Month: July 2020

Big-name director Christopher Nolan recently faced some heat when Anne Hathaway complimented his decision to reportedly forbid chairs from his movie sets. If people can sit, they will stop working, and Nolan apparently is no fan of that. Hathaway said Nolan was “onto something” with this idea.

Now, a spokesperson for Nolan has clarified the director’s earlier comments, saying chairs are not, in fact, banned from Nolan’s sets.

“For the record, the only things banned from [Christopher Nolan’s] sets are cell phones (not always successfully) and smoking (very successfully),” spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak told IndieWire.

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Recently, many people within the games industry have come forward and spoken, openly and bravely, about their experience with abusers. The sharing of these experiences, which have often involved high-level game producers and developers, as well as streamers and journalists, has brought to light how the industry has sheltered many abusers, and has led to some action.

Two Ubisoft executives have been suspended over abuse allegations, and the developer is reworking how it deals with employee complaints as it becomes clear that employees were not being adequately protected. Companies that were previously working with Chris Avellone have distanced themselves after multiple women have come forward with accusations of sexual assault and harassment. Twitch has suspended multiple streamers accused of abuse.

But this is all part of a wider, systemic cultural issue, and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has released a statement calling for the industry to “recognize the failures that led to these situations.” It includes links to resources for victims of harassment, and outlines some of the ways in which the games industry has failed to keep people safe from harassment and abuse.

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In the late ’90s and early aughts, a little fellow named Mr. Driller burrowed his way into the hearts of puzzle game fans worldwide. The years that followed saw several Mr. Driller releases across multiple platforms, but after a while, Namco seemed content to entomb the series and focus on other things. Now, a little over a decade later, Bandai-Namco has decided to unearth one of the most beloved Mr. Driller games, the formerly Japan-and-Europe-exclusive Mr. Driller Drill Land, to release on Switch and PC for a new generation of fans to enjoy.

Mr. Driller Drill Land focuses on the titular Mr. Driller, aka Susumu Hori, and his extended gang of excavator friends and family (including his dad Taizo, who you might remember from Dig Dug). They’re off to visit a new underground amusement park called Drill Land, filled with attractions that very coincidentally are based around the colored-block-drilling gameplay that defines the Mr. Driller series–with some notable twists. Challenges, cards, and plenty of collectibles abound in Drill Land, and you’ll have to see if you have the chops to conquer each of the park’s different attractions for high scores and goodies. (And you might just save the world, too.)

The core Mr. Driller gameplay is a neat twist on the “falling colored blocks” idea. You control Susumu (or one of his companions), using your drill to break up colored blocks and dig deeper and deeper into the earth. As you destroy blocks and work your way into the earth, you’ll free up other blocks, which will fall and join up with (and also break) others of the same color. Your goal is to reach a certain depth, but that’s easier said than done–you have a limited air supply that acts as a timer, and some poor drilling choices could lead to your driller getting smooshed under a landslide. This makes the game a tense, careful balancing act–while air pickups are frequently available, being too hasty with your drilling decisions when oxygen is limited could lead to disaster. It might sound intimidating, but it’s much easier to understand once you play a few sessions and see for yourself how loose blocks fall, combine, and break. After you grasp the basics, you’ll grow into a groove and skillfully obtain pickups, create chains to eliminate lots of blocks at once, and find safe spots among a cascade of falling earth.

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Devolver Digital, the publisher that first tweeted about E3 being cancelled before the announcement was official, is gearing up for its annual Devolver Direct showcase. The event, which was promised in May and then was more recently suggested to be arriving in mid-July, will seemingly be dated–and possibly detailed–very soon.

In a tweet on the official Devolver Digital account, the publisher has promised “Devolver Direct news tomorrow,” and that it will be good news. This means that we’re likely to see a date for the event made official on July 1.

Devolver Directs (also known as the Big Fancy Press Conference) are generally a mix of new game announcements, new details on previously announced or released titles, and the ongoing saga of chief synergy officer Nina Struthers, who always finds herself in some degree of violent, horrifying mischief. In 2019, Devolver Bootleg surprise-launched during the presentation.

Current Devolver games we’re aware of in development include Disc Room, Carrion, Fall Guys, and Serious Sam 4. It’s likely they we will learn more about one or all of these titles soon.

Keep an eye on GameSpot for new details on Devolver Direct 2020 when they become available to us.

GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.

A new Collector’s Edition of Ari Aster’s director’s cut for Midsommar is on the way, and it includes some nice extras and very special packaging.

A listing on A24’s website shows that the $45 USD Collector’s Edition comes with the 171-minute director’s cut of the film in a Blu-ray case that’s covered in a Hårga-yellow slipcase. It also includes a 62-page booklet featuring original art from artist Ragnar Persson. The book features a foreword from none other than acclaimed Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese.

The 171-minute director’s cut of Midsommar is 33 minutes longer than the theatrical edition. The Collector’s Edition is expected to begin shipping on July 20.

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Dreams, the PlayStation 4 exclusive game-and-art creation tool from Media Molecule, will receive a huge update soon that will make the game compatible with PlayStation VR. The update, which will arrive for free on July 22, will add new tools allowing users to create VR experiences.

As detailed on the PlayStation Blog, the update will include new tutorials and kits for VR creation, helping to familiarize you with the controls involved in VR crafting. You’ll be able to both create and play in VR, and the developer has tested these options extensively with users.

The trailer below shows off some of the types of experiences you’ll be able to craft and play.

Sculpting in VR will be “a very one-to-one experience” if you are using PlayStation Move controllers, the developer promises. You’ll also be able to create games that can be played in VR even if you don’t own the headset yourself, as new gadgets will be added to Create Mode. Creators will be able to tag if their game is playable in VR or not.

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Game development is an iterative process. Features are often added and removed regularly during the development process as the team discovers what works best. For Cyberpunk 2077, developer CD Projekt Red worked on a wall-running feature, but it won’t make it into the final game.

Level designer Max Pears told GameReactor that while wall-running has been cut for design reasons, the game will offer players “a lot of flexibility” with how they move through the world.

“Ah, the wall-running” Pears said. “That is something that we removed due to design reasons, but there’s still going to be a lot of flexibility in how you move, that’s for sure.”

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