Lead SPORE video game designer to embark on lecture tour of US colleges - Free SPORE trial link

The Spore franchise is going to college! Maxis, an Electronic Arts studio, announced today that lead designer, Stone Librande, will be embarking on a lecture series.

It will reach some of the nation’s top game design college programs including Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon University.

Aspiring game designers, engineers and artists will have the chance to hear Librande speak about “Designing Playfully” and learn more about the career opportunities inside the creative, global videogame industry. Students will also be among the first to get their hands on Spore Galactic Adventures, the highly-anticipated expansion pack to the platinum hit Spore.

Maxis’ “College Invasion Tour” hit Georgia Institute of Technology on April 10, and will head to University of Southern California on April 16 and Carnegie Mellon University on May 1.
During the tour, Librande will guide students through the intuitive Adventure Creator in Spore Galactic Adventures while inspiring and teaching them how to make game concepts come to life. This easy-to-use tool gives students the ability to prototype design concepts and experiment with new ideas.
“Maxis and EA are huge proponents of college game design programs and nurturing rising talent,” said Lucy Bradshaw, VP and General Manager at Maxis. “The robust creative capabilities of the Adventure Creator in Spore Galactic Adventures, empowers future game developers with a different way to experiment with game design. I can’t wait to see what the students create.”

In FY09, EA welcomed 250 interns to studios in the USA, Canada, UK, Sweden, Germany. Last year alone, the company hired approximately 80 new graduates, fresh out of college.

“The games industry continues to grow with the rise of online gaming, casual gaming and the exciting challenges of new markets,” said Cindy Nicola, VP, Global Talent Acquisition. “EA is passionate about attracting and hiring the brightest graduates as they are our next generation of leaders. Our university partnerships and the talent they produce are key components of our overall talent strategy and we are deeply committed to continuing to hire interns and new graduates across EA.”

Librande is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory and California Institute of Arts Film/Video School. He has worked in a wide variety of technical and creative fields, and has been employed as an art director, video producer, software engineer, freelance illustrator and, for one long summer, a tractor driver on a farm in Oregon. He has also taught a game design course at Cogswell College in Sunnyvale, CA.

About Spore
Spore, available for PC and Mac, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even spaceships. Spore Creatures, available on Nintendo DS™, takes players on a quest to save their species and the entire Galaxy. Meet, befriend or fight other creatures in a number of unique Touch Screen-based activities. Spore Galactic Adventures, available June 23, is a highly-customizable expansion pack for Spore, adding a tremendous amount of variety and fun to the Space game. Players can beam down to planets for the first time ever, play Maxis-created Adventures and easily create customized missions. Spore Hero, exclusive to the Wii™ and available in fall 2009, catapults players into the role of a fully-customized hero creature fighting to save its planet.

To learn more about Spore, Spore Galactic Adventures, Spore Hero or to download a free trial of the Spore Creature Creator, please visit www.spore.com.

Cogs Puzzle Game launched on PC free demo download

Rich steampunk look sets a new standard for casual games

Independent developer Lazy 8 Studios announced today the worldwide release of Cogs, their debut puzzle game. Players can download Cogs for the PC via Steam, the online game distribution service from Valve, Inc. A demo version is available for free with the full version priced at $9.99 (£6.99 or €8.99).

According to Lazy 8 Studios founder Rob Jagnow, Steam was their first choice for online distribution: “With an audience of more than 15 million worldwide, a high threshold for game quality and a strong reputation for customer satisfaction, Steam stands out as a great choice.”

In Cogs, players interact with a 3D environment, using sliding tiles to build machines. The 50 puzzles have a surprising variety. As players advance through the levels, they build helicopters, inflate hot-air balloons, compose music, power rocket ships, and more. Cogs has three gameplay modes: when players complete puzzles in Inventor Mode, they can further challenge their skills by racing against time or working with a limited number of moves.

Cogs was created by the two-man team of Lazy 8 Studios founder and graphics engineer Rob Jagnow and digital artist Brendan Mauro. As Jagnow explained, it has taken some time for the game to become a reality. “From conception to completion, I've worked on Cogs for more than five years. In that time, it has evolved substantially based on user feedback. It's become something far more than I originally imagined.”

Jagnow credits Mauro with the polished steampunk look that gives the game much of its appeal. “This is one of Brendan's first major game projects. He came to Lazy 8 Studios with a creative vision about where he could take this game and he's really followed through. One of our early testers described the look of Cogs as 'just delicious.'”

