Trailer – Steam store page

Today, I want to talk about a new game that’s going to come out later this year. It’s called Cave Hikers. It’s being developed by Porcupine Parkour. This small Croatian based studio reached out to me to review their demo in July. I would have written an article about it before, but I have been suffering from a writing burnout. Thankfully, I’m slowly getting back in the groove. And I’m going to make it up to the developers by publishing an article on their game today. Let’s take a look at the demo together, shall we? And I have a small surprise in store later.

Demo review

In this demo, you get an introduction to the gameplay. If you ever played a game like My Brother Rabbit, you will feel right at home in this game. This is a point and click game where you go from screen to screen. Each screen has a small puzzle or hidden object moment for you to take part in.

This game feels like playing through a children book. The voice of the narrator sounds like a (grand)father telling a story to their children. It’s extremely charming, and the story book art style really helps to sell this story.

Overall, there is no real tutorial in this game. Yet, the gameplay is quite simple. You learn quite quickly that this game is controlled with only the mouse. The menu system exists out of icons that make the game a lot easier to localize.

The demo is rather short but gives a very good impression of the full game. This game looks like it’s something I’m going to play. It’s a charming point-and-click game with hidden objects that feels nostalgic. Since the demo is so short, I don’t have a lot to talk about in terms of feedback.

The art style, voice acting, animation is all pretty well done. I only have a few minor complaints. The first complaint is that clicking to unmute the music or sound effects can’t be done right away. It doesn’t always register right away. And the second complaint is the in some rare spots, like with the red crystal at the end of the demo, the hitbox of placing it in the crusher is too tiny.

So, the game describes itself as:

Cave Hikers is a relaxing and humorous 2D interactive cartoon mockumentary that follows three characters through a cavernous world, on a quest to find the mystical “cave with an infinite ceiling”.

And I think it fits the game pretty well. Like I have been saying, the humor and charm of this game is there, and it’s pretty clear that maybe from some very minor things, this game is going to be an extremely charming game.

Now, how interesting would it be if I asked some questions to the developers of this game? Well, I had a few interesting questions in mind, so I went and asked them. Here are their replies.

Interview with the developers

– What games inspired you take to make this one?

It was mostly HOPA style games, which are usually made by much larger companies with inexpensive artists and a pseudo-realistic and kitsch-y style. So we went more in line with our own kind of art style, with some inspiration from Amanita games.

– What’s your process in creating puzzles?

It’s a strange process. As we started making the game in our free time for fun between odd jobs and more “serious” projects, we made a number of locations, creatures and simple mechanics. First we take a look at what already exists on the screen, then we intertwine the narrative with some clicking and potential puzzle elements. Then we play around with it until we are happy with the amount of “work” the player needs to do before accomplishing the goal.

Sometimes it includes a bit of moon logic. First, we make it clearer through conversation clouds and drawings. Then, whatever is unclear or hard to find for testers, we explain further through the Narrator.

– What are the funniest bugs or whoopies that happened during development?

For a while, we had a splash screen that looked exactly like the main menu, which created a lot of confusion! That was because the engine was upgraded, and also we started working with a much better programmer, we consolidated it into a coherent menu.

As for actually funny bugs, at one point we had Valeriano’s secret twin showing up at the cutscene. It took a while to realize we accidentally put two Valerianos of which one was outside the camera view.

– What engine did you use and why?

It’s Construct 3. At first, we made this project for fun and the Animator wasn’t exactly a programmer, so he used a really simple engine. (Un)fortunately, the project got out of hand and got some funding. Now we have a real programmer, but he had to learn Construct with all its limitations, but it’s also a really simple engine so we can still make a lot of the game without much hassle.

– What are some things you learned during developing this game?

Something that we re-learned time and time again… a game is easier to build if you have the whole team and a proper plan. Because otherwise you leave a lot of work and frustration for “future you”. We also learned that Construct can be a lot stronger than we initially thought… but also that it can be really stubborn in some areas.

– How many people worked on this game?

It first started with Sven the illustrator and Zvonimir the animator. At first, we were building a completely wordless game. But some testers were a bit confused at what the characters are really doing. So we hired Tom Bennet as the narrator and also Lea Konjetić to compose original music for the game. In the last six months, Fabjan the programmer also joined the team and superpowered our development process. All in all, five people, excluding all the translators.

Final thoughts

I’m very happy that games like these are getting more attention. Hidden object games have a strange reputation of being “too casual” or “boring”. Yet, I dare to argue there is something to love in these games. Especially when a game is created with this much passion and love.

I want to apologize to the developers again for taking such a long time in creating and article about the demo. But, I’m happy I did today. Since, if you have any interest in playing this game after reading this article, go and play the demo. Or share this article with somebody you think will enjoy playing this game. The demo takes roughly 15 minutes to finish.

I wish the developers a lot of luck and success with their game and when it’s fully released, I’m going to play this game and most likely review it on my blog. And with that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game for now. Thank you so much for reading this article, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed making it. I hope to welcome you in another article, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

The Sunday Times has revealed the UK's top 30 wealthiest developers and gamers, including Rockstar's Sam and Dan Houser (#4), Frontiers' David Braben and Wendy Irvin-Braben (#10), and Rebellion's Chris and Jason Kingsley (#14), and Hello Games' Sean Murray (#17).

Other names on The Sunday Times Gaming Rich List include Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg (#25), Alastair "Ali-A" Aiken (#30), and KSI and The Sidemen (=#21).

Read more

If you cast your minds back to October 2021, you may recall the news that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was set to make its way to the VR headset, Oculus Quest 2. While details on the project were thin on the ground at this time, it was said to have been "many years in the making".

However, not quite three years since that initial announcement, Meta has now said work on the VR port is "on hold indefinitely".

In response to a YouTube commenter inquiring as to the whereabouts of GTA: San Andreas VR, the official Meta Quest Vr account replied: "GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we both focus on other projects."

Read more

What if you could take the benefits of solid-state speaker drivers — specifically, their extreme thinness and lack of moving parts — and bring them to cooling fans? That's what xMEMS aims to do with its new XMC-2400 µCooling (microcooling) chip. It's a 1mm-tall solid-state fan on a chip that can actively cool extremely thin devices like smartphones and tablets. Based on the same MEMS (Micro-electromechanical systems) technology as the company's upcoming ultrasonic driver inside headphones, the micro-cooling chip could lead to slim devices that are less prone to overheating and capable of better sustained performance.

Consider this real-world example: If my fan-less M2 MacBook Air had xMEMS' XMC-2400 chips installed, it wouldn't have died on me while I was working in the sun at Apple's WWDC last year. It's not hard to imagine other potential solutions: Headphones that can cool down your ears; gaming controllers that can keep your paws from getting sweaty; tablets that can eke out even more speed from their hardware.

xMEMS

In earbuds like Creative's Aurvana Ace, xMEMS' solid-state drivers excelled at reproducing mid- and high-range, but they were paired together with a traditional bass driver to handle low-end frequencies. xMEMS' next-generation solid-state driver, dubbed Cypress, holds its own across all frequencies—-and it's that same air-pushing power that the new micro-cooling chip relies on.

According to Mike Housholder, xMEMS VP Marketing and Business Development, the XMC-2400 µCooling chip uses ultrasonic modulation to create pressure pulses for air movement. It weighs less than 150 milligrams and can move "up to 39 cubic centimeters of air per second with 1,000 Pascals of back pressure," xMEMS says. Since it's a solid-state device, there aren't any moving parts like rotors or fins to fail, and its thin design means it can be placed directly atop heat-generating components like APUs and GPUs. It's also resistant to dust and water damage with an IP58 rating.

xMEMS isn't the only company pursuing ultra-thin, solid-state cooling. Frore's AirJet Mini and Mini Slim can both generate 1,750 Pascals of back pressure, but they're also larger and thicker than the XMC-2400, measuring 2.8mm and 2.5mm thick, respectively. Frore showed off its technology by hacking it into a MacBook Air, and according to The Verge, it pushed out heat and led to improved sustained performance.

xMEMS

As Housholder puts it, xMEMS' technology is more flexible since its far thinner, and manufacturers can also choose from side- and top-venting options. He expects the XMC-2400 to cost under $10 per chip, and that "four to five" existing partners will get their hands on it by the end of the year. Other manufacturers can snag it in the first quarter of 2025. xMEMS' fabrication partners, TSMC and Bosch, can easily switch from building its speakers today to constructing micro-cooling chips tomorrow, Housholder says. There's no need to change equipment or production lines. 

As devices like the iPad Pro juggle extreme thinness with powerful performance, the need for some sort of ultra-thin active cooling solution is clear. We can't escape physics, after all—that's something I learned when my MacBook Air died on Apple's own campus. While we still need to see the xMEMS micro-cooling chip in action to form any sort of judgment, theoretically, it could end up being indispensable in the future.

Whether you’re working on an essay, doing research for a paper or just need some downtime streaming your favorite show - a good laptop is a sensible investment for every college student. The best laptop for college doesn’t have to push the envelope with the latest graphics card and processor, nor does it have to cost an arm and a leg. Sure, the best laptops come in all shapes and sizes and range in price, but college students don’t need a power-hungry machine to support their needs. The best laptop for college is ideally thin and lightweight, and provides enough battery to last all day without having to be tethered to the wall. No matter what you’re studying, we’ve researched and tested a range of laptops for you to consider as you decide which is the best laptop for college for you.

What to consider in your next laptop for college

It’s important to consider your major and what you need your laptop to do before deciding on the best laptop for college. For example, if you’re a liberal arts major and will mostly be writing or making presentations, you don’t need an expensive system with a discrete graphics card. Alternatively, if you’re a film major who might need to render videos on a regular basis, having a beefy PC can significantly reduce the time it takes to finish a project. You’ll also want to take a look at any guidelines provided by your college or your specific program, as you may need required software or apps that only run on a specific OS.

Some other things to consider are if you want a more portable 13 or 14-inch machine that’s easier to carry around, or if you prefer something with a larger screen. On top of that, if you are doing tasks like photo or video editing, you’ll probably want to go for a system with a high-resolution display (1440p or 4K), so it's easier to see details. As for other specs, ideally you’ll want 16GB of RAM (though you can go down to 8GB on a Chromebook) and at least 512GB or 1TB of storage. Most newer laptops now come with SSD storage, too, which means you can store and transfer data much faster.

Finally, while your budget ultimately will determine how powerful of a laptop you can get, well-equipped ultraportables will generally cost between $1,000 and $1,400, with prices going up from there for systems with discrete GPUs. Budget Windows laptops and Chromebooks can be affordable alternatives though, with many going for just $500 to $700. But again, remember to check your school’s requirements because it’s not worth saving a few bucks only to find out that your notebook can’t run the app you need for all your homework.

See Also:

• Best Laptops for 2024

• Best Gaming Laptops

• Best 2-in-1 Laptops for 2024

• Best Chromebooks

• Best Cheap Windows Laptops for 2024

A word on Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs

We have really enjoyed using the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop 7. They’re fast, quiet and support a huge range of both native Arm apps and traditional x86 software. However, there are a few major productivity apps that still have not been updated to work on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips used in the recent wave of Copilot+ PCs. Some of the most notable ones are Adobe’s Illustrator and InDesign (which won’t be available until sometime in July), and After Effects and Premier Pro, which aren’t expected to arrive until later in 2024. And given the number of college students who may need a PC to edit videos, draw or create layouts with these apps, that makes it difficult to give them whole-hearted recommendations in this guide right now. However, if you’re sure the apps you need for your course or major are supported, it may be worth giving these new Copilot+ PCs a closer look.

The best laptops for college students

Phil Donahue, the presenter, writer, producer and and host of The Phil Donahue Show, is dead at 88. The longtime TV presence was famed for many achievements off and on-screen.

Donahue became a household name in the daytime talk show space in November 1967 when The Phil Donahue Show premiered on a local news network in Dayton, Ohio.

— Read the rest

The post Famed TV host Phil Donahue dead at 88 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Consider the dizzying ascent of solar energy in the United States: In the past decade, solar capacity increased nearly 900 percent, with electricity production eight times greater in 2023 than in 2014. The jump from 2022 to 2023 alone was 51 percent, with a record 32 gigawatts (GW) of solar installations coming online. In the past four years, more solar has been added to the grid than any other form of generation. Installed solar now tops 179 GW, enough to power nearly 33 million homes. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is so bullish on the sun that its decarbonization plans envision solar satisfying 45 percent of the nation’s electricity demands by 2050.

