Tag: The walking dead »

Only last month, George Lucas spoke at a games industry event, saying that he thinks the "big game of the next five years will be a game...aimed at women and girls." For an industry still primarily focused on appealing to men, that could be quite a shift for the future. While I don't have a crystal ball to see what's to come, I reckon one source of such a game is Silicon Sisters. It's the first female-owned and run video game studio in Canada, and it's already achieved some success with high school-focused School 26 and School 26: Summer of Secrets.

Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, CEO of Silicon Sisters, was kind enough to find time in her busy schedule to discuss women gamers, empathy in games, and reveal some information on the firm's latest title, Everlore.

148apps: Empathy is a primary issue that both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg feel games need to overcome in order to progress as a medium, do you agree?
Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch (BBG): I guess that depends on how you perceive progress. If amazing graphics and incredible physics are your criteria, then we are very advanced as a medium. But if, like the filmmakers mentioned, you view the ability of the storyteller to connect with their audience in a more emotional and meaningful way, then I think empathy is an important tool. And there are some games that have done that incredibly well. Playing The Walking Dead can rip your heart out. But as an industry, we have lots of room to play this out more fully in our storytelling. We also have a fairly limited repertoire of voices through which we tell stories, and that can expand and be part of the growth of our medium as well. The market is expanding and needs to expand further, and expanded voice and perspective are part of that change.

148apps: Do you think women gamers solely need empathy and romance, or is something else needed in order to encourage the female market further?
BBG: I think that women gamers are a huge and growing segment and that no one or two things can possibly define what they would like to enjoy in this medium. I think it’s parallel to other forms of entertainment like film or books. Would we think that because rom-coms exist, that means women won’t have interest in sci-fi or thrillers or animated films or historical films or documentaries? Silicon Sisters is building romance games not to limit the market, but to expand the range of choices in the market, which we feel is somewhat limited currently.

148apps: What games do you feel encapsulate empathy and romance the best at the moment?
BBG: I think Bioware is nailing a lot of this right now. So are some of the smaller more innovate indie games. I am playing a little game out of Vancouver Film School called Allie and the storytelling is terrific. As I mentioned above, the empathy and moral dilemmas in The Walking Dead or The Last of Us are really compelling. Silicon Sisters Interactive’s first title, School 26, is a game based on empathy and we’ve had more than 700,00 downloads in 30 countries. Girls ages 12-16 love that game, and empathy is the primary mechanic.

148apps: A recent study has found nearly half the female population already game, a marked improvement on past years. Is a game specifically designed for women really needed at this point? Does that gender divide need to be created?
BBG: This question always seems a bit weird to me. Why are we uncomfortable with games made for women or girls? (More so than with books written for women or movies targeted at women?) Why does this make us so uncomfortable? We segment markets all the time – it doesn’t mean anything beyond the idea that a market can be well served if a product is designed for them specifically, and built with them in mind. What gets my Irish up is when games are very haphazardly and disrespectfully built for women and girls – the “pink it and shrink it” model. These games are usually not designed from the ground up with that market in mind. Often, in the old days of manufactured product, these games had smaller budgets, lesser teams and were ‘guy games’ quickly re-wrapped for girls. These games often tried to reach the female audience through cheap tactics like lots of pink and throwing in a cute animal or two. That’s not game design. But games that really look for mechanics that connect with women and girls or that are designed from the very beginning with them in mind are a good thing, I think. Of course, there will always be games that appeal to both sexes and that’s great, but having segmented games isn’t a problem. It’s respectful of the audience you are trying to serve.

The latest episode in The Walking Dead video game series has released, available through in-app purchase for $4.99. The Walking Dead: 400 Days follows five new characters as the fight to survive the first 400 days of the undead outbreak. You are able to play each character's story in any order, and we're told that the choices you make affect the course of the story, as well as the upcoming Episode 2.

Telltale Games has announced that The Walking Dead: Season One is set to receive an all-new installment of downloadable content, available this summer on iOS. The Walking Dead: 400 Days takes players on a journey through the eyes of five new characters as they struggle to survive the first 400 days of the undead outbreak. The five connected character stories are playable in any order, and players decisions and actions will control the flow of the story.

Touch Arcade reports that Telltale Game's has released a Vine video for The Walking Dead: The Game that tease's either characters from the second season or for something extra that is coming between season one and two. The Walking Dead: The Game Season 2 is set to release this fall while the mysterious something extra should come sometime before that.

