first person
Latest
'Hardspace: Shipbreaker' is a PC game about salvaging space junk
Considering the huge variety of high-octane video games there are available, it's always something of a surprise when those involving fairly menial tasks --farming, for example -- perform so well. But what about menial tasks... in space? Surely that's just the right balance of excitement and the mundane? Blackbird Interactive -- the studio behind Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak – seems to think so.
'Spider-Man' developer teams up with Oculus for 'Stormland'
Whether you're a fan of Ratchet and Clank or more of a Resistance person, or you're just looking forward to this year's Spider-Man title, you've got to admit that Insomniac Games makes some pretty great stuff. Now Insomniac and Oculus Studios have released a trailer for a brand-new VR game, Stormland.
Magnetic: Cage Closed entering dark portal in March
Swedish developer Guru Games announced a new first-person puzzle game this week, Magnetic: Cage Closed. Slated to launch in March for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Magnetic imprisons players in a dark labyrinth with a magnet gun, solving environmental puzzles to progress through the industrial facility. The game's announcement trailer gives strong Portal vibes, showing multiple wall and floor switches being activated with the toss of a heavy metal cube. Magnetic: Cage Closed will launch at $14.95 with a special edition slated to cost $19.95. It will be published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment and will be playable at PAX South this weekend. Guru Games' other project in development is the Oculus Rift-supporting, first-person horror game Medusa's Labyrinth. The developer canceled its Kickstarter project for the game in November after it came to a "standstill." It drummed up 55,805 SEK ($6,824) in support, far short of Guru Games' 2,500,000 SEK ($350,000 USD) goal. Guru Games discussed its failed crowdfunding campaign in a blog, acknowledging that it wanted to time the campaign with the Scandinavian launch of Kickstarter despite spending two weeks "creating a prototype, a card house of a game," before putting "it out there for all to see." [Image: Guru Games]
Pneuma pneuma, yay: First-person puzzler hits Xbox next month
Pneuma: Breath of Life will launch on February 27 for Xbox One, developer Deco Digital announced. The first-person puzzle game is currently on Steam Greenlight, seeking community approval for distribution on the PC service as well. Pneuma will be console-exclusive to Xbox One for its first 30 days. The game features environmental challenges based in a fairly mysterious setting, as seen in the trailer after the break. In it, players "progress through a narrated story of self-discovery, exploring the fundamental nature of being," according to the developer. Pneuma: Breath of Life's puzzles are expected to "force players to think outside the box and explore beyond what they know as reality through the eyes of a god," with voice-over work provided by Jay Britton. The PC version of the game will support Oculus Rift. [Image: Deco Digital]
Tale of Tales' Sunset rises with first screens
Tale of Tales' upcoming narrative-driven game Sunset received its first official set of screenshots today. Announced in March 2014, the exploration game stars Angela Burnes, a housekeeper of a secluded philanthropist, set in a lone 1970's apartment. The Path and Fatale developer noted that the screens are "still work in progress and even though they do not represent the final beauty of the game, they say a lot about what is going to make the penthouse a spectacular environment to explore." Players will scope out the apartment to learn more about Burnes' employer when the game arrives this spring on PC, Mac and Linux. As seen in the gallery below, Tale of Tales said it "pushed the colour scheme to its saturation point with the tones of the evening sky, chic lighting from designer lamps and dramatic shadows" to make the game "feel real," yet stylized. Sunset earned $67,636 on Kickstarter in July and will feature a soundtrack from Journey's Grammy-nominated composer, Austin Wintory. The developer discussed the ways it is "trying something different" with Joystiq following its funding campaign. [Image: Tale of Tales]
Obtrusive ads, lackluster design limit Bear Hunt's potential
Bear Hunt is a simple time killer in which you're given a slingshot to target bears nearby in the forest. As they walk by or potentially attack, pull the sling back to hit them with a boulder. The game features a few modes like classic and time race, plus online multiplayer. The goal is to reach each level's target score and best it in the next level. It also has a few other tricks up its sleeve too like a secret rocket launcher. Bear Hunt is completely free and available for iPhone and iPad. I don't like to start off on a bad note, but in this case it's completely warranted. Just about everything with this game's design is cringeworthy. The animations and graphics are amateur, navigation is inconsistent and the number of pop-up ads is just shameful. It's even more frustrating tapping the "X" and accidentally tapping the ad and getting yanked out of the app. This seriously hinders the usability of the game and deserves attention. Moving along after that brief rant, let's get to the meat of Bear Hunt. Starting off in single player mode, you have Classic mode, Time Race and Practice to choose from. Classic starts out with just walking bears, but eventually the attack setting unlocks where they get a bit more aggressive. Regardless, you