disharmony
Latest
Endless Space expands again with free Search For Auriga DLC
Proving that "Endless Space" isn't just a cute title, Iceberg Interactive has announced a new, free expansion for the 4X strategy game that adds new heroes and a new planet type. Developed by Amplitude Studios, The Search For Auriga "will include new heroes, a special wonder, a unique planet, in addition to new features such as Rally Points as well as AI and balancing improvements." Though the prior sentence includes all information currently known about The Search For Auriga, Iceberg Interactive assures fans that more details will emerge soon. How soon? That's unclear, but with this DLC currently slated to launch in November, it should be imminent. The one caveat applied to this otherwise free expansion pack is that it will not work with just the base game of Endless Space. Instead, players will need to own Endless Space and the Disharmony expansion pack in order to play The Search For Auriga. To make this easier on players, Iceberg points out a currently ongoing Steam sale that reduces the cost of Endless Space Gold (a bundle including the original game and the Disharmony expansion) by 75 percent, to only $8.74. This sale ends on October 19; if you're interested, hurry.
Reisuke Ishida on why perfect games can't be perfect
Taito designer Reisuke Ishida devoted a GDC panel to "five techniques for making an unforgettable game," and his most interesting tip for accomplishing that was perhaps counterintuitive: don't make it perfect.Perfect games, argued Ishida, are boring. In Space Invaders Infinity Gene, for example, he originally experimented with making the invaders more colorful (which you can see on the right in the shot above). But that look made the game "look too 'normal,'" Ishida said. "It didn't really stand out enough for us." He decided to go back to the white coloring of the original invaders, and that helped give the game a unique look.Those graphics may not be the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but Ishida said that helps more than it hurts. "You need a little bit of that quirkiness," he told the crowd, "so it captures your eye and your attention, and it leaves that impression."And that attention leads to curiosity, which Ishida said will really make a game shine. "People will find that curiosity and they'll want to find out where that curiosity is going to take them," he said. Developers obviously don't want to turn off an audience with disharmony, but Ishida said a great game should have "just a little touch -- something that will trigger someone to think that maybe there's a little more that I need to seek out."
