PAX panel schedule live, details on BOTH Dtoid
panels!

Yeah that's right! We're hosting TWO panels at PAX Prime this year. "How to Run Your Own Gaming Website and Win at Life" will be hosted by Dtoid's founder, Niero, on Saturday at 12:30 PM at the Unicorn Theatre. Niero will be chatting about how to run a videogame blog and what he's learned these past five years living the dream. He'll be joined by our very own Nick Chester, Tara Long and also accompanied by Craig Skistimas from Screw Attack and will be moderated by Sean St Clair from Glyde.

Then on Sunday in the Unicorn Theatre at 12PM is Destructoid Live with Nick Chester, Jim Sterling, Max Scoville, Niero and myself! We're not yet ready to talk about our panel but know you're in for a really good time.

What ELSE is going on, you ask? GREAT QUESTION!

Friday:

• PAX Prime keynote with David Jaffe @ 10:30AM
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim demo @ 2:00PM
• Getting Past Forums: The Future of Community @ 3:00PM
• Mega64 Based Panel @ 7:00PM
• Twisted Pixel Variety Hour @  9:00PM

Saturday:

• Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin' @ 10:30AM
• DESTRUCTOID: How to Run Your Own Gaming Website and Win at Life @ 12:30PM
• Irrational Games @ 2:00PM
• Fat, Ugly or Slutty: Exposing Harassment in Online Gaming @ 3:00PM
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim demo @ 3:30PM

Sunday:

• Halo 4 @ 10:00AM
• DESTRUCTOID: Destructoid Live @ 12PM
• Inside Gearbox Software @ 3:00PM

This is just some of the many panels that interested me. Which panels are you looking forward to attending?

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EA2D is now BioWare San Francisco

EA2D was the studio responsible for Dragon Age Legends and Mirror's Edge 2D. They were originally founded to make casual and browser games. We just wanted to let you know that they are now part of BioWare, and have been renamed BioWare San Francisco. You know, so you can keep up on the water cooler talk and all. 

Gamasutra says that BioWare SF is now the fifth studio under EA to carry the BioWare name. The others are: Edmonton, Montreal, Austin, and BioWare Mythic.

EA Confirms EA2D Is Now BioWare San Francisco [Gamasutra]

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Disney Universe gets a wee bit more crowded

by: Dan Keener
NEWS - Although Disney Universe is scheduled to hit retail later this fall, but we are learning a little more about the game as each month passes.  Today we were introduced to four classic Disney character costumes that will be roaming the game along with other Disney and Pixar characters.  These include Mickey, Minnie, Goody and Donald who will join previously announced Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc, Alice and the Mad Hatter and Lilo and Stitch.  Take a look at both the concept art as well as the four costumes in action below.


Read The Full Article:
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Disney-Universe-gets-a-wee-bit-more-crowded/I
tem23741.aspx

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Def Leppard 6-Pack hitting Rock Band DLC next
week

by: Dan Keener
NEWS - Another week, another great debut and release for Rock Band DLC.  Starting on August 9th, we will finally be getting our shot at six Def Leppard tracks (2 Live) to be able to download and jam to.  The band has a couple songs on-disc within the franchise, but this marks the debut of DLC for the group.  Of the six tracks, five originated in the 80’s, while the sixth (‘Undefeated’) is off the group’s recent album Mirrorball: Live & More.  The two live tracks are also from this album even though they originally were from the 80’s as well.  One other treat is that all six songs will be compatible with Pro Guitar/Bass right out of the gate, the first time a complete DLC week has had that availability.

Pricing will be $9.99/800 MS Pts/1000 Wii Pts for “Def Leppard Pack 01”, with each song costing $1.99/160 MS PTs/200 Wii Pts per song.  The Guitar/Bass Pro upgrade will be $0.99/80 MS Pts/100 Wii Pts.  Here is the complete list:

Def Leppard – “Animal (Live)”X
Def Leppard – “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”X
Def Leppard – “Photograph”X
Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar on Me (Live)”X
Def Leppard – “Rock of Ages”X
Def Leppard – “Undefeated”X
Tracks marked with “X” will include Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.