The refined appearance makes Cogs stand out in the casual game market. As Jagnow explains, “we wanted to leverage the graphics hardware that is available on most modern computers. We want the player to feel immersed in the mechanical world that we've created.”

Cue Online Video - Amazing Trick Shots in The Upcoming 3D Pool Simulation Game

Cue Online offers competitive billiards games including straight pool, nine-ball, eight-ball, carom and three-cushion billiards. Developed by Happy Nation, Cue Online delivers realistic billiards gameplay with a custom physics engine and was recently nominated as "Best Game of the Month" by the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Happy Nation's exclusive engine was designed to create as realistic of an environment as possible. Each ball's movement will depend on each player's style, including stroke power, table contact, spin and strike quality with other balls, the cloth friction of the table and more.



Cue Online offers five different skills that players can increase and improve upon while training. The game's skills include: Power, Spin, Push, Pull and Masse. Unlike other games where players automatically increase their skills as their average scores increase, Cue Online players will see their skills improve only after they successfully use that skill over time. As a result, two players in the same average score can each possess different main skills, just like in real life pool play.

ZEN Pinball exclusively on PlayStation Network (PSN) this spring

ZEN Studios, the creator of the highly popular Pinball FX franchise, is pleased to announce that its fast-paced arcade-style pinball videogame, ZEN Pinball is coming exclusively to PlayStation Network (PSN) this spring.

“The PlayStation Network has a wide variety of great game offerings but it’s lacking a classic arcade pinball game like ZEN Pinball,” said Zsolt Kigyossy, managing director for ZEN Studios.

“This is a title for everyone’s game library, as ZEN Pinball combines fast paced action and realistic graphics with the thrills of traditional pinball. It will certainly be ongoing fun for our players!”

ZEN Pinball sets a brand new standard for realistic ball physics and graphical detail in pinball video games employing cutting-edge visuals, challenging tables, true-to-life ball and table physics and combines them with innovative features not found in any other pinball game.

With a variety of in-game missions, head-to-head online multiplayer bouts and multi-day worldwide tournaments, ZEN Pinball offers the ultimate arcade experience for both casual gamers and pinball enthusiasts alike. In addition to the regular All-Time and Weekly scoreboards, ZEN Pinball features Score Speed, Best One Minute, and Multiplayer Ranking scoreboards, letting players test their mettle against pinball players from all over the world!

ZEN Pinball key features:
• Includes four full-featured tables-V12, Tesla, Shaman and El Dorado
• Multiplayer modes include local, online, and worldwide tournament competitions
• Realistic Operators Menu lets you change settings and view advanced play info
• Fun extras such as slow motion and the ability to save a game in progress

Magic Pop system New System Rewards Risk-Taking Players with Powerful In-game Items in Silkroad Online

Joymax, an independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced the launch of “Magic Pop,” Silkroad Online’s new system. Adventurous, risk-taking players simply have to purchase a Magic Pop card from the Item Mall, choose the item they’d like to play for, and take a chance if they want to win big!

Players who get a winning red coupon may receive Grade-S Devil's Spirits, Grade-B Devil's Spirits, popular character outfits, 9th and 10th-grade Seal of Sun Weapons, or one of many other powerful items. Players with losing green coupons won’t get one of the grand prizes, but consolation prizes include additional tickets, Gold Time or Skill Gold Time Day Passes, 8th-grade Seal of Star Weapons, and more!

Lineage II the Chaotic Throne - Gracia Final Free expansion

NCSoft is happy to announce a great reason for fans to celebrate the five year anniversary of Lineage II. Gracia Final, the upcoming free expansion to the legendary Lineage II franchise, will be bringing players a brand new continent, refined PvP combat and arenas, expanded clan features, territory wars, and more.

This final part to the Gracia series offers an extensive amount of new content, including a renewed experience for both new and veteran players in the world of Lineage II.

Lineage II is a beautiful war torn land where trust is critical and betrayal is inevitable as players battle for glory and clans struggle for political supremacy. Choose your path and dominate mercilessly in this legendary MMO. Claim your fortune and rule the castles and lands that over 19 million of the world's gamers have explored.

The world is waiting for its leader; will you heed its call?

KEY FEATURES

Discover the continent of Gracia
Journey through the skies of the breathtaking and perilous lands of Gracia, using the aerial transformation skills Aurabird Falcon, Aurabird Owl and the Kamael’s special Final Flying Form. While whisking through the air, be on the lookout for the new aerial and land based hunting grounds, which will challenge all of Lineage II’s players.