[vine b3gbMwUuD1x]

Walking Dead fans with the iPhone 5 will be happy to learn that The Walking Dead: The Game has been updated, adding support for the iPhone 5. "The Walking Dead: The Game is one of the finer examples of interactive fiction in recent years. Giving players some tough decisions that can have far reaching consequences ensures that every choice made is one that’s pondered thoroughly," said Jennifer Allen, in our review.

You're the best around, no one's ever gonna keep you down!

On This Episode:

It's a yearly tradition! Various members of the iOS media come together and discuss the best releases of 2012, covering some of their honorable mentions before they discuss each of their top 3 games of 2012.

Episode Cast:

Host: Carter Dotson

Guest: Brett Nolan, AppAddict.net and the Apple'n'Apps and AppAddict Weekly Podcast

Guest: Blake Grundman, 148Apps and EvilCast Recap

Guest: Rob Rich, 148Apps and Press Pause Radio

Music:

• "Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)" by The Eternal - Download on iTunes here:

  



• "Nanocarp" by The Eternal

How to Listen:

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes:

• Click Here to Subscribe via RSS.


• Listen Here: [powerpress]

Games Of The Year:

Rob Rich:

Blake Grundman:

Brett Nolan:

Carter Dotson:

Is it really nearly 2013? How did that happen? And why did 2012 go so fast? I have no answer, but I can answer what I enjoyed so much about 2012. It wasn't the greatest of years for me in many respects, but it was a fantastic year for the technology fan part of me.

Fairway Solitaire

Tell me at the start of the year that my main gaming addiction this year would be a card game and I'd have laughed. A lot. I've always quite enjoyed solitaire games but usually when I have nothing better to do. Fairway Solitaire has established its place in my daily routine ever since I reviewed it at the start of the year. No mean feat given the wealth of games I've played across the year. Its constant trickle of new content each day is all too tempting and I've found it to be very relaxing. Shame that some elements of the game require quite a lot of in-app purchases.

iPhone 5

I've never owned an iPhone since launch before, having always picked them up much later down the line. Thanks to things working out well, I picked up an iPhone 5 two days after its initial launch. I'm so glad I did. Out of all the technology in my house, it's the most used and not just for work reasons. It might not be the most revolutionary of hardware updates, but the extra screen space and processor power is very handy. Owning the 32gb variety (for the first time) is a particular revelation. Finally, I don't have to swap out apps and games all the time.

Summer of Sport

As a soccer and athletics fan, this summer was a memorable one. Euro 2012 kept me happy, if predictably disappointed, as an England supporter. The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, made me proud of my country and ecstatic to watch so much fantastic sport. It also marked the first Olympics when iOS devices played an important part in coverage, which was shown through the plethora of apps available.

The Walking Dead

The most emotional game I've played in recent years. Bar none. It's perhaps a little weak on gaming elements and there are a few plotholes by the end, but it doesn't stop The Walking Dead being a tour de force of emotion. I have no children but I can only imagine the powerful story of a girl desperate to find her parents amongst a zombie invasion, being all the more potent for those who do.

Zombies, Run!

More zombies! Not quite in the same way, though. Zombies, Run! is my exercise companion. I jog, rather than run. A distinct lack of stamina and a continuing foot problem means things are a little slower for me. The key thing is, though, Zombies, Run! motivates me to keep trying. Telling a story linked into exercise is an inspired move and one that genuinely encouraged me to regularly jog. No matter how slow the progress might have been.

iA Writer

Yes, I know iA Writer isn't an app that came out in 2012. It has had regular updates but that isn't why it's in my list, either. It's here because 2012 marked the year that I bought my first Mac. A MacBook Pro, to be exact. Since then, there have been many apps that have made my life much easier but none more so than the Mac version of iA Writer. I'm using it right now to write this. Even better, if I have to go away from my laptop for whatever reason, I can carry on where I left this on my iPhone or iPad. That flexibility has made a massive difference to my year.

It seems like just last week we got the final episode for the fantastic Walking Dead> The Game from Telltale. Today we see the release of a new Walking Dead game, licensed as the official game of the comic. The Walking Dead: Assault is a top down point and click shooter/strategy game stylized to look very similar to the comics. In the little time I've had with the game it seems really well done. We'll have a full review up soon.

