→ GameSetWatch | 30 Jul 2010 | 12:00am GMT
After working on the project for more than three and a half years, Textfiles.com admin and filmmaker Jason Scott will begin shipping out orders for Get Lamp, his documentary on the history of text adventure games and their creators, in just a few days. The documentary features interviews with dozens of "creators, players and academics related to interactive fiction and text adventures". Fitting with the film's theme, it also offers an optional...
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 10:43pm GMT
The Entertainment Software Association, a major U.S. video game industry trade organization, spent $1.1 million to lobby on behalf of game publishers and developers in the second quarter of this year, a slight drop from the organization's recent spending. In the second quarter of last year, and in the first quarter of this year, the ESA spent about $1.2 million lobbying, making this quarter's figure an 8 percent drop on both a year-over-year and...
→ GameSetWatch | 29 Jul 2010 | 10:00pm GMT
In preparation for Two Worlds II's North American launch this September, Southpeak Interactive has tamed up with comedian Ian Bagg to put together a humorous series of promotional videos that pokes fun at the first game's quality and the RPG's former evil lord Sordahon. The series follows the dejected villain after his escape from Two Worlds, as he wastes his days letting the messages on his answering machine pile up, and as he looks for a new...
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 9:56pm GMT
[Sister site FingerGaming rounds up the week's most popular paid and free iPad gaming applications on the App Store as of today, with Gameloft taking the lead with steep price drops for Shrek Kart HD, Iron Man 2 HD, and Brothers in Arms 2 HD.] This week's top paid titles are: 1. Shrek Kart HD ($0.99) 2. Iron Man 2 HD ($0.99) 3. Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front HD ($0.99) 4. Chopper 2 ($2.99) ......
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 9:54pm GMT
The state of Maryland has officially recognized local developer Firaxis' Sid Meier's Civilization V by naming the day of its release after the game itself. As dictated by a gubernatorial proclamation, September 21, 2010 will be known as "Sid Meier's Civilization V Day." Governor Martin O'Malley signed the proclamation today, citing the achievements of legendary designer and studio founder Sid Meier, "a longtime and celebrated Marylander who has s...
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 9:13pm GMT
Farmville developer Zynga has teamed up with telecommunications/media corporation Softbank to create Zynga Japan, a joint venture focusing on social games and the local mobile market. Along with announcing the Tokyo-based joint venture, Softbank revealed that it's completed a previously reported $150 million investment in Zynga, boosting the San Francisco's total amount of venture backing raised since its founding three years ago up to almost $37...
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 9:04pm GMT
[Every other week, we'll examine the fastest growing Facebook games (according to monthly active users), looking at which titles and developers are having the most success attracting new players on the social network.] Though Lyore Network's QuizBone doesn't seem to really qualify as a game, the quiz-making title was still the fastest growing app listed in Facebook's "Games" category, doubling its audience to 2.9 million after gaining 1.5 million...
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 8:38pm GMT
There will be no video game based on the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse -- at least not the one that was under development by Green Bay, WI-based developer Frozen Codebase. "Yeah, it's not going on any longer," studio found Ben Geisler told Gamasutra in a Thursday phone call, confirming an earlier report on Siliconera. "We were making the game for Konami, and Konami lost the license." For Frozen Codebase, the game's axing is old ......
→ GameSetWatch | 29 Jul 2010 | 8:00pm GMT
[In a new installment of his 'Sound Current' series for GameSetWatch, writer Jeriaska tracks down Yakuza 3 and franchise soundtrack composer Hidenori Shoji to discuss the making of the music for the Sega's signature crime drama game.] Over the course of the Yakuza game series, protagonist Kazuma Kiryu has battled a crime boss in Osaka, started an orphanage in Okinawa, and even found himself transformed into Gion's 17th century swordsman Miyamoto...
→ Gamasutra News | 29 Jul 2010 | 7:45pm GMT
For game makers, deciding whether to charge for certain content in online games can be a tricky balance between fostering player loyalty and making some quick revenue. To charge or not to charge is something that the Aion team at NCsoft was recently pondering. The MMORPG, released in September 2009, is due for a substantial expansion in September 2010 with Aion 2.0, now known formally as Aion: Assault on Balaurea. The game's lead producer Chris ....
