[GDC 2023] Zhang Jian Talks About PICO’s Role in Moving The VR Industry Forward in Interview

Over at our time at the Games Developer Conference (GDC 2023), we had the opportunity speak with Zhang Jian, the head of PICO XR Engine and Runtime Engineering in an interview.

Zhang Jian has 10 years of experience in the console game industry and 7 years of VR industry experience. In his career in the games industry, he has shipped games like Call of Duty, Ghost Recon, Tom Clancy’s EndWar. During his time in the VR industry, he has worked on Oculus Rift, GearVR, and Oculus Quest.

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Prior to his 9 months in PICO, Zhang Jian was the Tech Lead at Meta. His area of expertise includes XR Graphics, XR Runtime, and Game Engines.
Interview is edited for clarity
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Considering each component of XR, AR, VR and other specialised technology, how does PICO prioritise which field to give more focus to?
Zhang Jian: PICO’s headsets are primarily focusing on VR currently. However,  you can see that the industry is trending towards to Mixed Reality.
Our latest headset is PICO 4, which has some level of MR capability with video see-through. If you haven’t already, do try the PICO 4 and check out the color see-through feature.

You used to work for AAA game companies. What is the difference like between working in that environment as compared with PICO?
Zhang Jian: It’s quite different. For AAA games they are somewhat more like movies, which take a long time to finish, where a lot of AAA games developments take more than three years. For example, Call of Duty had three studios and each game took three years, rotating between different development teams. You have this very clear goal that you’re going to finish this at a certain time. However, the tech company like PICO is much more fast paced, technology is rapidly iterating.
We used to work on one product but right now as a platform, we serve a lot of developers. So that’s the difference in the role. We have developers make the game for our platform instead of us making the game directly.

Now that you’re working with a lot of different developers, what kind of support do you give them?
Zhang Jian: Here in GDC, we’ll talk about the developer side of things. For us, we have game engine support, software development kits, and developer tools.
With other companies, they have test kits and debug kits that they would send to developers. What kind of tools does PICO send to developers?
Zhang Jian: That’s the very interesting part. I worked for the console industry before, and you actually buy really expensive development kits to be a developer. Also not every company can buy them even if they want.
With PICO, basically every consumer has the ability to create their own development kit very easily. We have some instructions on our website that show you how to do that.  It only needs a few steps, and you can enable your headset’s developer mode. This essentially means that every consumer can potentially become a developer.

I think the biggest challenge is always how some people can feel dizzy and get motion sickness when using VR. From an engineering perspective, how do you combat this?
Zhang Jian: There are two sorts of motion sickness. I think one part is coming from the basic metric. Currently in VR, you have to guarantee your experience runs very smoothly and can hit a frame rate of around 72 or 90 FPS. That’s the very hard part, you have to be there at that frame rate and if you keep losing frames, you’ll get sick.
So we will develop our tool, optimize our tech stack to improve the performance. We also work with the developers and give them the tools to solve this kind of issue. And in our Core tech stack, there is another metric we call it latency, which can affect VR comfort a lot, it is quite important to keep optimizing latency.

You mentioned that FPS Freeze or Low FPS often create motion sickness. I do play games that have low FPS but still do fine. But certain games with high FPS, I still feel dizzy. I don’t think it’s just the frame rate problem, perhaps there could be other problems that cause motion sickness?
Zhang Jian: Another problem might be the optical side of things like distortion. That’s one of the metrics on the hardware side. Thinking from the develop side, what we can control is more like the FPS and the latency. And on that part we develop our tools to help people do that. I think you mentioned a good point. When you play a flat screen FPS game, the frame rate being around 20 and you don’t get sick.
I think the environment in reality is super stable in your vision. For example, when you are moving your head, the table in front of you are staying at the same place quite stably; but in VR, if your FPS is low, you will see the environment is actually not completely fixed in term of spatial position.
That’s the part that makes you sick. Also when your latency is high, your environment is even less stable.

