Gaming

The maker of cryptic block-seeding puzzler Starseed Pilgrim has announced a new game in which you are invited to do the unspeakable and "kill gameplay". The End Of Gameplay will be an exploratory 2D platformer according to the tags on its Steam page but anyone who has played the work of creator Droqen might predict those labels to prove looser than a toddler's shoelace. Enjoyers of obscure and poetic wanderings in minimalist spaces will probably be happy with the trailer below.

The creator describes it as "like Starseed Pilgrim, but only all the parts that nobody told me they cared about". This is a strong pitch but in what direction I cannot tell. Starseed Pilgrim was a mysterious blockbuilding platformer released back in the hellsands of 2013, in which you had to plant various seeds and discover their effects to go... somewhere? I never quite got it, to be honest. But that's okay, I'm not alone.

We at RPS regularly and viciously kill the word "gameplay" every time it appears, like a relentless weed in our garden of text (I am strongly restraining myself right now). But that's just a word, the visible tuft of a greater problem. The concept of gameplay remains stubborn, its roots spreading deep under the soil of the games industry like a vast and undefinable mycorrhizal network. It is this which Droqen seeks to destroy. This mission is a dangerous folly. I am interested to see how it goes.

Co-founder Jason Citron is stepping down, but will remain with the company as a member of the board of directors.

Ah, well thank heck for that. I thought I'd spent my weekend hunched over a screen in a goblinesque sweat-trance. No! Says Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 voice actor Andy Serkis: I was simply partaking in some vital culture; a veritable Wildean sophisticate. Film industry folks thought games were "not an art form in any stretch," Serkis told Game Watcher, "and gradually it's taken over the film industry, which could not exist without it." Take that, Roger Ebert's dead wrong dead horse of a dead body.

“I wouldn’t have called myself a gamer at all,” said the Lord Of The Rings actor, who also worked on Enslaved: Odyssey to the West with Alex Garland. "But I was always very interested in next generation storytelling. Around 2004, when we made Heavenly Sword, I started our performance capture studio with a view to create immersive stories outside of traditional 2D experiences, like cinema or television.”

"There used to be a terrible snobbery from the film industry with [videogames] being the lesser cousin,” Serkis said. “That they didn’t really tell stories, it was just about the gameplay, hack ‘n’ slash, and killing people". But games have "come of age" since then, he says. "There are actors coming out of drama schools who want to be in videogames and see it as another part of the palate of what it is to be a performer.”

In this video I am doing some changes to my own game. These changes are something like adding sword combat, adding particles and visual buffs, repairing inventory and crafting table. This video also contains discussion about my oncoming challenge video where I do a coding challenge. Please give feedback about your experience a s a viewer! Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y71h5Vmly-8&t=6s

So, started playing freedom unite recently and I have a massive skill issue. Any advice you can give? Is my first monster hunter game. Especially in quests where you have to kill a big monster I just get bodied. Tried out lance, longsword and dual swords.

Steam revenue estimated 2024: $10.8B

Google Play Store gaming revenue 2024: ~$31B

Why doesn't Valve want a part of that? I mean they already have an Android app. Several, actually. I realize there's some amount of investment but surely the payoff is worth it, and they have the necessary funds and skills? I mean if F-Droid can do it with nothing but volunteers and grants...?

Certainly plenty of games won't lend themselves well to the mobile experience but also plenty of them do.

From a personal perspective: I don't really care a whole lot for mobile games but I do like Balatro and want to play it on my phone, but if I want to do that I have to buy another license, which I can't even do because I don't run Google Play Services.

Epic got in on this already. Where's Valve?

Edit: my reflections on this conversation:

Valve could distribute their own app like Epic but they'd also probably have to remove it from the Play Store because now a cross-platform game would give them an Android version, thus breaking Google's ToS. So would doing such a thing outweigh lost sales from the Google version, and would it impact customer satisfaction? I wonder how many people are actually purchasing PC games in the Steam Android app...?

The legend goes that in the 12th century, King Canute plonked his throne down on the seashore and commanded the tide to go out, thereby empirically demonstrating to all the toadies at court that he was not, in fact, God Almighty. You don’t need to order the ocean to piss off in Endless Legend 2: it’s already in headlong retreat. But not from you.