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Team Fortress 2 gets the best live-action
treatment ever

video details and more

I've seen plenty of, and posted plenty of, live-action game things on the Internet. This though? This takes the cake. The only thing that even compares is what the Beat Down Boogie gang did with the Modern Gear Solid saga.

Seriously, awesome job CorridorDigital. If there was a bar for live-action stuff, these guys just raised it!

P.S. The person that plays the Engineer is Dtoider Alex Barbatsis!

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MotorStorm game replaces Resistance 3 in PS 3D TV
bundle

Remember that PlayStation 3D display that was announced during Sony's press conference at E3 this year? They told us that the 24", $499 set bundle would come with a pair of 3D glasses, an HDMI cable, and a copy of Resistance 3. But today we saw an Amazon.com link for pre-order, and MotorStorm: Apocalypse was listed as the bundle game. Later we saw that GameStop had an even more confusing bundle listing, with both MotorStorm: Apocalypse and Resistance 3 listed as bundled. Finally, an Insomniac Games tweet really had us wondering. We checked with Sony for the final word, and here's what they told us:

The PlayStation 3D Display announced at E3 will now be bundled with MotorStorm: Apocalypse, instead of Resistance 3. MotorStorm Apocalypse, the latest installment of the popular racing franchise, offers high-octane action and was built from the ground up for 3D -- making it a great out-of-the-box experience for all types of gamers. Its split-screen racing mode is perfect for the 3D Display's special two-player feature, which allows both players to see individual, unique, full-screen images of gameplay. The 3D Display will be available this fall/holiday, as several blockbuster PS3 exclusives will be launching with 3D, including Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

No other reasons for the switch were given.

Perhaps MotorStorm's split screen is a better fit to show off one of the coolest features of the display. Does the changing of this pack-in game change your mind on ordering this display?

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Bethesda's Dishonored is my new jam

New Dishonored screens have emerged from QuakeCon 2011 today and it's finally made me take notice of Bethesda's next title. The "first-person stealth/action adventure" game as it's described looks pretty damn rad. I kind of get the vibe of Half-Life 2 but in a neo-World War II setting from some of the screens.

Some story elements were revealed last month and apparently one of the powers you get is the ability to summon a swarm of rats. AWESOME!!!

Okay, I really want Dishonored. Like now.

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Mysteriez 3

Mysteriez! 3 is sequel of free online point and click hidden object games series from Well Games. Seize an opportunity to visit a spaceship and calm Japanese garden, glance into a workshop of a smith or a tailor as you look for hidden numbers in this fun online puzzle. This time it's 400 items to find and millions of users worldwide. Double click to turn on/off the magnifier in order to outstrip

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/escapegames24/~3/0H7ARts-56M/mysteriez-3-walkthrou
gh.html

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Upcoming MMORTS Golden Age's backstory detailed

Aeria Games has a pretty good track record of releasing some quality MMO games that are free to play. They're responsible for bringing out RPGs like Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online and the more recent Eden Eternal, as well as a variety of others. They've recently teased Golden Age, a persistent browser-based RTS in the works for the North and Latin American market. The backstory and setting for the game have been detailed.

Based on historical events of medieval Europe, the game kicks off following the rumored conquests of Jacques de Molay -- the last known Grand Master of the powerful Order of Knights Templar. Following the documented mass baseless arrests of the Knights Templar in 1307 A.D., Golden Age picks up in a mysterious treasure-filled region that 400 Knights Templar have secretly taken refuge in. Following their colonization of the area, they must defend themselves and their developing fortresses from oncoming waves of greedy plunderers.

Players will be able to take on the roles of one of three classes of citizens: the Knights Templar, the Ibero Alliance, and the Rhine Commerce Guild. The Templar are based on fictional members of the real historical order who fled persecution in search of lost land of gold and treasure. The Ibero Alliance is a group established in the new land based on ancient Greek and Roman democratic principals. The Rhine Commerce Guild was founded by a traveling merchant and his followers, and has real-life roots in medieval Germany.

Aeria Games is currently accepting applications from closed beta testers for Golden Age.

