cyberpunk
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Hack into a world of cyberpunk horror next month in 'Observer'
If you think things are unendurably awful in the world today, maybe don't play Observer when it hits PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux on August 15th. Observer follows one of the darkest paths at humanity's feet, imagining a 2084 where corporations are the highest authority and much of society lives in Blade Runner-esque squalor. In Poland, Detective Dan Lasarski is tasked with hacking into the minds of murderers and degenerates, witnessing their crimes in twisted detail, first-hand.
The cyberpunk revolution begins with video games
Hey, game developers: William Gibson called. He wants his dystopian sci-fi future back. The annual Game Developers Conference showcases the latest projects from studios around the world, offering a first-hand look at the themes and trends driving the industry forward. And this year, it's all about cyberpunk. Walking among the flashy, flickering and noisy booths of the GDC show floor and its surrounding events, the pattern becomes clear -- a significant portion of these games have a strong sci-fi vibe, many of them dealing with the idea of futuristic corporate overreach and gritty technological espionage.
The soccer madness of 'Rocket League' goes cyberpunk June 20th
Earlier this week, the team at Psyonix teased that we'd have even more details about Rocket League's huge upcoming June patch and now those are here. On June 20th, fans will be able to knock oversized soccer balls into equally oversized nets against the new, neon-drenched and cyberpunky "Neo Tokyo" arena. It's a free download for everyone, but if you want to add the map's pair of anime-inspired cars to your collection you'll have to pony up $1.99 for each in July. Conversely, you could pick up the game's physical edition starting June 24th (that's soon!) which includes early access to those and two others.
The curious case of 'Quadrilateral Cowboy'
Game developer Brendon Chung is an easygoing guy when it comes to the creative process. He doesn't make elaborate plans regarding the scope of his projects; instead he goes wherever the flow takes him. It's been working out for him: His completed games -- namely, Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving -- are quirky experiences heralded for their punchy, emotive narratives, and they each took about six months to complete. Chung assumed his latest game, Quadrilateral Cowboy, would take roughly the same amount of time. That was in 2012. "This game has been six months away from completion for about three years now," Chung says.
Oculus wants to help VR avatars look normal when they talk
Remember all those Hong Kong kung-fu movies with really poor dubbing so the actors' mouths would keep flapping after the words had stopped? That was charming. What's less charming is the possibility of stone-faced avatars poorly mouthing dialogue, detracting ever so slightly from the immersive power of virtual reality worlds. That's why we're all slightly excited that Oculus released a beta Unity plugin called OVRLipSync.
Cyberpunk noir game 'Read Only Memories' heads to PS4 and Vita
Read Only Memories, a pixelated adventure game set in the futuristic city of Neo-San Fransisco, will make its way to PlayStation 4 and Vita "soon," developer Midboss announced in a new trailer. Midboss is composed of the folks behind the annual GaymerX convention, and Read Only Memories is a narrative-driven, sci-fi romp set in 2064 that happens to include an array of inclusive character options, such as the ability to choose your preferred gender pronoun. However, these options are almost a side-note to the game's emphasis on story, retro 2D gameplay and robust character interactions.
Cyberpunk PC classic 'System Shock' is getting a proper remake
While System Shock might have only just received a facelift when it launched on GOG.com earlier this year, an entire remake of the legendary PC game is now in the works — and perhaps even System Shock 3. And if you've never heard of System Shock? You should have: both the creators of BioShock and Deus Ex were involved in the game, which is a 1994 classic in its own right. Night Dive, the same company that was tasked with this year's digital renovation, will handle the remake. It's picked up full rights to the franchise.
The beautiful cyberpunk game that turned two brothers into developers
Tim and Adrien Soret, brothers from Paris, were quietly developing a Studio Ghibli-inspired dark fantasy game when the Cyberpunk Jam digitally rolled into town in early 2014. They took a break from their existing development schedule to build a completely new experience, a pixelated, neon-infused, sci-fi homage to some of their favorite childhood titles -- Another World, Flashback and Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. They were new to game development and unknown on the indie scene, but in six days they coded, animated and designed their entry, The Last Night, and then threw it online for voting. They didn't expect much. "When we discovered that we won out of 265 games, we were totally stunned," older brother Tim Soret says.
Otherland plans a second closed beta test for February
After hints and rumors, the Otherland dev team is finally prepared to confirm that a second closed beta test is indeed on the way -- and it will be happening next month. "Otherland is starting into the second CBT in February. We don't have an exact date yet and it can be delayed, but we don't want to tease you anymore. We polished a lot of stuff and put a lot of effort in it to provide you with more content, more quests and new features," the team said on the forums. The next closed beta test will include crafting, the auction house, storage, and vendors. Those who didn't get in the first time around can take heart in knowing the team will be handing out more beta keys than the last round.
