Fortnite Season 10 concluded with a big in-game event that looks to be ushering in significant changes for the wildly popular battle royale title. Developer Epic Games has been teasing that “The End” was coming over the last few weeks, and we finally know exactly what that means.

As expected, once the countdown clocks struck zero, the new rocket the mysterious Visitor had built at Dusty Depot launched, creating a new rift in the sky. This set off a chain reaction. The other rifts around the island began pulsating, and multiple rockets emerged from them and zipped around the sky until they all converged and smashed into the “zero point” beneath the giant meteor, sucking the meteor into the rift.

After a moment of stillness, another rift opened up in the sky, and one final rocket emerged and honed in on the zero point, setting off a massive shockwave that knocked players into the sky. The rocket was followed by the meteor, which also smashed into the zero point, creating a cyclone of energy that sucked players, the Battle Bus, and everything else in, leaving nothing but a black hole.

It appears that series of events really did mark the end of the game–at least for now. Players who remain in the event playlist can do nothing but watch the black hole, and those who exit the game and try to log into a new match are unable to. Epic hasn’t formally said anything about what transpired, but following the event, the official Fortnite Twitter account also updated its banner to a picture of the black hole.

It remains to be seen what this all means for the future of Fortnite, but rumors about the new season and upcoming changes to the game were plentiful online and in the various gaming communities. Before Epic had even hinted at what was to come, there were reports of new locations and gameplay changes. One leak indicated that a new Fortnite map was indeed on the way. Fans also recently spotted an apparent leaked image for “Fortnite: Chapter 2” on the Italian App Store, suggesting the game will be rebranded following the end of Season 10.

Ahead of the big Season 11 event, Epic issued the last set of Season 10 challenges, many of which paved the way for the new season. These involved finding recordings left behind by the mysterious Visitor. You can see the guides for the Visitor recordings and the other challenges from the season in our complete Fortnite Season 10 challenges roundup.

Epic still hasn’t announced when Season 11 of the game will officially begin, but we do know one thing the new season will bring: bots. As part of its recent matchmaking changes, Epic says it will introduce AI-controlled opponents to Fortnite beginning next season to help players hone their skills. You can catch up on everything else we know about Fortnite Season 11 so far in our roundup.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-season-11-the-end-event-destroyed-everyth/1100-6470517/

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers was released in mid-2019 to an almost unanimous standing ovation from the community and critics alike. One of the strengths of this expansion is its reverence for the stories that have been told in installments past. However, it tells these tales not through the sweeping statements about morality and the nature of war that veteran players might be used to, but rather through a focus on well-known characters within the game as well as their relationships to the world around them and each other.

Natsuko Ishikawa, the lead main scenario writer for Shadowbringers, and Takeo Suzuki, art team lead, are some of the minds who were responsible for reframing established character narratives and refining familiar systems in order to carry out the above. The design philosophies adopted by their respective departments have been instrumental in allowing this expansion to have delivered what is arguably the game’s most engaging content to date. GameSpot spoke to both Suzuki and Ishikawa to gain some insight into their process.

Natsuko Ishikawa (center) and Takeo Suzuki (right) during the Shadowbringers Post-mortem at PAX West 2019. (credit: PAX)

The latest installment in Final Fantasy XIV’s already-impressive canon has been praised for the way that it managed to weave in years of old lore whilst still managing to serve up a story that is potentially the biggest and the best that Square Enix’s flagship MMO has ever told. Stormblood, its predecessor, felt a little more like a clean slate in terms of expansion design when it took the Warrior of Light to a whole new continent and to a whole new conflict that really had only parts of it hinted at in previous quests.

By comparison, one might wonder whether or not the team at Square Enix felt constrained at all by the sheer amount of callbacks in the lore and threads of plotlines from A Realm Reborn that made up such a significant part of Shadowbringers. However, Ishikawa adopted the same core philosophy towards writing the Main Scenario for this expansion that she had when she was in charge of writing scenario content for Stormblood. “With Shadowbringers, it feels like it’s just a similar approach but on a larger scale. You’re pulling from other elements that have existed and kind of connecting the dots from there, creating one big story from there,” maintained Ishikawa. “We can’t say that there wasn’t any sort of limitation at all, but it was still a really fun experience for me, that I’m able to carry on the narrative that existed for a while and to expand upon it and building another story.”