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Motion Control: Show me what you've got

_{[Our final promoted blog for the Motion Control call for blogs comes from fulldamage. Thanks a ton to everyone who participated this week -- we had some really great blogs, and more I wish I could have promoted. If you want to see your own stuff on the front page, you still have this weekend to finish up your blog on eSports. A new topic will be posted on Monday, and eSports blogs will be promoted all week. -- JRo]}

So, forget about graphics for a second. Forget about storytelling, forget about leveling, forget about moral decision trees, let's just drop all that complicated jazz and take a closer look at the heart of a game. What is it that makes a modern console game fun for you - fun at the most basic, most un-cerebral, most simple stimulus-response level? I don't know that there is perfectly simple answer to that question, but if you wanted to start with the game controls, you'd be in the right neighborhood.

Part of the 'meat and potatoes' of a game, the stuff that really sucks you in, is learning to manipulate your controller in the right ways at the right times in order to help you succeed at a game's challenges. First you work out which buttons do what. Then you get to a point where you don't think about the buttons any more -- it becomes second nature to you, like walking or typing. At that point, the game begins to feel like it is responding to your will. That's the part of the learning curve where things get delicious, where there is no more mechanical barrier between you and the game system, and the only thing holding you back from victory is your mind and your level of skill in execution.

I don't even see the code. All I see is blonde, brunette, redhead...

If you look at a game with this process in mind - that it is always a one-two step, first to master the interface, then to master the game - you can see where the theory of motion control comes from. That first step, the mechanical barrier, stops a lot of people in their tracks. Have you ever watched someone struggle with a game, and felt pained - almost physically - when you saw them get frustrated? When they have to look at the screen, then down at the controller, then back at the screen while some QTE is tearing them up? Or when they can't manipulate the movement stick and the camera stick at the same time, so they move, and then change their angle, and then move, and all of a sudden ninjas are cutting them to pieces and they don't understand why?

Everyone has different skill levels - that's no big deal! But this is an agonizing moment because you learn, in that instant, that being able to control the game better means being able to experience more of what makes it fun. If they didn't have to wrestle with those inputs, then they could focus on Kratos smashing some troll's face into a glorious pulp. If they could swivel that camera, they'd see the way those ninjas spidered up at them across the walls and from the windows, and how sweet it looks!

This is when the dream -- the glorious dream! -- appears to a fevered, tormented few. What if you could remove that first obstacle: learning to master the interface? What if the interface were so pure, so simple, so intuitive, that you could get a character to do what you needed them to do, just by moving a wand or waving your arms? Look at all your friends back there, the ones hopping backwards off of cliffs in Soul Calibur, or forever eating Kamehamehas in Dragonball Z because they simply cannot do a rapid tap. There's a gulf separating you right now, a chasm of ability. Don't you want them to be able to cross it and join you up here, where it's more fun?

This notion  of leveling the playing field, of letting more people close to the fun by helping them over the arbitrary obstacle of the controller, is a tempting one. Nintendo led the way on it, because they've always been innovators when it comes to fun. To this day, we can identify "Zelda clones" and "Metroidvanias." We explain "platformers" to people by referencing Super Mario Brothers. Nintendo has built landmarks across the landscape of gaming with the scope of their ideas, and it is always foolish to ignore what they're doing. In large part, their goal has always been to get the largest number of people having the most amount of fun. And I agree with their goal.

But I never bought a Wii.

It lives.

Let me be really clear about this one: I really don't like to buy into that "casual vs. core" nonsense. That term is only useful for marketing demographics and the poor, sad people who have to try to make sense of them. I won't decry the Wii as gimmicky, because a crapton of people love it, play it daily, and don't care what other people have to say about it -- that's no gimmick. If I'm having people over to my house to play games, then I'm choosing the simplest, most insta-fun titles that I can find, because I want everyone to have fun.

Now, after they go home?

Then I'm pulling out Demon's Souls. Or New Vegas on Hardcore Mode in Hard difficulty. Or -- don't choke -- Catherine, because those block puzzles aren't as easy as they look. In the skills department, I'm nothing special -- I'm Average Joe. But it does come back to that control scheme. In order for a game to hold my attention, it has to provide me with a challenge that is at the limit of my ability so that, through trial and error, I overcome it. Duccess is sweet, because it means I've improved. I've mastered that tough challenge, and am ready for even harder ones. A lot of designers use the term fiero to refer to that elated feeling of victory in the moment of triumph -- when you throw up the horns, jump up off the couch, and tell Emerald WEAPON to suck it, because you owned him. (finally) (after countless ignoble deaths) (you cheap mechanical sonuvabitch)

As long as you're cool with everyone's control being shaped and moving differently to produce different results, that's a great idea...

