e3-2013
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E3 2013: DUST 514 and EVE's virtual reality demo
To an outsider, CCP Games' focus on EVE Online's player panel, comics, incoming television series about player adventures, and museum induction show just how much the company works to earn its players' respect, which might sound weird for studio running a cutthroat PvP sandbox. But I've always felt as if I made stronger personal attachments through high-stakes PvP than through most other gaming activities. I don't play EVE or its console cousin DUST 514, but after stopping by the CCP booth for my interview and hands-on at E3 yesterday, I feel as if I should be doing more than reading and writing about it.
E3 2013: Taking another look at HEX
HEX. It's a difficult concept to grasp: a massively multiplayer online trading card game, combining elements of roleplaying goodness and the thrill of building a deck of powerful cards to combat the next evil underlord monster. At this year's E3, Massively sat down with Cory Jones, president of Cryptozoic Studios, to get the skinny on what HEX is all about.
E3 2013: Stealing cabbages in The Elder Scrolls Online
I eagerly consumed about 45 minutes of The Elder Scrolls Online during E3 this week. I stayed glued to my keyboard and headphones until the expo hall closed and I was told to clear out. Part of this time was spent interviewing the nearest willing Bethesda employee, and every other second was hauling Orc butt around ESO. My character of choice, an Orc Dragonknight, loaded into the game on the other side of a polygon-rich bridge from an equally polygon-rich town. The Bethesda employee standing nearby mentioned I could go into the town for some guided content the team had prepared. I made a sharp right turn into the stream and killed a deer instead.
Super Smash Bros: What happens when Kirby eats Mega Man is 'classified'
Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai may have been forthcoming about the new Super Smash Bros' lack of cross-platform play, but when it came to the really important information, he was still pretty cagey. For example, what could be more important than finding out what happens when Kirby eats Smash newcomer Mega Man? These are two gaming icons whose main ability is to steal the abilities of others. For all we know, Kirby swallowing Mega Man could create a rift in the fabric of reality, destroying all life as we know it. Alas, Sakurai wouldn't give us much information. "A lot of what you're asking is still classified," he told us through an interpreter at E3. "As far as the physical appearance of Kirby," he said, "I think what you imagine is probably pretty close to what will actually happen." Sakurai put his hands next to his head, in what we're pretty sure was the international sign for "Mega Man's helmet." We followed up by asking if Kirby would be gifted with a Mega Buster. "He's got little tiny arms, so who knows."
Hotline Miami 2 is in demand, we heard it through these great Vines
Hotline Miami 2 made a surprise appearance at E3, tucked away in an Airstream trailer provided by publisher Devolver Digital. We saw it, but we're not allowed to talk about it until next week. It's getting plenty of attention on its own already – the official Hotline Miami Twitter account retweeted a series of Vines of people reading our Hotline Miami 2 post and literally throwing money at their screens and performing other acts of excitement. At least, we're pretty sure donning a horse-head mask and wielding a pistol is an act of excitement. "Please make this @Joystiq article viewing thing a meme, internet," Hotline Miami tweeted. "Love you." Check out a few fans expressing emotions about Hotline Miami 2 in the Vines below, and submit your own reaction to this post to @HotlineMiami.
E3 2013: The Division, Ubisoft's MMO shooter
Ubisoft's claim that its new MMO shooter The Division will have a "persistent world" piqued Massively's collective interest. At E3, we chatted briefly with Game Director Ryan Bernard, who has previously worked on EverQuest, EverQuest 2, and Warhammer Online. I asked what about the game and its persistent nature would appeal to MMO players and was told that actually, the team doesn't plan to make it "too persistent" at all. Each player will have his own little chunk of the world. Everything in that part of the world is persistent for him, and his friends can come over and help him out, kind of like Animal Crossing without the talking tanuki. The developers believe this will allow for a strong single-player experience while still having a visible impact on the player's slice of the world. There are places in the world that are persistent for everyone: the PvP areas. You won't want to travel around them without friends, but unfortunately, Bernard couldn't reveal more. The game is being released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but Ubisoft hasn't ruled out other platforms or cross-platform play just yet. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-13, bringing you all the best news from E3 2013. We're covering everything from WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online and ArcheAge to FFXIV's inbound revamp and TERA's latest update, so stay tuned!
