Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Announcing Magicka: Vietnam

By Quintin Smith on March 1st, 2011 at 5:20 pm.

(5:12:42 PM) Kieron: OMFG
(5:12:44 PM) Kieron: OMFG
(5:12:50 PM) Kieron: The new magicka trailer!
(5:12:59 PM) Kieron: I don’t know here to start

(5:13:07 PM) Quintin: They told me about this at the Paradox convention
(5:13:15 PM) Kieron: Have you seen the trailer?
(5:13:18 PM) Quintin: Watching it now
(5:13:20 PM) Kieron: “Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if wizards were allowed to roam the jungles of war-torn Vietnam, attempting to bring peace and stability to the region by casting spells on all opponents?”
(5:13:22 PM) Kieron: Is the greatest line
(5:13:24 PM) Quintin: The music!
(5:13:28 PM) Kieron: MAGICKA TO SURFING BIRD!
(5:13:49 PM) Kieron: You know, people have often debated whether it’s possible to make a Vietnam game.
(5:13:56 PM) Kieron: Or even how you could do it.
(5:13:57 PM) Kieron: Now we know.
(5:14:04 PM) Quintin: Hahaha. The final image.
(5:14:09 PM) Quintin: That’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2
(5:14:15 PM) Kieron: Oh man
(5:15:00 PM) Kieron: Now watching it for the 3rd time

EDIT:

(5:20:36 PM) Quintin: Posted
(5:21:36 PM) Kieron: \m/
(5:22:56 PM) Quintin: So, I was so eager to post all this that my soup is now cold
(5:23:10 PM) Kieron: Man!
(5:23:19 PM) Kieron: You should cut and post that after the video
(5:23:26 PM) Kieron: “Quintin: So, I was so eager to post all this that my soup is now cold”
(5:23:40 PM) Quintin: I’m actually planning to do that
(5:23:52 PM) Kieron: We are as one
(5:23:53 PM) Quintin: Oh man, that reminds me
(5:23:56 PM) Quintin: Wait I have to find it

(5:24:13 PM) Kieron: I hadn’t seen this
(5:24:14 PM) Kieron: Wow
(5:24:17 PM) Kieron: That’s a lot of work
(5:24:44 PM) Kieron: Crikey
(5:24:47 PM) Kieron: Why wasn’t that on RPS?
(5:24:49 PM) Kieron: Mental!

__________________

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121 Comments »

  1. 01/03/2011 at 17:21 GT3000 says:

    Cue infamous execution of VietCong goblin in the street by ARVN Mage. :O

  2. 01/03/2011 at 17:23 Malawi Frontier Guard says:

    I would not excuse this for any other developer.

  3. 01/03/2011 at 17:23 Kaira- says:

    I’m a quite baffled by all this. Surfin’ Bird-like song, ‘NAM, explosions and all that stuff. Where can I get some of the drugs that these guys use?

  4. 01/03/2011 at 17:23 Flakfizer says:

    Reminds me of Watchmen for some strange reason.

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:58 Tei says:

      Probably the parts of the novel where the comedians burn people alive, and make a joke of everything, life, dead, everything is a joke. The comedian was fully aware of the impeding nuclear doom, so all the Vietnam war was to him only a façade.

    • 02/03/2011 at 05:38 erhebung says:

      I can see what you mean about the tone. But was the Comedian aware of what was to come? How did he find out? (Probably need to go back and re-read, but am curious as I genuinely don’t remember that…)

  5. 01/03/2011 at 17:24 Bennus says:

    Brilliance.

  6. 01/03/2011 at 17:24 mcol says:

    All is forgiven!

  7. 01/03/2011 at 17:25 Hoaxfish says:

    war, never been so much fun

  8. 01/03/2011 at 17:25 Nesetalis says:

    XD wow.. not what i was expecting… i woulda thought it was still ‘too soon’ :p

  9. 01/03/2011 at 17:28 Mr_Hands says:

    WHAT.
    WHAT.
    WHAT.
    WHAT.
    WHAT.
    WHAT.

    I just. I just wanna make love to Arrowhead.

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:34 SAM-site says:

      I cannot express just how much joy this has injected into my day. This is what gaming is all about.

      I too want to have Arrowhead’s baby.

    • 01/03/2011 at 20:02 JFS says:

      I thought I could happily die after I had seen the pug sing the Batman theme on youtube. Now I’m confident that fate dictated I had to live to see this. NOW I can die happily, for I have seen everything.

  10. 01/03/2011 at 17:30 cocoleche says:

    First the Charlie Sheen interview, then this. It is a great day.

