Here's a demo that shows colour inverted output from the GoCam on the PSP screen in real time. based on the Chotto cam sample at ps2dev.org. It does nothing else, no saving of photo or video, just an experiment done with the same sample I started on for Laser Invaders.

• PSP Homebrew - Laser Invaders V5

Riddick comes out of hiding in new Dark Athena video originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• add new vis_plasma visual plugin.
• add info tag charset conversion.
• Available charsets are: UTF-8, GBK, BIG5, SHIFT-JIS, EUC-KR, MS-EE, MS-CYRL, ISO-8859-1, ISO-8859-2
• You must change this value manually from the main config file.
• ADD new browser-playlist behavior more ala winamp: you can browse
• any folder and play or enqueue files to the playlist, wich is saved
• in m3u format.
• ADD psf input plugin . For now in_psf doesn't support equalization nor
• volume boost.
• ADD new mp3 input plugin based on the pspsdk's pspmp3 library:
• Currently it doesn't support ff/rewind but consumes less battery life.
• It only suppports files with 44k sampling rate.
• add s98 input plugin.
• add new vis_cube visual plugin
• add new vis_gel visual plugin
• add Steven Wittens's UnConeD Goldie semiclone 3d visual plugin (vis_goldie).
• add hprm support .
• add show attached picture in fullscreen visual mode.
• ADD real time equalizer with presets support.
• add implemented a 'semi' sleep mode. Clock is changed to 22 hz and
• screen and power led are turned off.
• add changed skins settings to a more friendly xml style format.
• add (PSP Slim Only) Support for 7zip compressed files.
• add ...
• fix selector is now placed in the last folder when browsing back.
• fix selected plugins are now shown first when entering setup.
• fix in_sid input plugin is now based on libsidplay1 since it was having
• some issues with the libsidplay2 engine .
• fix songs with different samplerate than 44k and 48k caused a crash,
• well for now only 44k and 48k samplerates are supported .
• fix files with different language names were not played at all.
• fix album art was not found sometimes.
• fix nsfe info was not shown properly.
• fix display bug when browsing plugin settings.
• fix crash when encoding some files to mp3.
• fix controller config didn't read simultaneous keys.
• fix crash when entering several zip subfolders.
• fix corrupted files and folders in 8GB memory sticks.
• fix log file is now closed when a crash occurs.
• fix zip icon was not shown correctly in folder name.
• fix changed cpu clock values of input plugins to optimize battery
• life.
• fix play all subtunes was not working properly.
• fix crash when atempting to change subtune or play next song on an
• empty playlist.
• fix changed max volume boost value to 15.
• fix in_spc plugin cpu clock is set to 266 by default for better playback.
• fix ...
• - del removed exception handler because was causing some strange
• graphic bugs.
• - del removed fade in when playing new song.
• - del rar files are no longer supported by psp fat due to lack of memory.

• GameMusicGear MX Release Candidate 2.0 - bugfixes, optimizations

61.84 MB

• Unique game mechanic
• Superb audio/visual effects
• Explore seven ancient lands!
• Get help at our Forums

1UP: When coming up with the art style, were there prototypes in which you tried different visual styles?

AI: Yeah, we tried out various things until we arrived at the current look. To give you an idea, if you look at the stick-figure characters in the street signs in the game, we attempted a style that looked like that early on — kind of a silhouette, sort of a stick figure…more simplified.

Full interview, more screens here

Gallery: Ghostbusters

Busting Ghosts is preferable on Wii? originally appeared on Nintendo Wii Fanboy on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• IGN UK (94/100) calls Prince of Persia an "incredibly polished, tremendously enjoyable and utterly lovable experience." It supposedly builds on the best elements of previous games to create an "absolutely unforgettable adventure" that's "magical in every sense of the word." Well, probably not the Harry Potter sense of the word.
• Game Informer (87.5/100) notes that the simplified platforming is an "elegant and simple way to show off thrilling acrobatics, but it also steals control away from the player." However, it deems the tradeoff worthwhile, as "the more relaxed control input still demands skill and careful timing." Either way, it's "unlike any other game you'll play this year."
• 1UP (B+) approves of Princess rescuing Prince, pointing out that while "this human safety net may seem counterintuitive in offering a sense of challenge, the entire process functions similarly to most other death-checkpoint systems (you die, you go back to a nearby checkpoint), but with the added benefit of giving the action a more seamless feel."
  