Refined PvP combat and arenas
Gracia Final introduces multiple new ways for players to compete and experience the ultimate thrill of PvP. From expanding a time honored classic PvP tournament, the Olympiad, to include three vs. three competitions, and adding the new Aerial Cleft PvP arena where individuals can register and compete in random PvP matches, it has never been easier to get into the competitive side of Lineage II.



Expanded clan features
Level your clan up to 11 to earn additional benefits that expand clan abilities and membership. At level 11, clans will continue the struggle for economic and political dominance. However, additional Royal Guards and clan skills should provide an edge to those who prove themselves worthy.

Territory battles
Territory battles bring a new level of land control and provide a unique “capture the flag” style PvP experience that rewards dominating clans with castle-related skills and additional revenue. Unlike castle sieges, where battles are fought between clans, territory battles allow individual players and groups unassociated with clans to participate as anonymous mercenaries in these epic wars over the lands of Lineage II . All territory war participants can receive Territory which can be traded for new items through the Territory Manager.

Minimum system requirements

* Microsoft Windows XP/Vista
* 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD processor
* 512MB of RAM or more
* NVIDIA GeForceFX 5700 series or equivalent ATI brand 3D graphics card
* 10GB of hard disk space
* DVD-ROM drive
* 56k Internet connection
* 16-bit soundcard
* DirectX 9.0c
* Keyboard/mouse

Recommended system specifications

* 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD processor
* 1GB of RAM or more
* NVIDIA GeForceFX 6600 or equivalent ATI 3D graphics card or better
* 10 GB of hard disk space
* Broadband internet connection

Cities XL video game Mountain tops, Snowflakes and Winter fun!

You've created a wonderful little mountain village, complete with its local cheese specialties, wandering heavy-hided bovines, and picture-perfect landscapes, but you now want to take it to the next level: attracting visitors by the dozen with the heavy artillery of tourism, the must-have of mountain life: skiing!

The Ski GEM offers a large number of activities, the main one, and also the most fun, being the Ski Resort! Ski-trails, ski-lifts and all related activities are the everyday business of the young mountain resort managers…

As manager of your very own ski resort, you will take on a large number of fun tasks! First and foremost, you will need to decide where to place your snowy empire in the making. The mountains are huge and the possibilities aplenty! Once you have spotted the perfect place to set up your resort, you will need to place your first ski-lift to aim for the summits! You have access to different types of lifts (ski-tow, cable-cars, chairlifts, etc.), which are all adapted to different types of terrain. By starting out with a small ski-tow, you can climb high enough along the slopes to place your first ski-trails.

Draw your trails freely in the environment, in the same way you would place a road! Avoid trees and rocks, aim for a few nice slopes and within seconds, you will have a ski-trail worthy of the name! Green? Blue? Or maybe even red if there are a few nice bumps?… Choosing the difficulty level of your trails is vital as you will need to provide for all tastes and altitudes!

It's up to you to decide what the "official" colour of the trail will be, but the game also indicates its actual difficulty level in real time. Don't be afraid to include a small red portion in a blue trail, there's no harm in giving your skiers a bit of a fright once in a while! But don't overdo it, as they might quickly become frustrated or disappointed... And you will need to create trails for all levels, from green to black…

You will quickly realise that you can create a real network of trails that will satisfy most of the skiers looking for adrenaline pumping speed! And you will also have the opportunity to create new trails or modify old ones once in a while for more diversity!

Of course, beyond the trails and ski-lifts, you will need to build other installations to create the perfect ski resort: high altitude shelters for your visitors to keep warm, snack-bars along the slopes for them to grab a little something on the go, a restaurant overlooking the breathtaking panorama... And very soon you will be running the new Aspen!

But the greatest thing about all this is that, once you have finished setting up everything, you can sit back and watch your skiers and snowboarders speeding down your trails, and fully appreciate all the hard work you put into your resort! But watch out for accidents... It will then be high time to build a hospital at the bottom of the slopes…

Six days in Fallujah video game under further attack

Third-Person Action Shooter - Based on Fiercest Urban Battle of The War in Iraq

Uses Real Footage, US Marines Who Fought in the Battle and Real Missions

Features Co-op and Online Multiplayer Modes

Konami announce that Six Days in Fallujah is currently in development for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Developed by Atomic Games, Six Days in Fallujah is a new third person shooter experience that puts the player in the center of the largest urban military operation in four decades. Six Days in Fallujah combines the action of a military shooter with the realism of a documentary film to create a new kind of experience that is both historical and engaging. Partnering with over three dozen US Marines to help develop the game along with unprecedented access to battle plans, after action reports, photos, videos and satellite maps makes this game the most authentic military shooter to date. Coupled with missions, objectives and scenarios grounded in factual events, Six Days in Fallujah will create an authentic 3rd person shooter unlike any ever developed.

