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Amazon launches its mobile-first Kindle Vella serialized story platform
Amazon has launched its serialized fiction Kindle Vella store that lets you unlock episodic, self-published stories via in-app purchases.
The first season of Telltale's 'Batman' wraps next week
Just a year after it was announced, the first season of developer Telltale Games' Batman series is drawing to a close. Its final episode "City of Light" will makes its debut on December 13th on Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. And, based on how you played the penultimate installment, you'll start episode five in pretty different places, according to Telltale.
'Guardians of the Galaxy' gets the Telltale Games treatment
Telltale Games is taking its episodic style out into the galaxy. The Guardians of the Galaxy, that is. Details are scant at the moment, but in a statement, the developer's Kevin Bruner says that, "In Marvel's Guardian's of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, players will take on multiple roles within the ragtag band of heroes, and take the pilot's seat in directing their escapades around the universe." So there's that. Want more? Like the studio's take on Batman, Guardians will be available at retail in physical form. Meaning, the first episode will be on the disc in 2017 and the subsequent four will be title updates. The future!
First season of 'Hitman' ends on Halloween, in Japan
The first season of Hitman's episodic experiment comes to a close on October 31st -- no tricks. This final installment takes place in Hokkaido, Japan and according to publisher Square Enix, it's "the culmination of everything players will have learnt in terms of both gameplay and story." So hopefully you've been paying attention. The mission takes place in a remote compound replete with Zen gardens, an organic sushi restaurant (fingers crossed you can poison the shashimi) and a Japanese hot spring.
'Battleborn' beta launches April 8th on PlayStation 4
If you haven't noticed, episodic gaming is all the rage these days. The developers at Gearbox have taken notice and are structuring Battleborn's story mode in such a fashion. A press release says that the game's prologue and eight episodes work as a season that tell a collectively bigger narrative, while each episode will focus on a self-contained story about the game's 25 characters.
You don't have to know 'Borderlands' to play 'Tales from the Borderlands'
The final trailer for Tales from the Borderlands, the narrative-driven point-and-click adventure game from Telltale, is full of action, guns, humor, drama, raw emotion and a catchy chiptune-inspired soundtrack. It's a bit like the game itself (which is good, since it's a trailer for exactly that). If you're worried about diving into this game blind, Engadget's former sister site Joystiq reviewed the premiere episode back in November 2014 and had the following to say: "Regardless of your level of Borderlands experience, Tales from the Borderlands is a witty, well-written adventure with broad appeal. And yeah, there's a dick joke or two." The fifth and final installment of Tales from the Borderlands drops on October 20th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC and Mac; October 21st for Xbox One and Xbox 360; and October 22nd for iOS and Android.
The Wolf Among Us down to $20 on Amazon
The first season of The Wolf Among Us can live among your gaming library at a discount today, as the episodic adventure game is currently $19.99 on Amazon. The 33 percent off sale is good for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, while Vita players can pick up The Wolf Among Us for $24.49 on the retailer's site. Developed by The Walking Dead creator Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us stars Fabletown's Sheriff Bigby Wolf, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf. Based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series, the game's five episodes follows Bigby as he maintains order in the small New York City community. Our review of the final episode, "Cry Wolf," noted that the game's first season "lays the groundwork for the series that is (hopefully) to come, getting us invested in these pigs, these trolls, these witches, these toads, these people." [Image: Telltale Games]
Halo 4's Spartan Ops comes to Master Chief Collection
Halo: The Master Chief Collection received another update this week, improving the game's matchmaking and other functions. The update also added Spartan Ops to Halo 4 in the collection, 343 Industries' cooperative multiplayer mode. Teams of up to four players barrel through missions in the episodic mode, which was purposely not included in the collection's initial 20 GB patch; the developer planned to issue Spartan Ops in December so that it could make "technical enhancements" to the mode. Spartan Ops features 10 episodes, all of which are now available in The Master Chief Collection. The update includes a number of other fixes for the collection, such as hit detection for online multiplayer in Halo: CE and also giving a loss to players that disconnect from matches before a round ends. The patch should also improve roster update times as well as statistic and achievement tracking. It's the latest in a line of updates for the game, which launched with severe online multiplayer issues, among other problems. 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross apologized to players for the collection's issues in late November, recently offering free goodies to affected players, including the Halo 3: ODST campaign. [Image: Microsoft]
Alternate 1980s RPG Majestic Nights is one big conspiracy