But the continued rapid expansion of solar requires advances in technology, notably to improve the efficiency and durability of solar photovoltaic (PV) materials and manufacturing. That’s where Optigon, a three-year-old MIT spinout company, comes in.

“Our goal is to build tools for research and industry that can accelerate the energy transition,” says Dane deQuilettes, the company’s co-founder and chief science officer. “The technology we have developed for solar will enable measurements and analysis of materials as they are being made both in lab and on the manufacturing line, dramatically speeding up the optimization of PV.”

With roots in MIT’s vibrant solar research community, Optigon is poised for a 2024 rollout of technology it believes will drastically pick up the pace of solar power and other clean energy projects.

Beyond silicon

Silicon, the material mainstay of most PV, is limited by the laws of physics in the efficiencies it can achieve converting photons from the sun into electrical energy. Silicon-based solar cells can theoretically reach power conversion levels of just 30 percent, and real-world efficiency levels hover in the low 20s. But beyond the physical limitations of silicon, there is another issue at play for many researchers and the solar industry in the United States and elsewhere: China dominates the silicon PV market, from supply chains to manufacturing.

Scientists are eagerly pursuing alternative materials, either for enhancing silicon’s solar conversion capacity or for replacing silicon altogether.

In the past decade, a family of crystal-structured semiconductors known as perovskites has risen to the fore as a next-generation PV material candidate. Perovskite devices lend themselves to a novel manufacturing process using printing technology that could circumvent the supply chain juggernaut China has built for silicon. Perovskite solar cells can be stacked on each other or layered atop silicon PV, to achieve higher conversion efficiencies. Because perovskite technology is flexible and lightweight, modules can be used on roofs and other structures that cannot support heavier silicon PV, lowering costs and enabling a wider range of building-integrated solar devices.

But these new materials require testing, both during R&D and then on assembly lines, where missing or defective optical, electrical, or dimensional properties in the nano-sized crystal structures can negatively impact the end product.

“The actual measurement and data analysis processes have been really, really slow, because you have to use a bunch of separate tools that are all very manual,” says Optigon co-founder and chief executive officer Anthony Troupe ’21. “We wanted to come up with tools for automating detection of a material’s properties, for determining whether it could make a good or bad solar cell, and then for optimizing it.”

“Our approach packed several non-contact, optical measurements using different types of light sources and detectors into a single system, which together provide a holistic, cross-sectional view of the material,” says Brandon Motes ’21, ME ’22, co-founder and chief technical officer.

“This breakthrough in achieving millisecond timescales for data collection and analysis means we can take research-quality tools and actually put them on a full production system, getting extremely detailed information about products being built at massive, gigawatt scale in real-time,” says Troupe.

This streamlined system takes measurements “in the snap of the fingers, unlike the traditional tools,” says Joseph Berry, director of the US Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium and a senior research scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “Optigon’s techniques are high precision and allow high throughput, which means they can be used in a lot of contexts where you want rapid feedback and the ability to develop materials very, very quickly.”

According to Berry, Optigon’s technology may give the solar industry not just better materials, but the ability to pump out high-quality PV products at a brisker clip than is currently possible. “If Optigon is successful in deploying their technology, then we can more rapidly develop the materials that we need, manufacturing with the requisite precision again and again,” he says. “This could lead to the next generation of PV modules at a much, much lower cost.”

Measuring makes the difference

With Small Business Innovation Research funding from DOE to commercialize its products and a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Optigon has settled into a space at the climate technology incubator Greentown Labs in Somerville, Massachusetts. Here, the team is preparing for this spring’s launch of its first commercial product, whose genesis lies in MIT’s GridEdge Solar Research Program.

Led by Vladimir Bulović, a professor of electrical engineering and the director of MIT.nano, the GridEdge program was established with funding from the Tata Trusts to develop lightweight, flexible, and inexpensive solar cells for distribution to rural communities around the globe. When deQuilettes joined the group in 2017 as a postdoc, he was tasked with directing the program and building the infrastructure to study and make perovskite solar modules.

“We were trying to understand once we made the material whether or not it was good,” he recalls. “There were no good commercial metrology [the science of measurements] tools for materials beyond silicon, so we started to build our own.” Recognizing the group’s need for greater expertise on the problem, especially in the areas of electrical, software, and mechanical engineering, deQuilettes put a call out for undergraduate researchers to help build metrology tools for new solar materials.

“Forty people inquired, but when I met Brandon and Anthony, something clicked; it was clear we had a complementary skill set,” says deQuilettes. “We started working together, with Anthony coming up with beautiful designs to integrate multiple measurements, and Brandon creating boards to control all of the hardware, including different types of lasers. We started filing multiple patents and that was when we saw it all coming together.”

“We knew from the start that metrology could vastly improve not just materials, but production yields,” says Troupe. Adds deQuilettes, “Our goal was getting to the highest performance orders of magnitude faster than it would ordinarily take, so we developed tools that would not just be useful for research labs but for manufacturing lines to give live feedback on quality.”

The device Optigon designed for industry is the size of a football, “with sensor packages crammed into a tiny form factor, taking measurements as material flows directly underneath,” says Motes. “We have also thought carefully about ways to make interaction with this tool as seamless and, dare I say, as enjoyable as possible, streaming data to both a dashboard an operator can watch and to a custom database.”

Photovoltaics is just the start

The company may have already found its market niche. “A research group paid us to use our in-house prototype because they have such a burning need to get these sorts of measurements,” says Troupe, and according to Motes, “Potential customers ask us if they can buy the system now.” deQuilettes says, “Our hope is that we become the de facto company for doing any sort of characterization metrology in the United States and beyond.”

Challenges lie ahead for Optigon: product launches, full-scale manufacturing, technical assistance, and sales. Greentown Labs offers support, as does MIT’s own rich community of solar researchers and entrepreneurs. But the founders are already thinking about next phases.

“We are not limiting ourselves to the photovoltaics area,” says deQuilettes. “We’re planning on working in other clean energy materials such as batteries and fuel cells.”

That’s because the team wants to make the maximum impact on the climate challenge. “We’ve thought a lot about the potential our tools will have on reducing carbon emissions, and we’ve done a really in-depth analysis looking at how our system can increase production yields of solar panels and other energy technologies, reducing materials and energy wasted in conventional optimization,” deQuilettes says. “If we look across all these sectors, we can expect to offset about 1,000 million metric tons of CO₂ [carbon dioxide] per year in the not-too-distant future.”

The team has written scale into its business plan. “We want to be the key enabler for bringing these new energy technologies to market,” says Motes. “We envision being deployed on every manufacturing line making these types of materials. It’s our goal to walk around and know that if we see a solar panel deployed, there’s a pretty high likelihood that it will be one we measured at some point.”

Perovskites, a broad class of compounds with a particular kind of crystal structure, have long been seen as a promising alternative or supplement to today’s silicon or cadmium telluride solar panels. They could be far more lightweight and inexpensive, and could be coated onto virtually any substrate, including paper or flexible plastic that could be rolled up for easy transport.

In their efficiency at converting sunlight to electricity, perovskites are becoming comparable to silicon, whose manufacture still requires long, complex, and energy-intensive processes. One big remaining drawback is longevity: They tend to break down in a matter of months to years, while silicon solar panels can last more than two decades. And their efficiency over large module areas still lags behind silicon. Now, a team of researchers at MIT and several other institutions has revealed ways to optimize efficiency and better control degradation, by engineering the nanoscale structure of perovskite devices.

The study reveals new insights on how to make high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, and also provides new directions for engineers working to bring these solar cells to the commercial marketplace. The work is described today in the journal Nature Energy, in a paper by Dane deQuilettes, a recent MIT postdoc who is now co-founder and chief science officer of the MIT spinout Optigon, along with MIT professors Vladimir Bulovic and Moungi Bawendi, and 10 others at MIT and in Washington state, the U.K., and Korea.

“Ten years ago, if you had asked us what would be the ultimate solution to the rapid development of solar technologies, the answer would have been something that works as well as silicon but whose manufacturing is much simpler,” Bulovic says. “And before we knew it, the field of perovskite photovoltaics appeared. They were as efficient as silicon, and they were as easy to paint on as it is to paint on a piece of paper. The result was tremendous excitement in the field.”

Nonetheless, “there are some significant technical challenges of handling and managing this material in ways we’ve never done before,” he says. But the promise is so great that many hundreds of researchers around the world have been working on this technology. The new study looks at a very small but key detail: how to “passivate” the material’s surface, changing its properties in such a way that the perovskite no longer degrades so rapidly or loses efficiency.

“The key is identifying the chemistry of the interfaces, the place where the perovskite meets other materials,” Bulovic says, referring to the places where different materials are stacked next to perovskite in order to facilitate the flow of current through the device.

Engineers have developed methods for passivation, for example by using a solution that creates a thin passivating coating. But they’ve lacked a detailed understanding of how this process works — which is essential to make further progress in finding better coatings. The new study “addressed the ability to passivate those interfaces and elucidate the physics and science behind why this passivation works as well as it does,” Bulovic says.

The team used some of the most powerful instruments available at laboratories around the world to observe the interfaces between the perovskite layer and other materials, and how they develop, in unprecedented detail. This close examination of the passivation coating process and its effects resulted in “the clearest roadmap as of yet of what we can do to fine-tune the energy alignment at the interfaces of perovskites and neighboring materials,” and thus improve their overall performance, Bulovic says.

While the bulk of a perovskite material is in the form of a perfectly ordered crystalline lattice of atoms, this order breaks down at the surface. There may be extra atoms sticking out or vacancies where atoms are missing, and these defects cause losses in the material’s efficiency. That’s where the need for passivation comes in.

“This paper is essentially revealing a guidebook for how to tune surfaces, where a lot of these defects are, to make sure that energy is not lost at surfaces,” deQuilettes says. “It’s a really big discovery for the field,” he says. “This is the first paper that demonstrates how to systematically control and engineer surface fields in perovskites.”

The common passivation method is to bathe the surface in a solution of a salt called hexylammonium bromide, a technique developed at MIT several years ago by Jason Jungwan Yoo PhD ’20, who is a co-author of this paper, that led to multiple new world-record efficiencies. By doing that “you form a very thin layer on top of your defective surface, and that thin layer actually passivates a lot of the defects really well,” deQuilettes says. “And then the bromine, which is part of the salt, actually penetrates into the three-dimensional layer in a controllable way.” That penetration helps to prevent electrons from losing energy to defects at the surface.

These two effects, produced by a single processing step, produces the two beneficial changes simultaneously. “It’s really beautiful because usually you need to do that in two steps,” deQuilettes says.

The passivation reduces the energy loss of electrons at the surface after they have been knocked loose by sunlight. These losses reduce the overall efficiency of the conversion of sunlight to electricity, so reducing the losses boosts the net efficiency of the cells.

That could rapidly lead to improvements in the materials’ efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity, he says. The recent efficiency records for a single perovskite layer, several of them set at MIT, have ranged from about 24 to 26 percent, while the maximum theoretical efficiency that could be reached is about 30 percent, according to deQuilettes.

An increase of a few percent may not sound like much, but in the solar photovoltaic industry such improvements are highly sought after. “In the silicon photovoltaic industry, if you’re gaining half of a percent in efficiency, that’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars on the global market,” he says. A recent shift in silicon cell design, essentially adding a thin passivating layer and changing the doping profile, provides an efficiency gain of about half of a percent. As a result, “the whole industry is shifting and rapidly trying to push to get there.” The overall efficiency of silicon solar cells has only seen very small incremental improvements for the last 30 years, he says.

The record efficiencies for perovskites have mostly been set in controlled laboratory settings with small postage-stamp-size samples of the material. “Translating a record efficiency to commercial scale takes a long time,” deQuilettes says. “Another big hope is that with this understanding, people will be able to better engineer large areas to have these passivating effects.”

There are hundreds of different kinds of passivating salts and many different kinds of perovskites, so the basic understanding of the passivation process provided by this new work could help guide researchers to find even better combinations of materials, the researchers suggest. “There are so many different ways you could engineer the materials,” he says.

“I think we are on the doorstep of the first practical demonstrations of perovskites in the commercial applications,” Bulovic says. “And those first applications will be a far cry from what we’ll be able to do a few years from now.” He adds that perovskites “should not be seen as a displacement of silicon photovoltaics. It should be seen as an augmentation — yet another way to bring about more rapid deployment of solar electricity.”

“A lot of progress has been made in the last two years on finding surface treatments that improve perovskite solar cells,” says Michael McGehee, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Colorado who was not associated with this research. “A lot of the research has been empirical with the mechanisms behind the improvements not being fully understood. This detailed study shows that treatments can not only passivate defects, but can also create a surface field that repels carriers that should be collected at the other side of the device. This understanding might help further improve the interfaces.”

