JXE Streams: Exploring ‘Lego Jurassic World’ brick by brick
In just under two weeks, Jurassic World has absolutely demolished box office records around the globe and has raked in over $1 billion to date according to Box Office Mojo. The film series is a natural fit for video-game (and virtual reality) tie-ins and since you gals and guys enjoyed us streaming a pair of those not too long ago, we figured it’d only be fitting that we’d go back to the island with Lego Jurassic World. Join me at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific as I wade through the muddy jungles of Isla Nublar completely blind on PlayStation 4.
Tune in right here, at Engadget.com/gaming and on Twitch.tv/Joystiq to catch two straight hours of plastic dinosaurs and my poor attempt at replicating Jeff Goldblum’s iconic laugh.
http://www.twitch.tv/joystiq/embed
[We’re streaming a retail copy of Lego Jurassic World through an Elgato HD via OBS and PlayStation 4 at 720p.]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Building a high-end racing sim setup with $1,800 in gaming accessories
When it comes to racing games, and especially simulator-style titles, using a standard controller is fine for casual, laid-back play. But the genre really comes into its own with a dedicated wheel/pedal setup. There are a number of affordable options out there, as well as higher-end wheels like the Thrustmaster T300RS we checked out earlier this year. Meanwhile Logitech recently announced the $400 G29 and G920 (for the PS3/4 and Xbox One/PC, respectively). But if those wheels just aren’t quite high-end enough for you, Fanatec is happy to help you out. I’ve been using the company’s modular ClubSport line to see if it can help me tame the vehicles on offer in the racing sim Project CARS. It’s about as top-of-the-line as racing wheels get, but I’m warning you right now: The best doesn’t come cheap.
Let’s start with a rundown of the gear I tested. At the heart of the ClubSport line is the company’s Wheel Base V2 servo ($600), which lets you attach various steering wheels, shifters and pedals. Fanatec also set me up with both a Porsche 918 RSR wheel ($400) and a Formula Carbon ($250) that mimics the compact size of F1 steering wheels. I also tried out the ClubSport Shifter SQ ($200), which can switch between sequential and H-pattern shifting. Last, but definitely not least, the company sent along its newly announced ClubSport V3 pedals ($300) and a sturdy $90 Wheel Stand to mount the various components.
If you’re thinking that’s a mighty pricey setup, you’d be correct. This is certainly for those who are serious about racing games — like GT Academy-level dedication. And while those prices mentioned above are certainly eye-opening, Fanatec does a solid job on the packaging front to convince you that your money has been well-spent. “Hello realism; goodbye toys,” the top flaps state as you open the ClubSport Wheel Base’s box — seemingly assuring you that this was a sound investment.
As for the accessories themselves, I can’t complain about the choice of materials. The Wheel Base is a rounded brick of anodized aluminum and plastic. Thanks to a clear top panel, you can see the smooth, brushless servo motor inside that handles up to 900 degrees of rotation and offers suitably stout force feedback. The company claims its Porsche 918 RSR steering wheel is a very close copy of the one found in the actual car. Sadly, I didn’t have a 918 on hand to make a direct comparison, but judging by its 3.6-pound weight and liberal use of leather and thick metal, I’m inclined to believe it. Meanwhile, the front panel of the Formula Carbon wheel is, in fact, real carbon fiber.
Both controllers are positively festooned with buttons, as well as a pair of thumbsticks like on traditional gamepads. Unfortunately, since these wheels are compatible with a number of systems, you’re stuck with a trial-and-error process to figure out what action each unlabeled button controls. An upcoming and optional Xbox One hub ($300) lets you attach a variety of steering wheel rims and, thankfully, adds dedicated and properly labeled controls for that console — although the hub will work on other consoles.
The new ClubSport V3 pedals (due out later this year) are an impressive mix of aluminum and steel and build upon the looks of the V2 model. Each pedal feels distinct when pressed so there’s no mistaking which one you’ve stomped on. Like almost everything else in this setup, you can adjust the pedals to your liking, and a set of attachable extension plates lets you change the angle for just the right fit.
