Hey all– we just sent out a newsletter (which you can sign up for at tacoma-game.com) which included the announcement that Tacoma’s schedule has been extended to Spring 2017. We’ve made some decisions about where the game was at and how much time and attention we believe it deserves, and have decided to give it the extra time it needs. As you can tell from this decision being made a full year before we plan to launch, this isn’t a last minute “we just need a little more time!” thing, but more of a “we need to be responsible about giving the game more space to live up to its potential” kind of thing. Please see the text from the newsletter below– and look forward to new info on (and gameplay from!) Tacoma in the coming months!
As you may have noticed, we haven’t released a lot of new info about the game in the last few months– and that’s because, after we did our big unveiling last summer we sent out a playtest build to a bunch of fellow developers we trust, took a long hard look at their feedback and our own feelings on where we were at, and decided to reexamine and rework a number of the core assumptions we’d held about the game. How would gravity really work on a deep-space facility like Tacoma? What are we trying to say about the function and implications of Augmented Reality– and how does the player interact meaningfully with the story content in the game, in a fundamentally different way than anything we’ve worked on before?
We dove in and took this job seriously, redefining a number of elements that really needed it. It’s been an important process (and we’ve recently sent out another playtest, the response to which has made our months of deep-structure soul-searching feel very worth it) but it’s also taken time… time that would’ve otherwise been devoted to getting the game further on toward being finished and shipped.
So, long story short, we’ve had to push out our original schedule. We’d originally planned mid-to-late 2016, so we’re giving ourselves an additional 6+ months, to land in Spring 2017. We’re currently polishing up a sample of our newly-minted alterations to the core game into something showable that we’ll be showing the world this coming summer.
Thank you again for all your support & commitment to what we do… we can’t wait to show you more of the new face of Tacoma. We’ve got some very exciting stuff in store…
King’s Quest Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb Launching April 26
Sierra Plans April 26 for the Worldwide Launch of King’s Quest Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb
Sierra has revealed that King’s Quest – Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb, the next installment in the new King’s Quest, is expected to release worldwide on April 26 on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows PC via Steam.
King’s Quest – Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb is a romantic comedy adventure featuring a beloved character from the series’ classic beginnings: King Graham’s wife and Gwendolyn’s grandmother, Queen Valanice. Longtime fans may think they know the legend of how Graham rescued his future bride from the wicked witch Hagatha’s tower. But the truth behind the fairytale is much more complicated!
Developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the new King’s Quest returns to the classic spirit of wit and wonder that first launched this timeless adventure gaming franchise over 30 years ago. As an old King Graham looks back on a life of deeds and daring with his curious grandchild Gwendolyn, players will experience firsthand the most incredible untold stories of his long reign over five endearing chapters.
King’s Quest: The Complete Collection (a bundle* including all five chapters and a bonus playable story epilogue) and the King’s Quest Season Pass (a bundle* containing Chapters 2-5) are now available through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store and Steam. The previous tales – King’s Quest – Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember and King’s Quest – Chapter 2: Rubble Without a Cause – are also available to purchase individually.
For more information, please visit sierra.com, and follow Sierra on Facebook and Twitter.
*Subsequent chapters and epilogue may be downloaded in-game upon individual release.
本作的第二章标题为“Give No Shelter”,在第二章中米琼恩、皮特和萨姆等人将逃离殖民地Monroe。不过不幸的是,Monroe的领导者不会原谅也不会忘记他们的这种行为。
本作的终章“我们应得的(What We Deserve)”预计于2016年4月上线。日前官方还放出了本作第一章的回顾短片,让大家一起来看看第一章中玩家可以进行的那些选择,下面就请玩家们一起来欣赏一下。
Conflict Heats Up in 'The Walking Dead: Michonne' Episode 2 - 'Give No Shelter' on March 29th
Fellow Survivors,
Today we can share the release date for 'Give No Shelter,' the second of three episodes in The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries.
Episode 2: 'Give No Shelter' will be available starting Tuesday, March 29th on PC/Mac via the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, for compatible iOS devices via the App Store, and for Android-based devices via Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. The miniseries will conclude with the third episode, 'What We Deserve,' in April.
The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries confronts players with tough choices. Today we can also share this new video above, which highlights some of the difficult decisions players were faced with in the premiere episode.
The miniseries stars the iconic, blade-wielding character from Robert Kirkman's best-selling comic books, portrayed in-game by award-winning actress Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black). Haunted by her past and coping with unimaginable loss and regret, the story explores Michonne across a three episode miniseries event. Players will dive into the mind of Michonne to discover what took her away from Rick, Carl, and the rest of her trusted group... and what brought her back.
