Category: Gamespot

A researcher in Australia want to know: What is the environmental impact of the video game industry, and what do game developers themselves think about their carbon footprint?

Researcher Dr. Ben Abraham from the University of Technology in Sydney (UTS) is calling on game developers to weigh in as part of a new research project that aims to “create a snapshot of the energy intensity of contemporary video game development in the workplace where games are actually made.”

To do this, Abraham is looking for first-hand information from game development studios regarding their carbon emissions policies and practices.

In addition to that kind of numerical data, the study is looking for respondents to speak about the “attitudes of game developers towards the potential environmental impacts of their work.” The survey is asking for developers to discuss their level of interest and concern about climate change and carbon emissions that are created by the game development industry.

“This research is being conducted to find out about the energy use and associated carbon emissions of digital game production both in individual workplaces and across the sector as a whole,” reads a line from the survey. “The research aims to find out what game developers are doing to reduce their carbon footprint in order to inform future research and policy decisions that aim to support sustainable game development practices.”

Abraham is looking to collect information about the energy usage of a game studio, what workplace policies might be in place regarding carbon emissions, and policies about other environmental issues such as recycling and powering off computers at night.

Abraham said developers can take part in the survey without identifying themselves or their employer if that is of concern, though he added it may not always be possible to protect the identity of participants.

In 2019, the United Nations announced an initiative called “Playing for the Planet,” which saw gaming giants like Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, and Niantic announce plans to work together to come up with best practices for reducing the environmental impact of the video game industry. Nintendo is missing from the alliance but the company already operate an Environment Committee at the company’s headquarters in Japan, while each of its overseas subsidiaries have their own committees that look into environmental impact in their regions.

Microsoft is producing 825,000 carbon-neutral Xbox game consoles as part of a pilot program that represents the first gaming consoles in history to bear that designation. As for Sony, the company has said the PlayStation 5 will be more environmentally friendly.

In total, the efforts undertaken by the 21 game companies is estimated to result in a “30 million ton reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030.” Additionally, “millions” of trees will be planted, while game companies will enact practices to do better in the areas of “energy management, packaging, and device recycling.”

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Doki Doki Literature Club, the much-loved, surprising 2017 visual novel, will receive new content in 2020. The game’s creator, Dan Salvato, has tweeted about his plans for 2020, expressing a desire to “reclaim his happiness” so that he can pass it onto others as well. Part of this will involve creating new content for Doki Doki Literature Club, although he says that he is not making a sequel.

It’s not clear if this means DLC for the game, which is free to play on Steam, or a standalone spin-off. The original game, which features twists and turns that we will not spoil here, is regarded well for how it plays on genre expectations.

Along with making new content for his smash hit, Salvato is working on a follow-up, which has been on hold for the last two years. In September 2018, Salvato posted on his personal site to let people know that he was busier than expected, which was delaying his follow-up game.

For more on visual novels, listen to our episode of GameSpot After Dark about the infamous KFC dating game.

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Masahiro Ito, the art director of both Silent Hill 2 and 3, is working on something new. The artist, who was last credited on Metal Gear Survive as a creature designer, has announced on Twitter that he’s been brought into a new project.

Ito has left Konami and has been working as a freelance artist, but he says that he is a “core member” of this new project. In the tweet, he says that he hopes the title “won’t be cancelled,” perhaps recalling the debacle with Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills and its 2015 cancellation.

In a follow-up tweet, Ito clarified that he could not talk about the project just yet.

The Silent Hill series, particularly the first three entries, have long been praised and celebrated for their twisted enemy designs and strong art direction. Ito was a monster designer and background artist on the first game before becoming art director of the second and third games; he has not served as the art designer on another project since.

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As 2019 winds down, it’s time to look ahead to 2020 and a whole new year of game releases. Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers is among the many titles already scheduled to be released in the new year; below, we’ve outlined everything we know about the upcoming game.

If you haven’t been keeping track, 2020 is looking to be one of the most jam-packed years for new game releases we’ve seen in a while. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all delivering brand-new IPs and long-awaited sequels to fan-favorite first-party series. Third party developers are delivering too, both triple-A and indie. And, of course, there will be new consoles on the market. Marvel’s Avengers will have a lot of competition for player attention in 2020.