  11. 01/03/2011 at 17:30 RaveTurned says:

    …
    …
    What?

  12. 01/03/2011 at 17:31 Man Raised by Puffins says:

    I’M A COW, I’M A COW, I’M A MAGIC COW

  13. 01/03/2011 at 17:31 ran93r says:

    The words, they escape me.

  14. 01/03/2011 at 17:32 shoptroll says:

    That is amazing. :D

  15. 01/03/2011 at 17:34 Theory says:

    What a suprinder! :)

  16. 01/03/2011 at 17:34 Quasar says:

    Dear Magicka developers: You utter fucking geniuses. Never, ever stop.

  17. 01/03/2011 at 17:38 egg says:

    That’s it. I’m buying Magicka.

  18. 01/03/2011 at 17:38 Interstella84 says:

    Just… WOW

  19. 01/03/2011 at 17:38 drewski says:

    Does it work yet?

    • 01/03/2011 at 17:48 frags says:

      Yes it does. They’ve released a new DLC with Crash to desktop as an actual magick in the game :s It doesn’t crash to desktop though…which is…I wouldn’t imagine ever saying this… disappointing.

    • 01/03/2011 at 17:51 Kieron Gillen says:

      Dude, please. Is this true? I want it to be true.

      KG

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:00 drewski says:

      I’ve seen the DLC and video – very funny, yes – but that doesn’t mean the game actually works.

      You can put DLC in a bug ridden mess.

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:02 Hoaxfish says:

      that’s awesome

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:12 Dominic White says:

      The game has worked fine for me from Day 3 (I bought it on Day 3). Multiplayer connectivity used to be rather wonky, but they seem to have fixed that up pretty well now.

      So, yes, it works.

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:17 President Weasel says:

      But seriously, does it work yet?
      Because I would very much like to give these guys some money for their game, but I would rather wait until it works.

      I am eventually going to buy it even if it never works though, because I pay money for glorious ideas that don’t quite work. I would rather give them money for a fixed game though so – dies it work yet?

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:34 Steven Hutton says:

      Yes! It actually works now! I’ve been playing it the past couple of days and it has been just fine. It’s technical hiccups appear to be mostly solved.

      And the staff of bugs that you get with the Mea Culpa wizard is awesome.

      Hey! RPS! Please write some more things about this game. It’s a really special title and now that it works it really deserves to get another round of publicity.

      If possible, it’d be really, really amazing if you could just talk about what a great game it is and mention the previous bugs as little as possible. It’s such a shame that the narrative about this game has to always be the Story of Bugs. You have the power to change that!

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:37 Xocrates says:

      The game was pretty stable about a week after release and kept receiving updates since then.

      So yes, the game does work.

    • 01/03/2011 at 19:56 Lilliput King says:

      I can’t guarantee it will work flawlessly for others, but it’s worked flawlessly for me since about 2 weeks from release.

  20. 01/03/2011 at 17:50 DrugCrazed says:

    I knew it was worth giving them money. Now they can continue their drug habits and continue to make complete and utter brilliant things.

  21. 01/03/2011 at 17:52 McDan says:

    Bam. Tit job.

    Edit: meaning awesome, so annoyed that it won’t actually damn work on my laptop.

  22. 01/03/2011 at 17:52 Popish Frenzy says:

    Arrowhead are developing a valve like knack of losing and then generating goodwill. WOW.

  23. 01/03/2011 at 17:53 Novotny says:

    That is quite simply genius.

  24. 01/03/2011 at 17:54 zind says:

    Did war just change? I think war might have just changed. Dammit!

  25. 01/03/2011 at 17:55 Gentacle says:

    They aren’t on drugs, just being Scandinavian is enough!

  26. 01/03/2011 at 18:07 Rinox says:

    *head explodes*

    Haven’t laughed so hard at a game trailer in a long time!

  27. 01/03/2011 at 18:10 wootles says:

    Simply Amazing. I love the smell of vortexes in the morning! I hope this has an awesome point skill system like BFBC2 does. Then I believe we can all crown the new king of the shooter genre.

  28. 01/03/2011 at 18:10 Teronfel says:

    YEAAAAAAAAAAAH Dunka Dunka in Vietnam!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D

    • 01/03/2011 at 19:27 Barnaby says:

      Erra madnerr!! Bleeeeeeeigh.

      Btw, hopefully this is better than BF BC2 Vietnam was. I found it extremely underwhelming.