The team included researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Cambridge University, the University of Washington in Seattle, and Sungkyunkwan University in Korea. The work was supported by the Tata Trust, the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Anyone following my blog over the past few years knows I’m a big Android emulator user. Gaming on the phone is fun, but gaming on the PC (or Mac – Yuck) is ten times better. Here are my recommendations for the best emulators on the market, which ones to use, and ...

The post Best Android Emulators for PC and Mac appeared first on Marks Angry Review.

Ok. So you got a new PC, or your current one is sucking, here are my top tips for making sure that your PC is optimized and ready for gaming. Some will require paying money (yes, that thing you continuously waste during the game-play), and some will be easy and ...

The post How to Optimize PC for Gaming appeared first on Marks Angry Review.

HP just dropped some major gaming gear news at Gamescom 2024, showcasing their latest OMEN and HyperX products. These new toys are all about customization, giving gamers the freedom to tweak their setups and make sure they’re ready for the future with upgradable OMEN components. OMEN 35L: Power Meets Personalization HP knows what gamers want:…

The post HP Unleashes Next-Level Gaming Gear at Gamescom appeared first on Invision Game Community.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says that putting a game like Call of Duty into Game Pass will inevitably push consumers towards subscribing, at least for a bit.

Take-Two does support subscription services through its legacy titles, yet it has been sceptical around the idea of putting brand new AAA games into the service on the day they come out.

Zelnick told us in 2022: "That doesn't make any sense to us, because economically speaking, we don't think consumers are prepared to pay for that. And we can't afford to turn our business upside down in a way that doesn't make sense economically."

Read more

Secret Level is an anthology series coming to Amazon Prime Video, and it brings several games to animated form to tell new short stories for those games. The series was finally revealed with a teaser trailer during Gamescom 2024's Opening Night Live showcase. It comes from Blur Studio, the …

A new, tunable smart surface can transform a single pulse of light into multiple beams, each aimed in different directions. The proof-of-principle development opens the door to a range of innovations in communications, imaging, sensing, and medicine.

The research comes out of the Caltech lab of Harry Atwater, a professor of applied physics and materials science, and is possible due to a type of nano-engineered material called a metasurface. “These are artificially designed surfaces which basically consist of nanostructured patterns,” says Prachi Thureja, a graduate student in Atwater’s group. “So it’s an array of nanostructures, and each nanostructure essentially allows us to locally control the properties of light.”

The surface can be reconfigured up to millions of times per second to change how it is locally controlling light. That’s rapid enough to manipulate and redirect light for applications in optical data transmission such as optical space communications and Li-Fi, as well as lidar.

“[The metasurface] brings unprecedented freedom in controlling light,” says Alex M.H. Wong, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the City University of Hong Kong. “The ability to do this means one can migrate existing wireless technologies into the optical regime. Li-Fi and LIDAR serve as prime examples.”

Metasurfaces remove the need for lenses and mirrors

Manipulating and redirecting beams of light typically involves a range of conventional lenses and mirrors. These lenses and mirrors might be microscopic in size, but they’re still using optical properties of materials like Snell’s Law, which describes the progress of a wavefront through different materials and how that wavefront is redirected—or refracted—according to the properties of the material itself.

By contrast, the new work offers the prospect of electrically manipulating a material’s optical properties via a semiconducting material. Combined with nano-scaled mirror elements, the flat, microscopic devices can be made to behave like a lens, without requiring lengths of curved or bent glass. And the new metasurface’s optical properties can be switched millions of times per second using electrical signals.

“The difference with our device is by applying different voltages across the device, we can change the profile of light coming off of the mirror, even though physically it’s not moving,” says paper co-author Jared Sisler—also a graduate student in Atwater’s group. “And then we can steer the light like it’s an electrically reprogrammable mirror.”

The device itself, a chip that measures 120 micrometers on each side, achieves its light-manipulating capabilities with an embedded surface of tiny gold antennas in a semiconductor layer of indium tin oxide. Manipulating the voltages across the semiconductor alters the material’s capacity to bend light—also known as its index of refraction. Between the reflection of the gold mirror elements and the tunable refractive capacity of the semiconductor, a lot of rapidly-tunable light manipulation becomes possible.

“I think the whole idea of using a solid-state metasurface or optical device to steer light in space and also use that for encoding information—I mean, there’s nothing like that that exists right now,” Sisler says. “So I mean, technically, you can send more information if you can achieve higher modulation rates. But since it’s kind of a new domain, the performance of our device is more just to show the principle.”

Metasurfaces open up plenty of new possibilities

The principle, says Wong, suggests a wide array of future technologies on the back of what he says are likely near-term metasurface developments and discoveries.

“The metasurface [can] be flat, ultrathin, and lightweight while it attains the functions normally achieved by a series of carefully curved lenses,” Wong says. “Scientists are currently still unlocking the vast possibilities the metasurface has available to us.

“With improvements in nanofabrication, elements with small feature sizes much smaller than the wavelength are now reliably fabricable,” Wong continues. “Many functionalities of the metasurface are being routinely demonstrated, benefiting not just communication but also imaging, sensing, and medicine, among other fields... I know that in addition to interest from academia, various players from industry are also deeply interested and making sizable investments in pushing this technology toward commercialization.”

Well, root my toots. Unless you’re Australian, in which case don't do that. Just enjoy the now very much confirmed-looking release of the original Red Dead Redemption on PC. That’s according to a listing on the PlayStation Store, which contains the currently inaccurate but tantalising phrase “now on PC for the first time ever.”

Read more

Well, root my toots. Unless you’re Australian, in which case don't do that. Just enjoy the now very much confirmed-looking release of the original Red Dead Redemption on PC. That’s according to a listing on the PlayStation Store, which contains the currently inaccurate but tantalising phrase “now on PC for the first time ever.”

Read more

The Consolo is a tablet computer with a 7 inch touchscreen display and a modular design that lets you attach a physical keyboard or other add-ons via a slot on the bottom. Powered by a Raspberry Pi 5, the system should support a wide range of GNU/Linux distributions and software designed for that credit card-sized […]

The post Consolo is a modular cyberdeck with a Raspberry Pi 5 for brains, a 7 inch display and 7 hours of battery life appeared first on Liliputing.

Tomorrow, the next big update for Disney Dreamlight Valley arrives on all platforms. And while players will be happy with all the quality-of-life changes and new content being added to the cozy life sim, the characters of Dreamlight Valley probably aren’t happy to hear that they’ll no longer be allowed to sleep.

Read more...

Funko Fusion, the upcoming third-person brand-blending action game, is out next month. And to help spread the world, the devs have released a demo for Funko Fusion, as well as confirmed that not even Mega Man is safe from this mish-mash of IP.

Read more...

Silent Hill 2 Remake had a rough reveal, between some disappointment that it was being handled by hit-or-miss horror studio Bloober Team and, more recently, divisive takes on protagonist James Sunderland’s new face. But a new batch of glowing hands-on previews is giving fans something to get hopeful for as the…

Read more...

The 2023-24 season has wrapped up, and there are still quite a number of sci fi and fantasy television shows waiting to hear if they will stick around for another year. I expected more cancellations than usual this year, and we haven’t quite seen that yet, but that could change depending on how many of these shows end up getting sent to the Network Executioner. So far, 21 genre entries were cancelled or ended in this past season (27% of shows tracked) while 34 have been renewed so far (44%). You can see the full rundown of shows with all of their statuses at our Cancellation Watch Page, and below I look at the ones that have not received either a cancellation or renewal announcement yet.

The shows that I have flagged as On the Bubble can certainly use a Call to Action from fans on the social networks. And pretty much every show that has not been renewed yet could benefit from any form of fan support. We have seen genre entries like The Expanse, Lucifer, and Manifest saved by fan campaigns in the past, and perhaps one of the shows below could be the next to get an extended lease on life. Be sure to follow this site and our Twitter and Mastodon accounts for updates and breaking news on these shows as well as the genre entries for the 2024-25 season.

See all the upcoming sci fi and fantasy TV premieres at this link and keep up with the weekly schedule at this link.

The Acolyte (Disney+, Renewal Possible): This live-action Star Wars entry is not quite a Bubble show yet, but pretty close. Showrunner Leslye Headland has plans for more seasons of this show, but there have been rumors that Disney+ is not planning on continuing it beyond its first year, largely because it is so expensive to produce. It did make an appearance in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, though, so maybe that will help its chances.

The Ark (Syfy, Renewal Possible): The second season of this space opera has just started, and Nielsen ratings data for the cable channels is sparse these days, so it is hard to make a call on this one at this point. Syfy has been bad about promoting its originals, and reviews have been mixed on the show, so I would not count it as a strong genre entry at this point. But perhaps it will do well enough to journey into a third season.

Ark: The Animated Series (Paramount+, On the Bubble): This animated entry released the first six episodes of its first season with no advance notice in March 2024, with the remaining seven set to be released later in the year.  It was originally supposed to premiere in 2023, but the show got shuffled around and Paramount+ does not appear to be giving it much promotion.  This is a co-licensed production with Studio Wildcard and Tiger Animation, and it may end up getting only the one season from the streaming service, though it could get shopped around to other venues.

Beacon 23 (MGM+, On the Bubble): This show had originally been a joint production by AMC and Spectrum and had been picked up for two seasons according to an interview with executive producer Glen Mazzara. It shifted over to MGM+ when AMC and Spectrum backed out, and there are plans for additional seasons. It is unclear if that network has an interest in keeping the show going, though, or if they just picked it up for a burn-off run.

Cult-SciFi.com: Looking Back at Cult Movies, TV Shows, Books, and More from the Worlds of Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Horror

The Changeling (Apple TV+, On the Bubble): This horror series did not develop too much buzz in its first season, but its creative team has a two-season plan in place that will wrap up all of its storylines. Showrunner Kelly Marcel says that “season one was a setup of a lot of questions, and season two is the answer to all of those questions”. However, there has been no word on that second season yet, and with Apple TV+ looking to cut back on spending for its original content, this show’s fate could be very much in doubt.

Chucky (Syfy/USA, Renewal Possible): There has been no word on a fourth season of this horror/comedy yet, but creator Don Mancini has already made a pitch to Syfy for where the show can go next. In addition, fans have an opportunity to support the show by calling 1-201-500-3347 to demand more adventures from Chucky. Its linear viewing numbers dropped off in its third year, but perhaps this one could stick around for another season (maybe becoming a USA exclusive like Resident Alien) if the fans lobby for it.

Creepshow (Shudder, Renewal Possible): This horror anthology has proven quite popular for the Shudder streaming service, setting viewership records and also receiving good buzz from critics and fans (plus, it has done well in its encore runs on AMC). There has been no word on a fifth season yet, but I am guessing that this one is not done yet.

Dark Matter (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This sci fi entry has not made it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings so far, though it currently has mostly positive feedback, holding an 81% Fresh Rating and 82% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. Series creator Blake Crouch has indicated that he has ideas for a second season in an AMA he did on Reddit, though he has also suggested that the first season told the full story that he had planned. With Apple TV+ looking to cut back on spending for its original content, it is unclear where this one stands, but it could stick around for another season.

For status updates on the current sci fi and fantasy shows along with breaking news on cancellations and renewals, follow our Cancellation Watch posts.

Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix, Renewal Possible): This series spent three weeks in the Netflix Top 10 and two weeks in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, though that may not be enough to satisfy the completion rate that Netflix execs are looking for. It is tied to the same universe as The Sandman, and perhaps that connection will keep it going, but the streamer is known for cutting bait on shows it does not believe are performing up to its viewing standards.

Hit Monkey (Hulu, On the Bubble): This animated entry is the last surviving show from the Marvel Television days before Marvel Studios took over production on all of the TV entries. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings in its second season and it has received very little buzz so far. There are plans for a third season, but my confidence is not high that it will go forward.

Orphan Black: Echoes (AMC, Renewal Possible): This Orphan Black spin-off has not drawn much of an audience so far based on the linear ratings and it has received mixed reviews. But AMC continues to advertise it pretty strongly, so perhaps they want to keep this franchise going. It may be performing better in digital viewing (I have not seen any numbers for that), and that may help get it to a second season.

Pluto (Netflix, On the Bubble): This animated series did not place in the Netflix Top 10 during its first-season run, and it adapted the full Manga across its eight episodes. If there is no word on it over the next month or so, I will consider it ended.

Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale (AMC+, Renewal Possible): This supernatural drama arrived without much advance notice, though it did get a fair amount of promotion from AMC once it started streaming. No viewership numbers are available, and it did not develop much buzz during its first season run. But it is likely not too expensive to produce and there is still a chance that it could return for a second season.

For the weekly schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows along with news and the latest trailers, follow our Sci Fi TV Highlights posts.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix, On the Bubble): This animated continuation of the feature film made it into the Netflix Top 10 the week after its premiere, but according to creators Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski, they consider the first season to be one-and-done and currently have no ideas for a second year of the show. They have not completely ruled out a continuation, but if there is no word on it in the next month or so I will consider it ended.

Strange Planet (Apple TV+, On the Bubble): This animated series based on the webcomic of the same name came and went with very little fanfare and did not make any noise in the streaming charts. It has been a year since it premiered with no word on its fate, so likely this is one-and-done, especially considering that Apple TV+ is cutting back on spending for its original content.

Sugar (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This mystery series with sci fi elements developed some good buzz during its first season run, and from what I understand it performed well compared to other originals on Apple TV+. There has been no word on a second season yet, and Apple TV+ is cutting back on spending for its original content, but perhaps it could stick around for another year.

Sunny (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This sci fi dramedy arrived with very little fanfare and has not developed much buzz so far. It is still releasing episodes from its first season, and Apple TV+ may not have made a decision about its fate yet. But that streamer is cutting back on spending for its original content, so it is unclear whether a second season is a possibility for this show.

Keep up with sci fi TV news, updates, trailers and discussions at r/SciFiTV.

The Swarm (CW, Renewal Possible): This German-made series is an acquisition by The CW and its viewership in the U.S. will likely have little impact on whether it gets renewed. It is an expensive show to produce, but it did perform well in its home country during its first season run and a second season is possible. But if there is no word on that in the next month or so, I will consider it ended.

Them (Prime Video, Renewal Possible): The second season of this show made a brief appearance in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings and showrunner Little Marvin has indicated that he has plans for a third season. There has been no word on that yet, but this one could stick around for another year or so.

Time Bandits (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This reboot of the 1981 Terry Gilliam film is another new entry from Apple TV+ that did not receive much promotion before its premiere. The early reviews have been mixed on this one and no viewership numbers are available, so it is hard to make a call at this point. Apple TV+ is cutting back on spending for its original content, and this looks like a costly production, so if the viewership is not there it could end up as another one-and-done genre entry from that service.

Velma (Max, On the Bubble): People were surprised that this show received a second season after the first was pretty widely panned, but apparently that had been planned in advance. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings across its two seasons, and it currently holds only 38% on the Tomatometer scale and a 10% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. A third season seems unlikely at this point, especially as Max is cutting back on its original content.

Wolf Like Me (Peacock, Renewal Possible): This Australian-made supernatural dramedy has received very little attention for its run in the States on Peacock. But it is relatively inexpensive to produce and could stick around for another season or so, especially since it has an international partnership propping it up.

Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV

Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.

The post Bubble Sci Fi TV: A Look at the Shows from the 2023-24 Season Still Awaiting Word on Their Fates appeared first on Cancelled Sci Fi.

After years of rumors and false hopes, the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is finally happening. Konami announced Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater earlier this year as part of the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase. It’s the first Metal Gear title since 2018’s lackluster Metal Gear Survive, and the first time familiar Hideo Kojima characters have graced our screens since 2015.

Considering his rocky exit from Konami and subsequent new ventures, Kojima’s future with the Metal Gear series seemed over. And while he’s still working over at Kojima Productions, Konami has been hard at work remaking one of his classic stealth-action games.

Metal Gear Solid 3 was first released back in 2004 and garnered critical acclaim. It remains one of the most popular games in the franchise, with many players voting it as their favorite. Now, players will get the chance to explore the origins of Big Boss and the Metal Gear Solid franchise once again, with updated graphics and gameplay.

Metal Gear Solid Delta doesn’t have a release date yet, although we anticipate this Snake Eater remake might come out in 2024. Until we know for sure, here’s everything we know about this title.

The dead are not silent

It helps to understand the backstory of the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, as it’s been a rumored project for a few years now. Although Konami mostly exited the video game business a few years back, talks of a separate division or company remaking classic Metal Gear entries was still buzzing. Konami wasn’t one to confirm rumors, and Hideo Kojima was too busy working on Death Stranding and Kojima Productions to worry one way or the other.

Still, the rumors persisted, and gained heightened attention in the lead up to the PlayStation Showcase in May. Many industry insiders proclaimed that Konami would reveal the MGS3 remake at the event. Many fans were understandably apprehensive, but the showcase proved that their fears were unfounded.

Konami revealed the remake, titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, at the event alongside the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection. The latter is a series of compilations that bring classic Metal Gear games to current-generation consoles; the first volume will include all mainline Metal Gear games up to Snake Eater, with some additional games as well.

With that and Metal Gear Solid Delta, it seems that MGS3 fans will have plenty to look forward to. As old and new players alike experience the original game through the Master Collection, we also have a revamped version on the horizon. With that, it’s time to start the mission proper.

We’re off on a mission of virtue

Konami and the team have confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta is as close to a 1:1 remake of Snake Eater as possible. Although it’s built on a new engine with recreated graphics and sound, the actual storyline and progression is the same. The team is even reusing the original voice clips, preserving the original script as much as possible.

As such, we can provide a basic rundown of the story as it relates to the original. (There won’t be any spoilers in this section, so fret not!)

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the story of Naked Snake, an agent in the FOX unit. He’s sent deep into the jungles of Russia in 1964 to retrieve a defector from the Soviet Union. However, his commanding officer on the mission, a woman known as The Boss, interrupts his mission by defecting to the Soviets. She wounds Naked Snake, leaving him for dead and coordinating a strike on Russian civilians to frame the United States.

With the mission exposed and Russia threatening to retaliate if the situation isn’t under control, Naked Snake is forced back into the jungle after he recovers. He needs to stop The Boss and her Cobra Unit and shut down the new Soviet weapon, a mysterious combat vehicle nicknamed the Shagohod.

Head back into the jungle in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Up to this point, the Metal Gear series was primarily focused on interior locations and buildings. You’d sneak around long hallways and open rooms while trying to find cover amidst the manmade terrain.

Metal Gear Solid 3 switched things up by trading the concrete jungle for a real one. There were far more natural settings in that game, dropping you off in the fictional Russian jungle of Tselinoyarsk. It created more unique opportunities for stealth; in particular, camouflaging your gear and face to match your surroundings. You could also the naturally unpredictable terrain and elements to your advantage.

That’s true of Metal Gear Solid Delta as well, as its version of Snake Eater doesn’t change the location up. From the reveal trailer, the swampy marshes where Snake is initially dropped in have been rendered gorgeously. Considering the story is the same, it’s unlikely that there will be any new areas to visit.

Until we get a gameplay trailer for sure, we won’t know if Delta will retain either the original version’s fixed camera system or include the updated camera system from later versions of Snake Eater. It’s also entirely possible that the camera has been reworked entirely. It might take the more modern system found in Metal Gear Solid V. We’ll just have to wait and see.

What a thrill

As a remake that’s meant to honor the original to the letter, we can assume a few things about the gameplay even without a trailer. The core fundamentals of tactical stealth action should all be implemented into Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, but newcomers will hopefully have little struggle adjusting.

MGS3 gave you ample opportunity to surprise your opponents with both artificial and natural traps. Or you can sneak around them and avoid fights altogether (except for mandatory boss fights). When the heat does come down on you, of course, you’ll have plenty of weapons at your disposal. That is, once you find them first.

The tactical side of Metal Gear comes from the limited resources you’ve got in the field. You’ll need to find weapons and ammo as well as survival resources like food and water. One of the most unique parts of MGS3 was patching up your own wounds in the middle of combat. It remains to be seen if this system carries over in the same way in Delta. Given its apparent faithfulness to the source material, we can expect it to remain.

When is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater coming out?

So far, Konami has not yet confirmed a release date for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. However, the original game hit store shelves in late 2024. It’s reasonable to expect that Konami might try to tie in with the game’s 20th anniversary and release it in Nov. 2024. However, this is pure speculation. Until we get more information from Konami, take this with a grain of salt.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is developed by Konami Digital Entertainment with the help of Virtuos and published by Konami. It will be available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

What are your thoughts on this Metal Gear Solid 3 remake? Let us know!

The post Everything we know about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater appeared first on Mega Visions.

Good morning, and happy Monday, everyone! As we begin the new week, we have a hge slate of new releases to get excited for. Whether you want to explore the galaxy in Starfield or get lost in Chants of Sennaar, there’s a new game for you. So, without further adieu, here are all the new games coming out this week!

Chants of Sennaar (Sept. 5)

Starting things off this week, we have Chants of Sennaar. Developed by Rundisc and published by Focus Entertainment, this adventure game pulls deep from historical roots. The game is based on the myth of Babel, in which a great tower was built in attempt to reach the gods.

In the game, you take on the role of a newcomer to the tower. As you progress, you must learn the ways of these now divided people to decipher their languages and bring them back together. You can venture into Chants of Sennaar tomorrow on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Rune Factory 3 Special (Sept. 5)

Journeying into your home next is Rune Factory 3 Special. Developed and published by Marvelous Games and XSEED Games, this JRPG puts you in the shoes of a young adventurer with a monstrous secret. The special edition of Rune Factory 3 also includes the Newlywed Mode and a “Hell” difficulty.

In addition, the remake features improved graphics and redesigned 3D character models. As you journey across two worlds, you’ll search for a way for humans and monsters to coexist. You can venture into Rune Factory 3 Special when it launches for Nintendo Switch and PC tomorrow.

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Sept. 6)

Then, Baldur’s Gate 3 makes its console debut. Developed and published by Larian Studios, this RPG sees you return to the Forgotten Realms in a tale of fellowship, betrayal, sacrifice and survival. After mysterious abilities awaken inside you, it’s up to you whether you resist and overcome the darkness or embrace the corruption to become the ultimate evil.

Throughout the game, you’ll get to choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes and choose up to three other companions to accompany your adventure. As you journey on, you’ll adventure, loot, battle and romance across the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Though it already launched last month on PC, PlayStation 5 players can play Baldur’s Gate 3 this Wednesday.

Starfield (Sept. 6)

Starfield is an intergaalctic RPG where you’ll embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery. Developed and published by Bethesda, the game puts you in the year 2330, when humanity ventured beyond our solar system. Players join the Constellation, the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy.

The game’s most important story is the one you tell with your fully customized character. It’s up to you whether you want to be an experienced explorer, charming diplomat or stealthy cyber runner. You can start your adventure in Starfield when it launches for Xbox Series X/S and PC this Wednesday.

Rugby 24 (Sept. 7)

Rugby 24 is a sports simulator that takes you into the world of Rugby. Developed by Eko Software and published by Nacon, this game sees you play with the best clubs and top nations. Throughout the game, you’ll experience dynamic gameplay that stays faithful to the sport and experience the intensity of big matches.

You’ll also enter the most prestigious competitions in both single-player and multiplayer modes. In Career Mode, you can also create and manage your own team. You can make your way onto the field in Rugby 24 when it comes to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC this Thursday.

Fae Farm (Sept. 8)

Fae Farm is an action simulator that blends farming with spellcasting. Developed and published by Phoenix Labs, the game takes place in the magical realm of Azoria. Throughout the game, you’ll need to till the land to grow crops, gather resources and decorate your homesteads to restore the land to its former glory.

The game also features online multiplayer, where your friends can join you to help cultivate a beautiful farm. In addition, you’ll also explore various colorful environments, where you’ll find new resources to bring to your homestead. You can play Fae Farm when it launches on Friday for Nintendo Switch and PC.

NBA 2K24 (Sept. 8)

Closing out this week is NBA 2K24. Developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K, the next chapter in the NBA 2K series pays tribute to the legendary Kobe Bryant through two special editions that feature him as the cover athlete. In addition, the game will introduce innovative technological advancements such as bringing in cross-play multiplayer.

Throughout the game, you can also relive history with the Mamba Moments mode, which allows you to recreate some of Kobe’s most captivating performances in his career. The new game also introduces ProPLAY, which directly translates real NBA footage into gameplay. You can hit the court in NBA 2K24 when it comes to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC this Friday.

What upcoming games will you be playing this week?

Overall, this is a really exciting week for gamers. From Starfield to Chants of Sennaar, this week offers a lot of excitement. But what new game are you most excited to play? As always, let us know what you think in the comments!

