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Team17 wriggles free from third-party publishers
Having released only two boxed retail games in the past three years, Worms developer Team17 has been working toward total independence from third-party publishers. That moment has arrived for the studio, which has repositioned itself as an independent digital publisher, reports MCV. "We have no ambitions to return to retail publishing," co-founder Martyn Brown told the site. Team17 has completed a restructuring initiative, which has both promoted existing staff and brought in new hires to fill the roles of a publishing entity. In addition to continuing to self-publish its own titles through digital distribution channels -- having celebrated its 20th anniversary last December, Team17 is one of the oldest independent developers in the industry -- the company will be working with other independent developers to bring their games to digital platforms, including XBLA, PSN and the App Store. "We are actively involved in working with other independent studios to publish their IP. This is a key aspect of our strategy going forward," Brown said. "We now have the right structure and team in place to accomplish this."
Alien Breed: Impact half price on Steam
Team17 has announced that its extraterrestrial murder sim, Alien Breed: Impact, is now available for fifty percent off on Steam. The title has been reduced to a mere $7.49. You can also grab a co-op friendly 2-pack for just $11.24. Grab it quick though -- the deal ends on Thursday.
Worms Reloaded tunneling 'exclusively' to PC on August 26
Lordy! Another Worms game already? That seems to be the case, as UK dev house Team17 just revealed a solid release date for Worms Reloaded -- August 26 -- and even handed over a rather wormey trailer, found just after the break.%Gallery-98488%
PSA: Worms 2: Armageddon 'Battle Pack' DLC available
You've already read all the details about the new Worms 2: Armageddon "Battle Pack" DLC, but have you seen it with your own two eyes? We've got a handful of extra wormy screens and a trailer after the break.
Alien Breed: Impact on Steam June 3, pre-order bonuses detailed
Team17 has revealed that Alien Breed: Impact, the expanded version of Alien Breed: Evolution, will be released on Steam in June 3. The game will sell for $14.99 in the US, £12.99 in the UK, and either €11.25 or €14.99 in other regions of Europe. Those who pre-order will receive a 10 percent discount as well as "an exclusive in-game digital comic, chronicling the troubled back-story of the game's hero, Conrad, the doomed space vessel's Chief Engineer." To help you make that purchasing decision, Team17 has released an Alien Breed: Impact demo, which includes single-player and online co-op. There's also a new trailer, which you can watch right here.
Alien Breed: Impact bursts onto PC and PS3 this summer
Team17 Software, best known for its Worms games, is bringing an expanded version of Alien Breed: Evolution to PC and PS3 this summer. Alien Breed: Impact takes the original XBLA game and adds "suggestions from the community," such as weapons upgrades, increased difficulty, and a new "Prologue" campaign for newcomers to the franchise. Like its predecessor, the top-down shooter is powered by Unreal Engine 3, and will be distributed digitally via Steam and PlayStation Network. Expect both versions of Impact to arrive this summer. %Gallery-67671%
Worms Reloaded beta going worldwide on Monday
News from the Steam Community tells us that Worms Reloaded, that new "extended" version of the old game in which sentient invertebrates do battle with rockets and/or sheep, is moving up to a worldwide beta. Previously, the game was only available for testing in Europe, but it's opening it up globally on Monday, so children of all nations will be able to throw airstrikes and ninja ropes at each other then. The only catch? You need a key, and they've only got a few. So you'll just have to hope you come up when they spin the random numbers around. We do know that you have to be a member of the official group, so sign in over there right now ... and then begins the waiting game. [via LA Examiner]
Worms Reloaded is 'an extended edition' of XBLA, PSN versions
Remember that "new" edition of Worms that Team 17 announced for Steam? It turns out that it may not be that "new" after all, which isn't a bad thing. Big Download did a little sleuthing and discovered that the game is actually based on the recent versions that have appeared on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Specifically, Team 17's Facebook page notes that Worms Reloaded will be "an extended edition of the console versions of late." Again, however, the studio leaves any other details to your expansive imagination. In other words, it's time to start arguing about why it's absolutely essential that Reloaded includes your favorite weapon. Not your stupid best friend's favorite weapon though. That thing totally ruins the game, Stephen!