In the EVE VR cockpit: CCP's space dogfighting demo for Oculus Rift
As I strapped into my faux-fighter, thanks to CCP's EVE VR Oculus Rift demo, nothing could've prepared me for the large-scale space battle to come. Controlling my ship was surprisingly easy with the Xbox 360 controller. The shoulder buttons handle yaw, but the left analog stick was effective at dictating ship orientation on its own. Looking toward enemy ships and focusing on them for a few moments would lock missiles. In movies, lining up a ship and opening fire looks fairly easy; in EVE VR, this is a difficult feat for a newbie such as myself. I've always entertained the idea that, should my Joystiq career come to a premature end, I could always fall back on being a space fighter pilot – you know, that old chestnut. After my performance in EVE VR, however, I'll have to rethink that strategy. At least I wasn't wearing a red shirt.
E3 2013: Chatting with Team WildStar
Massively returned to the WildStar demos at E3 on Thursday to chat one last time with the team from Carbine. As we noted in yesterday's Q&A article, Carbine had already declared it wasn't making any big announcements at E3. It always intended a low-key presence, sharing a booth hosted by Alienware and offering the same demo gamers are at PAX East, just brought to the west coast. Why Alienware? WildStar runs really great on a laptop. Good news, though: Carbine plans to have a big WildStar presence at Gamescom and PAX, and the team is working on demos that will show new content, new races, and new classes.
Tamriel Infinium: Everyone gets an Elder Scrolls game!
The more convention coverage I read and the more conventions I go to, the more I'm concerned by them. The atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever experienced before, and rubbing shoulders with the developers of some of my favorite games has its perks. But you hardly ever get to the meat of what determines a great game. Amidst the hype and free booze, every game looks and tastes great, but even the greatest games are less filling under those circumstances. Even we observers from home receive only a candy-coated glimpse of what a game really offers. The news pouring in from the The Elder Scrolls Online really exemplifies the layers of fluff that the convention atmosphere can place on a game. Two of our reporters spent time talking to the developers of the next venture into the world of Tamriel, and both stepped away with a very positive experience. Admittedly, I feel the excitement, too. I'm twitching with joy. Our freelancer Andrew's note that he "just didn't realize [he] was starting a quest when [he] talked to [quest givers]" piques my interest. Have we finally found a game that feels like a living world? And quotes from the ESO developers like, "You can pick up a sword and shield if you start as a sorcerer class and become a sword and shield user, and that's fine" have me wondering if we haven't stumbled upon the best mix of sandbox and themepark in an MMO. This week and next, I want to delve deeper into the reports from E3. Do we find some concerns that the developers are trying to gloss over, or is ESO everything we ever wanted from an Elder Scrolls game?
E3 2013: Porting DCUO and PlanetSide 2 to the PlayStation 4
Just because SOE didn't have many new games to showcase at E3 this year doesn't mean that the studio didn't have a lot to talk about. In fact, there was plenty to be said about two of the existing games porting to the new PlayStation 4. And while some of it is good, sadly there's some not-so-good thrown in as well. Joystiq caught up with DC Universe Online's Creative Director Jens Andersen and Adam Clegg, a game designer on PlanetSide 2, to get the scoop. Mirroring the executive producer's sentiments from our interview, Andersen noted that DCUO has an advantage thanks to being currently available on the PS3. And while not having specifics to announce, Andersen added that he'd be very surprised if the game didn't take advantage of PS4's social functions. However, the game will not (at least initially) be able to use the console's streaming and quick installation features, remaining a download and install title. For PlanetSide 2, the big news is that the console will allow optimization of the graphics "1,000 times better" according to Clegg. The big bad news is that it will be impossible to have cross-platform play, so folks who want to play on the PS4 will not have access to their PC characters. In a separate interview with Rev3Games, Art Director Tramell Isaac noted that the PS4 version would feel like a native console game, not just a jerry-rigged PC game. Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 10-13, bringing you all the best news from E3 2013. We're covering everything from WildStar and Elder Scrolls Online and ArcheAge to FFXIV's inbound revamp and TERA's latest update, so stay tuned!
