Tag: game development

Government backs Aussie gaming.
Screen Australia has announced the backing of Aussie games to the tune of $3 million AUD through it’s “Games: Expansion Pack” fund and “First Nations Games Studio” fund. The First Nations Games Studio fund awarded AU$600,000 to two studios, Guck, & Awesome Black, both working on projects related to First Nations storytelling and talent development. Additionally, the Games: Expansion Pack fund provided AU$2.4 million in funding to 21 different studios across the country. The funded games cover a wide range of genres and platforms and aim to accelerate skills and creativity within the Australian games industry. Additionally, the Federal Government has introduced the Digital Games Tax Offset, providing a 30% refundable tax offset for projects with budgets over $500,000. Click the following for a list of all the projects funded and their synopses.

Smell Like a Gamer
In recent news, Xbox is going a bit crazy with the themed sweepstakes with both a Barbie movie tie in with a Barbie Dream House Custom Console, and Barbie and Ken controller face plates. But they pulled out all the stops for the game release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. This release not only has a sweepstake for four controllers designed after each of the turtles themselves, but the can also “…come with a built-in scent diffuser shaped like a slice of delicious New York ‘za.” Smell-O-Vision at it’s finest. If you’re interested in the TMNT Mutant Mayhem Controller this giveaway will be running till August 13 this year, where you will need to retweet the Xbox Game Pass sweepstakes tweet or whatever they will end up being called with the X rebrand.

the pizza party never stops with these guys🍕

follow @XboxGamePass & RT this post with #XboxTMNTMoviesweepstakes for a chance to win these TMNT-inspired controllers!

be sure to see @TMNTMovie in theatres 8/2/23 in the US!

ages 18+. ends 08/13/23. rules: https://t.co/C2Pjfi7yru pic.twitter.com/h6P3sjcvu7

— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) July 24, 2023

AI in the News Goes Glorbo
This week the World of Warcraft Reddit community tricked an online publishing AI by feeding it false data about a made-up character, Glorbo, it’s mandatory item Klikclac, and their nemesis Quackion, the Aspect of Ducks, resulting in the generation of fake content presented as actual news under the pseudonym Lucy Reed. This account is credited to writing near 80 articles a day with potentially little to no oversight. This incident raises questions about the validity of AI automated publishing and the potential impact on the increased value of human generated, or at least human moderated, content.

Now in Activision Blizzard News
Sigh… Look I’m just as sick as you that these guys keep being in the news. TL;DR is basically, they screwed up the Diablo 4 season release and people are complaining that company’s being cheap, of unfair nerfing, that the menu design is tricking people into buying the season pass, of new items causing nausea, and that some player’s characters butts are out in the open. Also, that the FTC has backed out of the whole merger with Microsoft blockage, and Overwatch 2 is coming to Steam. To read more about these stories, check out the links in the news post on our Facebook page @ZEDgamesau.

And now for a couple of quick bytes:

• Mods have given your favourite NPCs in Stardew Valley AI Brains, yep, think about that like Jordan Gerblick of GamesRadar;

“…when you know those video game characters had to have their existing inner-workings hollowed out and replaced with the increasingly ominous power of AI, I can only imagine those interactions feeling incredibly creepy – as if it’s not really them anymore.”

(Image credit: Eric Barone)

The mod is Talk to Inworld’s AI Villagers and is now available on NexusMods.

• And the US Entertainment Software Rating Board wants to scan you and child’s face to validate age with digital purchases. The proposal to the FTC would have you upload a photo into a system controlled by Yoti – an Epic Games subsidiary, with collaboration with company SuperAwesome, which would be analysed and then deleted. They go on to claim the system poses no substantial risk to parents’ privacy.

And now for some of the upcoming game releases.
On Friday July 28, Disney Illusion Island is coming to Switch. Monday 31^st, F1 Manager 2023 is coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Wednesday August 2^nd, Ninja or Die: Shadow of the Sun is coming to PC. And lastly on Thursday August 3^rd, explore nature, relax, and take photos in Flutter Away coming to PC.

Neopets has gone independent.

Dominic Law is the new CEO of The Neopets Team after a management buyout deal was made, allowing Neopets to become independent after its old owners Jumpstart Games was shut down on June 30th 2023.

In a blog post the newly formed team outlined its goal to shift away from NFT’s and crypto and revitalize the website, as well as the creation of a new mobile app, World of Neopets.