New 2D Worms game squirming its way to Steam
A recent tweet from Team 17's Martyn Brown has revealed that everyone's favorite combative invertebrates will soon star in a new 2D outing on Steam, titled Worms Reloaded. That's literally all we know about the game at the moment, though Brown's tweet promises more details soon. Until then, we're left to worry that it's going to be an all-annelid remake of The Matrix: Reloaded, which would be totally awesome, until, of course, the big rave/orgy scene.
This Wednesday: Alien Breed Evolution brings about Puzzlegeddon on XBLA
It looks like we get more than the previously announced Alien Breed Evolution on XBLA this week, as Major Nelson has revealed that it will be joined by Puzzlegeddon from Tecmo. Despite its apocalyptic name, Puzzlegeddon sports an entirely cheery disposition, complete with lots of bright colors and bubbly music. The PC version previously received some decent reviews, and we've certainly been roped in by cute puzzle games in the past. Alien Breed Evolution and Puzzlegeddon will run you 800 ($10) apiece.
MMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2
What started as simple forum posts on tanking and a little number crunching bloomed into a full guide in Issue 2 of EON, EVE's official magazine. When the article was finally in print, EON editor Richie 'Zapatero' Shoemaker came to me with a work proposal. After writing several more articles for EON and acting as editor on countless others, university work began piling up and I had to stop.
MMOrigins: Life's funny like that
We all got started gaming somewhere. For a lot of people, it was the Sega Mega-drive, the Atari 2600 or the NES that signaled their first steps into gaming. For me, it was the Commodore Amiga, a machine that was more a complete home computer than a games console. It was on the Amiga that groups like Team 17, Ocean, Electronic Arts and Blizzard first really made their mark on gaming and it was a great time of innovation in the industry. I recall long nights spent playing Frontier: Elite II, scooping hydrogen fuel from the corona of a star or wormholing into deep space. Another favourite that I still play occasionally was K240, an early space 4x game and still one of the best I've ever played. It was the public domain market on the Amiga that really caught my attention. It's one thing to play a game, but here was the opportunity to make one and sell it via a page in CU Amiga magazine or a PD order disk. I've always been more interested in making games than playing them but being young with no programming experience, I was limited in what I could do. I tooled endlessly with the "Shoot 'em up Construction Kit" and "Reality Game Creator" packages, making countless primitive prototype games that only I ever played.
Alien Breed PC slated for Q1 2009, PS3 in Q2
Having already dated the timed-exclusive XBLA debut of Alien Breed Evolution -- it will land on December 16 -- Team17 has told GamerZines when PC and PS3 owners can expect the game. According to Team17's Mark Baldwin, Alien Breed Evolution will hit PCs sometime in the first quarter of 2009, while the PS3 version will arrive in the second quarter. Elaborating, Baldwin said the PC version should be available "sometime before March." Meanwhile, PS3 owners "will have to wait as long as perhaps June." Team17 has previously stated that exclusivity is "just the way the world works," noting that Microsoft had a lot of early faith in the title. At least three to six months' worth of faith.
Alien Breed Evolution evolves on XBLA Dec. 16
Team17 has announced that the first episode of its upcoming shooter, Alien Breed Evolution, will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, December 16. The first of three planned episodes, the game will offer both single-player and co-op play. Team17 revealed earlier this year that each episode would contain a prologue and five full levels, lasting roughly five to eight hours altogether. Each episode will also include a cooperative battle mode. The first episode has been priced at 800 ($10). Check out a new trailer above, new screens below, and episode one videos after the break. %Gallery-79585%
Worms 2 gets patched up on XBLA
We've all felt the pain of pressing the jump button a second time just barely too late in a game of Worms 2, sending a brave worm soldier free falling off the side of a mountain or, worse yet, into the watery depths below. Recognizing that the game might have some issues – and rather than simply calling us "newbs" like most people do – Worms 2 developers Team17 have just released a patch aimed at ailing all that is wrong with the adorable multiplayer strategy games. Listing everything from "Back flip input slowed down to stop incorrect jumps harming the player" to "Fixed bug which made crates in Forts matches only land on the right hand side," as well as a slurry of other fixes, Team17 seems to have given the nearly five-month-old release a full overhaul. An overhaul that'll perhaps feel all the more worthwhile when the developers make good on next year's DLC for the game. In the meantime, we'll be over here waiting for you with a Buffalo of Lies. [Via CVG]
Team17 details Alien Breed episodes structure
At the Eurogamer Expo -- in Europe! -- Team17 has revealed its plans for the episodic structure of its upcoming downloadable title, Alien Breed Evolution. It was previously revealed that the game would be released in three separate episodes, and now Team17's John Dennis explains that each episode will contain a prologue and five levels that are "much larger than they should have been." In addition, each episode contains two major "set pieces" -- large scripted events -- as well as two boss battles and a multiplayer level. Each episode should last five to eight hours. The first episode of Alien Breed Evoluation should release fairly soon, as it was originally slated for "around October." The XBLA version will enjoy an unknown period of exclusivity before the PSN and PC versions are released.
