The Walking Dead and the Power of Choice
Telltale Games’ latest title, The Walking Dead, has garnered a lot of attention in the past year, and for good reason. The game offers an unflinchingly brutal take on the point-and-click adventure genre while capitalizing on a well-established intellectual property with poise and respect. For those unaware, The Walking Dead is a a downloadable (and, recently, disc-based) title that follows the story of Lee Everett, a history teacher from Atlanta charged with murdering a state senator who was having an affair with Lee’s wife. Lucky(?) for Lee, the zombie apocalypse… Read More »
The Essentiality of Difficulty in Video Games
Difficulty in video games is something that has, unfortunately, fallen by the wayside in favor of mass appeal and a low barrier to entry. While accessibility is an excellent concept that more core games need to embrace, accessibility at the cost of difficulty is a ruinous trend that only serves to remove the unique immersion that video games provide. Without difficulty and challenge, immersion and true “flow” are impossible to achieve, and as games become easier and simpler, developers have forgotten just how important difficulty truly is. Difficulty in games… Read More »
Industry Insider: Microsoft Pays $10 Million for 26 Million YouTube Views
Check out the second episode of Industry Insider podcast, from Pixel Enemy! Mark, Jay, and I evaluate the marketing effectiveness of the Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn webseries and discuss whether or not it accomplished its goals.
Fresh Xbox 720 Details Revealed, Kinect 2.0 and Augmented Reality to Come
Rumors and speculation seem to be coming to life in the latest update on Microsoft’s next Xbox, codenamed Durango. Colloquially referred to as the Xbox 720 by the industry, Microsoft’s next gaming console appears to be bringing some very impressive stats to the table, alongside some unexpected additions as well, according to the latest issue of Xbox World. For fans of Microsoft’s motion-based controller, Kinect, the news that an updated Kinect 2.0 system will be coming to Xbox 720 is probably welcome news. The original Kinect sold quite well, but… Read More »
