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1. •  
     CommentAuthorchiaslut
   • CommentTimeMar 1st 2012

    (10421.1)
   @RenThing - No judgments here, friend. Just vile commiseration-style hugs here. ;)
2. • CommentAuthorJames Cunningham
   • CommentTimeMar 1st 2012

    (10421.2)

   for some reason the big videogame publishers are really down on anything vaguely Victoriana at the moment. I'm aware of several excellent game concepts that can't find a backer simply because that's the style they're going for. People are told 'Steampunk is too cliché, we don't want that' despite the fact that setting doesn't *automatically* mean you're doing Steampunk.

   
   How does that even work!? Zombies are A-OK. Soldiers shoot more soldiers? Safe, sellable, make a few bazillion more. Brass & wood & gears and crazy retro future tech = cliche? ARRGH!
   
   /stabby stabby stabby
3. • CommentAuthorDavidLejeune
   • CommentTimeMar 1st 2012

    (10421.3)
   That Gotham by Gaslight pitch was three years old. If it'd been picked up it probably would've released at the peak of the steampunk zeitgeist, but it's unlikely it would've been able to compete with Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. I also think Day 1 kind of did it as a 'spec' pitch (to borrow a movie industry term) and there would've been significant licensing and sub-publishing issues, since everything DC is handled by WB Interactive.
4. •  
     CommentAuthorJ.Brennan
   • CommentTimeMar 1st 2012

    (10421.4)
   Take heart RenThing, for you have curried the favor of Boo, The only miniature giant space hamster in the Realm!
5. •  
     CommentAuthorVornaskotti
   • CommentTimeMar 1st 2012

    (10421.5)
   :D Some top-class game PR here (for those you don't know, this is a meme like the Downfall "Hitler finds out" videos)
   
   
6. •  
     CommentAuthorIron Imp
   • CommentTimeMar 2nd 2012 edited

    (10421.6)
   @James Cunningham
   
   /Agree: Desert/Jungle/Urban-Bloody-Zombie-Warfare or Slightly-Gritty/ElvesDwarvesHumans/Swords&Spells keeps fresh, but anything pseudo-steampunk is "tired"?... Christ.
   
   At least Bioshock: Infinite is ready to set the stage in October with 1904 flying death city retrotech. Also, we may see a return to form for slightly more diverse Sci Fi with giant robot entries including Mechwarrior Online and Hawken, big vibrant multiplayer shooters like Planetside 2 and Tribes: Ascend, pulpy action fun like Prototype 2, Prey 2 and Borderlands 2 and a curt nod to strategy with tried-but-true Starcraft 2: HotS and the dynamite or rubbish XCOM: Enemy Unknown reboot.
   
   There rests most of my hopes for the near future beyond Mass Effect 3. I hope the titles pan out well.
   
   Edit: How could I have forgot??? Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs... set in the 1899 nightmare of a wealthy industrialist, courtesty of Frictional Games and thechineseroom... :D
   
   
7. •  
     CommentAuthorFauxhammer
   • CommentTimeMar 2nd 2012

    (10421.7)
   "A Machine For Pigs" sounds like a Skinny Puppy track.
   
   I approve.
8. •  
     CommentAuthorscreaming meat
   • CommentTimeMar 2nd 2012 edited

    (10421.8)
   Arbitrary decisions banishing potentially amazing material to development hell...? Here was me thinking this was a video game thread. It's a damn, damn shame. I wish they'd seen it through to completition.
9. •  
     CommentAuthorCorey Waits
   • CommentTimeMar 3rd 2012

    (10421.9)
   Been playing the space-sim roguelike FTL - they're on OnLive for a limited time as they're an IGF finalist, and they also have a Kickstarter.
   
   It's only a 30 minute trial on OnLive, but I must have played it at least 8 times.
   
   I also grabbed Freedom Force from GamersGate on the cheap - it's a party-based Superhero RPG, with really camp 50s(?) radio/film stylings and Kirby-esque artwork. Only just got into it... It's hard?
   
