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Another World opens dimensional rift to Steam
Eric Chahi's Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition is available now on Steam for $9.99, with Steam Play functionality across Windows and Mac.Another World, considered to be one of the medium's best breakouts, is available on iOS, Android and Blackberry 10 in the mobile space. If you'd rather be sitting in front of the computer, you'll also find Eric Chahi's memorable work on the Mac App store and GOG.%Gallery-185024%
Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition jumps to Android next week
Back in January, developer DotEmu announced intentions to port Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition over to Android. Here in The States, you may know the series as Out of this World.The Android version will debut on March 16, and has many of the same features found in the delightful iOS port, including enhanced graphics, achievements (on OpenFeint) and remastered sound and effects.
From Dust migrating to Google Chrome in April
Ubisoft will debut From Dust -- the latest joint from Eric Chahi, creator of Out of this World -- on Google Chrome some time in April, the publisher's Facebook page revealed. The Google Chrome version will feature new controls and full HD graphics.We've contacted Ubisoft for pricing info, and whether or not players will be able to sample the Chrome version for free before buying, just like the Google Chrome port of Bastion. Stay tuned!
Play.com lists 'Ubisoft Triple Pack,' containing Beyond Good and Evil HD, Outland, From Dust [update]
It looks like more downloadable titles will be getting the packaged retail treatment, this time courtesy of Ubisoft. Similar to the various other retail packs we've seen in the past, the "Ubisoft Triple Pack" will contain three previously download-only titles for PS3 and Xbox 360: Beyond Good and Evil HD, Outland and From Dust, according to a listing on Play.com.Play.com's pre-order price of £14.99 equates to roughly $23, although no listings currently exist for the Triple Pack on any of the usual US retailers' websites. We've contacted Ubisoft for clarification regarding the collection's availability and pricing, but we feel safe in assuming that it'll cost more than $1 and less than $100 million, and that it'll be available in a country somewhere on this specific planet.Update: Ubisoft has responded in a wholly surprising and remarkably unpredictable fashion: "We have nothing to announce at this time."
Another World 20th Anniversary Edition headed to Android
After bringing Another World 20th Anniversary Edition to iOS, developer DotEmu has announced that it will soon bring Eric Chahi's classic to Android devices as well. As with the iOS release of Another World (known as Out of This World in North America), the Android version will feature both original and enhanced graphics and (obviously) touch controls. The Android version of Another World 20th Anniversary Edition should be available in "a few months." Assuming it's as good as the iOS port, Android owners are in for a real treat.
Ubisoft: From Dust moved over 500K on PSN and XBLA
In an interview with MCV, Ubisoft digital publishing manager for EMEA Thomas Paincon spoke about the strengths of digital distribution for the introduction of new video game IP. The publisher's no stranger to taking risks with downloadables, as it's currently doing so with I Am Alive, Babel Rising and Shoot Many Robots. It also gambled on Eric Chahi's From Dust earlier this year, which Paincon said has paid off on XBLA and PSN to the tune of "half a million units." Paincon added some insight into Ubisoft's strategy, specifically chalking From Dust's sales up to the fact that "the prices were lower, but also because it was a new experience and people using digital platforms are more willing to test a new IP." Hey, as long as we keep getting good games for $15 or less, you're not going to see us complaining. Now, how about that multiplayer and level editor update?
Chahi: No plans for From Dust 2, new game will take a year or two
In a recent postmortem interview with Eurogamer, Eric Chahi spilled his guts about his world-shaping strategy-esque downloadable, From Dust. While development on the game had its share of highs -- Chahi said he was "very touched" after getting an endorsement from fellow gaming industry icon Peter Molyneux -- and lows, Chahi was happy with the finished product. Of course, it doesn't hurt that "it sold very well." We'd be pretty happy about that, too. Despite his exuberance for the game, Chahi told Eurogamer that "right now there is no plan" to do a From Dust sequel. He explained he wants to do something "very original," and that he has a few ideas as to what that could be. Don't worry about him taking a 13-year break (as he did after his last game, Heart of Darkness) -- Chahi said that work on his next game will take "something between one year and two years, maximum." Godspeed, Eric. (No, seriously. Pick up the pace.)
Portabliss: Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition (iOS)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition. My ability to complete Another World is entirely rooted in memory at this point. To wit, the only reason I can finish it is because I've finished it. That's how it goes every time I play a new incarnation, and I struggle to imagine my younger self peering through the game's opaque sequences without the aid of a previous life. And sometimes (just between you and me) I think it's just a bad game. Another World (which, holy crap, is twenty years old now) has almost no guidance, no user interface, it murders the bewildered protagonist without warning and, if it's your first time, progress seems to require pristine visions of the future. Not many developers would make a game like this today. Even fewer would let you drown within the first ten seconds of gameplay.
PSA: Another World returns on iOS today
We wouldn't want anyone to miss another opportunity to play Eric Chahi's engrossing Another World (Out of this World). So here's a reminder: DotEmu has just released the remastered iOS edition today, playable on both iPhone and iPad for $4.99.
From Dust PSN debut moved to Sep. 13 in North America
Good news! The village chant worked, and the PSN version of From Dust will flood North America two weeks sooner than expected. The god sim will now arrive this coming Tuesday, September 13. The European release is still set for the following day, September 14.