  29. 01/03/2011 at 18:16 Lars Westergren says:

    Minecraft, Magicka, the Ball, Amnesia, the Dream Machine, Nifflas games… isn’t it time RPS did an article on the Swedish gaming scene?
    =)

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:23 phuzz says:

      Well, what with the internet and all, it’s more the international gaming scene, as dominated by a bunch of Swedes ;)

      *edit This trailer == awesome. All you can hear in our house is the sound of people laughing and “mmmmagic cow”.

  30. 01/03/2011 at 18:23 Dominic White says:

    I wish to personally high-five each and every member of the Magicka dev-team. That trailer is amazing, and I am buying that expansion on day 1.

  31. 01/03/2011 at 18:27 Caleb367 says:

    I didn’t think it was physically possible, but this is both retarded and awesome.

  32. 01/03/2011 at 18:29 lethu says:

    Arrowhead are the most awesome think to ever happen to earth since soap, as far as I’m concerned, me, an automysophobic.

  33. 01/03/2011 at 18:38 Sulkdodds says:

    The only disappointing thing about the trailer is that when the song fades and the title screen comes up at the end of the video it is not accompanied by a facsimile of this gibbering: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxUN7G2i-IU&feature=fvst#t=1m06s

    I cannot possibly imagine any better sound to complement an announcement of this nature.

    • 01/03/2011 at 18:55 Teddy Leach says:

      The song should have restarted. The song should follow everyone around forever, providing the perfect soundtrack to absolutely everything. I’m going to have it played at my funeral.

  34. 01/03/2011 at 18:44 Njordsk says:

    (5:12:59 PM) Kieron: I don’t know here to start

    Little typo?

  35. 01/03/2011 at 18:49 squareking says:

    Fine. Buying it tonight.

  36. 01/03/2011 at 18:51 Tei says:

    Videogames just jumped the shark. No the mashooter genre, or the LOOM genre, but the whole videogames industry.

    And is awesome on the other side!.

    Magicians in Vietnam is the new Zombies!.

  37. 01/03/2011 at 18:52 Bilbo says:

    War never changes. Unless adding magic trannies constitutes change. It does. War has changed.

  38. 01/03/2011 at 18:55 Ziv says:

    THAT IS THE MOST FָָָING SPECTACULAR TRAILER I HAVE EVER SEEN!!

  39. 01/03/2011 at 18:58 geldonyetich says:

    I set my own mage on fire out of protest but it lost impact somehow.

  40. 01/03/2011 at 19:01 Phillip Culliton says:

    This… I have to buy it. That was the best trailer I’ve ever seen.

  41. 01/03/2011 at 19:04 Acosta says:

    This is more like it. Next time make sure Kieron is there among the grandpas, we need some raw enthusiasm.

    (I thought on Cannon Fodder too).

  42. 01/03/2011 at 19:05 jeremypeel says:

    Christ. The napalm strike at the end! Hahaha.

  43. 01/03/2011 at 19:13 Hatsworth says:

    Magicka: 9.11 next please.

  44. 01/03/2011 at 19:18 crainey92 says:

    Epic, need I say more?

  45. 01/03/2011 at 19:29 Eric says:

    This is amazing. These guys are brilliant. :D

    Take my money, Arrowhead. Take however much you need.

  46. 01/03/2011 at 19:29 Navagon says:

    This gave me flashbacks of ‘Nam. The blood. The napalm. The wizards. It’s all coming back to me now.

    Which is odd given that I’m British and was born in 1980.

  47. 01/03/2011 at 19:32 Jim9137 says:

    Tears. TEARS.

  48. 01/03/2011 at 20:09 zergrush says:

    Will see if it works well with M300 mobile vgas, If it does, I’ll buy two more copies for a couple of non-pc gaming friends.

    I finished the game with only one buddy on the launch week, and was extremely lucky to have not run into any significant bugs, it must be pretty fun to play with two people who have no clicky hack n’slash experience.

    I’ll have to spend some money I had saved for a couple of sanwa buttons, but it’s a worthy sacrifice :’(

  49. 01/03/2011 at 20:10 Orzo says:

    Can we get ‘Magicka Soccer’ demo to this, please? Pretty please?

    • 01/03/2011 at 21:15 phuzz says:

      Oh yes! I remember that, which magazine was it on? The One?

      (for the uninitiated or young, there was a Cannon Fodder demo back in the day that was set on a Sensible Soccer pitch. What’s that? You’ve never heard of Cannon Fodder or Sensible Soccer? Get off my lawn you damn varmits!)

    • 02/03/2011 at 02:27 Qwentle says:

      Not sure about the original, but the Christmas Cannon Soccer (along with 2 Christmas Cannon Fodder levels on the same disk) was in AP.

  50. 01/03/2011 at 20:23 Zogtee says:

    Some sort of science fiction Star Warsy Magicka thingie will be released eventually, I’m sure of it.