The post Starfield joins this week’s upcoming games appeared first on Mega Visions.

Sit down, nerds. I mean that literally. I will go over the top ergonomic gaming chairs (or Lords Mobile, or whatever the hell you play) on the market so far. While PC, console, and mobile phone specs are essential for running a game, people often overlook the importance of proper ...

The post My Top Ergonomic Gaming Chairs Ideas (Revised) appeared first on Marks Angry Review.

You would be forgiven if you thought that the Lords Mobile experience was limited to only existing within your phone. Even though you may be forgiven, you’d still be wrong. Like usual, you’d be wrong, stupid and arrogant. I can go on… Here are the top 18 gadgets that YOU ...

The post The Top 17 Gadgets for Gamers & Lords Mobile appeared first on Marks Angry Review.

Successful gaming demands excellent verbal and written communication skills for both team strategy and general chit-chat. It’s crucial to have a high-quality microphone for game chat. A high-quality microphone need not break the bank. Fifteen of the best cheap gaming microphone yet high-quality for gaming. These low-cost substitutes are equipped with ...

The post Top 15 Cheap Gaming Microphone appeared first on Marks Angry Review.

Unpacking the Drama: The Beef Between Yuno Miles and Kai Cenat The rap world is no stranger to beef, and the latest feud between Yuno Miles and Kai Cenat has caught the attention of fans and fellow artists alike. The diss track, “Not Like Us,” has created quite a stir, with its witty lyrics and […]

The post Yuno Miles drops new Kai Cenat Diss (Not Like Us) – Lyrics / Genius appeared first on 360fov.net.

Stop me if you have heard this one before… you see a trailer or watch a publicity appearance for an upcoming movie that you are excited about, and in the course of about sixty seconds the entire plot of the movie and half of the cool surprises the movie contained are completely spoiled for you. “Teaser” trailers have become less of a taste of what a film has in store for us and more of a full meal, giving away their secrets like a classic movie villain who falls prey to their need to explain their entire evil plot to the one person in a position to stop them. We leave the experience feeling like we have a pretty good idea of who will win, who will lose, who will show up, and even what the “second act plot twist” will be. While I am no stranger to the importance of advertising and marketing products to support the largest possible audience for a movie, television show, video game, book, or any other form of consumable entertainment, I think we can all safely say that much of the mystery that exists in these media formats has moved from simply attracting fans with a slice of what they have in store for us to giving away the entire story.

But before I am too hasty in judging these companies, marketers, and publicists for doing their job, I have to reconcile another reality that I have found present in my own life more than I care to admit… I too have fallen pray to some “monologues” myself that have exposed some of the things to the wrong audience that should have been kept between me and the Lord. And if I give you a few examples, maybe you will find some of these in common as well. Have you ever caught yourself saying the words, “You know what I’m afraid of” to someone? Or perhaps share some personal information followed by sharing the knowledge that “if this happened, it would completely destroy me?” or “the only thing that will stop me from doing this is…”? While we might think we are simply having a conversation with a friend or a loved one about a personal concern or struggle we are dealing with, there is a sinister presence eavesdropping on these weaknesses we are exposing… and we just gave them the key to defeating us.

The tendency to give our enemy the most direct path to taking us out is certainly nothing new… over the years many of us have taken a turn at becoming the architects of our own demise, giving away our deepest fears and sharing our weaknesses with perhaps positive intentions but disastrous results. In my own life, I have made the mistake of giving my enemy the exact information that would destroy a relationship or pull me away from serving the Lord many times by speaking those words to a friend or trusted confidante… only to be faced with that exact combination of scenarios and attacks at a later time. And as I find myself reeling from what has occurred, I find myself feeling much like Job did when after he experienced an enemy attack like no other and he said, “The thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me”. In a moment of “sharing”, I exposed my deepest fears and vulnerabilities to more than simply my target audience… I gave my enemy the most direct path to shattering my world without even making them work for it.

Job 3:25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.

One of the saddest stories in all of Scripture is the fall of Samson, a man of exceptional physical power but very limited spiritual restraint. The climax of his story comes as we find him in the hands of Delilah… someone he had placed his trust in who was working for the other side. After years of waging war with the Philistines and being used by God to deliver his people, in a moment of weakness and frustration Samson exposed his only weakness to her… and within hours he found that his confidence had been misplaced. His head was shaved, his power removed, and the man who had withstood hundreds of soldiers single-handedly in combat was now over-powered in a living room… all because he gave away the plot to his story to an audience that couldn’t be trusted with it.

Judges 16:15-20 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

The Scriptures are clear that we have an active enemy in life (1 Peter 5:8) who seeks nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), but while the enemy of our soul is incredibly intelligent, they can’t read our minds. Our deepest concerns and fears are things that should be brought to the Lord in prayerful surrender so He can guide us through them (2 Corinthians 10:4-5), and when we open that door through casual conversation with others we are handing that key off to the very presence that has been trying to figure out the best way to break in, destroy us, and shipwreck our faith from day one.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.

I wish I could take back the things I have said and shared that exposed my deepest fears and created the opportunity for them to be used against me, but unfortunately that isn’t possible. But in the stories of both Job and Samson we find that even after the enemy’s most brutal attacks, the faithfulness of the Lord was present to provide both restoration of their mission in the case of Samson (Judges 16:28-30) as well as what was lost in the case of Job (Job 42:12-13). And if we will yield our fears, concerns, and broken places to the Lord He will be faithful to not only restore them, but to rebuke the enemy and run them out of the space that we inadvertently gave them access to in the first place. Our words are more powerful than we realize, and they can and WILL be used against us by the enemy who is bent on destroying us. Let’s not make his job any easier by giving him the combination to the safe… let’s guard our words and give every concerning or fearful thought to the Lord in prayer… He is the only one who can help us overcome them.

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games
• Our Daily Devotional book “This is the Way Scripture of the Day” is available for purchase here!:

Steam store – Official website – Wikipedia entry

Some game genres are so rare, it’s a miracle when a new game releases in that style. I personally call this genre: stealth tactics. The actual genre is Real-Time Tactics, but I find that name doesn’t really cover this (sub)genre. If you have ever played games like: Commando’s, Desperados, Robin Hood – The Legend of Sherwood or Shadow Tactics… You know what sort of game I’m talking about. A game features a rag tag group of heroes. Each hero has unique abilities. They must get through big groups of enemies. They do this one by one to progress the group’s goals. The game I want to talk about today is called Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. This was the last game by the studio Mimimi. Is this game the swansong to close down this studio, or is it a game that’s better left forgotten? Before that, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below. A comment with your thoughts and/or opinions on the game and/or the content of the article.

Promises of amazing treasure

In this game, you play as the crew of a special pirate ship named the Red Marley. Each main member of the crew has a black pearl in their chest, granting them unique supernatural abilities. These unique abilities come at a cost of being cursed to a sort of undead status.

The Red Marley’s captain fell in battle, and now the Inquisition is after the biggest treasure of the ship. Now, the Red Marley’s crew doesn’t want this to happen. So they do everything in their power to avoid this from happening.

The story in this game doesn’t take itself too seriously. The story is written like it’s a Saturday morning cartoon. A story arc can be contained in one or a handful of episodes, but always has an ending. While almost everything in the story ends well for the main cast, the story and writing never looses its charm. I felt like I was transported back into the time I woke up for the weekly Pokémon episode. I knew that the main problem of that week’s episode would resolve by the end. Still, I kept rooting for the heroes.

One of the biggest reasons I kept rooting for the main characters is because of the voice actors. Their performances are extremely well done. They bring a lot of personality and life to each character. They make the characters stand out like real, actual people. This script must have been immense, since the characters sometimes react on the actions you preform with other characters. There are 8 main characters, and more if you buy the DLC packs. If you start counting how many unique voice lines that bring to the table… And that’s the tip of the iceberg. The enemies for example, when they come together also have unique dialogue between them.

It’s possible to write an article by itself about the world building, story and voice acting in this game. I can also assure you that when I write this article, I’ll keep gushing about it all. A great example is how the save & load function fits into the story. It enhances the world of this game. Yes, you read that correctly. When you save, you store a memory in the Red Marley. When you load one of your saves, the Red Marley uses its powers to restore that memory. Your characters also respond to your saving and loading action and this brings even more charm to this game.

In these types of games, the replay value is quite high. Especially since you tackle all missions in various ways and each playthrough is going to be different. In this game, it’s taken even a step further. You can choose the order to revive your crew. You can also choose the order to finish the missions of that chapter. I can assure you that your playthrough will look nothing like mine.

The main quest is quite enjoyable to play through. I actually became really immersed in the world of this game. At the moment, I’m playing through the final missions of the game and the DLC missions. I’m having a blast. Thankfully, I can easily start a new playthrough of this game. Then I can experience it all of it over again and take a totally different route. And maybe I can do the little side quests and pirate tales as well. Since, that’s content, I haven’t gone into too much yet.

Your playthrough of this game will take you somewhere between 27 to 37 hours. That is, if you want to beat the main story and DLC’s. But, if you want to fully finish this game… Oh boy, then you’ll have a game that’s close to 80 hours on your hands. I already mentioned the crew tales. But there are also mini-challenges you can go for during the missions to earn badges. Let’s not forget the achievements you can earn. Well, most of the achievements are related to the main campaign.

Now, I have one complaint about the badges in this game. Earning some of these badges is extremely tricky. Sometimes, you don’t get all the information you expect to. For example, there is a badge on each map for using all the landing spots of that map. But guess what, there is no easy way to see if you already used a landing spot or not. It’s a shame that some badges work like that. Especially since some of these badges make you go out of your way to play in an unique way. A more challenging way to spice up your normal routine.

Apart from bragging trophies, these medals don’t really add up to much. But, I honestly don’t really mind that. Since, it’s fun to gather these medals and have some bonus challanges during my playthrough. It keeps me on my toes and it’s really enjoyable.

Mindblowing abilities

I’m still quite impressed at how balanced this game is. Each character has their own unique abilities. It’s best that you always have a character with an ability that can move guards from their position. If you don’t have that, the game will actually warn you. You are going to make it extremely challenging for yourself.

Personally, I’m playing through this game on the normal difficulty setting and your decisions actually matter. Before starting each mission, study the map well. Try to remember each map as well as you can. Since you are going to revisit each map at least once or twice. It’s extremely important to choose the correct landing position.

You would think that the game will be a bit boring if you always bring the same crew into missions. But, the game rewards you using different characters for missions. You gain more vigor if you play with certain crew members during certain missions. If you earned enough vigor, you can upgrade one of the unique abilities of your characters. This upgrade will give you more and better tools in your arsenal. Now, these upgrades can make the game much easier. You can always turn off the upgrades while on the Red Marley.

In the introduction paragraph of this article, I quickly explained how this game works. So, let me tell you the gist of it. In this game, you go from mission to mission, completing various goals in each one. These goals can range for example from rescuing an informant or stealing an artifact. In each mission, there are various enemies patrolling the area. Your goal is to find the weakspots in their patrols and dispose of the enemies without getting spotted.

Now, getting spotted isn’t the end of the world in this game. Depending on where you are spotted, it’s possible to escape and hide somewhere. You just have to avoid taking damage, since your health is limited, and you can’t heal during the mission. If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to get swamped or overwhelmed with guards. Especially when a guard with a bell spots you, the traces you leave behind or sees a dead body. When this happens, you have a limited amount of time to kill that guard before the bell is rung. When the bell is rung, more guards will emerge from nearby barracks and swarm to the location.

On top of that, there are also some unique enemy types outside your regular patrol goons. The first type I want to talk are the Kindred. These annoying buggers bring something quite unique to the table in this genre. Kindred are always connected with each other. If you don’t kill these all at the same time, they will revive each other. But, this is only the start of your troubles.

You also have Prognosticar. And let me tell you, these are even more challenging. To defeat these enemies, you need to have two units ready. One unit needs to be spotted or attack the Prognosticar. Since as soon as that happens, your unit gets trapped. This trap will go on and damage your unit until the unit either dies or is rescued. When the Prognosticar is using his trap, he can be attacked and killed. But do it quick. The trap is damaging your unit. You are also stuck in place. This situation is dangerous.

It also matters if the mission is taking place during day or night. The big difference is that in the daytime, the enemies have a bigger field of view. During the nighttime, some enemies will carry a torch on their patrol. This gives more light to other units. They can spot you sneaking by if you aren’t careful. There are also various torches dotted around the map, and you can put them out. The enemies can’t stand torches that are put out and will go out of their way to light them again.

