Microsoft’s ‘Project Spark’ game creation tool will be completely free
Microsoft’s Project Spark game creation tool has embraced the free-to-play model for a while, but that has still meant paying a fair chunk of change to build the experience you really want. However, even that cost is going away soon. As of an October 5th update, Project Spark is switching to a completely free model where all downloadable content will be accessible. You’ll get refunds if you bought either content or a retail disc from July 28th onward. Microsoft is also handing over the keys, in a manner of speaking — rather than focus on adding content and features, it’ll spend more time on highlighting user-made material and opening things up.
It’s understandable if you’re worried about the shift in strategy. After all, it comes across as an attempt to wind down Project Spark without alienating its community. That isn’t helped by plans to cancel a Conker-related story as a result of the switch. However, the development team insists that this isn’t the end. There are over 200,000 active creators that it doesn’t want to abandon, and there are “new programs and activities” in the works to keep those numbers growing. That’s somewhat reassuring, but there’s no denying that Microsoft has one less incentive to support its oftentimes rewarding game production tool.
Source: Project Spark (1), (2)
Konami’s canceled ‘Silent Hills’ featured a horror manga master
Konami didn’t just waste the talents of famed director Guillermo del Toro when it canceled Silent Hills — it also tossed aside a legend of the comic book world. Del Toro has revealed that horror manga master Junji Ito (of projects like Gyo and Hellstar Remina, above) was supposed to be collaborating on the project. It’s unclear just what he was working on, but his tastes for unnerving imagery and warped storylines are likely good clues as to what you were going to get. And that’s a real shame: Ito’s approach is a perfect fit for the psychological horror of the Silent Hill series, and he might have helped the new title escape the common tropes of the genre. Let’s just hope that Ito shapes other games in the future.
JUNJI ITO, undisputed master of horror in Japan (along with Hino and Tsubaki) and our collaborator in SILENT HILL (S) pic.twitter.com/D9ypKBhVk5
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) September 27, 2015
Via: The Verge
Source: Guillermo del Toro (Twitter)
What’s on your HDTV: ‘Daily Show’, ‘Avengers’ Blu-ray, ‘Tony Hawk’
Tonight Comedy Central’s Daily Show brings its first episode with Trevor Noah as the new host. While we wait to find out if he’ll be able to fill Jon Stewart’s shoes (and compete with a tech-focused Stephen Colbert), this is also the week Avengers: Age of Ultron arrives on Blu-ray, along with the Entourage movie, and a new release of Christine. There’s a slew of new games dropping too, with the first new Tony Hawk game in years, NBA 2K16 and NBA Live 16, and Fallout Anthology on the PC. On TV, AMC’s zombie spin-off Fear the Walking Dead wraps up to make room for the main show’s return, and The Strain closes out its second season. Brand new shows include The Grinder, Grandfathered and Code Black, while others like Bones and The Leftovers are back for new seasons. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed)
Blu-ray & Games & Streaming
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (3D)
- Jurassic World (VOD)
- Entourage
- Christine
- Grimm (S4)
- Spy
- Marvel’s Agent Carter (S1)
- Goodfellas (25th Anniversary)
- A Room With A View (Criterion)
- Cop Car
- Zipper
- Outlander S1 V2
- The Fly (Amazon Prime)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Amazon Prime)
- NBA 2K16 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- NBA Live 16 (PS4, Xbox One)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 (PS4, Xbox One)
- Fallout Anthology (PC)
- Samurai Warriors 4-II (PC, PS3, PS4)
- One Upon Light (PS4)
- Thief Town (PS4)
- Toto Temple Deluxe (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Wii U)
- Orbit (PC, Xbox One)
- Ride (PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360)
- Journey: Collector’s Edition (PS4)
- Laserlife (Xbox One)
Monday
- Chiefs/Packers Monday Night Football, ESPN, 8:15PM