PSA: From Dust patch now available on PC, removes Ubi DRM
Once again, Ubisoft has acquiesced to consumers' demands, with a DRM-removing patch for From Dust now available via Steam. The patch quite literally does nothing else, as the Steam notes describe in extreme specificity that the "Title can be played in offline mode (no connection to the Internet is required after installing the patch)," and that the "Save file is moved from the Uplay/Ubisoft server to the local machine." Reports confirm that the patch does, in fact, allow for offline play, presumably leaning on Valve's Steam service for DRM in place of Ubisoft's own, highly controversial version. Now if only Ubisoft could patch its studio heads to stop defending the damn thing.
Another World coming to iOS this month
Eric Chahi's classic game "Another World" (also known as "Out of this World," from its US release) is finally coming to iOS at the end of September. BulkyPix will be publishing the title, and controls will come in two flavors, either as full touchscreen controls or through a virtual D-pad. Fans of this game really love it, and will probably be happen to see it finally available on Apple's portable devices. The title will be US $4.99, and available as a universal app. I always found the game really hard, but that problem could be fixed (or worsened, depending on your preference): This version of the game will provide both easier and harder difficulty levels, as well as remastered sound, and full Game Center achievement support. We'll have to see what the game is like when it comes out on September 22nd.
Chahi's 'Another World' teleports to iOS on September 22
Two Eric Chahi games in two months! That's got to be a record. Of course, unlike From Dust, this second game is a remake, but it's still exciting. Publisher BulkyPix announced today that the iOS update of Chahi's classic action-adventure game Another World (known in America as Out of This World) will be released on September 22 as a universal iPhone/iPad app, for $4.99 / 3,99€ / £2,99. The new version includes remastered graphics, which can be toggled with a two-finger swipe. It also has the option to use "new intuitive touch controls" or a virtual D-pad -- we're desperately hoping at least one of them will work. The iOS remake also adds new difficulty levels -- both easier and harder than the original -- and remastered sound. This all sounds great, but, once again, we're wary of those controls.
From Dust triggers highest day-one sales in Ubisoft XBLA lineup
Ubisoft has been on a roll in the download space, peaking with the release of From Dust, an environmental manipulation strategy title from designer Eric Chahi. The publisher has announced that day-one sales of From Dust exceeded that of any Ubisoft-published Xbox Live Arcade title before. Publishers are notoriously hesitant to part with proper download numbers (the Xbox Live activity chart is a relative measure), but From Dust's noteworthy impact may still impart some idea of what to expect next. Speaking to Joystiq late last year, Eric Chahi hinged his expansion plans on the first game's presumed success. "We plan to have a major release where we can enhance the experience by adding an editor and a multiplayer mode," he said, "if the success is there." Though From Dust garnered some mixed reviews, it fits in well with a recent streak of well-received Ubisoft titles on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, including Beyond Good & Evil HD, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and Outland. The company also wins bonus points for constructing this latest press release without writing "digital download."
From Dust breathes life into XBLA activity charts, followed by Bastion
With a little help from the Summer of Arcade promotion, not to mention the involvement of gaming industry legend Eric Chahi, Xbox Live Arcade's From Dust managed to top Major Nelson's XBLA activity charts during its release week, followed by the previous week's offering, Bastion. It's so nice of them to fall in line like that! Like a bunch of obedient ducks, who are also downloadable video games. As is usually the case with the activity charts, we don't know exactly how many full purchases From Dust managed to pull in. We can't be the only ones that enjoy destroying the whole world with a thousand natural disasters at once.
From Dust PC launch delayed one month, available Aug. 17
Eric Chahi's upcoming experiment in nature manipulation, From Dust, won't arrive on PCs until mid-August. The company confirmed as much to Joystiq this afternoon, specifically noting, "From Dust will hit XBLA this Wednesday and will release on PC on Wednesday, August 17." That's just three weeks until the game arrives on PC -- more than enough time to practice your lava redirection and bridge carving techniques with a mouse.
From Dust moves From Xbox Live to PC on July 27
PC gamers have cut their teeth on world-building strategy titles since the dawn of time -- it makes sense, then, that Out of this World creator Eric Chahi's upcoming god game, From Dust, will arrive on the PC day-and-date with its Xbox Live counterpart. If you've got a hankering for cultivating a tribal island paradise and then volcanoing it to the ground -- or, more likely, a hankering for more Chahi -- you can grab the game from the usual digital vendors on July 27 for $14.99. If you're still confused about what From Dust actually is, we can't say we blame you. Check out the developer diary above to get a brief tutorial of how your Godlike powers operate. We didn't see any plagues of locusts in said video, but we're assuming that particular ability unlocks later in the game.
From Dust videos are molten hot
From Dust presents a tropical world full of pristine waters and undulating sands, populated by a tribe bedecked in starkly abstract masks. All of which can get wrecked by a volcano at any moment, as demonstrated after the break. Eric Chahi loves volcanoes.
From Dust dev diary directs our attention to the art direction
This latest From Dust dev diary reveals a gameworld inspired by out-of-this-world locales: from the the lagoon archipelagos of Polynesia to the central Sahara Desert and on into the mind of prolific French sci-fi author Laurent Genefort.
How 'Another World' almost became a point-and-click adventure
Famed game designer Eric Chahi shared an interesting yet somewhat terrifying anecdote about his legendary action-adventure Another World during his GDC talk today. It seems Another World nearly ended up being essentially another game. According to Chahi, when he got to the point of shopping the game around to potential publishers, he initially approached (the now defunct) Virgin Interactive. The company proceeded to try and sway him to rework the game into a point-and-click adventure since "that's what was popular at the time." Given the amount of work he'd already done on the game and the formidable task it would have been to re-tool all of it, Chahi decided to leave Another World alone. He went on to work with Delphine Software, which he described as being "very supportive" of the game as it was -- and how it will appear on iOS devices later this year.
