Capybara Bring Award Winning Games to Nintendo DS, Wii

Capybara Games, an acclaimed developer of mobile games, announced today plans to offer many of its award winning titles on the DS and Wii gaming consoles as well as digital distribution platforms. Since the company’s founding in 2003, the team has received numerous awards including two IGN Editor’s Choice Awards and two Pocket Gamer Gold Awards. Capybara is best known for developing a number of unique and highly entertaining mobile titles including “Happy Feet,” “Pillow Fight,” Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean 3,” Disney/Pixar’s “Cars” and the IGN Game of the Month for September “Critter Crunch.”

As a newly approved Nintendo developer, Capybara is now able to bring their creative talent and innovative products to a larger audience.

“Many of our mobile titles lend themselves to development on console platforms, and we see a lot potential in up-scaling and expanding these properties” said Tom Frencel, President of Capybara Games. “’Critter Crunch’ is a perfect example of this. It's a game that received a great response after its mobile release, and we're really excited about the possibility of bringing it to console gamers as well.”

Capybara has already begun development on a licensed property for the DS with a top tier publisher, which will be officially announced in the coming months, and is currently in discussions with several publishers to begin developing games based on both licensed and original intellectual properties.

“Our design team has been developing some great original concepts that have been on hold up until now, as we didn't feel that mobile was the appropriate platform for them. We're looking forward to seeing these concepts come to fruition.” Mr. Frencel added. “We will continue to maintain our mobile presence and develop strong licensed and original titles as we expand onto the DS, Wii, and digital distribution platforms. We believe that many of our concepts are well suited for these platforms, and we are working hard to get these quality titles into the hands of gamers everywhere.”

With respect to Capybara’s ability to take on these new development challenges, Mr. Frencel commented “Many of our tools that we use on mobile are crossing over to the new platforms quite well. It also helps that we have a very agile group of people here at Capybara, and they have been able to adjust to the new platform requirements very quickly.”

Return of Sense of Play at London Games Feastive

Pixel-Lab and the London Games Festival Fringe are proud to announce the return of Sense of Play, a one-day symposium which explores the gentle and not-so-gentle art of computer game design. Looking beyond the current generation of game technologies and platforms, the event aims to promote lively debate on the nature of game design and the role of the game designer: what this means to different people both inside and outside the computer games industry.

Sense of Play 07 features keynotes from game design veteran and online multiplayer pioneer Raph Koster, whose current project Metaplace promises once again to break even more new ground in online game world design; Georg Backer of Lionhead Studios, who has been instrumental in embedding drama and emotional impact in the design of Fable 2; and Stephen Goss, newly appointed Head of Design at UK games publishing giant Eidos.

The event is sponsored by the University College for the Creative Arts. UCCA’s Master of Arts in Digital Game Design based in its Farnham campus has been a pioneering force in the education and fostering of emerging game design talent for the last four years.

Sense of Play 07 promotes and champions new thinking in game design, where the ‘thinking’ involves both human designers and the software systems they create. Included are sessions from Adam Russell, former AI expert at Eurocom, who looks at how a game’s artificial intelligence affects player behaviour; David Hayward from the Pixel-lab consultancy whose latest work uncovers the so called ‘Uncanny Valley’ in AI, in which an automated character’s behaviour falls off in its believability as it approaches an approximated model of ‘realism’; and Jon Weinbren of Imaginary Productions and UCCA Farnham’s Head of Game Design, who will give an overview of some current creative and technical research challenges from both an academic and industry perspective.

A panel discussion probes the role of the game designer in an industry that many believe to be in something of a state of flux. It also looks at game design training and education: given that game designers are considered to be key to the medium’s creative future, how can we best equip emerging talent to square up to the considerable challenges they face as the industry evolves?

The symposium will be complemented by a showcase of new work from recent graduates of the MA Digital Games Design programme at UCCA Farnham. In addition, Frank Boyd and collaborators from the Festival Fringe’s Play/Time ARG Lab will be presenting ideas and projects which have been developed during this week-long workshop.

Commenting on his involvement, Raph Koster describes Sense of Play as “…an important forum for exploring issues in game design, because the games we make today are helping to shape the minds of a generation”.

Rob Cooper, Ubisoft’s Managing Director for Northern Europe adds: “Ubisoft believes that creativity and innovation is the most important function of our business at the moment. Sense of play provides a unique foundation to look at ways we can all push the boundaries of game design and interactive storytelling, and we are really excited to be supporting this event as part of the London Games Festival Fringe.”

Sense of Play symposium takes place on Friday 26th October, 20076 9.15am – 5.00pm at The Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE .

Entry is free but places are limited,
More details and to register: www.senseofplay.com

Eidos New Multiplayer - Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, is pleased to unveil a sinister new twist to the online multiplayer experience in Kane & Lynch: Dead Men called Fragile Alliance.

Fragile Alliance is based on greed, betrayal and revenge, offering online gamers the choice of working as a team or back-stabbing their team mates and working for themselves at any moment. Up to eight players team up against police in a series of gripping heist scenarios, but from here the choice is entirely up to the individual player. The objective is to steal the loot and make it to the getaway point. The winner is the player who escapes with the most loot. How and when you make your move is up to you.