- The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8PM
- Gotham, Fox, 8PM
- The Voice, NBC, 8PM
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- Life in Pieces, CBS, 8:30PM
- San Francisco 2.0, HBO, 9PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- Minority Report, Fox, 9PM
- Scorpion, CBS, 9PM
- Awkward, MTV, 9PM
- Chasing Life (season finale), ABC Family, 9PM
- Top Gear: More Best of Richard, BBC America, 9PM
- Faking It, MTV, 9:30PM
- NCIS: LA, CBS, 10PM
- Blindspot, NBC, 10PM
- Castle, ABC, 10PM
- Todrick, MTV, 10PM
- Girl Code Live, MTV, 10:30PM
- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Comedy Central, 11PM
Tuesday
- The Awesomes, Hulu
- The Mindy Project, Hulu
- Celebrating the Life of Justin Wilson, IndyCar.com, 4PM
- WNBA Playoffs: Fever/Libert Game 3, ESPN2, 7PM
- Grandfathered (series premiere), Fox, 8PM
- The iHeartRadio Music Festival, CW, 8PM
- The Muppets, ABC, 8PM
- NCIS, CBS, 8PM
- The Voice, NBC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Labor Games, TLC, 8PM
- Grinder (series premiere), Fox, 8:30PM
- Fresh Off the Boat, ABC, 8:30PM
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season premiere), 9PM
- Scream Queens, Fox, 9PM
- NCIS: NO, CBS, 9PM
- Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9PM
- From Dusk Till Dawn, El Rey, 9PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- Limitless, CBS, 10PM
- The Bazillion Dollar Club, Syfy, 10PM
- The Bastard Executioner, FX, 10PM
- Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, NBC, 10PM
- Public Morals, TNT, 10PM
- Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
- A Season with Notre Dame football, Showtime, 10PM
- The Agent, Esquire, 10PM
- Startup U, ABC Family, 10PM
- Wags, E!, 10PM
- Drunk History, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Punk’d, BET, 10:30PM
Wednesday
- Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports, Epix, 8PM
- The iHeartRadio Music Festival, CW, 8PM
- Rosewood, Fox, 8PM
- Survivor, CBS, 8PM
- The Middle, ABC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Young & Hungry, ABC Family, 8PM
- Kevin from Work, ABC Family, 8:30PM
- The Goldbergs, ABC, 8:30PM
- Criminal Minds (season premiere), CBS, 9PM
- Law & Order: SCU, NBC, 9PM
- Modern Family, ABC, 9PM
- Black-ish, ABC, 9:30PM
- Code Black (series premiere), CBS, 10PM
- Chicago PD (season premiere), NBC, 10PM
- Nashville, ABC, 10PM
- The League, FXX, 10PM
- The Jim Gaffigan Show, TV Land, 10PM
- South Park, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Are You the One?, MTV, 10PM
- Twinning, VH1, 10PM
- Moonbeam City, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- You’re the Worst, FX, 10:30PM
- NFL Turning Point, NBC Sports Network, 11PM
Thursday
- Bones (season premiere), Fox, 8PM
- Live Nation Music Awards, TBS/TNT, 8PM
- Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 8PM
- Heroes Reborn, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
- The Beauty and the Beast, CW, 8PM
- NFL: Ravens/Steelers, CBS, 8:25PM
- OJ Speaks: The Hidden Tapes, A&E, 9PM
- Scandal, ABC, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Sleepy Hollow (season premiere), Fox, 9PM
- The Blacklist (season premiere), NBC, 9PM
- Dominion (season finale), Syfy, 10PM
- Benders (season premiere), IFC, 10PM
- The Player, NBC, 10PM
- How to Get Away with Murder, ABC, 10PM
- Review with Forest Macneil, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Dominion, Syfy, 10PM
- Married (season finale), FX, 10PM
- Geeks Who Drink, Syfy, 11PM
Friday
- Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy, Netflix, 3AM
- The Amazing Race, CBS, 8PM
- Last Man Standing, ABC, 8PM
- Masters of Illusion (season finale), CW, 8PM
- Dr Ken (series premiere), ABC, 8:30PM
- Shark Tank, ABC, 9PM
- Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 9PM
- Blue Bloods, CBS, 10PM
- Strike Back, Cinemax, 10PM
- Z Nation, Syfy, 10PM
- Continuum, Syfy, 11PM
- SXSW Comedy Night Two with W. Kamau Bell, Showtime 11PM
Saturday
- College football: Alabama/Georgia, CBS, 3:30PM
- College football: Arizona State/UCLA, Fox, 7:30PM
- College football: Notre Dame/Clemson, ABC, 8PM
- The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story, Lifetime, 8PM
- Doctor Who, BBC America, 9PM
- Blunt Talk, Starz, 9PM
- Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
- Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 9:30PM
- Saturday Night Live: Miley Cyrus, NBC, 11:30PM
Sunday
- NASCAR Sprint cup Series @ Dover, NBC Sports Network, 2:30PM
- WNBA Finals Game 1, ABC, 3PM
- Sunday Night Football: Cowboys/Saints, NBC, 8:20PM
- 60 Minutes, CBS, 7:30PM
- Madam Secretary (season premiere), CBS, 8PM
- Once Upon A Time, ABC, 8PM
- The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
- Brooklyn Nine-nine, Fox, 8:30PM
- Fear the Walking Dead (season finale), AMC, 9PM
- The Good Wife (season premiere), CBS, 9PM
- The Leftovers (season premiere), HBO, 9PM
- Family Guy, Fox, 9PM
- Indian Summers, PBS, 9PM
- The Last Man on Earth, Fox, 9:30PM
- Quantico, ABC, 10PM
- Project Greenlight, HBO, 10PM
- The Strain (season finale), FX, 10PM
- The Widower (season premiere), PBS, 10PM
- Naked & Afraid: Forsaken (season premiere), Discovery, 10PM
- Doll & Em, HBO, 10:30PM
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
See an unreleased ‘South Park’ game running on the original Xbox
Legend has it that back in the early 2000s, Oregon studio Buzz Monkey was working on an officially licensed South Park game for the original Xbox. The game never shipped, but an incredibly early version appears to have made its way to an Xbox debug console — and it’s now on YouTube. The folks at HappyConsoleGamer unearthed the forgotten South Park game on an original Xbox and they’ve posted (extremely rough) gameplay, featuring a split-screen mode and Cartman walking around his house, driving a school bus and fighting a pack of dogs. Yep, this game has a combat system. Also included in the video is a taste of an unreleased Happy Feet game, which is appropriately adorable.
Via: Eurogamer
Sony doesn’t see a market for a PlayStation Vita sequel
You may be jonesing for a follow-up to the PlayStation Vita, but Sony isn’t so sure that it’s a wise idea. The company’s Shuhei Yoshida told those at a recent developer session that the “climate is not healthy” for a Vita sequel. Simply put, he believes that smartphones have dampened enthusiasm for gaming handhelds. Why get a dedicated device and buy games when you can play free games on the device you already have? He hopes that the culture of portable gaming will live on, but he doesn’t currently see Sony fostering that culture with new hardware.
Yoshida is right in that mobile gaming has had an impact — even Nintendo has given in to pressure to develop phone games after saying that it wouldn’t. As Kotaku points out, though, Sony’s reluctance to make another Vita may stem more from its own troubles than the market. Sony hasn’t really given the Vita the blockbuster first-party games that sell systems (many of them are minor offshoots of existing franchises), and hasn’t lavished nearly as much marketing attention on the Vita as it has the PS3 and PS4. Why would you buy a handheld that perpetually lives in the shadow of its TV-based siblings? While there’s no guarantee that a Vita replacement would fare any better (even if it hits all the right marks), Sony would have a stronger argument if it had devoted more energy to the portable it’s already selling.
Via: Geek
Source: Eurogamer
‘Halo 5’ card system gives you a leg up in muliplayer mayhem
We’re going to need a lot more time to properly judge the main story campaign in Halo 5: Guardians, but — as with all Halo games — the story mode is far from the only reason to play. Halo 5 will come with co-op multiplayer in the main game and the classic “arena” four vs. four deathmatch, but there’s also a new mode this time around. The new Warzone is a vast 12-on-12 multiplayer matchup where your team fights not only other players but also computer-controlled AI as well.
Instead of simply racking up as many kills as possible, Warzone matches are based on which team scores the most points, which you can rack up by doing a variety of things. Kills count, but so do taking out the big AI bosses that attack your team. There’s also some capture the flag style elements in play here; each zone has several important landmarks you can take over and defend. With 24 players running wild, it can be quite the chaotic experience — but in a good way, for the most part.