   A few pages back people were talking about making games... I've kinda got a hankering myself, but I don't know if I should start learning to code, etc, if it's just going to eat into my writing time. But still, my brain can't stop itself from coming up with ideas for a sci-fi roguelike... and really, as far as building a game goes, roguelikes can't be that hard, can they?
10. •  
      CommentAuthorMorac
    • CommentTimeMar 3rd 2012

     (10421.10)
    If you are considering taking a gander at making games, I highly recommend the Unity game engine. Free, and oh-so-easy to use.
11. •  
      CommentAuthorcjkoger
    • CommentTimeMar 3rd 2012

     (10421.11)
    Corey I played FF a few years back, and really enjoyed it for a time. I do remember sections of it being very difficult though. It had a very cool vibe and was doing the super hero building earlier than a lot of people.
12. •  
      CommentAuthorPaul Duffield
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2012 edited

     (10421.12)
    Got some screenshots for screedIII here. Gotta say, I was mightily unimpressed by the idea when I heard about it first, but the screens make me want it right now - looks like they'll be diversifying movement so it's not just limited to scaling buildings in a predictable manner. You'll be able to climb and jump between trees, cliffs etc. Also, if these are to be believed it looks stunning - good design ain't always about having impressive buildings in your environment!
13. •  
      CommentAuthorjoe.distort
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.13)
    ive been in gaming mode this week
    
    played through the XBLIndie games EVILQUEST (about 4 hours of straight up Villain-as-Protagonist Crystalis worship!) and DLC QUEST (about 30 minutes of alright platforming wrapped in a superbly smartass/jaded premise of having to purchase EVERYTHING in game, including sound, animation and the ability to jump haha),tried to play CTHULU SAVES THE WORLD and i dont think i like the way the combat works. eh, so theres 3 games for 3 bucks, 2 of which i really liked? still worthwhile.
    
    borrowed SAINTS ROW 3 from my buddy. i had high hopes for this after reading so much praise and hearing great word of mouth...im only about an hour and a half in, but this seems to be just a meta textual, comedic and refined version of GTA? and i dont like those games at all. am i missing something?
    
    i wish i knew how to articulate what i mean. i just dont like 'modern' style games that play like crap, have a bunch of cutscenes that are fake-mature, try to do too much and end up half assing nearly every gameplay mechanic. you know, the games where you are always just looking for the next waypoint flashing on a map? i know im explaining this poorly, especially given that there are actual industry folks in this thread.
14. • CommentAuthorFlabyo
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.14)
    Saints Row 3 is as much a parody of modern games as it is a game in it's own right. I think the people that have enjoyed it the most are those who find it's meta elements most amusing. To me it just looks like a load of dick jokes and pointless swearing.
15. •  
      CommentAuthortwentythoughts
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.15)
    From what I've understood, the Saint's Row series (from 2 and upwards) is basically a version of GTA where the craziness is distilled and taken to the extreme. People who enjoyed running around as a fat guy in a clown suit swinging a dildo while riding the bonnets of cars in San Andreas kinda missed being able to do the same thing in GTA4, so they embraced Saint's Row 2 for it. And then 3 takes it one step further.
16. •  
      CommentAuthorjoe.distort
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.16)
    i read up pretty well on stuff, and i guess i was somehow under the impression that SR3 had moved past the GTA style of game and was more of an action game with a bunch of missions instead of the same mechanics. o h well, at least i didnt pay for it!
17. •  
      CommentAuthorMorac
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.17)
    Only a few more hours until I can get my grubby little paws of on Mass Effect 3.
18. • CommentAuthorandycon
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.18)
    just found out that the lower you Armor Class the better in Baldur's Gate. Of course I sold off a shit load of armor that would be super helpful right now but cannot afford. Ugghh
19. •  
      CommentAuthorJ.Brennan
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.19)
    @Andycon: The first Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment are both based on 2nd Ed AD&D. Gotta love those intuitive streamlined rules. I do not miss THAC0. Thankfully, Baldur's Gate 2 was based off of 3rd Ed.
20. •  
      CommentAuthorD.J.
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2012

     (10421.20)
    For what it's worth, the gameplay mechanics in Saints Row 3 are much more refined and enjoyable than those in any Rockstar game, where they've always been janky and unsatisfying at best.