Tag Archives: Bethesda

Fallout 4: Settle or Wander?

November 30, 2015 Alex McCumbers

Oh, I’m the type the guy who’ll never settle down. I’m never in one place. I roam from town to town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3IlHBBGCIw

Every time this commercial comes on, I find myself whistling the song from that point on. This advertisement has become iconic with the game, for good reason. It sets the mood with it’s older sense of style, contrasted with the bleakness of the Commonwealth.

What’s interesting though is that Fallout 4, more than any other entry in the series, gives an equal option to settle as well as wander.

Sure, every denizen of the Wasteland must scavenge to survive, picking up cans for their all too precious aluminum or lighters for the oil. However, the addition of the rather deep building mechanics gives players the option to make a home out of nothing. Whole towns can be constructed in many locations, complete with the ability to make truly unique light shows and defenses to keep invaders at bay.

With enough spit and grit, even the most run down areas can be called home.

Not only that, but the mobile game Fallout Shelter actually gives players a hint at the community building gameplay featured in Fallout 4, complete with similar assets. Settlers can move into a claimed area, needing resources to survive and weapons to defend themselves. It’s intriguing to see groups of people create a meager existence and manning their posts. Nothing gets me motivated like one of my settlements coming under attack. Sure, few of them have names or stories, but these are people who have trusted me as their leader, and I can’t let them down. The only complaint of this system is that it can be rough to manage several settlements at once.

Many of the players I know have spent many of their hours simply perfecting their home base. As soon as the mechanics are understood, it becomes an addiction similar to that found in Minecraft or Rust. Some players have even exploited the system to create stunning works, including a recent building of a Rubik’s Cube replica. Practical? Not really. Style? Absolutely. Super Mutants can surely see it from miles away.

For added style, this thing actually works! Image originally posted on VG247.com

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Making a home is a central theme to Fallout 4‘s design; its all about being taken out of one’s comfort zone. Everything these characters have known has been blasted by the nuclear weapons and further stripped away by the dangers of living in the Commonwealth. Any way to keep one’s mind off of the Deathclaws and Raiders is a powerful thing. Preston (one of the many companions), after getting close to the player, will reveal that finding such good company changes his outlook on his entire existence. It’s a truly humbling conversation that is comparable to many other characters and stories. Its easy to get attached to them.

It’s these moments of peace and revelation that makes Fallout 4 so powerful.

I’ve spent whole evenings just discussing the layers of meaning after being blown away by a quest or dialogue. Fallout as a series has always made players think well after the controller has been put down or the program is shut down. The latest installment does this in almost every moment, especially when confronted with the ideals of the Institute or the Brotherhood of Steel.

There’s so much more to Fallout 4 than I can relay with a single article. Imagining the things yet to be discovered and the extra content surely to come is mind blowing. And the mods! Surely, the homes players carve out of the dust will continue to become more elaborate when new pieces are inevitably added by Bethesda or the modding community.

I will be in the depths of this city for quite some time.

Whether one’s settling down or wandering around, the wasteland is a challenging place, filled with possibilities. Fallout 4 is truly what you make of it, and it’s tools for doing just that are awesome.

Look forward to more Fallout content in the future, as its sure to be fired up on our consoles and PCs for quite some time.

Interview

Building The Forgotten City: Interview with Nick James Pearce

November 16, 2015 Alex McCumbers

Sitting down with The Forgotten City, a story-driven mod for Skyrim, was one of the most immersive experiences in recent memory. It has left such an impression and heightened expectations when it comes to story and atmosphere. Luckily, I’ve gotten to know Nick Pierce through email and asked if he would mind answering some questions for Giga.

He humbly obliged.

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Why mod Skyrim? How does that particular game fit the goals of the project?

So many reasons. First of all, modding Skyrim is awesome fun! Though I probably don’t use the same definition of “fun” as most other people. For me, it’s a creative outlet. I get to activate parts of my brain that I don’t get to use in my day-to-day. I suppose the alternative to modding Skyrim would have been to make my own indie game, but it wouldn’t have been anything like The Forgotten City. Modding Skyrim is like standing on the shoulder of a giant (the giant being Bethesda Game Studios); it allows you to do things you couldn’t dream of doing alone.

I started modding Skyrim because I was inspired by a lot of modders from Oblivion and Fallout and wanted to try my hand at it.