Announcement & Reveal

First announced in January 2017 with the codename The Avengers Project, Marvel’s Avengers remained fairly secret for years–the only concrete information revealed was that it was being developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, the same teams respectively behind the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy and Deus Ex series. It wouldn’t be until 2019 that more information would be released: that the game was officially called Marvel’s Avengers. The game was then officially unveiled and shown off for the first time at E3 2019.

Initial reactions for the game were mixed–we here at GameSpot weren’t sure what the game even was upon seeing it behind closed doors. Based solely on the announcement trailer, Marvel’s Avengers seemed to be a superhero game where you played missions as the titular characters in levels that included both button-mashing combat segments and scripted, on-the-rails platforming/flight sections. The trailer released fresh off the heels of the widely popular Avengers Endgame, and some fans weren’t too thrilled with the stylistic choices taken with the Avengers’ new designs. Square Enix went on record saying the designs would stay, but, ultimately, the characters did get updated designs in future trailers, gameplay reveals, and press images.

Read More:

• Marvel’s Avengers Characters Have New(ish) Looks

What Is Marvel’s Avengers?

It wouldn’t be until Gamescom 2019 that we’d get a better idea as to what Marvel’s Avengers even is. Despite the title, the main focus of the game’s narrative does not actually focus on Earth’s mightiests heroes. Instead, the main character of Marvel’s Avengers is Kamala Khan, the second Ms. Marvel and the first openly Muslim character to headline a Marvel comic. Since her debut, Kamala has quickly become one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes, going on to receive a second comic run under a different writer and feature in numerous animated series and video games. She’s also getting a live-action TV series for Disney+, which will introduce the character to Disney’s MCU.

Marvel’s Avengers primarily follows on the heels of a reworked variation of the Inhumanity storyline, in which countless humans around the world suddenly discover they are Inhuman and develop superpowers. Kamala is one such Inhuman, developing shapeshifting abilities that she can utilize to grow in size and strength. Discovering a plot by the villainous H.I.V.E, Kamala attempts to reunite the disbanded Avengers, who went their separate ways after failing to stop a terrorist attack.

Gameplay wise, Marvel’s Avengers sees you take on missions as different superheroes–primarily Kamala, but you do play as Avengers and familiar faces from the Marvel universe as well–all of whom play differently. This opens up Marvel’s Avengers to different types of gameplay, ranging from high-action flight missions as Iron Man to more Batman: Arkham Trilogy-like stealth and combat sections as Black Widow. As a result, certain missions can only be tackled by specific characters. However, some missions will allow you to replay them with different characters from the in-game roster.

Marvel’s Avengers is being developed as a games-as-a-service title, with additional characters, missions, and cosmetics releasing after the game has launched. The game supports both single- and multiplayer; as well as both off- and online play.

Read More:

• Marvel’s Avengers First Prequel Comic Is Available Now
• Marvel’s Avengers Stars Ms. Marvel & 80 Years Of Comic History
• Marvel’s Avengers Game Will Get “Changes To Everything” Before Launch
• Marvel’s Avengers Gameplay, Story Details Shown At Comic-Con Panel
• Good News: Marvel’s Avengers Game Can Be Played Offline
• Marvel’s Avengers Game Has Microtransactions

What Characters Will Be Included In Marvel’s Avengers?

A complete list has yet to be revealed, but, so far, the following characters have been confirmed to be playable in Marvel’s Avengers. Note: Square Enix has teased Hawkeye as a playable character, but has asked fans to “stay tuned” for additional details.

Confirmed Playable Characters

• Captain America
• Iron Man
• Black Widow
• Hulk
• Thor
• Ant-Man
• Ms. Marvel

The following Marvel characters have been confirmed for Marvel’s Avengers as well, though no announcement has been made confirming whether or not they’re playable.

Additional Characters Confirmed To At Least Appear

• Taskmaster
• The Abomination

Read More:

• Marvel’s Avengers Game Characters: All The Superheroes Confirmed (So Far)
• Marvel’s Avengers Studio Head Talks Character Appearances, Crunch, And Squirrel Girl

When Will Marvel’s Avengers Release?

Marvel’s Avengers is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Google Stadia on May 15, 2020.

