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Joystiq Streams: One last early look at Dungeon Defenders 2
Eight months on from Joystiq's last stream of Dungeon Defenders 2, Trendy Entertainment is finally ready to unleash its crafty blend of co-op role-playing and tower defense on the public. Months of testing, tweaking, and tally-ho-ing into battle has hopefully worked out the kinks since our last session. How has the game shaped up? With three days to go before the game's official release on Steam, Joystiq's Alexander Sliwinski (@Sliwinski), Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM), and Sinan Kubba (@SinanKubba) team up to find out. The crew from Trendy Entertainment will also be on hand to walk us through what's changed. Dungeon Defenders 2 hits Joystiq Streams at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch. Join us! Dig the stream? Follow us on Twitch. [Images: Trendy Entertainment]
Dungeon Defenders 2 hits Early Access next month
Good time co-op tower defense game Dungeon Defenders 2 will enter Steam's Early Access program on December 5. Although DD2 will eventually launch as a free game with, as Trendy puts it, "ethical in-game purchases," the Early Access version will be a premium experience. "Players that purchase the game in Early Access will get access to a pre-alpha build of Dungeon Defenders 2 and be able to play the entire first region of the game with the franchise's four iconic heroes," Trendy explained in a press release. Trendy let go of 20 percent of its staff earlier this year, as it reorganized for profitability under a new CEO. We had a chance to play the pre-Alpha build of Dungeon Defenders 2 this year and we'll invite the developers back on Joystiq Streams when the game hits Early Access.
Dungeon Defenders Eternity includes gear for sequel
The original Dungeon Defenders now comes in an all-in-one package called Dungeon Defenders Eternity. The $15 bundle includes "previously released material, new content, redesigned gameplay balance and cross-platform play." Owners of the original game on PC, Mac and Linux can upgrade for $6. There's also a package with "less content" on Android Tegra Devices for $9.99. It'll arrive on other Android devices, iPhones and iPad later this year. There's also a browser version at Playverse.com.
Dungeon Defenders studio lets go 20% of its staff
Dungeon Defenders studio Trendy Entertainment has laid off 20 percent of its employees in the development and marketing divisions, CEO Darrell Rodriguez told GI International on Wednesday. The company declined to state the number of employees let go. "Currently, we are not profitable, but we have products in the pipeline to get us there," Rodriguez said. "We are in between launches, so our cash flow is a concern. We are taking the necessary steps to fix this to ensure Dungeon Defenders 2 gets out the door at the great quality people have come to expect. We're at a critical time where execution and performance is essential to our ongoing success." Rodriguez said the company is working with an outplacement team "to make sure everyone is cared for." Rodriguez took over as CEO in April. Before that, he was president of LucasArts from 2008 to 2010, and then Chief Creative Officer of casino game creator International Game Technology. Dungeon Defenders 2 is the tower-defense sequel to 2010's Dungeon Defenders, and it's due out in 2014. Trendy is also working on a cross-platform toolkit called Playverse, which Rodriguez called "the future of the company." [Image: Trendy Entertainment]
Former LucasArts president now CEO at Dungeon Defenders dev
Darrell Rodriguez, who served as president of LucasArts between 2008 and 2010, will now lead Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment as its CEO, the studio has announced. Rodriguez, who most recently served as Chief Creative Officer at casino game creator International Game Technology, said in a press release that he was drawn to the studio due to it being "among the first companies to recognize that digitally distributed releases deserve the same high-quality treatment as traditional retail titles." "AAA doesn't belong to AAA anymore, and finding fellow video game industry veterans who understand this is an exciting proposition," Rodriguez said. Trendy's Dungeon Defenders 2, sequel to the studio's 2010 hit Dungeon Defenders, recently dropped its MOBA-inspired mode to focus on the game's unique blend of tower defense and RPG elements. It's expected to launch later this year. [Image: Trendy Entertainment]
Joystiq Streams: Teaming with Trendy in Dungeon Defenders 2 [Relive the stream!]
