Facepunch s violent, vile Rust isn t an obvious starting place to learn about philosophy. You might explore virtue ethics with the Ultima series, or free will with Bioshock, or concepts of self and moral worth with Soma. Even when looking at political philosophy, you d perhaps be more inclined to stop by the totalitarian bureaucracy of Paper s Please, or Crusader Kings II s massive variety of governmental forms, or Eve Online s+ unique democracy/tribalism.

But Rust ? Rust, a primitive world of dingly-dangly dongs and caved-in skulls? A transient land of ramshackle fortresses and roving gangs of hostile thugs? What can we hope to learn from that?

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Halloween’s timing is a bit weird this year, with the preceding weekend taking the bloodsoaked brunt of the fiendish frenzy, but video games still remember and will still be here for us. Rust is already a game where nude fiends ritually sacrifice each other, making it unsettling at the best of times, but now it’s proper spooky too. The early access survival sandbox’s latest update has decorated the island with graves and spider hives while adding spoOoOoky scarecrows and fire pits filled with burning skulls. (more…)

Rust [official site] now has the ability to let players sit in chairs. I feel like, despite my own lack of Rust experience, sitting in chairs is not a core part of the Rust survival game experience. I was kind of hoping that the game was taking an unexpected detour into the ancient sport of trying out furniture while a sales assistant hovers nearby but apparently it’s part of a mounting system intended to help with vehicles and their attendant need for seated interactions. I preferred my idea. (more…)

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.> I cannot see the source of the dull, relentless sound, but my ears tell me is that it is close by. My chest anxiously thumps its own tattoo in reply, and I have to stamp down an illogical fear that the beating of my hideous heart is a telltale to my own location. Birds do not thunk>. Boars do not thunk>. Deer do not thunk>. Even educated fleas do not thunk>. Only people thunk>.

Somewhere nearby, another human being is grimly and mechanically hitting a tree with a rock, over and over again, and I’ve never been more terrified in my life. Rust [official site], old man – you’ve still got it. … [visit site to read more]

Sandbox survive ’em up Rust [official site] has launch a sizeable update reworking how gun recoil and inaccuracy work. It should now feel more like a traditional first-person shooter, developers Facepunch Studios say. Thursday’s early access update also fancied up parts of the map Hapis Island, making them a lot more interesting, and added a new one-way drop box for players to easily dunk items. Let’s talk pew-pew! … [visit site to read more]

The nude murderisland of Rust [official site] has welcomed women to its bloody shores, adding a female player model in last week’s update. Yes, they too are beautiful slapheads. It’s not a choice, mind. As Rust did before with penis length and race, each player’s in-game sex is decided randomly – and permanently. Some players are not too thrilled with this, but developers Facepunch say they won’t make it optional. Part of their plan to make individual players recognisable, see.

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Every Monday, Rob Zacny gathers the raw materials of Early Access and attempts to survive against a world of crazed, screaming unfinished games. This week, he visits the ultra-popular survival game.>

As I died screaming between a wolf’s jaws, collapsing in the snow that dusts the top of the mountains while listening to it gnaw through virtual flesh, I had a realization: survival games are fun as long as they are about the threat of death.

Death itself is underwhelming: a gateway to an ever-increasing set of chores and tasks that you must repeat in order to recover your lost progress. Inevitably, the process eventually repeats, and the to-do list gets longer and less fulfilling, which sounds a little bit like hell and a little bit like a parable about the human condition. Rust [official site], the multiplayer survival game from Facepunch Studios, seems comfortable with both analogies.

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I like strange characters who largely ignore players, following their own unknowable agendas until you cause problems. Skyrim’s giants who’d rather scare you off but will eventually knock you into the clouds. The Borg in Star Trek: Elite Force who don’t even consider you a threat at first. Despairing Hollows in Dark Souls. That sort of thing. I do hope that Rust [official site] will follow through with ideas raised in the latest devblog, for NPC scientists in hazmat suits investigating this strange island of ruins and naked men chasing each other swinging rocks.

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Rust [official site] now has a microtransaction item store, through which players can buy cosmetic items direct from their creators. The idea is that modders can add and profit from the sale of their own work. Perhaps most interestingly, this is all happening through Steam itself using new ‘Item Store’ functionality.

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American media conglomerate Turner Broadcasting and talent agency WME/IMG plans to show 20 live Counter-Strike: Global Offensive [official site] events on US television next year as part of a league series after brokering a successful deal with Valve.

… [visit site to read more]