• Gamespot (80/100) thinks the "easygoing joy and visual beauty will charm you into forgiving a sprinkling of flaws." They call it "one of the easiest games you'll play all year," but one boasting "some truly impressive level design."

Metareview - Prince of Persia (PC, PS3, 360) originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The editors of Think Services' Game Developer magazine, a sister publication to Gamasutra, have named the finalists for the 2008 Front Line Awards, the magazine’s tenth annual evaluation of the year’s best game-making tools in the categories of programming, art, audio, game engine, middleware, and books.

Game Developer’s mission for more than ten years has been to provide game developers with information, news, and articles that pertain directly to them. The Front Line Awards are an official way of recognizing one specific aspect of the industry: the tools that developers need to do their jobs.

Each year, Game Developer looks at the powerful lineup of new products and new releases of favorite tools, from game engines to books, and selects the top five in six different categories. Front Line Award finalists represent the most innovative, user-friendly, and useful products from behind the scenes of the world’s best video games.

The finalists for the 2008 Game Developer Front Line Awards by category are as follows:

Art Tools

Photoshop CS3, Adobe
Softimage|XSI 7, Softimage
Autodesk 3ds Max 2009, Autodesk
Modo 302, Luxology
Autodesk Maya 2008, Autodesk

Audio Tools

Vivox Precision Studio v.2, Vivox
Wwise 2008.3, Audiokinetic
Fmod Designer 4.17, Firelight Technologies
Miles Sound System 7.2c, Rad Game Tools
Voice-O-Matic 2.6, Di-O-Matic

Engines

Unity 2.1, Unity Technologies
CryEngine 2, Crytek
Gamebryo 2.5, Emergent Game Technologies
Torque Game Engine 1.5.2, GarageGames
Source Protocol 14, Build 3531, Valve

Middleware

Autodesk Kynapse 5, Autodesk
PathEngine 5.16, PathEngine
Havok Physics, Havok
Euphoria, NaturalMotion
GameSpy SDK, GameSpy

Programming/Production Tools

TestTrack Pro 2008.2, Seapine Software
Perforce 2008.1, Perforce Software
XNA Game Studio 2.0, Microsoft
Subversion 1.5, CollabNet
Visual Studio 2008 SP1, Microsoft

Books

Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-playing Games, Matt Barton; AK Peters
Game Production Handbook, 2nd Edition, Heather Maxwell Chandler; Infinity Science Press
Real-Time Rendering, Third Edition, Tomas Akenine-Moller, Eric Haines, Naty Hoffman; AK Peters
The Art of Game Design: A Book Of Lenses, Jesse Schell;
Morgan Kaufmann
Game Programming Gems 7, edited by Scott Jacobs; Charles River Media

For this year’s Front Line Awards, both Game Developer magazine subscribers and Gamasutra.com community members were surveyed to nominate the best game development-related products.

Following consultation with the magazine’s editors, finalists were selected based on criteria such as utility, innovation, value, and ease of use, and professional developers are now voting to decide this year’s ultimate winners.

“This was a year in which tools became even more key to the game industry, with both high-end console game complexity and small-team indie innovation needing high quality products to help get things done swiftly and efficiently,” said Brandon Sheffield, editor-in-chief of Game Developer. “The editors of Game Developer extend our congratulations to all of this year’s Front Line Awards finalists!”