You’re going to need a place to mount all this gear and, unfortunately, the $50 table mount is an optional extra. If you don’t have the table space, the $90 Wheel Stand is (literally) a solid option. It’s a heavy-duty steel frame that offers a long platform to mount your pedals and an adjustable pedestal to attach your wheel and shifter (although you’ll need the Shifter SQ’s $30 table mount for this setup). If you’ve ever put together a weight bench, the assembly process here isn’t too different. Everything’s installed and adjusted using a pair of included Allen keys (so you’ll want to keep those handy). A couple metal collars help keep the tangle of cords in check, but I opted to add in some Velcro ties to keep things tidy.
Once you have everything attached and the stand adjusted to your preferences, it’s time to actually play something. My go-to game was the recently released Project CARS, a fun racing sim that gives players a deep level of customization as far as controls and on-screen menus go. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of a modular setup like this is having to refer to several quick guides and manuals to get everything up and running. In the case of Project CARS on PS4, it wasn’t until I checked Fanatec’s site that I finally figured out how to use the wheel. Turns out you need to load the game as you normally would with a standard controller and then press “Start” on the ClubSport Wheel at the title screen. From there, you can navigate the menus purely from the wheel. Though do note the game still pumps some audio through the DualShock 4‘s built-in speaker to simulate members of your race team speaking to you via in-helmet radio, which can be a wee bit terrifying when you casually toss aside your standard controller and suddenly hear some dude screaming at you from between the couch cushions.
Now, I’m by no means a racing game expert, but I can confidently say Project CARS is much more fun with a proper wheel/pedal setup. My first few attempts using the DualShock 4 were exercises in frustration as I spun out at nearly every opportunity. After consulting some forums and tweaking some input settings, it was more bearable, but Fanatec’s gear felt natural from the first green light. It’s a blast flinging light, 125cc karts around the track and it’s suitably challenging when you have to wrestle rear-wheel drive supercars in the rain. The tension and feedback are adjustable both in game and on the wheel itself, which may be daunting for some, but it’s nice to have such flexibility.
I had a similarly good time playing on the PC version of Project CARS. Here, too, the ClubSport combo was a far more immersive way to play the game versus my standard PC input device: a wired Xbox 360 controller. Using the Shifter SQ to handle gear changes upped the level of realism for me, whether in the up/down sequential mode or the seven-speed H-pattern. I did have trouble at first correctly finding those upper gears as well as reverse, but I’m chalking that up to my own inexperience. The V3 pedals feature vibration feedback, but support for that function is on a game-to-game basis. Even without that extra bit of realism, I had no trouble losing myself in the game. After a particularly hard-fought victory on wet pavement, I felt a rush of excitement and achievement that I doubt I could’ve recreated on a standard controller.
Of course, there are drawbacks to consider. At the top of the list: Um, did you see those prices earlier? We’re talking used, mid-’90s Honda Accord money here if you go for a similar setup. This is certainly not the most affordable way to upgrade your racing sim experience. In fact, it’s a bit like buying a Leica camera — yes, there are other, much cheaper cams that take high-quality pics, but they won’t be this well-made or feature such high-end materials. I also had a couple in-game issues, including moments where the wheel snapped back to center when I paused the game mid-race. It’s a strong enough motor that you should probably keep your hands clear when pausing in-game. There were also a few control-related bugs where the game forgot where the wheel’s center position was, but it’s tough to tell whether the game or the wheel was at fault and a quick exit to the main menu usually solved minor issues. Indeed, recent and upcoming game patches seem to be tackling some of these control quirks.
And when you’re combining so many different components, it’ll take a fair amount of time and adjustments to get everything just right. That said, Fanatec’s modular approach means you could, conceivably, use a competitor’s pedals with the company’s Wheel Base or, say, use the ClubSport Shifter with other models on PC (with an available USB adapter). And then there’s the Wheel Stand, which is compatible with a number of setups, including wheels and pedals from Fanatec competitors like Logitech and Thrustmaster — so it may be attractive to gamers who don’t have any other Fanatec gear on hand.
In the end, Fanatec’s ClubSport line is impressively polished and flexible, but that high build quality comes at a rather high price. There are certainly far more affordable ways to spruce up your racing rig, but it manages to justify its eye-raising price tag with its high level of polish and performance.