iPhone It In: Worms
There isn't a whole lot to say about my six or so hours spent with Worms, and as such, this won't be one of the longer iPhone game reviews you read anytime soon. In fact, if you've played past Worms games, then you're going to find some pretty glaring issues to complain about here and not much of anything new. The game looks great, has tons of content (near equivalent to the recent XBLA release, Worms 2: Armageddon), and doesn't cost a whole lot of money ($5). There are, however, a handful of niggling complaints that could be made about the lack of precision control necessary for a time-based game, as well as long load times strewn throughout the game's menus. Unfortunately, these little issues add up to a much bigger one -- they make me not want to play the game. %Gallery-68930%
Team17 head: Timed exclusivity is 'just the way the world works'
"I appreciate PS3 owners getting pissed off because it's not on their platform immediately, but that's up to Sony I guess to address that," Team17 studio head Martyn Brown said in a recent interview with VideoGamer.com. According to Brown, exclusivity is just a fact of life. "People on Live Arcade can't play Super Stardust [HD] or PAIN or a bunch of titles ... it's just the way the world works really." he added. Addressing concerns that his company was paid off by Microsoft for the timed exclusivity of Alien Breed Evolution on XBLA, Brown answered ... "bollocks" (British for "nonsense"). Instead, Brown credited the exclusivity deal to "early faith" from the publisher. Specifically, Brown stated, "In exchange for exclusivity we get a lot more promotion ... it isn't the case of here's some cash in a suitcase, It just doesn't work like that -- It would be nice if it did!" No suitcases full of bank notes, Mr. Brown? Oh, that's right, GTA IV's exclusive DLC used up all of Microsoft's petty cash for a bit. Sorry, guy! %Gallery-68333%
Team17: XBLA publishing is much harder now
Team 17's Martyn Brown believes the barriers to self-publishing on Xbox Live Arcade are becoming more difficult to break through. The studio director tells GI.biz that it's "massively" harder to get games on XBLA now, saying that there just aren't "many gaps in the portfolio" and the top sellers are mostly established IPs -- like his company's Worms games. Brown believes that new developers without established connections need to make titles that cater to the platforms. He expresses that Sony "tends to like the new stuff" that isn't necessarily mass market, while with Microsoft "you're really going for the commercial mass market audience." The takeaway from this is that as digital distribution goes from being the new frontier to becoming the norm, it's going to have similar issues as current brick-and-mortar retailers.
Alien Breed Evolution to spawn trilogy on XBLA, PSN, PC
Speaking at the Develop Conference in Brighton, England today, Team17 leader Martyn Brown described his studio's forthcoming digital release, Alien Breed Evolution, as a trilogy -- "one of the most expensive digital titles to-date," too -- according to GamesIndustry.biz. Said to be costing in the realm of $2.5 million to develop, Team17's Unreal remake of its Amiga shooter will be distributed in three parts, spanning an estimated 15 hours of gameplay. The first "episode" will include three, one-hour levels and an additional three-hour, co-op scenario, and is scheduled to hatch on Xbox Live Arcade around October and destined for PSN at a later date, confirmed VG247. The underlying message of Brown's presentation, titled "10 Things Nobody Tells You About Digital Distribution and Self-publishing That You Must Understand to Succeed," seemed to be one of caution, as summarized by Gamasutra. Brown dispelled much of the get-rich-quick myth of independent, digital development -- and publishing. Sure, one in a billion basement programmers might strike gold, but to enjoy lasting success, as Team17 has for nearly two decades, expect to spend money to make money and employ a staff with a "wide variety of skills" (a team of 30 or so is currently working on Alien Breed, for example). Brown warned, "if you don't know something, get someone who does, because you will not be able to wing it." Update: It's coming to PC too. Source - Alien Breed trilogy cost $2.5 million to make Source - Alien Breed trilogy: PS3 version coming later Source - Develop 2009: Team17's Brown Talks Challenges Of Self-Publishing Online
