Month: June 2019

The God of War reboot for PlayStation nearly cut Atreus, and now game director has confirmed that there were discussions about doing away with the main hero as well. In an appearance at Gamelab in Spain this week, Barlog said people were telling him that Kratos had to go.

“Early in discussion, people were saying we had to get rid of Kratos,” Barlog said, as reported by Eurogamer. “It was like, ‘He’s annoying, he’s done.'”

Barlog went on to say that Kratos was purposefully designed at the start of the series to be unlikeable. Some people on the team thought it was time for him to go, Barlog said. Developers suggested they create a new protagonist.

In the end, Barlog got his way in part because he came up with a story about Kratos’ evolution and rescuing himself from his dark desires.

Kratos does star in the new God of War for PS4, and his relationship with Atreus was among the most meaningful and interesting elements of the title. “It took a lot of convincing to make them think it was a good idea,” Barlog said about bringing Kratos back.

As we already knew, some people at Sony Santa Monica also wanted to cut Atreus as well. Barlog said it came down to budget concerns, with animators and programmers finding it difficult to “make sense of” Atreus’ part in the story, according to Eurogamer. Barlog said he went as far as to write another story without Atreus “as a back-up.”

God of War launched in April 2018 and it was a smashing success; by Sony’s latest count, it has sold more than 10 million copies. Despite its massive success, there are no expansions coming.

For more on God of War, you can check out the GameSpot Audio Logs episode where Barlog breaks down one of the most impactful scenes that almost didn’t happen. Check it out in the video embed above.

Amazon has officially announced its expans-ive San Diego Comic-Con, including some cool collaborations with IGN! The streaming service has announced it will be paneling its original series, including The Boys, Carnival Row, The Expanse, The Man in the High Castle and Undone.

See below for the Amazon Prime Originals panel information at SDCC:

• Undone – Panel on Thursday, July 18th from 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. at the Hilton Bayfront Indigo Ballroom
• The Boys – Panel on Friday, July 19th from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Ballroom 20
• Carnival Row – Panel on Friday, July 19th from 4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. at Ballroom 20

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Call of Duty: Black Ops developer Treyarch has responded to a Kotaku report in which numerous developers reveal what they describe as a brutal work environment. Studio heads Dan Bunting and Mark Gordon released an email to staff in the wake of the report, informing employees that they are planning “significant improvements” for work-life balance.

The email goes on to state that Treyarch plans to improve working conditions through “better project planning, streamlined production processes, and rigorous decision-making timelines.” Bunting and Gordon added that they are committed to “increased transparency.”

The studio heads encouraged developers to speak with their managers if they have concerns, and if that doesn’t work, they should reach out to Bunting and Gordon.

“Game development is a wildly complex art and it requires a diverse set of people and skill sets to do it successfully. It’s important for all of us to foster a studio culture that treats all team members with respect,” the pair said.

In the report, which is titled “The Human Cost Of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4,” numerous current and former developers shine a light on how Treyarch’s contract employees, in particular those working in quality assurance (QA), say they are treated as second-class.

The developers say they are informed not to speak with developers from other units and that they have to park in a separate parking lot. They also reported working extended hours; around 70 hours per week.

In addition to complaints about crunch and general workplace conditions, the report reveals key details about the development of Black Ops 4. It’s reported that management decided to cancel the game’s campaign mode in early 2018. This was a tough blow for the developers, as their previous game, Black Ops 3, reportedly saw a big shift in direction, too; a planned open-world design was dropped in favor of a standard linear story.

Black Ops 4’s campaign was to feature a new spin on co-op and multiplayer with two players fighting against a pair of other human characters. One example of a gameplay scenario is one side would try to protect a journalist with the other side trying to kill them.

With the campaign mode canceled, Treyarch decided to release its own spin on battle royale in a mode that would go on to be known as Blackout. Development on the battle royale mode reportedly did not begin until nine months before release. “That mode came together by the seat of its pants. It’s kind of a miracle that it did,” one developer said.

In a change to the normal Call of Duty development schedule, Treyarch is said to be developing 2020’s Call of Duty title which is believed to be a new Black Ops title set in the Cold War. According to Kotaku, other Activision studios Raven Software and Sledgehammer were lined up to take the lead on a Call of Duty title set in Vietnam, but management decided to put Treyarch on the game as its lead and make it a Black Ops title. The title is said to launch in holiday 2020 as a cross-gen release for current and next-gen consoles.

2019’s Call of Duty game is Modern Warfare from developer Infinity Ward. It’s a soft reboot of the series, and it launches at the end of October on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

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Summer time is a busy season for savings. Amazon Prime Day is July 15 and 16, and the Steam Summer Sale is underway right now.

If you want to save even more during the Steam Summer Sale, MassGenie has Steam gift cards discounted right now. You can grab a deal on a $100 Steam gift card for 15% off, or a $50 gift card for just $42.99. Couple that with the Steam sale savings and you can pack a lot of deals into one sales event.

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SPOILERS AHEAD for Avengers: Endgame.

The special features for the Home and Digital release of Avengers: Endgame have officially revealed that the MCU name for “Fat Thor” is actually Bro Thor.

Following Thanos’ Snap and the failure of the Avengers to initially undo the devastation caused by the Mad Titan, Thor finds himself in a deep depression and ends up letting himself go and becomes “Fat Thor,” as he has been called.

One particular special feature promises to go behind the scenes to see how Bro Thor was created. From the official description, “his appearance has changed but his heroism remains!”

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