Cyberpunk bartending for racist corgis, Waifu in VA-11 HALL-A
VA-11 HALL-A is like Papers, Please, but with alcohol instead of immigration papers. Developers at Sukeban Games lovingly call VA-11 HALL-A a "booze-em-up" game. It's set in a post-dystopian, corporate-controlled society where every citizen is infected with nanobots designed to oppress, and law enforcement agents called White Knights trawl the streets, ensuring no one breaks the law. And of course there are racist corgis with translation devices. As a bartender in a small downtown joint called VA-11 HALL-A – or just "Valhalla" to regulars – players meet and talk to a wide range of people, hearing stories of this brave new world and helping customers through their issues. "While the player can perform different actions besides bartending – changing the tunes in the jukebox on past versions of the game is a good example – the bartending will be the only way the player has to interact with the character," Programmer Fernando Damas tells Joystiq. "This is mainly because that format offers a more seamless experience between gameplay and story. It also offers a more complex yet easy-to-understand approach to the choices menu and dialogue trees these kind of games have."
The Otherland MMO has returned from the dead
It appears that the Tad Williams-inspired cyberpunk Otherland MMO has a new lease on life. The first version of Otherland was still in production back in March 2013, when developer RealU laid off most of its staff and work on the title ground to a halt. Now it seems Drago-Entertainment, a Polish outfit, has taken over the project and its assets, having launched a new website and Facebook page earlier in October with the declaration, "Otherland the MMO is back!" Drago-Entertainment was last in MMO news in April 2013 when it, perhaps not coincidentally, canceled its Kickstarter for a Grimlands MMO in favor of working with other investors. Both games were set to be published by Gamigo at the time. According to posts on the forums, Otherland's closed beta has not yet begun, though a registration link is prominently displayed on the website. [Many thanks to tipster Joe.]
VR puzzler Darknet teaches players technomancy
E McNeill's Darknet was the winner in the open call category of the 2013 Oculus Indiecade VR Jam. It's a strategy-puzzle game designed for Oculus Rift where players explore a virtual reality computer network and use viruses, worms, exploits and other hacker tools to capture sensitive data from what may or may not be a shady megacorporation. It's practically the definition of cyberpunk, sharing much in common with one of the genre's defining novels, Neuromancer. However, McNeill told Joystiq at PAX Prime that he doesn't particularly like Neuromancer, nor many other cyberpunk tales. "I like the idea of cyberpunk," McNeill said, expressing his feeling that many of the genre's stories – especially those featuring hacking – tend to feel empty and without substance. McNeill proposed The Matrix as an example: "In The Matrix, [the character Cypher] says, 'All I see is blonde, brunette, redhead.' But the falling symbols don't mean anything. They're just backwards kana letters." McNeill said that Darknet is a game aimed at maintaining the sense of mystery that The Matrix's iconic green rain of characters creates, but simultaneously providing an experience where what the player sees and does "actually means something."
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding February 9 - 22, 2014
In the world of MMOs, no news is not necessarily good news -- especially when it comes to crowdfunding. Silence often denotes a lack of progress on a game, and that can certainly make investors nervous. Thankfully, many games provide players with updates that we, in turn, provide for you here. If no news is bad, then news is good, right? Unfortunately, this doesn't hold true. In the case of Star Rider and Hot Rod Hustle, the news is that neither met its funding goals. So we say farewell to these two games from Make My MMO. And Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's campaign was chock-full of news, but in the end, its Kickstarter didn't succeed either; Pantheon, however, is continuing the fundraising effort on its official site. At least some news is good! War of Omens also leaves this round up, but for different reasons: Players can hop in and play the game! Likewise, HEX: Shards of Fate and StarCraft Universe move on now that both have moved into testing. Another sandbox, Terrayn, also joins the Kickstarter ranks. To hear other good news, keep reading.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding January 26 - February 8, 2014
The crowdfunding train just keeps rolling right along, with passengers always coming and going. New passengers hop aboard while others hop off at their desired destination. Sadly, some have to disembark early -- such is the case with Universe Rush and Antilia. Although the Kickstarter campaign fell far short of its goal, Antilia does plan to continue development on its own. On the brighter side of things, some passengers reached their stop; Tales From The Strange Universe reached its goal, and both it and Novus AEterno (which brought in over 3.5 times its initial goal) will now take their places in the funded category. The Repopulation, earning over 175K during this latest Kickstarter run, disembarks at Betawatch station thanks to its ongoing alpha testing. Catch up on all the news for all these titles as they journey through crowdfunding here in Make My MMO.