The faces of Fox Engine in Pro Evolution Soccer 2014
You could argue that EA Sports' FIFA series has a stranglehold on the simulation soccer game genre. The publisher locked up the FIFA license for many years to come, making it the only company with access to a number of real-life teams that other publishers such as Konami can't get its hands on. If you care only about the number of teams that are in your sports games, then sure, FIFA is king. Until I played Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 at E3, I was still convinced that I am a "FIFA guy." That might be changing, now that Konami has introduced the Fox Engine to the series, which is being used to generate facial textures and animations in a more lifelike manner. Sports game developers traditionally don't have the resources to commit to rendering lifelike emotion for in-game athlete's faces. In the case of games such as FIFA or Madden, expressions on athletes waver between lifeless and lifeless-with-an-open-mouth. Truly, one of the biggest tangible ways to convey the excitement of scoring goals or making crucial mistakes lies in generating that emotion through the athletes that players interact with, not unlike viewing sports broadcasts in real life. %Gallery-191284%
E3 2013: Open-world racing with The Crew
Don't worry, you're not on the wrong website. This is still Massively and this is a hands on and interview about a racing game. Specifically, according to lead designer Serkan Hassan, this is a racing MMO. The Crew used the word "persistent world" so yours truly had to hunt down a very helpful Ubisoft representative for a last-minute look at the game. I will admit that while I had my doubts, the feature list does make it legit, and despite the fact that I'm awful at realistic racing games, I did have some fun.
DCUO and PlanetSide 2 devs deal with good and bad on PS4 ports
Sony Online Entertainment doesn't have any new games at this year's E3 conference. But the developers behind DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 are hard at work anyway, and not just because they're running two live MMOs. Both games, which currently run on the PC (for both) or the PS3 (for DCUO) are coming to the PlayStation 4, which presents both positives and negatives for the developers involved. Adam Clegg, game designer on PlanetSide 2, says he's excited to develop for the PS4 rather than the PC, because it'll make optimization for the game's graphics "1000 times better." Currently, the PC team has countless builds of hardware to optimize the game for, but everyone playing on a PS4 will use the same hardware, which makes things much easier. Additionally, Clegg says improvements should go the other way, too, as optimizing for the PS4 should make the game better for PC users.
Reconstructing crimes in Batman: Arkham Origins
Warner Bros. Montreal is bringing a new side-mission distraction to Batman: Arkham Origins that will pique the interests of those who've enjoyed the forensic focus of Rocksteady's games. At E3 I put on my detective cowl to try out the new "Crime Reconstruction" mechanic. It began, as it so often does, on a rooftop on a cold Gotham night. As Batman, I saw a police helicopter rise from behind the ledge, ordering me to surrender. Even if I wanted to, a gunshot took the helicopter down before I could respond. It spiralled out of control, tailspinning several stories into the icy street below. Confused, I swooped down to look for survivors. The helicopter was wrecked, and I found a body flung a few feet away: the dead pilot. This is where the crime reconstruction began. First I analysed the body in Detective Mode with the Evidence Scanner, which takes in all of the crime scene's data in hyper-quick time to play Columbo within seconds. As I scanned, I saw the helicopter's crash trace back in time, in suitably cool-looking virtual blue bittiness. As it replayed, I saw the copter take out a first-story ledge before crashing into the earth below. Scanning the body, I learned he died on impact, and not from the gunshot. %Gallery-191292%
Shadow Warrior's new magic system twists a straight shooter
Shadow Warrior from Hard Reset developer Flying Wild Hog isn't a remake – it's a new game, with a new Lo Wang. For starters, Wang is able to use magic after he befriends a masked spirit. With magic, Wang can heal himself and attack his enemies from afar, throwing out blasts from his hands or his katana. His magic doesn't run out; there's no cool-down and it's not a mana system, Flying Wild Hog writer Pawel Kowalewski explained during a demo at E3. All magic comes with a price, and when Wang uses it the surrounding demon enemies become enraged, faster and stronger. Shadow Warrior includes a few throwbacks to the original game, including secret caves in the old graphical style and bunny rabbits that hop around the forest and have their own AI to perform bunny-related acts. Wang's primary weapon is a katana, and the entire game can be won with just that weapon, Kowalewski said. It's also possible to dual-wield sub-machine guns, as in the first game. The team was quick to reassure that Wang himself is still "a douchebag," but not an outright Asian stereotype anymore. "We understand why Lo Wang was awesome and you can still see him and go, 'Look at that douchebag,' without participating in putting a culture in a box. That was a huge priority when we were first thinking about how to frame the game and how to frame that character," writer Scott Alexander said. "You can play around with stuff; you can be funny, you can be crass, you can make him a jerk. He's got a real arc though." To those who may be disappointed: take solace in the fact that the violence in Shadow Warrior is absolutely ridiculous. By the end of one battle in the demo, a beautiful Japanese garden lay covered in severed limbs and pools of blood. "Maybe it's not funny, but it's not serious," is how Flying Wild Hog described Shadow Warrior's violence. Shadow Warrior is due out in fall on PC, and Flying Wild Hog will wait for the dust to settle to decide on next-gen console releases.%Gallery-191402%
Seen@E3: Capcom's DuckTales singing booth
Capcom sure seems to enjoy when people sing the DuckTales theme song, as its E3 section features an enclosed glass booth for that sole purpose. We took a quick video when passing by of one gentleman exercising his vocal chords to the enjoyment of viewers behind him. Listen closely for the "woo-oo" part of the song; he totally nailed it.
