iGame Radio

 

What’s inside this episode:

• We interview Simon Jones of Plimus about dynamic monetization, the idea one can set the pricing structure for products and services in a dynamic way both over time and through different modes. Omaha and Simon discuss what dynamic monetization is and how Plimus is helping it along. Also, will you be able to use this kind of monetization with iPhone/iPad games?

 

What’s inside this episode:

• Host Omaha Sternberg talks about the week’s news in Mac and iOS gaming. The big news is about the FTC and DOJ review of Apple business practices. The FTC is looking at Apple’s in-app purchasing methods…are they safe for the consumer. Both the FTC and DOJ are looking at Apple’s subscription service for publishers…is it an antitrust violation?
• NetDevil, which develops the LEGO Universe MMOG just experience 20 layoffs, nearly half their workforce. Last week, they were looking to hire for 13 positions. Should we be worried about LEGO Universe?
• Our long dark wait is over…the announcement for the iPad 2 is nigh at hand. Why should we gamers care, though?
• The psychology of horror is fascinating stuff. People can really enjoy it, as long as they know it’s fake. But can that be applied to violence, too?
• Omaha talks about the iGame Radio poll and games she’s played.

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo produced our theme music here at iGame Radio.
• Pedro Camacho featured some of his game demo music.
• Rob Howard featured music from The Broken Hourglass, in development by Planewalker Games.

…or, what should Chell be wearing when she kicks GLaDOS’ butt? For those unfamiliar, Chell is the heroine from Portal, the representative of the player who runs through portals, evading GLaDOS and her minions, solving puzzles, ever in search of cake. And she’ll be there for Portal 2, but what will she wear?

In early 2010, Valve’s concept artist, Matt Charlesworth, showed off some concept art for characters and scenes that might be in Portal 2. In amongst them was new concept artwork for Chell, who seemed to have undergone a makeover during her centuries-long sleep. No longer adorned in an orange jumpsuit, Chell was now wearing a full bodysuit, complete with headset. Still sleek and slim, the suit allowed for speed, flexibility, and storage while still showing the curves.

GameInformer has a great article about some of the ideas that went into creating the original design for Portal 2, why some things would work and some would be thrown out. The concept that she was “dressed by machines” and everything on her would be for the functionality of computer readability was important. As was the idea that Valve wanted to slightly dehumanize the character, like as within a prison system, while at the same time provide a measure of vulnerability. A bit of a fine line to walk, to be sure.

A lot can happen in a year, and now we are getting images of what Chell will look like in the final product. Kotaku has posted an article following up with the artistic concepts regarding the final images, and the ideas are quite a bit different, although the design is not too extraordinarily different from the first. After all, we’re not talking full body armor here!

The orange jumpsuit is back, but this time only up to her waist where it is tied off. Then there’s the tight, exercise shirt she’s wearing. Valve’s art team explained the change to Kotaku:

“Portal 2 takes place well after the events of the original game, but for Chell (and likewise the player) all that time has passed in an instant. She’s also evolved from a lab rat under the facility’s control to the sole cause of its destruction. Her familiar dehumanizing orange jumpsuit is still present, but she’s tied the top around her waist and rolled up her sleeves to give her more freedom this time around. This also helps her stand out more as an individual, as opposed to a numbered, anonymous test subject.”

They didn’t want players to be placed into some character role, but to continue to use Chell as a vehicle for the player to be in the Portal universe. At the same time, they wanted the players to see an evolution in Chell like they see an evolution in the world of GLaDOS and Aperture Science.

So, what do you think? Should Chell stick to the orange jumpsuit? Or should she try out that new, sleek, full-body design? Or maybe there’s another design idea you have in your head. Let us know in the comments, or you can post in the poll to the right.

 

This is the last of the podcasts from Macworld 2011, and I apologize that it took so long to get posted. Chris Allen of RPG.net talks about what RPG.net is all about, and about how he ported Eurogame board games, such as the Reiner Knizia games, over to the iPhone and iPad. Also, Chris talks about iPhone Dev Camp, an UnConference which eschews speakers and brings teams together based on their mutual interests.

UPDATE: MacTech responded to this post, stating that they recognize some of the games did have Mac versions, and testing Windows-only games were “…certainly not the focus.”

MacTech Labs has released the latest testing results of its study of gaming under virtualization. MacTech’s goal was to see how well 20 Windows games played under Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac, giving players advance information on the performance and playability of each game.

MacTech results include video captures of each game, playability scores, and frames per second. Though MacTech stated that games were selected based on whether they were Windows-only, several of the games tested actually have a Mac version released (such as Borderlands: GoTY, released by Feral Interactive; and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, both released by Aspyr Media). Other criteria for inclusion was their popularity, rankings from top gaming sites, and whether they were a good representation of the questions MacTech receives about Windows gaming on the Mac.