And if you’re new to Halo, like I am, Warzone might be one of the best way to get into the game. That’s because there’s a new system that lets you get your hands on a wide variety of weapons, armor, vehicles and more to help even your odds for your team. It’s called the requisition system (hereafter referred to as the REQ system), and it promises to keep players on their toes. Slideshow-323090
By playing either Warzone or Halo 5‘s traditional Arena multiplayer, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for virtual packs of REQ cards. Depending on how many points you want to spend, you can get packs that’ll increase your chances of scoring more rare and powerful items. While some of the items you’ll get are cosmetic in nature, you’ll also get a variety of useful in-game tools that you can equip before you respawn. You can also visit REQ stations scattered around the Warzone areas to power yourself up.
Some cards will be permanently added to your collection, but most of them won’t affect in-game combat (the exception beings loadout weapons that you spawn with). The real game-changers are the single-use weapons, armor and vehicles you can get your hands on; during one of the Warzone matches I played, someone on the opposing team managed to unlock some sort of flying warplane that was an absolute game-changer.
Fortunately, even if you have a huge stockpile of powerful cards, 343 Industries has put in a cooldown system to keep you from being near-invincible every time you respawn. Each card has an associated “level” that your team will need to achieve before you can use it. And the higher the level card you use, the longer you’ll have to wait before you can use a similarly powerful tool.
If you’re worried about getting gouged with in-game purchases for the best gear, 343 Industries notes that “everything” can be earned through the game’s REQ points system. It seems that certain items won’t be restricted to those who want to use real-world dollars here, but spending your own cash could give you a big leg up on the competition.
The good news is that the REQ system is just one part of what was overall the most fun I had playing Halo 5: Guardians during the private press demo Microsoft hosted recently. The madness of a 12-on-12 match, the unpredictability that the REQ system brings to the game, the combo of AI and human adversaries and the variety of different goals beyond just “kill as much as possible” made Warzone a blast — even though I was clearly outclassed by a number of other players. If Halo 5‘s single-player campaign is better with friends, Warzone really made me want to find a whole squad of companions to team up with.
Recommended Reading: How Oculus took Netflix to the Gear VR
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you’ll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.
John Carmack on Developing the Netflix App for Oculus
by John Carmack
Netflix Tech Blog
During this week’s Oculus Connect 2 keynote, the virtual reality company announced that the upcoming Gear VR would include support for Netflix. What does is take to bring a streaming service inside the headset? Well, Oculus CTO John Carmack detailed the process on the Netflix Tech Blog.
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Pandora’s CEO Explains Why ‘Free’ Music Is Worth So Much: Op-Ed Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews penned an op-ed at Billboard on the cost of “free” music, the role of discovery and the future of the subscription vs. ad-supported model. |
If You Love that Font So Much, Why Don’t You Date It? Which font would you date? Personally, I’d like to take Sentinel out for a drink. |
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The Scientific Art of the Perfect Meal Food bloggers are breaking down recipes with the kind of scientific experimentation typically reserved for a lab. It’s fun to both read about and try at home. |
The Ubisoft Division Where Accountants and HR Managers Make Games This piece details the work of Patrick Plourde as the head of Ubisoft’s Fun House project in Montreal where anyone can pitch a game idea. |
[Image credit: Oculus]
PlayStation Vita TV hack gives you a way to play more games
If you have a PlayStation TV collecting dust in a cabinet somewhere, this might make it useful again. A user called “mr.gas” from the Hackinformer forum has detailed how you can tweak the device to play games that it’s currently not compatible with. The best thing about the procedure is it’s actually doable, even if you’re not that adept at hacking hardware. You only need to send PS TV a message from your email app with the writer.eml file attached (a download link can be found on the source’s website) and renamed as #0 without an extension.
The message’s subject should be the path you want the file to go to. After that, you can also overwrite Vita TV’s game launcher file and allow titles not in Sony’s whitelist, such as Uncharted Golden Abyss, to run. According to the commenters on Hackinformer, they got a number of games and apps (though not all) running, including Netflix. Just follow the full instructions to give it a shot and try playing games that didn’t work in the past.