Filed under: Gaming
‘Shenmue 3’ creator explains how Sony is helping out
When the word got out that Shenmue 3 was getting financial help from Sony, not just E3 stage time, some gamers understandably flipped out. Were Yu Suzuki and crew duping fans into supporting a big-budget sequel in the guise of a crowdfunded indie title? Well, you can relax a little — Suzuki has come clean and explained to backers just how Sony and partner Shibuya Productions are involved. On top of an apology for misleading supporters, the developer notes that Sony and Shibuya are helping out with marketing, production and (in Sony’s case) “some publishing.” While he can’t talk about the terms, he’s adamant that your money is going directly to Shenmue‘s development. The other companies are “not seeing a cent” of your pledge, Suzuki says.
The disclosure should help assuage some jittery backers, although it also suggests that crowdfunded game studios still have something to learn about being up front about their financing. Although the teams behind projects like Shenmue 3 and the Castlevania-inspired Bloodstained have been quick to answer questions about outside help, their campaigns aren’t very explicit about why they’d like your money. In situations like these, your contribution mostly helps the designers gauge interest and work on bonus features that wouldn’t otherwise be practical. Those are fine motivations, but they’re seldom as obvious as you might like.
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Sony
Source: Kickstarter
‘Driveclub’ finally reaches PlayStation Plus on June 25th
Remember how Sony promised you a free version of Driveclub with your PlayStation Plus subscription about, oh, two years ago? You’ll finally get to claim it this week. The Plus Edition of Evolution Studios’ PS4 racing game is launching on June 25th, giving you a chance to see what all the hype was about. Sony is taking care to avoid the server meltdowns that plagued the retail game’s debut, too. On day one, you’ll only have guaranteed access to offline play — internet races will gradually roll out to make sure that this socially-oriented title works as advertised.
In many ways, the PS Plus release represents the close to an embarrassing chapter for both the game creator and Sony. Driveclub was supposed to be a standard bearer for the PS4 that showed off both Plus and the console’s technical prowess, but seemingly nothing went right. The game missed the PS4’s launch thanks to a last-minute delay, which ultimately led to a roughly year-long wait as the developers reworked large sections of gameplay. And as Kotaku has learned, the several months of extra waiting for the PS Plus version was virtually necessary. Evolution had to overhaul code so that Driveclub‘s servers wouldn’t buckle under demand like they did last fall, and Sony went so far as to establish a multiplayer quality check team to prevent repeat incidents. If everything goes smoothly on the 25th, you’ll know that both teams have learned some hard lessons.
Source: PlayStation Blog
‘The Last Guardian’ is a stripped-down sort of beautiful
The Last Guardian needs to be perfect. Fans of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus have been waiting for this, the third game from director Fumito Ueda, since it was announced in 2009. As issues with its production went public and development appeared to slow to a crawl, The Last Guardian entered the misty, nostalgic realm of what if in many fans’ minds. Then, Sony opened its E3 2015 press conference with a gameplay trailer of The Last Guardian on PlayStation 4, and those nearly forgotten dreams were suddenly reality. The trailer featured a young, toga-clad boy and Trico, a massive cat-bird-dog creature, as they traversed cavernous, crumbling ruins bathed in brilliant sunlight. Their journey, however, has roots in a prison cell buried in the dead city’s tall, grey walls.
During a behind-closed-doors demo at E3 2015, Ueda played through the scenes leading directly into Sony’s showcase video. It opens on the boy, surrounded by stone walls streaked through with greenery, grass poking through the floor. Sunlight streams though high-up windows as the boy runs toward a gate with wide-set bars, the gaps easily large enough for him to climb through. Beyond, inside a second cell, lies Trico, a creature the size of a tyrannosaurus rex. He’s covered in fluttering charcoal feathers and he has four bird legs, tiny wings, a slightly beaky mouth, a cat-like face and round, dark, puppy eyes. Two cerulean dots stick out of the top of his head, as if he had horns that were sawed off. Trico is giant yet adorable, and as the boy wakes him up, he makes noises that combine a bird’s screech with a dog’s whine.
Trico and the young boy have just met — the boy approaches Trico’s huge face, raises a hand to pet his furry beak, and Trico leans into it. There are no on-screen prompts throughout the entire demo, allowing the sheer size and beauty of the world to own the screen. The game shines in close-up details, when you can see the individual, shining strands composing Trico’s feathers, or the blades of grass rising through the floor. In wider shots, the graphics almost look dated, as if this were a PS3 game updated to run on PS4. Movement in the game, however, is gorgeous.
