Retrospectiva săptămânii 14-20 aprilie 2019

Apar primele detalii despre PlayStation 5, Microsoft scoate un Xbox doar pentru downloaduri, catedrala Notre-Dame a luat foc și Ubisoft dă Assassin’s Creed Unity gratis, streamer-ul Ninja a intrat în topul celor mai influenți oameni, iar Amy Henning vorbește despre jocul Star Wars care ar fi putut să fie. Avem și multe lansări interesante săptămâna asta, printre care Anno 1800 și Katana ZERO, dar și jocul românesc BOSSGARD care a intrat în early access.

Linkuri rapide:

• Știri
• Articole (critică, dev, design)
• Made în România
• Anunţuri şi lansări de jocuri
• Prăvălii de jocuri

Ştiri

• La începutul săptămânii a izbucnit un incendiu care a afectat serios catedrala Notre Dame din Paris. ^{(The Guardian)}
  • Chiar de a doua zi, au început să curgă donațiile pentru eforturile de restaurare, iar printre donatori s-a numărat și Ubisoft, care, pe lângă bani, a oferit gratuit și jocul Assassin’s Creed Unity, pentru ca jucătorii să poată admira catedrala recreată în mare detaliu. ^{(Gamasutra, Motherboard)}
  • Iar jucătorii au răspuns cu un „review-bombing” pozitiv. ^{(Polygon, Ars Technica, Kotaku, Eurogamer)}
• Apar primele detalii despre următoarea consolă PlayStation de la Mark Cerny, arhitect hardware la Sony: procesor AMD Ryzen, SSD, rezoluții 8K și suport pentru ray-tracing, sunet 3D, backwards compatibility și unitate de disc. ^{(Wired, Ars Technica, GameDaily.biz, The Guardian, Kotaku, GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Microsoft a organizat o prezentare Inside Xbox, unde a anunțat:
  • o versiune de Xbox fără unitate de disc. ^{(Destructoid, Ars Technica, Shacknews, Variety, Kotaku)}
  • un abonament Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, care combină actualele Xbox Live Gold și Xbox Game Pass, la un preț de 14,99$ ^{(Destructoid, Shacknews, Polygon, Variety, GamesIndustry.biz)}
• A ieșit la iveală că un server pirat de City of Heroes, un joc online produs de NCSoft, a funcționat în secret de la închiderea oficială a jocului în 2012. ^{(Polygon, PC Gamer, RPS, Motherboard)}
• Streamer-ul Ninja, devenit celebru pentru meciurile sale de Fortnite, a intrat în Top 100 ‘Most Influential People’ din 2019 publicat de revista Time. ^{(PC Gamer, Variety, GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Primele 25 de companii din industria jocurilor listate la bursă au înregistrat venituri de peste 100 miliarde de dolari anul trecut. ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Proiectele de gaming (video, tabletop, puzzle etc) de pe Kickstarter au depășit suma de 1 miliard de dolari în contribuții. ^{(Gamasutra, VentureBeat)}
• Și câteva știri din zona filmelor și serialelor:
  • Serialul Halo produs de Showtime l-a distribuit pe Pablo Schreiber în rolul lui Master Chief. ^{(Shacknews, PC Gamer, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety)}
  • Serialul Witcher produs de Netflix va fi lansat la sfârșitul anului. ^{(PC Gamer, Eurogamer)}
  • Filmul Minecraft va fi lansat în 2022. ^{(Polygon, GamesIndustry.biz)}

Articole (critică, dev, design)

• Typing games are having a moment ^{(The Verge)}
• Are MOBA Players Smarter Than You? ^{(The Psychology of Video Games)}
• Artificial intelligence is helping old video games look like new ^{(The Verge)}
• The Art of the Video Game Trailer ^(Variety)
• Running the Numbers ^{(Real Life Magazine)}
• ‘Cuphead’: The Imperfections of a Perfect Port ^(Variety)
• The Morality of Anti-Heroes in Video Games: Why it’s Fun to be the ‘Bad Guy’ ^(Gamasutra)
• The ethics of smurfing ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Roblox: Civility, Monetisation and the Ethics of Having a Young Playerbase ^(Kotaku)