In Episode 2, 'Give No Shelter,' a daring escape from the floating colony of Monroe sees Michonne, Pete, and Sam running for their lives. An all too brief reprieve is soon shattered; the leaders of Monroe don't forgive and don't forget. With memories of her daughters bleeding ever further into Michonne's blurred reality, her world is becoming increasingly fractured... just at the point when she'll need all of her skills to survive.
For more information on the game, visit the official website, Facebook, and follow Telltale Games on Twitter.
ARK: Survival of the Fittest Breaks From the Dino Pack as Free Multiplayer Online Surival Arena (M.O.S.A.) eSport
Studio Wildcard, the dev team that created the smash hit ARK: Survival Evolved (PC, Xbox One, PS4), is taking dinosaur survival mayhem into the new era of eSports. Available now on Steam Early Access and in-development for consoles, ARK: Survival of the Fittest is a free, standalone, multiplayer online survival arena (M.O.S.A.) game that pits as many as 72 combatants against one another in spontaneous Hunger Games-style competitions within a closed battlefield.
“Following the success of the tournaments we hosted last fall, we saw valuable community feedback about other competitive features they wanted to see implemented,” said Jesse Rapczak, co-founder, co-creative director, Studio Wildcard. “Now with shorter matches, four new game modes, rapid dino taming and more, we felt it was time to let people come in to test it for themselves. Not only can you play for free, but we’re offering cash prizes for the top players in each Survivor League, so ARK survivors can potentially start playing their favorite game professionally!”
Built for the burgeoning wild west of eSports competition, ARK: SotF challenges gamers to fight each other and the Jurassic environment that players loved in ARK: Survival Evolved. However, rather than a huge open world to survive in, this newly refactored game is an epic dinosaur survival arena with a continually shrinking “ring of death.” In the end, survivors are eventually pushed into an epic final showdown where only one “Tribe” will make it out alive.
Survivors can form one- to six-person Tribes with the options to choose Unofficial and Official (Ranked) servers, and a variety of game-lengths and sizes in which to play. Players will start in the base forest environment introduced in the original ARK: Survival Evolved, with new environments and creatures introduced regularly as the game evolves. Dedicated eSport ranking, matchmaking, reward, and tournament features make ARK: SotF readily accessible to all players.
As part of the ongoing Survival of the Fittest eSport competitive initiative, each month the Top-10 Ranked players in each game mode’s "Survivor League" will be awarded cash prize winnings corresponding to their Ranked placement. The ongoing Rankings for these elite titles will be visible in real-time on SurviveTheArk.com at launch.
Balanced for intense competition, Survival of the Fittest contestants begin in a neutral staging area where they can communicate pre-game, strategize, or talk trash. After a count-down, they dramatically descend from the sky onto the ARK in a circular formation via beams of light. There is a cache of valuable items in the center – do survivors dash for the goods and fight it out, do they run into the forest and hide, search for dinosaurs to rapidly build their army, or do they freeze up from the sheer terror of death? The continually shrinking arena boundaries force contestants ever closer together over time. The hunt is on!
To join in the battle, journey over to the Steam page for detailed feature list and weekly reveals of new dinosaur dossiers, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube visit the website at playark.com and watch us tame and train leviathan dinosaurs on Twitch.TV.
Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island Unveiled for PC, PS4 & Xbox One
Retro Action-Platformer 'Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island' to Jump on PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2016
Grip Digital, the team behind the sci-fi exploration game The Solus Project, and developer Right Nice Games, have unveiled today '
Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island', a single-player action-platformer game. Headed to the PlayStation 4 system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft via the ID@Xbox self-publishing program, and PC later in 2016, Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island embraces a colorful, vibrant world of 3D platforming seemingly forgotten in today’s cluttered world of MOBAs and Survival games.
Following the best traditions of the third-person platformer/action genre, Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island sets two unlikely heroes on an adventure to prevent the villainous CRT from conquering their home and turning it into a wasteland. Skylar was designed by CRT and turned into his most potent weapon – wielding a powerful mechanical arm augmentation - but now, she must become a heroine-against-her-will to defy her makers and forge a new destiny. And Plux is the eloquent sidekick that every good action platformer needs to have.
Together, they will explore lush beaches, burning volcanoes, freezing mountains and merciless desert, fight an army of CRT’s henchmen, collect powerful upgrades like the Magnetic Glove, or Jetpack and challenging CRT’s plans – and their destinies – before it is too late.
“Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is a passionate homage to the 3D platformers of our youth. Go on an action packed adventure, collecting gadgets helping you explore a beautiful paradise and save it from evil”, says Eric Valentine, Level Designer and Narrative Director, Right Nice Games .
“Anyone who enjoys the classic 3D platformers like Crash Bandicoot or the Jak and Daxter series will instantly fall in love with Skylar & Plux. There’s a lot of personality and humor, colorful characters and hours of great gameplay for the fans of the genre, as well as newcomers to the 3D platformer games,” added Jakub Mikyska, CEO of GRIP Digital.
Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC Steam later in 2016.
First Details on Telltale’s Batman Series Discussed at SXSW
The team at Telltale hit the stage in Austin at the SXSW Gaming Expo today along with Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, to come out of hiding and talk details about the upcoming series based on Batman for the very first time. While development has been moving along swiftly over the last year, production on in-game visuals for all of Telltale’s series always tends to come together closer to launch, as the writers and designers spend their time focusing very heavily on the story and script first and foremost.
It’s still too soon to show any scenes from the game, but the team was happy to confirm that players can expect to see it closer to its upcoming premiere which is slated for THIS SUMMER! Additional details gathered from the panel were as follows:
• Batman is the perfect character for the studio to explore in a Telltale series, giving the team the opportunity to dive deeper into the mind of the man behind the mask. Each night, Bruce Wayne chooses to change Gotham for the better. The team wants to explore what the consequences are of the player’s actions when decisions made as Bruce have a critical impact on his nightly crusade as Batman, and vice versa. Certain key situations will give the player the decision to approach a scene as Bruce or Batman, with consequences for both sides.
• Fresh interpretation of the universe set in current times, not tied to any existing iteration of Batman in games, film, or comics. Story will focus on Bruce and Batman, not an examination of the extended 'Bat-family,' (Robin, Nightwing, etc.) Fans can expect certain series staples such as Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, James Gordon, and Renee Montoya. Telltale is looking to keep the villains more tightly under wraps until closer to the premiere.
• Certain characters will have a deeply personal relationship with Bruce in his private life, and decisions made as Bruce or Batman will affect their paths towards corruption or redemption.
• The player's actions will help shape the Gotham that Bruce deals with during the day, as well as the criminals that Batman faces at night.
• Team is committing to a non-photorealistic interpretation of the universe, enhancing engine and technology to deliver a more seamless living comic book art direction. Taking inspiration from the works of over 75 years of artists such as Jim Lee, Greg Capullo, and Neal Adams.
• Like some other Telltale series, the game will be landing at M (Mature 17+) rating, and the cinematic approach will feel more akin to an R-rated film.
Minecraft: Story Mode Returns for Episode Five on March 29th with Three More Adventures Continuing in 2016
The adventures of Jesse and the NEW Order of the Stone are set to continue this month! In the first episode since the Wither Storm finale, Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 5 - 'Order Up' will be available starting March 29th on PC/Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and iOS and Android-based devices.
Today we can also reveal that 'Order Up!' won't be the last players see of Jesse, as Episode Five will bridge the gap between the Wither Storm story arc, and three all-new adventures that will continue as post-season episodes set to release in the coming months of 2016.
These continuing Adventures of the New Order of the Stone will follow the additional escapades of Jesse the group as they explore new and unfamiliar worlds beyond their own. All three of these episodes will be add-ons to the season, so players will need to own at least the first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode in order to purchase and play these three chapters in the series which will include episodes 6, 7, and 8.
In the upcoming Episode 5, on a tip from Ivor, Jesse and friends head to an abandoned temple holding mysterious treasures. Ambushed by former Ocelot Aiden and his crew, our heroes find themselves in an entirely new world: Sky City! As they explore, the Order finds that resources are at a premium, and nothing but 'The Void' exists below the known world. When Aiden convinces Sky City's ruler that the New Order of the Stone are up to no good, you'll need to make some tough choices to clear your name, and keep Aiden from destroying an innocent world.
The cast of Minecraft: Story Mode also continues to expand as Jesse, played by Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille) or Catherine Taber (Star Wars Rebels), join Ivor, played by Paul Reubens (Pee-wee's Big Holiday) and the gang on a trip to the skies. They'll meet a growing cast that includes Sean Astin (The Goonies, The Lord of the Rings) as Reginald, the loyal Captain of the Guard, Jim Meskimen (Parks and Recreation) as the rebellious Milo, and Melissa Hutchison (The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series) as the Founder of Sky City.
For more information on Telltale Games, visit the official website, Facebook, and follow @TelltaleGames on Twitter.