I also drew a lot of inspiration from my favorite side-quests in Bethesda’s games. For example, I remember stumbling across the Dark Brotherhood by accident in Oblivion, and being blown away by how much work had gone into something I might never have discovered; that made it feel personal, something unique to my adventure. I remember stumbling across Vault 11 in Fallout: New Vegas (technically made by Obsidian, published by Bethesda) and its chilling social experiments which exposed some dark truths about society. I remember “Waking Nightmare” in Skyrim; entering a dream state to travel to the past, if only in a superficial way. I remember discovering the ancient Dwarven underground city of Blackreach, and wishing I could have explored it more. The Forgotten City takes loose threads from all of these quests, and weaves them into something I hope is even greater. It’s an homage to Bethesda.

Elder_Scrolls_V-Skyrim_Concept_Art_Ray_Lederer_Troll_Fight

What sort of challenges did you have to overcome with this mod?

Well this mod took me 1700 hours to make, and I think more than half of that was spent fixing bugs. Some of them were pretty funny. I had this one ridiculous bug for a long time where Brandas, on his deathbed, covered in horrific burns and speaking his last words, was supposed to fade away into death. Unfortunately, just before he died, he would stand up out of bed, face the player, then comically ragdoll into the floor. In the end it was caused by something that just seemed totally unexpected.

Generally though the key challenges were acquiring the skills I just didn’t have. When I started I had no idea how to use the Creation Kit, write scripts in Papyrus, cast voice actors, master sound files. The whole time I was learning on the fly. Every time I hit a big hurdle I had this feeling of dread as I realized: “If I can’t sort this out, this project is dead in the water, and everything I’ve done so far is for nothing.” (I’m an optimist, you see.) But three years on, I never encountered a hurdle I couldn’t overcome—that’s pretty satisfying, looking back.

“Modding Skyrim is like standing on the shoulder of a giant (the giant being Bethesda Game Studios); it allows you to do things you couldn’t dream of doing alone.”

What are the perks of modding, as opposed to full game design?

The main one is creative control. I wasn’t pandering to a demographic, and I didn’t try to simplify anything to make it more accessible to the general population. I made a game for intelligent gamers, because that’s what I wanted to play. It turns out a lot of other people wanted to play that too.

Another perk of modding is that you get to work on all aspects of the project, not just one aspect. One of my favorite parts were working with the 18 voice actors I cast: getting to know them, listening to their performances, hearing the lines I’d written come to life, sounding better than I had ever imagined. And now I chat with most of them online pretty regularly. I’d like to think of them as friends. That’s been a lot of fun. Also, working with Trent Moriarty (the composer) has been really fascinating and thrilling as well. I don’t know how, but he managed to take a few ideas and emotions and transform them into these achingly beautiful musical compositions. I feel privileged to have witnessed him working his magic.

Another perk is not having to worry about how many people play it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty stoked that 50,000 people have downloaded it within 2 weeks of launch (from Nexus, Steam Workshop and ModDB combined), and I wanted to make sure Trent and the voice actors got as much exposure as possible, but I would have been happy enough if the number was a fraction of that.

What is your history with Game Design? Were there other projects before The Forgotten City?

I don’t have a history in game design: this is my first project. If you don’t count the terrible games I made in QBasic when I was 13, which I don’t, because they were terrible.

How does it feel to have The Forgotten City receive such praise?

It’s been a big relief to get such positive feedback. I tried to pitch the game at intelligent gamers, and I wasn’t sure how well that would be received; TFC gives players a bit more credit for being intelligent than the vanilla quests. . . The reaction has shown there are a lot of intelligent gamers out there, and they seem to appreciate games that treat them as such.

Fallout4_Concept_Blast_1434323459.0 — Gorgeous concept art from Fallout 4.

Are there any other projects in the works?

At the moment I’m weighing my options, but one possibility I’m excited about is a Fallout 4 expansion. I’ve had a lot of requests for that, and I’m looking forward to playing Fallout 4 and dreaming up some ideas for sci-fi social experiments in Vaults.

The Forgotten City has seen praise by many outlets, including Giga, and can be downloaded via the Skyrim Nexus or through the Steam Workshop.

Game File, Games and Software, Industry Now

The Best of E3 2015

June 22, 2015 Alex McCumbers

E3 has always been one of the most exciting events for gamers everywhere. It’s a prime opportunity for developers to show their latest work and for journalists to become nocturnal. Ever since the days of G4, in which Sessler and Webb reigned supreme, I’ve huddled around the tv, full of anticipation. Each expo brings showmanship, new technology and, most importantly, more games.

Although E3 has settled down over the years due to it being closed to the public, it remains the most exciting event in the industry. The following list is a collection of things that blew me away this year, but feel free to share with us your favorite moments.

5). Minecraft Hololens

Hololens was announced before E3, but never before had a live audience been able to experience this amazing tech. By using a special camera that projected the experience, Microsoft proves just how capable and viable Hololens is. This presentation also showed off the showmanship of the Microsoft staff, making them fun to watch. Buying this intellectual property was a good move for the company as Minecraft has been a milestone in gaming history; Hololens will hopefully take that one step further.