The final winners for the prestigious awards, plus one inductee to the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame chosen for its outstanding contribution to the game development industry for five years or more, will be announced in the January 2009 issue of Game Developer magazine, available to subscribers in early January. (The Front Line Awards Hall of Fame inductee is not eligible for consideration for regular awards in its winning year.)

Also hanging out in here - the danger of Party Babyz, the Artsy Game Incubator, American McGee's call to unity, the non-return of visual novels, piggy banks and games, and quite a few things besides.

Well hello there:

Does Video Game Criticism Need a Lester Bangs? < Multimedia | PopMatters
This is, surprisingly, a well-written article about Bangs himself that doesn't focus too much on the tedious 'why isn't there?' question. Hurray.

Artsy Games Incubator » Blog Archive » New Games Released and AGI Expansion
Not only are the latest art-incubated games available, but Jim Munroe is asking for AGI expansions worldwide, which would be a delightful thing.

chewing pixels » Bow Street Runner Wins BAFTA
GameSetWatch columnist Simon Parkin gets a UK BAFTA for his episodic point and click web game - congratulations are in order.

American McGee’s Blog | Shared Knowledge = Healthy Growth
Besides McGee's nice Gamasutra shout-out, this is an interesting call to (shared) arms: 'Developers and publishers could and should go one step further by pushing their knowledge, their tools, and their solutions to interesting problems and challenges out to communal repositories.' Hey, Insomniac is trying it, to some extent.

Will Visual Novels Ever Escape Obscurity? « High Dynamic Range Lying
An interesting musing on something I was discussing a few days back: 'If there really is no room for visual novels and reading in the future of western games, is there some other avenue to introduce it to the western world and garner an audience?'

Wired.com: This Little Piggy Bank Became a Videogame
Nice gallery of the game-related banks, I lusted after these when I was at TGS but there's no fansub translated versions, heh, soo....

A Vampyre Story - Review - Adventure Classic Gaming
Checking out one of the first 2D adventure titles from LucasArts alumni to pop up recently - also see Mata Hari.

Alex Litel's Lackluster Emporium: Babyz. Party Babyz.
GSW columnist Litel plays through 'unimanual-flailing regiment Imagine Party Babyz' - and chaos of the word-based kind ensues.

Charliesdad asked: Wondering how you addressed the balance issues from earlier entries in the series. For example, Sands of Time was amazing, but going back to it recently the combat wore thin after a while (especially in the first big group fight) to be followed by long stretches of almost no combat. Does the new game fall on one side or the other or is there a middle ground that you all shot for and hit? And Demo tomorrow? Maybe?

First, one of our main goals in combat was to make every fight grandiose and meaningful, to make every encounter feel more epic. Thus, we decided to make the new combat system a duel mode in which every enemy has special attributes, a unique personality, cool moves, and his strengths and weaknesses. Having one enemy to fight at one time gave us much more possibility to push this encounter to the limit. Every enemy is as strong as the Prince and will seize his chance to use the environment, his corrupted abilities to counter every mistake the player makes. Every enemy has a background and their own personal objectives that will help push the story forward. Also, there are multiple combat moves and these will take some time to figure them all out and access the most spectacular combos. Using your glove, Elika, your sword and acrobatics, players will be able to combine those to create some breathtaking moves. This new combat system is not meant to be button mashed, but instead requires timing, strategy and the right combo depending on the situation. Also, many quick real-time mini-games where the player has a little fraction of time to react will keep the tension high. The battle system uses some dramatic camera shots that make every fight feel even more epic. Battles will take place usually before saving a fertile ground and pushing away the Corruption. There are different challenges before healing a fertile ground, one might be an acrobatic challenge, a puzzle, a fight and a lot of them are mixes of them all.
Sorry, there are no demo plans at this time.

KingBroly asked: What’s the framerate like on the PS3 version? I’ve heard this game employs the same engine as Assassin’s Creed, and the framerate on the PS3 version of that…not so good.