It’s also important to know if an enemy stops in their patrol to talk to another enemy. Since if you kill one of them, the other enemy will start looking for them. They will start running around and if you weren’t careful, will find your tracks and spot you.

Learning those little mechanics is essential in this game. Never forget the tools you have in this game! This ranges from the abilities of each character to how for example view cones work. There is something called view cone surfing. If you want to dash to another place past some enemies… Understand that a full color in the view cone means they will spot you right away. Stripped sections of the view cone will cause you to be unseen if you crawl by. Also, it takes a few moments of you being spotted and the alarm being raised. You can run quickly enough past an enemy. Alternatively, you can run from view cone to view cone. It’s possible to get past unseen.

If you are afraid that you will get overwhelmed by all the information of all the little mechanics, don’t worry. The difficulty curve in this game is perfect. This game also has solid character tutorials. Each character tutorial guides you through 2–3 rooms, teaching you the abilities of each ability and their unique use cases. At the end of each character tutorial, you get a puzzle room. Putting to the test if you can use that character correctly. During the game, you can always open your logbook from the pause menu, where all tutorials can be watched again.

This brings me to the abilities of your characters in this game. If you have played similar games, you’ll recognize certain abilities and others will be quite new and unique. Now, some of these abilities will have a unique spin to it. For example, your sniper only has one shot. But, when you retrieve your sniper bolt… Your sniper can shoot again.

There are also extremely unique mechanics, like your Canoness has very fun abilities. She can pick up dead bodies in her canon to launch them at enemies to knock them out. But, you can also pick up allies. You can fling them over a group of enemies. This will give them a better hiding spot. Or your Ship Doctor, she can create one hiding spot out of thin air. Or your navigator, she can stop time for one enemy, allowing you to easy sneak by. And your ship cook can throw a special doll. This doll allows him to teleport to that location. He does this as soon as you click the button. Oh, and if you place that doll on an enemy, it sticks to that enemy.

You might be annoyed that I somewhat spoiled things in the above paragraph. But I have only told the tip of the iceberg here. I have left out several characters in that little summary and they have mindblowing abilities as well. Each map is created in such a way that it doesn’t really matter which characters you take into battle. Since you can finish it using any of your characters.

The Swansong of Mimimi

When Klamath and I started streaming Commandos, I wanted to play a similar game. One I haven’t played through. Since I first started playing through Desperados III again, and that was beaten in a few days. Since, I really enjoyed Desperados III, I bought the next game from the studio.

As somebody who enjoyed Desperados III quite a lot, I was happy to see things return in this game. I can’t tell you how much I love the speed up button. While I wish you can adjust the speed of it… The slow wait can be annoying. Sometimes, you have to get an enemy right where you want them. On top of that, you also have the showdown mode. With the press of a button, you can stop time and plan out your units their next move. Once you press the enter key, either still in showdown mode or not, the actions will be executed. It still feels amazing when you execute a well timed attack to take out difficult set of enemies.

Something that’s extremely useful is how you can rotate the camera in this game. Sometimes an enemy walks behind a building or some rocks… So, if you can’t rotate the camera, you wonder from where you are taking damage. Also, the ability of outlining the enemies, ladders and hiding spots help with that as well. As you can see from my screenshots, I always play with that feature enabled.

Sadly, there are a few ladders that don’t get an outline. Most likely since the developers forgot to put a certain tag on them. I remember one in Angler’s Grave, at the top right. It’s not too far from one of the mission objectives, the informant. Thankfully, these very minor oversights rarely happen. Overall, this game is extremely solid and blast to play through.

The controls are extremely solid. I had to get used to one thing. To execute certain actions, I had to hold the left mouse button instead of just clicking. This sometimes tripped me up but a quick reload fixed that problem. I only have one minor complaint about the controls. Depending on the camera angle, there were rare moments where your character refused to go to a location. I suspect it has to do with where you click. Your unit always wants to look for the shortest way to reach where you click. Sadly, this trips something up in the pathfinding and your unti refuses to go to their destination. Thankfully, a quick camera movement can fix these moments. And also, I’m glad that these moments are quite rare.

Something that’s even more rare are some minor visual bugs that can happen sometimes. Sometimes an UI-element refuses to dissapear. I had that happen twice, when I shot an enemy holding down an exit rift with the Canoness. The stars indicated that the enemy was dizzy. They hovered above the enemy’s head after the rift opened. Even after I killed the enemy, these stars remained visible. There are sometimes minor visual bugs happening like that. Thankfully, they are extremely rare and sometimes are quite funny. One time, one of my units was standing perpendicular on a ladder when I stopped it going up the ladder. The only annoying bug was that I couldn’t retrieve two bodies. They lay in a remote part of Angler’s Grave. It was almost impossible to get rid of two bodies. Maybe, it’s possible. I don’t know, I honestly gave up and earned the badge of hiding bodies on a later revist.

In such a big game it’s to be expected that sometimes things can go wrong. But it surprises me how little goes wrong and how polished the overall game is. Scrolling through the patch notes of this game, I noticed that the developers fixed many issues. They also added a lot of new content to the game. The last update to the game was even a modding tool for this game. These mods go from chaging your character models to adding new maps. I think I’ll play around with the mods after I have fully beaten the game. I’m extremely close, since I’m in the final missions of the game.

Now, earlier I talked about the UI. The UI is quite easy and helpful. There are several unique icons to inform you where certain things are. For example, where you left the paper doll when using the ship cook. There is only one thing in the UI I dislike. And that’s the list of save games. You get a little screenshot of the location of the save and a time stamp. And that’s it. You can’t give a special name or note to them. So if you are looking for a certain save… you either need to make notes OR just go through all them until you het it.

It’s the only real complaint I can give about this game. There is just a lot that this game does right. Like how you can scroll to zoom in or out. When you scroll again at the max zoom level, you see a live map. This map shows where all the enemies are. The only minor complaint I have about the map is that ammo chests aren’t marked on there. Also, quick note on the ammo chests… Almost every character has the same visual for their gun. Now, if another visual appears above the ammo chest, it doesn’t matter. The ammo chests are never character specific.

Visually, this game looks breathtaking. The attention to detail in this world gets a big thumbs up from me. The world really feels alive and somewhat real. The little animation details for example when an enemy stops at a prison cell to talk to inmates… This is just amazing. The immersion level is even higher with that.

The soundtrack is very catchy and a joy to listen to. It made certain moments in the game even more thrilling. The music has been created by Filippo Beck Peccoz, he also created the music for Desperados III. The soundtrack really fits the game like a glove. I’m so glad I bought the soundtrack DLC,. Now I can add the music to my music library to play while I’m at my dayjob.

This brings me to the sound design of this game. The sound design of this game is amazing. I’m playing this game with a good headset and I don’t think this game is playable without sound effects. A great example is, when you get spotted. You not only get a great visual hint of a yellow line turning red of the enemy spotting you… You also get some sound effects informing you that things are about to go down. On top of that, the sound effects add so much extra impact on taking down enemies. This makes it even more rewarding when you finally take down that one pesky enemy.

One thing I haven’t talked about yet is how flexible this game is. I have touched upon that by talking about how you can only choose three out of 8 characters per mission. And you are encouraged to experiment with different combinations. Now, when you open the options menu, you’ll be blown away. You can change almost everything. The controls like the shortcuts for abilities can be tweaked to your liking. You have quite a lot of control to tweak the volumes, the controls, the visuals… Even tweak certain game mechanics to your liking. Don’t like the save reminder? You can turn that off.

There is still another thing that boggles my mind that was added in this game. You can create a custom difficulty. The only complaint I have there is that the UI fails to explain the differences. I find it challenging to understand all the settings. You get a short explaination about the setting, and then you have a slider you can set. But, what’s the difference between 1 and 2 on the slider? That’s something the UI doesn’t really tell.

When I was writing this article, I kept looking at my notes and thought: “Oh, I forgot about that.”. There are just so many things in this game. The fact that in some missions, you must kill enemies in unique ways. In one mission, you have to lure enemies to a certain location. You need to do this 4 times. You do this instead of killing them. It’s a breath of fresh air. You’d think that having only a handful of maps would make this game boring and repetitive, but no. The maps are not only large but also used in extremely interesting ways. Revisits of a map make it easier to start, but each area is used in a mission. So, there is still a lot of challenge in the revisits.

Oh, there is one more thing. The question if you should buy the DLC’s or not. Let me just tell you this, I bought the game on sale with the DLC’s included. I’m so happy I did! Since the additional content in the DLC’s adds so much more to this game. They come highly recommended.

Now, I have left out a few things for you all to find while playing this game. This article is already getting quite long. I want to leave some things as a surprise for people interested in playing this game. I think it’s high time to wrap up this review and give my conclusion and final thoughts on this game.

Conclusion of this treasure hunt

The negatives:

-Unable to add notes to quick saves.
-Some minor (visual) glitches can happen. Thankfully, they are rare and rarely/never gamebreaking.
-The UI of custom difficulty could have been executed better.

The positives:

+ A masterclass in it’s genre in terms of gameplay.
+ Extremely flexible with options.
+ A modding tool.
+ A love-able cartoony story.
+ Amazing voice over work.
+ Superb soundtrack.
+ …

Final thoughts:

When I started playing Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, I had extremely high expectations. Mimimi blew me away with the amazing Desperados III. With this swansong of a game, they not only met my expectations, they blew them out of the water. This game showcases the achievements of passionate people. These individuals are dedicated to creating the game they love.

It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the cast of this game. The charm drew me into the world of this game. Apart from some minor things, it’s hard to find things to critique about this game. The only thing I can critique are small bugs that barely impact the gameplay of this game. This game really feels like a finished product and it’s a thrill ride from start to finish.

If you really want to find things this game does wrong… You’ll either need to be extremely nitpicky or just have the game not clicking with you. If you find this game too easy or too difficult, just tweak the setttings to your playstyle and voila.

If you enjoy games like Commandos or Desperados… You’d do yourself a disservice to not check out this game. Give the demo of this game a try, and see what you think. I wouldn’t be surprised that this game sinks it’s hook into you like it did with me.

It’s a shame to see that this game studio closes. Thank you to everybody who worked on this amazing title and I hope to meet your work in other games. This final game you all created together is a real piece of art. It’s a masterclass in game development and shows how well you know the community for games like this. I’m so happy that this game exists. Since it wouldn’t surprise me that I’ll play through this game several times now.

Before I ramble on and on about this game, I think it’s high time I wrap up this article. Otherwise, I’ll keep praising this game to high heavens and back. So, with that said, I have said close to everything I wanted to say about this game. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then… Have a great rest of your day and take care!

Score: 100/100

Everybody has several games that mean quite a lot to them. For me, one of these games is Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. I not only grew up with this game, but I also have a lot of memories of this game. Outside of that, I also met some amazing friends through the community behind this game. I even did several speedruns of this game, and I’m an active member of the community. Now, color me surprised that 25 years after the release of this game, we got new fan-made content for this game. Not just fan made content in the style of fan patches to solve bugs with the game, a whole new level and promises of a level editor to create even more new custom content. This blew me off my socks and in today’s article I want to talk about it. So strap in and let’s get ready to play new content for one of the best Indiana Jones games ever made.

The new level – SED

There is a speedrunning discord server for this game. Well, it was a speedrunning discord server but for a few years now, this server has grown into a server of people who appreciate this game. If you want to join this discord, here is an invite link. When the server started to grow, several modders joined our server. One of these modders is going under the name of Urgon (currently) and what we didn’t know is that he was decompiling the whole game. Not only that, he was creating a level editor based upon an existing level editor.

This existing level editor is for Star Wars Jedi Knight & Mysteries of the Sith. Those games used an engine that formed the basis for the Jones3D engine. While he was developing that editor, he tested his skills by creating a new level. So, basically, parts of this new level are tests of the new level editor and what you can do with it.

Now, information about this new level and the download link can be found at this GitHub repository. If you want to download the actual level, you have to go to this page and click the green button named “Code”. In that dropdown, you can choose “download zip”. You’ll need that later if you want to install/play this custom level. Now, if you read the pre-mod or the installation instructions for this level, you might feel overwhelmed if you aren’t very technically inclined. That’s why two community members wrote two special tools to aid you in preparing your game.

You might ask yourself, like Klamath did in at the end of our stream of this custom level, why are there two tools for basically the same? Well, let me tell you the history about it. When I wanted to play the custom level, I had a bit of trouble myself while figuring out the tutorial. I also found that the required steps were quite a lot to do. So, I decided to start writing a PowerShell script that did all the steps. I announced that in the Indy3D discord that I was writing this. When I almost completed my tool, the_Kovic dropped his version of the tool.

