Opinion
30 CommentsWhy it took me eight years and 300,000 words to say goodbye to World of Warcraft
I never meant for my rage to see the light of day.
Raw, fuming, unbridled wrath poured out into page after page of nonsensical cry-babying. I hardly expected it to fill more than a few paragraphs. But posting on the World of Warcraft forums wasn't rational. Nothing draws the attention of trolls quite like a thoughtful dissemination on why things are so hard for you. If I was looking for support, I wouldn't get it from gamers — such calls for sympathy only invited ridicule from the community. Besides, I had good reason to keep my rant off the forums: I shared their contempt.
Eight Years In Azeroth is where I told my story in serialized blog form, and it began at the dawn of WoW itself in November of 2004. In those early days, my attention was focused solely on the nerdiest qualities...
News
6 CommentsHer Story is out on Android
Her Story, Polygon's Game of the Year for 2015, is now available on the Google Play store.
The interactive police procedural from Silent Hill veteran Sam Barlow caused quite a splash after its launch last June, later earning several accolades including awards from GDC and BAFTA.
Her Story's narrative is non-linear in the truest sense. The order in which the story unfolds is entirely dependent on players' entries into an old police station search engine. This provides for many different interpretations of the plot and its ending.
Her Story is priced at $2.99 on Google Play, two dollars less than its price on iOS. The game is currently half off on Steam as well, so it's a great time to experience one of the most unique games of last year.
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19
May 25, 2016
Designing Mirror’s Edge: The making of a franchise
Go behind the scenes with DICE on the creation of Mirror’s Edge and Mirror’s Edge Catalyst.
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0 Comments1979 Revolution developer explains how hard it is to make emotional games
Navid Khonsari spent a decade in the game industry as a cinematic director, working on projects such as the Grand Theft Auto series, Max Payne, Manhunt and Alan Wake. So he knows a thing or two about telling stories that will produce emotional reactions in players.
Khonsari gave a brief talk at Games for Change 2016 last week about his first indie game, 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, which his studio, Ink Stories, recently released on iOS, Mac and Windows PC. An adventure game about the Iranian Revolution would seem to be an inherently emotional exercise, but as Khonsari explained, it’s not as simple as that.
In 1979 Revolution, you play as an 18-year-old Iranian photojournalist. Your choices can change the ending of your own story, but not the course of history. The goal of the...
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News
12 Comments'Brexit' spikes as disease name in Plague Inc.
In Plague Inc., you can name a disease after anything you like and make it wreak havoc on Earth's population. In the days since the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union, the event has become players' top choice for naming their plague.
"Brexit" has taken the No. 1 spot from "Trump," which has retained popularity for the last few months. According to developer James Vaughan, "Brexit" seems to have already reached its peak, whereas "Trump" has remained constant.
Vaughan stated this type of timely response is typical for Plague Inc. For example, around the time of the 2012 presidential election, the name "Obama" saw a spike in prominence. As actual epidemics like Ebola and Zika break out in the real world, they become popular choices in Plague Inc. as well.
It should be noted...
News
1 CommentAll Heroes of the Storm heroes are now free until June 28
Professional eSports team Tempest has won the 2016 Heroes of the Storm summer championships, and Blizzard is celebrating by making every hero free to play for a limited time. The promotion starts today and will go through June 28.
"In addition to this free-to-play hero event, we’ve added a new deeply discounted bundle to the Shop that features all of the heroes and skins chosen by Tempest in their final match," Blizzard announced. "This bundle will be available from June 21 until June 28."
The bundle includes: Brightwing with the Monarch Brightwing skin, Tyrael with the Demonic Tyrael skin, Greymane with the Ringleader Greymane skin, Tassadar with the Mecha Tassadar skin and Falstad with the Buccaneer Falstad skin, and will cost a differing amount depending on how...
News
4 CommentsManifold Garden takes Inception's twisting architecture and turns it into a puzzle
William Chyr wants to know if I've seen the movie Inception.
Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller from 2010 isn't the first thing I think of when I look at Manifold Garden, Chyr's gravity-centric puzzler that is equal parts beautiful and dizzying. It has obvious touches of M.C. Escher's work; there's something undeniably artistic about its colors and architectural displays. Chyr is quick to explain where Leonardo DiCaprio fits — remember that scene where he and Ellen Page take a stroll through the city streets in a dream? The world folds in two, creating a perfect mirror on top of itself, and DiCaprio and Page casually walk up this new wall as though nothing is out of the ordinary.
"That was kind of the initial inspiration for this," he said. "If [DiCaprio] changes gravity and he drops...
Video
5 CommentsWatch Civilization 6's 12-minute gameplay demo from E3
The announcement trailer for Sid Meier's Civilization 6 was narrated by Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark himself, Sean Bean, and that was nice enough. Now publisher 2K Games has released Civilization 6's full E3 gameplay demo, and it also features the most killed-off actor in screen history.
Sure, sure, the game looks great and all in this 12-minute video. The new geographical constraints on building out your cities sounds like a major and meaningful change to the Civilization franchise. But hearing Bean describe new mechanics like that one, in his deep Yorkshire accent, is a treat for the ears indeed.
"A new age is upon us, and we find ourselves but one part of a larger world," Bean intones, as the civilization in the video encounters the U.S. and President Theodore Roosevelt. "We are no...
News
5 CommentsDrawful 2 now available with special launch-day discounts
Drawful 2, the follow-up to the Pictionary-esque party game in which you and your friends try to match terrible drawings with ridiculous prompts, launches today on Mac, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.
Technically, the game missed its spring 2016 release window, since today is the first full day of summer.
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Drawful 2 will let you create and share your own question packs
Drawful 2, which costs $9.99, is already out on Steam for Mac and PC as well as Xbox One; the PS4 version will arrive later today. The game is also coming to Amazon Fire TV, but developer Jackbox Games told Polygon today that there isn't a concrete release date for that version yet.
On Steam, Drawful 2 is available at a 10 percent launch-week discount, which brings the...
E3 2016
7 CommentsTacoma is a different kind of power fantasy
"I feel like I'm not good at writing people who are just really terrible," said Steve Gaynor.
"As a writer, I don't get drawn to a lot of people just being terrible to each other, or real heavy stuff like that."
The Fullbright co-founder is showing off the team's upcoming game, Tacoma. Like the developer's breakout hit Gone Home, Tacoma is a narrative-driven title built on a foundation of exploration — both of the game's world and its characters. Writing interesting characters, whether they're likable or not, is key to crafting a good game.
Tacoma is set onboard a space station of the same name and stars Amy Ferrier, a young woman investigating the disappearance of the ship's crew. Amy has some help here — an AI called ODIN, and an augmented reality system that gives her access to...
News
69 CommentsAmbitious crowdfunded game ReRoll abandoned, backers given little in return
ReRoll, the ambitious open-world multiplayer survival game, has been abandoned by its creators according to a post on Reddit. Montreal-based Pixyul announced via email during E3 last week that "the development of ReRoll is over." The only compensation offered to backers, some of whom paid nearly $300 for access to the game, is a key to an unrelated early access title valued at $15.
ReRoll, described as an isometric persistent online open-world survival action-RPG, was the brainchild of Julien Cuny and Louis-Pierre Pharand, both formerly of Ubisoft Montreal. The pitch, to use existing topographic and municipal data as well as civilian drones to create a digital version of the entire Earth one square-kilometer at a time, was enticing. But crowdfunding was not enough to bankroll the...
Culture
25 CommentsJapan's Hearthstone ad is much better if you don't speak the language
I'm sure this ad for Hearthstone is quite lame in Japan. But when you don't undersetand that language, it's much more intense.
Visually, it's rather straightforward. Dude in charge has, at some point in the past, had his ass presented to him by this unassuming employee, so he pays tribute to her. Message: Hearthstone is an egalitarian space where no one is one bit better than the meanest on earth. Still, it's slap full of some great framegrabs. Let's go to the tape:
Here's Mr. Happy, who looks like a cross between Buster Poindexter and a Mr. Rogers puppet.