The boy wants to get them both out of captivity, but Trico is unable to stand because of two wooden spears sticking out of his back. The boy climbs Trico’s feathers, wraps his arms around a spear — it’s as tall as he is — and pulls. It takes a few, long seconds, but finally the spike comes free and Trico lets out a layered shriek. The boy removes the other spear and Trico stands.
They need to reach a ledge high up on one wall so the boy can get to the other side of a heavy gate and set Trico free. First, the boy finds a barrel and picks it up; Trico notices and immediately jumps into a playful-puppy position, bird feet spread wide, ready to catch it. The boy throws the barrel and Trico gobbles it up.
The boy can direct Trico by yelling commands or pointing and stamping his feet in place as if telling the beast to walk in a certain direction. In the beginning, Trico doesn’t always listen to the boy right away, but as the game goes on, their relationship will become stronger and the pair will communicate more effectively, Ueda says.
Eventually, Trico extends his front claws to the high-up ledge, and the boy climbs his feathers and alights on the platform. There are even some more barrels up there, treats for Trico. Once on the other side of the wall, the boy switches a lever and the gate opens, releasing Trico. That’s where Sony’s demo started.
The boy could miss Trico’s tail. He could die.
There’s a moment in the Sony trailer where the boy leaps across a gaping chasm, the ground a pinprick thousands of feet below him, and Trico attempts to catch him with his mouth. He misses and the boy continues to fall, but Trico’s tail swings beneath the platform and the boy grabs it, making it safely to higher ground. Time slows down as the boy falls and it’s a tense, dramatic moment. It looks scripted, just as a lot of the game’s action sequences do — but it’s not. That scene, the boy catching Trico’s tail before falling to his death, is player-controlled. The boy could miss Trico’s tail. He could die. The same goes for those barrels the boy was throwing earlier — they won’t kill anyone, but they might just smack Trico in the face rather than providing him a tasty treat.
The Last Guardian is packed with mystery. Where are Trico and the boy? Why have they been kidnapped and held captive? Are they trying to get back home? Where is everyone else? This veil of secrecy and legend is upheld by the game’s lack of on-screen prompts (we haven’t seen any so far, at least) and the knowledge that every playthrough will be just a little different, thanks to the game’s robust AI system.
The Last Guardian hits PlayStation 4 in 2016 — a phrase almost as unbelievable as the game’s oddly pixelated, beautifully detailed, erratic world.
Sony’s 1TB PS4 is official
Sony and Microsoft had a ton of games to show off at E3 this year, so we didn’t see much in terms of hardware announcements. Microsoft had already unveiled a 1TB Xbox One and today, we’re finally seeing the same move from Sony. On its European blog, the company revealed that its new “Ultimate Player Edition” PS4 with double storage will debut across Europe on July 15th. There’s no word on a wider release just yet, but given it’s already popped up in an FCC filing, a US announcement seems almost inevitable.
A new 1TB console isn’t the only announcement to come out of Sonyland this morning though. The company has also updated its not-so-hot PlayStation app for iOS and Android with a couple of nifty features. The first is the ability to enter PSN gift cards and promotional codes, so you no longer have to power on your PS4 to redeem them. The second is the ability to display comments on your phone or tablet while you’re broadcasting from the console — perhaps a simpler way to keep your streaming setup neat and tidy.
Nice update for PlayStation app on iOS and Android improves PlayStation Store browsing experience and more. Give it a shot!
– PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 22, 2015
Source: PlayStation Blog
I wish I was a ‘Street Fighter V’ master
If there was one game I wish I could be good at, I wish it was Street Fighter V. Maybe it’s because I’ve played the series, in some form or another, for around two decades, maybe it’s because most of the other games I play aren’t really multiplayer. Sure, I love playing games, but I wouldn’t say I was good at them. I get bested in FIFA, destroyed in Halo, but with Street Fighter, I’m not that bad. However, I’m not a high-level player good either — something that was clearly demonstrated than when I played the latest iteration, the PS4- and PC-only Street Fighter V, here in LA, where I was beaten, occasionally thrashed. But I kept lining up for another go — or pushing the limits of my briefing time with Capcom. The latest iteration carries over the literal jaw-smashing, eye-popping visuals of the 3D reimagining of the series, but adds some next-gen graphical glamour. The game adds a new layer of strategy and difficulty with the V-System. The characters announced so far have been changed in a lot of important ways.
