12 years ago
Interview: Skulls of the Shogun dev on asynchronous multiplayer and XBLA
It’s 30-minutes til the doors slam shut on day two of Rezzed; Brighton’s PC and indie games soiree featuring the likes of Gunpoint, Hotline Miami and, of course, Skulls of the Shogun. Hot stuff, but it’s no doubt to the chagrin of Borut Pfeifer – developer at 17-Bit – that I’ve asked him to describe Skulls in just 20 words at this late juncture.
“It’s turn-based strategy infused with the spirit of an action or arcade game. It’s fast, no grid, with multiplayer.” Nailed.
Skulls of the Shogun marks 17-Bits’ attempt to haul the turn-based strategy shenanigans of something like Advance Wars (possibly the greatest game ever made) onto Xbox Live Arcade. No easy feat; the Xbox is without touch screen, without keyboard and mouse and about the only example I can think of turn-based strategy game built solely for XBLA is Band of Bugs. Gulp.
With that in mind, I chat with Borut about how Skulls has been tailored to XBLA, why 17-Bit chose the platform and, mostly, the intricacies of the recently announced asynchronous multiplayer. What’s an asynchronous multiplayer? Read on!
12 years ago
What we are playing: July 15
What we are playing is a weekly column published on Sunday. Select members of the team talk about the games they’ve been playing over the past week and which they’re …
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12 years ago
Expendables 2 trailer here to thump your face off (also out August 17)
Boom! Punch! Kapow! Explode! Kablam! Arghhh! Splat! Pew! Woosh! Blam! Boom again! The Expendables 2 launches on August 17. Kaboom! Have you watched the new trailer yet? Smash! I …
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12 years ago
Toy Soldiers: Cold War and others half price this week
Do you like saving money? Of course you like saving money! Join us, then, as we embark on an adventure across the fields of frugality. Next stop: The Microsoft Studios Sale. This midsummer week boasts no less than five games all slashed, sliced and diced in price. Wallets at the ready, thrifty friends.
12 years ago
What we are playing: July 1
We go round 2 with The Walking Dead and bend time itself with a spot of spelunking. What do you mean Spelunky’s been available on PC free for three and a half years?! Just jesting.
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12 years ago
Dungeon Fighter LIVE out July 13
Obnoxiously titled hack-and-slash game Dungeon Fighter LIVE: Fall of Hendon Myre launches on Xbox Live Arcade July 13. We thought as much.
Dungeon Fighter LIVE (presumably you have to shout …
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12 years ago
What we are playing: June 24
With Summer of Arcade looming on the horizon, we dip back into some recent hits to tide us over.
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12 years ago
What we are playing: June 10
With E3 fading into the distance and a lull in releases, we dip into our backlogs.
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12 years ago
Celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with discounted Microsoft Points (UK only)
Splendid news for those living in Blighty. In celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (that’s this weekend), Microsoft is offering discounted Microsoft Points from its online store. Hooray! Unfortunately, …
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12 years ago
XBLA sales figures for the month of April
Before we go marching on into the land of statistics… Yes the following figures are based on leaderboard data. No it’s not entirely accurate. It is, however, the best barometer we have. Onward!
It’s been a fine two months. We’ve seen the likes of Trials Evolution and Minecraft shatter records, Fez and The Walking Dead revitalise dusty genres and titles like Skullgirls and The Pinball Arcade bolstering genres with an already strong showing on XBLA. Not to mention Fable: Heroes, The Splatters and Anomaly Warzone Earth rounding out a special 8 weeks.
Rewind a little to April and actual sales data isn’t quite as cheery, at least not across the board. As usual, Gamasutra has the full rundown.