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Magicka PvP patch dated for June 21
Arrowhead has finally conjured up a launch date for its proposed PvP patch for Magicka, details on which were previously reported. The patch is free and releases on June 21, allowing up to four mages to step into the arena and duke it out a test of willpower. Hit the jump for the press release and a new trailer showing off the dangers of locking four mages in a closed-off environment. Nobody puts mage in the corner!
Magicka PvP patch changes detailed
A PvP patch is currently in development for Magicka (sure, we knew that) but Arrowhead Games Studio CEO Johan Pilestedt has offered a clearer picture of what to expect in a post on PC Gamer -- one that details measures being taken to ensure play balance in the patch.
Magicka: Vietnam dev happy to 'save the world from communists'
You might've thought that the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Battlefield: Bad Company 2's Vietnam expansion were what precipitated the tongue-in-cheek Vietnam expansion for Magicka. As it turns out, the folks at Arrowhead just want to save the world from communism!
Magicka: Vietnam footage has no creedence with us
Unbelievable. We watched the whole preview for Magicka: Vietnam after the break and while yes, there are a lot of guns, grenades, trees and helicopters, there's not a single strain of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son." In a game about Vietnam! Is that even legal? [Thanks, J]
What's in a Name: Arrowhead Game Studios
Johan Pilestedt is CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, the Swedish developer responsible for Magicka. He recently revealed to us the origin of the studio's name and the meaning behind its seemingly dim-witted mascot. Originally, when the studio was just a "student project," the group called themselves Team Arrowhead. "Arrowhead" was a play on Pilestedt's name, which, in English, means "arrow stead." "But wait, there's more to this story!" says Pilestedt.
Magicka: Vietnam is seriously coming out April 12
Okay, we're starting to believe that Paradox Interactive and Arrowhead Game Studios' upcoming expansion to their successful, arcane action-RPG, Magicka: Vietnam, is not the most elaborate hoax ever pulled on the gaming industry. See, we were operating under that assumption, but earlier today the creators revealed 10 screenshots for the add-on, and gave it some formal release details: It's coming to "all major digital distribution channels" April 12 for $4.99. We're excited to check out this bizarre-sounding addition to Magicka -- especially after perusing the gallery below -- but we're going to temper our excitement for another 36 hours or so. Tomorrow would be an awfully appropriate day for the developers to reveal that we all done got goofed.%Gallery-120101%
Official Magicka (bath) robe will soak up $85 from your wallet
Whether you've played Magicka or not, there's a good chance you're familiar with its iconic wizard robes. Now, thanks to Sinn D'Signed (a.k.a. Cindy Guillermo, gaming fashionista), you can grab a Magicka bathrobe for $85. The robes are available in red, green, blue and yellow and will be up for pre-order until April 11. Alas, the robe won't grant you any magical powers, though it's 100-percent cotton terry cloth construction should impress your friends nonetheless.
Magicka devs say work on PvP starts after Vietnam
Arrowhead already created the funniest premise for an expansion this year with Magicka: Vietnam, and it seems the developer has already decided how it will follow up that triumph: Player-vs-player combat. A pair of messages on the game's official Twitter page read, "How about an achievement for defeating a developer/paradox? A good way to vent your frustration - yes? Wait, we need PvP for that ... we better build it right after#MagickaVietnam then." We knew PvP was in the works, but it's nice to have something approximating a timetable for official support. Here's hoping we'll be accidentally setting ourselves on fire -- in an ill-fated attempt to set you on fire -- soon.
Magicka on consoles is 'up to Sony and Microsoft' right now
There's been talk of bringing Magicka to the PS3 and Xbox 360 for some time now. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios has been quite vocal about wanting to bring the game to "all consoles," but right now, it would seem there's a considerable roadblack. Speaking with Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt, we asked him what the delay in conjuring a console port was. "We're working on bringing Magicka to consoles -- we are, really. The problem is that it's not up to us. It's up to Sony and Microsoft, really, but we're working on getting it to consoles. That's the way it should be played." It would appear for now, at least, the only way to get that console feeling is to play on PC with an Xbox 360 controller.
Magicka Vietnam to launch 'in about a month,' Arrowhead CEO says
If there's one thing that Arrowhead Game Studios has proven with its accident-prone wizardfest Magicka, it's that they can make me laugh. But is that an appropriate reaction in Magicka Vietnam? Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt suggested that we'll find out "in about a month."%Gallery-115067%
Magicka: Vietnam expansion announced (no joke!)
Well, this is certainly unexpected. We guess Magicka publisher Paradox Interactive wasn't kidding when it said developer Arrowhead Studios would be "a bit daring" with the title's first expansion. Said add-on was revealed today -- and it will take the game's magic-mashing protagonists and drop them into the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. Just check out the debut trailer after the jump! We've got an appointment to check out Magicka: Vietnam today at GDC, and we'll make sure to let you know if it's just as bizarre as we're assuming it is. Update: Vietnam was not on hand, but we talked about it with Arrowhead. Stay tuned for our coverage.