But when I move, it doesn’t move right?
Zhang Jian: Yeah. It’s not what normal people can see, and that’s from a technical point of view. There is another stuff that affects your motion sickness from a design point of view. Like one example would be if you use your controller to move the camera smoothly.
That’s super uncomfortable because your brain tells you “I’m not moving” but somehow you’re really moving from vision point of view. This kind of mismatch will cause people to want to throw up.

When designing games, you normally don’t need to care about the space of the play area in real life. But for VR games, you’ll need to. Do you put that into consideration to help developers when they design their games? Do you think it would actually affect the development side of games?
Zhang Jian: I think this is more of a developer decision and what kind of game they would want to make. If they make a game that needs a large space but not everyone has that kind of space, some consumers are not going to buy the game or not be able to play it very well. They need to decide who are their game’s primary target.

Let’s say this game developer already has existing games on Android and iOS, and they want to deploy those same games to the PICO experience. Do they need to build something totally new or can they port the game quickly to people?
Zhang Jian: PICO is based on Android OS, right? The application is an APK, exactly the same with other Android games. If you have the game project on for example in Unity or Unreal Engine, it’s actually pretty easy to enable PICO integration. You just need to fill some checkboxes, import some stuff and then it’ll work.

So with Unity and Unreal, there’s not much extra time needed to port?
Zhang Jian: Yeah, not much time to make it work on PICO. But it does need a lot of effort to make a good experience in VR, because if you design it for the phone, you probably didn’t consider too much about the VR experience – like earlier when we mentioned motion sickness.
For example, you probably wouldn’t want to hijack the VR camera and do camera animation, that’s not good for VR comfort.

If I was a developer and I developed a 2D side-scroller platformer game and wanted it on PICO, do I need more time to put it into your platform or is it as fast as in a few months?
Zhang Jian: The integration stuff will be fast. However, the polishing and optimisation will take some time.

University students who only learn about Unity and Unreal Engine, is that sufficient enough for them to join your department?
Zhang Jian: That depends on the opening positions. We have different positions for different roles. Some positions will require a certain level of computer graphics knowledge and that’s a little bit hard for some people.
For application development like what you mentioned, e.g. how do you enable Unity app running on VR, a lot of people can do that. However, we do hire new graduates from university.
VR now is all about eyes and hands to control the experience of things. What’s the next step for VR to increase the immersive experience and do you have more future plans on this?
Zhan Jian: Yeah. There’s definitely a lot of stuff there but I’m afraid I can’t talk more in detail. But one thing is, we got the hand tracking to work. Right now it’s in the early stages and we’ll continue to work on that to improve it.

Any past experience you had that benefited you now that you’re in PICO?
Zhang Jian: I think the industry so far is pretty open. We have an open standard called Open XR, and a lot of VR manufacturers and developers contribute there. We talk with each other and when one developer has a good idea, they would share a blog post or tech notes so that everybody can learn. So that’s how the industry is helping each other.

What are your hopes for the VR industry?
Zhang Jian: There is definitely hope that the whole industry goes forward and becomes bigger, and has more people wanting to jump into this space to play games and develop games here. Generally, we are not only hoping for ourselves to succeed, we also hope everyone succeeds as well.

We would like to thank Zhang Jian for taking the time to answer our questions. We would also like to thank PICO for helping us arrange the interview. For more information on PICO products, do check out their official website here.

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Tags: GDC 2023InterviewPICO


Congratulations to Natus Vincere for winning the Rainbow Six Pro League 2019!

After two days of heart-pounding action, Natus Vincere wins the Rainbow Six Pro League Japan! As the casters put it, it was once again a North America and Europe affair. You can see how the teams got here with the bracket below.

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The finals between DarkZero Esports versus Natus Vincere really capped off the Rainbow Six Pro League Japan. Plenty of shots were traded between the teams for them to get that trophy! Eight teams total vied for that USD$626,000 prizepool. Who betted on Na’Vi to win? With the dominating scoreline of 2 – 0, they take home the Rainbow Six Pro League trophy. From challenger to Pro League, they’ve certainly made it.