  51. 01/03/2011 at 21:09 DrBomb says:

    Now, why that minecraft movie isn’t in RPS yet?

  52. 01/03/2011 at 21:16 Wulf says:

    I love Scandinavia, all of it, they’re so completely insane and their imagination is off the imaginometre. World, can we have another Scandinavia? There is not enough of it. That is all.

  53. 01/03/2011 at 21:19 RS-SYS says:

    I’m crying tears, I’m crying tears!

  54. 01/03/2011 at 21:36 pupsikaso says:

    I still can’t play Magicka (and of course there are no refunds on digital downloads), and yet they expect me to buy an expansion?

    WHAT.
    THE.
    F—. ?

  55. 01/03/2011 at 22:05 mbp says:

    Just posting because in years to come when we look back to the very pinnacle of human gaming endeavour I want to be able to show “I was there”.

  56. 01/03/2011 at 22:21 Zanchito says:

    Win videos stuffed with awesome!

  57. 01/03/2011 at 22:31 Pijama says:

    I have only one thing to say:

    ALL IS FORGIVEN.

  58. 01/03/2011 at 22:32 skinlo says:

    Wow, looks epic.

  59. 01/03/2011 at 22:40 Mephistoau says:

    Is it possible to have a development studios babies? I so totally would. These guys are hilarious

  60. 01/03/2011 at 23:13 Oak says:

    I haven’t played Magicka, but I’m very happy that this is a real thing.

  61. 01/03/2011 at 23:21 vader says:

    That was the best thing my two eyes have ever seen.

  62. 02/03/2011 at 00:09 Muzman says:

    I was thinking they need to throw a shoutout to Dancing Stalin in there somewhere, maybe as a boss.
    But that might not work.
    Dancing Ho Chi Minh?

  63. 02/03/2011 at 00:13 theunshaven says:

    So… Magicka as game of the year contender?

    I think so.

  64. 02/03/2011 at 00:20 Jickelsen says:

    Wow, I wish more publishers were like Paradox. I mean, they also helped with the voiceover… If there is any publisher that could work with a weird and awkward title like Dwarf Fortress, I bet it would be those people.
    I remember some guys from Arrowhead presenting at the kickoff for Swedish Game Awards in October last year, about what NOT to do in the event of actually winning. Basically they had won but like “yeah but we should probably finish off our game dev education first…” . The project lost steam and the opportunity almost slipped from them. I think a year or so later they picked it up again, and it’s a good thing they did! Oh and I loved their Powerpoint, it was filled with little illustrations just like those in the game. RPS, get a mic in front of these guys! They have interesting stories to tell.
    Paradox were there as well and had some people in those robes walking around eerily at the event, but for some reason I never got around to testing the game back then. I remember from just watching it briefly that it was very buggy though (surprise surprise!).

  65. 02/03/2011 at 00:59 GHudston says:

    I cannot adequately describe how precisely this plays to my sense of humour. It has everything.

    I think that gaming may reach it’s peak for me the moment this is released.

  66. 02/03/2011 at 01:16 Blackberries says:

    My face when watching the trailer was one of glee. Pure, eyes-wide, mouth-open glee.

    Take. My. Money.

  67. 02/03/2011 at 01:45 kibayasu says:

    I can’t not listen to that song over and over.

  68. 02/03/2011 at 01:58 nemryn says:

    I would love to play Magicka (and give these people money), but I can’t. Dammit. >:(

  69. 02/03/2011 at 03:06 Nahual says:

    I love this but i wish the had gone for the the superior Vietnam related Battlefield trailer:

    http://tubedubber.com/#cs2DsoiA54Y:JBfjU3_XOaA:0:100:0:7:true

  70. 02/03/2011 at 21:15 Vandalbarg says:

    I’d certainly love to play that. Almost as much as I’d like to play the original, sitting there in my steam games library, unplayable. Dammit.

  71. 03/03/2011 at 12:06 RegisteredUser says:

    I feel kind of left out given that I really, really tried to find this game fun, but only felt overencumbered, incompetent and too slow/sluggish instead of smooth, superior and agile. (A more sincere way of saying this would be that I hated the control scheme, the fact that you only move when HOLDING down a mouse button instead of click-go and expected at least 1-2 mercy quickslots for spells, utterly hating the “4 presses to do anything” mechanic. I suffer from RSI enough already, thx.)

    Definitely no Gauntlet.

    Now everyone is ranting and raving and all I can think to myself is “Really?”. It kind of worries me. I feel like the guy described in DOOMs after-game screen.

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