At the start of E3 , Capcom announced two new characters to SFV: Cammy and Birdie. That adds to the four players already announced: staples Ryu and Chun-Li, as well as M. Bison and Nash. If you’ve played a Street Fighter or two in your time, you might recall the character Charlie, a Guile-ish character from Street Fighter Alpha. This time, the same guy’s now called Nash — and his move set has switched from charging in directions (like Guile’s Sonic Boom), to a more hadouken-style quarter-circle rotation. Be prepared to discover all kinds of subversions, tweaks and additions to the game you once knew. Sure, that’s nothing new for Street Fighter, but this is the first sequel since Capcom cleaned house on it’s (officially) fourth iteration, which simplified game mechanics as it dragged the series (canonically) into 3D.
The major changes this time around are centered around the V-system: V-Skill, V-Trigger and V-Reversal. V-Skills you’ll be able to use at anytime and will vary across characters. With Ryu, it launches a parry pose that will (if you have razor-sharp timing) evade an attack without damage. You’re then free to attack your opponent without concern. With Chun-Li, it launches her upwards and forwards — like a jump, but with damage and a different arc of travel, making attacks harder to predict.
Once you’ve built up the V-gauge (separate to the super gauge, which is still there), you’ll then be able to launch the V-trigger. Again this varies between characters but it’s a far more potent way to turn the tables on your enemy. Taking Ryu again as an example, it charges his fists with electric current that increase damage of attacks while also adding stun properties. Sounds pretty damn useful.
V-reversals is the final component, and acts as a way of countering your attacker while you block. However, each character will counter in a different way. Some will knock your rival to the ground, while others will push them backwards. Depending on the character, your mileage may well vary.
After a short briefing from Capcom staff (that I admittedly ignored), I was fighting other attendees. (In the game, I mean). I lost. And at some point, as I tried to Lightning kick as Chun-Li, my opponent, playing as Nash, was teleporting around me. He shouldn’t be able to do that. (Worse still, no matter how fast I hammered the kick button, Chun-Li still wasn’t doing the lightning kick. I learned later that this was because the move had been remapped to a different input.)
I managed to claw back a round, and as I finished my opponent with a kick, he slams into a bus, which opens its doors, and carries him away. There was a chuckle… and then I got beat-down again in the finale. The gameplay itself feels a little bit slower than its predecessor: high-level players might take issue, but for more typical fans this means it’s easy to use the system of parries and counters that now exist. That’s not to say battles still aren’t fast and occasionally manic — they still are. The new changes here suggest that selecting your character will mean selecting your play style, even more so than previous titles. Capcom will be launching an “ambitious” beta for the game later this year on PS4 and PC. It will tie into preorders in the US, while a lottery in Asia and Europe will decide who gets to play a little early — and who may get a chance to master the characters early. And when you get good enough, you’ll hardly have to look.
Filed under: Gaming
Morpheus mech game ‘Rigs’ uses color to make VR less overwhelming
My most vivid takeaway from PlayStation 4’s new Project Morpheus game Rigs wasn’t what I expected. Sure, the first-person mech shooter handled like a dream at 60 frames per-second, and targeting my enemies simply by gazing at them was impressive. But how fluid the locomotion was and how aiming system performed were nothing compared to the game’s use of fun, vibrant blocks of color to keep the mood light and subtly nudge me in the right direction. I spent a ton of time in virtual (and augmented) reality at E3 this year and it was Rigs that was perhaps the easiest game for me to pick up, play and not feel like I was floundering about. Sorry, EVE: Valkyrie. With smart color palette choices developer Guerrilla Cambridge, responsible for PS Vita’s Killzone: Mercenary, was able to tell me exactly what to do and where to go without saying a word.
