VGA 101: Let There Be Light! (Or, John Carmack Explains It All For You)

Posted on August 11, 2013 by geelw

OK, now THIS is my idea of Sunday school: here’s a VERY technical talk from legendary game maker John Carmack at this year’s QuakeCon that’s going to send your brain into a few handstands and back flips out an ear if you’ve a short attention span or just don’t give a hoot about what it takes to get lighting effects in games and how important this is (well, in more modern and future titles). I’d say this is also required viewing for you kids out there who want to show their parents that a career in making games is a GREAT deal more than sitting on one’s butt all day with a controller in hand. If you’re saying out loud something along the lines of “Huh? Light has physics?”, then yup – you need to get learned, so pay attention.

The again, this just may turn off a short stack of the lazier gamers reading and watching this while making their parents all of a sudden start pushing them like mad to get better in school so they can make those new games (and maybe prop them up with some nice retirement money at some point – hey, it’s only fair with the free food and rent you’re getting, right? RIGHT??! Yeah, I thought so.)…

The Elder Scrolls Anthology: More Proof Physical Product Isn’t Dead Yet…

Posted on August 2, 2013 by geelw

BOOM. Nine game discs, five maps, hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of gameplay, a custom package to die for and something hard to hit the digital-only detractors upside their harder heads with, Bethesda Softworks upcoming must-buy The Elder Scrolls Anthology has officially and instantly made it to my Holiday Gift Guide 2013 list, gaming division. While it’s missing the LONG out of print standalone TES: Battlespire and Redguard side-story adventures (which I say NEED to get re-released one of these days), $80 for the entire main Tamriel saga (including expansions AND the Morrowind Construction Set!) is an absolute BARGAIN when you consider some of the games here are still a bit expensive when bought in either their original or Game of the Year formats as individual packaged products…

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Wolfenstein: The New Order Update: Meet Torvenius!

Posted on June 20, 2013 by geelw

No, it’s not the name of a villain from the upcoming game, silly rabbits. It’s Axel Torvenius, one of the artists at Machine Games. His Speedpaint skills are pretty awesome, I have to say. Of course, I need to actually get around to doing more art myself, so it’s cool to get inspired by assorted people in a few places… OK, back to work before I start getting distracted by too much other stuff…

E3 2013: Wolfenstein: The New Order Trailer – So Wrong, It’s Reich…(The Remix!)

Posted on June 8, 2013 by geelw

Hey! Quick WordPress editing tip, kids! If you open multiple Add A Post tabs in separate windows and do two different posts, one will overwrite the other when the second one is done! Whee. I just found that out after I zapped this original Wolfenstein: The New Order post with the one for Project Eden, so if you see this post twice in your feed, it’s not you going nuts… it’s me trying to save time but wasting it instead! Whee! Anyway, get me rewrite!

OK, I was interested in this sequel already, but this compelling trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order REALLY makes me want some hands-on time just to see how it all plays out. Yes, it’s intentionally raising hackles on the back of some necks, but don’t get the wrong impression. The game is all about the return of that Nazi killing force of nature B.J. Blazkowicz and how he’s going to deal with this updated alternate future threat. The reworked imagery here is striking to the point where there’s the usual YouTube and message board debating about the wrong things (real world history) as opposed to how this game twists its of that into its narrative “What If” world (Nazis on the Moon! Yikes!) and packs a wallop with those images and finale that basically screams “PLAY ME!” So yep, I’m looking forward to doing so should Bethsoft truck on into NYC with a build… I’ll keep you posted should that indeed happen.

Bethesda Gets You Cultured (Sort of): Welcome to Uppsala, Sweden!

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

While Machine Games toils away on its new game, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Bethesda (and YOU) get a little more cultured in this latest update that actually features no game footage at all (whee!). OK, OK… stop panicking, people. You see soon enough that the game is definitely in good hands (I’ll post a gallery after E3 is over and done). Think of it this way: the lighthearted travelogue and studio tour going on above and below is just fluff to keep your eyes and ears in shape for the upcoming shooter.

In plain English: giving you too much candy now will just ruin your appetite for dinner, you know… that’s your free lesson of the day.

