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Sony's Project Morpheus VR researchers are humble and hopeful


After getting some hands-on time with Sony's Project Morpheus virtual reality headset for PlayStation 4, we sat down to chat with Anton Mikhailov and Jeff Stafford from Sony's research and development team. We discuss the inevitable comparisons to Oculus Rift, working with NASA and the "Wild West" nature of VR development.

Hands on (and head in) with Sony's Morpheus VR headset


Sony made a big splash earlier this week, announcing the upcoming "Project Morpheus" virtual reality headset for PlayStation 4. Intrepid folk that we are, we braved the wilds of Sony's GDC booth to experience Morpheus firsthand. Join us as we strap on Sony's new contraption and pick up some PlayStation Moves to try out a couple of demos. Marvel as we dismember poor, inanimate suits of armor. Thrill as we are almost virtually consumed by a shark and subsequently swallowed by a dragon.

Virtual reality is packed with things that want to eat you, it seems.

PS Camera attach rate around 15 percent, 'severely supply constrained'

Sony says it underestimated demand for the PlayStation Camera, and the PS4 peripheral currently has an attach rate of around 15 percent worldwide. That's according to SCEA's Chris Norden; SlashGear reports the senior staff developer revealed the figure during his GDC presentation yesterday. Sony recently announced it sold more than 6 million PS4 units, so doing the math that equates to around 900,000 PS Cameras sold at least.

GameSpot adds that Norden asked consumers to "please be patient" as Sony seeks to increase stock, but he didn't put a timeline to the peripheral's future availability. The PS4 Camera retails for $60 in North America, and it isn't included as standard with the console, unlike Kinect for the Xbox One.
[Image: Sony]

Meet Frau Engel in Wolfenstein: The New Order's 'Train to Berlin' scene


We saw this scene right at the end of our preview playthrough of the first two hours of Wolfenstein: The New Order, and it introduces Frau Engel to players for the first time. Engel looks to be sadistic bordering on psychopathic, toying with hero B.J. Blaskowicz as he tries to keep his cool and maintain his cover.

For what it's worth (spoilers), when we played this sequence we didn't go for the gun despite how crazy the crazy lady was. Instead, we simply picked the cards. That caused Engel to angrily declare we were impure and point the gun to our head, only for her sultry toy-boy to calm her down and remind her it was all a game.

Bethesda released a separate video interview today (below the break) with MachineGames' Narrative Designer Tommy Tordsson Bjork. In it he describes conceiving the Frau Engel character as his proudest moment because she's "such a cool, female villain, which is not that common in video games."

Engel is just one of the antagonists Blaskowicz faces in MachineGames' alternate vision of a post WW2-world where the Nazis won, and players will get to see the whole lot - possibly including a mech-suited Fuhrer? - when the game hits Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on May 20 in North America, and May 23 in Europe. Bethesda recently revealed pre-orders net players an invite to an upcoming beta for the next Doom game.

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Infamous: Second Son review: Thank you for smoking

There's a stark duality at the heart of the Infamous series. The original Infamous was built on a solid foundation, putting players in the role of a modern-day superhero with a repertoire that expanded gameplay in satisfying, meaningful ways throughout its campaign. Its sequel boasted a number of improvements, but its mechanics weren't always explored to their fullest potential.

Playing through InFamous 2 recently reminded me of the series' darker half. Though its upgradable superpowers were impressive and its parkour mechanics were fun, its story missions frequently came up short. Throughout the campaign, protagonist Cole MacGrath was too often saddled with repetitive arena fights and escort missions -- a poor fit for a man who can shoot lightning from his fingertips.

Infamous: Second Son emphasizes the series' strengths in its debut appearance on the PlayStation 4, easily trumping previous Infamous games while showcasing the power of Sony's latest console. In the process, it drastically overhauls the series' defining elements, stripping away the weaker parts and focusing on what works best. If you found previous Infamous games more frustrating than fun, Second Son's gleefully destructive superheroics will win you over as a fan.