Fluidity of control and animation quality are hallmarks of Prince Of Persia games. We would never ship a POP title unless we were confident the player could fully appreciate the movement of the Prince in acrobatics and combat and – simply put – framerate hiccups get in the way of that. They break the

We have some of the most talented PS3 engineers at Ubisoft working for us on POP (and Ubisoft has now made quite a few PS3 titles) and I can assure you the performance on the PS3 is the same as the 360 – a solid 30fps throughout the game.

narde15 asked: are their any trophies?

POP does indeed ship with trophies from day one.

FeaturePreacher asked: Will the prince be able to use different weapons besides the sword that is seen in gameplay videos?
AND
Will the prince be able to level up his combat abilities? I hope the prince has a long list of combat combinations. Does he?

We want the player to feel like the Prince is an adventurer with a lot of experience already – he is an acrobatic warrior who has already been through and seen a lot. As such it made sense to us that he start out this adventure with all his abilities unlocked. Elika, on the other hand, evolves in her abilities as the game progresses, unlocking new magical abilities. What is important to us is that the player still feels a sense of progression and development because the « duo » of the Prince and Elika are certainly evolving as you play.

Finally, simply because the Prince has access to all of his abilities from the beginning of the game, doesn’t mean the players will know how to use them all. If it is your first time playing POP, don’t expect to be able to pull off the 14 hit combos and complete long uninterrupted strings of acrobatics without pausing - you’ll evolve towards that in time as you get more comfortable with the game systems.

SantanaClaus89 asked: Ever since The Sands of Time this series has been in a downward spiral. What if anything has been done to take the series “back to its roots” so to speak?

In POP Sands of Time trilogy, the innovation was the Sands of Time. We felt the need to find a new innovation for this new chapter:
• Open-ended structure
• New combat system
• New artistic direction
• Role of the secondary character, Elika

But you can also rest assured we’ve also kept the core fundamentals of what made the Sands of Time trilogy great.

• The balanced mix of acrobatics and combat
• Excellent visuals
• Highly detailed character and story
• Highly responsive controls
• 1001 night’s universe / fantasy elements

As you read this some reviews will have already hit online (IGN scored PoP 9.3, for example). One of the best compliments that any reviewer has given us so far is that we’ve recaptured the magic and mystery that made the original Sands Of Time so great.

narde15 asked: are you working on a prince of persia, playstation home space? will you consider one in the future?

We are not currently working on a Prince of Persia home space but we might consider it for future games.

DeforMAKulizer asked: What made you guys ditch the realistic style followed in AC and trying out for the new water color style? And which game was hard to code for… AC with its realistic graphics? Or maintaining the water color feel in PoP?
Thanks! Can’t wait to go back to the PoP series =D

We wanted to embrace the fantasy nature that defines every Prince of Persia game. The ‘Photorealistic’ artistic direction that is seen in so many games right now did not fit in well with the magical world we were exploring with this game. We wanted to try something new and the “Illustrative” art style really represents our vision in this game – to make it feel like a storybook.

chaosatom333 asked: I am disappointed that U guys didn’t include any time-shifting powers.
They were awesome. Why did u guys do that?

That mechanic started to feel old to us – it had been copied in many other games and had lost some of its uniqueness. Elika is our new sands of time and I think she more than makes up for their absence.

chaosatom333 asked: How long in production have u guys been?

Three years, start to finish.

chaosatom333 asked: How long is the game relatively speaking? like 12-16 or less. Something like that. How much platforming is there? The more the better imo.
Fights are nice too.

An average player will probably take around 12-15 hours to finish the game if they do the bare minimum needed to complete it. If you take the time to learn all of the backstory of the characters (through our ODD system) and collect all of the lightseeds (to get all of the trophies) I think you can certainly expect more in the range of 18-20 hours.

In terms of the breakdown between acrobatics and combat, it is hard to say for sure due to the open structure of our world. Certainly, though, there is the potential for you to spend a lot more of your time doing acrobatics then combat.

narde15 asked: how big is the world of prince of persia? will their be side quests?

