Polygon - DICE 2014: The news, interviews and awards from the annual developer summithttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2014-02-27T09:30:02-05:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/51485372014-02-27T09:30:02-05:002014-02-27T09:30:02-05:00Defender: an all-time classic that still offers lessons today
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<p>The very moment I walked into the room, I saw it; a <em>Defender </em>machine. </p>
<p>Along the far wall in the bar, there were other arcade games lined up, but my focus, my delight, was entirely directed at <i>Defender</i>, throbbing malevolently at the end of the line. I walked straight up to it, pressed the 1-Player button and breathed in as the game made its beautiful signature greeting; Bwwooowwwooowwwwooooowww.</p>
<p>The bar itself was a converted hotel function room, made over as an entertainment-cum-schmoozing gallery for Vegas conventioneers. I was <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/5/5384496/dice-summit-2014-news-interviews-awards" target="_blank">attending DICE</a>, the annual get-together for video game biz types. Being on site early, I had time to kill. Hardly anyone else was in the room, just a few people sat at a smoothie bar behind me, lounging on...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/27/5422718/defender-an-all-time-classic-that-still-offers-lessons-today">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/27/5422718/defender-an-all-time-classic-that-still-offers-lessons-todayColin Campbell2014-02-20T08:00:02-05:002014-02-20T08:00:02-05:00Breathing lessons: How Adam Orth turned social disaster into triumph
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<p>Breathing is a basic, but complex human function.</p>
<p><em>Breathe in.</em></p>
<p>The muscles attached to your rib cage contract, expanding the chest cavity as your diaphragm contracts. This in turn expands a membrane that covers your lungs and triggers negative pressure which creates airflow into your lungs.</p>
<p><em>Breathe out.</em></p>
<p>The lungs naturally contract due to their elastic property as your intercostal muscles lower the rib cage applying pressure to the thoracic cavity, which contains the lungs. The diaphragm, in turn, relaxes, shifting tissue up which puts additional pressure on the lungs and forces the air out.</p>
<p><em>Breathe in.</em></p>
<p>It is a natural process, which doesn't require thought. But thinking about it can help control anxiety.</p>
<p><em>Breathe out.</em></p>
<p>Or cause it.</p>
<p><em>Breathe...</em></p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/20/5427350/adam-orth-game-adrift">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/20/5427350/adam-orth-game-adriftBrian Crecente2014-02-14T12:01:02-05:002014-02-14T12:01:02-05:00Borderlands 3 isn’t being made, but two new Gearbox IP are
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<p>Despite the phenomenal successes of <em>Borderlands </em>and <em>Borderlands 2</em>, developer Gearbox isn't currently working on a sequel to the endless-weapons action title, CEO and president Randy Pitchford told Polygon.
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<p>"We are not working on <i>Borderlands 3,</i>" he said during an interview last week. "That is unqualified. We have more to do in the franchise, but no there isn't a <i>Borderlands 3</i>."</p>
<p>And it isn't a question of semantics, that they're working on a sequel that isn't a sequel. Put simply, Gearbox doesn't have time right now to develop a new Borderlands.</p>
<p>"When you think of what <i>Borderlands 3 </i>should be, it should be massive," Pitchford said. "It should be bigger and better than <i>Borderlands 2.</i> It should carry forward the story. It's probably...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/14/5411514/borderlands-3-homeworld-new-gearbox-software-games">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/14/5411514/borderlands-3-homeworld-new-gearbox-software-gamesBrian Crecente2014-02-12T14:00:00-05:002014-02-12T14:00:00-05:00Just Cause, Mad Max and the future of Avalanche Studios
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<p>It would probably be fair to assume that Avalanche Studios is working on the game everyone has been waiting for them to announce.</p>
<p>That the people who gave us <i>Just Cause</i> and <i>Just Cause 2,</i> exceptionally long-lived games with passionate fans who have yet to grow bored with the playgrounds of destruction they deliver, are now hard at work on <i>Just Cause 3</i> seems likely<i>.</i></p>
<p>But Christofer Sundberg, founder and chief creative officer, is coy about a new Just Cause. He won't say if the rumors, fueled by a Just Cause-themed Christmas card sent two years ago, are true.</p>
<p>When I ask him if the game is in development, this is Sundberg's reply:</p>
<p>"Can't say," Sundberg says. "It's a huge franchise for the studio, so you shouldn't be surprised if there is...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/12/5404214/just-cause-3-avalanche-studios">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/12/5404214/just-cause-3-avalanche-studiosBrian Crecente2014-02-12T08:30:59-05:002014-02-12T08:30:59-05:00How The Last of Us: Left Behind overcame a false start