Some choose to believe the Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969 was a hoax, or that the United States government is keeping extraterrestrials in a hidden building somewhere in the Nevada desert. Epiphany Games is playing off these types of conspiracies with its freshly-announced episodic game, Majestic Nights, which will debut in September. In the alternate 1980s game, these sorts of conspiracies aren't just theories, but are "truths." Players guide an intelligence operative known as Cardholder and a private investigator named Cal in the isometric RPG, uncovering clues to the criminal cover-ups and world-breaking facts about events like alien abductions. The first season of Majestic Nights includes six episodes and kicks off with a "Chapter Zero" prologue for free in September, which dives into the aforementioned moon landing. Majestic Nights' subsequent chapters will come at a cost; the first is expected to arrive in October, with the season's conclusive sixth episode currently slated for April 2015. The game is in development for PC, Mac, iOS and Android, and while Epiphany didn't put a price to each chapter, season passes will be available for players to guarantee access to the whole shebang. [Image: Epiphany Games]
Kentucky Route Zero Act 3 out now, season pass 25% off
Chicago-based developer Cardboard Computer has launched the latest installment for its mysterious adventure game, Kentucky Route Zero. The latest episode is the third act of five, the final two of which are expected to arrive "throughout the next year or so," according to the game's site. Season passes for the game are currently 25 percent off ($18.74) through Steam and the Humble widget on Cardboard Computer's site, and will stay discounted until Tuesday, May 13. Described as a "a magical realist adventure game," Kentucky Route Zero follows the people that travel a "secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky." The first episode launched in January 2013, one month before its arrival on Steam, followed by Act 2 in late May 2013. Cardboard Computer originally anticipated a three-month span between each episode, previously pegging its finale for January of this year. The developer earned $8,583 on Kickstarter in February 2011 to fund the game. [Image: Cardboard Computer]
Each episode of Unsung Story tells the tale of a different warrior
Unsung Story will launch episodically, with four to six stages per episode, designer Yasumi Matsuno says in a Kickstarter update. Each episode will revolve around a different character, but all of them are warriors in a great, fantastical uprising. Matsuno plans to launch with five episodes, making for roughly 25 playable stages in total. "The story of each of these heroes is what we're calling an episode," Matsuno says. "By joining them in their battles that span the course of the war, players will see for themselves if these heroes are truly worthy of the glory history has accorded them. While there are five episodes, each revolving around a separate hero, planned for launch, while the game is live, we intend to continue expanding various game systems and bringing out additional episodes that showcase these systems." There are three character classes in Unsung Story: warrior, mage and monster. On top of that, the game has five class types, each with its own leveling system: attackers, defenders, mages, healers and tamers. The game is turn-based and values speed, and it will play similarly to Final Fantasy Tactics, Matsuno says. Unsung Story has until Valentine's Day to raise $140,000 on Kickstarter and reach its $600,000 goal. That's 11 days away, for those interested in the campaign and those who need a reminder to buy flowers. [Image: Playdek]
American McGee's Grimm twists fairy tales on Steam
American McGee's Grimm is now available on Steam. Developed by Spicy Horse, the game includes 23 half-hour-long episodes based on fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, The Golden Goose, Cinderella, Pinnochio, Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. The developer stresses that the contained episodes can be enjoyed in any order, so players that want to see the "darkly twisted" side of Cinderella can start with that. The 23 episodes are available for 99 cents apiece ($25.77 total when purchased individually). Players can buy the first eight-episode season for $3.99, which is listed at $8.00 on Spicy Horse's website. Otherwise, the game's complete pack is available for $9.99. American McGee's Grimm first launched for Windows in July 2008, and arrived on Steam's Greenlight service in July 2013.
1979 Revolution shakes down to PC, Mac and Android
1979 Revolution, Ink Stories' 3D adventure game that places players in the midst of the tense Iranian protests of that year, will come to PC, Mac and Android. This is in addition to the game's initial platform of choice, iOS, which is being developed in Unity, making the transition to the other platforms easier for the developer. The episodic indie game is currently seeking $395,000 by December 16 on Kickstarter to launch its first episode, Black Friday. Those looking to back the project and obtain a PC or Mac version of 1979 Revolution will need to invest at least $20, whereas the iOS and Android reward tiers are listed at $15. Ink Stories' campaign is currently sitting at $56,163 in funding.
1979 Revolution tells the true story of Iran protests
Indie developer Ink Stories recently launched a Kickstarter project for its iOS adventure game 1979 Revolution. The game takes place during the riots and protests in Iran in that year of history, which Creator Navid Khonsari lived through personally before his family moved to North America in 1980. Khonsari first told Joystiq about his vision for 1979: The Game in February 2011, though it's not clear whether Ink Stories has overhauled the previous open world-style game or if 1979 Revolution is a new adventure entirely. 1979 Revolution is an episodic, 3D adventure game that has players avoiding authorities and making consequential decisions during the tense historical period. As Khonsari describes in the crowdfunding pitch video, the game features triage and photography mini-games, the latter granting players access to real-life photographs of the Iranian revolution. The Kickstarter project is seeking $395,000 by December 16 to launch the first episode, titled Black Friday, in spring 2014. With enough support, Ink Stories hopes to bring the game to Android, PC, Mac, Linux and other consoles.