get one minute and 30 seconds to reach the target score. Achieve this by using your slingshot on the bears. The farther away the bear, the more points you score for hitting it. Hit the same bear up to three times to completely destroy it and gain points each time. In Time Race, the target score becomes not a matter of if you get there, but rather a matter of when. A stopwatch begins when you press Play and you have to race to reach your target score and beat the record each level in seconds and minutes. At any point a bunny might appear out of the ground for a few seconds. If you successfully take a shot at the bunny, your slingshot turns into a rocket launcher which automatically targets and destroys all bears within your field of vision for the next few shots or so, granting you the chance to quickly rack up points. Multiplayer mode uses a third-party service to set up matches between Facebook friends or other online players, but it doesn't always work and it's ultimately pretty forgettable. Bear Hunt doesn't have any in-app purchases, but wow for once do I absolutely wish there was. I can't make it through a single round without up to three ads appearing all at once. Even just a US$0.99 upgrade to get rid of the ads that haunt me once and for all would suffice. Fun to play in practice, but Bear Hunt lacks solid design and stability. I can't possibly overstate how annoying those ads are, too. You might get some enjoyment out of it if you need to kill a few minutes of time, but you won't miss out on much by passing up on this download. Bear Hunt is free for iOS in the App Store.
Get a new perspective on Dark Souls 2 with first-person mod
Dark Souls 2 normally gives players a third-person perspective as they roll and parry their way through its gauntlet of opponents, but ... well, you know how the modding community feels about norms. The above YouTube video, posted by user Benzoin-Gum, demonstrates a PC mod that makes DS2's journey a first-person affair, right down to battles against invading players. As explained in the video's description, the mod "tells the game's camera to permanently stay zoomed in" and allows for the field of view to be adjusted according to personal comfort. The description also notes that turning sensitivity is particularly lacking with controllers, so a keyboard-and-mouse loadout is strongly recommended. A download link for the mod is included in the video's description, but since it's from a third-party source, venture forth with the same caution you use to persevere in Drangleic. [Image: Benzoin-Gum]
The Long Dark ventures to Steam Early Access
Hinterland Studio launched its first-person exploration game The Long Dark on Steam Early Access this week, making the in-development survival simulator available for PC and Mac users for $20. Set in the pacific northwest, the game forces players to scavenge for resources and survive the threat of starvation, wolves and more. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston joined the developer earlier this month. Rolston adds to a well-credited crew at Hinterland, which includes Far Cry 3 Narrative Director Raphael van Lierop. The Long Dark's journey took off with its success on Kickstarter in October 2013, at which point the developer earned $248,899. Those that want a taste of the game should revisit Joystiq Streams' archive from July, in which Hinterland took us through the dark woods for an hour. [Image: Hinterland Studio]
GTA 5 adding first-person vehicle view on PC, next-gen
A since-pulled support article on Rockstar's website points to some new features for Grand Theft Auto 5 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. According to the article, seen above, the revised versions of GTA 5 will feature a first-person mode for vehicles "that shows the interior of the vehicle, including working speedometers, tachometers, dash lights, and more." The game will also include a first-person mode "while on foot." Rockstar plans to offer an "overhauled character selection screen" as well as new Easter eggs and random events for the game's story mode. The developer noted that new animals will appear in the city of Los Santos, and appears to be determining whether animals will also appear in the game's online modes. Lastly, it added that players transferring characters from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game will receive "new weapons and a free garage in GTA Online." GTA 5 will reach PS4 and Xbox One on November 18 and launch on PC in 2015. [Image: Rockstar Games]
QUBE sequel squaring up for PS4 with Project Morpheus support
Toxic Games is building a sequel to its late 2011 physics-based puzzle game QUBE. Dubbed QUBE², the sequel is in development for PS4, the studio announced via PlayStation Blog. The first-person follow-up will include refined mechanics and new puzzles along with a "tightly-woven narrative" that expands the series' universe. The "definitive version" of the first game, QUBE: Director's Cut, arrived on Steam in May. The upgraded version added a new story to the game, a sore spot for our review of the original edition. QUBE: Director's Cut is still planned for PS4, PS3, Wii U and Xbox One. It's unclear what platforms QUBE² will target other than PS4, but it will be powered by Unreal Engine 4 and support Sony's Project Morpheus virtual reality headset. [Image: Toxic Games]
QUBE: Director's Cut spins a new story on Steam, 15% off
