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MIGS: Only Fun and Games?

Mathew Kumar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:44:07 +0000

At this year's Montreal International Game Summit the idea of whether games should only be seen as fun was challenged in more than one session. Commentators such as industry veteran Brenda Braithwaite (designer of the Wizardry and Jagged Alliance series, among others) and Edge columnist Randy Smith in particular poured over this thorny issue.

Mystery Play

Chris Dahlen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:53:13 +0000

In the same way that firstperson shooters thrive in a military setting, alternate reality games (ARGs) are an apt home for conspiracy theories and long-lost secrets. So it’s no surprise that Smoking Gun Interactive has rolled out its mysterious new property in an ARG, before it brings it to consoles. The start-up developer, founded by a break-off team from Relic and featuring some of the talents behind Company Of Heroes, has created an ambitious new world, and players have only just seen the beginning of it.

Learning Vehicle

Alex Wiltshire — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:29:18 +0000

Today, the UK government's Department For Transport unveils a new browser-based MMOG, created by New York-based developer Area/Code. Designed for early teenagers to learn principles of traffic safety, it's probably the largest 'serious games' project ever to be created for the UK.

MIGS: Every Click Counts

Mathew Kumar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:14:56 +0000

David Sirlin is a familiar proponent of increased simplicity and usability in video game interfaces. It's a principle he put into practice rebalancing Street Fighter II for Super Street Fighter II HD Remix. At Montreal International Game Summit, he continued the theme with a polemic that used the famous writing handbook The Elements Of Style by Strunk and White to argue that a design must do its best to avoid needless effort on the player’s part.

Community Spotlight

Alex Walker — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:05:40 +0000

Highlights from our community-written blogs, featuring the emotional state of game characters and the rise and rise of the franchise.

Mind Games

Edge Staff — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:21:41 +0000

Dr Dan Pinchbeck of the University of Portsmouth's Advanced Games Research Group had a rather ambitious goal when he made Dear Esther. He wanted to tell a powerful story in a game-like environment, but without using gameplay to tell it.

The Friday Game: Small Worlds

Chris Donlan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:57:47 +0000

Format: Flash
Developer: David Shute
jayisgames.com/cgdc6/?gameID=9

Where No Game Has Gone Before

Edge Staff — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:48:15 +0000

Since embarking on building Astronaut: Mars, Moon and Beyond for NASA, Daniel Laughlin has had many people ask him if videogames were just about blasting anything that moved. After all, how can something so banal and violent possibly teach us about the inner workings of the universe?

Edge Games Index

Edge Staff — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:26:43 +0000

Every Thursday, the Edge Games Index, produced in association with Brandwatch, rates games according to the volume of positive and negative buzz they're inspiring on the web.

Interview: Look Around You

Edge Staff — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:19:13 +0000

18 months ago, Philips came to our offices to show us a new product, amBX. Comprising desk speakers, a sub-woofer, units which put out coloured light and a fan, it was designed to enhance PC games with effects that were intended to enhance the experience of playing, blowing air into your face as you sprinted in Crysis, flashing red and yellow as we died in an explosion.

Review: Modern Warfare 2

Edge Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:12:53 +0000

Format: 360, PS3, PC
Release: Out now
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Screenshot gallery

Community Spotlight

Alex Walker — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:54:07 +0000

A highlight from our community-written blogs, featuring the big debate over the future of interactive storytelling.

Verbal _Oz responds to our Death Of The Author article and shows the incredible challenge that lies ahead for game makers. Like many, he pushes at the limits of a game, shooting NPCs and getting frustrated when they shrug away his bullets because the story can't take into account their deaths.

Edge Games Index

Edge Staff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:27:20 +0000

Every week, the Edge Games Index, produced in association with Brandwatch, rates games according to the volume of positive and negative buzz they're inspiring on the web.

Review: A Boy And His Blob

Edge Staff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:28 +0000

Format: Wii
Release: Out now
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: WayForward
Screenshot gallery

The Friday Game: Sneeze

Chris Donlan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:14:06 +0000

Format: Flash
Developer: Oil Productions and Playerthree
http://www.miniclip.com/games/sneeze/en/

Interview: Insomniac Games

Edge Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:21:53 +0000

In the time it’s taken many to simply suss out the hardware, Burbank’s Insomniac Games has made more triple-A titles for PS3 than any other developer. Say what you like about the solemn and scrappy Resistance series, but its ongoing work with Ratchet & Clank has been exemplary. The gambolling Future series – which comes to a close with this month’s Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time – shows just what you can do when you know your market, nail down your philosophy and, above all, have just as much fun as you intend for your audience.

Playful

Alex Wiltshire — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:29:42 +0000

Playful was billed as a day of cross-disciplinary frolicking, and that description for this day of talks from various game designers, thinkers, drawers and makers was about right. Eclectic and all about videogames’ fringes, Playful, organised by games consultancy Pixel-Lab, was held in Conway Hall, near Holborn, on the last day of the London Games Festival and had the air of the optimism of a bushy bearded gathering of philanthropists.

Community Spotlight

Alex Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:15:03 +0000

The 8bit era is usually viewed with dewy-eyed affection, but as EvilRedEye discusses, it also produced some games that are probably best left there. Reacting to Arkedo’s Jump, made for Xbox Indie Games, he questions its lack of a save system – for if you run out of lives, you have to start over from level one. Making a game hard as a nod to nostalgia doesn’t seem to be the right approach.

Review: Fatale - Exploring Salome

Edge Staff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:33:56 +0000

Format: PC
Release: Out now
Publisher: Tale Of Tales
Developer: Tale Of Tales

Interview: Technology Strategy Board

Edge Staff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:04:13 +0000

While the UK games industry trade body TIGA continues to lobby hard for videogame tax relief, a government-backed organisation is actively courting the development community. Originally established in 2004 and funded by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has a remit to promote innovation within UK industry.