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PAX East 2010: Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 4 and beyond
PAX East in Boston kicked off yesterday, and we were lucky enough to have a visit with Fernando Paiz, the Executive Producer of Dungeons and Dragons Online. We spent some time looking at Update 4 as well as chatting about what else is in store for Dungeons and Dragons Online in 2010. Update 4 will bring the standard Adventure Pack, of course -- "Sentinels" is geared toward more low-level characters than the previous one -- but Turbine didn't stop there. Players were pretty excited and even more curious about the guild housing planned for this summer, with a lot of questions about it. Will smaller guilds be at a disadvantage? Do you have to spend money to access it? How is it all going to work? For all the answers, follow along after the jump to see what we heard from DDO's Executive Producer.
Inside the mouth of Rooster Teeth
You know Rooster Teeth from Red vs. Blue, but have you ever wanted to check out the interior of their sweet offices? Inconspicuously located above a coffee shop in Austin, Texas, we got a sneak peek at the place where all the magic happens during SXSW. That one shot of all of the different controllers? That's that heart and soul of the show, while the recording studio is a glamorously converted women's restroom. Oh, and for you Achievement Hunter fans out there? That comes to you from underneath the Rock 'em Sock 'em robots. Rooster Teeth will be showing off some of that magic as they bring a big change to the next season of Red vs. Blue, and we promised to keep our mouths shut after they gave us a sneak peek. But suffice it to say, it's packed with even more awesome hilariousness. Burnie Burns and the Rooster Teeth team toured us around their digs, although they're moving to a new studio soon. They'll be premiering parts of the new episode at PAX East this weekend, after which we can reveal said seekruts. %Gallery-88596%
Breach coming to PC 'six weeks after' XBLA version
On one of our many trips to Atomic Games' booth on the PAX East 2010 show floor, a representative of the developer told us Breach would see a release on PC in addition to Xbox Live Arcade. The multiplayer shooter will launch on XBLA this summer for $15, with the PC version expected to follow six weeks later. Breach on PC will only be available as a digital download; however, Atomic Games has not decided on a digital distribution platform yet.
Wil Wheaton's State of the Geek Union Address delivered during PAX keynote
We've been floating on a cloud of inspiration since yesterday afternoon, when nerd culture luminary Wil Wheaton delivered the keynote address for PAX East 2010. For one hour, the audience watched as Wil touched on a myriad of game culture touchstones: His newfound love of Dragon Age (including a ton of end-game spoilers), his first encounter with D&D, how he's watched games evolve over the years, and his ever-evolving love of the Penny Arcade Expo. We couldn't poll the audience, but we're pretty sure everyone left the theater with inexplicable warm feelings. You can listen to the whole (fairly NSFW) keynote in the audio player below.
Hands-on: Breach (XBLA)
Breach wants to go after Battlefield 1943. Atomic Games president Peter Tamte summed up DICE's digitally distributed title as a "stripped down version of a retail game," and believes that Breach can outdo last year's surprise XBLA hit with its accessibility and sandbox-style destructibility. Atomic hopes to have the game on XBLA this summer with a price of $15. Focusing on eight-on-eight multiplayer with combative and objective-based game modes, the game heavily emphasizes utilizing cover ... and blowing stuff up. %Gallery-88941%
Hands-on: Hydro Thunder Hurricane (XBLA)
Hydro Thunder Hurricane is not your typical case of sequelitis. The original concept, simply, an arcade-style boat racer, was hatched by indie developer Vector Unit. The 2-man studio, which has grown to 6 for Hurricane, is led by technical director Ralf Knoesel and creative director Matt Small, who met in the late '90s at Stormfront Studios. They stayed in touch over the years, as each continued to build a strong resume of work, and, in late 2007, they co-founded Vector Unit and began work on a small, downloadable project that would become the licensed sequel to Midway's decade-old arcade racer. Checking out a playable build on the PAX East show floor today, I quickly understood what caught the attention of now publisher Microsoft Game Studios, which smartly licensed the Hydro Thunder brand from sinking Midway in order to establish Vector Unit's game as part of a celebrated heritage. With the exception of nods to some boats from the classic arcade game, Hydro Thunder Hurricane is not much of a sequel, and instead represents the promising talent of a new independent developer. It's also, bizarrely, one of two Xbox Live Arcade games premiering at PAX East with a really slick, proprietary water physics engine. (Hydrophobia being the other.)