4). Horizon: Zero Dawn

One of the most unique games to come out of E3 2015 was Sony’s reveal of Horizon: Zero Dawn. Thematically, the game combines elements from prehistoric times and a bleak, robot ruled future. The gameplay shown is awe-inspiring as the main character stalks what is presumably a food critter, only to be intercepted by a metallic T-Rex. Battle ensues, as the heroine is forced to take the beast down. It appears players will have to use weapons created from scraps scattered around the world and slowly dismantle the defenses of large creatures, all while trying to survive. Hopefully more information on this dynamically different game will be revealed soon.

3) Nintendo World Championships

Before the days of online multiplayer and getting pentakills, players had to physically attend tournaments, often traveling thousands of miles and having to record their skills on tape to enter. One of the most notorious of these early events was the Nintendo World Championships. These competitions had players playing a special tournament cartridge with several challenges built in. These cartridges are now sought after by collectors, being some of the most expensive games on the system.

Unfortunately, the World Championships faded into nostalgic obscurity, the last one held in 1990. However, in 2015 Nintendo comically announced the classic event is coming back. It was awesome.

Players, hand picked by Nintendo for various reasons, competed in Splatoon, Metroid Prime: Blast Ball, Mario Maker, and more to be crowned the champion. Each player brought out awesome skills for each game, making every moment exciting.

Hopefully this event becomes an annual tradition.
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2) Final Fantasy VII

Sony floored its audience with a single trailer.

While most believe this reveal to mean that one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time will finally get a remake, I’m convinced that there could be more to the story. I’ll elaborate more on my theories in a later post. More official information will be shared this winter.

Fallout 4

Before E3 officially began, Bethesda held its press event—one of the best presentations I’ve seen in a long time—showing off titles like Dishonored 2 and Doom. Their energy was abundant, the games were fantastic, and the fans were loving every second of it. Of course, everyone patiently waited for Fallout 4.

I had my doubts about the project after the trailer was released. However, I was completely blown away by what was shown at E3. The sheer amount of content being jammed into this game is staggering. Combat will be streamlined, fitting more in line with a shooter than an RPG, while retaining the classic elements established in past installments. Random junk is no longer just fun to horde as each piece can be used to construct other things. Many, many aspects of the game can be personalized from armor to weapons and beyond. Mods will also be playable on the console versions, even though the Xbox One will be getting them before the PS4.

While my list of improvements may seem like a lot, the official list of what’s being added is several pages long. Seriously. Not only that, but the collector’s edition of the game comes with a working Pit Boy that can be connected to a smart phone. Its everything I’ve ever wanted from the Fallout franchise, presumably. We won’t know till the game comes out in November, but its not going to stop this title from being another Bethesda masterpiece.

To truly experience what’s been revealed for Fallout 4, watch the video below.

Now that E3 has come and gone, I feel that there are true strides being made in the gaming industry. I do wish someone would teach Square Enix how to do a proper gaming presentation, but I digress.

Game File, Games and Software

Fallout 4’s Announcement Trailer is Lackluster

June 8, 2015 Alex McCumbers 1 Comment

Before being treated for third degree burns from the flaming I’m going to get, let me lay out my thoughts. First off, I love the Fallout franchise and have even gone as far as to explore the series roots in the older PC titles. The series has had some fantastic writing over the years, with deep moral questions that hit players hard. Couple that with a post-apocalyptic setting, great humor, and references to pop-culture, Fallout is a series that will stand the test of time as a classic.

However, I will say that through the years there has been a lack of a truly unique experience from title to title. Sure, the gameplay mechanics changed drastically when Bethesda released Fallout 3, but the art direction of the game has barely budged over years of titles. This is horribly apparent when comparing Fallout: New Vegas to Fallout 3.

Each environment feels empty, barren, as they’re supposed to feel, but they also lack the depth the series so desperately needs. There was a nuclear war, there’s a monologue about the history so far, and a vault is seen closing. Each game is fundamentally similar. In fact, many assets were reused in New Vegas, which makes the trailer for Fallout 4 unsettling for me.

When I found the countdown on Bethesda’s site, I immediately set an alarm for the reveal. That morning, I sprang up, downed a cup of coffee, ate some Cocoa Wheats, and waited patiently. When the trailer finally started to play, I immediately asked, “Wait, are they re-releasing Fallout 3?” Even as I said that to myself, the chat on Twitch reflected my thoughts. Thousands immediately feared the same. While I wouldn’t say no to playing Fallout 3 again (in fact, shortly after the trailer I bought the complete edition on Steam), I was worried that after all this time there wasn’t going to be a new game.

