Looking for playtesters that are interested in point-and-click adventure games and providing feedback. Posted by mixelplixed on May 28th, 2025 Hello there! To celebrate the launch of the trailer for Okinawa Journal, the game has been opened up for playtesting. If anyone is interested in playing the game and providing feedback, please contact me at larry@miga.me or on Discord at Discord.gg. There are several slots open! I've been developing the game for the past 8 months or so and this is the second round of playtesting. My goal is to make something fun and memorable, not too difficult, and not easy to predict. There is quite of bit of lore and character building as well as some light puzzles and interesting interactions. I'm very open to any and all feedback, good and bad, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! All the best, Larry

More and more details are starting to surface regarding the upcoming Battlefield 6, with its widespread and ambitious playtesting program giving some fascinating early glimpses of the project. With it being possible that the game could release as soon as 2025, some fans are gearing up for the possibility of a major head-to-head between Battlefield 6 and 2025's Call of Duty entry, with these two titles potentially marking an important showdown in the longstanding rivalries between the two FPS giants.

Build A Rocket Boy has confirmed that the Arcadia creativity suite part of its Everywhere platform is now technically part of its upcoming action game MindsEye. Speaking to VGC, a spokesperson for the studio revealed that the tool – originally envisioned as being a central part of Everywhere – was further developed during the work being done on MindsEye, and is now known in the game as Play.MindsEye and Build.MindsEye. “As with all new products, things evolve,” said the spokesperson when asked about the current state of Everywhere and its Arcadia tools. “Arcadia was originally envisioned as our creation platform, but as we continued developing MindsEye and building out [Build A Rocket Boy]’s ecosystem, it naturally grew into something more focused— Play.MindsEye and Build.MindsEye.” “It’s three seamlessly interconnected experiences – an explosive action-adventure campaign; Play.MindsEye, a continuous stream of premium studio-developed content; and Build.MindsEye to craft your own games.” The spokesperson also mentioned that while the studio’s work originally started with playtesting features for Everywhere. This involved interacting with “a community of builders in real-time”, while the developers themselves had already started work on the project that would eventually become MindsEye. “For BARB to fully realize our vision, we had to beta test our creation system with a community of builders in real-time and started with Everywhere while we were in stealth mode developing MindsEye.” The situation is an interesting reversal of fate, since Build A Rocket Boy had originally announced Everywhere back in 2022 as its flagship product, with MindsEye originally meant to be released exclusively through Everywhere. However, IO Interactive announced back in 2024 that it would be taking over as the publisher for MindsEye, releasing it as a standalone title on PC and consoles. “We are honoured to be the global publishing partner working with Build A Rocket Boy’s exceptionally talented team and to bring our community an exciting new IP,” said IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak back when the partnership was originally announced. ” IO Interactive and Build A Rocket Boy are like-minded in how we aim to create a bond and a long-term relationship with our communities, which perfectly aligns with our commitment to delivering high-quality, immersive experiences to players worldwide. As our first publishing partnership, this marks a significant milestone for IO Interactive, and we could not be prouder of this collaboration.” Build A Rocket Boy, meanwhile, has been getting ready to release MindsEye on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on June 10. The game will combine open-world gameplay along with cover-based shooting with a vast arsenal, as well as driving sections involving high-speed car chases. Leading up to the game’s launch, the studio had released three teaser trailers for MindsEye, which focusing on a different aspect. While the first teaser focused completely on on-foot action in an open environment, the second teaser featured a car chase and conversation between two characters. The third one, released earlier this month, was yet another on-foot combat section, albeit this time around in a more closed-off environment. The marketing campaign for MindsEye has been a confusing one, complete with trailers getting leaked and strange comments by one of the studio’s heads. Check out our thoughts about what makes the title’s marketing a complete mess.

Hey there! Welcome to our weekly indie games roundup. We've got lots to get through this time, including some news before we highlight some brand-new games you can play right now. Indie journal publisher Lost in Cult is moving into physical game releases with a label called Editions. The focus here is on preservation — all of the games that it releases will be available to play offline, with no updates required. Physical game preservation team Does it Play? is playtesting each release. There are premium, limited-edition versions of each game with a slipcase cover, essay booklet, poster and more, as well as retail copies. There will be new releases every month, and the first batch includes a couple of humdingers: Immortality and Thank Goodness You're Here. The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, a point-and-click folk horror game rounds out the trio of debut titles. Really looking forward to seeing where Editions goes from here. The latest Six One Indie showcase took place this week. I've mentioned a game or two that was featured in it below (Game Informer has a list of all the announcements), but I just want to call out a couple of things here.  The score for 1000xResist, one of the best-received games of 2024, is getting a vinyl release in October. Pre-orders are open now. Also, the game that closed out the show has somehow flown under my radar. Dinoblade is an upcoming hack-and-slash action RPG that puts big blades in the jaws of big dinosaurs. Hell yeah. Meanwhile, the folks behind the showcase have set up their own publishing label, Six One Indie Publishing. We've got a ton of other gaming showcases coming up over the next few weeks as Summer Game Fest bobbles on the horizon. Fans of brainteasers may want to catch the Thinky Direct showcase from the Thinky Games community. The hour-long stream starts on May 29 at 1PM ET (just as the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase begins on Steam) It will focus on, you guessed it, puzzle games and other titles that should give your brain a workout. You'll be able to watch the stream on YouTube. Meanwhile, a fun showcase of spy games just premiered. The 25-minute video highlights games across several genres that are largely about snoopin' and sneakin'. All of them, including a bundle of the I Expect You To Die VR trilogy, are featured in the Spy Video Game Rendezvous festival on Steam. New releases Deliver At All Costs was among this week's newcomers. It's an action game in which you play a courier in the '50s. As the name suggests, your primary goal is to deliver your cargo, no matter what. Reviews are mixed for this one but, hey, it's free on the Epic Games Store until 11AM ET on May 29. You can also get it on Steam for 10 percent off the regular price of $30 for the time being. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Speaking of vehicle-oriented destruction, it can be a chore to get the first few Grand Theft Auto games running on modern hardware. I live for chaos and Maniac, from Transhuman Design and publisher Skystone Games, reminds me a bit of those early, top-down GTA entries (which were made in my hometown, fact fans). It's out now on Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, a little over a year after debuting on Steam. I can't promise it'll tide you over for a year until GTA 6 drops, but Maniac will run you just five bucks. Lynked: Banner of the Spark is a co-op action RPG that just came out of early access on Steam and landed on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. With its colorful visuals, it reminds me a bit of Hi-Fi Rush, aesthetically. There's a town-building aspect to this as well. I didn't get around to digging into the game during early access. Reviews have been pretty solid so far, though, so I'm hoping to try out Lynked (from FuzzyBot and publisher Dreamhaven) soon. A few seconds into the latest trailer for Tales of Seikyu, I spotted a centaur, which was enough to catch my attention. This yokai fantasy life sim from ACE Entertainment and Fireshine Games is out now in early access on Steam. You can morph into other forms (including a slime!) to help with navigation and combat in this one. Centaurs and slimes, what's not to love? Here's one for the turn-based strategy/history enthusiasts out there. Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution (the debut game from Studio Imugi) sees you take control of units like a giant commandant mech in a battle for the future of France. Expect some political intrigue from this one, which is out now on Steam early access. Upcoming Chrono Odyssey has picked up plenty of momentum, as more than 400,000 people have already signed up to try it out. The horror-tinged, open-world MMORPG from Kakao Games and Chrono Studio will have a closed beta on Steam next month. It's also set to be featured at the Summer Game Fest Live showcase on June 6. The latest trailer looks deliciously creepy. Any game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi is worth paying attention to. Even more so when publisher Annapurna Interactive is on board. And when it's a game that has a "call unicycle" button, I'm triple sold. Life-sim To a T tells the story of a teenager whose body gets stuck in a T-pose, with their arms stuck out to the sides. Thankfully, they have a cute pup who helps them actually do things. A delightful demo is out now on Steam, and the game will hit PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 28. This one will be available day one on Game Pass. We've mentioned The Wandering Village a few times over the years and the game is finally coming out of early access on Steam on July 17. It'll also hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on the same day. This is a city-building sim that takes place on the back of a giant creature. I do enjoy the voxel destruction of sandbox heist game Teardown. So I was happy to hear that Tuxedo Labs and Coffee Stain are set to release another expansion next month. This time, we're going to space, as all great franchises (i.e the Leprechaun movies) eventually do. The Greenwash Gambit DLC will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on June 24. It'll cost $8, but owners of the season pass and ultimate edition will get access at no extra cost. Artis Impact's pretty pixel art made an immediate impression on me during the Six One Indie showcase. It took Malaysian solo developer Mas four years to make this cozy RPG, which is "set in a decaying world ruled by rogue AI." Although the game has a main, linear main path, there are side quests, hidden interactions and random events to experience. A demo for Artis Impact is out now, and the full game is coming to Steam on August 7.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/chaotic-deliveries-colorful-co-op-action-rpgs-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-140023626.html?src=rss

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Principal Level Designer to join an exciting new project and team, taking a guiding role in level design, world-building, and game structure on Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). The project is based at our studio in Sofia, Bulgaria. This can be discussed upon application.The successful candidate will drive strong, compelling level design, that enhances in-game encounters and the overall experience. They will also be responsible for enabling the game's overarching structure and its world architecture to a high standard, working closely with the leads to come up with ideas and processes to help the team to deliver on this.Key ResponsibilitiesOn a day-to-day basis you will:Own and help to define the world design rules, so that the LD's have the best practices and building blocks from which to create the worldBuild and own large features and map areas. Helping to lead and drive direction within the map teamAssist the leads on helping to establish the world’s lore, coordinating with Narrative to ensure we are creating a believable worldHelps to unblock and drive solutions for the level design teamCommunicates across teams, and between internal and external leadershipProvide guidance and mentoring to the level design teamWorks closely with the leads to develop strong processes for validating level design content, being an advocate for playtestingHelps to create User Stories, and contributes to roadmap planning and scope estimatesKnowledge, Skill and ExperienceEssentialExperienced in UE4/5Strong level of autonomy, can manage their own work, and act as a support for the team when neededExperienced building and owning more challenging levels for FPS charactersStrong single-player experience building levels within a narratively driven mission-based structureA highly experienced level designer, with one or more shipped AAA titles in a level design roleProficient at crafting 3d spaces using Unreal based tools, geometry scripting, and or Whitebox quality-based assetsKeen worldbuilding sensibilities that serve the gameplay requirements but also keeps in mind and compliments the artistic goals for the worldHub-like soft skills working and communicating within multi-disciplined feature teams or pods.Be an ambassador for the player experience. Highly tuned to the pacing feel, emotive response and interactive elements within the world and its threats to shape engaging and tense memorable momentsComfortable presenting to internal and external stakeholders, and documenting feedback from both to incorporate into day-to-day task workDesirableExperience developing a game's macro structure and hour-to-hour flowExperience creating a reusable level design library of modular kit piecesExperience in a mentoring roleComfortable planning and writing concise user stories in Jira that outline clear acceptance criteriaHave worked on a game with a focus on survival or stealthAbout Creative AssemblyCreative Assembly crafts deep and detailed games that last, entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades.We are all game makers and we care deeply about the experiences we create. We empower our teams to make significant contributions to our games, supported by skills development and growth opportunities.We are located in Horsham, UK and Sofia, Bulgaria.We offer many benefits to support you and your family including:Work from Anywhere for a temporary period each year (restrictions apply such as VISAs)Enhanced holiday allowance, maternity and paternity breaks, flexibility with our core hours, and no-notice holidaysBespoke relocation package for you and your dependentsPrivate medical and dental insurance, life insurance, permanent health insurance, critical illness cover and free health care screeningGenerous holiday allowance plus full studio closure over the Christmas and New Year period, and all Bank holidaysJoin our Diversity and Inclusion Network – an employee-led groupSeason ticket travel loans and cycle to work scheme with free bike servicing and discounted car valet service on siteWellbeing support and virtual confidential counsellingCommunity activities including parties, football and more.Our studio sites have disabled access.We are an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.Note to Recruitment Agencies: SEGA Europe Limited and our studios do not accept unsolicited candidate introductions from unauthorised third parties. For the avoidance of doubt, SEGA Europe is not liable for any fees, compensation or any other costs associated with the introduction of a candidate or recruitment services unless and until an agreement has been duly executed. Further details can be found here.

Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech GamingRumor Half-Life 3 Main Story Hook May Not Be Widely Appreciated – Rumor Francesco De Meo • May 23, 2025 at 08:27am EDT HLX, the game rumored to be the long-anticipated Half-Life 3, will feature a main story hook that may not be widely appreciated, according to rumors circulating online. As reported on the Half-Life subreddit, known leaker GabeFollower commented on the game's main hook during a livestream of another known Valve leaker, Tyler McVicker, saying that he thinks people may not like it. As leakers have been avoiding revealing story details, which are reportedly being discussed online in some circles, no other comment was provided, but it will be very interesting to see why this story hook may prove to be divisive, considering Valve's known rigorous playtesting process. Even if the main story hook of the game ends up being as divisive as suggested by GabeFollower's recent comment, there's no doubt that it probably wouldn't be a massive problem for a game like Half-Life 3 that many have been waiting for decades. Thankfully, it shouldn't take too long to learn more about this HLX project, rumored to be the third main entry in the series, as the game is undergoing playtesting for a possible Summer reveal and Winter release. Development is reportedly also close to completion, as the game is playable from beginning to end and the development team is focusing on optimization and polish, with content and mechanics already likely locked. HLX - Half-Life 3 isn't the only gaming project in development at Valve. Earlier this month, we learned that another project codenamed Tf is in the works, but being in a very early stage of development, it is impossible to learn what this project will be about. Products mentioned Deal of the Day Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Devlog #2 | Itch.io Repost posted in Cancel Me! - Devlog #2 | Itch.io Repost for project Cancel Me! Published May 19, 2025 Advertisement It's now been 4 weeks since I began working on my card game, Cancel Me!, themed around influencers and social media, and I have finished the 9 response cards for my upcoming prototype for playtesting sessions with friends and family. I still remember to update the image files available for download, too.Let me skim through a few of the cards:Arguable the most simple card, where the player being targeted with a Drama card gets to pass on it, and players vote on what happens next- the Drama card works or not. A common excuse, the "I got hacked!" card uses the phrase to block the Drama card being used against you.Another common excuse, except this time, it doesn't do a great job of blocking the Drama card.Very true, and it allows you to play a Drama card from your hand to play against the one who targeted you.I'm now switching focus to the Chaos cards which might have a purple theme (but you can comment design ideas), and it switches up the game like I told you in the last log.Thanks for reading! Stay alert for the devlog, consider giving this post a like or maybe even becoming a follower, and consider checking out my website.Cancel Me!: https://maven-builds.itch.io/cancel-me Comments Nobody has left a comment. You can be the first! You must log in to join the conversation. Don't have a GameDev.net account? Sign up!

Smitch The Unshakable Resolve of "this guy are sick" Member Apr 21, 2022 4,752 New ‘Marathon’ Info: Bungie Morale, Launch Worries And Changing Plans After a rough playtest and now plagiarism confirmation, Bungie is changing some Marathon plans and internally, things are bad. www.forbes.com Chaos has engulfed Bungie after an artist, ANTIREAL, came forward to accuse Bungie of ripping off her 2017 work as its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon was starting to take shape as early as 2018. Bungie admitted to the plagiarism, supposedly the work of one ex-artist, and promised to make things right, but the story gained traction among gaming outlets and reaction streamers alike, and it's poisoned the previous positive conversation about the aesthetic of the game. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I've spoken to some current and former employees about Bungie's excuse for the art theft, studio morale, the possibility of a delay and some very real changes when it comes to the upcoming presentation and playtesting of the game. Here's what I've learned: The public explanation for the art theft, one ex-employee taking things in 2020, is the same one being given internally at Bungie among the rank and file. Sony and Bungie legal are now sorting through this and there is unlikely to be any much new information as all of this continues to unfold. It is not clear how long an "audit" will take of the assets to remove or find any more plagiarism, as it's an expansive enough process to have Bungie not even show any footage at all in its recent livestream. Morale is in "free-fall" across all departments, and "the vibes have never been worse." Everyone has the same concerns about what happens to Bungie as a studio if Marathon bombs, which is something they absolutely cannot afford. There are not even hints or jokes about a delay from the September release date internally. With that said, it is entirely possible, if not likely, those conversations are happening privately between higher-up Sony and Bungie leadership. It's unclear what the plan is to launch the game in a "now actively hostile environment" just a few months from now, or how to turn that around. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Some changes to future plans had been made even before this new plagiarism development. Mainly as a reaction to gameplay footage and now the Closed Alpha. At the start of this month Bungie pulled the plug on its main Marathon marketing plan which was going to have a new trailer in June along with the launch of pre-orders. The whole campaign needs to be reworked now. A heavily marketed Public Beta in August may be changed into a "roadmap of public playtests" with no actual details set yet. This would align with Bungie's stated multiple opportunities to play before launch, rather than just the upcoming Beta. Marathon was originally pitched by higher-up "good old boy" Bungie leadership and as far back as five years ago devs were telling them what would and wouldn't work and were often ignored. Many have said previously that it needed to have some sort of PvE component. Click to expand... Click to shrink...   