Dungeon Defenders was more than a peanut butter on chocolate blend. The Reese's analogy implies a meeting of just two flavors, whereas Trendy Entertainment's blend of tower defense and action role-playing benefited from a third, magical ingredient: cooperation. A gooey gaming smore is what it is, and Dungeon Defenders 2 is all that with rich cartoon art, crunchy complimentary class abilities, and melty marshmallow. Maybe not the marshmallow. Joystiq Streams dives into the pre-alpha version of the co-op-tower-defense ARPG sequel today, and Trendy Entertainment's Philip Asher will be our guide and partner in exploring its wiles. Alexander Sliwinski will join Philip in the game while Anthony John Agnello hangs in the chat feeding your questions to the developer. It all happens at 4PM EST on the Joystiq Twitch channel. Joystiq Streams broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST just in case you don't get enough of us today. [Images: Trendy Entertainment]
PSA: Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live
Those itching to cast spells, hack away at enemies and level up will be happy to learn that co-op action RPG Dungeon Defenders is free on Xbox Live for Gold subscribers through the end of the month, March 31. The Trendy Entertainment-developed tower defense game took the place of Civilization Revolution in this month's Games with Gold program offerings, first launching on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in October 2011 and receiving four DLC packs in the time since. Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently addressed concerns related to the Games with Gold program and the comparisons to Sony's PlayStation Plus program that it frequently receives. Spencer said the business for Microsoft's two-free-games-per-month service is "fundamentally different" from PS Plus, and stressed that players are able to keep the free games they download after their Xbox Live premium subscriptions run out. Trendy Entertainment announced a sequel to Dungeon Defenders in March 2013, which is still scheduled to launch this spring, according to the game's website. The developer also revealed cross-platform online shooter Monster Madness Online in December. [Image: Trendy Entertainment]
Send in the first screens for Dungeon Defenders 2
We've got the first wave of screens for Dungeon Defenders 2, the free-to-play sequel to the popular tower defense game. We got a little time with it recently and think it's shaping up to be a worthy successor. Check it out with us on an episode of Joystiq Streams, next Thursday at 4PM Eastern.
Dungeon Defenders dev announces cross-platform shooter Monster Madness Online
Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment and its new indie subsidiary Nom Nom Games announced a new cross-platform, RPG-like shooter called Monster Madness Online today. The free-to-play game places combatants in the shoes of one of four minors in Suburbia City, which has been overrun by invading Martians whose powerful Monster Tokens apparently don't affect the kids of the town. Monster Madness Online is billed as the first 3D action game to use Mozilla's asm.js technology, which enables Nom Nom Games to take advantage of a higher level of JavaScript development. This offers developers the ability to insert physics, 3D graphics, multiplayer networking, advanced animation and other beefier game elements into their browser-based projects without the use of a proprietary plugin. Trendy Entertainment Co-Founder and CTO Jeremy Stieglitz explained the developer's use of asm.js in a separate trailer, found after the break. The game is expected to fully launch in May 2014 for PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and any web browser of choice. An online, pre-alpha PvP version of Monster Madness Online is available to try out now on the game's website.
Dungeon Defenders 2 'resets' development, conjures up a teaser trailer
Dungeon Defenders 2 is now strictly a tower defense game. The sequel was revealed earlier this year as two games in one, featuring a tower defense component and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. Developer Trendy Entertainment has dropped the latter and is now focusing on making the game an actual sequel to the original Dungeon Defenders, a good tower defense game that became great after several updates. "We had strayed from making the kind of game fans wanted and the kind of game we wanted to develop. So, we've nixed the MOBA-style of gameplay and other 'extra' features we were talking about and instead are making the sequel we all want to play," said Philip Asher, marketing director at Trendy. "In late October we're going to kick off our first major community initiative to get fans involved in the development of the game, and start working with them to make the roleplaying and item systems as satisfying as possible." A soft launch for the game is expected in the spring of 2014 on PC, Mac and Linux. Surprisingly, the game is still expected to be a free-to-play title. Those attending New York Comic Con can play Dungeon Defenders 2 in its new incarnation this weekend.
Dungeon Defenders 2 begins character profiles with 'Man and Machine'
Trendy Entertainment's Dungeon Defenders 2, which is split into a tower defense sequel and a MOBA, has begun releasing videos for the latter portion of its DNA. Every Wednesday, the studio will highlight a new character for the player-versus-player mode. First up is the "Man and Machine."
Dungeon Defenders 2 announced, game split into tower-defense and MOBA
Trendy Entertainment announced Dungeon Defenders 2 today, which we've surmised through great deductive reasoning is the sequel to Dungeon Defenders – also, Trendy kinda said that on its website.This time out the kids from the first game are all grown up and will participate in cooperative and competitive dungeon defending. The cooperative mode is a "true sequel" to the first game with more heroes, towers and obsessive loot stat comparisons. Trendy also mentions a "24-player overworld" is in the works.The competitive mode is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) set in the Dungeon Defenders universe. Trendy describes it as a "streamlined MOBA [that] aims for a shorter learning curve and more RPG-esque take on the genre."No consoles have been mentioned for the sequel, which is a free-to-play game currently in development for PC, Mac, iOS, Android and "web." The cooperative mode will go into beta later this year or early 2014; the competitive mode is in closed beta with sign-ups available.
Dungeon Defenders celebrates first birthday with new content, sale
Co-op tower defense action-RPG (phew) Dungeon Defenders is celebrating its first year of existence with some party favors and a sale. For the next two weeks, the "Dungeon Defenders Anniversary Pack DLC" is free. It finds our pint-sized heroes wearing party hats and defending a newly decorated tavern homebase from wave after wave of monsters trying to destroy the birthday cake crystal core.Dungeon Defenders is also 75 percent off as part of Steam's midweek madness sale, making the core game a mere $3.74. Want to be a big spender and receive all of Dungeon Defenders' content? Well, better cancel that trip to The Olive Garden tonight, because that's going to cost $12.49.