QUBE: Director's Cut is now available on Steam, and is 15 percent off ($8.49) until Wednesday, May 28. The Director's Cut edition features a new story and additional puzzles, and is described by developer Toxic Games as QUBE's "definitive version." It also adds a ten-level time trial mode and Oculus Rift support. The original version of QUBE first arrived on PC in December 2011, and our review of it noted that game wasn't strong on narrative, but acted more as a "delightful on-screen Rubik's Cube." The first-person puzzler draws many comparisons to Valve's Portal, and has players moving blocks to solve puzzles with increasing difficulty. QUBE: Director's Cut will launch on PS3, Wii U and Xbox One "throughout 2014." [Image: Toxic Games]
Reprogram your surroundings in Glitchspace, now on Early Access
First-person puzzler Glitchspace is now available through Steam's Early Access service for PC, Mac and Linux. The alpha version of the game from developer Space Budgie is available for $6.99 on Early Access and $6.49 through the game's official site. Described as a "first-person programming" game, Glitchspace has players navigating a cyberspace-style world to locate a place that is a "by-product of cyberspace and its various glitches" known, appropriately enough, as Glitchspace. Space Budgie focused on emergent mechanics for the game, as players can identify glitches in the game and "exploit them in various different ways." Objects in the game are both programmable and non-programmable thanks to the "Null" programming system in the game created by the developer. Programmable objects include a "canvas" in which players can add functions to affect them, such as forces to move them, scale them, duplicate them and a myriad of other possibilities. The game includes a sandbox mode for players to toy around with as well as Oculus Rift support for those that want to immerse themselves in the matrix-like world. Space Budgie expects to launch the full version of Glitchspace in Q2 2014. [Image: Space Budgie]
Co-star in Tales of Tales' first-person exploration, Sunset
The Path developer Tale of Tales' next adventure is called Sunset, and it's due to launch in 2015 on PC, Mac and Linux. Described as a first-person exploration game, Sunset is set in a "fictional tropical republic suffering under an oppressive regime" in the early 1970s. In it, players control the housekeeper of a secluded, former philanthropist, and awaken "a new love for his country and his people" in the troubled occupant. The housekeeper investigates the man's belongings and learns of his role in the civil war, strengthening or weakening their relationship along the way. Tale of Tales founders Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn liken Sunset to "a shooter game where you are not the hero but one of the people in the background." While deemed the second largest project by Tale of Tales, the game is being developed by Harvey and Samyn, sound designer Kris Force, is penned by an anonymous author and will receive music from Journey composer Austin Wintory. "The game contains both empathy and apathy. But also a feeling of being caught up in a struggle bigger than your day to day life," the founders added in the announcement. [Image: Tale of Tales]
Former Klei, Telltale devs reveal first-person mystery Firewatch
Indie developer Campo Santo announced its first game, a first-person mystery named Firewatch. The game is set in the Wyoming wilderness, "where your only human connection is communicating with your supervisor over a handheld radio," according to the game's announcement blog. The game's protagonist, whose job is to "look for smoke and keep the wilderness safe," winds up exploring a "wild and unknown environment" after something pulls them away from their watchtower. Firewatch's official site says the game will press players with "interpersonal choices" that will affect players' relationships with Delilah, the supervisor in question. Campo Santo was formed in September 2013 by former Telltale and Klei developers, including Mark of the Ninja lead designer Nels Anderson and artist Olly Moss. The Cave co-writer Chris Remo joined the team in February after departing from Double Fine. [Image: Campo Santo]
Sons of Anarchy creator says first-person game will 'definitely' happen
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter says the video game based on the show is back on. Sutter tweeted that while he can't provide any other details, "there will definitely be an SOA GAME," adding his own qualifier that "it's pretty fucking awesome." He did note that the game will be a first-person, action-adventure game with HD graphics and will represent "the evolution of gaming." Sutter first announced plans to bring the property to the gaming world in February 2012, initially planning a browser-based game before deciding later in May to create a "real, console-based" experience. The Sons of Anarchy game stalled out in August 2012 when Sutter revealed that it was getting no traction and its "big publisher" pulled out of the project. [Image: FX]
FPS Warriors 2 bundle has eight Steam shooters for four bucks
Bundle Stars' latest cheap game pack is the FPS Warriors 2 bundle, which features eight games for $3.98. The game bundle site says the FPS Warriors 2 collection saves players a whopping $80 on total standard price of the games, each available for PC via Steam. The following eight shooters are included in the bundle: Nuclear Dawn, Hard Reset Extended Edition, Painkiller Overdose, Painkiller: Black Edition, AirBuccaneers, Zeno Clash 2, Zeno Clash, and Chaser. If the four-dollar price tag isn't convincing enough, players have plenty of time to buy in, as the bundle is good for the next 28 days. Bundle Stars is also currently selling the Brutal and Kingdoms bundles for the next few weeks.