Crossing Eden Member Oct 26, 2017 58,458 It's a shame what has happened to Bungie. Since their inception every single one of their titles has had development woes and issues and that shadow has been steadily catching up to them since they left Halo, most especially when it comes to their tech debt and how much of a hinderance that must be for production. It's so strange because when you actually play Bungie games there are often few signs of the dev issues but now it's like, "Hey btw if you get this game you're gonna be pretty lost because they removed the intro campaign."  Last edited: Yesterday at 11:04 AM Maelstrom Member Apr 22, 2025 95 This sucks, for everyone. I hope their studio will be stronger after this.   Red Kong XIX Member Oct 11, 2020 13,234 They probably have to delay it.   maze001 Member Sep 18, 2024 628 Crazy thing is even if they delay 6 months that means Arc Raiders and Tarkov (Steam release) will be out by then and it will put Marathon closer to GTA6 and maybe Fairgames release dates so it may end up even worse for them.   Jagi Member May 6, 2025 43 Whatever it may be, the livestream yesterday made it insanely difficult for Sony and Bungie lawyers to create a narrative of their own. Its all in 4K: the accusation, the admittance, even the trial was online yesterday. If they could've saved face, yesterday stripped them naked of all absolution.  Vourlis Member Aug 14, 2022 5,836 United States Sometimes it's just amazing that anything gets made, ever.   MANTRA Member Feb 21, 2024 1,113 maze001 said: Crazy thing is even if they delay 6 months that means Arc Raiders and Tarkov (Steam release) will be out by then and it will put Marathon closer to GTA6 and maybe Fairgames release dates so it may end up even worse for them. Click to expand... Click to shrink... *If* the delay results in a better product I think thats a worthy trade-off imo. Miyamoto quote etc.   Mini-Me Member Oct 25, 2017 1,126 I genuinely don't know what they do with this. Any delays would need to be significant enough to add and/or re-tool a lot of content to make it more exciting and more than just a basic ass extraction game but then that puts it closer to something like GTA (unless they delay by a year or more which seems unlikely). Not delaying seems like a death sentence. Not delaying and launching it instead as an early access title or something like that also seems futile. The entire thing seems doomed to fail, especially as public sentiment online nowadays is so, so hard to turn around.   Gamer @ Heart Member Oct 26, 2017 11,418 Red Kong XIX said: They probably have to delay it. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Unless they have a magical way of generating hundreds of millions in revenue the rest of the fiscal year, then that means Bungie leadership will likely get pushed out by Sony. They have metrics to meet to stay whatever ridiculous floundering semi independent status they are in. Which is probably a good thing  IDontBeatGames ThreadMarksman - Saved Transistor's sanity twice Member Oct 29, 2017 21,030 New York MANTRA said: *If* the delay results in a better product I think thats a worthy trade-off imo. Miyamoto quote etc. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I don't disagree but I do wonder if this entire fiasco ends up sticking around Marathon like a bad cloud even if it gets delayed a few months, meaning like, I wonder if folks will choose to not actively support it even if the game is delayed a few months and gets fixed due to all of this.   ianpm31 Member Oct 27, 2017 7,397 Probably getting delayed. I don't understand Bungie at all. Just make Destiny 3 along with a single player co op project like the halo days.  Man Called Aerodynamics Member Oct 29, 2017 8,315 Everyone has the same concerns about what happens to Bungie as a studio if Marathon bombs, which is something they absolutely cannot afford. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I just don't understand how a big studio with so much history and talent gets to a place where they're betting the entire farm on this one risky project.  Truant Member Oct 28, 2017 6,914 If they play this right this might be just what this game needs.   maze001 Member Sep 18, 2024 628 Mini-Me said: I genuinely don't know what they do with this. Any delays would need to be significant enough to add and/or re-tool a lot of content to make it more exciting and more than just a basic ass extraction game but then that puts it closer to something like GTA (unless they delay by a year or more which seems unlikely). Not delaying seems like a death sentence. Not delaying and launching it instead as an early access title or something like that also seems futile. The entire thing seems doomed to fail, especially as public sentiment online nowadays is so, so hard to turn around. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah, given a lot of the feedback I've heard it doesn't seem like a September > March delay would give them enough time to spice the game up beyond super basic extraction shooter. They would definitely need more time than that.   Lowrys Member Oct 25, 2017 14,650 London Jagi said: Whatever it may be, the livestream yesterday made it insanely difficult for Sony and Bungie lawyers to create a narrative of their own. Its all in 4K: the accusation, the admittance, even the trial was online yesterday. If they could've saved face, yesterday stripped them naked of all absolution. Click to expand... Click to shrink... What trial?   ElFly Member Oct 27, 2017 3,719 ianpm31 said: Probably getting delayed. I don't understand Bungie at all. Just make Destiny 3 along with a single player co op project like the halo days. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I think the cost of developing Destiny 2 constantly has scared them of single player or PvE elements it's why Marathon is strongly oriented towards PvP, cause making campaigns or tons of maps for one story event or animating NPCs is expensive. Meanwhile people are still playing Counterstrike. They want that level of non production. Maybe they can put new guns into it constantly, that's one thing they've learned to do predictably at Destiny. But that seems to be the level of investment they want to put in.  Mini-Me Member Oct 25, 2017 1,126 maze001 said: Yeah, given a lot of the feedback I've heard it doesn't seem like a Sept > March delay would give them enough time to spice the game up beyond super basic extraction shooter. They would definitely need more time than that. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah I put about 8 hours into the alpha and the game just does not have much of anything going on. It feels akin to something like DMZ in COD or whatever the Battlefield extraction mode was in that it's a mostly fine but very simple extraction mode that's part of a larger package of multiplayer and single player offerings. Except in Marathon's case that's it, that's all they have. I don't think 3 extra months fixes anything. I don't even think 6 months fixes anything.   