Cyberpunk 2077 is a 'true RPG,' not multiplayer shooter
Those of you worried that upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077 will stray from its hardcore RPG roots, worry no more - CD Projekt's Marcin Iwinski recently told IGN that the game is a "true RPG," and that fans shouldn't be worried about it turning into a shooter (which has happened before). "People have been asking me if Cyberpunk 2077 will have multiplayer or if it will be a straight-up shooter, and I tell them to relax, because it will be a true RPG game," Iwinski said. "It is an all-out RPG game, but we're looking at having a lot of new gameplay elements that I cannot talk about yet. One thing I can say for sure is that it is definitely not a multiplayer shooter." That's not an outright denial of multiplayer mind you, and it wasn't long ago that CD Projekt Managing Director Adam Badowski confirmed that the game will have some sort of "multiplayer features." We might just have to wait until "way off in 2015" to find out more.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding January 12 - 25, 2014
After a sleepy holiday season, the crowdfunding crowd has woken up and gotten down to business. And amidst that new bustle of activity, Make My MMO's ranks are altering a bit. Two games leave our listing, but each for different reasons; the cross-platform space sim Space Unfolding folded after missing its goal, and Face of Mankind moved along to Betawatch to join the ranks of the games in testing. And now that War of Omens' campaign has wrapped up, it moves into the fully funded category. Some campaigns have really kicked into high gear. Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen joined the crowdfunding race and has delivered a slew of nearly daily news. Novus AEterno has nearly tripled its goal and is closing in on yet another stretch goal these final days of its campaign, while The Repopulation has also blown away its initial goal and is aiming for its eigth stretch goal (not to mention revealed plenty of juicy new bits). A smaller title, Tales From The Strange Universe, is more than halfway to its modest goal with a week left. And newcomer Star Rider also jumps on the Kickstarter bandwagon. Unfortunately, others aren't faring as well. Things aren't looking promising for Antilia or Universe Rush, whose campaigns end soon and are still over $85K and $98K short of their respective goals. Want more details on these stories or an update on all the already-funded projects? We've got the round-up right here.
Jazzpunk spoofs cyberpunk in live-action trailer
As an adventure game rife with pop cultural spoofs and slapstick comedy, it makes a certain kind of sense that the latest Jazzpunk trailer would be an extended riff on the 1995 Keanu Reeves "classic" Johnny Mnemonic. In development at Necrophone Games, Jazzpunk is described as "a comedy adventure set in an alternate reality Cold War World, plagued with corporate espionage, CyberCrime, and sentient martinis." Its developers claim that the game is largely based on the spoof comedy films of yesteryear and features open-world exploration. There's no mention of the trailer's ill-fated pocket pigeon, but we're sure that will all be explained when the game makes its February 7 Steam debut. For more details visit the newly-launched Jazzpunk Steam site. It's worth a look for the "Key Features" list alone.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 29, 2013 - January 11, 2014
Was 2013 the year of Kickstarter? Whatever you think personally about the funding model, you can't argue with the fact that over $480 million was pledged through the crowdfunding platform in the last calendar year. That's definitely one hunk of change! But whether or not that figure translates into a tidal wave of awesome games has yet to be seen; the jury will remain out until even more funded games actually release and players get to experience what they backed. As for specific MMO news this past fortnight, the bulk of it involves new titles vying for a slice of 2014's crowdfunding pie. The CCG War of Omens has already grabbed a piece; it met its goal and has moved on to stretch goals for the last couple of days. Other hopefuls include more two space strategy games. Learn more about all of these, as well as the news from the funded front, right here in Make My MMO.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 15 - 28, 2013
'Tis the season... but not for news! With minds focused on the holidays, it looks as if not much happened in the realm of crowdfunding since our last Make My MMO update. Just how slow was it? It was so slow that Star Citizen did not announce earning another $2 million. A few tidbits did, however, did trickle out. Novus AEterno met its goal within 102 hours and still has a month of funding ahead. On the other hand, Empires of Tahn followed what seems to be the new norm: cancel the project before getting the dreaded "unsuccessful" label. And one title that is already strong in its development has jumped back into the crowdfunding realm; The Repopulation aims to incorporate even more features into the sandbox. There are also a couple dev blogs to speak of and a few odds and ends, all of which you will find rounded up for you below.
Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 1 - 14, 2013
If it seems as if crowdfunding's gone into a turkey coma lately, you aren't just imagining things -- at least as far as funded games are concerned. News on that front has seemed scarce compared to the deluge of some other two-week spans, but the current campaigns are trying to make up for it. Life is Feudal canceled its Indiegogo campaign, but devs vowed to "survive according to Plan 'B'," so we'll keep an eye out to see whether it moves into personal funding as other games have done. (That route is working for Neo's Land, whose donations keep creeping higher.) Similarly, Novus AEterno scrapped its second Kickstarter campaign, but in a twist, it's already restarted another with a lower goal. Outer Worlds Online, however, just didn't make the funding cut. On the successful side, manners and dinner parties will be coming to an MMO near you; Ever, Jane got an invitation to join the funded club. A few other funded titles also saw some progress, and still others joined (or re-joined) the race for your support. And topping all that, we also bid farewell to Elite: Dangerous, who leaves Make My MMO for Betawatch now that its alpha has started. You can catch all the updates below.