Reminder: The Joystiq Podcast is LIVE at 8:30 p.m.
Hey PAX attendees, what are you doing tonight at 8:30 p.m.? Did you say "Going to 'Get Ready For Love: The Joystiq Podcast Live' at the Manticore theater"? Because if not, you're wrong. Trust us, you're going to want to be among the hundreds that will join us for our inaugural live PAX-cast. We don't want to tell you how to live your life (except for telling you to come to our show, obviously) but you may want to come early. Not only will you guarantee your presence at the most important event of our day, the first folks in line will win some first come, first serve swag. We'll see you there.
Skate 3 demo on Xbox Live and PSN April 15
While visiting the Skate 3 booth here at PAX today, we were handed a few stickers. In fact, the front of the stickers weren't even the interesting part, as the back revealed a demo is set to bust mad trixx on Xbox Live and PSN on April 15. Not too surprising, considering the first two games also offered a taste before their respective releases.
Joystiq vs. PAX East 2010: Day One
Team Joystiq is attacking PAX East 2010 and we have the footage to prove it. We shot it especially for the YouTube generation. Meaning, it's mostly comprised of shaky camera angles and dirty cuts. So anything that you see above that you think looks terrible is an artistic choice. We promise!
PAX East: How to get into the Joystiq BBMT breakfast
[Update: And we're off! The Joystiq BBMT breakfast is underway, Disney's here with Split/Second (!) and there's enough free cereal to go around. There are some spots left for the 9-10am slot – we're handing out wristbands near the escalator in the Hynes Convention Center. If you want in on the 10-11am slot, just head upstairs to room #312 where we'll be letting people in on a first-come, first-served basis. Guys, free cereal and Split/Second!] Good morning, PAX Easters – in just a few short hours, we'll be having a bunch of you over for Blueberry Muffin Tops breakfast, courtesy of our pals at Malt-O-Meal. Since space is limited, we're asking those of you who want to reserve a spot to roll up to the above location (map!) at 8am ET to get a wrist bracelet from the handsome gentleman in the red hoodie, standing at the statue just alongside the Hynes Convention Center. In case of rain or extreme cold, you can find him inside the Food Court – status updates will be at @JoystiqBBMT. Out drinking late last night? Look, we get it! If we have any bracelets left over, we'll be inviting people in on a first-come, first-served basis – we'll be sure and update this post before the 9am start time.
PAX East's Omeganauts assemble, the Omegathon begins
Click to Omega-size Behold: The ledger containing the names of all 32 Omeganauts participating in the inaugural PAX East Omegathon. Earlier today, their names were randomly drawn during Wil Wheaton's keynote presentation, they were paired into teams of two, and tossed immediately into the unforgiving gauntlet known as Mario Kart: Double Dash. Already, 16 of these contestants have been culled by the first round of the competition. Those who survived must now face three more rounds before claiming the lofty prize of an all-expense paid trip to GAMESCOM and $2,500 spending cash -- rounds which will pit them against one another in Geometry Wars 2, an unknown rhythm game, and PAX's' always entertaining mystery finale. Stay tuned! %Gallery-89124%
Overheard@PAX: The sound of 1,000 knuckles cracking
There are few words one could use to describe the audio phenomenon which occurs at each Penny Arcade Expo, other than, of course, yucky. The video posted after the jump was captured at the first Penny Arcade panel at PAX East, in which everyone in the room simultaneously cracks their knuckles. It is really, really gross and nobody should watch it. We wish we hadn't seen it. We also wish we hadn't filmed it, and then copied it to our computer, and put it online, and put it in this post -- a process forcing us to relive that horrifying moment eight or nine times.