Motion controlled games aren't quite there yet. They lack fiero. The tech isn't geared for input precision, and when the game isn't responding to your gestures, it's just frustrating. So they're tuned to be very forgiving, to the point where anyone can succeed at the basic inputs. They lower the level of raw skill required to succeed, and in doing so, rob me of those victory moments. There's nothing in the world of motion control that enables a player to control Ryu Hayabusa with the responsiveness necessary to take out 10 enemies in 5 seconds, the way a standard controller does.

There are also very few motion games that present us with opportunities to be clever or inventive with our gameplay - to figure out different solutions to challenges. We can't invent new gestures. We can't use motion control in ways that feel as satisfying as it does to figure out how to build 100% damage reflection in Oblivion, or to figure out the perfect tower setup in PixelJunk Monsters. They don't seem to help us solve physical challenges OR cerebral challenges in gameplay very well.

So what do we do with them, then?

Subject for another article - I want to use this controller to play a game that is not about playing a guitar.

I bought Heavy Rain on sale not too long ago. I didn't even realize that it was Move-enabled until I got the package and looked at the sticker on it.

I thought about it. Let the package sit, unopened for a while. And then one day, I found myself in the electronics department of Target after a pay day. I remembered that No More Heroes was coming for the PS3 soon. And so was Child of Eden. And I thought, "Ahh, fine. If I want to have a legitimate opinion about motion control, I need to learn more about it. So what the hell?"

And I had a blast.

Heavy Rain does it right. It's a game about personal relationships, and about decision-making, and about hunting for things -- a straight up Adventure Game of the Olde School. I had hesitated on purchasing it partly because when it was released, I was having more of an action-game phase. And partly because I remembered how grueling and tiresome the QTE events in Indigo Prophecy, Quantic Dream's previous title, had been.

If you didn't watch the actor auditions in the Extras menu, do it. This girl is good.

Heavy Rain was able to pull a magic trick here, by taking the worst aspect of that type of adventure game, and flipping it into an immersion-building tool. Since the focus is on the unfolding story, all of the player actions are just simple, timed inputs, which motion control can do. And while flicking a thumbstick is pretty dry in terms of excitement, making these inputs into full on gestures makes them more interesting, and builds a physical connection with the characters that wasn't quite possible before. You start by learning to knock on doors, or shave, or cook a meal -- simple activities that can be done easily through motion control. Then before you know it, you’re trying to untie yourself from a table before a psycho tortures you to death, or administering CPR, or picking a lock. And, because you’ve been practicing, you can handle the more complicated and quick motions needed here. THESE are game actions that are made more powerful because you get your arms and body into them.

It’s not about building a game around the concept of swinging a sword or a golf club or dancing. It’s about building a game in which motion controls help you to get more involved, but don’t limit your ability to find and defeat difficult challenges with your skills and your mind. It’s about using them to do things that a controller isn’t capable of, but not building the game AROUND that distinction. It’s not easy. But it can be done.

If you read this far, then props to you - that is one serious wall of text up there! Let me first of all say thanks, and send you off with this one final anecdote. A coworker of mine is super-excited about Child of Eden. I was too, of course, but her enthusiasm didn’t really communicate itself to me until she said the words, "Finally, a game I can play!" And I remembered that she's got crippling carpal tunnel, and controllers hurt her. It got me to thinking, it's not just about the "ability chasm" either. There are a lot of people that physically can't play games the same way I do. That's messed up. They deserve better than virtual mini-golf and tennis games. And I think that motion control CAN bring us experiences that are new, and different than games we play now, and in some ways better.

I just wish that marketing campaigns hadn't been hell-bent on convincing us that the era of motion control was RIGHT NOW. By my estimation, we're way out on the edge of that possible future, and we've still got a long ways to go. Motion control, I bow to you as a valid combatant upon the field. But in order to prove yourself, you’re going to have to show me what you can do, and you’re going to have to be better at it than all the other control inputs out there already. So you’d better bring it.

_{[Header image is NES Controller X-ray by Reintji]}

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