Retrospectiva săptămânii 10 - 16 mai 2020

Săptămâna aceasta am aruncat o scurtă privire în viitorul industriei de gaming: Epic Games a făcut o impresionantă prezentare pentru viitorul Unreal Engine 5, iar Nvidia a prezentat Ampere, o nouă arhitectură pentru procesoare grafice. Pe lângă acestea, continuăm incursiunea în epoca „shareware” cu istoria id Software, Alan Wake aniversează 10 ani, și, surpriză, a fost anunțată o versiune remasterizată pentru seria Mafia.

Linkuri rapide:

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

Știri

• Epic Games a prezentat un demo pentru viitorul motor Unreal Engine 5 cu accentul pus pe noile tehnologii de iluminare dinamică și geometrie „micro-poligonală”. Demo-ul rula pe hardware PlayStation 5, iar engine-ul va fi lansat în prima parte a anului viitor. ^{(Kotaku, VideoGamesChronicle, EGM, GamesIndustry.biz, Shacknews, Gamasutra)}
  • How Epic got such amazing Unreal Engine 5 results on next-gen consoles ^{(Ars Technica)}
  • Unreal Engine 5 tech demo uses ‘film-quality’ assets, runs on today’s hardware ^{(PC Gamer)}
  • The Unreal Engine 5 demo looks amazing, but shows nothing that will move games forward ^{(PC Gamer)}
  • Inside Unreal Engine 5: how Epic delivers its generational leap ^(Eurogamer)

• Iar în cadrul aceleiași prezentări, Epic a anunțat și alte schimbări care vin în sprijinul dezvoltatorilor ce folosesc Unreal Engine: taxele de licențiere pentru engine nu mai sunt aplicate până când jocurile nu încasează 1 milion de dolari ^{(PC Gamer)}, iar framework-ul pentru multiplayer folosit și pentru Fortnite este acum disponibil gratuit. ^{(PC Gamer)}

• Nvidia a prezentat Ampere, o nouă arhitectură de 7nm ce va sta la baza viitoarei generații de procesoare grafice. Deși primele produse cu noua tehnologie vor fi destinate centrelor de calcul și cercetare ^{(Eurogamer, PC Gamer, TechRadar )}, aceasta va fi prezentă apoi și în următoarea serie de plăci grafice pentru consumatori. ^{(PC Gamer, DSOGaming)}

  • Nvidia Ampere release date, specs, performance, and pricing ^{(PC Gamer)}
  • Nvidia RTX 3080 and Ampere: Everything We Know ^{(Tom’s Hardware)}

• Humble Bundle a lansat Humble Games, o divizie separată ce se va ocupa doar de publicarea de jocuri indie. ^{(PC Invasion, PCGamesInsider.biz, Gamasutra)}

Articole (critică, dev, design)

• How public arts funding helps developers make unique, more diverse games ^{(The Verge)}
• Soundscapes As Stories: How Games Are Changing How We Experience Music ^(Uppercut)
• Purple Haze - The Corruption Spreading Through Video Games Design ^{(Finger Guns)}
• Play Time ^(SlowRun)
• The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Female-Fronted First-Person Shooter ^{(The Ringer)}
• The Nightmare of Having Too Many Videogames to Play ^(Gamasutra)
• Jocurile online ca instrumente de socializare ^{(Mindcraft Stories)}
• How Documentaries Are Helping Preserve Gaming Culture We’re at Risk of Losing ^(USgamer)

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Not-a-review

• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s magic is its sense of pure fun ^(Eurogamer)
• FIFA esports at a crossroads as the global lockdown hits home ^(Eurogamer)
• Fortnite Party Royale is the most fun you can have in the metaverse ^{(The Guardian)}
• A Plague Tale: Innocence is the Best Horror Game Since Dead Space ^(USgamer)

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Industrie

• A game developer’s guide to Steam wishlists ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Epic’s next-gen bid to knock down the walled garden ^{(GamesIndustry.biz)}
• Epic Games: Unreal Engine 5 will bring a generational change to graphics ^{(VentureBeat)}
• Epic Games shows off a stunning Unreal Engine 5 demo on PlayStation 5 ^{(VentureBeat)}
• How Darren Korb and Supergiant Games took Bastion to the big stage ^(AllGamers)

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Istorie, retrospectivă

• Bookworm Adventures has been erased from the internet, and I want to know why ^(RPS)
• The Dig is a weird LucasArts adventure dreamed up by Steven Spielberg ^{(PC Gamer)}
• The Shareware Scene, Part 3: The id Boys ^{(The Digital Antiquarian)}