It’s hard to say exactly when it happened, but Halloween has undisputedly crept up on us to become a big league holiday. The kind where preparations begin over a month in advance, with horror movie marathons, costume discussions, and decorations. With that in mind, it would be a grave mistake to go in ill-prepared, so we’re here to do our part to help ring in the festivities. Here are four spooky games that will have horror-lovers shambling on over to the App Store and coffin’ up their dough.

The Room
Perhaps not the most obvious pick at first, The Room makes up for a lack of blood and gore with an ample amount of atmospheric tension. What starts off as Myst-like series of interlocking, symbol-filled puzzles soon emerges as an implied storyline filled with spine-tingling mystery. Much goes unsaid, but plumbing the depths of the unknown backed by eerie music box chimes is a meticulous thrill all its own.

Papa Sangre
From one nontypical experience to the next, Papa Sangre is a video game with no...video? Tasked with saving the soul of a loved one, players will take a frequently terrifying first-person audio journey through the palace of the titular demon. With an elegant interface and gripping story, Papa Sangre is a truly unique title that speaks to the power of sensory deprivation. The horrifying, horrifying power.

The Walking Dead
For a game filled with zombies, The Walking Dead’s horror derives almost entirely from the heart-breaking failings of humankind. Telltell Games has earned a mausoleum full of critical praise for its serialized interpretation of Robert Kirman’s graphic graphic novel, which uses the point and click adventure genre to force players to make tough, lasting decisions about life, death, and the brainless hereafter. All episodes can be purchased from within the app, so start this gripping tale right now.

Dead Space
As far as mobile horror goes, this one may be an oldie, but it’s most definitely a goodie. One of the best, in fact. Not only is it a faithful translation of Visceral Games’ flagship survival horror series to the small screen, but this version may just be scarier. In a dark room, with headphones in, the game’s brilliant tension between all-out action and edge-of-the-seat inaction is brought to the forefront, all backed by a methodical, shriek-worthy soundtrack. Player beware: Necromorphs may induce device dropping. (iPhone version also available.)

Explore the darker, psychological side of the pending zombie apocalypse with the latest episode in the five-part series based on Robert Kirkman's outrageously successful undead franchise, The Walking Dead: Long Road Ahead

The motor inn has been home for the past few months, but dwindling supplies, threats from without and betrayal from within set events in motion that change everything and cause Lee to reevaluate what -- and who -- is important to him. Fleeing Macon, the survivors head toward the perceived safety of the coast, but is anywhere really safe when danger follows them at every step?

Telltale Games has released its third episode of Playing Dead, a video series discussing its new game based on the hit comic book and TV show, The Walking Dead. In this episode, gameplay footage is released as well as an interview with The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman.

Here are some highlights from the interview and gameplay footage:

The game doesn’t follow Rick from the comic books or TV show, but is set in the The Walking Dead universe. The game will give people some information on some of the other characters like Glen before the known story of the comics and TV show. I also noticed Hershel in the gameplay footage.

Like Mass Effect, different choices create a different storyline experience. So players will be able to replay the game with different choices and end up with different outcomes.

The gameplay footage shows the player doing tasks such as feeding children, repairing a radio, fighting zombies with hammers, and talking to NPCs. Dialogue choices seem to be a big deal and remind me quite a bit of Mass Effect.

The PC and Mac versions of the game are already available for preorder and will be released in late April. It hasn’t been explicitly announced, but we can hope that the iOS version is released at the same time as the PC/Mac, XBox, and Playstation 3 versions.

Check out the interview and gameplay footage in the episode below.

With The Walking Dead TV series' second season coming to a close, fans may be feeling listless, sauntering around without a purpose, wondering just what brains taste like, anyway. Well, for those who can't get enough of the franchise, the first trailer for The Walking Dead game coming from Telltale has been revealed. Showcasing original artwork for the game and providing the first glimpse of the game in motion, it shows that the brutality of the series is well-represented. The games are not based off of the TV show, but features an original story and new characters, taking place in the world of the comic book series. So, there will be thematic similarities, but this is an original story and experience.

The first episode of the game is scheduled to release initially for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 in April, with plans for other platforms announced later. Five episodes are planned in total, to be released monthly. Check out the trailer below, featuring the first glimpses of gameplay. As well, the official site has a video series on what has gone into the development of the game.