14 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!
14 years ago
XBLAFancast Episode 70 – Same old jokes
It’s a packed show this week, we talk a lot about Dungeon Fighter Live, and Andrew fills us on the games we missed last week. Perry brings what little news their is, Todd fails to bring Todd Talk and Andrew rounds things out with the Community Corner which includes lots of discussion this week.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!
Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.
[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEp70.mp3[/podcast]
14 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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14 years ago
Minecraft update lands tomorrow, more skins detailed
Call in sick to work, because the 1.7.3 update for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition lands tomorrow. The title update will go live at 2AM UTC. Among the new features and fixes are the inclusion of Pistons, a character skin selector, and precautions to keep unwanted players out of your game. Also detailed recently were a number of new skins for the upcoming Skin Pack 1 downloadable content. Banjo is joined by additional characters from the Banjo-Kazooie universe, and more variants of the Trials riders have been revealed. These skins join a growing list of characters including Master Chief, ‘Splosion Man, and Jack of Blades. Priced at a cool 160 MSP the pack will include 40 skins for players to choose from.
Hit the jump for a full list of features and updates included in 1.7.3 along with a glimpse of the new Trials rider skins.
14 years ago
Thursday Night Streaming: Dungeon Fighter Live: Fall of Hendon Myre
It’s Dungeon Fighter Live … LIVE!
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14 years ago
An open letter to publishers: Get with the (XBLA) program
It’s interesting to me to see how different publishers are handling this still relatively new digital game world. Many have stuck their toe in the effectual water then scampered off because they felt it was too cold. Newcomers and small-fries have braved uncharted waters to find that they have success. Some have even dedicated much of their workforce to re-publishing their golden games from yesteryear. But why do some publishers still have a fear of the inexpensive digital market (XBLA, PSN, etc)? I’m not sure, but I have a few words for a handful of publishers–some of praise, some of pleading.
14 years ago
Belated Trials Tuesday: Week of July 11
We’ve got more Trials HD remakes, two of which were custom tracks, one that shipped with the game. We also go back to 1992 with a Jezzball remake, visit a construction site, and a cave, and start seeing red. To download these tracks by entering Track Central, selecting Get Tracks, then pressing X to search. Enter the gamertag below to find the track. Be aware that the search is case sensitive. A big thanks to the Trials Evolution community for the borrowed videos. Hit the jump to see this week’s picks.
14 years ago
XBLAFancast Episode 69 – Quite the conundrum
Perry talks a bit about Quantum Conundrum this week, review coming soon. Then we talk some more about Spelunky, as we’ll likely be doing for a while. Perry brings the news and Todd Talk reflects on the first half of the year in XBLA.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!
Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.
[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEp69.mp3[/podcast]
14 years ago
Minecraft Mondays – Gigantic pyramid edition
Each Monday for the foreseeable future, we will be showcasing a community member’s Minecraft world. If you are interested in being featured, please email Shawn@xblafans.com. If you’re new to the world of Minecraft, check …
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