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Showing posts with label Gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaming. Show all posts

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Gameloft Confidential

The icon for Spider-Man Unlimited,
a free-to-play game released in 2014. 
© 2015 Gameloft © 2015 Marvel

Today I've joined Gameloft Confidential which is a program for content creators (e.g. YouTubers like me). It was recently started by the video game developer and publisher Gameloft.

The program gives assets (e.g. screenshots) from a couple of Gameloft's smartphone games in order for content creators to create 'awesome' Gameloft-related videos.

At the moment, the program only covers the latest (free-to-play) smartphone games, like Spider-Man Unlimited, Modern Combat 5: Blackout and Asphalt 8.



Ryan, the Community Manager for the US Marketing team
at Gameloft, announces Gameloft Confidential.


I think this is an exciting move from Gameloft's part. But I hope the video game developer will add more games from its catalogue, because I've thought of making videos of some of their 'older' games.

Spider-Woman with her new suit.
© 2015 Gameloft © 2015 Marvel
I have played Spider-Man Unlimited frequently last year and I could make videos of it since I love Marvel's famous superhero. But I've promised myself to never touch that game again.

You see, I still haven't forgotten my disappointments when it first turned out that the game's story mode had to be played online. Only the endless runner-mode was available offline. 

Secondly, premium characters (in other words, high-ranking Spider-Men or Spider-Women who could reach high levels) had to be purchased in order to complete the story's later chapters. But all purchases were totally random so it would be difficult to get the favourite character of one's choice, especially when the Spideys must be ranked up to raise the level caps and hence, reach the levels the stages of the later chapters require.

But the nail in the coffin was during the 2014 Christmas-event where all of the players could win Spider-Woman wearing her revised costume. I managed to finish the mission where a number of Christmas-presents must be collected but because of a glitch, I never acquired her!

The only 'thing' Gameloft offered was an ISO-8 compensation. ISO-8 is the game's premium currency which is needed to do the random purchases. But since I knew I would only waste them and get characters I didn't want, I declined the offer and uninstalled Spider-Man Unlimited.

Gameloft, I think you've been a great video game developer. I've followed you since 2003 when I got my first colour GSM-phone. But since I touched this pay-to-win game, I don't think highly of you anymore. You ruined my Christmas spirit last year when I played like crazy instead of celebrating Christmas. I have difficulties forgiving you because of it.

Sorry for the rant, I needed to let off some steam. I gave the game only one star at its Google Play-page, and I still think it deserves that low score.

So which Gameloft-games among the titles in Gameloft Confidential will I make videos of? I'll just wait and see if there are future games which will raise my interest. But not Spider-Man Unlimited.

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

RIP Satoru Iwata (1959-2015)

'On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.'
- Satoru Iwata, 2005


Iwata-e3-2006
Satoru Iwata at E3 2006 Nintendo Press Conference at Kodak Theatre.


Satoru Iwata was the CEO of the Japanese video game company Nintendo between 2002-2015. He passed away on 11 July, 2015, due to bile duct tumor.

I must admit I wasn't too familiar with Satoru Iwata before, other than that he was the CEO of Nintendo. I 'knew' about him only through some of the 'Iwata talks' and 'Nintendo Direct' series of videos on YouTube. I thought that he was a nice person who showed courtesy towards the Nintendo-fans and -players in his videos.

I never knew he contributed so much to the world of Nintendo games before he became CEO!

For example, Satoru Iwata was the programmer of the 1984 game Balloon Fight for the NES.


Official Nintendo eShop-trailer for Balloon Fight.


Later he would also produce EarthBound and Kirby-games, and assisted in the developement of games like for Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999) for Game Boy Color. It is also thanks to him we have the Super Smash Bros. series of games today.


 
Official Nintendo eShop-trailer for Kirby's Adventure, the second game in the Kirby-series originally for NES in 1993. 


After Mr. Iwata became CEO, he would lead the transition from GameBoy to Nintendo DS and pushed on the development of Nintendo Wii.

RIP Satoru Iwata, and thanks for everything.