“We wanted to make a multiplayer experience using the theme, dynamics and atmosphere of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men” said Kim Krogh, Lead Game Designer, IO Interactive. “Fragile Alliance is a new way to use co-op in multiplayer. Play it like a soldier and you’ll lose, play it like a criminal and you’ll win”.

“Kane & Lynch multiplayer opens up Pandora’s gun cabinet in terms of gameplay possibilities,” said Fabien Rossini, Brand Controller, Eidos. “The options available to players are mouth-watering; are you a team player, a traitor, a bounty hunter, a cop – the decision is yours. You may start as part of a team but then it’s up to the player what they want to do.”

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is a dark and gritty tale of two men bound by circumstance as they wait on death row for their final sentence. One is a flawed mercenary, the other a medicated psychopath. The two are forced to embark on a violent and chaotic journey, hating each other every step of the way.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will be available in stores in the US beginning Tuesday 20th November and throughout Europe beginning Friday 23rd November on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC Games for Windows.

For further information visit: www.kaneandlynch.com.

World Exclusive!! GameCity to show the lightsaber in action!

Travellers Tales and LucasArts let the public play The Force!

Feel and Play The Force at GameCity (www.gamecity.org). Visitors to the world's most exciting game festival are to be the first in the world get their hands on the Wii lightsaber, in LucasArts' Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga re-mastered and shown in glorious HD.

Since the first film's debut 30 years ago, fans have longed for the day when they could fight their own lightsaber duels. Now, thanks to the Wii's motion-sensitive controller, The Complete Saga will finally make that fantasy a reality, allowing players to battle with thrusts and slices of the Remote. GameCity is thrilled to give gamers a chance to be the first in the world to see and try the lightsaber first-hand in a worldwide exclusive premier of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Wii.

This global premier is part of GameCity's Play The Force – a celebration of the rich heritage that games share with the Star Wars phenomenon. That legacy - thirty years, six films, and billions of dollars - is enormous, and throughout those decades games have been an integral part of the Star Wars universe. More than 120 of them have tried – with varying degrees of success – to bring the different elements of Lucas's world to life.

And so, 26th October is Star Wars day at GameCity. The festival is thrilled to be able to welcome Jonathan Smith, of developer Travellers Tales and visionary behind the Lego Star Wars phenomenon, which has brought all six films to life with the tiny, clunky charisma only Lego can bring. Presenting the complete saga of the games' development, and explaining the secret behind their prodigious success, this session will be an exceptional opportunity to see behind the scenes of a game that delighted critics and consumers alike.

Please note: this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – limited tickets are available. Go online and buy your tickets NOW – once they're sold there won't be anymore! www.gamecity.org

Following on from Smith's symposium is a session that gets to the heart of the question that all those not-so-stellar Star Wars games raise: just why is it so hard to get it right? 'What Makes A Brilliant Star Wars Game' brings together gaming experts and Star Wars specialists to hammer out the formula for the perfect Star Wars game. Is it the lightsabers? Is it the music? Is it the X-wings? Join Wonderland's Alice Taylor, and sci-fi expert Jonathan Hamblin to find out.

30 years on from the release of the original film, science - the science behind games, at least - has caught up with science fiction. GameCity is proud to showcase 'Euphoria', Natural Motion's on-the-fly dynamic motion synthesis engine which dynamically generates the movements of your character in-game. Rather than being limited by animations prepared in advance by the game's designers, Euphoria means that no two jumps, no two punches, no two KOs need ever be the same again. Already showcased to great effect in the upcoming Indiana Jones game, Euphoria will also play a key part in the new Star Wars extravaganza. Come along and see how your actions will shape the games of the future.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga – 12pm, 26th October. Broadway Cinema and Media Centre
What Makes A Brilliant Star Wars Game? – 1pm, 26th October, Broadway Cinema and Media Centre
Euphoria: Physics of the Force – 2pm, 26th October, Broadway Cinema and Media Centre

Universal avatars bestride worlds

A virtual character, or avatar, for all the virtual worlds in which people play is the goal of a joint project between IBM and Linden Lab.
The computer giant and the creator of Second Life are working on universal avatars that can travel between worlds.

The project aims to open up virtual worlds by introducing open tools that work with any online environment.

The companies hope to boost interest in virtual worlds as well as make them easier to navigate.

More from the BBC

Sony plans more in-game advertising

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has revealed that it will create a new business unit with the purpose of developing in-game advertising.

The new group will explore ways of integrating advertising into PlayStation games and will be headed up by Darlene Kindler, a "25-year consumer electronic industry veteran".

Phil Rosenberg, senior vice president of sales and business development, explained Ms Kindler´s role: "She will be tasked with the important role of working closely with our internal teams as well as our third-party publishers and external advertising agencies to develop business and marketing strategies for our newly formed online advertising group."

Earlier this year, Sony showed that it was keen to promote in-game advertising when it signed an agreement with Nielsen Media Research. The two companies said that they would look to develop measurement systems for game network advertising.