At the end of the trailer the large font announced that what I had just saw was in fact Fallout 4. Not only was I not impressed, I was kind of peeved that I had woken up early for it. Needless to say, I went back to bed.

yn7vX9gKUDv3.840x0.Vdef9Kkm — After the trailer finished, I compared my feelings to that of a wandering Deathclaw.

A portion of this includes http://cute-n-tiny.com/cute-animals/teddy-bear-puppy/ cheapest brand viagra the utilization of this medication. Don’t hide your condition from your partner, because your lady can feel it when you are not hard soft cialis online in bed. You need to improve your diet, and exercise to name a http://cute-n-tiny.com/page/3/ levitra without prescription few. According to reliable sources, generic levitra without prescription visit that pharmacy drugs save consumers an estimated 8 to 10 billions USD a year at retail pharmacies. Since my initial anger from the reveal, I’ve tried to dissect why I dislike the trailer. For starters, there was a lack of new assets. The entire trailer could probably be recreated with Fallout 3 assets. Even the way the characters move looked identical to the original, which is more upsetting considering that they’ve already been used twice!

Another problem I had was the direction of the trailer. Instead of showcasing what gamers could expect for the new game, the trailer looked like a glorified Machinima project. Camera pans were jerky, animations lacked polish, and characters looked lifeless. The only saving grace for the trailer was the expanded color palette, which does bring some new layers to the Fallout formula.

Fallout-4-8 — Notice the lack of a brown filter, boy?

Finally, the way the trailer was hyped didn’t match what was actually shown. The countdown promised something new, profound. Yet, many fans were left confused. I worry that this trailer may be what it is due to the leaking of information on the game. It feels like a rushed job in response to the leaks.

While I was disappointed by this trailer, I do have hope for the game’s full release. Bethesda is having their own press event for E3 on June 14, 10 p.m. EST, which is great considering how much information is lacking for Fallout 4.

I will say that I would ignore my major complaints so far, as long as there is a plethora of game content on the way. Rumors have said that Massachusetts will be one of the largest maps seen in Fallout history. I’m hoping for more depth to each area, instead of more steps to take alone. There also has to be some new creations. Fallout has plenty of room to expand and evolve, Bethesda just needs to take some risks.

2012-11-10_00001 — Ah, mods. Breathing life into games since the early 80s.

Even though I’ve got a terrible taste in my mouth from the trailer, I can’t wait to see what Bethesda has in store for their press event. Here’s hoping the wasteland will be a bit more interesting this time around. Till then, I’ll be exploring the modding community. Maybe they have something new.

Action, Game File, Games and Software, Multiplayer

Bethesda Softworks Lets Out Its BATTLECRY

May 29, 2014 Alex McCumbers

bc_wp_cossackarcher_faction_1280x800_EN — Image from Battlecry Studio’s Website

The Free-To-Play trend in gaming is an interesting paradigm. These games usually have a business model involving smaller but more frequent transactions, with the purchase of items or other game content. Most gamers fear Free-to-Play will turn into three dreaded words: Pay-To-Win. Unfortunately, several games fit into this taboo, causing many gamers to drop these games at the slightest mention. However, it seems with every month another Free-To-Play game appears. It’s strange to see big name companies attempting this model, but a few have become industry giants with the right implementation. Stepping up to the batting plate is one of those giants, Bethesda Softworks.

Bethesda is most known for the Elder Scrolls series of PC centered games. Most recently, Elder Scrolls Online has entered the MMO world, a no-brainer for the fantasy series. Together with the newly developed BattleCry Studios, Bethesda seeks to create a Free-To-Play game like no other called BATTLECRY. How exactly they will do that has yet to be detailed, but given the company’s track record there can be great things in the works.

Image from Battlecry Studio's Website — Image from BattleCry Studio’s Website

Beginning the ripple effect with an awesome trailer, BATTLECRY immediately puts one in the mind of Team Fortress 2. The characters each have their own distinct look: the Brawler sports a massive metal fist, while the Duelist wields two slender blades and a sweet hat. The amount of care put into these characters is obvious and the setting shows the same care. In a nut shell, nations have deemed gunpowder too barbaric and instead build teams to kill each other with big swords and arrows to determine political debates. What results is a bloodbath on a smaller scale, with less innocents being killed in the process.
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At the end of the trailer, it’s revealed that the game will be in its beta phase in 2015. Whether this will be an open or closed beta is still in the air. I do recommend signing up for their newsletter, as this may put one ahead for access to the beta. Personally, I can’t wait. BATTLECRY looks like a page straight out of Full Metal Alchemist and I couldn’t be more excited.

Get your PCs ready to enter the WarZone sometime in 2015.