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Actualitate

• ‘Secret’ City of Heroes emulator operators address SCORE leak drama, rebut personal info database rumor ^{(Massively OP)}
• OpenAI's 'Dota 2' Team Is Crushing Humans Online ^{(Motherboard)}
• Diverging paths: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s radically different visions ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}

Notre-Dame

• Notre Dame and the culture it inspired – from Matisse to the Muppets ^{(The Guardian)}
• Can 'Assassin’s Creed' Help Rebuild Notre Dame? How Restoring the Cathedral Will Require Both New and Ancient Technology ^(artnet)

Xbox All-Digital

• Why $249 is an unsustainable price for the first all-digital Xbox ^{(Ars Technica)}
• Microsoft heralds ‘The Digital Age’ with Xbox One S All Digital Edition reveal ^{(GameDaily.biz)}

PlayStation 5

• Industry analysts discuss Sony’s next-gen PlayStation console ^{(GameDaily.biz)}
• How the PlayStation 5 will compare to future gaming PCs ^{(PC Gamer)}
• The PlayStation 5 won’t have much of an impact on the future of PC gaming ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Spec Analysis: Sony’s surprise PlayStation 5 tech reveal ^(Eurogamer)
• Sony’s PlayStation 5 is the most exciting yet boring next-gen console so far ^(Polygon)

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Not-a-review

• Atlas Broke My PC ^(GameSpace)
• Everyone should experience what I felt playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey ^(Polygon)
• Help, I’m addicted to space trading in Elite Dangerous ^{(PC Gamer)}
• On The Sea Of Thieves, I Only Sail Alone ^(Kotaku)
• Unraveling Undertale ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Take me to the hole: Loss and triumph in Astroneer ^(Gamasutra)
• Lights in the dark: How Ashen ’s design sets it apart from other ‘Soulslikes’ ^(Gamasutra)
• Before the Labyrinthine Lore of 'Dark Souls,' There Was Gene Wolfe ^(Waypoint)
• A Teen Dirtbag Beat-Em-Up With Phenomenal Writing ^(Kotaku)

Sekiro

• Sekiro’s combat would be perfect for lightsabers ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Sekiro's Spirit Emblems Force Me to Play With a Hand Tied Behind My Back ^(Waypoint)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's Difficulty is Not Disrespectful ^{(Hardcore Gamer)}
• This one isn't about difficulty ^(Unwinnable)
• (spoiler) Sekiro’s Smartest Boss Fight Is Against a Giant, Poo-Throwing Ape ^(Kotaku)

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Industrie

• The Rise of the Indie Sequel: Creators Talk Challenges, Reality Checks, And Switching Gears ^{(GameDaily.biz)}
• “I wouldn’t work with senior management” at Obsidian ever again, says Chris Avellone ^(VG247)
• Patrice Desilets discusses Ancestors, Africa, and game design ^(Shacknews)
• Vlambeer’s Co-Founder Explains How Mobile Games Market Is Broken ^(Variety)
• The big Amy Hennig interview ^(Eurogamer) plus Amy Hennig: AAA industry is at "an interesting crossroads" with storytelling ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Nintendo Labo director says VR was part of the plan from the beginning ^{(The Verge)}
• "Picking the right door" with the future of Unity ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Blizzard: "We’re crafting stories for a global audience so our team needs to reflect that" ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}

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Istorie, retrospectivă

• Telltale Co-Founder Opens Up About Studio's Troubling Closure ^{(Games Informer)}
• How fans helped this 11-year-old pirate MMO outlive 2 studio closures ^{(PC Gamer)}
• One Finger Death Punch is the greatest two-button kung fu game ever made ^(Eurogamer)
• How Nintendo introduced the Game Boy, Tetris, and Pokémon to the West ^(Polygon)
• Creatures 2 Showed Us a Different Kind of Artificial Intelligence ^(Fanbyte)
• Frank Herbert’s Dune is still the template for the entire RTS genre ^(PCGamesN)
• An Unlikely Savior ^{(The Digital Antiquarian)}
• Video: Amnesia: The Dark Descent’s horror relied on a bit of cheating ^{(Ars Technica)}
• Codul sursă pentru adventure-urile text Infocom a ajuns public: Long Lost ‘Zork’ Source Code Uploaded to GitHub, But Few People Understand It ^{(Motherboard)}

Game Boy împlinește 30 de ani

• Only Nintendo could kill the Game Boy ^{(The Verge)}
• The 30 greatest Game Boy games ^(Polygon)