Who is this who does not bow before me?
OH CRAP
Finkel is Einhorn!
THANK YOU SIR MAY I PLEASE HAVE ANOTHER
O__o ...
News
8 CommentsPlanetSide and the EverQuest trading card game are shutting down
Daybreak Game Company is shutting down two of its older games, PlanetSide and Everquest trading card game Legends of Norrath, the company announced today.
PlanetSide, which launched in 2003, will shut down July 1 at 4 p.m. PT, Daybreak said on its official website.
"PlanetSide 1 has a very important history with Daybreak Games and a special place in the hearts of those who work on its successor," the company said. "While we have run the game for free since 2014, due to evolving business needs and technical requirements it has become necessary to conclude this service."
PlanetSide 2 was released on Windows PC in 2012. A PlayStation 4 version of the online shooter was released in 2015.
In August, Daybreak will also shut down Legends of Norrath, which has not been in active development...
E3 2016
7 CommentsDetails on Julian Gollop’s Phoenix Point, his new take on the original X-COM formula
Julian Gollop, the man who gave birth to the original X-COM: UFO Unknown, chose the week of E3 2016 to reveal the first details of his next project. Titled Phoenix Point, at its core it’s the same kind of turn-based, tactical strategy found in the XCOM series. But, he told Rock, Paper, Shotgun, it will also lean heavily on the mechanics of modern grand strategy titles like Crusader Kings 2 to create procedurally generated, emergent storylines each time you play.
If you were a fan of X-COM: Apocalypse, it’s time to pay attention.
In 2046, the Earth’s melting permafrost releases an ancient, mist-like virus into the sea, unleashing a horde of aquatic mutants on humanity. Before long, the only people left alive are hedged into isolated "havens," discrete pockets of civilization protected...
E3 2016
12 CommentsVerdun arrives on consoles nearly two months before Battlefield 1
Console fans looking to dive deep into World War I combat are in for a treat this summer because multiplayer shooter Verdun is headed to modern consoles.
In an email circulated today, the teams at M2H and Blackmill Games announced that Verdun would be available Aug. 30 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, nearly two months before Battlefield 1.
Verdun puts players in the trenches with several European and American factions during The Great War. When we spoke with the team last year we learned how they build maps based on real-world battlefields in Belgium and France using historical artifacts.
E3 2016
0 CommentsFullbright's Tacoma received a gameplay overhaul, here's what it looks like now
The team from Fullbright appeared briefly on the YouTube Live at E3 show with Geoff Keighley to show off a newly revised vision for their game, Tacoma.
Co-founded by Steve Gaynor, Johnnemann Nordhagen and Karla Zimonja, Fullbright made a name for itself with the narrative exploration title Gone Home. Tacoma is a departure, trading Gone Home's '90's aesthetic for a far-flung future on an abandoned space station. Players are tasked with putting together the mystery of what happened aboard the station by piecing together the lives of the former inhabitants. The only trace of the mystery are augmented reality avatars, representing that former crew.
In March, Fullbright circulated an email signaling that Tacoma was receiving a major overhaul.
"After we did our big unveiling last summer we...
E3 2016
2 CommentsYour first look at Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
The PC Gaming Show unveiled the first ever gameplay footage of Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, the sequel to the cult classic. The pre-recorded demo focused on the single-player game's siege gameplay, and promised battles with more than 500 troops at release.
Bannerlord is developed by TaleWorlds Entertainment, a studio based in Turkey that burst onto the scene in 2008 with the release of the original Mount & Blade. Originally published by Paradox, the title was in many ways ahead of its time — combining a sophisticated first-person melee combat system with a strategic layer.
Bannerlord was first announced more than four years ago, and community manager Frank Elliot was on hand to share footage of the improved siege combat.
"You're a regular person in the world," Elliot said. "But...
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