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Dev, making of, mecanici

• The making of Fallout 76: Wastelanders ^(RPS)
• What It Was Like To Launch Halo 2 ^{(Games Informer)}
• An Interview With Sam Lake About Alan Wake's 10-Year Anniversary And What Comes Next For Control ^{(Games Informer)}
• War Stories: Alan Wake’s transformation emerged from a two-month “sauna” ^{(Ars Technica)}
• Video: Balancing visuals and performance while art directing Forza ^(Gamasutra)

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Design, world-building, artă

• Ten years on, Alan Wake’s Bright Falls is still one of PC gaming’s greatest settings ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Japan Style Architecture ^(Unwinnable)
• Gaps and Pauses: The Role of Negative Space in Games ^(Fanbyte)

Anunțuri şi lansări de jocuri

• A new Doctor Who game is in development for PC and consoles ^(EGM)

Anunțate

• Mechstermination Force ^{(Destructoid)}
• Cassette Beasts ^{(Destructoid)}
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 și 2 remastered ^(EGM)
• Cygni: All Guns Blazing ^(Kotaku)
• Drox Operative 2 ^(RPS)
• Blightbound ^{(PC Invasion)}
• Skully ^(GameSpace)
• RIDE 4 ^(DSOGaming)
• Mafia: Definitive Edition - s-a anunțat că va fi anunțat, deci vom mai avea un anunț și săptămâna viitoare ^{(VideoGamesChronicle, PC Gamer)}

Acum cu dată de lansare

• Tainted Grail: 25 iunie ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Crusader Kings 3: 1 septembrie ^{(VideoGamesChronicle)}

Amânate

• Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break: 21 iulie în loc de începutul lunii iunie ^(GameSpace)

Lansate

• 11 mai: ATOM RPG Trudograd ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 12 mai: VirtuaVerse ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 12 mai: Huntdown ^{(Epic Store)}
• 12 mai: Jet Lancer ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 13 mai: Deep Rock Galactic (iese din early access) ^(Steam)
• 13 mai: Halo 2: Anniversary ^(Steam)
• 14 mai: Nimbatus - The Space Drone Constructor ^(Steam)
• 14 mai: Signs of the Sojourner ^{(Steam, gog.com)}
• 15 mai: Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 ^(Steam)

Prăvălii de jocuri

Știri

• Steam now recommends which games you should play next ^(RPS)
• Digital Dragons Steam Indie Celebration features 25 demos including Ghostrunner & Roki ^(Shacknews)
• Steam’s Play Next feature is ready to drop some recommendations ^{(PC Gamer)}

Update catalog

• FIFA 20 now available through EA Access ^{(VideoGamesChronicle)}
• Remedy is celebrating Alan Wake’s 10th birthday by bringing it to Xbox Game Pass ^{(VideoGamesChronicle)}

Jocuri gratis și free weekends

• This free photography game lets you explore the beautiful wilderness of Iceland ^{(PC Gamer)}
• This free virtual pet lets you make a planet horny with cosmic rays ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Stellaris Celebrates 4th Anniversary With A New Update, Free Weekend & More ^(GameSpace)
• Assassin’s Creed’s educational tours of Ancient Egypt and Greece are free on PC ^(Eurogamer)
• Fallout 76 is free to play on Xbox One, PS4, and PC for a limited time ^(EGM)
• Tower defense platformer Aegis Defenders is free on the Humble Store ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Lucid Dream Is Seriously Creepy Point-and-Click Horror You Can Play Free ^(Escapist)
• Dance Dance Revolution just became a free browser game ^(RPS)
• Conan Exiles – Steam Free Weekend May 14 – May 18 ^(GameSpace)
• Grab a copy of LEGO Ninjago for free ^{(Destructoid)}

Reduceri și promoții

• Get Hypnospace Outlaw, Starbound, and some surprises in the new Humble Indie Bundle ^{(PC Gamer)}
• Epic Games’ biggest PC game sale yet is a coupon frenzy, lasts until June 11 ^{(Ars Technica)}
• Humble Bundle are offering a sale to celebrate increased publishing plans ^(RPS)
• Best PC gaming deals of the week – 15th May 2020 ^(RPS)
• Weekend PC Download Deals for May 15: Epic Mega Sale ^(Shacknews)
• Weekend Console Download Deals for May 15: Free Fallout 76 weekend ^(Shacknews)

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