For example: When your mech is destroyed, you go through an automatic eject sequence where you’re propelled high above the arena. From this vantage point you’re given a handful of different respawn zones to choose from, each denoted with a green symbol. Once I chose where I wanted to return to the action from, the same green was onscreen again, this time in a sort of bubble that blocked out the outside world and then melted away once the action began again. It was a way to give a brief break from the game’s super-quick action. Every time I saw that green on the map, i immediately knew that it was associated with getting a new mech.
In Rigs the fastest way to earn points is by jumping through a gigantic yellow ring that sits horizontally, high above the center of the map. This has a color associated with it too: yellow. The ramps leading up to it and even the ring itself are yellow. Again, it’s an immediate association between a color and an objective or direction that immediately conveys what you need to do without the need for an onscreen prompt or other explanation. As developer Tom Jones (no, not that Tom Jones) tells it, those associations are key for more than one reason.
I really appreciate how the team uses color in the game because I’m a huge nerd for color. I spend way too much thinking about palette and color psychology. I mean, it took me three weeks to figure out the colors I was going to use in my apartment.
Tom Jones: To get it right, yeah.
Exactly. Rigs uses color in a really smart way to direct players where to go. Green means i’m respawning right now, and to get to that respawn point in the ari, I look for that green spot. Yellow is going toward the goal. How much thought and consideration went into getting that right?
TJ: From the outset we wanted to make a colorful game. We wanted to make a world that people would enjoy. It’s a sport so we needed it to be vibrant and colorful, it shouldn’t be a dystopian future or anything; it’s a sporting arena. That was really important. The harder challenge was finding not doing something that’s overwhelming.You can do too much [with color] and it’s like a visual overload.
Yeah, you have to be careful about using too much color because it can confuse the player.TJ: It’s kind of being selective in areas and landmarking areas, as well. It’s a multiplayer game so you need to call out areas on the map. I think one of the things we’ve done in VR is to push more of the colors to the background so the areas are more defined by bigger colors which are more easy to find in VR as well.
Does VR present different challenges for using color and your color palette?
TJ: The challenge is not doing anything that’s too overwhelming to people. Bigger blocks of color tend to work better than smaller pockets. It’s very hard with color obviously, because warm and cold tones can change your perception of depth within a scene and that can play with you a little bit when you’re in VR. We’ve struck a really good balance now and it really works for what we’ve got.
Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
This interview has been edited and condensed
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Media Molecule’s ‘Dreams’ is for YouTubers and Twitch streamers
When Alex Evans, co-founder of Sony PlayStation first-party studio Media Molecule, announced Dreams onstage at E3 this week, there was a lot of confusion in the audience and on social media. And that’s okay, according to Evans. “What we wanted to do was get it out there and get people talking about it. And your staff are right to be scratching their heads. … If it’s on your radar, fantastic. Because it is hard to take it in. The main confusion I’ve seen reading on the net does seem to be that people are like, ‘Is it a movie maker? Is it a game maker? What is it?’ The communities will probably define that. But it’s absolutely a game. We are making games with it. What you will choose to make with it, what the community will choose to make with it — that’s the cool thing. We don’t know.”
A demo of the animate tool in Dreams
It’s clear from chatting with Evans and studio creative director Mark Healey that, much like the nature of dreams themselves, development of the title took on a stream-of-consciousness approach. Although the sculpting and animation tools were created first, Evan explains that the game engine is actually what ultimately ended up influencing its design. “If you watch the PS4 announce … it’s a very different engine than the one that we showed yesterday,” he says. “The visual look of the game actually changed drastically and improved what people were making when the engine changed. Weirdly, what you’d think is like where did the game idea come? Where did the mechanic come from? Actually, the engine’s ended up influencing that, the look of it. So it’s very kind of like [an] eat-your-own-tail sort of thing. It’s awesome, though.”
This E3 wasn’t even Dreams’ debut. Evans actually demoed the puppeteering aspect during Sony’s first-ever PlayStation showcase back in February of 2013. “That was early Dreams right there,” he says. “In fact, we’ve still got those assets kicking around. I mean, they’re all in the server.”
Evans continues: “We didn’t want to confuse people and kind of reference [that showcase] too heavily. But it’s totally the same lineage. And our process is sort of ‘explore to find the product’ kind of vibe. It was half tech led, half make it up as we go along… kind of find-the-game-within-the-game thing. So that was a stage. And if you rewatch it now, it’s 100 percent legit.”