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Dev, making of, mecanici

• How Inkle developed its own ancient language for Heaven’s Vault ^(Gamasutra)
• Video: Procedurally creating Manhattan for Marvel’s Spider-Man ^(Gamasutra)
• Video: Creating a living open world for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey ^(Gamasutra)

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Design, world-building, artă

• The Cathedral and the Simulacrum ^(artnet)
• Even In Early Access, Dreams Is An Impressive Showcase Of Creativity ^(Kotaku)

Made în România

• Sand Sailor Studios au lansat BOSSGARD în early access. ^(Steam)
• Interviu cu Sergiu Craițoiu de la Alien Pixel Studios despre Unbound: Worlds Apart. ^(GameSkinny)

Anunţuri şi lansări de jocuri

• ESRB listing for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition suggests it might be coming soon ^{(PC Gamer)}
• ‘The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series’ Is Available for Pre-Order ^(Variety)

Anunţate

• Onslaught, un nou expansion pentru Star Wars: The Old Republic ^(Shacknews)
• Vane vine și pe PC ^{(Destructoid)}
• Trine: Ultimate Collection ^{(Destructoid)}
• XIII Remake ^{(DSOGaming )}

Acum cu dată de lansare

• Dark Devotion: 25 aprilie ^(GameSpace)
• Mordhau: 29 aprilie ^{(DSOGaming )}
• S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster: 23 mai ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Oxygen Not Included iese din early access pe 28 mai ^(RPS)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order: 19 iulie ^(GameSpace)

Amânate

• Steel Division 2 se amână o lună până pe 20 iunie ^{(PC Gamer)}

Anulate

• Atlas Reactor se închide ^{(PC Gamer, GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Burnout Paradise (originalul) își închide serverele de multiplayer ^(Shacknews)

Lansate

• 15 aprilie: One Finger Death Punch 2: ^(Steam)
• 16 aprilie: Heaven’s Vault ^(Steam)
• 16 aprilie: Bomb Chicken ^(Steam)
• 16 aprilie: World War Z ^{(Epic Store)}
• 16 aprilie: Anno 1800 ^{(Epic Store, Ubi Store)}
• 17 aprilie: Whispers of a Machine ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 18 aprilie: God’s Trigger ^(Steam)
• 18 aprilie: Sigma Theory: Global Cold War (early access) ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 18 aprilie: Katana ZERO ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 18 aprilie: Levelhead ^(Steam)
• 18 aprilie: BOSSGARD (early access) ^(Steam)
• 18 aprilie: Forager ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 18 aprilie: Driftland: The Magic Revival ^(Steam)
• 18 aprilie: Pagan Online (early access) ^{(Steam, Wargaming.net)}
• 18 aprilie: Anniversary Collection Arcade Classics (Konami) ^(Steam)
• 19 aprilie: Ritual of the Moon ^(Steam)

Prăvălii de jocuri

• Epic vs. Steam: the console war reimagined on the PC ^{(The Verge)}
• 15 game streaming services you can try before Google Stadia arrives ^{(The Verge)}
• Epic vs. Steam is just the latest battle in the dark history of DRM ^{(The Verge)}
• Gearbox’s Pitchford: Steam may be “a dying store” in 5 to 10 years ^{(Ars Technica)}

Jocuri gratis și free weekends

• Free-To-Play Forza Street Is Available Now For PC ^{(Games Informer)}
• Ubisoft donates €500K to help restore Notre-Dame, gives away Assassin’s Creed Unity for free ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Silly siege warfare of King Arthur’s Gold is going free-to-play ^(RPS)

Reduceri și promoții

• Sea of Thieves is currently half price ahead of this month’s massive Anniversary Update ^(Eurogamer)
• Goetia, The Turing Test, and Tokyo Dark lead the latest Humble Bundle ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Best PC gaming deals of the week – 18th April 2019 ^(RPS)
• There’s a Frontier-themed Steam sale this weekend ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Weekend Console Download Deals for Apr. 19: PS4 Flash Sale ^(Shacknews)
• Weekend PC Download Deals for Apr. 19: Free Assassin’s Creed Unity ^(Shacknews)
• Noul Humble Bundle include și un joc românesc ^(ZonaIT)

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