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Hyper Light Drifter's combat mode is beautifully punishing

Hyper Light Drifter's combat mode is a solo or co-op evil-beast explosion – it begins in a training room lined with dummy targets, and a seafoam platform that recharges your magic. A door etched in rune-like symbols waits at the end of the room. Behind it, when you're ready, lies an arena filled with creatures bent on your destruction.

First, the training room allows you to play with mechanics: Plugged into a MacBook Air, playing with an Xbox 360 controller, press the right bumper to see a circle of weapons and map the ones you want to the Y or B buttons. These weapons include an enemy-seeking mine ball, a shotgun that shoots in a diamond formation, a boomerang, and a close-up attack that embeds a fucshia crystal in an enemy, which you then detonate into huge crystal splinters covering the surrounding area. These attacks drain magic.

The A button is a (very useful) dash, and X is a sword slash. Left bumper displays magic and health bars, and your weapons.

Unfortunately, there's no button to halt the flow of angry, violent creatures that swarm you once you open that door.

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Pumping up the 'Volume' with Mike Bithell


Mike Bithell, creator of Thomas Was Alone, is always up for a fun chat. A lot of what we discussed while checking out his new game Volume at GDC was left on the digital cutting room floor, including a chat about his dream of doing a musical game (like, West End/Broadway), but we do touch on it briefly without breaking out into song.

We may have to go back and release the b-side version of this interview, but what we've got for now is a closer look at Volume and Bithell's vision for the streamlined stealth game, which should hopefully be available by year's end. However, Bithell is clear to emphasize, it'll be done when it's done.

Stealth Inc. creeps onto PS4 in comprehensive Ultimate Edition

Those of you who missed charming stealth platformer Stealth Inc. in its prior incarnations have one more excellent chance to experience the pixelated adventure.

Stealth Inc. Ultimate Edition, as its name suggests, is a collection that not only includes the new PlayStation 4 version of the titular game, but also its two DLC expansions, The Lost Clones and The Teleporter Chamber. Taken together, these two inclusions add 40 levels to the game's original roster of 80, and, as you'd expect, they add new gimmicks to the game's stealth action not found in earlier stages.

Stealth Inc. Ultimate Edition is currently available from the PlayStation Network Store at a price of $15. Unfortunately, there are no discounts for those who already own the earlier PlayStation 3 or Vita incarnations of the game.
[Image: Curve Studios]

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Battlefield 4 Naval Strike DLC hits open ocean March 25



Put your mind at ease, Battlefield 4 players. You can make a stand, lend a hand, protect the motherland and join your fellow man IN THE NAVY in the game's Naval Strike DLC on March 25. The DLC will feature four new maps, five weapons, two gadgets, a hovercraft vehicle, ten assignments and a new Carrier Assault mode where players compete to sink the enemy's aircraft carrier first.

Battlefield 4 Premium members will be the first with access to the content, while non-Premium members will have to wait until April 8 to become a macho, macho man ... in the Navy.

Papo & Yo dev's next game is a love story set in the Amazon

Minority Media, the studio behind Papo & Yo and the upcoming Silent Enemy, have announced another upcoming game designed to tug at your heartstrings. According to the Canada Media Fund database, Cali tells the story of Massi, a young boy from the Amazon who becomes separated from his group and discovers a pixie-like creature named Cali.

Game Informer reports that creative director for Minority Media Vander Caballero did not give many details during the game's announcement, only saying that the game would tell a story of "what it would be like to fall in love with an AI avatar." The CMF database also notes that, "while Cali is the secret to Massi's future success, there is a deadly reason why she cannot, or will not, help."

Game Informer also reports that Caballero confirmed the game would be heading to "new-gen consoles," while the CMF database describes the game as in development for iOS, Android and "the Cloud."
[Image: Minority Media]

Road Not Taken is deeper than you think

Road Not Taken looks like it could be a mobile game. The gameplay itself takes place on a series of grids, in cold, fantastical forests, where players must combine objects to clear paths and rescue children lost in the woods. It looks as if you could tap, tap, tap a tablet screen to move your little hooded character around the map.