Dungeon Defenders adds Jester Hero class, free for a limited time
Trendy Entertainment has deposited a brand new hero class into its Steam hit, Dungeon Defenders, and you can currently get it for free. The Jester is described as "a sly trickster born in a whimsical realm of chaos," and she can use any weapon in the game, as well as drop "presents" that open up to give out random defense and extras. The Jester can also use the "Move Tower" ability to change up the gameplan during a round, and the "Wheel O' Fortuna" ability could give your team great bonuses - or hurt everybody really badly.Sounds like an interesting character choice, especially for those willing to roll the dice. The Jester DLC is free right now to download for current owners, and will remain so until Wednesday, August 22. After that, it will probably need a purchase to play: The Barbarian Hero pack currently sells for $2.99, so save yourself a few bucks and grab The Jester right away if you can.
Dungeon Defenders 'Sky City' DLC now available on Steam
The fourth and final installment of Dungeon Defenders' DLC saga Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards -- "Sky City" -- is now available on Steam for $3.99. As seen in the trailer above, the DLC appears chock full of biplanes, ogres with impractical jet packs, and jewel-encrusted troll dolls from the depths of monstrous terror.It also includes two new campaign missions (with two accompanying bosses), six new cinematics, a "Catarang" pet, a Boss Rush challenge mission, eight legendary hero costumes, a Sky Captain Initiate costume, 20-plus new weapons/accessories and "even more secrets for the true, Ultimate Defenders," according to the announcement. Those who prefer defending dungeons on their PS3 or 360 will have to be patient, however, as console versions of the DLC are still listed as "coming soon."
Dungeon Defenders won't protect Vita
Dungeon Defenders will not make its way to Sony's Vita, developer Trendy Entertainment has stated in its forums. The handheld did have a tech demo of Dungeon Defenders running for the platform, but those development resources will now be moved toward "other pursuits.""As a small team we often need to pick and choose our projects carefully. This is one of those cases where there were just too many opportunities and things we could be working on, so some of it had to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, Dungeon Defenders on Vita was one of those projects," Trendy informed Joystiq this afternoon. "That said, we have a bunch of other exciting things we're working on and can't wait till the time comes when we can share them with everyone!"%Gallery-154262%
Dungeon Defenders shifts into an RTS with Summoner hero class
Dungeon Defenders has expanded its perspective on PC and Mac gameplay (and probably life and love and stuff) with the new Summoner character, who can conduct battle from on high as if in an RTS. Overlord Mode allows the Summoner to supervise entire armies from a top-down perspective, altering the game entirely.Along with omniscient battle control, the Summoner gets two pets, can levitate for 15 seconds, build an army from sentient crystal and basically wreak havoc on the battlefield, as the above video shows. The Summoner DLC pack is available via Steam for $4.%Gallery-156098%
Dungeon Defenders 'Aquanos' DLC flows onto Steam
Dungeon Defenders' "Aquanos" expansion, the third droplet in the Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards series, is available now through Steam. The $4 pack will also be available May 15 on the PlayStation Network, but is currently lost at sea for XBLA, with no word on when it'll wash ashore. [Okay, that's enough! - Ed.]The wet 'n' wild new area releases the Kraken as a new boss, includes 10 new items, a new pet and a mermaid outfit for the Countess. It also adds the new Sharken enemy and an eight-player co-op challenge called the "Shipwreck Graveyard Uber Monster Fest."The developers at Trendy are still on the lookout for folks who can design better Dungeon Defender maps than even they can ... and they'll pay.%Gallery-154262%
Trendy offering real money for best Dungeon Defenders maps
Trendy Entertainment, the dev behind Dungeon Defenders, is looking to beef up the offerings from that game's free development kit. It's holding a contest, in which it's giving away some real money and prize packs for the best maps made for the game.To enter, all you have to do is put a map together for the tower defense RPG (here's a guide.) Submit your map to Trendy by June 21, and if it wins both a public vote and a judges' vote you can walk away with $1000, and even get your map included in the game.The full rules and requirements are over on Trendy's forums. Those of us without any design skills at all will just sit here quietly waiting to see what you put together. Don't mind us.
Dungeon Defenders adding Penny Arcade skins; free at PAX East
Dungeon Defenders gets into the PAX East spirit this Friday with a Penny Arcade-themed character skin pack. The DLC will be available for free during PAX East at the Reverb Publishing booth (808) or online for $1.99.That character skin pack includes (pictured, left to right) Tycho for the Squire class, Annarchy as a Huntress, Cardboard Tube Samurai as the Monk and Jim Darkmagic in place of the Apprentice.Attendees to PAX East will also have a chance to play Aquanos, part three of four in the Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards DLC. Stop by the Reverb Publishing booth early, as supplies of free PA skins are limited.