theSoularian Member Oct 25, 2017 3,942 ianpm31 said: Probably getting delayed. I don't understand Bungie at all. Just make Destiny 3 along with a single player co op project like the halo days. Click to expand... Click to shrink... If only it was that simple. A Destiny 3 would be years away.  Chumunga64 Member Jun 22, 2018 17,133 Sony should have really noticed the red flags when Microsoft, during the time they were buying everyone didn't even entertain the thought of buying the studio that gave them the franchise that prevented the xbox brand from being dead on arrival   wellpapp Member Aug 21, 2018 528 Gothenburg My gut feeling says it's going to bomb in Sony's eyes regardless.   Risev "This guy are sick" Member Oct 27, 2017 3,889 theSoularian said: If only it was that simple. A Destiny 3 would be years away. Click to expand... Click to shrink... If they started right now? It would take 5 years minimum most likely. But the wish would be that they would have started working on a Destiny 3 years ago, just like they did Destiny 2. I just don't understand why they didn't take Destiny through that same few steps. Those were Destiny's best and most successful years.  Zok310 Member Oct 25, 2017 6,019 Gamer @ Heart said: Unless they have a magical way of generating hundreds of millions in revenue the rest of the fiscal year, then that means Bungie leadership will likely get pushed out by Sony. They have metrics to meet to stay whatever ridiculous floundering semi independent status they are in. Which is probably a good thing Click to expand... Click to shrink... They got that covered with the Destiny stans, just drop a "new strike" that we already paid for into D2 and 1 billion dollars overnight.   DieH@rd Member Oct 26, 2017 12,012 Hopefully they'll pull through, D2 is great to play but it's hard to attract new players due to large amount of expansions, vaulting, and complicated UI/progression. I still play it regularly, and the upcoming expansions sound interesting. Marathon looks nice, but I'm mostly solo player...  Dekuman Member Oct 27, 2017 20,993 Sony throwing good money after bad. The whole live service push has been a boondoggle. Wiping off years of PS profits off the books.  Mr.Deadshot Member Oct 27, 2017 23,141 These mega studios need to get a grip. They need to make smaller scale games with a clear vision and focus. They can expand on that. And they fore sure need to steer away from chasing the "forever" game bullshit. Right now it feels like Marathon will be delayed for 6-12 months and then bomb anyway. It would be nice if Bungie could salvage the art and make a true Marathon 4 but we all know that won't happen in nowadays industry.  Audiblee Member Mar 14, 2025 1,461 It was in trouble before the theft was discovered. Reaction to the alpha was mid at best.   Smokey Member Oct 25, 2017 4,471 Chumunga64 said: Sony should have really noticed the red flags when Microsoft, during the time they were buying everyone didn't even entertain the thought of buying the studio that gave them the franchise that prevented the xbox brand from being dead on arrival Click to expand... Click to shrink... They did entertain it though. The only reason they didn't is because Bungie wanted to "independently publish and creatively develop our games", which MS wasn't willing to do iirc  GameAddict411 Member Oct 26, 2017 10,093 I just don't see a happy ending for the studio and the victims in the end will be all the devs. We all know all the shitty executives will get golden parachutes.   super-famicom Avenger Oct 26, 2017 30,483 Man Called Aerodynamics said: I just don't understand how a big studio with so much history and talent gets to a place where they're betting the entire farm on this one risky project. Click to expand... Click to shrink... It's not the same Bungie that existed 15+ years ago. Upper management changed, along with what they valued and wanted to focus on. Other employees changed too.  Sydle Member Oct 27, 2017 4,576 It's crazy to me that they didn't start on Destiny 3. If the formula was tuned a bit, I feel like it has an incredibly high shot of being another cash cow. Chumunga64 said: Sony should have really noticed the red flags when Microsoft, during the time they were buying everyone didn't even entertain the thought of buying the studio that gave them the franchise that prevented the xbox brand from being dead on arrival Click to expand... Click to shrink... Isn't the rumor that Microsoft was in talks, but thought the asking price was too high? With the Xbox division's increasing focus on their studios having to each be financially healthy I'm not sure Bungie would have been better off at MS. AAA development is so insanely expensive now that it demands to be run like any other business with a ton of cash at stake. Ultimately, it seems like Bungie leadership needs a shakeup.  Jarmel The Jackrabbit Always Wins Member Oct 25, 2017 22,658 New York Mini-Me said: Yeah I put about 8 hours into the alpha and the game just does not have much of anything going on. It feels akin to something like DMZ in COD or whatever the Battlefield extraction mode was in that it's a mostly fine but very simple extraction mode that's part of a larger package of multiplayer and single player offerings. Except in Marathon's case that's it, that's all they have. I don't think 3 extra months fixes anything. I don't even think 6 months fixes anything. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I'm thinking full year delay.   Billfisto Member Oct 30, 2017 17,859 Canada I'm livid that they tacked the Marathon name onto this for basically no reason and now it's absolutely poisoning it. We're never going to get a "proper" Marathon sequel because this entire ill-advised excursion has made the name so toxic that they'll never be able to justify using it again to the money people, even if they wanted to.  Tobor Died as he lived: wrong about Doritos Member Oct 25, 2017 34,006 A new actual Marathon game, or even a full remake, would have been a big deal and had lots of people talking about Bungie being back. But no, let's do an extraction shooter.  