Kickstarter project Ambrov X includes BioWare writer stretch goal
Ambrov X, an episodic RPG set in Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah's Sime-Gen universe, is seeking $500,000 on Kickstarter by October 5. The project includes a $750,000 stretch goal that, if met, will result in former BioWare Senior Writer Jennifer Hepler joining developer Loreful in creating the game. Hepler worked for BioWare for eight years, contributing to all three Dragon Age games as well as Star Wars: The Old Republic. Ambrov X is a single-player adventure in which players create a character in either the Sime or Gen human sub-species and one of four additional combat classes. The game starts with players investigating the fate of Jumper 10, a starship that returns to Earth with only one crew member remaining. The game's five episodes will last between three and five hours each, and will launch DRM-free on PC, Mac and Linux, with "alternate releases" for iOS, Android, PS4 and "Xbox" planned. The developer doesn't specify between Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Telltale's The Walking Dead season finale coming next week
Telltale has announced that the final episode of The Walking Dead game series, subtitled "No Time Left," will be available November 20 on the PlayStation Network in North America, and then on November 21 in the EU alongside Xbox, PC, Mac, and iOS versions. Telltale has said this fifth episode will mark the end of the current story, with more expected to follow.According to our reviewers, the series has gotten better as it's gone along, and Twitter users seem to indicate the emotional duress of playing it has gone up too. So get those tissues ready, because the story of Lee and Clementine is coming to a close next week.
OUYA console's first exclusive game is 'Human Element' prequel from former Call of Duty maker
After all the excitement from the Yves Behar-designed OUYA console's massive Kickstarter campaign fades away, like every other console it will be judged on the quality of its games we finally have the name of one. Robotoki president Robert Bowling -- best known as @fourzerotwo on Twitter and formerly as a producer from Infinity Ward for the Call of Duty series -- has announced plans to bring an "episodic prequel" to the company's first game Human Element exclusively to OUYA. While not much is known about Human Element yet other than that it's a survival game set in a zombie apocalypse scheduled for release in 2015, although Bowling is promising OUYA backers will get exclusive access to updates during development. He can also be counted among that group, cheerfully noting in a video along with the announcement that he's contributed $10,000 to the cause. That's one project on the list -- any bets on which developer will be next to hitch their game to the bandwagon?
Amazon Studios adds first four original shows to its 'development slate'
Back in May, Amazon put a call out for budding screenwriters to submit their ideas for an original comedy or children's series. Now, four of the submissions have been marked up on the Amazon Series Development Slate, with more being added to a "consider" list. The chosen projects comprise three comedies, and one preschooler's show. By getting the Amazonian thumbs-up, the ideas receive $10,000 to extend the initial option, assistance to develop the script, and potentially a pilot episode. So, we might not be seeing them on our screens / displays just yet, but we're sure we're not the only ones paying close attention.
Amazon Studios expands into TV series, looks to load up on content for streaming
Amazon has had a content development division for some time but today it's announced plans to expand from just movies to developing (and distributing, via its Instant Video service) original comedy and children's series. The new focus follows the competition like Netflix and Hulu which have both dived headlong into developing original TV show-style content that mirrors the content consumers seem to gravitate towards on streaming services. According to the press release Amazon Studios is willing to option one "promising project" per month for $10k and pay $55k to a creator if their series is selected for distribution. Submissions of 22-minute pilot scripts for comedies and 11-minute pilot scripts for children's shows are being accepted, which Amazon will either option within 45 days or the creator can choose between pulling it back and leaving it up for community feedback. There's more info at the site or in the press release after the break, but just remember: if we see any series picked up about dashingly handsome tech bloggers and the fast-paced lives they lead, we're coming for our cut.
The Walking Dead is $5 per episode, pre-orders get discount and contest
Telltale's The Walking Dead will launch the first of five episodes for $5 on PSN, PC and Mac, 400 Microsoft Points on XBLA, or as part of a $25 season pass from the Telltale online store, starting in "late April."Pre-ordering for PC and Mac through the Telltale online store makes the five-episode bundle 10 percent off, $22.50, and enters pre-orderers into a contest to be drawn into the fourth episode as a human survivor who is turned into a flesh-frenzied zombie.Just what mamma always wanted you to be.