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Audio Logs is a show all about the magic of making games. It features the people that design and develop the experiences that we love, telling the stories of how they’re made. Making games is a long and difficult process where passionate people work tirelessly to overcome challenges, all so that we can be moved by unique games. We rarely see just how much care, thought, and attention goes into every element of the games we play, but Audio Logs aims to deliver some insight into that by giving creators a platform to tell their stories. This, we hope, will, in turn, let fans to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the games they hold dear.

In Audio Logs Season One, we delved into the creation of God of War, Dead Cells, Cuphead, Devil May Cry V, the Shadow of the Colossus remake, and Overwatch character Baptiste, as well as looking back at the career of Goichi “Suda51” Suda. Season 2 will be equally as exciting, and we’re starting with a big one!

The first episode of Audio Logs Season 2 is all about Death Stranding, a unique game and one of the most interesting of 2019. Discussing it are none other than legendary game developers Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa, who break down a pivotal scene from early on in the game. The duo lay out how it was created and reveal the thinking behind its direction, as well as detail how individual elements were designed and depicted.

The scene in question was first shown at The Game Awards in 2017 and, in Kojima and Shinkawa’s own words, encapsulates much of the overall Death Stranding experience. It shows Norman Reedus’s character, Sam Porter Bridges, encountering a BT and having to deal with the fallout of the event. This scene is densely packed with information about the science-fiction world that Death Stranding is set in, but it’s all intentionally placed to give players key information and hint at mysteries that will unfold over the course of the game.

Kojima and Shinkawa unpack the scene, pointing out the smaller details that may not be immediately apparent, explaining why they are important and relevant, and telling the stories of how they were created. For fans of Death Stranding–or Kojima Productions’ previous work–there’s plenty of fascinating insight into things such as why Sam is so frequently shown lying down, the reason the suits look the way they do, and different versions of the Odradek. Kojima also delves into some of the inspirations behind the game, telling stories such as how a bug led to one of the creepiest creatures in Death Stranding, and exploring the message he wants to send through the game.

This episode of Audio Logs is available to watch above, and you can also see it on YouTube, where Season 1 is available to watch. Be sure to subscribe to GameSpot on YouTube to see more episodes as they’re released every Sunday. You won’t want to miss it as the coming episodes will be focused on Control, Persona 5 Royal, Gears 5, and a few more surprises.

In GameSpot’s Death Stranding review, Kallie Plagge said it is a “hard game to absorb,” adding that its quirkier aspects “belie an otherwise very simple message” which becomes more apparent in its mundane moments. Moments such as “when you find a desperately-needed ladder left behind by another player or receive a letter from an NPC thanking you for your efforts are “positive without ignoring pain.” She continues: “In fact, it argues in both its story and its gameplay that adversity itself is what makes things worth doing and life worth living. It’s a game that requires patience, compassion, and love, and it’s also one we really need right now.”

Death Stranding was also highlighted as one of GameSpot’s favorite games of the year. “With our present being rife with political turmoil and a general feeling of angst towards our future, there’s a comfort that can be found in a routine and the positivity from others who come from different backgrounds,” said Alessandro Fillari. “Sam’s routine as a delivery man in a post-apocalyptic setting reveals its larger message of hope and perseverance in the face of depressing circumstances, which is a touching message that resonates deeply.”

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Google Stadia has finally added achievements to its games. You can now earn achievements in Stadia titles, and they’ll be retroactively awarded to players who have completed the tasks that achievements ask of them, meaning you won’t need to restart games to earn them.

There’s a catch, though–achievements are only live for users on Chrome browser or Chromecast. Mobile app users do not yet have access to achievements; they are coming in 2020, according to the latest Stadia Community round-up.

Players with access to achievements can view their three most recently earned achievements for the last game played on their profiles, or can examine individual games for more detailed pages and descriptions of the achievements they’ve earned, or their progress towards earning them. You can also view other player’s achievements if they have been made visible to you.

Not all games on Stadia are required to include achievements, and there are not associated points or values for each achievement as there are on Xbox. It’s a system more akin to Steam’s achievements.

Achievements are available now across Stadia’s launch line-up. They’re also available in the newly released Stadia versions of Borderlands 3, Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2, and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint.

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The recently announced remake of Resident Evil 3 is releasing for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 3, 2020. The title’s reveal, alongside its trailer, came as something of a surprise, but it makes sense–the Resident Evil 2 remake was a game of the year contender, and sold extremely well.