Killer Member Oct 27, 2017 2,961 Bungie's fate hang on Marathon. That really grim. People from the other thread said if it bombed Bungie will be fine   Kyuuji The Favonius Fox Member Nov 8, 2017 38,287 Whole situation is shit. It was troubling enough following the feedback from the alpha but art theft at the scale found, in a game sold and hyped on its aesthetic, is a disaster. I don't know how you get back to good will on that, let alone in 4 months. Obviously it has to start with making the situation with Antireal right, but past that it still feels like a mammoth task with where general sentiment is at after it all. This is as someone who loved the alpha and was completely sold on the game. I still can't get my head around not having had Destiny 3 being developed in the background to baton-pass to following the conclusion of The Final Shape.  DieH@rd Member Oct 26, 2017 12,012 Sydle said: It's crazy to me that they didn't start on Destiny 3. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Destiny 2 was a mandate from Activision, but IMO, that was just just another in a row of expansions. I don't think D3 is coming, but they need better way to onboard new players.  Steamy Manatee ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 18, 2022 2,949 Bungie's legal team is in deep trouble to say the least. They will have to audit every single texture in the game in probably less than two weeks while getting absolutely railed by Sony management who will intervene and reprimand them. Direction at Bungie should definitely use this is a (great) excuse to delay the game. But also if the marketing plan is being reworked from scratch mid-May, I think this means the game is definitely getting delayed. Either way, I feel so bad for the team. I know the feeling of working on something you just know it's not going to work out well. The odds of success were stacked against them, now it feels like it is almost impossible unless they delay to Q1 2026 before GTA VI  Last edited: Yesterday at 11:35 AM 03-AALIYAH Member Jul 21, 2023 1,367 ianpm31 said: I don't understand Bungie at all. Just make Destiny 3 along with a single player co op project like the halo days. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Not an expert, but I don't understand why they didn't choose to pursue that option years ago as Destiny seems to still have a large fanbase ?   DrScruffleton Member Oct 26, 2017 14,856 How do you release, let alone on time, after the art situation? Just try to pay off the artist as quickly as possible?   artsi Member Oct 26, 2017 3,368 Finland I hope I'm wrong but my feeling is that Bungie is done already. This game will be the final nail in the coffin.   Mifec Member Oct 25, 2017 19,347 Smokey said: They did entertain it though. The only reason they didn't is because Bungie wanted to "independently publish and creatively develop our games", which MS wasn't willing to do iirc Click to expand... Click to shrink... They would only pay 2bil max and wanted exclusivity was the rumor yeah. Well once this flops and they're reassigned there goes the exclusivity too.  ElFly Member Oct 27, 2017 3,719 Killer said: Bungie's fate hang on Marathon. That really grim. People from the other thread said if it bombed Bungie will be fine Click to expand... Click to shrink... to be fair, they always say this to make the employees work extra hours and then they fire them anyway  Bardeh Member Jun 15, 2018 3,827 I'm amazed that a studio the size and pedigree of Bungie, after 5+ years of development, isn't more confident in the direction of this project. The bones and foundation should be absolutely rock solid by now. They should be immutable. These final months should be 'betas' that are stress tests and marketing tools (like ARC Raiders recent test was, to huge success) to build up to release as final tweaks and bugfixes are made. Instead the feedback from the Alpha seems to have shaken them and thrown things into disarray, even before the plagiarism shitshow made things even worse. It really looks like the whole project has been absolutely terribly managed, and a whole lot of money and time spent on something that still doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Things aren't looking good.  Man Called Aerodynamics Member Oct 29, 2017 8,315 Jarmel said: I'm thinking full year delay. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Perfect, it can release once Arc Raiders is already well entrenched.   Mini-Me Member Oct 25, 2017 1,126 Jarmel said: I'm thinking full year delay. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Mhm, they need a lot of time to get away from the discourse and add in a ton of extra content. But a year is a massive delay and I doubt it gets that   Lampa Member Feb 13, 2018 4,003 I dunno, I don't think they can delay it. They probably should, but at some point a product has to come out from Bungie and we know they have a lot of them in development, They have to start making money, Destiny certainly won't be carrying all those projects in development anymore.   Jarmel The Jackrabbit Always Wins Member Oct 25, 2017 22,658 New York Man Called Aerodynamics said: Perfect, it can release once Arc Raiders is already well entrenched. Click to expand... Click to shrink... If they can't outshine Arc Raiders then they were cooked anyway. It's not like they're first to market regardless and Tarkov is the market leader. Mini-Me said: Mhm, they need a lot of time to get away from the discourse and add in a ton of extra content. But a year is a massive delay and I doubt it gets that Click to expand... Click to shrink... 6 months pushes it right into GTA. 9 is possibly but GTA Online might be really ramping around then. It's not how much time the game needs but GTA looming in the background.   Lampa Member Feb 13, 2018 4,003 Bardeh said: I'm amazed that a studio the size and pedigree of Bungie, after 5+ years of development, isn't more confident in the direction of this project Click to expand... Click to shrink... It was rebooted last year or so, when they replaced the director and some other top people on the project.   IMCaprica Member Aug 1, 2019 10,982 Should we have taken it as a sign that the project that was reported on as being the studio's favorite (Gummy Bears) was the one that got that team spun-out into their own PlayStation studio away from Bungie? Billfisto said: I'm livid that they tacked the Marathon name onto this for basically no reason and now it's absolutely poisoning it. We're never going to get a "proper" Marathon sequel because this entire ill-advised excursion has made the name so toxic that they'll never be able to justify using it again to the money people, even if they wanted to. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Tobor said: A new actual Marathon game, or even a full remake, would have been a big deal and had lots of people talking about Bungie being back. But no, let's do an extraction shooter. Click to expand... Click to shrink... What would honest expectations for that game be, given that Bungie as a studio hasn't made a game like that in 15 years?  