Nvidia announces GTX 470 and 480 cards
The opening day of PAX East in Boston was capped by a fairly humongous presentation from PC gaming hardware manufacturer Nvidia, representatives from which introduced two new graphic cards: The XLR8 GeForce GTX 480 1536MB and XLR8 GeForce GTX 470 1280MB. The new pieces of hardware are priced at $500 and $350, respectively, and have a tentative release window of mid-April. In addition to being capable of rendering some impressive visuals -- as seen in the presentation's 3D, multi-monitor demos of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Metro 2033 -- the two devices come loaded with some neat bonuses. Among these are a handful of download vouchers for high-def films from Sony Pictures and two tech demos titled Design Garage and Supersonic Sled. We really, really hope the latter can be fleshed out into a full-length game.
Breach expected to launch this summer on XBLA for $15
We popped by Atomic Games' booth here at PAX to check out Breach, the dev's attempt to take on DICE's online-only, digitally distributed Battlefield 1943. Atomic president Peter Tamte revealed during our play session that he hoped to get Breach on XBLA this summer (as previously estimated), and that the developer is targeting a $15 price point. Considering how polished the game was in the state we saw it, we certainly believe it can meet that deadline. Look for our hands-on impressions later today.
PAX Poll: Raise your hand if you like review scores
Okay, so maybe a few hands actually went up when Gaming Nexus Editor-in-Chief Charles Husemann asked attendees of a PAX East panel today to raise their hands if they liked review scores -- but no more than 10 hands. And then, when Husemann asked for a show of hands from those who don't like scores, the room practically exploded in armpit B.O. Interestingly, Husemann observed, a PAX Prime audience last September showed the opposite responses to the same questions. (We should note that Huesmann's polling at PAX East today immediately followed strong remarks from one of the panelists of PR representatives, who basically hates review scores, perhaps influencing the votes of the audience -- "Puppet Masters," indeed, as the panel was titled.) %Poll-43519%
Hands-on: Hydrophobia (XBLA)
It's been nearly five years since Dark Energy Digital began work on the water physics-based action-adventure game Hydrophobia. In that time, the developer has shown approximately nobody the game -- heck, before I heard about the game heading to Xbox Live Arcade last summer, there hadn't been a lick of info on it in nearly nine months. But with this week's announcement of the game's XBLA exclusivity (and subsequent playability at PAX East), Joystiq was offered its first chance to play the title this morning. I'm happy to report that ... it's pretty good! Alright, so, while Hydrophobia probably isn't going to be taking top spots on my 2010 GOTY list, I could certainly see it making an appearance on my "best of XBLA" list this year. The demo immediately made me think of playing Shadow Complex at last year's E3 -- it doesn't quite look like what you'd expect from XBLA, and the developers made sure to repeatedly affirm the game's "AAA quality" throughout my hands-on earlier this morning. Whether guiding the game's main character, Kate, through platforming areas or underwater, the gameplay itself felt like a solid base for what could be a very interesting (six-hour-ish) experience. %Gallery-74474%
No further plans for Battlefield 1943, 'another type of 1943' possible in future
Just exhale if you've been holding your breath for any Battlefield 1943 DLC, because it seriously sounds like the sun has set on the Pacific war. Speaking with DICE producer Gordon Van Dyke at PAX East, we asked if he could finally end the hopes and dreams that its successful downloadable experiment would receive more content. He informed us, "There's no plans. There's no plans for DLC." However, the PC version is still planned, and there is a patch incoming to address console issues, including mic problems on PS3. Van Dyke told us that Battlefield 1943 was a cool way to express a classic game like Battlefield 1942 using the company's Frostbite engine. He said that it opened up a lot of eyes to showing off what an older Battlefield game could be like with the new engine. When asked to elaborate if other classic Battlefield games would receive a reimagined bite-sized release he said, "I can't. There's no specific plans. The success of [1943] has given it an existence within our lineup, in our thoughts. You could possibly see another type of 1943 in the future. But it doesn't mean it's going to be based on 1942." When pressed, he continued, "Seriously, all options are open. We haven't closed our mind off to anything and we haven't locked down that we'll do anything specific." %Gallery-63331%
Hands-on: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (360)
Regardless of how you felt about Ubisoft's 2008 Prince of Persia, it represented a clear departure from the acclaimed Sands of Time trilogy -- an experiment, even. And although, on a granular level, The Forgotten Sands modifies the formula through the addition of elemental powers, they primarily strengthen the game's familiar basis of linear platforming mixed with light combat. It's a solid basis and one that Ubisoft clearly believes to be worth pursuing again this May (especially with movie buzz in the air), but it hasn't been swept clean of old problems. Even in the short snippet of gameplay on show at PAX East, the combat feels like filler. It's competent -- and the Prince's agility adds an exciting flourish to every strike and finishing blow -- but it never feels complex enough to stand out as anything more than "that thing you do between platforming segments." That's a problem Prince of Persia often shares with Tomb Raider.
