Thursday 4 August 2016

One Person Made A Video Game To Rival ‘Final Fantasy XV’ And ‘Devil May Cry’ By Himself



A big deal is made about video game companies employing dozens, if not hundreds of people to make AAA titles. However, one person made an indie video game that had the visuals of “Final Fantasy XV” and the combat style of “Devil May Cry,” and he did it all by himself.

Yang Bing, an indie video game developer living in South Korea, released a trailer of his title called “Lost Soul Aside,” and the world watched in awe as the work of one person held its own against games that were made by entire teams of professionals from giant brands. Twinfinite described the game as having impressive visuals and fast-paced combat that is reminiscent of titles like “Ninja Gaiden.”

Supposedly, Bing was inspired to create his game by “Final Fantasy XV” of all things. The first trailer for the latest installment of the legendary franchise of Square Enix came out two years ago, which is about the same time that Bing started working on his game.

After releasing the trailer, Bing enjoyed an outpouring of praise, congratulations, and encouragement from viewers who were clearly impressed with what the South Korean achieved. Some even offered their services or monetary support to help him finish his title.

“I read many comments yesterday, thank you for encouraging me and thank you for asking to help, I can say nothing else but thank you guys,” Bing wrote on his Facebook page. “Some people said they get some motivation to do their own game, I’m very glad to be that guy though I’m just a normal developer. Thank you again.”

Bing has also been encouraged to resort to Kickstarter to fund his game, Siliconera reports. However, he stressed that creating a fundraising campaign would be too much work and responsibility right now. Then again, “Sony” and “Epic Games” have already approached Bing, so it’s more than likely that he will get the funding and support he needs.


First Gameplay Trailer for Action RPG ‘Vikings: Wolves of Midgard’ Released

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Two weeks ago we introduced you to a new action-RPG called Vikings: Wolves of Midgard. Today, Kalypso Media has released the official gameplay trailer for the game giving us our first look at the game.

If you are only just now hearing about Wolves of Midgard, you can read up more on the game here. Here’s the official story synopsis from the game’s original press release:

Legend has it, that when the coldest winter descends, the Jotan will return to take their vengeance against the Gods of Asgard. The world is on the road to perdition and the fate of Midgard hangs in the balance. But when the Fire and Frost Giants begin to merge their armies, they encounter the clan of the Ulfung – the Wolves of Midgard. Bloody, but unbowed following the destruction of their village, this notorious band of ostracized Viking warriors are determined to seize their destiny and save the world. As clan chief, you must save Midgard from complete annihilation, and spearhead the charge to vanquish the fiendish creatures of the Fimbulwinter.

Check out the new trailer at the bottom of the post and let us know what you think of Vikings: Wolves of Midgard in the comments section. Stay tuned for continued updates on the game by following OnlySP on Facebook and Twitter.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard releases on the PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2017.

'Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2' news: Gameplay trailer reveals new characters for upcoming game


A new gameplay trailer has been released for "Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2." In the new clip, it was revealed that new characters will be featured in the upcoming title, as well as new locations for gamers to discover.

The new trailer confirms that Time Breaker Bardock will be included in the game, along with Imperfect Cell and Android 16.

In the "Dragon Ball" universe, Bardock is a low-class Saiyan warrior, the husband of Gine, and the father of Raditz and Goku. Meanwhile, Imperfect Cell, when in perfect mode, is the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero designed to have all the abilities of the greatest fighters to have ever lived or visited Earth. As for Android 16, he is another of Dr. Gero's creations who was originally designed to serve Gero's vendetta against Goku.

New characters, such as Zarbon, Turles and Janemba are also coming to "Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2." Janemba is the main antagonist in the film "Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn." Zarbon is one of the villains in the "Dragon Ball Z" anime, while Turles is a rogue Saiyan who bears a strong resemblance to Goku.

Apart from these characters, the upcoming project will also have new places to explore. According to Movie News Guide, the original "Dragon Ball Xenoverse" game only allowed players to explore Toki Toki City and Time Nest. In the second installment, players can visit Capsule Corporation, as well as Frieza and Namek's spaceship.

After the game is launched, BANDAI NAMCO will release four downloadable content (DLC) packs, which cost $10 each. According to Gamespot, players can purchase the DLCs ahead of time via the Season Pass for $30. The new content includes new characters, quests, stages, costumes, and more. Those who would like to get the game and the Season Pass bundled together with the Deluxe Edition can get all three for $90.

"Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2" will be launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Oct. 25 and on PC on Oct. 28.

Pokémon Animated Teaser Trailer Launches With New Trading Card Game Expansion



The Mythical Steam Pokémon Volcanion makes a triumphant debut today, in the very first look at the newest Pokémon animated movie, Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, which debuts later this year in some North American, including the U.S., and European markets. Volcanion also makes its Pokémon Trading Card Game debut in the newest TCG expansion, Pokémon TCG: XY—Steam Siege.


Volcanion plays a significant role in Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, where Ash meets the Mythical Pokémon Volcanion when it crashes down from the sky, creating a cloud of dust —and a mysterious force binds the two of them together! Volcanion despises humans and tries to get away, but it’s forced to drag Ash along as it continues its rescue mission.

They arrive in a city of cogs and gears, where a corrupt minister has stolen the ultimate invention: the Artificial Pokémon Magearna, created 500 years ago. He plans to use its mysterious power to take control of this mechanical kingdom! Can Ash and Volcanion work together to rescue Magearna? One of the greatest battles in Pokémon history is about to unfold!