Basically after running at a loss for over a decade they’ve got a new team and new funding and a whole page of corporate speak saying they’re going to fix up the place.

https://medium.com/@neopetsofficial/a-new-era-for-neopets-fdb5c9ac187e

Baldur’s Gate 3 – Insert Bear Pun Here

Because I’m doing the news I get to choose what to talk about and I want to talk about the fact that in Baldur’s Gate 3 you can get freaky with a bear.

In the “Panel from Hell: Release Showcase” Larian studios was showing off the game’s romance aspects and the internet exploded when it was revealed you can get intimate with one of your party members in their bear form.

I’m sure there’s a deeper conversation here about sex scenes in games and all that but I’m trapped in the news and have no time for that so instead I’m just here to say ‘lol bear seggs’ and leave it at that.

https://panelfromhell.baldursgate3.game/

Queensland Games Festival this Saturday

And it’s that time again friends and enemies, the newly renamed Queensland Games Festival is this Saturday!  Previously known as Game On Festival (or GO423 if you’re nasty) this is a free public event where you can get your peepers on the newest locally made games and meet the people who make them.

The event is on the 22nd of July at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 10am so come on over and support the local Brisbane game industry!

https://www.queenslandgamesfestival.com/

RELEASES

July 20

Homeseek – PC, Killsquard – Playstation, Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross – PC, Punch Club 2: Fast Forward – PC, Unholy – PC.

July 21

Pikmin 4 – Switch, Sephonie – Playstation & Xbox & Switch

July 24

Super Catboy – PC

July 25

Remnant 2 PC & PS5 & Xbox Series X

July 26

Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart – PC

Afternoon Zed Gamers, time to plug your ears with the vibrating pressure of the weekly podcast headed by Maylee, and accompanied by Zahra, Hazel and a secret being. This week the team talks lost games in Gaming News, Zahra takes time out for self care in a review of Amaru: The Self-care Virtual Pet. Maylee then brings the magic with a review of the boardgame Flamecraft.

Sonic’s Dad Has Been Sentenced

Yuji Naka, former Sega and Square Enix developer, and co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has now been sentenced after being convicted for insider trading. The punishment? Two and a half years prison time, a probation period of four years, and fines totalling 173 million yen.

However, he has been given a four year suspended sentence due to showing ‘remorse’, meaning that he will not be imprisoned, but will still need to comply with a number of rules presented by the court, and pay the fines.

87% Of Classic Video Games Are Missing

The Video Game History Foundation has revealed a study claiming that the very large majority of older video games are missing or totally unavailable to the public. And the problem may be due to outdated copyright laws.

The Entertainment Software Association claims however that ‘there’s no such thing as an obsolete game’, given that video games are largely digital.

The Video Game History Foundation has argued that ‘in cases where software has become abandoned or when companies are not willing to undertake their own preservation, libraries and other archives should be allowed to preserve and digitally release games’.

VGHF hope that with some changes, future gamers will never have to fondly think back on a childhood game that is just impossible to replay for various reasons, as well as create a more cohesive archive of video games. For historical purposes of course.

Football Rebranded

EA Sports used to be FIFA’s largest commercial partner before the two parted ways. But what is EA Sports to do instead of yet another FIFA game? A new football game, just without all that FIFA branding.

The new game, FC 24, has been revealed with its official announcement trailer, marking the end of an almost 30 year era. It’s rather motivational, although some of the comments seems to expect more of the same. Which isn’t surprising considering that football hasn’t had a major update in around 100 years.

Sega Says Blockchains Aren’t Fun

While ‘what makes a video game a video game’ and ‘what are video games’ and other such questions are often topics for debate among gamers, Sega seems to have figured out that a game should be fun. Shuji Utsumi, Sega’s co-chief operating officer, has reported that although the company were initial supporters of blockchain gaming, have now decided against pursuing it, feeling that it would cheapen their more iconic IPs.

“The action in play-to-earn games is boring. What’s the point if games are no fun?” says Utsumi.

Sega do still plan to allow third parties to use characters from their less popular IPs as NFTs, but it’s unlikely that we’ll be seeing Sonic the Hedgehog NFTs from Sega.

And now for some upcoming games!

July 13

• Manic Mechanics (Switch)
• Testament: The Order of High Human (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

July 14

• Exoprimal (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
• Jagged Alliance 3 (PC)

July 17

• Sticky Business (PC)

July 18

• Murder Is Game Over – Streaming Death (PC)
• Unidentified Falling Objects (PC, Switch)
• Viewfinder (PC, PS5)

July 19

• Blackout Protocol (PC)
• The Repair House (PC)

July 20

• Homeseek (PC)
• Killsquad (PS5, PS4)
• Punch Club 2: Fast Forward (PC)
• Unholy (PC)

Zed Gamers, welcome to another week of audio glory!
This week Hazel’s organised a special treat, so with Cameron they welcome Jed Dawson & Finley (Fin) Cameron from Screen Queensland to talk how they can help YOU get your game and game creation career off the ground (paid internships now available)!
Hazel then talks Nova Lands and the problems with automation in gaming.
So fill in your forms and submit them by listening in, or head to your nearest podcast department and find us cowering under the desks of democracy.