This ability to draw on the wealth of established lore with Final Fantasy XIV is something that the design team at Square Enix sees as a strength. Suzuki, who has been working with the company since the Chrono Cross days, agrees with Ishikawa that what they’ve done with Shadowbringers is one of the great advantages of the game and that referencing its storied past is a boon.

This philosophy that focuses on the building blocks and small moments drawn from familiar reference points is perhaps best illustrated by the design process behind the cities of Eulmore and Amaurot: two new environments for you to explore in Shadowbringers that conveyed very poignant tales whilst also clearly being quest hubs. This meant that their primary mechanical focus was to place players convincingly within the central conflict of the game’s world. Eulmore, in particular, was a symbol of the corruption and the antagonism that seethed below the surface of Norvrandt for a large portion of the expansion.

Eulmore is a lavish upper-class utopia with a very ugly side.

In order to accurately convey the unsettling nature of Eulmore and its surroundings, Suzuki’s team had to consider not only the aesthetic of the location but also to put themselves in the shoes of the NPCs inhabiting the world in that particular area. After the art design team received information about the basics of each town, step one for Suzuki was to think about the type of people who would live in Eulmore.

“We do have the poorer people living at the base of that area, and so the background design team would try to imagine ‘What kind of life do these characters live?’ in that slum area. They then start to think about what elements we want to place in that world,” he elaborated. “From there, it’s very interesting, because it goes back to the game planning team and the game design team. They see certain elements like ‘Oh, they utilize pieces from broken ships’ or ‘There’s a flower they planted there’ and go ‘Oh, that’d be cool if they tied into a quest we wanted to place in that area’”.

This collaborative process is reflective of the emphasis that Square Enix has placed on interconnecting elements in Shadowbringers, ranging from the approach to developing new in-game lore to ensuring character continuity and growth for fan-favorites like the Scions (who have been around since A Realm Reborn). When quizzed on how familiar faces in the new expansion have grown and changed in an empathetic way, both Suzuki and Ishikawa identified characters that they had a soft spot for.

Ishikawa noted that Urianger had come a long way since his introduction in the base game. “When he was first introduced in A Realm Reborn you kind of had this Shakespearean feel; you had no clue what he’s saying,” she noted. “But by the time Shadowbringers hit, he’s choosing his words more carefully, and you actually see that he’s trying to choose words that people can “get.” I think the people that he traveled with have impacted him and he’s started to become more considerate about how he’s relaying and conveying what he feels.”

While Urianger’s manner of speech and his behavior have long been a source of amusement for fans, the way that the writing team incorporated those subtle changes to his demeanor whilst also crafting an entirely new personal arc for the Elezen gave both meaning and nuance to what was previously seen as a hammy, over-the-top affectation.

We can’t say that there wasn’t any sort of limitation at all, but it was still a really fun experience for me, that I’m able to carry on the narrative that existed for a while and to expand upon it and building another story. – Natsuko Ishikawa

It’s finding those little pockets of storytelling and capitalizing on them which helps balance Shadowbringers on that knife’s edge between characters being so different that they lose their relatability, and characters being so firmly entrenched in old lore that they don’t grow with the world around them. The most famous legacy character referenced in the latest expansion, Ardbert, could very easily have fallen into the latter category especially considering Suzuki’s fun fact that the team had actually repurposed his art assets for the expansion.

“When Ardbert was first introduced, he was the Warrior of Darkness that was responsible for the First falling under the influence under the flood of Light,” said Suzuki, who was of the opinion that Ardbert’s story didn’t initially conclude very well. “But through Shadowbringers, you talk with him and it feels like he gets a sort of resolution to his regrets and what he felt he was not able to accomplish, so that was very memorable for me.”

Small moments of storytelling were put into the Trust system; Alisaie keeps her composure during tragic events.