But that's only the first layer of the game.

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Sony eases PS4 indie development with new publishing tools

As if Sony's support of independent developers hasn't been apparent enough, the console manufacturer will make it easier for indies to bring their games to Sony's platforms. The company announced partnerships today to offer PS4 exporting tools for game development software GameMaker: Studio and MonoGame for free to licensed Sony Computer Entertainment developers.

Sony also made "fully-integrated solutions" for PS3 and Vita available for Unity users, with an early access PS4 version arriving on Unity in April. Lastly, the company opted to offer its Authoring Tools Framework as a free, open source download available on GitHub. SCE uses the framework to help craft games like The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls.

Created by Yo Yo Games, GameMaker was used to create games such as Hyper Light Drifter, Risk of Rain and Nuclear Throne. Conversely, MonoGame is the backbone of games like TowerFall: Ascension, Mercenary Kings and Transistor. One GameMaker-developed game is Savant Ascent, which Yo Yo Games named as its favorite game of 2013 for the development platform. The stylistic shooter was announced for PS4 this morning following its debut on PC, Mac, iOS and Android in December.
[Image: Matt Makes Games]

Future PS4 firmware to allow gameplay capture without HDCP restrictions

Upcoming PlayStation 4 firmware is bringing the option to turn off High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) for high-definition gameplay capture, along with the ability to save videos and screenshots to a USB drive. Sony noted it previously announced the impending removal of HDCP restrictions as a post-launch feature, but it's still welcome news for YouTube users, as is the introduction of a "rich video editor" in the 1.70 update.

"We recognize that some gamers want to record and share longer clips of their gameplay sessions, and we're excited to deliver this option with PS4," wrote SCEA's Scott McCarthy. "There's a lot more coming in this update as well, so stay tuned for more - there will be plenty in the update to excite everyone."

As for gameplay streaming, Sony is also upping the resolution on Ustream and Twitch streams to 720p in a separate, future update. McCarthy also reiterated Sony's plans to bring Twitch archiving to the PS4 in that future update, but didn't provide a timeline for when users can expect it. He did note the 1.70 firmware is due "in the upcoming weeks."
[Image: Sony]

Making everything new, old again in Alien: Isolation


Though Ridley Scott's classic Alien takes place in a distant future, the film's production values were a product of the late 1970s, with sets and props cobbled together with elements from the era. Rather than evolve the original designs-of-necessity in its upcoming and inspired Alien: Isolation into more modern props and environments, developer The Creative Assembly chose to embrace the "lo-fi sci-fi" concepts found in the horror masterpiece.

"You could say the first part of development was this phase of deconstruction," Creative Lead Al Hope explains. "Kind of taking everything we knew and loved about the film and pulling it apart, so that when we built new content it would still look and feel as though it were from the film."

To achieve an in-game design that would mesh with the original film's aesthetic, The Creative Assembly pored over three terabytes of behind-the-scenes video, photos, handwritten notes on props and continuity photos from the production of Alien, courtesy of the 20th Century Fox archives. The treasure trove even included some rarely seen production pieces, such as detailed blueprints of the cargo vessel Nostromo, which proved vital for creating the spaces within Isolation. Using the source material, the developer made what Hope calls "a brave decision," and began populating its game with objects and environments created by replicating production techniques used for the film's development. Computers are slow, clunky and always seem on the verge of breaking down. And it's all by design.

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EVE Valkyrie in development for PS4's VR headset


CCP's virtual-reality star fighter EVE: Valkyrie is also in development for Sony's recently announced VR headset, Project Morpheus.

Though CCP and Oculus VR had announced a co-publishing agreement for the game, a spokesperson from CCP has told Polygon that the exclusive partnership only extends to the PC version of the game, for use with the Oculus Rift headset.

