Are you wondering just how versatile Starcraft 2's map editor is? Looks like someone already used it to recreate Tetris, so at least we know that it supports falling block technology. Not bad, considering the editor showed up in the beta just over a week ago. Imagine what the modding community will be up to a year from now [via Explicit Gamer]:
I want to see someone make a point-and-click adventure game using this map editor. Now that would be cool.
Read more >>No, I'm not talking about evolution. I've gathered some video game characters into groups below. Can you figure out what the members of each group have in common?
If you need relationship advice, head to page two for some hints or to page three for the answers. Feel free to click on the images for a larger view.
| 1) |
Editor's note: It's a match made in game-nerd heaven! -Shoe
In the fall of last year, the 1UP community organized something called Homecoming Week. It was an attempt at bringing back old community members to participate in writing, drawing, and other such activities. That gave me an idea for an event for Bitmob that would help bring together the two communities.
Read more >>Editor's note: Michael's entry in our on-going, walkthroughs/guides-themed Bitmob Wants You writing challenge deserves its own spot on the front page.... -Demian
The video game industry is full of unsung heroes. From quality assurance testers and localization teams to narrative designers and production gurus, literally thousands of people involved in the business just don’t get the praise that they deserve.
But some of the most impressive of these heroes aren’t even employed by the industry proper. They’re the fans who willingly devote hundreds of hours of their free time to make the gaming community a better place.
Chris MacDonald, aka Kao Megura, was one of these devoted few. During his all-too-short life, MacDonald wrote FAQs and move lists for a slew of popular games; he almost single-handedly charted the course of the modern FAQ format. His most famous work, a Final Fantasy 7 FAQ, is still considered by many to be one of the best ever written. Many strategy writers today use that guide's skeleton, or structure, to help plan and organize their information in a logical, easily searchable way.
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GameStop's outlasting of competitors like Game Crazy reminds me of the Game Boy and its 15-year stranglehold on the handheld market.
News Blips:
Hollywood Video and Game Crazy chains to close their remaining U.S. stores. Movie Gallery Inc., the owner of the stores, plans to begin liquidating its assets in two weeks. Frugal gamers looking for a deal should go early, since store director Glenn J. from Bend, Oregon, warned Kotaku that people should "expect much of the 'better stuff' to go fairly quickly." Great, with Game Crazy closing, where else can I go to buy video games from the confines of a chain-link fence?
Sony now offers extended protection plans for PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 owners. Worried PSP and PS3 gamers can cough up $29.99 or $49.99, respectively, for a one-year extension of their initial official warranties, while two-year plans cost 10 bucks more than that. For yet another added $10, Sony will even throw in "accidental damage." Sounds to me like the perfect time to test out just how flushable the PSP is. [PlayStation]
Editor's note: Paul makes a compelling case that indie game developers should emulate the organic foods industry. I'd make a point of buying indie all the time if developers followed his advice. -Brett
If there’s anything that the panels and discussions at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference reaffirmed, it’s that the success of Facebook games like Farmville and Mafia Wars -- games that are free to play but force players to pay nominal fees in exchange for expanded content -- have game makers frothing over new revenue models for their products.
At the same time, companies are experimenting with new ways of releasing games and game expansions on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. The announcements that both the upcoming Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog games will be smaller-scale experiences that will not be sold in stores (and that Sonic will be released in episodic form) are huge. These two titles alone carry the combined weight of more than 30 years of franchise history on their shoulders.
Independent game developers are in a prime position to take advantage of the new revenue models. The little guys can offer things that the EAs and Activisions of the world cannot: the care, time, and attention of a small group of people focused on a product for a niche audience.
To best harness these resources, indie developers should look to an unlikely source: the world of organic food.
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It's a month since I stepped on as community manager -- so far, I've introduced a few new regular features, and the response seems to be good! You guys have been very supportive!
More importantly, however, I hope I have been supportive of you. I'm here for a few reasons: to help you stay engaged in the community, to help you have fun with your writing, and to give you more opportunities to strut your stuff on the front page.
To recap, here are the new community-focused features that have debuted in the past month. If you missed them the first time, head back and give them a look!
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Is it too much to hope for Bungie to make affordable, life-size replicas of the Halo weapons like in this video?
Video Blips:
•Actress Aisha Tyler says that the info in this introduction to the Halo: Reach beta is what I need to know "to survive." Unless it's some magical tutorial, I fail to see how the contents of this video will help me last any longer than my usual 10 seconds in Halo. [GameVideos]
Continue after the break for one of those wake-up-in-a-laboratory-with-confusing-flashbacks videos for Call of Duty: Black Ops, some quirky Deathspank gameplay footage, and a Skate 3 ad depicting warring factions...of skaters.
Read more >>In an episode of increasing preposterousness, ex-EGMers Crispin Boyer and Michael Donahoe join Bitmob's Dan Hsu and Demian Linn to celebrate the anniversary of the Mobcast. The guys send off the podcast's first year with a hilarious bang.
Have a community topic you want to hear the crew discuss? E-mail your suggestions to letters@bitmob.com, subject: Mobcast.
Zune Link (must use Internet Explorer)
Direct Download (right click save as)
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Children's Week is an event in World of Warcraft where you're supposed to let orphans hang out with you. Considering that most of your activities involve risking your life in a never-ending war on evil, this doesn't seem like a great idea to me.
Editor's note: The practice that Chris describes is on my mind lately -- namely because of 2K's XCOM reboot mentioned below. While I'm open to new gameplay experiences, why mess with an already established series? I feel that developers exploit the nostalgia we hold when they do so. Why not just create an entirely new game? -Rob
Chances are if you're perusing Bitmob and reading this post that you're very much into your video games. Perhaps you cast your gaming-interest net widely, or maybe you focus on one genre. Does sir like his role-playing games? Driving sims? How about some stealth action or tactical shooting?
It may come as a surprise to you that whatever your genre of choice, you have poor taste and all your favorite games are shit.
That seems to be the view of the industry-at-large; at least, since the latest fashion in game design appears to be what hip, public-relation types call "streamlining" -- the practice of removing some defining aspects in order to attract new audiences who were previously turned off. But at the same time, this risks alienating fans.
Read more >>Game-themed drinks are just cool. Give me Resident Evil inspired alcoholic beverages, and I'm likely never going to be sober again. This glorious refreshment is the first in a series of Resident Evil-themed shot made by the Drunken Moogle.
Ingredients:
3/4 shot Silver Rum
1/4 shot Everclear
1 Blue Twizzler
Directions:
Wind a blue Twizzler around a tall double shot glass. It should stick to the sides of the glass. Pour in the silver rum and top with the Everclear. Drink, then eat the Twizzler for a sweet and tangy aftertaste. You will have to fish out the Twizzler with your finger after you drink, as it will still be stuck to the side of the shot glass.
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