Bethesda Underground Mother’s Day Surprise: Oh Yeah, And He Broke That Lamp, Too…

Posted on May 10, 2013 by geelw

Awwww! Here’s a pretty cool and amusing video from Bethsoft with Arkane Studios producer Seth Shain and his mom having a fun little discussion about what he does for a living. Hmmmm… I guess he needs to go buy her a console and a copy of Dishonored for Mother’s Day, huh? Well, that’s what I’d do after telling her I was a doctor all these years. OK, he didn’t, but let this be a lesson to all you lazy sons and daughters out there who get through life wanting to stab your own mom with a cold spoon for not letting you have the car that one time or reading you the riot act for staying out too late and forgetting to tell her where you were going or which one of the soon to be jailbirds you were out with. Little things mean a lot, so get to it this weekend, I say. That’s my good deed for the month, mind you – after this, it’s back to open season on the rubes, so watch it…

Wolfenstein: The New Order – Meet The New Boss (Not The Same As The Old Boss)…

Posted on May 9, 2013 by geelw

WOLF_ID_type_white Well, now… B.J. Blazkowicz is coming back in a new Wolfenstein game from a team made up of some pretty talented industry vets originally from Starbreeze Studios? Count me in, especially if it’s got mechs to stomp around in or get the hell away from as they’re trying to stomp YOU.

Of course, the alternate past 1960 setup where the Germans win WWII and B.J. is back in action after too long made me laugh and think of Captain America frozen in an iceberg until he got accidentally defrosted (ah, comics science!), but I think this game will go for a less crazy plot twist and just make with the satisfying Nazi-blasting in solo and multiplayer modes. Er, well… I hope there’s a decent plot here.

Then again, I’m not too worried, as Bethesda’s had hits with Arkane Studios’ phenomenal Dishonored and it’s own Elder Scrolls games. It certainly looks like “new” developer Machine Games is on the case plus tax, as you can see from these two videos that introduces the team in a pretty funny manner. And hell, when your executive producer is named Jerk, you KNOW you’re going to get a memorable experience…

Anyway, they sure look like a bunch of fun folks, so I’ll do what I do best and leave them along until they have something playable to show off in the near future…

Skyrim Legendary Edition Is Coming: There Goes About Six Months of Your Life (Or So)…

Posted on May 3, 2013 by geelw

skyrim_LE_boxshots

Save the date, folks: June 4, 2013, $59.99, PC, PS3 or Xbox 360. Pick your poison and take a nice long vacation in this massive solo adventure/RPG that, with all the new content should take you a few weeks to complete once you get hooked into the game world. You get the original and all the expansions (Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn), all the content changes, patching and fixes included (PS3 owners should be pleased to hear this news, as that original version seemed to suffer the most). Bethsoft is “moving on” from this game, so this should be the ultimate (and final) version of an already spectacular entry in the long-running franchise. Of course, this means we’ll probably be hearing about a new Elder Scrolls game in about two or three years as the company is no doubt looking at a few consoles and seeing what’s under the hood.

Bethesda Reveals The Evil Within (Well, A Live-Action Trailer, At Least)…

Posted on April 19, 2013 by geelw

In case you were wondering just what Shinji Mikami has been up to… well, here you go. Bethesda Softworks has revealed a live-action trailer to his and Tango Gameworks’ upcoming single player psychological/survival horror game, The Evil Within. Nothing has been revealed yet about the characters, story or gameplay, but IGN (hey, why not me?) has a big first look popping up on Monday that’s sure to get them traffic and attention. The game is set to come out in 2014 for PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and “next generation consoles”. Hmmmm… My take on that last part is I personally think they’re spreading this new SKU a wee bit too thin, as I think it would be best on ONE generation of systems and PC. If this gets over-hyped and expected to meet a certain target, but fails to do do, it will hit Bethsoft a bit hard on a few fronts. Granted, they could have another Dishonored here in the form of a hit that turns a genre on its ear-hole, so I’m at least optimistic on that front. Now, it’s all about some hands-on time to see what’s what… Bethsoft, you know how to reach me…

Bethesda Opens Online Shop (And Wallets Will Lighten Like Magic)

Posted on March 14, 2013 by geelw

OK, that Vault 101 Hoodie and Vault 101 kicks combo? Yup, I feel the need for one (Size L) and a pair of those (Size um… 12?) even thought I usually hate licensed gaming wear. And suede anything. Then again, sinking close to 300 hours into Fallout 3 does that to a guy. Or girl, as I see both are popular Wishlist items on the newly launched site for both sexes. Anyway, the brand apanking new Bethesda Online Store has those goodies and MORE, all designed to steal your disposable income and make your closet groan under the weight of the swag you scored. Now, if only Bethsoft could whip up a working Vault-Tec unit, some talking Pip-Boy figures and a few other fun products, they’d be seeing some traffic from the future as well. Hey, once we’re all nuked into dust, those survivors won’t have access to the internet or mail order, for that (anti)matter…

Oh yeah, in case you’re taking bets, I’m betting the hoodie and sneakers are some of the first items to sell out completely. Don’t hold me to that or it’s a whole five cents I need to pay you.