pax-east-2010
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Hands-on: Battleblock Theater (XBLA)
Battleblock Theater, the Castle Crashers followup unofficially known as "The Crying Leprechaun Game," was available in one distinct play mode at PAX East: a multiplayer team deathmatch variant that centered around eating souls. It's the bright, colorful and playful kind of evil you might imagine is okay in most Saturday morning cartoons, and it's exactly the patented style we've come to identify as "The Behemoth Touch." The basic format of the demo was a 2-on-2 team deathmatch gametype, in which cute little blue blockheads (they looked like a cross between a cat and a bear) try to defeat cute little red things of the same origin. By jumping onto an opponent's head, he (she? it?) is effectively killed, releasing a ghost or spirit that can be captured. Once you grab the escaping ethereal being and hold on to it, points slowly accumulate on the scoreboard -- all the while, a timer gradually counts down to zero. This is a straightforward affair of ghost-napping.
PAX East 2010: Our interview with Melissa Bianco of City of Heroes
Melissa "War Witch" Bianco is without a doubt one of the leading ladies of the MMO world, a title she said she could definitely get used to. But as she says it, that hasn't made an impact on her in some ways, because she never felt there was a bias to overcome at either Cryptic or the current Paragon Studios. "I don't know if I just happened to be in a company that wasn't like that," she says, "or if I'm just so awesome it didn't matter." We would certainly believe either. Bianco is riding fairly high on success at the moment in the eyes of many players, having a solid track record of revamped and improved zones coupled with a highly-anticipated expansion on the way. We had a chance to speak with her after the City of Heroes panel to talk about more future plans for the game, aiming for several of the more outlying areas in the game's development. Read on past the cut for her answers ranging from the immortal warehouse map to the possibility of new epic archetypes.
PAX East 2010: What'd we think?
The first-ever Penny Arcade Expo East event has come and gone, and most gaming fans are interested to know how successful it was in the eyes of the attendees. With the popularity boom of PAX Prime (in Seattle since 2004), porting the expo to the east coast only made sense. But did Boston have what it takes to play host to such an important event? With a limit on space and actual news, the immediate buzz around PAX East was that of failure. However, things got much better as the main reason for the event was realized: after-parties! I mean, gamers know how to party, you can't deny that. But what were the best and worst parts of the event itself? Read on after the cut to find out.
PAX East 2010: A closer look at the Fallen Earth iPhone app
Just a few short weeks ago, the Massively staff descended on GDC in San Francisco, sending back all sorts of new information from MMO-land. One of the most exciting things we came across that week was from Icarus Studios. The minds behind Fallen Earth have been working in every direction on their game: joining Facebook, planning for a Mac client, and joining the ever-growing list of games that will be adding an iPhone app. We brought you a detailed overview of the app from GDC back then, and we were lucky enough to spend some more time with Dave Haydysch, Fallen Earth's Project Manager, at PAX last week. We got a look at the upcoming content for Fallen Earth as well as a closer peek at the iPhone app. We've got some brand new images of the app, and the guys over at Lagwar got something even better: video! Check out the gallery below, and follow along after the jump for the video. We think you'll agree with us that this app can't get here fast enough! %Gallery-89297%
Impressions: Two Worlds II
I rush back to the PAX East press room, locked in that strange place between disbelief and acceptance, nigh incapacitated by the surreal certainty that my worldview is in the process of being fundamentally shifted. "Guys," I say to the collected Joystiq staffers fully expecting my verbal evisceration of TopWare's follow-up. "Guys ... Two Worlds II actually looks kind of cool." They don't believe me. %Gallery-89295%
City of Heroes whips up some demon summoning
One of the features that City of Heroes: Going Rogue is heavily selling are the addition of new powersets. We've already seen the trailer for Dual Pistols, and we were shown the trailer to the Demon Summoning powerset at PAX East. That trailer is now available for every City of Heroes player to view online, allowing all to witness the power of ripping blood-caked monstrosities straight from the nether realms to do your diabolical (or possibly somewhat heroic) bidding. While it's not a full demonstration of the improved graphical designs coming in the expansion, it's clear just how far the game's models have come. Like most Mastermind powers, the set features both minions and a "secondary" power, in this case a flaming whip. The whip, appropriately enough, seems to be both used offensively and in a support role, as the summoner is seen whipping at least one of her demons in what appears to be an enhancing spell. And if the flamboyant gestures aren't enough to impress players, the skull-faced monstrosities should do the job. City of Heroes players who missed out on PAX East as well as those who just want to see Issue 17's upcoming pre-release powerset should click past the link for the video.