At intervals throughout Amplitude’s new 4X strategy game (the studio’s first reveal since they bought their independence back from Sega) mysterious “tidefall” events cause the surrounding waters to plummet and reveal a new expanse of hexagonal terrain, rich with questable dungeons and other eldritch sights. A world map that began as an Earthsea-style archipelago gradually becomes a set of proper continents, with more opportunities to meet and out-gambit other factions, and more secrets to discover. It’s an evolution of the first Endless Legend’s seasonal dynamics, and “the beginning of an answer” to what Amplitude co-founder Romain de Waubert de Genlis describes as a classic 4X challenge: keeping players interested beyond the early game, once every last scrap of territory has been disclosed.

Whatcha all playing?

I've been diving deep into Blue Prince.

Really awesome roguelite puzzle game. Highly recommend checking it out!!!

Marathon looks like an Ai agent would create. Art style, gameplay and story wise.

This is the next game from the Destiny creator Bungie. A multiplayer extraction shooter. It has nothing to do with the original Marathon game its based on, an old single player game. Those who could hands on the game describe it as a Destiny like controls and animation, but as an extraction shooter mode.

As for me, I would probably even check the game out, if it was free to play (its full price game, like Concord) and if it would be playable on Linux. Bungie is anti Linux, so not for me anyway.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61066503

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61066449

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61065843

This little handheld console has been so great. My PC and Steam Deck must be so disappointed with me.

Retro consoles set up video

I had been following r/SBCgaming for a while and never felt the need to play very old console games. But now it seems that these consoles have really come a long way in what they can play. I saw reviews for the Retroid Pocket 5 and thought it looked amazing. Then I saw the prices of the Retroid Pocket 4 pro and it was a no brainer.

I bought the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro on eBay for £120 (probably could have gotten it cheaper, but I rushed to buy this). The fact that such a tiny and pocketable handheld can run Nintendo Switch games (less demanding ones) really blows my mind. I carry this with me everywhere. It fits in pretty snug trouser pockets and is only slightly bigger than my phone (although my phone is an S23 Ultra with a chunky case). I’ve had it for over 2 weeks and I’m still in the honeymoon phase and using this instead of my gaming PC or Steam Deck. I’m discovering consoles I never owned (3DS and Wii games). The fact that it plays Android games as well is such a great bonus (mainly Balatro with save game sync online) is such a great bonus. It has WiFi 6, hall effect analog sticks (much better than the Switch!), an IPS display, headphone port, analog triggers, bluetooth 5.2 and a decent battery. This this has no business being this good.

For anyone else interested:

· If you’re looking for an affordable, pocketable console with good performance then the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro is amazing and I would recommend it. Buy this on eBay as people are unloading these to upgrade to the new console.

· If you want better performance then the Retroid Pocket 5 has a better SOC and much better screen, but is twice the price and much less pocketable. Order on AliExpress when there’s a sale/coupons.

· Buying a console like this is a bit like adopting Linux.... You’ve got to be willing to tinker and troubleshoot. It took me hours to set it up (use this guide) and I still haven’t sorted out Vita emulation.

This is a device I didn’t know much about and really didn’t expect to enjoy this much. If you haven’t come across these little consoles, definitely take a look! If you want to test the waters and see if this is for you, then starting with emulation on your phone will is a good way to start.

Review video

Retro Pocket 5 review video

Video comparison

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/24407950

I'm playing this game for literal months, hyperfixating on it for some weeks until I get into frustration cycle and abandon it for months.

Most of my characters meet their demise quite early on thanks to my impatience and bad risk assessment (permadeath isn't great for risky players like myself :p).

I was playing around the new species (mountain dwarf) and the reworked god, Makhleb, to distract myself from a recent stress and suddenly found myself in the Realm of Zot.

After getting my runes from the Swamp, the Spider Nest and the Slime Pit, I headed to Zot. The area was pretty easy for my character except for one thing - Protean Progenitor.

The enemy would quickly build up magical contamination on me leading to some nasty mutations. I got berserkis before I realized this and couldn't remove it with my pathetic supply of potions of mutation.