Personally, I didn’t want to throw my work out the window and continued finishing my GUI version. When I finished, I didn’t convert my tool to an EXE and left it just as a script file you could run using a command line or a code editor. The next day, Kovic released a GUI version of his tool and I gave some feedback on his tool. In the days after that, I created an EXE version of my tool and we both kept adding features in our tool. He wrote his tool in C#, which is a bit friendlier to create an EXE. If I didn’t release my first version as a script only and converted it to an EXE, I think it might have been less overwhelming for people.

That said, Kovic thanked me for creating my tool since like he said on our stream: “It put my butt into gear to create a tool and write a GUI, which I normally don’t write“. On top of that, our tools aren’t meant to compete with each other. I can’t write C# and Kovic can’t write PowerShell. And it would be a shame to just delete work because somebody else was quicker or made their tool more user-friendly first. The result now is that we both have two very strong tools with a very similar, maybe even completely the same, feature set.

Outside a different choice of coding language, the biggest differences between both our tools are under the hood. In Kovic’s tool, you get more files than in my tool when you download the tool. And that’s because to prepare your game for custom levels, you need to extract several files in the resource folder. The tool used for extraction has a bug where instead of extracting the folders of the archive into the resource folder, it extracts them into separate folders, like if you would extract a zip file. Kovic packs a modified version of this extraction tool so that part of the process goes a bit faster. In my version, the tool just downloads the latest official versions of the tool and prepare the game that way.

In the end, both our tools give you the same end result. They prepare your game to install custom levels and play them. If you want to try out the_kovic’s tool, you can find the latest version on this releases page. If you want to try our my tool, you can find it on this releases page. Feedback to our tools is always welcome! If you find an issue or if you have an idea, feel free to hit us up, and we will look into it.

Earlier I talked about a stream of the level we did. Klamath, the_Kovic and me did a live stream where we played through this level. Now, I have to emphasize that release of this level is an impressive technical achievement. Creating a level for a 3D game isn’t easy and requires a lot of work. It’s even more impressive when you know that not everything is documented about the engine, and you have to decompile a lot of it. In the next part of this article, I’m going to talk about the level itself and critique it.

If you don’t want spoilers, I’d advise you to skip that section for now and come back later. Now, I want to say that I start reviewing the level in a moment, but this feedback is mostly meant for people who want to make new custom content. What did this new level do right and wrong if you look at it as a player who doesn’t know the technical background of this level? This isn’t meant to break down the amazing work the modders did to make this work.

Reviewing the new level

Editorial note: this review will spoil quite a lot. If you don’t want to get spoiled, you have to skip this section of the article. This isn’t a walkthrough of the level either. Some sections are skipped, I’m only going to talk about the sections I want to talk about.

The new level takes place 25 years after the ending of the original game. Indy returns to his Canyonlands dig site. You are set loose at the tent where Sophia picked Indy up with a helicopter to start the Infernal Machine adventure.

In terms of new content, there isn’t a lot new to see. Some ladders are missing and some parts of the level are blocked off. Also, all treasures are missing that you would usually find in the level.

Before I continue, I want to mention that some parts of this level are made quite difficult on purpose. The developer wanted to give us the feeling we were young kids again, playing this game for the first time, and have us figure out the new puzzles by ourselves. Yet, finding a correct balance between difficulty and unfair is a very fine line to thread. Personally, I think that in some sections, the developer crossed the line into unfair level design.

When running on the top section, you notice that there are some new voice lines. These voice lines are made possible with a voice cloning AI tool that was trained on lines from Doug Lee, the original voice actor for this game. The new voice lines sound amazing, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think that Doug Lee came back to record the new lines. In most cases, these voice lines really fit Indy’s personality and fit right into the game.

We come to our first snag when we want to go to the new content. I can understand not seeing the shovel and being confused, since it’s hanging at the jeep on top. And you know what’s even more confusing, the other side of the jeep model has a shovel in its texture! Anyhow, when you pick up the shovel and dig up the Infernal Machine part, it’s clear that you need to break a wall. Here comes one of the worst parts of this level. The location of this cracked wall is insanely well hidden. It’s in one of the last places you’d look, and several of the first players ran around for hours upon hours in Canyonlands before it was found. And when it was found, it made us annoyed.

It’s a clear example of how players who are used to the level, overlooking the obvious. The wall you need to break has an actual cracked wall texture, but it’s behind something you can’t see through. I think it would have been fine if the location, where it is at, had a bigger ledge so you’d notice it somewhat instead of just having to go on a wild goose chase.

Now, we enter the new area. We come to a big open space where the next set of puzzles are. The first puzzle is actually a jumping puzzle. Now, I highly advise you to not play this level if you haven’t played through most of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. Not that there are spoilers, but because some of the jumps in this level are straight up difficult and not what you really expect from this game. Kovic calls it “Kaizo Jones” for a good reason.

There are some small platforms and not having the look key working is going to be a pain in this section. Since, there are some moments where you need to be able to free look and not being able to see beneath or above you will make things a lot more tricky. After you finished these jumps, you might start to notice that the developer of this custom level added some details. Like, the rope bridges are gently moving in the wind. This is something that isn’t present in the original game. It’s a new “COG” script that makes that possible.

These cog scripts are a blessing for custom content. Since, this game isn’t hardcoded at all, so if you learn how to write these cog scripts, you can basically write new mechanics as well. It’s insane what possibilities there are going to be in the future for this game. I hope there is going to be good documentation so that custom level creaters know what’s possible and what’s impossible with the level editor.

While you are exploring this area, you notice that it’s huge. This also explains why it takes quite a while to load this level. Currently, modders are looking into why it’s running so slow. Since, we don’t really know if it’s the level size or something else slowing down the loading of this level.

So, after jumping around the central column, you’ll arive at the shed. Here you notice you can actually enter the shed from the top. Kovic explains it quite well during the stream. If you want to hear some technical explanations on how this level works, I’d advice you to watch our stream. Since there is a lot of interesting development talk in there. Later, Kovic and myself had a contest in trying to quote voice lines from the main game. We got close to 200. Kovic won that because I said a line he already said.

After you picked up everything from this shed and climbed outside, you experience another new mechanic of this game. It’s a mechanic that gets backported from Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. The fact you can use your whip to go over a zipline.

After you returned and struggled with getting across the other bridge, you will encounter other parts of this level. Here you’ll encounter two voice lines that straight up lie to you. The first voice line is that you need more force, explosives to break a rock that’s blocking your way forwards. Here is the issue with that, you get an explosive barrel later. You need to find an extremely hidden swim tunnel in the water. It’s not the only hidden thing in the water, so investigate behind and underneath rocks quite well. Since, these puzzles in this water border in the unfair territory. What makes that explosive voice line even more evil is that there is a box of TNT in the shed earlier. But what’s the second voice line that lies to you?

Well, that is after you made your way past said boulder. You find a minecart and interacting with it, Indy says that it will run with gasoline. And there is still gasoline left in the shed. Sadly, you can’t pick it up anymore. Now, this is a red haring, you don’t need this minecart at all.

By now, you have learned that this level likes to break the rules of how the main game is designed. You’ll have to think outside of the box sometimes to beat this level. But, for some jumps, you need to use your knowledge of what’s possible and impossible to progress. This makes it quite tricky sometimes to progress. And this brings me to a conclusion we also said on stream. I think that the issue is that people expected a more tame level than what we actually got and that might turn some people off. But, I’m so glad that the quick save system exists in this game. So, abuse the quick save system and make multiple saves since you’ll need them if you aren’t a veteran player of this game.

Anyhow, let’s get back into the flow of the level. After we completed the lever puzzle, we go back towards to the huge open area and take the lift to a new location. What follows is a totally new area where it’s a good thing if you saved up on health packs and you have a great sense of direction.

So, the short minecart ridge comes to an end. It doesn’t take long before you find yourself into a watermaze. This watermaze is unfair in my honest opinion. Klamath had a tricky time solving it and he had to use almost every health pack to get through it. Without Kovic pointing out the right tunnel, I think it would have made the stream quite a bit longer. There was supposed to be a minecart section instead of this swimming maze, but the developer had a hard time making the minecart section to work and he gave up and made this swimming maze.

Now, I’m all fine with this swimming maze, but the map glitches out at certain parts. I have a mediocre sense of direction and I wanted to rely on the map. The map doesn’t always render the tunnels correctly. You sometimes swim off the map or “in nothingness”. Sadly, I have to draw my own map. I wish I still had it, since it would make for a nice screenshot here… But I threw it out but me and my clumsiness… I knocked over my waterbottle over it.

After the swimming maze, we get a new section of “Kaizo Jones”. Where we get some extremely tricky platforming. Here is where you need to use the look key again and be sure you are playing in 4:3. If you are playing in another resolution like 16:9 or 16:10, this will also be one of the moments where you don’t see all the information.

The block puzzle that follows, feels right out of Tomb Raider. The initial reviews of this game called out this game as a Tomb Raider clone. While, this game does the formula a whole lot differently. We even talked about that during the stream. In terms of theming, Infernal Machine is a lot better. Tomb Raider feels like obstacle courses. But that’s thanks to a different engine and control style. If you want to hear the whole discussion, you can watch the stream from this point. Excuse Kovic’s internet being spotty while he was replying.

After the block puzzle, a new path opens in the swim maze. Then, some platforming comes. Something I love is how there is even a troll hidden inside the platforming. It caught me off guard and made me smile. This platforming section was also love to do. It felt like a real test on how well I know the game. This platforming section feels a lot better put together and feel less cryptic on where you need to go next. You really start to notice that the developer was getting more used to the level editor and made better puzzles. The moment of having to use the whip to swing over the gap while the platform underneath you was breaking was amazing.

After that, we get into the finale of this level. We jump into a portal and we land in a playable area which is shown at the end of Shambala, the 4th level in the original game. That area that’s shown to you after you have beaten the Ice Guardian. The path that takes you to Palawan Lagoon. It was possible to explore that using cheats and modified saves, but now it’s in a level for real. Exploring the little house at the end brings us to something you totally don’t expect this custom level to do. You’ll find a parchment inside with a riddle and at the end you notice something in red saying: “MAT -> ZIP”.

There is some meta gaming now going on. You’ll need to make a hard save and exit your game. You’ll need to go to your resource folder & then open the MAT folder. In there you’ll need to rename “SED.MAT” to “SED.ZIP”. You’ll also need to enter the password for the zip, since you get a new cog script to continue the level, which you need to place in your cog folder. In there, there is another surprise. But, that’s something I’m not going to spoil. But, be sure that Kovic is playing with that surprise and maybe I’m going to dig into it. PS, the next paragraph is in white with the right spelling of the password:

Marcus

The way the level ends is bittersweet. If you solve the final puzzle, something special happens and you can beat the level. You could argue that the ending of this level is “lazy” or “creative”… But, it’s an amazing way to wrap up the story in one level with a nice bow.

At the start of the custom level, I felt that it was quite rough around the edges and it had some moments that felt badly designed. In terms of game design that is. If you look at it visually and level flow wise, I personally think that this level would fit right into the original game as a final challenge. But, the further you go into the level, the more you start to notice that the developer of this level is getting used to the tools and the editor and more polished puzzles and area’s are coming through. You notice the journey of the developer and see it becoming better and better.

I want to give a big congrats to everybody who was involved in releasing this custom level. It’s a blast to play and I can’t wait to see more custom levels. The stream I did with this level was one of the best streams ever and it was also quite a lot of fun to write the tool to help people play this custom level. I’m curious what you think about this custom level and/or the content of this article. Feel free to drop something in the comment section down below.

And with that, I have said everything I wanted to say about this for now. I want to thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you back in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Every writer has their own creation process. These processes are rarely to never set in stone. People change, and their habits and routines can change as well. Now for a few weeks now, I have been thinking… What is my process? How do I decide on which game to write, and how do my actual thoughts get into an article? So, I think it would be fun to explore some of those things in this article. While I have written a similar article back in 2018, I also think it would be fun to just start this article as if I have never written that article. So, here we go, from choosing the game to clicking on the button “publish”… How do I do it?

Choosing the subject

When I look at the taglines I have chosen for my blog in the past, most of them have one thing in common. They represent in a way what this blog actually is. This blog is a public diary of a Belgian game collector who shares his opinions on the games he plays. Sometimes I play with the idea to create series, where I look at each game from a series or look at several games I have played in the past.