Launching today at major retailers across the country, Pokémon TCG: XY—Steam Siege features Shiny Mega Gardevoir-EX and a host of greedy forces laying siege to the mighty Gear Palace, and the Mythical Steam Pokémon Volcanion must wield the dual powers of fire and water to stop them. The brand-new expansion introduced more than 115 new cards to collect and play, including Pokémon with the powerful BREAK Evolution mechanic like the new Xerneas BREAK and Yveltal BREAK, as well as Yanmega BREAK, Talonflame BREAK, Pyroar BREAK, Clawitzer BREAK, and Hydreigon BREAK.

More information about XY—Steam Siege, an image of the Volcanion-EX TCG card, as well as the logo for Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, can be found at the following link: https://www.hightail.com/download/cUJYMWZBTXZJMHZ2bk1UQw.

Discover Volcanion in Pokémon TCG: XY—Steam Siege today and see this Mythical Steam Pokémon in action later this year when Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel arrives!

The Trailer for This Space Game Is Like a Cold War Mystery Film

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Gravity was released in 2013 and attempted to represent what it would be like to be stranded on a space station. Since then, there've been a couple games that have tried to capture a similar, suspenseful effect. Outreach, a new game from developer Pixel Spill, is aiming for that general feel, as well--but with a very different narrative approach. 

  Pixel Spill announced the game today with a few details and a live-action trailer, which you can view below. The trailer helps establish the basis for the game's story, as it shows American intelligence agents uncovering a grand Soviet cover-up of a covert military space project. The trailer is also very well done, and gives a nice idea of the tone we can expect from the game.

Outreach is set in the 1980s, and you take control of a Soviet cosmonaut tasked with uncovering what happened on board a military space station. You're alone on the station, searching for hints as to the fate of its crew. This is the project hinted at in the video, and I would hazard a guess that the old man in the trailer is the character that you'll take control of in the game. The studio is focusing on making the game accurately depict the 80s. In a press release, it states, "The environments, technology, and clothing have all been lovingly crafted and expanded from historical designs, photos, and archive footage."

 It's a first-person narrative-focused game, and Pixel Spill emphasizes that gameplay revolves around navigating a zero-gravity environment: "Push yourself off, time your landings, and grapple for handrails on the exterior of the station. Inside the station, move through confined environments on your search for clues. Your coordination and reflexes are the only protection you have from the void."




Overwatch Summer Games trailer hides a mysterious secret



Blizzard released a surprise update to Overwatch yesterday featuring a new soccer-styled game mode called Lúcioball and a big mess of Olympic-themed goodies. But there was something else in there too, hidden away from casual viewers: A string of text that the Best Minds of the Overwatch subreddit think is a salted and hashed password that may—just may—be a new Sombra tease.

The thread is fascinating both for the amount of effort being put into unlocking the secret, and also the Very Serious Discussion about encryption and security, which includes a handy explanation of what 'salting' actually means. 

 “They don't store your password in plain text. They put it through an algorithm to make it all garbled,” a user named Undeadfish wrote, referring to the process of hashing a password, or encrypting it. “Now, the problem with just doing that is that two people might have the same password and the algorithm would garble them to be the same output. Instead, they started adding a 'salt' into it. So, they put random gibberish at the start of your password and store the gibberish alongside your login info. That way when it goes through the algorithm it creates a different garbled bunch of letters from another person with the same password.”

 The downside to all that extra security is that it makes figuring out stuff like this so much more difficult than it would otherwise be. Digital sleuths have already tried using a huge range of numbers as the password, as well as plays on the time shown on Tracer's clock (13:37, naturally) and leet-speak variations of Sombra. Blizzard clearly anticipated the amount of effort that would be put into breaking the code—works is also underway at the Sombra ARG Wiki and on the Game Detectives Discord server—and took steps to ensure that it wouldn't be easy.

 (By the way, the code is hard to make out in the screen cap above but a post in the thread, which nobody seems to disagree with, says it's "U2FsdGVkX1+vupppZksvRf5pq5g5XjFRlipRkwB0K1Y96Qsv2L m+31cmzaAILwytX/z66ZVWEQM/ccf1g+9m5Ubu1+sit+A9cenD xxqklaxbm4cMeh2oKhqlHhdaBKOi6XX2XDWpa6+P5o9MQw==," without the quotes. Good luck with that.) 

 I'll be honest with you: Encryption and ARGs are not my forte, so much of what's being discussed on Reddit and elsewhere goes way over my head. One interesting thing I did notice, though (and without any help!) is that the code does not appear in Tracer's blink trail in the Xbox version of the Overwatch Summer Games trailer, but only the one posted in the official PlayOverwatch channel that I've embedded below. Significant? Eh, probably not, but I've reached out to Blizzard to ask, just in case. I'll let you know if I hear anything.


Nicki Minaj Shares Trailer for “The Empire” Mobile Game




Nicki Minaj is partnering with Glu Mobile to make a mobile video game in the vein of games made by Kim Kardashian and Britney Spears. Today, she's released a trailer for that forthcoming game, which is called “Nicki Minaj: The Empire.” In the game, users will attempt to guide an invented musician to superstardom, with appearances from the animated Nicki. Watch the trailer below, via Rap-Up.

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