The PC Centric Extravaganza 04.29.08
Posted by Chris Evans on 04.29.2008
Stalin and Martians, Studies, Portal and much more!
The PC Centric Extravaganza 04.29.08
While I am nearing the end of this term of University I am happy to report that the majority of my work is complete! I will just have to tidy up some essays and do two exams then I will be free to just blog and write away. This is something I am really looking forward to being able to do.
Anyway I have been spending the past few days chatting with a game developer and that is the focus of the beginning of the PC Centric Extravaganza this week. Other than that we have some Codemasters related news and some other fun stuff!
Stalin vs Martians has a simple premise. The year is 1942, Stalin is the Soviet leader and Martians have invaded Siberia and you are promised a crazy gaming experience later this year.
24 April 2008
Stalin vs. Martians unveiled
Black Wing Foundation, Dreamlore and N-Game announce a joint project Stalin vs. Martians and probably the most bizarre gaming experience of the year 2008.The name of the game is a work of art and actually it doesn't really matter if the game is playable at all. The concept is enough. Simply makes your brain explode. But somehow we have more than that to offer.
Stalin vs. Martians is also a good real-time strategy. Fast, simple, intuitive and incredibly fun. Trashy and absolutely over-the-top, arthouse kitsch production in it's finest. With a good technical basis and some healthy gameplay innovations. A natural choice for anyone bored of hundreds and hundreds identical "World War II strategies". And a perfect choice for anyone who just hates the strategy genre.
Go read the ideology behind this game and now read on for more information.
Alexander Shcherbakov
In a follow on from reading about Stalin vs. Martians I decided to try and get some more information, so I sent off an e-mail to the address supplied on the website and waited. I soon got a reply from Alexander Shcherbakov the head of Dreamlore and the Producer/Lead Designer of Stalin vs Martians.
First off some basic information about the game. Alexander tells me that the team working on the game have a lot of fantastic ideas and plans for Stalin vs Martians and he promises me that some really awesome stuff will be revealed further down the line.
In response to comments he has read regarding the graphics in the screenshots currently available for the game that people are complaining that it looks outdated Alexander informs me that the engine is a heavily upgraded Blitzkrieg 2 engine which has been worked on by N-Game.
According to Alexnander the game is fast, bright and absolutely crazy. He goes on to say that there are plans in place to use Chinese pop music in the sountrack as our tests showed that combination of mandapop/cantopop and Stalin game makes brains explode instantly. And that's exactly what we want to achieve with our project.
The goal the developers have for the game is as Alexander says to make a games which seems impossible to most of the people. Stalin, martians, cartoonish parody aliens, a dose of Pythons, and the atmosphere of a psycho circus. Truly Alexander envisages a game which will pile on the humor in great amounts.
He also has some interesting things to say regarding the way Stalin vs. Martians will play, and answers the question 'Will this have multiplayer?'
We don't have any plans for multiplayer. At all. We intended to make Stalin a single player-only with missions that differ greatly one from another. The objectives will be different, the units you can use (some missions may be infantry oriented, some - designed for a tank rush), plus lots of additional features like earning money to buy off-map abilities to kill the boss (yes, the boss), special units like Stalin himself (and some other absolutely unexpected "guest stars").
Alexander went on to reveal that he feels that the game has received better attention from the West than in Russia so far. He says that this is because the idea of absurdist humor as he calls it is better developed here in the West than it is in Russia.
From here we went on to discuss this issue in greater length and it is evident that Alexander feels that initial slow reaction from the Russian media is because the Russian PC market is plagued by totally uninventive games, so sometimes people are shocked when local developers are making something that doesn't fit into the boring monolith of clichéd products.
In an example of how far reaching our conversations have been this leads to Alexander providing me with a glimpse into the Russian PC gaming market right now. He reveals that many small publishers and distributors are acting like small EAs and have become stuck in a rut whereby they see that by making a WWII strategy game they will sell 80K guaranteed domestically. He reveals that the PC is the top gaming platform in the former Soviet Union and that many developers and publishers talks about new innovative IPs but are scared to take a chance on them.
This is where some major issues currently surrounding the PC games market in Russia are revealed. Alexander informs me that while piracy is slowly falling year by year, though this has only been achieved by distributors selling games at an average of £5 a pop so as to make piracy seem less worthwhile. This though is a risky strategy according to Alexander.
This scheme has some problems. For example, the audience is almost unaware of what budget titles are, 'cause everything costs almost the same. There are exceptions (there are always exceptions), but basically Tetris clone and Crysis may be sold in retail for the same amount of money. The second problem is that £5 is not enough, it brings almost zero to a developer. There are many other things that come out of this situation.
Alexander has really provided me with a shocking insight into the Russian gaming industry as it is right now. I raised the issue that surely it is digital distribution which offers the chance for developers to reap the rewards they are due. His thoughts regarding this are very interesting.