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DarkZero gets runner-up, falling just short. DarkZero and Na’vi put up one hell of a show, and they should feel proud for their performance. Singapore’s Aerowolf and North America’s Team Reciprocity will join DarkZero and Na’Vi at the Six Invitational, from 14 – 16 February 2020 in Montreal, Canada.

Who was your MVP? Did the team you prefer win the trophy? Regardless, congratulations to Natus Vincere, and see you at Montreal!

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six SiegePublisher: UbisoftDeveloper: UbisoftRelease Date: 2015-12-01Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Live the counter terrorist operations in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Master the art of destruction.

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Tags: Rainbow SixRainbow Six Pro LeagueRainbow Six Pro League Season XRainbow Six Siege


After Life opens pre-registrations

After Life, subtitled with “The Sacred Kaleidoscope”, has now opened for pre-registrations! The game – stylized as After L!fe – is developed by NHN Hangame, now localized for English audiences. The global version will have Japanese dub. The story overview is given as such:

The Otherworld, a place where the living and the dead coexist.

When the silence is broken, by the sound of someone’s final heartbeat, Soul Reapers dash in to steal the newly formed spirit. The spirit to be used for their own wishes, their own ends.
But even among these ruthless reapers, there are some who do their job properly to escort their charges to the afterlife. They are the Soul Reapers of the 14th Branch.
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What could be more important than their deepest desires?
Love?
Friendship?
Maybe… something even greater than that?
This is a tale of the 14th Branch’s Soul Reapers and your long journey together with them.

As is standard, there are pre-registration events ongoing for After Life, on its social media and website. There is currently no release date. Milestone rewards include:

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Pre-reg rewards: Premium Gacha Ticket, 100x Gems
30,000: 20,000x Gold
50,000: 3x Packed Lunch
100,000: 300x Gems
200,000: Crystal Package
300,000: 2x Premium Gacha Ticket

Their Facebook will be offering 10x Premium Gacha Tickets for 50 lucky winners for following the page, and a share event will give away 20x SR Soul Reaper Tickets, and 10x SSR Soul Reaper Tickets. SSR is the highest rarity in the game.
If you’re interested in the cute boys, then go ahead and rack up those pre-registrations for After Life.

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Tags: After LifeNHN Hangame


Play Classic Games At The Back Of Your Phone!

Smartphones are the craze now with everyone always wanting to get the latest and the smartest phones that’s being released by giant tech companies. Because of that, the game industry has also risen as well to continue challenging and stretching the capabilities of modern smartphones with impressive 3D graphics of mobile games. However, we’ve begun to lose sight of what makes a game fun.

Back in the days when there were no smartphones, only monochrome phones – every black font and image were built with pixel blocks. Then there was the revolutionary GameBoy. Thanks to that, we had a fun childhood playing games like Pokemon, Super Mario or Dr. Mario. Then we had games on our non-smartphones as well like Tetris and Snake which took hours of our time playing it.

Fast-forward 20 years and now we have everything that we could ever hoped for. But there’s one thing that we can’t do on our phones – play old-school pixel games like Snake and Tetris. But thanks to Wanle Gamers Console, we can now play those games on our smartphones too! With buttons like the ‘ol GameBoy installed at the back of your smartphone as a cover, it also comes with 10 classic games like Tetris, Tank, Formula One Racing, Snake & Block and more!
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The $25 case is a product from Wanle and it is compatible with the iPhone 6, 6s, 6plus, 7, 7plus, 8, 8plus, and X. Sadly there’s no cases that is compatible with any Android devices as there’s a whole lot of variety in shape and size. The case comes in either black or white and fits very well at the back of the phone with a small screen and familiar gameboy-like buttons. So if you’re into retro stuff like these, you can get one for yourselves here!