This week Zahra takes control, with Caroline and Peter to talk this weeks Gaming News, a Recap of last week’s Indi Dev Night and all their favs, and lastly Caroline battles through with a review of Knight Crawlers! 

SURPRISE EARLY PODCAST!
In celebration of our collaboration with Netherworld for the Indie Dev Night we’re releasing this weeks podcast EARLY! So listen in as Maylee, Hazel, & Paul talk gaming news, this years not E3 announcements and Hazel does a special In Memoriam for the online phenomenon Blazeball.
So gather your salutes, gird your tear ducts, and open your ear holes.

Grab your Master Sword, don your fused shield , & come listen to this weeks special Zelda themed episode with Paul taking the reigns. This weeks 4 person team talks The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and all things Hyrule.

Apple Vision Pro is Vision… Oh…

Apple has unveiled their newest creation, their first spatial computer! What does this mean? Well, it’s a headset much like your typical VR headsets that is supposed to seamlessly blend digital content with the world around you. Imagine, being able to project your workspace onto a wall, while still being totally aware of the world around you thanks to the ability to see through the headset. It features 23 million pixels across two displays, and it tracks your eyes, hands, and voice.

Your monitor and keyboard can be set up anywhere, at any time, effortlessly, so you can partake in hustle culture for the low price of $5,250 or so for Aussies.

Speaking of Corporate Greed…

Eric Covington, a former Activision Blizzard designer, wrote a few cheeky lines for a World of Warcraft Venture Co. loot goblin. The lines were approved and implemented into the game, and the jokes were promoted on the official World of Warcraft Twitter account, but uhh, that doesn’t stop you from getting fired for allegedly “inserting inappropriate non-game related content into a game”.

The lines this Venture Co. loot goblin had? “Let’s call this a cost of living adjustment.” “No profit sharing!” and “Looks like another yacht for me!”

Blaseball is Done

Blaseball, best described as a ‘cultural event’, was a game that looks like a baseball stat-tracking page. You could pick your favourite team, such as “Kansas City Breath Mints”, bet with fake money, and even partake in voting for rule changes.

With weather events such as ‘jazz’, players being able to die and be resurrected, and something about a peanut god, it is clear that Blaseball will be missed. Unfortunately it was just too costly in terms of finances, time, and resources, meaning that the developer The Game Band has had to make the difficult decision to bring it to a close after 3 years of joy, heartbreak, and absurdity.

Duke Nukem Remastered: AI Art

Blaze Entertainment has revealed a remaster for Duke Nukem 1 and 2, including some album art with some… weirdness going on with the fingers, a typical sign that it was generated using an AI tool.

AI generated art has been facing a lot of controversy recently, as the tools often use original artists’ works to train, and are considered ‘lazy’ and ‘cheap’, whilst AI artists claim that it is nothing more than utilising a unique set of skills to create something ‘new’.

Blaze Entertainment initially double-downed, but has posted a statement acknowledging that the original image was AI-generated, and that they would be commissioning a new piece of art to replace it.

Gays? In My Overwatch?

Not if you’re in countries with intolerant laws towards the LGBT+ community. All Pride content will be opt-in, giving players control over how they want to express themselves, or if they’re rather not express themselves at all.

In selected countries, the option won’t be available at all, with Pride content being blocked.

“Our values are to protect players… You can equip a cosmetic in one country and travel to somewhere else with different rules and get in trouble. So we feel like it’s our responsibility to help protect people like that” says Aaron Keller, an Overwatch 2 developer.

And now for some upcoming games!

June 8

• Harmony: The Fall of Reverie (PC, PS5, XSX, Switch)
• Mask of the Rose (PC, Switch)
• Pro Cycling Manager 2023 (PC)
• Speed Crew (Switch)
• Tour de France 2023 (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

June 9

• Greyhill Incident (PC, PS5, PS4)

June 14

• Black Desert Online: Land of the Morning Light expansion (PC)
• WWE 2K23: Race to NXT Pack DLC (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

Time to gather your infinite multiverse everything everywhere spider selves around the sparking gigabyte motherboard that is Zed Games.