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<p>Ellie's sidekick in <em>The Last Of Us</em>' first single-player DLC <em>Left Behind</em> is a spiky adolescent pal called Riley, with whom our hero has the kind of fraught and intense friendship not uncommon among people their age.</p>
<p>The story, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/15/5310850/report-the-last-of-us-left-behind-dlc-arrives-feb-14">releasing this week</a>, focuses on what lies between these two youngsters, their differences and commonality, their shared history and divergent perspectives.<i> </i></p>
<p><i>Left Behind </i>takes place before the events of <a href="/game/the-last-of-us/3040" class="sbn-auto-link"><i>The Last of Us</i></a>, and so acts as both an origin story for Ellie, and a new perspective on the world we learned about in the main narrative. Post-apocalyptic combat plays a supporting role to the tale's strong elements of emotional discovery.</p>
<p>Herein lies the writers' difficulty. In a successful world like <i>The Last of...</i></p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/12/5399428/how-the-last-of-us-left-behind-overcame-a-false-start">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/12/5399428/how-the-last-of-us-left-behind-overcame-a-false-startColin Campbell2014-02-10T11:30:02-05:002014-02-10T11:30:02-05:00Video games are losing the culture war in America, scientific visionary says
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<p>A culture war is raging in the United States right now and video games are losing.</p>
<p><span>That's according to </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.alsop-louie.com/team/gilman-louie/">Gilman Louie</a><span>, former video game developer, founder of a venture capital firm that works with U.S. intelligence agencies, and advisor to the CIA, NSA and Defense Intelligence Agency. Louie, who founded and ran Spectrum HoloByte before leaving the business of game development, was named one of fifty scientific visionaries by Scientific American in 2002.</span></p>
<p>"The anti-gaming establishment owns the vocabulary and have done a very successful job of convincing many that interactive games are harmful (especially to children) and that screen time is to blame for most of the social ills," Louie tells Polygon. "Whether it be the awful events that...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/10/5397224/video-games-are-losing-the-culture-war-in-america-gaming-pioneer-says">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/10/5397224/video-games-are-losing-the-culture-war-in-america-gaming-pioneer-saysBrian Crecente2014-02-07T08:31:00-05:002014-02-07T08:31:00-05:00Mighty No. 9 movie script expected soon, Inafune hopes for manga, anime, TV
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<p>The rights to the live-action movie adaptation of <em>Mighty No. 9,</em> the Kickstarter-backed spiritual successor to Mega Man, haven't been signed over to anyone yet, but it sounds like a deal could be coming soon.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/4/5379500/mighty-no-9-live-action-adaptation-in-the-works" target="_blank">Earlier this week</a>, Contradiction Films writer and producer Tim Carter said that his production company was working on the adaptation and that he had been in talks with game developer Keiji Inafune about the project.</p>
<p>That's true, Inafune told Polygon today, but developer Comcept hasn't yet decided if they will work with Carter on the adaptation.</p>
<p>"It's not actually a 100 percent set deal yet," he said. "It is something we are looking forward to and considering the possibilities of. We are in talks with Contradiction about the...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/7/5388802/mighty-no-9-movie-script-expected-soon-inafune-hopes-for-manga-anime">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/7/5388802/mighty-no-9-movie-script-expected-soon-inafune-hopes-for-manga-animeBrian Crecente2014-02-07T08:00:59-05:002014-02-07T08:00:59-05:00Austin Wintory wants supporters, not just fans
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<p>Award-winning game composer Austin Wintory is adamant. He loves that people listen to his music but, as he puts it, "I don't want fans."
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<p>Talking at DICE in Las Vegas yesterday, the musician and scorer of <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/journey/2280" target="_blank"><i>Journey</i></a>, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/monaco-what-s-yours-is-mine/3112" target="_blank"><i>Monaco</i> </a>and <i><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="/game/the-banner-saga/2273">The Banner Saga</a> </i>said, "I don't like the idea of the word 'fan'. If people are fans of a piece of music that is great." But he said he did not want people to buy his music "just because it has a name on it, which is meaningless."</p>
<p>Wintory was celebrating the digital culture that allows composers to create and share music in ways that were impossible even a few years ago. He said that the days when composing music was restricted to a highly educated elite are over.</p>
<p>He shared an anecdote about the commercial release...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/7/5388514/austin-wintory-i-dont-want-fans">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/2/7/5388514/austin-wintory-i-dont-want-fansColin Campbell