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Gamasutra Feature Articles

Two Halves, Together: Patrick Gilmore On Double Helix

8 Feb 2010 at 12:00pm

The newly-installed head of Foundation 9's Double Helix studio holds forth on its evolution, the creative direction of current-generation games, and the current state of Los Angeles-area game development.

The Road To Hell: The Creative Direction of Dante's Inferno

5 Feb 2010 at 12:00pm

Jonathan Knight, creative director of Dante's Inferno, discusses the thinking behind the path he and his team took in choosing and adapting the classic poem for use in the Visceral Studios action game.

The Sensible Side of Immersion

4 Feb 2010 at 12:00pm

Neils Clark examines the intimate bond between psychology and play, and how games might tap into the recesses of the ancient human brain in order to reach new levels of immersion.

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Blue's News

No PC Dead Space 2

Those EA Financials from earlier had one last surprise, as the listing for Dead Space 2 in their Fiscal Q4 2011 has the entries for consoles and handhelds ticked off, but there is no mark under PC....

EndWar Sequel "On the Backburner"

Ubisoft's Michael de Plater tells VG247 that EndWar 2 is "on the backburner," with no other comment about the voice-controlled RTS sequel. It's not very clear if this game ever actually occupied a...

On Dragon Age: Origins Sales

BioWare announces sales figures for Dragon Age: Origins, saying the RPG is "triple platinum," based on having sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide. Here's a bit on the game's success:Edmonton,...

Evil Avatar - News Items

New L.A. Noire Details Emerge

8 Feb 2010 at 9:37pm
Image: http://cartoonmagcon The March edition of Game Informer features a big exposé on Rockstar's L.A. Noire, but already the first details have leaked from the publication's forthcoming coverage. Click on the Headline for the Details. ...

First Behind-the-Scenes Footage of Backbreaker

8 Feb 2010 at 9:30pm
Image: http://evilavatar.co Not done celebrating the Superbowl and looking for some more Football action? 505 Games sends along a developer diary for their upcoming sports title, Backbreaker. ---Quote--- 505 Games today unveiled the first...

Get Your Free Armor and Shotgun From The Cerberus

8 Feb 2010 at 4:38pm
Image: http://evavhost.com/ Starting tomorrow, February 9th, ME2 owners will be able to get the Ceberus Assault Armor and M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun from the Cerberus Network for free! Want screen shots or more information? Click here...

*Shacknews* Games

EA Talks DLC Strategy for 2010

8 Feb 2010 at 10:00pm
In a conference call Q&A after their earnings report, Electronic Arts executives waxed about recent successes and strategies with downloadable content.

EA CEO John Riccitiello shared the motivation behind their inclusion of paid DLC in all their titles this year. "We sort of initiated our approach here originally with NBA Live with Dynamic DNA almost a year-and-a-half ago. In every case, what we've seen is a very positive response from the consumer and in each case, particularly with Dragon Age, a strong pickup in revenue per user. By and large, they like the extra content and we think it's a strong positive move...we've got similar strong PDLC programs with all of our titles this year."

COO John Schappert embellished on the success of Dragon Age DLC. "We had downloadable content in addition to the pack-in content, if you will, available for purchase on day one. The first week, we did over a million dollars in sales on that title

Evening Reading: Games Need Better Endings

8 Feb 2010 at 9:00pm
Watching the credits to Mass Effect 2 all I could think about was the continuing struggle it seems to be for video games to nail an ending. It's one of the clearer examples of the hurdles designers face in uniting the narrative of a game with the playing of it. While an uneasy balance can often be struck during most of the game, climactic moments expose that fractured relationship between the two.

After the ongoing internal push-pull between the action and the narrative for dominance throughout the game, this particularly held true in Mass Effect 2. I appreciate the dilemma facing the team at the end. With so much invested in improving the combat for the sequel there had to be this tremendous sense of need for a big payoff. From there it must have been a very short road to the cliched ending sequence that resulted.

Giving in to that -- taking the easy way in a sense by falling back on formulaic design -- took the wind out of my sails at the worst possible point in t...

Need for Speed SHIFT Ferrari DLC Screens and Info

8 Feb 2010 at 7:40pm
A slew of Ferraris are coming to Need for Speed SHIFT this month -- but for the next eight days exclusively to Xbox LIVE -- via a 'Ferrari Racing Series' downloadable content pack from publisher Electronic Arts. The new DLC packs in ten different Ferraris and eight new racing events containing forty-six challenges designed specifically for the new cars.

The new cars can be used in online races and the pack includes one hundred twenty-five new gamerpoints worth of achievements to be unlocked.

Here's a complete list of what's included: Ten New Cars 1996 Ferrari F50 GT 2005 Ferrari F430 Spider 2005 Ferrari FXX 200...

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Kotaku Australia

WIN! Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles On Wii

8 Feb 2010 at 8:00pm

Final Fantasy XIII isn’t the only RPG Square Enix has been working on recently. The latest in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series has just hit shelves! Here’s your final chance to win a copy. (more…)