Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Or, at least, “the recording of the entire ceremony, and the Games Developers Choice awards too!” Gamespot got same cameras up at the show last night, and thus have a full recording of the likes of Notch and the Desktop Dungeons dudes picking up their well-deserved awards. Also, Nidhogg cosplay and a creepy stage invasion from Team Meat.

As silky-bearded IGF bossman Brandon Boyer observes, 2010 really was a watermark year for indie. As it had long threatened, it broke out of the ghetto so much of the industry had shut it in, and truly blended in with the mainstream. That makes this an inspiring list of nominees of winners, and a inspiring show as a result. I wish to God I was there. Jim was, and he’d better have had the time of his life or so help me I’ll kill him when he gets back. Anyway, watch the whole thing below – it’s an incredibly enthusiastic and good-natured affair, capable of eroding an awful lot of the cynicism that Big Boy Games can sometimes create.
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Sometimes limiting what you can do with the stuff you’ve bought isn’t such a bad thing. The key is that you choose to limit it, rather than that decision being made by some paranoid corporate hivemind that’s convinced you’re going to stand on a street corner selling bootlegged copies of every game you own out of a suitcase you stole from an old lady, then spending the proceeds on injecting ground-up terrorist bones directly into your eyeballs.

Such self-policing is the apparent philosophy behind the latest update to Valve’s digital store – Steam Guard. Worried about your password being nicked? Then semi-permanently link your account to one specific PC.
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As long as we’re talking superfine indie games, SpaceChem, the finest puzzle game 2011′s seen to date (and arguably the finest indie game, too) has arrived on Steam. Anyone who hasn’t yet tried the demo (available in Windows, Mac and Linux flavours) should physically drop what they’re doing to do so immediately. Yes, even if it’s tea. I don’t care if it’s tea and you’re drinking it directly above your child. What’s your child doing there! Download this demo!
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The Independent Games Festival has announced its winners for 2011, plucked from this very list of finalists. Of the ten categories, seven games took home prizes (not to mention prize money), including some games you’ve probably played and two you most likely haven’t. Now, who do you think took home both the Grand Prize and the Audience Award? Go on. You’ll never guess. It’s crazy. A real under-dog. A long shot fired from a broken gun.
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Epic has revealed the next generation of its Unreal technology in a behind-closed-doors showing at GDC, VG247 report. What was being demoed was not, in fact, Unreal Engine 4, but rather “Unreal 3.975,” in the jocular words of Epic vice president Mark Rein. Words and pictures follow, but not footage. I imagine that’ll be doing the rounds next week, or thereabouts.
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Holy shit! So, when I first posted about multiplayer indie title Depth back in October I found the concept of divers vs. sharks exciting, but I wasn’t expecting all that much from the game itself. It’s difficult, bringing an entirely new concept to life like that. But RPS stalwart Phill Cameron just pointed me towards the new GDC game footage, and this game looks incredible.

Enough talk! Hold you breath, plunge into the frigid waters below and take a look for yourself.
*sploosh* >>

Thank goodness for that. Saints Row 3 is officially official. We’ve known it’s happening for a while, and a recent leak of images made it even more undeniable, but nothing’s real until the publisher says so. THQ said so. And this is good news, because I want it. And what I want counts.

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PC gaming truth machine Blues News reports that Fall of Setarrif, the standalone expansion for ArcaniA – Gothic 4 has both a trailer (which you’ll find below) and a new site, bearing a new release date. March 25th! It’s like Christmas in March, except a slightly underwhelming Christmas where all the food is a bit cold. Anyway, March 25th- that’s barely enough time to get the game and finish it! You may be better off reading if Alec’s impressions of Gothic 4.
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Morning sir! Alright, I think I’ve got everything. Here are your two eggs, done just how you like them. There’s the toast, buttered on both sides as you requested. Here’s the bacon, also buttered on both sides. There’s your coffee. There’s the coffee pot. There’s the second coffee pot. Your morning manshoots? But of course, sir. You’ll find them under that silverware dome. It’s Operation Flashpoint: Red River today, sir. And they feature an explosion which I’m sure you’ll agree is simply remarkable.
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The people of Ubisoft have released a video to hype up the fact that the PC version of Brotherhood – that multiplayer stabbing game of the series – will come with The Da Vinci Disappearance, which is the console DLC for the game. Which essentially means it’s not DLC on PC, it just is part of the game. The clue to the details of this content is in the title: it’s a single and multi-player mission which features the kidnapping of Leonardo Da Vinci. Presumably you’ll have to rescue him, and dudes will get stabbed. Yeah, go watch the trailer, that is what happens. And it happens with style.

With that thought in mind, I suppose I’d better go and hunt for the scalps of indie devs at the IGF. Wish me luck!
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When Rock, Paper, Shotgun is asked to name its games writing influences, only a few names come up. They include Amiga Power, Your Sinclair, early Gamer, and perhaps most noticeably, Old Man Murray. The influence that site had on games writing has influenced just about everything else anyone’s enjoyed since. RPS writers lived and breathed OMM at the time. Every time I read the archives I’m reminded how poor a job I’m doing, and what it is I should be striving for. Not to mention that it was written by Erik Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek, who now work at Valve, penning mighty words and ideas for the likes of Left 4 Dead and Portal. And today their entry has been deleted from Wikipedia, on the grounds that it’s “not notable”. We’d like to object.

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