Production on Dreams has been underway for four years now, but Sony and Media Molecule are staying tight-lipped about any release date, saying only to stay tuned for more news at Paris Game Week this October. That said, there is a possibility the title will be released in beta, as Healey says the studio wants to get it out “as soon as possible because we want the community to be really foundational in what it becomes.”
“Our process is sort of ‘explore to find the product’ kind of vibe. It was half tech led, half make it up as we go along.” — Alex Evans
In a way, Healey says that Dreams embodies the spirit of game jams: sessions where different artists and developers come together to brainstorm the creation of a game within a 24-hour time limit. “That sort of collaboration and that live aspect to it is really catered for in Dreams,” says Healey. “So if you’re a specialist; if you’re someone who thinks, ‘Well, I’m not just going to sculpt,’ you’re going to find people to team up with and make something. Or, if you’re more of an auteur, you can sit there.”
“You can be a game director,” adds Evans. “You don’t have to do anything. Because it’s all live, connected online. … We’re pushing collaboration as much as we can. So if you want to be in your bedroom on your own for three days and work on your magnum opus, that’s cool. That’s legit. But actually, it’s a much more welcoming world if you can go in and it’s like, ‘Hey! This dude over here is building skyscrapers.’”
“We’ve seen this with our previous project, LittleBigPlanet. There’s an important part of any community [and] that’s the sort of curators and editorializers and the people who are tastemakers. And this YouTuber generation … the world of Dreams is going out into the world of Twitch streaming and YouTube and live PS4 streaming with Share. And so we tried to build a lot of the creation sort of vibe into that world so people who are familiar with that world of streaming and Twitch and YouTubing and Let’s Plays and all that will be right at home. And if you wanna get your boss made, you could probably just go online and find someone who is good at that and be like, ‘Can you make this for me, please?’ So it’s collaborative.”
Media Molecule’s Mark Healey (at left) with Alex Evans
That underlying focus on community and feedback is a strong theme for Dreams. It’s an approach to game design that you don’t often see outside of Kickstarter-backed projects, like Keiji Inafuna’s Mighty No.9. Both Evans and Healy freely admit that they’re not quite sure what final form the game will take upon release and so they hope legions of YouTubers and Twitch streamers will help mold its direction. As Evans explains, “I think doing the beta, when we finally do it, it’ll just allow us to shape [the game]. So some of the questions we’re being cagey about is because I think we can allow the community through feedback to actually help us shape some of our stuff. We have a plan and we’re doing it, but it may be that we have to kind of turn twenty degrees to the left.”
“Dreams is going out into the world of Twitch streaming and YouTube and Live PS4 streaming with Share. So we tried to build a lot of the creation vibe into that world.” — Alex Evans
Evans and Healey weren’t quite so cagey when I asked them if Dreams would be a Morpheus VR launch title. Though the pair wouldn’t outright confirm it, Healey admits “it’s an obvious thing to do.” Adds Evans: “Let’s just say Anton Mikhailov, who helped build the first ever Morpheus prototype, is at Molecule now. … So I’ll leave it at that.”
Now about the mysterious gameplay: There’s a reason why Dreams‘ visual design shifts between the solid and the gauzy — an effect Healey likens to an impressionist painting — and that’s because progression through the game will mirror that of actual dreams. Healey says that players “can go from experience to experience in a very dream-like way.” It’s an effect he hopes will spur the community to experiment quickly with the create tools and stumble into new modes of play.
A 3D-print of “David” the piano guy from Dreams
Evans elaborates on this: “You might be an FPS [first-person shooter] guy, so FPS is your entry. But as you’re playing the FPS, you open the door and it’s a fucking desert and you’re in Journey. You walk out and then you’re walking through the desert and then you see … a spaceship and you climb into it. … It sounds mad, but when you’ve framed it all as dream-like, actually you just get into it. The same way that when you’re in an actual dream in real life, you don’t question the fact that you walk out your house and you’re in the middle of the beach. … You know what I mean? That feeling.”
“You can share everything from an entire level to the smallest asset.” — Mark Healey
As for more traditional gameplay modes, Evans says that players can expect to see that bundled into the final product. Both he and Healey referenced the bubbles shown off at the end of this year’s E3 demo as a tease of what that “game-like content” could be. “At Media Molecule, we’re game makers so we’re making games with it. So there will be Media Molecule content there. The scope of that is to be announced. But it will be there and it will be good,” he says.