Alexander views digital distribution as a great thing for the future, though the problem right now is that too many consumers are unaware of the benefits of it. Alexander see issue with the growing number of digital distribution platforms with Steam leading the way, but behind that many other platforms are failing to get the attention they need. He also reveals that with publishers like EA investing in their own digital distribution platform the consumer is loosing out.
So if you will sum up all the information you see a picture that yes, it's very interesting, it's the future. some of the indies may start to use these schemes right now (and obviously large brands like Blizzard too), but basically it's only a dawn of what may come, it's hard even to name a well-established e-store that can sell in good quantities (aside from Steam). We need few iTunes-like services and that will be something.
Alexander is a big fan of the possibilities offered by Apple right now, he see the iPhone and iPod as being very viable portable gaming systems. He stresses that a game currently known as Red Cosmos 2, a visual novel mixing Red Star comic, Battlezone, space opera and anime is being targeted for an iPhone and iPod release.
Finally Alexander addresses some questions surrounding the development of Stalin vs. Martians. As mentioned early the game is being developed by BWF, N-Game and Dreamlore. How has this combination come about and how does it work? I'll let Alexander explain.
In short, the idea of a project was born out of the talk I had with Black Wing's CEO. We decided to make a project together (that gives us two companies) and then added N-Game to the list. N-Game mostly deals with technical aspects (they have a solid base in making RTS titles, especially using Blitzkrieg 2 engine which they've partly rewritten - check Frontline: Fields of Thunder or upcoming X-Team), BWF and Dreamlore deal with producing, lead design, art direction guidance, various business aspects. That leads us to a funny situation when we have three companies. Theoretically we could label N-Game as outsourcers (like many other companies do), but it is not quite true and doesn't seem proper for us. We have some kind of strategic partnership right now (sometimes you can't even understand where BWF ends and N-Game begins), but decided not to invent a separate "joint brand", but to present ourselves like it really is: three different companies.
My chats with Alexander have been extremely interesting and he has opened my eyes to many things which I had never thought about or known about. His insights into the Russian PC Market and Digital Distribution have been very enlightening. It is also obvious that Stalin vs.Martians is a very promising game that should be a tremendous blast to play later this year.
Aaaaand that is all from Alexander and the wraps up Stalin vs Martians…for now!
Casual Games Reduce Stress
The East Carolina University has very recently published their findings into a 6-month randomized study into casual gaming. PopCap games such as Bejeweled 2 and Peggle were used in the study.
The study revealed that Bejeweled 2 reduced stress levels by 54% compared to that of the control group. Peggle and Bookworm Adventures did not actively reduce stress levels, but did have a positive impact of other mood aspects of those people involved in the study.
The full press release from PopCap follows in a moment. The results of the study are very interesting as it reveals that casual games are very benificial in reducing stress levels and in helping the gamer get in a better mood.
Perhaps it is these psychological benefits that are a reason behind the ever expanding numbers of casual gamers? It is very possible in my mind.
Casual Games Scientifically Proven to Relieve Stress
University Study Confirms Positive Health Benefits Of Casual Gaming
Dublin, Ireland – April 28, 2008 — East Carolina University reveals the results of a 6-month randomized, controlled study that confirms positive health benefits of so-called "casual" video games. The family-friendly puzzle / word games used in the study - Bejeweled 2, Peggle and Bookworm Adventures - are made by PopCap Games, whose customer surveys last year indicated similar casual gaming benefits. Additional study data, including detailed charts, can be found at www.ecu.edu/biofeedback.
ECU's study yielded significant findings and identified potential therapeutic applications of casual games as a means of addressing serious mental and physical disorders. The study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and full results will be presented at the Games For Health Conference by Dr. Caremen Russoniello, associate professor and director of the Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Center at ECU. He says:
"I've conducted many clinical studies in the area of recreational therapy in the past, but this was the first one seeking to determine the potential therapeutic value of video games. The results of this study are impressive and intriguing, given the extent of the effects of the games on subjects' stress levels and overall mood. When coupled with the very high degree of confidence we have in those results based on the methodology and technologies used, I believe there is a wide range of therapeutic applications of casual games in mood-related disorders such as depression and in stress-related disorders including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Granted, this study was a first step and much more needs to be done before video games can be prescribed to treat medical conditions. However, these exciting results confirm anecdotal evidence that people are playing casual video games to improve their mood and decrease their stress, and herald casual games' potential in health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment of stress- and mood-related disorders."
Bejeweled 2 was found to reduce stress activity by 54% compared to the control group. Peggle and Bookworm Adventures did not reduce subjects' physical stress levels significantly but did affect psychological tension, depression and other aspects of mood, in some cases dramatically (see below).
Mood was measured in six different categories (broken out below). Cumulatively, these categories are called "total mood disturbance," - a decrease in total mood disturbance being a positive change in mood. Peggle had the greatest affect, improving mood by 573% across all study subjects – with Bejeweled 2 at 435% and Bookworm Adventures at 303%.
