For no reason other than “We were at the same conference and his work sounded interesting” I ended up scheduling a meeting with Dan Cox. He focuses on level art at Ubisoft Toronto and his work has most recently appeared in Splinter Cell: Blacklist. He was in Paris to give a talk about interior design in games so it turned out he was more than happy to answer some of my questions about how artists make sense of spaces in video games*.

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What spooky use do you have for 3.13 this Halloween night? A bag of Haribo Fangtastics, a Screme Egg, and a can of Stella? Oh you could buy that, you could. You might also quite like Marginalia. It’s a spooky trip into some spooky woods with a spooky tale narrated by a spooky/quite pleasant man and spooky music. It’s got a few problems, but if let yourself drift along with the story, carried by the wailing ’70s horror soundtrack, it’s pleasantly unsettling.

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Although not specifically an Oculus Rift game, it’s hard to imagine playing Narcosis without the headset. The game is an underwater survival story which demands the player manage his or her oxygen supply as they navigate the ocean depths when an incident leaves them stranded.

“The perception is that it’s a horror game and that’s cool,” says David Chen, part of the development studio Honor Code. “But we’re definitely hoping for some moments of beauty.”

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I don’t know what Alan Hazelden has against blocks. He’s always pushing them around, shoving them into unlikely places. Oh sure, they might be dressed up as adorable snowmen or chemicals, but he’s still barging blocks about. I bet he forces them to dress that way too. “You lot, get in these crates now,” he threatens, holding the block up against a wall by its lapel. “You! You’re dressing up as mirrors!” he demands, slapping a long, thin line of PuzzleScript against his palm. The quake, they quiver, and they slip on their mirrored jumpsuits.

You can see the results of his most recent sokobullying in Mirror Isles, a free web-based puzzler.

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Far Cry 3 may not have been all things to all people, but it was many different things to many different people. For me, it was a game mostly about driving offroad and getting into various scrapes involving three-way battles between myself, a gathering of Komodo Dragons and a gang of gun-toting grunts. For some, it was a game in which they could hunt goats with a rocket launcher and maybe there were even some people who thought the story missions were the best bit as well. It’s essentially a game about vehicles and animals falling over.

The sequel, which is out in three weeks, should allow you to relive all of your favourite Far Cry memories while killing your friends. With an elephant. The three PvP modes are explained in the video below.

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The controversial McGee Act of 2000 has not yet been repealed, despite the revolt led by Tale of Tales’ The Path, so it remains the case that every videogame based on a fairy tale must be a broody platformer starring a young lady with a weapon. While we await Snow White: Dwarves Of Darkness and Rapunzel: Hairway To Hell, we can Halloween it up with today’s demo of Woolfe – The Red Hood Diaries.

It’s Red Riding Hood with an axe and an acute case of Burtonitis, innit. … [visit site to read more]

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.>

Crack!

‘Did I get him? I think I got him. Is he just injured? I’m not sure if he’s–’>

Crack! ‘I didn’t get him.’>

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is a multiplayer first-person shooter steadfast in its commitment to historical accuracy and to the grim realities of war. So why do I enjoy it so much?

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Dungeon of the Endless is a roguelike defense game that rewards fast thinking, inventive solutions and tactical awareness. No, that’s not quite right. Dungeon of the Endless is a cocktail of genres that rewards inhuman omnividence, uncanny forward thinking and strategic oversight. Closer?

Dungeon of the Endless is an original creation made of familiar parts and further proof that Amplitude are a studio enjoying a rapid ascent to peak power.>

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There is a man, I like to think, a man named Dale. His cool demeanour is known throughout his small home town in the American Midwest. Now, Dale’s not unfriendly by any means, he just doesn’t have time for idle chit-chat. He mostly comes into town on business, breezing through with a tip of his hat. Icewind Dale, they call him. Dale doesn’t understand why he’s seeing online ads calling him Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition. And he’s out now? Heck, Dale’s been out since the Nixon administration.

No Dale, you silly goose! Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition is a revamped re-release of Black Isle Studios’ old Infinity Engine RPG from 2000, and it launched yesterday.

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My favourite game of 2016? Unquestionably, Ultimate General: Austerlitz. Game-Labs spectacular turnless wargame series has been edging towards Greatness for a couple of years now, and finally took the VL in September. The flaws that tarnished the original release (Ultimate General: Gettysburg) are now distant memories. It’s hard to believe I once grumbled about annoying cannon combat, glaring GUI gaps, and an unexpected lack of challenge. >

The Flare Path, January 6, 2017. … [visit site to read more]