Recently, Toyota announced that it was to release a free game for the Xbox which would promote its Yaris car. This shows that advertisers are waking up to the possibility of marketing within computer games.
© Adfero Ltd

Teenager paid £245,000 to play computer video games

A plymouth teenager has just been made one of the UK's first full-time professional gamers.For the layman, this means Pete Wright, aged 19, gets paid to go to LA and compete against the best gamers in the world for a sweet $500,000 (£245,000).

For the gamer, this means the man's razor-sharp reactions make him one of the UK's five specialists at Counter-Strike: Source, a tactical first-person shooter video game.

He claims he's nothing like the anti- social, nerdy, unwashed and vaguely freakish stereotype which springs into many people's minds.

But he still managed to fight off hundreds of competitors to be selected as part of the UK's first Championship Gaming Series team to compete in the World Finals, against teams from the USA, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Australia.

"I was working for a laptop manufacturer and saw this opportunity and thought 'I've got to try my best'," Pete explained.

"It's a dream come true. Lots of people love playing computer games, but I get paid money to play.

"I'd love to do this for the rest of my life," he added.

Pete travelled to Birmingham for a four-day gaming job interview where he competed in tournaments to impress the general managers of two franchises.

He made the last 40 and travelled to London where Sky TV filmed a series of shows about the hopefuls which is set to be on Sky One at 9pm every night in the week running up to Christmas.

Pete's skills got him drafted into the Birmingham Salvo franchise as part of a five-man Counter-Strike force.

His teammates are from York, Liverpool and Brighton.

Pete explains that the game is played on the internet and requires quick reactions and good communication with your colleagues.

"It's teamwork; everyone has got to be on the same page. You can be doing really well, but if someone in your team isn't you could lose."

Pete has been playing Counter-Strike for four years.

"People think we're nerdy and sit in front of a computer all day every day," he said. "That's not the case. I play about four nights a week from 7pm to 10pm."

But in the run-up to the contest in Los Angeles Pete's training regime will get more intense, with sessions of up to seven hours a day.

The Championship Gaming Series is the only worldwide professional video gaming league and a joint venture between BSkyB, US satellite TV provider DirecTV and Star, broadcasting by satellite to viewers in Asia.

Pete is set to head out to LA on November 25 and said the UK had a good chance of winning the 500,000 though he would also receive a 30,000 (£14,700) gaming contract and would be able to attract more money through sponsorship.

"Previously the UK hasn't been that good next to the Scandinavian countries and Asia, but we're good now. Latin America and the USA are our biggest challenge," Pete said.

"Australia tend to be the worst because their time zone means they don't get much practice against European and American competitors."

Latest games releases from Canada

Canada latest releases.

"FIFA 08 Soccer" (EA Sports, for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2).

Sony delivers the supernatural murder mystery "Folklore" (PS3)

Build your own theme park in LucasArts' "Thrillville: Off the Rails" (xBox 360, Wii, PS2, DS, PlayStation Portable)

Electronic Arts compiles five "Half-Life 2" games in "The Orange Box" (xBox 360)

"Looney Tunes" lovers get two games from Warner Bros. - "Acme Arsenal" (xBox 360, Wii, PS2) and "Duck Amuck" (Nintendo DS)

Anime "Bleach" can choose between Sega's "Shattered Blade" (Wii) or "The Blade of Fate" (Nintendo DS)

Racing buffs can rev up for "Sega Rally Revo" (xBox 360, PS3, PSP)

HQ's "Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights" (PS3, PSP)

Two big franchises come to the PSP in Square Enix's "Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions" and LucasArts' "Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron,"

While Atlus' culty sequel "Touch Detective 2 1/2" arrives for the DS.

Simpsons Game no joke for parodies

NO JOKE

Electronic Arts' forthcoming "The Simpsons Game" features an assortment of video-game parodies, such as "Medal of Homer" and "Neverquest." But some companies, apparently, can't take a joke.

"I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it's a sign of respect," "Simpsons" designer Greg Rizzer told the Web site CVG. "If we make fun of 'Grand Theft Auto,' we're not going to hurt the sales of 'Grand Theft Auto.' ... But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game."

On the other hand, the creators of "Guitar Hero" appreciated the tribute. "I don't know if you've seen 'Sitar Hero,"' Rizzer said. "The guys from Harmonix loved it and we sent them 20 copies of the poster."

FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS!

NEW JOBS
The new Onion Knight and Dark Knight classes add more depth and strategy to the already extensive array of classes and abilities in the game.

MULTIPLAYER
A brand-new experience awaits players on the battlefield utilizing the unique multiplayer function of the PSP system. Rendezvous with friends or go head-to-head in competitive match-ups.

NEW CINEMATICS
New, beautiful, cel-shaded CG cinematics rendered in the game’s original art style enhance the epic storytelling of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS.

NEW CHARACTERS
Balthier, a popular character from the hit game FINAL FANTASY XII, makes his cameo on the PSP, along with the debut of Luso from FINAL FANTASY TACTICS A2.

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