'Breach' game code theft at PAX East ends in arrest [update]
[Photo: Kevin Kelly] digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/breach-game-code-theft-at-pax-east-ends-in-arrest/'; An attempted theft of Atomic Games' Breach code on the PAX East show floor on the last day of the event was thwarted by vigilant members of the studio. According to a representative for the company, the suspected thief managed to download some of the code and then run into the crowd after he was spotted. He was eventually apprehended in the large crowd and the game's code was found on his computer. "The suspect did admit to us several times, including as he was doing it, that he was stealing the code. He said to myself and several other team members, after being caught, that it was not a big deal, he just really liked the game and wanted to play it with his friends," David Tractenberg, a spokesperson for Atomic, explained. "This guy had only succeeded in copying about 14MB to his laptop before our staff caught him," Atomic Games President Peter Tamte told Joystiq. "Because of the work we do for military and intelligence organizations, we take security issues like this very seriously ... It is fortunate for him that we caught him before any of this ended up on the internet. Many of the hackers who stole Valve's Half-Life 2 code were tracked down by the FBI's Cybercrime Task Force." %Gallery-88941%
PAX East 2010 Gallery
Penny Arcade creators Gabe and Tycho brought the ever-growing Penny Arcade Expo to the Bay State this weekend, with nerdfolk from all over pouring into Boston, MA for PAX East. As the sole WoW.com rep at the show (with Spiritual Guidance's Fox Van Allen in attendance as "just a dude" instead of "dude with a press badge"), I stomped the floor with the Joystiq and Massively crew, who squeezed every last drop of relevant info from the expo at record speed. "Hello my boss Chris Grant of Joystiq fame," I would tap out on my smartphone, "here's a pretty hot gaming scoop just revealed moments ago!" He would reply three seconds later with "Already posted," with an image attached of his frowning face. As for my site's particular field of interest -- was there a lot of Blizzard-related news? Not really! Thankfully, on top of news about other MMOs, there was some other stuff going on, which you can see in this gallery. There was WoW-related stuff worth writing about though, which'll be posted in the next day or so. A special thanks to all the readers who stopped by to say hello to me! We love you guys, and we'll see you at BlizzCon in full effect.%Gallery-89201%
PAX East 2010: Community manager panel
Community managers are the very definition of a paradox. They're some of the most public faces of the game, yet their role is often least understood. They serve many masters -- developers, players, marketing, press -- and are beholden to all of them at once. They're often on the blunt end of unrestrained love and unfathomable anger. No matter what they are, one thing is for sure: their job rocks. At least, according to a CM panel at PAX East entitled "Community Managers: More than Forum Monkeys." In it, five CMs from various studios shared just what goes on with their job, what limits they deal with, and what are the highs and lows of working in the public limelight 24/7. Meghan Rodberg (Turbine), Aaron Trites (Harmonix), Morgan Romine (Frag Dolls), Jess Folsom (Bioware Austin) and Linda Carlson (Sony Online Entertainment) spent a candid hour with an audience pulling back some of the mystique and misconceptions of their positions as supposed monkey tamers. Hit the jump to read about the inner workings of these fabulous five community managers.
Hands-on: Shank
We are, and I don't think I'm being premature about this, in the thrall of a full-on 2D renaissance courtesy of digital distribution platforms like XBLA and PSN. Developers are realizing that modern technology plus a less technically demanding perspective can lead to a really beautiful end product. That's the case with Shank, a fluid, violent brawler that artfully combines a sort of 2D Devil May Cry blend of sword- and gunplay with a Saturday morning animation style to create the coolest cartoon your mom would have never let you watch. %Gallery-89187%
PAX East returns to Boston in 2011 and 2012, in bigger venue
It appears the East Coast has an annual gaming mega-convention to call its own, as the Penny Arcade Expo East officially locks into Boston for two years. The wildly successful inaugural year had an estimated 60,000 attendees (twice the number originally planned for), which has led organizers to move the show from the Hynes Convention Center to the much larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center for 2011 and 2012. Although the extra space will be welcomed by publishers and attendees, the other convention center is inconveniently located (especially by Boston standards) down by the harbor. While the Hynes, which is located downtown by Copley, may have been a little cramped, it's surrounded by shops and restaurants for meetups. Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik told Joystiq, "We had assumed we would be in [the Hynes] for what? Three years, I think? That was our initial idea. And already this will be our only year here. We have to move it next year." It'll be interesting to see how publishers treat PAX East in 2011. With no other major show in the first half of the year except for the Game Developers Conference, which attendees have complained for years has lost its way by having a larger media presence, PAX East could be the new place to make announcements. Especially if this year-round major game release calendar we've seen in 2010 becomes permanent. Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins spoke about PAX East's place in the industry and the recent occurrence of major releases outside the fourth quarter saying, "I think the problem is [publishers] never had a place to promote those releases, and if they're given a place to promote those releases – this is what [Penny Arcade's business guru] Robert [Khoo] has heard when he talks to the people he talks to to get the show going – they need a place that can attract you and can attract the people who play games ... enthusiasts in general, not industry observers." %Gallery-89141%
PAX East: Ken Levine and the Hug That Taught the World to Love
No matter what anyone will tell you, this months-in-the-making hug between Joystiq's Justin McElroy and Irrational Games' Ken Levine was the most important thing that happened at PAX. Fair warning, Ken drops the F-bomb in the process of admitting the harsh truth that he listens to the Joystiq Podcast. It's pretty much the best thing ever.