Magicka to get PvP in the future, Arrowhead CEO explains
Magicka has been a surprise hit on the PC scene, selling over 200K copies in its first month of release. But, the initial launch was hampered by some notable bugs, some of which continue to plague the game. "We were surprised at all the bugs we had at release, and frankly, somewhat ashamed," Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead told us. "But the community loved our game, and we worked around the clock for the first weeks after release to iron out as many bugs as possible as fast as possible." Although the game is currently in the state "as it was intended," Pilestedt discussed what must still be fixed. At the top of the list is falling through collision, something the team plans to work on "until it is no longer an issue." Arrowhead is also attempting to improve progression saving and will eventually implement official support for PvP. "The community is already arranging PvP tournaments and we are learning a lot about balance by watching you play," Pilestedt said. "In the meantime, I suggest you sign up for the unofficial tournaments and keep PvPing." There are some issues that simply cannot be fixed, Pilestedt admits. The most disappointing is the inability to support integrated graphics cards. Laptop owners may be unable to play the game, but Pilestedt notes that "it was an early design decision to use shader model 3.0, and we can't change that without rewriting large parts of the game engine." The team doesn't plan on adding support for modding, simply because they "do not have the bandwidth to develop [the] tools." In lieu of official support, the team is focused on making Magicka "more mod friendly," by allowing modders to disable VAC in the game. In addition to the aforementioned tweaks, Pilestedt re-confirmed plans to release both free and paid DLC content for the game. "Since Magicka released, the game and our team has received so much support and encouragement from all over the world and we want everyone to know how much we appreciate that."
Magicka video warns about the dangers of real-life magic mixing
See, when people think about real-life magic, they often assume it to be a whimsical, Harry Potter-esque venture. We believe things would actually turn out like they do in PulpitPower's latest video, inspired by Magicka: Full of accidents, terror and errant beams of deadly arcane power.
Magicka reaches 200K sales, Arrowhead planning free and paid DLC
Almost a quarter of a million close friends have had their relationships dissolved by errant spells and irresponsible casting, thanks to the inadvertently hilarious co-op component of Magicka. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios reports that the title has been downloaded over 200,000 times in its first 17 days on sale. Better yet, thanks to a patch that launched yesterday on Steam, a majority of those 200,000 players can enjoy the game without the fear of frequent crashes. In an interview with Big Download, publisher Paradox Interactive's Mattias Lilja revealed that the team plans to release both paid and free DLC for the game, explaining, "The Arrowhead team asked if they could be a bit daring when it comes to the DLC and we told them yes." He added, "The team is set up in such a way that some guys can keep patching the game while others produce DLC, without getting in the way of each other or stealing resources from one another." No, they save that unsportsmanlike conduct for when they're actually playing Magicka. You know, with "friends."
Paradox CEO insists Magicka will be fixed
By all the reports we've heard from friends and colleagues, Paradox's satirical fantasy game Magicka is long on charm, but short on polish. Online modes are apparently the roughest, with some completely unable to access co-op, though the kinks in single player seem to be relatively few. Speaking with Ars Technica (which experienced a bevy of issues with the game), Paradox boss Fredrik Wesker pledged that developer Arrowhead Studios would exterminate the bugs as quickly as possible, saying "The development team is working around the clock and we will get this fixed. We will make this right." Wesker also explained how something like this happens in the first place, which is an interesting glimpse into the realities of being a small publisher. Here's hoping that soon, the only freezes in Magicka will be delivered by friends with poor aim.
Magicka sells 30,000 on first day, being patched 'as often as possible'
Magicka, the Paradox-published story of up to four wizards assaulting monsters and accidentally killing each other with ill-advised spell combinations, has sold 30,000 copies within its first day of availability through digital distribution. The celebration is tempered, however -- while they were pushing it to the top of Steam's sales chart, players of the game complained on forums and Twitter about technical instability and bugs. Ars Technica found the game especially problematic, calling it a "broken, negligent release." Paradox has summarized the current status of Magicka as such: "[Singe-player] works fine for the most part, Multiplayer does not -- patch on the way for both! (as soon as [Steam] pushes the button). We'll patch the game as often as possible." According to a celebratory press release, Arrowhead Game Studios is "working around the sundial and is fully committed to ongoing support by zapping glitches and communicating with players." The game's unpolished state would likely have generated even more caustic reaction, had its malleable magic system not countered with amusing stories of players haphazardly offing each other. You'll find some good, spell-based schadenfreude in Rock Paper Shotgun's mock guide to Magicka.
Magicka cast on PC digital retail today, demo summoned on Steam
Paradox Interactive has narrowly upheld its promise to release the PC version of Magicka this month, as the publisher's "self-deprecating" action-misadventure -- "which pokes fun of other games just to feel better about itself" -- is today available from digital distribution retailers, including Steam, GamersGate and Amazon Digital Services, for $10. (A demo version is also available through Steam.) Developed by Swedish outfit Arrowhead Game Studios, Magicka features "the parody and satire of a clichéd fantasy world," one-upping the similarly irreverent DeathSpank with support for up to 4-player co-op. Of course, there's no sign of unicorn poop in the launch trailer (after the break) -- so definitely a missed opportunity there.
ESRB rates Magicka for PS3 and 360, Paradox still hoping for multiplatform release
A ray of hope has been cast on the chances of lighthearted action RPG Magicka arriving on consoles. The game has been rated by the ESRB for both Xbox 360 and PS3 (the PC version should launch this month). Now, before co-op dungeon crawler fans get too excited, know that the ESRB is a fickle mistress and not always the prognosticator we believe it to be. It's no secret that Paradox is looking to get Magicka on "all consoles". When reached for comment about the ESRB rating, Paradox producer Shams Jorjani told Joystiq the the company is "covering [its] bases." He added that the game was built using XNA so it will run on Xbox 360. He concluded, "We are doing everything we can to get this game where it belongs: In front of your couch." It's worth noting that Paradox originally intended to release its class-based shooter, Lead & Gold, in a more multiplatform manner. It was eventually released for PC and PSN, and the XBLA version never came to light. Here's hoping Paradox has ironed out the multiplatform kinks this time around.
Magicka trailer adorably announces game's delay
Few games have announced their own delays as cheerfully as Arrowhead Game Studios' Magicka. The latest trailer for the game -- the first we've seen in many moons -- tells a cute tale about why it's been pushed to "Q1 2011," alongside a handful of gameplay clips. See for yourself below the fold.