Sandbox survival game Eden Star powered by Unreal Engine 4
Flix Interactive recently launched its Kickstarter project for an Unreal Engine 4-powered, first-person adventure game called Eden Star. The developer is seeking £620,000 ($1,003,284) by November 29 to fund the project. Billed as a "sandbox survival-creation game," Eden Star has players gather resources from the hostile world of Pharus 7 to bring back to a desolate Earth, guarding their "Eden Kit" power source from imposing alien forces. In the project description, Flix Interactive put an emphasis on the game's physics-driven combat and "free-running movement system." The developer also opened a Steam Greenlight page to get the PC game on Valve's distribution service.
Breakfast Topic: Do you use first-person view for anything besides screenshots?
Screenshots -- an informal survey on Twitter as I wrote this Breakfast Topic tells me that the only time players today seriously employ first-person view in World of Warcraft is when they're taking screenshots. Quite a few smart alecks and their guilds report toying with first-person view during certain raid encounters; as one of the twitterati explained, "It, uh, did not end well usually." In a game of encounters based on moving out of the fire, the loss of situational awareness you'd suffer in first-person view is simply unconscionable. In fact, we recommend that you scroll back still more -- way, way back is the smart way to roll. Other games often include certain encounters or tight locations in which scrolling into first-person view is most effective. When pressed, some WoW players admit to scrolling in when they're in an especially tight spot -– say, to snag the bag of loot on the pirate ship on Timeless Isle. Still, it's not a tactic players employ with any real frequency. I have to wonder if there are players out there using first-person view for roleplaying or business around town. After all, wandering about with your UI entirely turned off can lift a veil to an entirely new way of looking at Azeroth, so why not consider popping into the head of your own character? Do you use first-person mode for anything other than screenshots?
The Daily Grind: Do you ever play in first-person view?
Meet Uggo. I bumped into him in The Secret World the other day as he was trying to rip my face off my skull. I felt bad for him even so; he's got a bit of a skin condition and a slug crawling through his head. I know I'd be cranky in his position. The weird thing is that I didn't notice all of the incredibly disgusting details of Uggo until I killed him and came in close. Playing in the default third-person view means that I'm not usually in a position to get a good look at what I'm killing, but instead I just see it as an identifiable shape. Whenever I do force myself to go into first-person view, I discover so many more details about the game world and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, it also makes me a bit queasy, and I sorely miss the peripheral vision that third-person perspectives bring. Does anyone out there play a standard MMO in a first-person view? Maybe you do it to get into the shoes of your character more or to see these details up close and personal. If so, I'd love to hear about it today! 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!
The Daily Grind: How do you like to move it move it?
Zentia, Guild Wars, and a sampling of other MMOs offer what seems to me a bizarre movement option: click-to-move. I suppose I'm a first-person or chase-cam kinda girl, but I can't imagine using click-to-move in any sort of competitive 3-D gaming environment. There's always a better use for those mouse-clicks. Granted, I can understand why it's the only option in a strategy-sandbox like the freshly launched Wakfu, and I did have a go at making click-to-move work in Guild Wars on a touchscreen, but even that was iffy at best. So today I'm wondering, when exactly is click-to-move the best option? And how do you like to move it move it in MMOs? 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!