Red Dead Redemption has 'surprising' multiplayer, to be revealed in early April
We just spent some time getting our filthy hands even filthier inside of Red Dead Redemption, where we actually skinned a horse and instantly felt like we'd killed Trigger. But no-good horse killin' aside, the big news here is that multiplayer is coming to Red Dead Redemption. We don't know how just yet, but a Rockstar representative told us that it would incorporate multiplayer in a "surprising" way. Surprising as in it doesn't totally suck like in GTA IV? Aw, snap. Yeah, we went there. Now we'll have to worry about being skinned. More details are coming directly from the horse's mouth (sorry, couldn't resist) the week of April 5th, so stay tuned for more details when Rockstar reveals the secrets of what we like to call Red Dead Redemption: Posse Galore. %Gallery-43816%
Joystiq at PAX: Here's your schedule
a man chooses, a slave clicks for a larger image Did you know that PAX East was originally going to be called "the Joystiq Expo?" That's a flagrant lie, but considering the number of Joystiq-related events scattered throughout the show, you'd be hard pressed to think otherwise. If you want to hang out with the stars of the Joystiq Podcast and the rest of the Joystiq east coast crew – and even earn a chance to win one of these super limited edition Andrew Ryan figurines, courtesy of our pals at Irrational Games – make sure you stop by every one of these many events: Blueberry Muffin-Tops Breakfast brought to you by Malt-O-Meal Saturday, 8AM Start the day right with a free bowl of Justin McElroy's favorite breakfast cereal. Space will be limited, so make sure you follow @JoystiqBBMT on Twitter to find out how to get a wristband for entry to this exclusive event. [more info] Get Ready For Love: The Joystiq Podcast LIVE! Manticore Theatre - Saturday, 8:30pm It'll be just like the show you love, except you'll be forced throughout to stare at the terrifying visage of the hosts. So, in short, a spectacle in every sense of the word. Come early -- there will be giveaways. [more info] Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Game Journalism... Manticore Theatre - Sunday, 2:30pm Chris Grant and a team of esteemed gaming peons will answer any and all questions you have about the art and craft of getting paid to write about games (it's a tough life). Review scores. Swag. Junkets. Bias. The death of magazines. The rise of blogs. It's all fair game. [more info] Sequelitis Snake Oil: Quack Medicine for the Video Game Industry Manticore Theatre - Sunday, 4:00pm This panel will seek to diagnose the video game industry's purported "sequelitis" by way of discussion from thoughtful panelists, including Irrational Games' Ken Levine; Obsidian's Chris Avellone; Harmonix's Dan Teasdale; Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann; and moderator Chris Grant (from Joystiq!). Mr. Levine is bringing five of the above, super limited edition Andrew Ryan figurines. There are only 200 of these in existence and they're not for sale anywhere – so come early. [more info] Also, do you want VIP access to Mafia II? 2K Games has graciously offered to give eight Joystiq readers a chance to get 30 minutes with the upcoming game, and exclusive swag. VIPs will be able to cut the line and get VIP access on Saturday, 4PM. Want access? The first eight commenters (that are at PAX East!) that respond to this post will get e-mailed instructions on how to get access.