Author My thoughts are:A FPS is very much a kill frenzy. Agility alows you to survive and win. When combat got better in FPS games, better sounds, better character and level design, down times have been introduced. Now you had to reload your weapon , half life for instance, and strafe during combat wasn’t required anymore.  A RTS has a diferent dynamic. You have not one but several machineguns, not one but several cannons. In a RTS you are also building momentum. There is no killing at the beggining of the game for instance. When you build something in a RTS you can see a direct consequence of your actions. You build a refinery, you can start gathering oil right away. You build an archery, you can start producing archers right away. But good RTS games have down times that “make no sense”. You need to deploy a tank to improve the fire range. Or you need to build a suplly depot to be albe to keep producing units. A supply depot provides no upgrades and doen’t produce units. It’s a wait time “just because”. My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive?  Calin said:But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? Be your own betatester. : )It's simple: Current AAA game is made by hundreds of people. One does not know what the others do. Decisions made are implemented by somebody down the hierarchy. It's chaos out of control, and thus those hundreds of devs need hundreds of betatesters to figure out if their game even eventually works.But if you make your game as a single person, you have everything under control. You have an idea, you implement it, you see yourself if it works as desired and how it feels. No need for additional testers. Ofc. you'll show your game to others and observe their responses if you can, but it's not a requirement.That's just personal opinion ofc. Advertisement Author >Be your own betatesterHahaIs willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American?  Calin said:Is willingnes to take a survey a chatacteristic of a good American? Haven't seen a lot of good americans recently : / Author >Haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyTrying to mind my own business but you should keep the faith Author >haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recentlyDoes it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey?  Advertisement Calin said:>haven’t seen a lot of good Americans recently Does it mean you have seen people turning down requests to take a survey? No, but i've seen an american president applauding another nostalgic dictator on invading the continent of his ancestors, treating his neighbors like shit, doing damage to the whole world for nothing, and playing golf while tzar bombs getting ready.But well, it's never to late to learn. Maybe things improve.Otherwise, my ragdolls can walk now and making them run wont be too hard. Shooting is easy. Maybe i should head some kilometers eastwards to ask if they want to build some biped drones as well.Keep working on skynet. We might need it soon. In case forum hides my posted image again, this is Arnie. Good American. Calin said:My question is how do you decide numbers like building and unit build time or building and unit build cost? Factors like this are fine tuned by taking into account betatesters feedback, I understand that. But is betatesters or user feedback the only factor that is decisive? That kind of tuning is part of what designers do.Often up front everything is cranked up to extreme values just to find how big the fun and oddity can be. During play crank the super-sprint feature so you can run across the map faster than it loads. Adjust the super-strength feature to the point where bumping into something is an insta-kill, bumping into trees knocks them down, take out a building by touching it.  It feels absurd when playing, but it's important do experiment around it.Designers will continue to fine tune values through development and even into launch. In highly competitive games designers might adjust by very tiny amounts to adjust balance, reducing the timing of something by a frame based on what they see players doing, or nudging points up or down. Often players talk about their favorite thing being ‘nerfed’ or ‘buffed’ when it happens.  Generally no single thing is authoritative.  Feedback from playing the game themselves, feedback from QA, feedback from playtests, feedback from data of how players are playing, the way the game feels in practice, all of them provide valuable information.Usually designers try to establish some sort of power curve that fits the game. Maybe a weapon that takes X ms per shot should do X*Y damage, so a rapid fire gun feels like a peashooter, a gun with a 2 second windup could destroy a tank, but they're also fairly balanced so if you hit with the peashooter for exactly 2 seconds you do about the same damage.   Maybe different systems generate resources at a given rate, but across the board everything that costs X generates Y resources per minute, the upgraded level of the tools that costs 2X generates about 4Y resources, the third upgrade that costs 4X generates about 16Y resources.  They figure it out for the game.For other types of balancing, such as the draw to pick certain behaviors versus other behaviors, that's again something done through iteration and playtesting. If an AI system isn't picking a behavior, nudge it.  Working on The Sims, the designers would put a few objects on the lot and watch as Sims interacted with it, based on the attributes the object would interact with. They might put 3 different exercise items on a lot with an active-traited sim, crank the speed up, and watch how often they use them all versus do different things. For entertainment objects, are they using it about the same as other entertainment objects, for food objects are they using it about the same as other food objects.  How does the draw for the object measure up compared to higher priority tasks like a timer to go to work or go to school? For larger games people in QA and design are playing the game constantly to get a feel for how the balance works. For AAA games everyone in the QA teams generally are asked about balance, and in meetings they discuss when something feels like it is too much or too little, and designers adjust them constantly.It's also important to build a range of probability distribution tools so designers can adjust probability. Not just random in a range, but the basics of uniform distributions, weighted value distributions, constant curves, logarithmic curves, Gaussian and/or Poisson and binomial distribution curves, sigmoids, control points on a spline for distribution, and whatever tools the developers can give to the designers that improves that game. In short-term games where you play a match like RTS games, you also want power levels to continue increasing over time to help avoid a stalemate. In an RTS you want pieces to keep escalating until both sides are pumping out nuclear bombs with their collection of nuclear bomb factories, the entire game is about churning out the high-power game ending units without an error. Or like FPS games with a “storm” where players get forced into smaller regions where they can't avoid each other plus must continuously travel around the board or lose. If the storm is closing around you the decision to take the high option or the low option can make the difference between having an escape route or facing death when the storm moves again.  Or like high-level multiplayer Tetris, at some point even record-holding players are no longer focused on screwing over the opponent through attack moves but entirely focused on not making an error with what the game is constantly throwing at them. Instead of being about one player triggering a dump on their opponent, it becomes about raw survival against the breakneck pace of the game, the first player who doesn't play perfectly loses.  How and when to make those shifts is part of game balancing. Author >I’ve seen an american prezident aplauding another nostalgic dictatorNo one is perfect.>designers workOk I get it. An orc programmer would say “I don’t work with that kind of numbers”…Setting those numbers is very easy, a designer must fill the remaining part of the day with something. My guess is he must be filtering through a ton of statistics provided by betatesters. After changing the numbers in question, a designer probably runs some kind of rudimentary battle autocalc ( That’s a term from Heroes of Might and Magic). Waiting the results of a betatesting match ( battle between human players) takes too much time. They are probably relying on something else not just on betatesting. 