Ultima Forever reduces most freemium prices after Canadian beta
Ultima Forever, being made by EA for iOS platforms, has received some major tweaks to its freemium currency prices. The RPG has been available in Canada as a beta for a while now, and producer Carrie Gouskos says the biggest change – besides performance adjustments – has been to the cost of things. In the free-to-play RPG, your character has items that will break over time. You'll need to spend keys of various qualities (that can be earned in game, or purchased with real money) to repair those items. Gouskos says player feedback made it clear that repair costs were too high, and repairs for the highest quality items have been lowered from about 60 keys to around 8 or 10. Additionally, the cost to increase storage space in your stash was lowered, as the team found it was a mistake to charge people an increasing cost for simply wanting to collect more of the game's items. One price went up: The cost to loot the highest quality chests was raised a bit to make up for the decreased costs elsewhere. Gouskos also says that once players had good items on their characters, they tended not to loot as much as when they first started playing. For her part, Gouskos says she's "worked too hard to have people not play" the game, so she's striving to make sure there's a way to play that's both free and fun. The team is still considering providing an optional "buyout" fee to essentially negate the game's freemium elements, but no matter how the final product works, says Gouskos, making the game fun takes priority over the tangled monetization model. If you want to make money from a freemium game, says Gouskos, "you've got to get people to love your game first."
Seen@E3: Xbox One E3 signage defaced
This image of a defaced Xbox One advertisement was spotted at LA's JW Marriott hotel by CAG's own CheapyD, who promptly posted it to Twitter for us all to see.
E3 2013 grows again to 48,200 attendees, E3 2014 scheduled for June 10-12
The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) broke the eardrums of 48,200 attendees this year, a 2,500 increase from the prior year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade group that organizes the annual Los Angeles meet-up, estimates the show brought the city $40 million in revenue. E3 2014 is scheduled for June 10-12, 2014, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Stay with us for more E3 coverage as we keep shaking out the stories. There's still more. Like, way more. Please ignore our tears.
IndieCade at E3: That Dragon, Cancer
That Dragon, Cancer is a poetic, emotionally intense story of love in the face of death, blended beautifully into a point-and-click adventure game. It tells a true tale, unfortunately, of developer Ryan Green's family life – his 4-year-old son, Joel, has cancer, and he's currently fighting his eighth tumor. Joel has survived two years of treatments, surpassing doctors' initial estimates, and Green has transformed his pain into a beautiful, introspective game. That Dragon, Cancer doesn't naturally fit into the standard idea of E3, but it isn't out of place in the PC circle of IndieCade's exhibit space. It tells a traumatic story, but in the end it's a simple, gorgeous game. Green explains his intent with That Dragon, Cancer, and I take a deep breath and dive into a part of it. That Dragon, Cancer is a living game, in every sense of the word – it's still being written, by real events, every day. See the Green family's efforts and development process on the game's website. IndieCade is always a refreshing experience at E3, and this year in particular was full of surprises. Check out the other games I highlighted this week right here.