Nonetheless, I entered Zot:5 and very carefully cleared the East lung. Most enemies weren't a problem except, of course, Orbs of Fire. I could kill them 1 on 1 with no problems but malmutation.... well, according to the logs all the evil mutations I have gotten (including -scrolls) were from the first encounter with them.

In hindsight, I should've taken this as a sign to go raid the Crypt in hopes of getting some !mut but I was too excited. So, the moment I cleared most of Zot:5 (yes, most of - I decided not to clear the rest to avoid getting more mutations) I grabbed it.

It went really bad real quick. A brimstone fiend, Zot trap that summoned a vortex, unwanted berserk that activated in the worst moment and the inevitable demise.

Sad, but at least I learned stuff about Zot:5 and the orb run. I think I'm prepared for the next time I get to Zot.

I recently got a job after finishing university, all is good. However, after 5 full days of being behind desk job, I feel a bit exhausted of being behind desk.

Thus my desire to game on PC has soured immensely. Despite having a huge backlog and actually want to finish games.

I’m debating to purchase a Steam Deck OLED in the hope, I can actually play some decent games on there without getting fatigue of desk/ screens but that’s a big investment (€670-700).

So I was wondering; how do the adults of Lemmy with 5 full days of work still get the time and desire to play their games?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.wtf/post/19419649

This is aging like good wine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U8bLArlRXw

6 yrs now and I still love every single scene. So well done 👏 👏

Hard to imagine a time where we were struggling with Games on Linux at all nowadays :>

(Yes many of the snippets were contributed by me but @mdiluz@mastodon.gamedev.place did a stellar job glueing everything together)

There are obviously a wide range of philosophies companies have when it comes to both intellectual property and modding communities that tend to spring up around successful video games. Some are jealous protectors of all things IP, which is generally a giant mistake that limits the reach, the fun, and the engagement these companies should be having with their biggest fans. The other is one that is more lenient or even celebratory of the harmless use of these fan-works. But rarely do we see the dichotomy at work in one specific instance.

But rarely doesn’t mean never. You can see both philosophies at play in the case of a mod made for the hit game Stardew Valley, still kicking nearly a decade after release. The mod in question is called Baldur’s Village and consists of a new town to play in, along with the inclusion of a bunch of characters from another hit game, Baldur’s Gate 3.

Created by NexusMods user BV and uploaded on March 8, Baldur’s Village added over 20 characters from the 2023 GOTY winner to the farming sim, along with new locations, shops, special items, dynamic story events, and other content. “So much love went into this—amazing work!” Larian CEO and BG3 director Swen Vincke wrote at the time.

But the fan mashup of two beloved games is no longer available to download on Nexus. “This mod is under moderation review,” reads a disclaimer added to the page on March 29. According to a spokesperson for the mod database, Wizards of the Coast was responsible for sending a DMCA takedown notice against the fan content for infringing on its ownership of Dungeons & Dragons, which Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on.

It’s a bit stunning to see this play out with such diametrically opposed responses. Larian Studios, the folks that actually poured their efforts into making an absolute masterpiece of a game, saw the mod that made use of that work and loved it. This isn’t entirely surprising, given that Larian has a habit of doing new and interesting things generally. That a higher up like Vincke even chimed in personally to express his admiration is genuinely unsurprising.

Sadly, it is equally unsurprising that Wizards of the Coast simply sent the lawyers at the mod. WotC has been slowly descending into IP troll-dom in recent years. Whether the takedown ends up getting rescinded now that this is all going public is an open question, but it should be obvious that nothing in this free mod represents any kind of threat to WotC.

And it is natural to wonder, given Vincke’s comments on the matter, if this sort of philisophical difference didn’t play a role in Larian deciding to get out of the Baldur’s Gate franchise moving forward.

Apparently someone at Hasbro or Wizards thinks a fan mashup of BG3 and one of the most popular games of all time in a non-competing genre might get in the way of whatever it’s doing with the franchise. Vincke wasn’t impressed with the move. “Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth,” he wrote on Monday. “Imho they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property.”

One of these two is the good guy in this story and the other is the big bad. If you’re having trouble figuring out which is which, you may have an evil alignment problem.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.wtf/post/19256400