Suzuki and Ishikawa’s observations on the care that went into fleshing out the supporting cast of characters only reaffirms that Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion isn’t another re-do of the Chosen One trope but rather a story that places immense value on the power of friendship in the face of adversity. This is especially true of the Trust system, which Ishikawa recalls fondly even though she admitted to struggling with how to depict the various NPCs and their reactions to dungeons to account for player variability. “I also had to consider where I draw the line in depicting these NPCs and their reactions,” said Ishikawa. “To what point do we want to have these NPCs react to their environment and still make it enjoyable either way, whether you take them to the dungeon or not?”

This focus on adaptability and worldbuilding is one of the hallmarks of Shadowbringers. Through main scenario writing that focuses on those two elements and the game’s companions, players are given the chance to feel the impact of in-game decisions made as far back as A Realm Reborn. This was especially true for Ardbert, who is just one of many examples where lore has been refined over the course of a title in a humanizing way that is both relatable and meaningful, and ties into forward-looking content created specifically for the expansion like Eulmore and Amaurot. “It’s something that we wouldn’t be able to accomplish with a single standalone game,” says Ishikawa of the creative process behind this expansion, and she’s right. Shadowbringers is not shy about embracing all the lore that came before; it has evolved the precepts that made old content and characters so enjoyable, and it tells the most compelling tale in Final Fantasy XIV’s history because of it.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-shadowbringers-came-to-be-the-best-ffxiv-story/1100-6470460/

The Elder Scrolls Online launched on PC in 2014, but the release wasn’t as smooth or as successful as developer ZeniMax Online Studios might have wanted. Just a year after release, ZeniMax announced that the game would drop its mandatory subscription requirement and launch a console version to help turn things around.

It worked. The game is in a much better place today, with a reported 13.5 million people signing up to play the game to date. Creative director Rich Lambert, who has worked on the game for 12 years, said in an appearance in the GameSpot Theatre today at PAX Aus that ZeniMax is planning to continue supporting ESO for a long time.

Speaking during a panel regarding the games-as-a-service model, Lambert said change is “core” to the experience of a games-as-a-service title. “With single-player games, you release a game and essentially you’re done,” Lambert said. But with an MMO like ESO, continuing to support and update the game and support and embrace the community is paramount to finding success.

Lambert did not offer any specifics on ESO’s content plans for 2020 and beyond, however.

Also during the panel, Lambert spoke about the importance–and the challenges related to–being transparent and communicative with fans in the development process. Lambert said one challenge is that fans can sometimes take a developer’s comments as “gospel” and expect that big changes will be released quickly. But game development can be a lengthy process with numerous behind-the-scenes challenges.

“We f**k up, we make mistakes, we get it wrong sometimes,” Lambert said. “It’s hard to admit you get it wrong. The community will always tell you when you get it wrong.”

ESO is considered a comeback story not unlike Warframe in that it launched to a middling reception before growing to become more successful over time. Lambert recalled that ESO “wasn’t the game people wanted” at release in 2014. The studio worked hard as a group to turn things around with the Tamriel Unlimited update and the console release, he said. “It was hard,” Lambert recalled.

Another important milestone for ESO was the release of the One Tamriel update in 2016. Lambert pointed out that this major update helped improve the accessibility of ESO and draw in new players. The update drops a number of gates that restricted access to some content for some players. This changed with the One Tamriel update, and it helped further fulfil the Elder Scrolls fantasy of being able to go anywhere and do anything, Lambert said.

PAX Aus runs October 11-13 in Melbourne, and GameSpot is on hand at the show all weekend to bring you news and further coverage. For more, check out a rundown of all the panels in the GameSpot Theatre.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-has-plans-for-2020-and-years-/1100-6470515/

Blizzard recently found itself embroiled in controversy when it banned a professional Hearthstone player and rescinded his thousands of dollars in prize money after they expressed support for the Hong Kong protests in China.

The player, blitzchung, made his statement during a victory interview–and this was in violation of “rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action,” Blizzard’s president J. Allen Brack said in a statement.

Brack went on to say its decision was not driven by its relationship with its partners in China. “The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision,” Brack said.

The executive went on to say that Blizzard enforces rules about what can and cannot be said during player interviews to “keep the focus on the game and on the tournament.” For this reason–and this reason alone–Blizzard decided to take action against blitzchung.