Via: Kotaku, TinyCartridge
Source: Hackinformer (1), (2)
‘Mighty No. 9’ demo gets a Humble Bundle and a new release date
Even though Mighty No. 9, the new crowdsourced video game from venerated MegaMan creator Keiji Inafune, won’t be available until some time in 2016, fans can still get a slice of the action. The game’s production team tweeted Friday that the game had both a new release date and that it’s playable demo has arrived on Humble Bundle. Per the game’s Kickstarter page, Mighty No. 9 will hit American consoles on February 9th, 2016 and launch worldwide on February 12th. And, according to the Mighty No. 9 official site, users must log in to Humble Bundle using the same email address as their Kickstarter/Paypal pledge and follow the download link for the Special Demo Version.
Hey Mighties! We have two big announcements for you! The MN9 Demo is LIVE on Humble Bundle. And we have a new release date!
— Mighty No. 9 (@MightyNo9) September 25, 2015
Source: Mighty No 9 (Twitter)
Twitch learned a lot from YouTube Gaming
When YouTube announced its new gaming-focused livestreaming program, YouTube Gaming, Twitch SVP of Marketing Matthew DiPietro released a statement reminding everyone that his company did it first. “The opportunity in gaming video is enormous, and others have clearly taken notice,” he said. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last four years, but our eyes are on the future.” DiPietro said that Twitch was listening to its users’ requests and it had a lot of changes in store. And, following YouTube Gaming’s robust, feature-laden launch, Twitch needed a serious update. Now, as announced at the first-ever TwitchCon keynote address, it’s getting exactly that.
Onstage today, Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear (pictured above) introduced some new Twitch features by saying, “I want to bring to you a bunch of little, but important, things that we think will make your Twitch experience just that little bit more fun.” And it’s true, Twitch’s announcements may seem like granular changes, but they should have a big impact on the way people consume the site’s content. The major (minor) updates are as follows:
- Playlists: Streamers can now create custom playlists of past broadcasts to run while their pages are offline, coming “soon.”
- Video uploads: Throw a prepared video directly onto Twitch, starting in early 2016.
- HTML5 rollout: Twitch is ditching Flash players and controls for HTML5, due in Q2 2016.
- Whispers 2.0: Twitch’s private-message system will now pop out personal conversations so users don’t miss them, coming in October.
These changes in particular feel like a direct reply to YouTube Gaming. One of the biggest gripes with Twitch is also a huge reason it attained rapid success — it emphasizes live content, rather than archived videos. In this sense, Twitch is almost a throwback to the days before DVR and streaming video. Content is available when it’s live, and it could disappear or be difficult to track down afterward. It’s like the days when you had to be home at 8PM every Sunday to watch The Simpsons, or else you’d have nothing to talk about around the water cooler the next day. Now, you can set the DVR and watch when you have the time. This formula of modern convenience is at the heart of Twitch’s — and YouTube Gaming’s — new vision.
Video game streamer HikePlays has 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and he helped the company set up its new Gaming section. We spoke with him just before the site’s launch and he laid out the numbers behind his attraction to YouTube over Twitch: Just 10 to 20 percent of his views stemmed from live shows. The majority of his audience tuned into archived streams, so it was beneficial to have all of his recorded videos front-and-center, rather than second-tier. YouTube Gaming allows streamers to showcase playlists of past videos and reams of archived content. Now, Twitch will, too.
Coming soon: Upload videos directly to Twitch and create a true 24/7 channel experience. #TwitchConKeynote pic.twitter.com/MHDuZgmohd
— Official TwitchCon (@TwitchConSF) September 25, 2015
Twitch’s new Playlist and video-on-demand options attempt to close the gap between its live and archived content, highlighting previous broadcasts as well as live shows. Video uploads allow streamers to plan more organized segments with higher production values, just like YouTube has for years. Switching to HTML5 should modernize Twitch’s video quality and its embed options, an essential part of YouTube’s own success. Whisper is the icing on the cake: Popping out private messages directly in the Twitch app and site is a fancy little feature that YouTube Gaming simply doesn’t have yet.
Twitch is aiming to become a hub for gaming videos, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After all, very few people in the 1980s turned on the TV to watch stations sign off. Now, instead of finding a Twitch streamer’s page and seeing an “offline” notification, viewers will get playlists of curated content and uploaded videos. YouTube Gaming clearly learned a ton from Twitch’s experiments in video game streaming, and this time around, Twitch is taking some lessons from YouTube.
AIVAnet 