Now, thanks to one fan who got their hands on the latest issue of the Japanese games magazine Famitsu and helpfully translated an interview (as noticed by USGamer,) we’ve got some more details about Resident Evil 3. The magazine features an interview with producers Peter Fabiano and Masachika Kawata, who share some details about the game.

The game was codenamed “Escape” during development, and has come about due to high demand from fans, according to the Twitter thread. The game will follow the original, as the Resident Evil 2 remake did, but with changes and rearrangements “so that those familiar with the original could also enjoy it.” The game is reportedly 90% complete, so a delay is not expected.

Despite part of the trailer being in first-person, the game will be played from the over-the-shoulder perspective that RE2 also used. Jill’s outfit has been redesigned so that it “wouldn’t look uncomfortable” during action, as this game is “a lot more action-packed” than Resident Evil 2.

Carlos’ look has changed for this remake, but apparently his demeanor has as well, and he’s now more mature. Brad Vickers has apparently changed more substantially, and will have a different role in the remake, but the producers are not ready to talk about that yet.

The interview also promises that there will be plenty of maps for Resident Evil Resistance, the new multiplayer mode also included with Resident Evil 3.

For more on Resident Evil 3, see why it’s Mat Paget’s most anticipated game of 2020.

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Street Fighter V: Champion Edition is due next year for PS4 and PC, and it’s bringing back some key characters from past entries. Gill, the final boss from Street Fighter III, is coming back, and now Seth, who served the same function in Street Fighter IV, has been announced as well.

Seth has been shown off in the new trailer below. In addition to their fighting abilities, Seth can also now switch between an overtly masculine and feminine physical form. It’s not clear if this can happen mid-fight, or if you choose their appearance beforehand, although the costume selection presented in the trailer suggests that it might be the latter.

Seth, who can copy abilities from other fighters, also shows off their three V-Skills in the trailer–Tanden Engine, Tanden Maneuver, and Tanden Ignition. Multiple different costumes are shown at the end of the trailer, including a summer costume and one that comes from the game’s story.

Seth will be available alongside the Champion Edition when it launches on February 14, 2020.

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Silent Hills was never released, but thanks to the work of game hacker Lance McDonald, new details continue to emerge about the cancelled horror project. McDonald, who previously revealed that Lisa is right behind you as you play through P.T. (the game’s playable teaser,) has now uncovered the player model you’re controlling in-game.

McDonald, who also recently discovered some cut story content in Sekiro, has shown the character model off on Twitter. The identity of the character model shouldn’t serve as a huge surprise–it’s Norman Reedus, who pops up at the game’s conclusion. This is, however, the first real definitive confirmation that you’re embodying Reedus throughout the experience, even if that had been the assumption all along.

It’s a small reveal, but a meaningful one, considering that we will never get to experience Silent Hills in full–the next Silent Hill game will be a video slot machine.

Reedus would, of course, go on to start in Hideo Kojima’s new game, Death Stranding. Kojima has said that he would like to work with Reedus again, and has also suggested that he might return to horror in the future. It’s possible that we’ll still see Reedus getting spooked by Junji Ito-inspired ghouls eventually.

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Tekken 7 recently kicked off its third season with Zafina, and now the third and fourth fighters being added have been revealed. One’s returning to the series after some time away, but the other is brand new.

Returning to the world of Tekken is Ganryu, last seen in Tekken 6. He remains a bit of a goofy character, and his open-palm hits look pretty painful. He’s Tekken’s equivalent of E. Honda in the Street Fighter series, and it looks like he’s a streamer now. Here’s his character trailer.

The next all-new fighter for Tekken 7 is Fahkumram, a Muay Thai champion. His intimidating size and strange look is shown off in the trailer below, along with his punishing attacks. We wonder what the story is with those scars and throbbing veins. He’s the fourth and final character to be added this season.

Meanwhile, Leroy Smith–the second character added in season 3–got a release date. He’s coming December 10, and you can check out his moves (and his kickass theme song) in the video below.

Ganryu is due before the close of winter (meaning February 2020), and Fahkumram will arrive at a later date. The season pass will also give you access to frame data display and add an additional stage, both at a later date.

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