"Six Days in Fallujah creates a very compelling interactive experience," said Brian Christian, Vice President of Product Development for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "We are creating a 3rd person shooter unlike any other by combining a brand new game engine, authentic weaponry, missions and combat set against the gripping story of the US Marines on the ground."

Six Days in Fallujah lets players experience the historic battle of Fallujah as a US Marine fire-team leader and places them in the heat of the action against the insurgency. Players are able to physically shape the battlefield just as US Marines did during the battle in Fallujah. Create new lines of attack by kicking in doors, blowing up walls, eliminating enemy cover and destroying the environment around them. To make the battle even more authentic, heavy emphasis has been put into the environments using real world satellite maps, weapons from US Marines and vehicles used in the conflict to fully immerse players in this epic confrontation and experience what it was like to be a Marine on the ground. In addition, Six Days in Fallujah will include multiplayer functionality - allowing players to team up with other fire team members in co-op and online modes.

Six Days in Fallujah is scheduled to be released in 2010 on Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system and Windows PC.

World Basketball Manager 2009 video game looking for a publisher

Icehole Games is happy to announce the completion of their new game, "World Basketball Manager 2009", which is the latest addition in their successful series of WBM games.

World Basketball Manager (WBM) is a basketball strategy game. It uses the same game-play principles as most soccer management games do and covers all basketball action around the world with 89 national and international tournaments, 852 teams, 10.000 basketball players and 1.000 managers.

WBM has been around since 2003 with a new edition every year and has managed to earn a place in the market as one of the most highly acclaimed games of its genre. The accurate representation of the basketball world forces the players to make the same decisions and face the same problems as their real life counterparts. It deals not only with the sport aspect of the game, but also with financial, managerial, administrative, training, psychological and PR situations that arise in the everyday life of a basketball manager.

Undoubtedly the biggest success of WBM is the real time match engine that produces realistic results and accurate match statistics, using a genetic algorithm for the A. I.

Another huge plus of the game is the big network of researchers that help in data and tournament updates.

All of the above helped WBM establish itself in the minds and hearts of basketball and sports sims enthusiasts over the past few years, with an already impressive and ever growing community supporting the game.

WBM 2009 is here to expand the series with impressive new features and improvements that include:

- Better control in your career and club economics using the ability to make demands to the Administration.
- Improved match algorithm.
- Improved interface.
- Short keys make navigation easier.
- New code makes daily update 27% faster.
- Financial bonus for managers that "build" teams.
- Cohesion bonus for teams with many native players.
- Improved transfers algorithms so that clubs buy more players under contract and less free agents. This will help you sell more players.
- Ability to arrange friendly matches.
- Better fouls balance.
- Ability to cancel timeouts.
- 22 new tournaments raise the total number to 89.
- All major tournament formats have been updated.
- Available in 10 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Greek, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish and Turkish.
- The most detailed data research so far.
- Windows Vista 64 support.
- Updated Data Editor.
- Ability to change skins.
- Ability to select news breaks in daily update.

Luna Online PC video game beta test begins on April 17th

Gala Net’s newest MMORPG title, Luna Online, will begin Closed Beta Testing on Friday April 17th.

The highly anticipated title finally hits stateside, bringing a whirlwind of innovative social features combined with solid traditional MMO features, to an already eager fan base.

Luna Online, will be a fresh take on the MMORPG genre for MMO players as the game provides for extensive social systems focusing on the community. Players will connect with other players from around the world on Luna Online’s Matchmaking System, Date Instances, Family System and Guilds Alliances System.

Luna Online’s already robust community has been eagerly waiting for Closed Beta Testing to finally open its doors. On April 17th, users will be able to test out Luna Online’s multitude of exciting features.

“We’ve been behind the scenes, in the preparation phase of Luna Online for quite some time now, it is a real pleasure to finally present our hard work and dedication to our users! With our focus squarely on the community, our users will be right at home for quite some time at Luna Online. I’m looking forward to seeing our community’s reaction to the game.” -Elliott Coward, Producer of Luna Online.