MacTech tested these games on unibody MacBook Pros, running 10.6.5, with a 2.53 GHz processor and 4 GB of RAM. They ran Windows 7 virtually, in full screen mode if the game let them.

MacTech concluded that 3/4 of the games tested played well (meaning a score of 7 or more, or with only minor issues), and several played so well that you couldn’t tell that you were running them virtual. However, of those games, the vast majority were more than a year old, and more than half were two or more years old (or already had Mac equivalents). This lead to the conclusion that “…if you are a hard-gamer gamer for the maximum gaming experience, you are going to turn to a souped up WinTel machine tuned specifically to gaming and running a game in virtualization is not a consideration.”

MacTech recommended that virtualization was for “…a casual gamer looking to enjoy a Windows game and avoid the hassles of booting in native Windows under Apple’s Boot Camp. You can read the full article at MacTech’s website.

Telltale Games has released a trailer for the upcoming adventure game, Jurassic Park. A different take on the adventure game style that Telltale normally puts out, Jurassic Park doesn’t seem to have any of the comedy one might normally find in a Telltale game. Instead, you find dinosaurs. Lots of them.

Watch, and drool:

You can pre-order the game on the Telltale website now, and save $5 to boot.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• A review of Zombie Crisis 3D, by Kong. A standard rail shooter, not bringing anything new or extraordinary to the table. Beyond the screen issues and lack of save points, still a decent way to spend your time killing zombies.
• Also, a review of Zombie Ala Mode, by Crawl Space Games. Integrates everyone’s favorite fashion, zombies, into a tilt game capturing ice cream. Though you might feel frustrated trying to capture those scoops, you’ll still feel the satisfaction when those tips jingle in your pocket after each level.
• Plus, a review of Toy Balls, by Cazual Games. An addictive game of match-three with a twist. Match those balls before they get zapped.

• Toy Balls!
• Zombie Crisis 3D
• Zombies Ala Mode™

CCP has released some initial information about a big feature coming in the next update for EVE Online…Incarna. This feature, the Captain’s Quarters, will change the way individual players relate to the game.

From the EVE Insider blog:

Captain’s Quarters are your place of power, center of your control, operational nucleus, living room and home office. They are the dusty motel room for the vagabond capsuleer. Whether docking your ship to a station or entering EVE for the first time through the character creation, you will enter the Captain’s Quarters as the living, breathing EVE You. It’s a new dimension of immersion. For all players ( the future newbies/future points on your killboard), it finally gives EVE a human face, a sense of familiarity to “real life” and other games.

You can read more at the EVE Insider blog about this cool new feature.

The second episode in the Back to the Future: The Game series has been announced by Telltale Games. Back to the Future – Episode 2: Get Tannen! continues the saga of Marty McFly as he seeks to return to the future with Doc Brown in tow.

Back To The Future: The Game is based on the original movie trilogy by award-winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. The game itself takes place about 6 months after the third movie, and deals with Marty McFly as he handles his new life with changed parents, then discovers that Doc Brown has vanished. The story will unfold across five episodes, with a new installment releasing each month as is typical of Telltale’s games. Telltale is creating the game in collaboration with Universal Partnerships & Licensing and film series’ co-creator/co-writer Bob Gale.

PAX East has chosen the winners of their Boston Indie Showcase, and a Mac game developer is among them. Owlchemy Labs will be showcasing their game Smuggle Truck at PAX East at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in March.

Smuggle Truck is an over-the-top physics-based driving game where you smuggle your passengers across the border in the least amount of time. Tilt your truck, catch newborn babies, drive over armadillos, and rocket your way over hills, through caverns and over quicksand to save the people. The game was created as a satire on the very real issues of immigration, because the developers had watched personal friends deal with the issue themselves. Owlchemy is releasing the game for Windows, Mac, iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, as well as a web-based version.

The other two winners are Boston Indie developers Team Uncertainty and Retro Affect. Team Uncertainty will be showing Blinding Silence, a sound-based puzzle game for Windows. Retro Affect explores cameras that can do more than capture images in their Windows-based game Snapshot.

PAX East is a mirror of PAX Prime (the original PAX held in Seattle), bringing gamers together from across the globe for three days of celebration of gaming culture. The Boston show will be jammed with panel discussions, concerts, tournaments and an exhibitor hall filled with the latest new games for pen-and-paper, tabletop, CCG, PC and console video game fans. PAX East runs from Friday, March 11 – Sunday, March 13.