in the flimsy blue dress is holding a golden Wii remote with an attached wand. Could it be some sort of Brando accessory that we haven't heard about yet? The schoolboy chasing the woman looks too happy for his own good. Perhaps class just let out? Or maybe the leggy sorceress hypnotized the salivating fool, leading him to what will surely be his grisly death. Above them, another young witch flies over the scene, straddling a torn PS2 controller cord fashioned into a broom. For reasons never mentioned, she is dressed as PaRappa. Past the post break, we've got a larger image of the box, a photo of the actual product, and Clarissa Sabrina, the teenage witch. Wiggle your nose and head over there.
Doki Doki Majo Shinpan artwork rips
For those who place little value in the chase, that exhilarating, flirtatious period when nothing is guaranteed, actually playing through Doki Doki Majo Shinpan is secondary to groping its adolescent witches. Rather than have you labor through the text-heavy release's dialogue and plot setup, Stage Clear has posted artwork wrested from the Japanese game, enabling you to skip the journey and get right to your depraved destination. While none of the shots are scandalous enough to land you a ten-year stay in a federal prison, we wouldn't say that they're safe for work viewing either. The wiccan nymphets are depicted in poses that would leave Humbert Humbert dizzy with delight ("the king crying for joy, the trumpets blaring, the nurse drunk"), their faces reacting to the taps and strokes of an unseen stylus. Scurry shamefully past the post break for a couple of those images.
Buffering ... Buffering ... Majo Shinpan
If you've been following Doki Doki Majo Shinpan with the same level of interest as we somehow have developed, then you probably saw our first video footage of the game, taken from a store demo. But that was in a noisy store, shot with a handheld camera, and not really the ideal presentation for game video.Well, this is significantly more ideal. It's a Windows Media stream of that same video, in much better quality. The only problem-- like we said, it's a Windows Media stream. Expect to wait a bit.[Link goes to a streaming .WMV video.][Via Dengeki]
Let your fingers do the witch-touching
Who would have guessed that our little witch-hunting game, Doki Doki Majo Shinpan, would explode like this? Now it's a ridiculously blatant preorder bonus offered at selected retailers. What goes perfectly with adventure games about witches? That's right: phone cards. It was so obvious that we're surprised we didn't think of it ourselves.We're starting to wonder if the witches are even bad witches -- they look kinda sweet (and top heavy) to us. Maybe the hero is hunting them to see who he should take to the beach. Got a "witch crest?" Great, grab your bikini and get in the van!
Doki Majo ads to make shoppers uncomfortable in public
We can't resist posting this gallery of advertisements for our favorite witch-groping game, Doki Doki Majo Shinpan. Like pretty much everything else about the game, these ads show a brazen sexuality that we aren't used to. Sure, American ads have plenty of scantily-dressed women, but they don't have Shift-JIS mascots pointing at those womens' chests and exclaiming "Breasts! Breasts!" We aren't going to turn this into a debate about decency. We just want to enjoy this game and these ads, which display the website's "Are you a bad person?" entry question, on the level of pure hilarity. This game doesn't make us want to discuss society's issues. It makes us want to giggle.
English-speaking gamers can hunt witches, too
At least, we hope that the new English version of the Doki Doki Majo Shinpan site means we might see it in this part of the world sometime in the distant future. Though the site still only lists a Japanese date, there are at least two translated versions -- Chinese and this rough new English site -- so we'll keep our eyes peeled for any signs of a non-Japanese release. [Thanks, Ricardo!]%Gallery-3277%
