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GDC: Google Showcases One Of Stadia’s Coolest Features
Google pulled back the curtain on its video game plans during the Game Developers Conference, unveiling its ambitious Stadia cloud gaming platform. Through Stadia, players and developers will not only be able to stream video games across a variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and TVs, they’ll even be able to share precise in-game moments with others.
During the company’s keynote address, veteran game designer Dylan Cuthbert took the stage to discuss Stadia’s State Share technology. Using the feature, developers will be able to “instantly share a playable moment from the game,” down to the world state, the player’s position and inventory, and any other aspects. The state can then be shared as a link that will allow other players to pick up from that exact moment.
Cuthbert discussed some of the examples possible with State Share. “I can create moments specifically for this kind of sharing–challenges to beat my incredible speed runs, or chances for other players to also experience those same tough boss battles. I can build as many shareable moments as I want and let the internet turn my whole game into an infinitely replayable treasure hunt.”
According to Google, Stadia will also enable game streamers to better engage with their audience with a feature called Crowd Play. This will allow viewers to jump into the same game session as a streamer by clicking a button on the screen and joining a queue.
Stadia will launch later this year. The platform will initially be available in the US, Canada, the UK, and “most of Europe” and will support various input devices, including its own proprietary controller. Additional details about Stadia and its launch lineup will be shared this summer.
For more on cloud gaming, be sure to check out how cloud gaming works and read up on the companies investing heavily in the cloud. You can also catch up on all of the Google gaming news from today’s GDC event.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gdc-google-showcases-one-of-stadias-coolest-featur/1100-6465685/
How Google Stadia Game Pricing Could Work, According To Ubisoft’s CEO
Google’s Stadia announcement shared an in-depth look at the streaming platform, technology, features, and more. One conspicuously missing component was price: There was no word on what the first-party controller or–more importantly–games themselves will cost. Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot, whose company partnered with Google for the Project Stream test last year, shared some thoughts in an interview. Project Stream was a free test of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but how will we pay for future games offered through Stadia?
“I think we will have a multitude of ways,” Guillemot told GameSpot. “Either you buy full price and you play; or you will be able to also register, possibly, to play either one hour or two hours a day. There will be plenty of ways.”
The question of price is looming over the Stadia platform, since streaming games from the cloud is such a different model than traditional game sales. As opposed to buying a physical copy that you can hold, or even a digital copy that downloads data onto your console, consumers will have to get accustomed to paying for the ability to stream a game. Guillemot’s comments suggest that traditional purchases and perhaps a Netflix-style subscription model are on the table, and he’s had plenty of time to think about the subject.
“We have been working with Google for a long time now,” he said. “The first time we went to see them [Google] was six years ago, about what was the beginning of what this is today. We even created at that time a joint venture with Square Enix to do that job. We have been looking at that technology for a long time.”
For more on Google’s cloud platform, catch up with all we know about Stadia. Or you can read our primer on why cloud gaming is the next big thing, and see some of the competition Google will face with the companies investing in cloud tech.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-google-stadia-game-pricing-could-work-accordin/1100-6465689/
Castle Crashers Releases For PS4 And Switch Soon
It’s nearing four years since Castle Crashers made the jump to current gen with a remaster on Xbox One. It’s been even longer since San Diego-based developers, The Behemoth, launched the side-scrolling beat-em-up on last generation’s hardware. Now, in celebration of the game’s 10th–going on 11th–year on the market, the studio has announced that Castle Crashers is re-re-releasing, this time for Nintendo Switch and PS4.
In a Twitter post, The Behemoth stated Castle Crashers Remastered, the version of the game that launched on Xbox One back in September 2015, is making its way to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, no release date accompanied the announcement.
The developers penned a blog post on its official website detailing the announcement. Castle Crashers Remastered for Switch and PS4 will contain the Back Off Barbarian mini-game, all previously released DLC, and various gameplay improvements and performance updates. This re-release will also run at 60 frames per second and feature textures much improved over the original game’s. Essentially, it’s the Xbox One version of the game and more.
For the Switch version, Castle Crashers Remastered utilizes the system’s HD Rumble feature and four-player local Joy-Con support. So you, your friend, and your friend’s friend can play on one system using multiple Joy-Cons. PS4 owners who purchase the game will see the color of their controlled character displayed on the controller’s lightbar. Who doesn’t love a pink lightbar?
The Behemoth co-founder Dan Paladin gave some very specific reasons why this remaster is happening. It boils down to game preservation, a hot-button topic in the industry. “When we make games we want them to stick around,” Paladin wrote in the blog post. He also notes that “higher resolutions, higher framerates, chances to make tweaks, and better overall quality” are “very satisfying.”
At the end of the post, Paladin confirms that the studio is working on a new game. As of right now, it’s codenamed “Game 5.” There’s no other information on this title, but Paladin ensures the studio will “have more information on this later in the year hopefully.”
In our initial Castle Crashers review, we said the game is “an absurdly hilarious romp you won’t soon forget.”
Castle Crashers Remastered is available now on Mac, PC, and Xbox One. If you happen to have a PS3 or Xbox 360, you can play it there, too.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/castle-crashers-releases-for-ps4-and-switch-soon/1100-6465688/