In this guest post, Owlchemy Labs Accessibility Product Manager II Jazmin Cano dives deep into how the team used Unity to develop an all-new vision accessibility update for Cosmonious High in virtual reality (VR).At Owlchemy Labs, we have made a dedication in our Accessibility Statement to the pursuit of creating VR games for everyone. Historically, our team has prioritized making significant strides in unsolved areas of accessibility in VR including subtitles, physical accessibility, and height accessibility. We encourage every developer to create with accessibility in mind, and actively incorporate accessibility into our games at launch and through post-launch updates.For our last accessibility update to Cosmonious High, we added a range of gameplay options, including one-handed controller mode, seated player mode, subtitling, and more. If a game can only be played by an audience with no disabilities, it is a sign of an unfinished product. We take pride in forging new paths through research, testing, and partnerships to ensure gaming is available to the widest possible audience.When we started our research in developing for blind and low-vision players, we found that the main issue was the inability to follow a storyline or in-game directions.Oftentimes, there is no subtext available for all of the scenes in a game, and different scenes are used to advance the story. A storyline could be complex and challenging to follow without context or subtext. Other aspects of a game, like completing a puzzle or a task, become difficult when not all pieces are clearly visible for players or when vital clues are given without any text or visual queues.From our research, we found it was important to create a way for players to receive game information through audio descriptions using Text To Speech (TTS). Most people who are blind or have low vision use assistive technology called screen readers, which allows them to navigate screens with a keyboard, and their computer or phone will read out the text. Our game features are similar in the sense that they allow players to navigate virtual spaces using their hands or a joystick as methods for reading out objects and descriptions. Each feature is built to follow expectations regarding screen-reader standards, such as ducking non-TTS audio and allowing the user to cancel TTS mid-description.We haven’t seen narration or TTS in other released VR games before, so we knew launching our approach for accessibility in this area – after researching best practices and playtesting with those who are legally blind or have low vision – would benefit the industry.Developing for blind and low-vision players isn’t just adding audio cues and options. Blindness is a spectrum, and creating gameplay in a way that is fully inclusive of blind and low-vision players also includes feeling and seeing.To accomplish this, we developed more haptic feedback as a method to identify an object when a player highlights it. This is particularly important when a player is completing a puzzle. Players can identify an object and feel it when they have selected it.We’ve also added high-contrast object highlighting, which outlines key objects in the environment, making it easier for players to see the object and understand their selection with haptic feedback.To bring this all together, we incorporated a Grab-and-Release confirmation. Using this, players will receive haptic feedback when highlighting an object that is shown through high-contrast object highlighting, and audio will play to inform them when an object has been grabbed and released.When we started developing this update, we anticipated a few challenges, ranging from design decisions to playtesting. Thankfully, we had a great start to the project after meeting with Steve Saylor, a video game accessibility consultant who is blind. Consulting with Steve, we were able to identify the features we would need and what expectations someone with low vision would have. We did a lot of research, experimentation, and testing to determine what worked best and what we could execute successfully.For the vision accessibility update, we knew we needed to branch out when finding playtesters with low vision to help provide valuable feedback and help with our design. We teamed up with VROxygen to find a group of playtesters with blindness and low vision to provide feedback on our iterations and help us prioritize improvements we needed to make, which worked out well. Opening testing to remote players from anywhere in the world allowed us to get a wide range of perspectives on the project, with feedback coming from people with varying levels of vision.The path to creating this update offered some challenges to consider. Sometimes, what seems like the most obvious answer is not always the best one, especially when developing for accessibility. We took the time to work through each aspect of this update to make sure the features we were adding worked well for those who needed it most.When we enabled TTS early in the project, we started with automatic narration. This meant that any object a player’s hands waved over would be described, even if that meant speaking on top of a previous description that may still be going. For audio descriptions to be valuable, they need to be heard without other audio fighting for priority.This resulted in a few changes that worked well in playtesting. For example, we decided to add a button press to activate descriptions instead of having them read automatically, which led to a more comfortable experience. This gives players agency when deciding if a description is read to them when their hand is placed over an object or pointing at something in the distance. It also prevents accidental TTS from happening if a player moves their hand over objects they didn’t mean to have read.While TTS describes the name of the object and a visual description, it doesn’t take very long. Even with short descriptions, though, we know people would want behavior similar to a screen reader (i.e., the ability to cancel audio while it’s being read).Another thing we learned with regards to audio is the importance of lowering it so that the lower volume allows the TTS audio descriptions to have priority. We ran into a problem where TTS can be triggered during an interaction with an NPC, making the NPC’s dialog quieter and easy to miss. At this time, players are not able to “rewind” or “retrigger” the same audio to play; however, players can wave their hands and NPCs will respond back to help.But one of the hardest parts about building features like these is making sure they will actually help users who need them. The best way of determining usefulness for new accessibility features is through testing. Of course, being able to quickly make new builds for all of our platforms after each round of feedback and development was essential to making this update the best it could be. One unlikely tool we found useful for fast iteration on our designs was Unity's Post-Processing Stack.Before sending builds to playtesters, our developers wanted to test the effectiveness of features internally. Since many of our developers are sighted, we used the Post-Processing Stack and created entries in our debug menu that allowed us modify the visual clarity of what we were seeing in the headset. This helped our developers simulate roughly what it is like to have different levels of reduced vision while playing the game. Since we could now rapidly identify and tackle the most obvious issues, we were able to iterate on designs more quickly and make sure we were getting the most out of the external playtest sessions with blind and low-vision testers.In developing this update, we learned good design practices for blind and low-vision accessibility that we’ll use in future games. One of those learnings comes from an approach that started long before this update.Our developers create with accessibility in mind, and we’ve learned from each accessibility update that starting a project with this approach makes developing future accessible features much easier. For example, making sure objects have proper names and descriptions that are useful as alt text on images requires less effort and saves time.Having large objects and large text with good contrast makes a lot of a VR game’s world easier to see and read. Many players who described their vision as highly blurry could lean in and read much of the game’s text. Players who couldn’t fully make out text would then use the assist button to hear the words as needed.The text in Cosmonious High is stationary, so players don’t need to worry about it being at a fixed distance from their face, moving away from them as they continue to lean forward. One player commented that we made the game accessible before even thinking about vision accessibility as he described the size and colors in the world not specific to this update. While we appreciate the compliment, the design practice of making things larger and easier to distinguish is part of our development process – it’s in our developer documentation.Specific to this update, allowing players to decide when to get audio descriptions, allowing players to cancel audio, and keeping descriptions short with valuable information is key to giving players agency.Developing for blind and low-vision players has added to our arsenal of development tools. We hope to build upon our learnings in all areas of accessibility and plan to launch future titles with more accessibility included. We’re excited to share this update of Cosmonious High as a continuation of our mission to make VR for everyone.Owlchemy Labs’ Cosmonious High is available on multiple platforms. Check out more blogs from Made with Unity developers here.