While that could be fun, I don’t like forcing myself to play a certain game because I have to write an article about it. That’s because I might not enjoy the game since I need to rush my play through, so I can have an article out. On top of that, it might reflect in my article as well. I like to take my time when writing about a certain game. Writing about a game right away without giving it time to let things settle is such a risky idea. Since, you never know if you are overreacting on something or not.

Now, when I’m playing games, I have a rule. I never go into playing a game thinking how to turn it into an article. The only exception I make to that rule is when a developer requests me to write an article about their game. While playing the game, I let myself enjoy the game. Now, there comes a moment while playing the game, where I think… “Should I write an article about this game or not?”.

In the past, I used to have a long list of games where I answered yes to that question. When my writing day arrived, I opened the list and picked a game from that list and started the process of writing an article. But, I felt that, that system didn’t work for me anymore. I can’t tell you exactly when I stopped using that system, but I wanted to write more in-depth articles, so I wanted to more research on the game I was writing about and that was taking a lot more time compared to just having a list of games I want to write about.

So, the decision of choosing the game for the next article is a bit more complicated. Sometimes I have a game in mind that I want to write about, and sometimes I don’t. When I have a game in mind, it’s easy to move on to the next process. When I don’t, I look at the games I have played in the past months/weeks and decide from there.

Now, what do I take in consideration when deciding if a game can become a good article? The first question I ask myself is this, what can I say about this game? There are several games I play that don’t have enough things going on for me to write about. Even when they are fascinating like Yeti Quest, it’s your typical match three game like Bejeweled. But in this game, you can choose between three different play styles on the fly in this genre, and that makes it more interesting. But, besides that, there is not too much else going on. Maybe I might turn them in a short game quicky. But I find writing and creating shorter articles about a game less rewarding than writing a longer article about them.

The second question I ask myself is the same question as the first but in a different direction. The first question is actually more, how much is there to talk about, and the second question is what is there to talk about. Something I dislike writing is very negative articles. I don’t want to write an article where I just rip into the game and only talk about the weak points of a game. I also don’t enjoy reading those articles myself, and I personally rather write and read a balanced article over an overly positive or negative article any day of the week.

Now, when a developer requests an article from me and I notice that I’m going to write mostly a negative article… I actually scrap the article. From talking to various developers, I learned how much time and effort goes into creating games, and it takes a lot of courage reaching out to the press to show off your game. People sometimes base their decision on this kind of articles, and I don’t want to turn people away if the game doesn’t click with me or if I’m not the correct person to review the game. But, I do give a list of feedback back to the developer. This feedback exists out of bugs/issues I found or suggestions for improvement. That’s the least I can do for declining the article.

While I answer both of these questions, I start coming up with the theme of the actual article. What will be the core of my message? On what do I want to focus the article? The music, the game mechanics, the visuals, the writing style? It’s mostly now that I come up with the subtitle of the article. A great recent example is how I came up with the core of the Another Code – Recollection article. While playing that game and streaming it with Klamath, I remembered that I wrote an article about that game in the past. One of the game’s core story mechanics is how memory works and how people grow with them. At that moment, I decided to make that the main focus of my article. To show how I have grown as a writer, while using the memories of the past game and articles to take a new look at the game.

The actual review process

Now that I decided on which game I want to review or write about, it’s time to talk about the actual process of preparing the article.

The first thing I start to look at is the story of this game. The reason why I start with the story is simple, it’s one of the best ways to start your article, in my honest opinion. With that, you can set the scene for your readers and explain the mechanics, visuals amongst other things more easily as well. I have tried several times to write about the mechanics or something else first, but I felt that these articles didn’t flow well enough, and I rewrote the whole article. By now, it has become a habit of mine that I don’t know how to change and even if I should change it.

Then, depending on the message I have chosen of my article, I chose something else next. In most cases, that is the pacing or the gameplay, but it can also be the world building or the visuals. Besides having a core message, I also want the article to flow well. My main goal in writing these articles is not only to inform and entertain those who are reading my articles, but also as a way to easily share my opinion on the games I’m playing.

When you read my articles, you’ll notice that I don’t focus on the same things that most big reviewing outlets do. For example, I don’t focus on how realistic the visuals are or if the game is using the latest technology or running at the highest frame rate. Personally, I don’t really care about those things too much. I rather focus on the actual game over those things.

Now, when I’m looking at the visuals for example for my article… I look more at how consistent everything is. How well does everything fit together and fit together with the story and themes of the game. Are there models and moments that look rough or unpolished? Are there animations that look out of place and unnatural? Now, since I sometimes review a retro game, I take in consideration the technology of the time and the size of the studio that developed the game.

I mostly put my focus when writing about a game on the whole package. For example, if you introduce a certain mechanic in a game… how often is it used and what does it bring to the gameplay. There is nothing that annoys me more than having a mechanic in a game that is underused when it’s shown off with a lot of potential. I’m looking at you, for example, Death Mark II. There were some mechanics like the shop or the hidden teeth that were just underused. If a mechanic is going to be underused, don’t put so much focus on it.

Something I also find very important is consistency. While it can be interesting to break consistency in a game to surprise the player to keep them on their toes, there is no excuse to have an inconsistent game. I’m talking for example about huge difficulty spikes or the UI having different ways of working in the game. Let me give you a specific example, in Suikoden Tierkreis, the final boss of the game is so much stronger than all previous enemies, and it felt just unfair. Without any warning, you also had to know you had to grind certain characters and build them in a certain way. Maybe it might be less of a problem now that I know that, but it felt like a slap into the face after the balance of the game being very consistent.

So, do I take notes while I play through the game I’m going to write about? In the past I used to do that, but I stopped doing that. I started to have this bad habit of only writing down the negatives moments or just trying to work everything in from my notes and forcing some sections in. I do have an alternative when writing about a game now.

First, I play the game for at least an hour before I write about it. So, things are fresh in my mind. Also, I leave the game running while I’m writing my article. In case I’m hesitating on something, I can quickly jump in the game and replay to test something out.

And second, I’m abusing my visual memory. I have a very strong visual memory when it comes to games and I found out that when I play the soundtrack of the game, I start to remember quite a lot of things. I can’t write an article without playing the soundtrack of the game.

Sadly, a lot of things in a review are extremely subjective. The biggest thing here is finding a right balance for me. For example, if I didn’t enjoy certain tracks in the soundtrack of a game but I don’t see that complaint while doing some research, I mention it that way in my article. That it might be that the tracks didn’t click with me but that the overall impression of the soundtrack is positive.

The final part I usually do before I sit down and write is doing my research. This research consists out of just looking up this game in Google, reading through other articles, reading through press material, looking at the voice actors, looking at other projects of the developers… I have a whole list of things I want to answer and know about the game. Like how big was the studio that developed it? How long was the game in development? Sometimes reading up on the game helps to clear up things on why certain creative decisions where taken.

Writing the article

Now that I have chosen the game, played through (most of) it and did some research it’s time to start writing the article. The first thing I do is put in the title and it’s subtitle. And then, I create the subtitles and screenshots for the article. In case of a game review, I write in brackets the main themes of that section. For example: (gameplay, controls, music).

Then I put on the soundtrack of the game and I start writing the introduction and just continue to write. While writing, I look at the flow of the article and when I notice that a certain section would fit better in an earlier section, I move it. Now, when I remember a certain detail that fits in a later section, I add a small note in that section before returning to the point I was writing.

I don’t like writing out of order, since I find it more difficult to make sure my core message shines through or the flow/theme of my article stays consistent. So, that’s why I’m doing the article editing somewhat at the same time. When I’m finished with a paragraph, I re-read what I have written and think about the flow of the article and when it doesn’t fit, I just remove the whole paragraph and rewrite it. Now, I also read my paragraph again since my mother tounge isn’t English and sometimes I use certain expressions that don’t exist in English or just make silly typo’s.

While I use two spelling correctors to help me to avoid mistakes, I rather review it myself as well. Too many times I see that spellings correctors fail at understanding gaming terms or make the strangest corrections. While I know that my articles contain grammar issues and typo’s in the end, I try to catch as many as I can before they go live. During some breaks, I spend a couple of hours going through old contect and correcting typo’s and grammar issues. Also, when readers point them out to me, I try to fix them right away. Since, you start to read over your own mistakes way too easily.

While writing, I usually try to not take a break. I find it quite important to do everything in one go while writing. Apart from refilling my glass or taking a quick bathroom break, I try to keep writing. Usually, the whole writing process takes me around 4 hours on average.

After I have fully written my article, I copy it from the WordPress editor to Microsoft Word and let it check again for typo’s and grammar mistakes I missed. I also quickly skim through my article to make sure I haven’t left a paragraph on something stupid like an incomplete thought or sentence.

Now, if you would ask me what I enjoy the least in this whole process… I have to answer the whole SEO process. It’s one repetitive task that is just boring to do in my honest opinion. Looking for the right keywords, pasting the links everywhere and making sure you did everything to make the article appear in search engines. I’m always happy when that process is over and done with.

The opposite question is a more difficult to answer. I can’t really say what I enjoy the most in writing gaming articles. At one hand, I love the interaction with people who read my blog. The developers who found my blog by reading my articles and decide to request a review from me. It’s a rewarding feeling that people enjoy your creative hobby and are able to relax or find new games.

I also love talking about underrated or forgotten games. I just love when I get a reaction from people: “I totally forgot about this game! This game was part of my childhood.” It’s a great way to connect with people and make new friends and/or discover new games.

But, I also just love writing itself. I just love being creative and trying to entertain people and I find that writing and just using languages in creative ways is something I love doing the most. I love telling stories and being able to tell them through a game article without it overpowering the actual article is just a lot of fun to do.

Of course, playing the actual games is quite a lot of fun as well. Since I have such a broad taste in games, I play so many different games and it’s just a blast. I love discovering things about games and how they are developed and how the whole creative process works behind it. Especially since people don’t always stand still by the fact that a lot of things have to come together perfectly in order for a game, movie, album or any creative work to get created.

I just enjoy the whole process. If I have to give an average on how much time one article takes, I have to say that it takes at least 20 to 30 hours. And that’s when everything goes perfect. When I don’t have a writers block or when I don’t have other things going on in my personal life. I’m happy that I found this hobby for me and I’m surprised at how much you are all enjoying it. It still surprises me that some students of the school I work for discovered certain games through my blog and talk to me about them. I even have coworkers who come and ask me for game advice for themselves or their childern. Besides that, I get a lot of reaction through Discord and other platforms and it makes me just happy. Being able to make someones day or just help them (re)discover games and/or entertaining them… It’s one of the main goals of this blog and that’s just perfect.

Now, I think I have said everything wanted to say about this for now. Know that what I talked about in this article is my personal process and feel free to copy (parts of) my process but I highly advice you to make sure that your process works for you. Since, if it doesn’t work for you, you’ll hit a brick wall eventually and either burn out or just loose interest. Enjoy the process and stay true to yourself. That’s how I managed to write around ~ 600 articles over almost 15 years.

Thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. What is your creative process or did you learn something from this article? I’m curious to know, so feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below. I’m also curious if I’ll be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Have you ever wanted to wage war against the machines? Well, buckle up for this “bullet hell,” select your pilot, and earn those Risk Stars, because, if you’re into shoot-em-ups (shmups), Wings of Bluestar is your destination.

Wings of Bluestar delivers a very engaging story, which is unusual for this genre. The cutscenes in between stages involve dialogue choices that will even affect the ending you receive after conquering eight stages.

The hand-drawn graphics give a stylish anime feeling to the game. This might cause some disorientation between background and foreground elements, though, leading to some cheap deaths. Nonetheless, the game is short, so it will not take long to learn the stages, preventing further aggravation.

Power-ups are plentiful and come quickly for your pilot. The additional turrets you can get are rotatable. I found this mechanic awkward at first, but it quickly became second-nature. You can also level up your pilot’s special ability: One has a R-Type shield while the other has a chargeable beam attack.

Overall this shmup is fun to play. The heavy story combined with the anime-styled graphics are welcoming. It has a decent risk-reward system and plenty of power-ups. If you want to cut out all the story, then try arcade mode. There is even a co-op mode. Altogether, there are plenty of options for everyone. This is a very solid entry for this genre, and the high replay-value has me coming back for more!

PROS
+ heavy story-driven game
+ multiple endings for high replay value
+ beautiful hand-drawn cutscenes

CONS
– cheap deaths from the environment
– very fast gameplay might turn off some
– overwhelming mechanics to newcomers of the genre

Game Title: Wings of Bluestar
Platforms: PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T for Teen
MSRP: $14.99
Release Date: January 18, 2023
Obtained: Code provided by developer/publisher for press purposes