Daily News Spin — March 30, 2001 (Friday)

Deadlands coming to your PC

Avault is reporting that UK-based Headfirst Productions has grabbed the rights to make a computer game based on the Deadlands RPG from Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

Deadlands is a "Weird West" game that mixes in supernatural elements with the American old west. Here's a bit from Pinnacle's page that describes the RPG:

Some tell of mysterious and terrifying beings called the Reckoners. They say these otherworldly horrors are seeding the entire world with fear, cultivating humanity's terror. Someday, should they create enough, they could even walk the Earth - and destroy it utterly!

Arrayed against the darkness are the heroes of the Weird West(TM). Grim gunslingers ride the trails, armed only with their six-guns and their wits. Cardslinging hucksters gamble with dark forces to cast arcane hexes. Scientists teetering on the edge of madness create infernal devices of piston-pumping steam and steel. Wise shamans call upon long-forgotten, nature spirits for powerful favors. Agents and Texas Rangers try to protect the public from the most dangerous of all things - the truth.

Gameloft closing websites

We reported this some time ago, but now it's official -- at least according to Avault.

UBI SOFT is shutting down its gaming websites around the world, citing �no profit perspective in the exploitation of its Internet portal.� An e-mail from a press agent for the venture announced the news this morning....

We've also noticed that the Gamer's Alliance network seems to have gone a bit dormant, with the exception being the main site, GA-Source. The other sites are not being updated. GA-Strategy was last updated on the 16th and GA-RPG was last updated on the 11th.

Baldur's Gate 2 post-mortem

Gamespot has an interesting look at the Baldur's Gate 2 development process written by joint BioWare CEO's Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk.

In developing a sequel, you must start with the right philosophy--the goal must be to make the game better, not just make the same game over again. You also need a mechanism to quantify your previous mistakes and learn from them. If you don't make a point of figuring out what you did wrong last time, you're not likely to fix it the second time around.

Half-Life Blue Shift in the works

Sierra and Gearbox Software announced Half-Life: Blue Shift, which will be out in June. You can check out the offical website, which has a trailer. Blue Shift will allows players to explore areas of the Black Mesa Research Facility where even Gordon Freeman never gained access. Blue Shift is a stand-alone product. From the press release:

Blue Shift is an all-new single player episode surrounding the Black Mesa security guard introduced in Valve's classic action thriller, Half-Life. In development by Gearbox Software, creators of the critically acclaimed Half-Life(r): Opposing Force(tm), Blueshift also contains the Half-Life HD Pack, which automatically upgrades the weapons and characters of all the games in the Half-Life saga with new high definition content.

The press release also says that in the U.S. it will be "sold with a full version of Half-Life: Opposing Force," This worries us a bit. We wonder how Sierra will price this product, and if owners of Opposing Force will get any kind of a break?

Arab-Israeli Wars announced

TalonSoft announced today a new game based on several different historical conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Dominate the Middle East during a new age of warfare with the emergence of anti tank guided missiles and supersonic Jets. Crush your enemy with the sophisticated weaponry of the M48A2 Patton�s, T-62�s and the F-4 Phantom II�s in 22 exciting stand alone scenarios covering the 1948, 1956,1967, and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars. Conduct four intense linked Campaign games, taking place on the fierce battlefields of The Six Day War and Yom Kippur War.

Sounds interesting, but it's also a game that's picking at a wound that hasn't healed yet, also.

X marks the spot for Sega and Microsoft

Sega's has signed to deliver 11 games for the Xbox, according to this press release:

The companies kicked off their relationship by announcing an 11-title publishing agreement to premiere many of Sega's upcoming games on the Microsoft� Xbox console. The first games to premiere on Xbox will be "Jet Grind Radio Future*" (tentative title), "Panzer Dragoon*" (latest version), "GUNVALKYRIE*", and "Sega GT*" (latest version). In addition, Sega plans to utilize the Xbox video game system's broadband online gaming capabilities.

These don't seem to be exclusives, but they will "premiere" on the Xbox, so they may be exclusive for an initial period.

"We Created Worlds... 1983-2001"

GameSpyDaily has an article penned by Witchboy Harvey Smith about the wake that was held for Origin last night, attended by many past members of the company.

So tonight we gathered in Austin, in a lightly wooded area (that will remain undisclosed), to "celebrate." The mood was one part somber, one part nostalgic, one part excited (by the chaos). Some of the people who had, until late, been working at Origin had built a giant bonfire, made of UO2 schedules, design docs and such. Several people, including (I think) Richard, Starr "Blackthorn" Long (UO2 producer) and Victor "Tungsten" Meinert (UO2 art director), lit the fire with torches in the form of a pyramid, sphere and cube. It was awesome. There was a small stuffed armadillo on top of the bonfire. As the fire lit, a column of sparks sizzled up into the black sky.

3am

"Sometimes the healthiest thing a body can do is get out of the sunshine, off the green grass, out of the fresh air and breath in the opposite -- air that is equal parts smoke, tension, and BO. Only then will you rediscover what first drew you, as a child, to games."

- Steve Rushin, from Beers and Shots in the April 2, 2001 issue of Sports Illustrated, writing about English pubs and darts.

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