1. Psychological Tension
Peggle had the greatest affect, with study subjects who played that game averaging a 66% reduction in psychological tension.
2. Anger
Bejeweled 2 and Peggle were shown to reduce anger by 65% and 63% respectively. Among female subjects, Peggle produced the greatest anger reduction (86%) while men experienced the greatest reduction of anger while playing Bejeweled 2 (63%).
3. Depression
All three games had similar affects on depression, reducing depressions levels by 45% (Peggle), 43% (Bookworm Adventures) and 37% (Bejeweled 2). Dr. Russoniello says:
"If these games can reduce depression this significantly among a population of people who are not diagnosed with depression, the potential for positively affecting the mental state of someone who is in fact depressed is very significant."
4. Vigor
Bejeweled increased Vigor by an average of 210% among subjects who played that game.
5. Fatigue
Peggle reduced fatigue by an average of 61% among subjects who played that game.
6. Confusion
Subjects playing Peggle saw confusion drop by an average of 486%, while those playing Bookworm Adventures (462%) and Bejeweled 2 (426%) also experienced sizable reductions.
Study Methodology
The study was conducted between October 2007 and April 2008 and included a total of 134 subjects.
No More Portal This Year
Portal was released last year and received great critical reviews and many gamers fell in love with the game, the Weighted Companion Cube became an overnight success, as did the game. Earlier this year it was let slip that Portal 2 was a certainty. Now Doug Lombardi has informed Eurogamer that we shouldn't expect to see any more Portal this year.
blockquote>"In typical Valve tradition, it won't be Portal with different colors," said Lombardi, dressed as a companion cube. "I think that when you hit something like that, you have two choices: you can quickly replicate it and stick it out there - do the opportunistic thing and cash in on it; or you can do the crazy thing like we did after Half-Life was so successful and go off and try and say, 'Okay, that was revolutionary, so its successor has to be equally as revolutionary.'
That's the spirit I think we're approaching it in," he added. "You won't see a new Portal at retail this Christmas because of that. That's the trade off. People want more, but we don't want to give them more of the same right away because that would just be boring."
A sad thing to hear that we won't be seeing more Portal this year, but I guess that if Valve manage to do like they did with the transition from Half-Life to Half-Life 2 we will end up with a better Portal 2.
Witcher Enhanced Delays
The forthcoming super special version of The Witcher has been delayed from its planned May 16th release.
The Witcher Enhanced Edition is planned to include a much improved translation of the game, tweaks to the gameplay and graphics, numerous other tweaks and two new adventures.
"The delay can be attributed to the company's goal of making The Witcher: Enhanced Edition as close to a flawless product as possible", CD Projekt RED's explained.
It continues in a statement, "CD Projekt RED is dedicated to a simultaneous worldwide launch, and is taking the extra time to polish each language version to meet the high standards of the global games market. The exact date of the premiere of the Enhanced Edition will be announced in the upcoming days."
While I was mildly intrigued by The Witcher when I first heard about, the translation issues put me off. Hopefully this Enhanced Edition will be available once my PC is sorted so I can get my grubby little great manly hands on it and see what it is all about!
Final note - the Enhanced Edition is free to all owners of the original game.
Jim provides some insight into why he wrote this book here. He says some very interesting things regarding the writing of the book and the book itself. I personally pre-ordered the book back in March and am really looking forward to it and hope it is a success for him.
Codemasters Love to Race and Drift!
Codies Buy Racing Studio
Codemasters are great at making racing games, we have seen series' such as Colin McRae and TOCA emanate from them and soon we will see GRID appear. To add to their impressive resume of racing games and work they have acquired UK-based Sega Racing Studio, the team that was behind Sega Rally Revo and which was closed earlier in the month by Sega.
Rod Cousens, chief executive of Codemasters had this to say about the takeover to Next-Gen.biz
"In seizing this opportunity, we have created additional resources to escalate our plans in the racing segment,
"We hope to welcome more than 40 people to the company and we have enjoyed the full co-operation of our friends at Sega in making this happen. It is good business for Codemasters, an exciting prospect and there will be more to come as we are not content to stand still."
Can we expect to see another racing game get put into development while GRID is finished off, or will this new team work on GRID? I myself wouldn't be surprised if they started work on a new rally game in the same vein as Colin McRae DIRT.
One thing we can say though is that Codies sure do love to race!
Codies Love to Drift!
That says it all doesn't it, Codemasters love their racing games and they also love to drift! I myself am not a big fan of drifting, it is a very Need for Speed sensation and is one I just don't like in a serious racing game. Though if Codemasters like it then so be it.
Not much else to say really apart from the fact that if I was to make another Codemasters related news post it would be entitled 'Codemasters Love To Play Queens of the Stoneage Mixes!'.
Wrapping Up
That is all for this week, I hope you enjoyed catching up on all the PC news!
Check out all the great content around the 411 Network this week, there is some great stuff going on.