“If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same,” Brack said.

While Blizzard is standing by its decision to punish, Brack acknowledged that the company made some mistakes in how it handled the situation and specifically how it determined the penalties against blitzchung. “We’ve had a chance to pause, to listen to our community, and to reflect on what we could have done better. In hindsight, our process wasn’t adequate, and we reacted too quickly,” Blizzard said.

“We want to ensure that we maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all our players, and that our rules and processes are clear. All of this is in service of another important Blizzard value–Play Nice; Play Fair.”

Brack said that blitzchung competed in the Hearthstone tournament in a fair manner, and as such, he still should have been paid the prize money he earned. “We now believe he should receive his prizing,” Brack said.

However, Brack said “playing fair” encompasses conduct during match play and after, which would include his Hong Kong comments from the post-match interview.

In terms of his suspension, Brack said a six-month ban is “more appropriate” than the one-year suspension that was announced earlier. “There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast,” Brack said.

The shoutcasters were also caught up in the controversy, and Blizzard is banning them as well for steering the conversation away from the game. “With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well,” Brack said.

“One of our goals at Blizzard is to make sure that every player, everywhere in the world, regardless of political views, religious beliefs, race, gender, or any other consideration always feels safe and welcome both competing in and playing our games.”

After Blizzard announced its action against blitzchung, whose real name is Ng Wai Chung, the response was fierce, with gamers calling for boycotts and some deleting their accounts. US Senators criticized the move as censorship, some Blizzard employees staged their own protest, and host personalities like Brian Kibler announced they would no longer shoutcast Hearthstone events. Most recently Hearthstone’s first ever World Champion, James Kostesich aka “Firebat,” called the penalty ridiculous and unreasonable.

Blizzard’s big fan convention, BlizzCon, is scheduled to November. A group of gamers are organizing a protest over the Hong Kong situation at the event.

Full Blizzard Statement:

“Hello Blizzard Community . . .

I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament this past weekend. On Monday, we made the decision to take action against a player named blitzchung and two shoutcasters after the player shared his views on what’s happening in Hong Kong on our official broadcast channel.

At Blizzard, our vision is “to bring the world together through epic entertainment.” And we have core values that apply here: Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters, encouraging everybody to share their point of view. The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain.

Our esports programs are an expression of our vision and our values. Esports exist to create opportunities for players from around the world, from different cultures, and from different backgrounds, to come together to compete and share their passion for gaming. It is extremely important to us to protect these channels and the purpose they serve: to bring the world together through epic entertainment, celebrate our players, and build diverse and inclusive communities.

As to how those values apply in this case:

First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.

We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.

Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.

Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game.

Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?

We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.

Third, were our actions based on the content of the message?

Part of Thinking Globally, Leading Responsibly, and Every Voice Matters is recognizing that we have players and fans in almost every country in the world. Our goal is to help players connect in areas of commonality, like their passion for our games, and create a sense of shared community.

The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.

We have these rules to keep the focus on the game and on the tournament to the benefit of a global audience, and that was the only consideration in the actions we took.

If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same.

OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here?

Over the past few days, many players, casters, esports fans, and employees have expressed concerns about how we determined the penalties. We’ve had a chance to pause, to listen to our community, and to reflect on what we could have done better. In hindsight, our process wasn’t adequate, and we reacted too quickly.

We want to ensure that we maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all our players, and that our rules and processes are clear. All of this is in service of another important Blizzard value—Play Nice; Play Fair.

In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention.

But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.

With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.

Moving forward, we will continue to apply tournament rules to ensure our official broadcasts remain focused on the game and are not a platform for divisive social or political views.

One of our goals at Blizzard is to make sure that every player, everywhere in the world, regardless of political views, religious beliefs, race, gender, or any other consideration always feels safe and welcome both competing in and playing our games.

At Blizzard, we are always listening and finding ways to improve—it is part of our culture. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to learn.

Sincerely,

J. Allen Brack

President of Blizzard Entertainment”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-reduces-ban-time-returns-money-to-hearths/1100-6470512/