With LittleBigPlanet serving as the game’s spiritual predecessor, it should go without saying that Dreams is heavily focused on amassing a shared online library of user-generated content. “You can share everything from an entire level to the smallest asset,” says Healey. “You can make a pebble if [you] like and it could end up in everybody’s game or ‘dreams.’ And your name will be attached to that, however remixed.”
“David” the piano guy as seen in the E3 Dreams demo
If there’s any major takeway from what PS4 gamers can expect from Dreams when it’s finally released, it’s that Media Molecule is building a title for today’s connected culture of remixing, streaming and sharing. “Dreams is difficult to explain,” stresses Evans. “But I think once the community gets a hold of it, it’s really going to flower.”
[Images: Sony PlayStation/Media Molecule]
Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
‘Final Fantasy VII’: The challenge of remaking a classic
Almost 20 years later, Final Fantasy VII is being remade. It’s no prequel, sequel, gamified Advent Children thing. It’s a proper darn remake. The short trailer shown first at PlayStation’s E3 2015 event was fairly obtuse — we don’t even get to see the protagonists’ face, but there’s still a lot of excited people. A whole lot. How do you break the mold without breaking hearts? With some translation assistance, we asked its producer, Tetsuya Nomura, all about it.
After announcing that the PC version of FFVII was coming to PS4, why announce the remake now?
Tetsuya Nomura: The PC port, honestly, wasn’t really on my radar. I thought it was already on sale. Regardless, there’s really no relation between the PC version and this remake. Why now? This week at E3 we announced several titles coming to the PS4: not only FFXV, Kingdom Hearts 3, and World of Final Fantasy, but [also] a new Star Ocean and more. Rather than announce the remake after those titles went on sale, we wanted to give gamers something that would make them happy — open them up, perhaps, to buying into the PS4.
You’ve called it a remake, but what’s going to change? Will the story change?
TN: Hah! Well, that’s something that literally… [He gestures to his open laptop].
The trailer was vague; it felt like it could well be a sequel, or even a prequel.
TN: That’s exactly why I wanted to have the word “Remake” into the trailer — precisely to clarify that. At this point, I can’t talk to specifics. Or at least, I’m not allowed to talk about the specifics. But the original is out again: The “HD” PC version is coming to PS4 already. We don’t need two of the same thing. Even if we beautified and upgraded the visuals — something that’s bound to happen. If it’s a full remake, then of course, we want to take a different approach. If we actually just upgraded the visuals — there’d be no need for me to direct it.
“We don’t need two of the same thing.”
Well, I can’t honestly say. But things will change.
Just the price?
TN: [Laughs] We can’t comment on pricing. We haven’t even mentioned the true title of the remake.
Is there a comparable remake in gaming, movies?
TN: If I say anything, then that could reveal too much. If I say, “It’s a bit like this,” you’ll suddenly think: “Ah well, then that’s going to turn out just like that.” In the trailer, at the end, I try to reference that: “The reunion at hand may bring joy, but it may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings.”
People will wonder how far the game will change and exactly what is going to change. Sure, at first there’s the joy that the game’s returning, but then the concern that what you liked in the original may change or disappear completely. People have different demands. But if we take everything literally the same, we’re turning into the HD port again.
So you could flip the genders of say, Yuffie?
TN: Nothing that drastic! But there will be changes. More than me, [Producer Yoshinori] Kitase and [scenario writer Kazushige] Nojima are more concerned about what gets changed. I’m not too worried about that. I’m often happy to cut out parts. Before meetings, the pair of them often discuss what’s happening. It’s very likely that not everyone is going to like everything.
The trailer seemed pretty serious in tone. Will the occasional humor the original game carry through?
TN: The comedy or the lighthearted parts — I like those. I don’t want to change it that much. But we can’t have these upgraded, beautiful 3D models of Cloud and Barrett, still lining up in a row, jumping forward to attack an enemy, then jumping back to wait for their next turn. That would be bizarre. Of course there will likely be changes there. But if we took away parts like the lighter moments of the game, then it would no longer be FFVII.
Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
Filed under: Gaming
AIVAnet 