"We partnered with Oculus VR to bring EVE: Valkyrie exclusively to the Oculus Rift on PC and we are thrilled to be working with Sony to bring EVE: Valkyrie to the PS4 with Project Morpheus," a CCP spokesperson said.

EVE: Valkyrie, previously known as EVE VR, is a multiplayer space fighting action game within the universe of the MMO EVE Online, designed with virtual reality in mind. CCP's VR title is expected to arrive on PC sometime in 2014.
[Image: CCP]

Savant Ascent mixes arcade shooting with music album, coming to PS4


The "Savant" in D-Pad Studios' Savant Ascent is drawn from a close friend of the indie developer, electronic musician Savant (Aleksander Vinter). The arcade-style, 2D action shooter's protagonist is even pulled from the cover of Savant's fifth album, Alchemist, designed by D-Pad Studios' art director Simon S. Andersen.

Recently announced for PS4, Savant Ascent has players dispatching enemies in tune with Savant's music, which provides varying upgrades as tracks are unlocked. In the game, Savant is cast out of his tower by a "malicious orb," which turns his surroundings into enemies. Players must guide Savant back up the tower, which certainly explains the "Ascent" part of the game's title.

Savant Ascent first launched on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, GamersGate and the Humble Store as well as iOS and Android in December 2013.
[Image: D-Pad Studio]

Overheard@GDC 2014: Working with NASA on VR is cool


Sony's recently-announced Project Morpheus VR headset will hopefully introduce new kinds of games for the PlayStation 4, but Sony R&D guru Richard Marks wants it take players to entirely different worlds.

Speaking during the Morpheus reveal event, Marks stated that Sony has been working with NASA to create a VR simulation of the surface of Mars, incorporating actual data from Mars rovers. Sure, it's a great way to showcase VR technology, and to demonstrate that it doesn't have to be limited to traditional games, but Marks also disclosed an ulterior motive.

"The reason we're doing it is it's just super cool to work with NASA." We can't argue with that.

Overheard@GDC 2014: What being hunted in Alien Isolation sounds like



The Creative Assembly is clear that its new game, Alien: Isolation, is a survival horror game directly inspired by Ridley Scott's 1979 classic film, Alien. That means there are no big, James Cameron-developed pulse rifles. No gruff marines. Just you, Amanda Ripley, attempting to survive. In Isolation there is only one big bad; one lethal and intelligent xenomorph hunting you down.

But does the horror and tension work? Is a single alien enough to jolt you out of your seat? A few sounds from a recent demo make us think Sega's next alien game is on the right track.
[Image: Sega]

Watch eight minutes of strategy-RPG Natural Doctrine

Image While this in-depth look at Kadokawa Games' upcoming roleplaying epic Natural Doctrine is entirely in Japanese, you shouldn't have much trouble following it - slaying goblins and stabbing ogres translates to any language. [Image: Kadokawa Games]... Continue Reading

Sony's Project Morpheus VR headset is 1080p, more technical details revealed

Sony's Project Morpheus VR headset, revealed during GDC 2014, will feature a 1080p display, according to Anton Mikhailov with Sony research and development. The headset will feature a 90 degree field of view, and it will also allow for a full 360 degrees of head tracking, even if the PlayStation Camera loses sight of the headset.

Mikhailov also discussed the spatial sound that Project Morpheus will employ. The headset will be able to simulate over 60 virtual speakers, and it will support custom headphones for those that want them. In fact, the headset itself will feature a headphone jack, and Mikhailov noted that wireless headphones will be supported as well.

Sony doesn't want players to experience VR all by their lonesome either, and Project Morpheus will be able to display the game world on the television. He said specifically that it will be a traditional view that players have come to expect in games, and not the double-windowed "binocular" view that has become common in recordings of VR games. Furthermore, the ability to display video on the television as well as in the headset will allow for asymmetrical gameplay. As an example, Mikhailov mentioned the possibility of on VR player fighting against friends who controlled monsters on the TV screen.

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