It’s quite big. It will take you some time to travel from one end to another. Also, It depends of the path you take to make your way around. Additionally our world features a lot of vertical gameplay, taking you up to some dizzying heights to survey the world down below you as you progress through your quest. The size and height of our world certainly gives it a massive sense of scope.

Munkeh111 asked: What percentage of the game is combat? I am hoping for a high percentage of platforming!

It’s hard to say for the exact percentage but you will spend more time platforming than fighting that’s for sure. Collecting all the light seeds will definitely make you spend hours exploring the world, platforming and using your head to figure out how to get to that light seed! There are many combats as well.

lifeRPGs asked: What are Ubisoft’s plans for the after-PoP?

I’d be drawn and quartered if I gave away those secrets. Just a few days ago I saw an advanced prototype of an incredibly top-secret game and was floored with how cool it looked and felt. While I watched it being demoed I was furiously taking notes for ideas to draw inspiration from on my next game.

CrimsonFox13 asked: Beautiful art style. I’ve never played a Prince Of Persia game before, although I’ve always been interested. The beauty of this game captivated me. The game reminds me of Team ICO games. There’s a beautiful landscape with platforming involved, like the Team ICO games, and you’re traveling with a woman, just like in ICO. Did you draw any inspiration from either or both of the Team ICO games?

Team ICO is definitely an inspiration for us and both Shadow Of The Colossus as well as ICO were games we played extensively during the development of POP. Team ICO consistently proves that videogames can be so much more then “just” a form of entertainment – they can enlighten, teach, and make us feel. I welcome any and all comparisons to the incredible development talent of that studio.

It was very important to us, though, that our game be incredible accessible and action packed, too. We were not creating a game just for those players who like “art” in their games. We have spectacular acrobatics, incredible combat and a rich story. In many ways we consider games like Burnout influential as well in their immediate accessibility – you pick up the controller, press a few buttons, and right away spectacularly rewarding things occur. This was very important to us in the development of POP.

farmer_steve asked: For somebody who has never played a Prince of Persia game, how would you explain the experience? And what do you think is the main draw to it?

The first Prince of Persia game was created in the late 80s by Jordan Mechner and has become one of gaming’s most well-known franchises. Prince of Persia is a game with a balanced mix of acrobatics, combat and puzzle solving set in a fantastic Persian world where you control The Prince, the most agile warrior of all time as he Runs, Jumps, Flips and Fights his way towards saving the world. All the games are inspired by the 1001 night’s universe and feature an epic storyline with strong character development.

luckettx asked: How many language tracks have been recorded for the Blu Ray release of this game in Europe?

English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. There are other localized versions (one Dutch, another Polish, another Russian) but the main version will have those five languages on it.

Yuriki93 asked: Does this game have anything story-related to the previous games?

No, nothing that will affect the main narrative. We put in a few tongue and cheek references (hint: pay attention to the ODD system) but just as a ‘nod and a wink’ to the hardcore fans. We are telling a new story within the “Book” of Prince of Persia.

SomethingClever asked: From where did you draw inspiration from (games or other) in this iteration of PoP Some of the big reactions to date have been about the voice of the Prince. What led your team to choose such an American sounding voice actor, and was there any concern over people associating that voice to Nathan Drake?

The choice of Nolan North (Nathan Drake) as the voice of the Prince is entirely intentional. When we were designing the character of The Prince and trying to identify his personality, the two characters we returned to most often were Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Both, of course, played by Harrison Ford. Nolan North showed in his characterization of Nathan Drake an uncanny resemblance to Indiana Jones both in terms of tone and delivery. We thought it particularly appropriate given the heavy influence of these characters in the writing of The Prince that the voice actor we use be one who manages to capture the essence of the influencing characters deeply.

zombiefriend asked: oh also i just remembered is PoP going to have subtitles? i rly hope so b/c i have hearing loss and i wasnt able to fully appreciate ACs story like i wanted to

Prince Of Persia, like all Ubisoft games now, is subtitled in all languages.