APB video preview needs more Enforcers
The violence in this APB video is jarring. Staff from Realtime Worlds will be talking about one of the game's features, like character customization, and then the camera cuts to a few criminals casually interacting, in order to show off the variety of character appearances. Then, one of them pulls out a machine gun and starts spraying bullets. Were the other guys just wearing the wrong colors? Aside from the juxtaposition of design discussion and graphic violence, this preview also introduces locations found in the game and fleshes out the Enforcers vs. Criminals gameplay.
PAX East 2010: Fallen Earth patch 1.4 preview
Fallen Earth has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past six months, with the game's population growing even faster than the game itself as word-of-mouth does its thing. One of the highlights of PAX East this past week was the opportunity to sit down with Dave Haydysch of Fallen Earth and take a sneak peek at the upcoming patch 1.4. This is going to be another huge patch -- the fine folks at Icarus don't seem to do anything by halves -- scheduled for release sometime in Q2 of this year. (We will, of course, be watching for an exact date.) There was quite a bit to see and hear, so follow along after the jump to take a look at what is on the way to the Wasteland.
The Daily Grind: When have MMOs collided with real life?
This past weekend, the real world and virtual one collided at PAX East, as many bloggers, players and developers met in person, often for the first time. This can be a joyous experience akin to a family reunion with people you've never encountered face-to-face before, or a traumatic affair full of sobbing and shirt-rending as you realized the girl of your dreams was actually a ravenous velociraptor seeking only to feast on your tender flesh. So when have MMOs collided with your real life? Was it when you heard a couple busboys at a local restaurant talk about how they totally downed a world boss in game last night? Was it a guild meet-and-greet at Chili's that was full of familiar names and strange faces? A costume party where you dressed up as your in-game character? Or was it when you networked with a business associate during a raid?
PAX East 2010: City of Heroes panel reveals many things
Unpacking the City of Heroes panel at PAX East is a big deal: there were huge amounts of information being thrown around, and a lot of new pieces of information to process. For that matter, there was far more than anyone expected, with information about the full spread of new issues up to Issue 19 and the reveal of Matt "Positron" Miller's heretofore unrevealed new endgame system. The panel as a whole featured a huge breadth of information about the game from concept into the future, and was filled with people long before the official start time, with fans vocally professing their adoration for the team the whole way through. We had the good fortune to be front and center at the theatre, and once we started taking notes we didn't really stop until the event was over. At the panel were lead designer Melissa Bianco, former lead designer and current lead system designer Matt Miller, art lead David Nakayama, and development producer Jesse Caceres. They opened off with a discussion of the game's history from launch back in 2004 to the present. The changeover from Cryptic to Paragon Studios was discussed in brief, mentioning that four of the major launch employees (Miller, Bianco, CW Bennet, and Brian Clayton) were still with Paragon even after the change.
Hands-on: Raskulls (XBLA)
Most Xbox Live Arcade enthusiasts likely aren't familiar with Halfbrick Studios, the Brisbane, Australia-based studio that's only previous work on the platform involved Indie Games that weren't very successful. After switching gears and offering some PSP Minis titles, the dev studio is back on Xbox with Raskulls, a polished and quirky game that has a variety of inspirations, from Mario Kart to Bomberman to, most notably, Mr. Driller. %Gallery-50092%
PAX (f)East your eyes on the PAX East gallery
Games, attendees, cosplayers, geekextremery, Blueberry MuffinTops, the Joystiq Podcast LIVE!, and more. That's what PAX is all about. There's a lot for your eyeball-spheres here, and we're going to share it with you in case you couldn't make it, or if you just want to relive the memories. Check out the images in the gallery below, which is still growing. Got your own PAX East action snaps? Send 'em in to us. We enjoy sharing the love. %Gallery-89141%
Overheard@PAX: 'Don't drink your own Kool-Aid'
On Saturday, we attended Big Huge Games prez Tim Train's panel on the near death of his studio (saved at the eleventh hour by Curt Schilling's 38 Studios). And while we'll have a full writeup on the very candid panel for you very soon, we felt it necessary to share Train's word of warning to studios with long-term employees who are working on a single, long-term game: "Don't drink your own Kool-Aid." Train issued the warning while explaining the business missteps (from the top down) at Big Huge that lead to his studio's near downfall. He explained the tale of his studio's unsuccessful attempts at pitching a "AAA" real-time strategy game to publishers unwilling to invest in his company, and the eventual "worst day of my life" when he was mere days from sending out layoff letters to the entire staff. Like Tim, we're rather glad the day never came.
Joystiq vs. PAX East 2010: Day Two
In this -- our last Versus video of PAX East 2010 -- you get a peek at some of the words of wisdom reviews editor Justin McElroy tossed at the packed house during the Joystiq Blueberry Muffin Tops Breakfast. Technically it was a plea, but whatever. It worked! 'Get Ready for Love: The Joystiq Podcast Live!' was a huge success, with hundreds in attendance for a few laughs and a lot of hugs.