PlasmaGlory asked: I know that your philosophy with Elika was to make someone that would never hold you back, so what’s to stop someone from just hiding in a corner and mashing the “Elika Button”?

It wouldn’t help much to just tap the Elika button in a corner. The game requires you to use all of the Prince’s abilities combined with Elika in order to be effective. Whenever you need Elika’s Help, she is there to do so, but only if you are doing something as well (ie: fighting, in the middle of a jump, etc).

Standing in a corner and mashing the Elika button will just summons a compass power over and over again – not much help in defeating the guardians of Ahriman.

jazzyrider asked: what additional items are packaged with the limited edition versus the normal package?

• Collectible Limited Edition packaging
• An exclusive look at the making of Prince of Persia
• A Prima digital mini-strategy guide full of developer’s secrets
• A digital art book
• The original soundtrack scored by master composer Inon Zur

sainraja asked: I am looking forward to this but how similar is this to Sands of Time?
Sands of Time was magical! I loved every minute of it. I thought the story was put together very well. It was the Uncharted of last generation! I can’t to try this out but I am hoping it will give me the same feeling that Sands of Time did.

We consider POP to be the spiritual successor of Sands Of Time. We invested a lot of time and energy into trying to ensure that the sense of magic, wonder and mystery that was so special and unique in SOT was reproduced in this new POP adventure while still bringing some strong visual and gameplay innovations to the series.

In terms of your passion for Uncharted, let me simply say I share your enthusiasm. Uncharted for me was an incredible game because it was so much more than the sum of its parts. I have a hard time putting my finger on the one feature of Uncharted that stood out as my favorite while I was playing, but as soon as I finished I wanted to start over from the beginning and play through again. It is easily one of my favorite PS3 games to date.

Dark_Vincent asked: Will there be different difficulty levels?

The game has just one difficulty level, but the challenge certainly progresses as you play and (hopefully) get more comfortable with the mechanics. New traps are released, more corruption infects the world, and the enemies unlock new abilities and combos.

TripOpt55 asked: Hey, I can’t wait for this game. Here’s my questions: Does the game autosave (or how does it save)? Can you create multiple save files?

POP features a ‘save anywhere’ system. No matter what you are doing, you can create a save (new save or overwrite – there is space for 10 save game slots). We don’t save the exact location, though (ie: if you are in the middle of the air and save, when you load you won’t fall to your death) but rather the last stable platform you were on. Don’t worry, though, these are never very far apart.

Zankantou asked: What motivated your team to take the franchise into a radically new direction artistically?
How did you guys come to the conclusion that this new installment should be not, or loosely, related to the previous trilogy in the last generation of consoles?
Is your team considering using this new artistic engine for future games as well?

In terms of the art direction, we wanted to do something new, something unique. Most of our favorite games – the ones that stand out in our minds years after playing them – had unique visual styles that did not try to emulate reality. Additionally, as I said above, we felt a more fantastic artistic direction would mesh well with our fantasy universe and story. Finally, we wanted to take the incredible concept art and illustrations that our teams created as reference material and do them justice by creating the tools and technology needed to make our game look like the illustrations – a highly detailed painting brought to life.

In terms of why we left behind the old trilogy, we felt the story of the Sands Of Time had been told and it was time to move on. We had never planned to continue to tell the story of the Sands of Time Prince forever, and the universe of Prince of Persia has so much potential for other themes to explore. By creating a new Prince, on a new adventure, we’ve added a wealth of material to the Prince of Persia universe to potentially explore in future games.

Finally, I believe very strongly in the artistic choices we took for POP and sincerely hope that this Illustrative style is used again at Ubisoft moving forward. Of course I don’t have any specific details, but I think it safe to say that the response has been positive enough that we’ll likely be returning to this stylistic choice in the future.