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Tags: GameBoyiOSMobileSnakeTetrisWanleWanle Gamers Console


[ Hoyo Fest 2021 ] Genshin Impact @ myBurgerLab: Malaysia’s Own Good Hunter

With the start of the Genshin Impact leg of the Hoyo Fest 2021 festivities, it’s the last of the three featured games that myBurgerLab MyTown will host for the season. All slots were sold out, a testament to the enthusiasm of the local fanbase. It’s the same venue with the Honkai Impact 3rd and Tears of Themis sessions, so let’s head back in. You can check out our review of the Honkai one here.

The 11AM queue.
GETTING THERE

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The decor has accordingly been changed to the Genshin theme, featuring familiar wall art from the launch of the game, the first anniversary and of course, the Travelers and Paimon in their event outfits. The HoyoFest key art remains prominently displayed on the tables and walls, with their respective game representatives just vibing. The glass wall on the other end of the store had the Mondstadt crew, though you wouldn’t be able to see Jean unless you went outside.

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Standees of the Traveler and Paimon in their regular outfits were set up against the wall for you to pose with. Additional accessories provided were simple placards of “I was at HoyoFest Malaysia”, the Luxurious Sea-Lord and a hopeful “I’ll win all my 50/50s!”. Guests will also find the mirrors at the sink framed with the HoyoFest art.

Besides the official art, the walls are adorned with not-quite-sticky notes, with many heartfelt messages from fans. My messages fell off after some point, so alas. In the background, you can hear the various in-game tracks. The music itself is quite soft, and you might not have noticed if you were busy chatting away.

THE EXPERIENCE
I should have expected it, but the turn-out was really impressive, with people arriving from out of state. If you really wanted to gripe, the decorations aren’t “as fancy” as say, similar events in Japan, with menus that aren’t 100% character themed. An event like this is still a relative rarity in Malaysia, so for what it is, it still is quite a nice layout.

I had the Forbidden Ration burger, paired with the Celestial Shower Icy Blue Mint Tea. The fried chicken had satisfyingly crunchy batter, with the butter adding to the taste. Admittedly, I removed the pickles and I prefer a juice instead, but it was nonetheless more filling than I expected alongside the nachos. They all came in their HoyoFest boxes, with a postcard, coaster and sticker strip as freebies.

There were quite a number of cosplayers. I will definitely recommend people to come with friends, or at least hang out when there’s a lot of people, as you can really feel that festive atmosphere. If you wanted merchandise, people were queueing at 04:30AM just to get their chance at the extremely limited stock. You can pre-order some merch, that were limited to only the shikishi and event key art stand; you will have to make the queue if you wanted anything else.

OVERALL
As a novelty visit, I really enjoyed it. myBurgerLab has had to very quickly adapt to this rapid turn-around to put together the venue for three different games, not forgetting selling out the Genshin slots. At the very least, they’re providing a rare opportunity for fans to enjoy a piece of, well, basically a community event of sorts.
By the way, #BuffKeqing.
With more time, I’m sure there’ll be more opportunity to put together a better event. It’s disappointing to not get the merch you want, of course, or not getting a slot at all. I see it as us fans showing miHoYo that there is a demand, so that they may be able to provide more avenues through which we can all enjoy their games.

For the future, fans wish to see improvements in merchandise availability, with a more customized menu. I myself would like to see the standees be event-themed, like how Diluc and Noelle had theirs for the Chinese KFC collaboration, instead of being limited to the wall art. If you weren’t a fan, it can also be difficult to tell that there is a special event on if it weren’t for the crowd.
Seriously though, props to where it’s due to myBurgerLab for organizing all the Honkai Impact 3rd, Tears of Themis, and Genshin Impact runs. We’ll see you next time!

 Download

Genshin ImpactPublisher: miHoYoDeveloper: miHoYoRelease Date: 2020-09-28Android, iOS, PlayStation 4
Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy.

You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.

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Tags: Genshin ImpactHoyo Fest 2021HoyoFestmiHoYomyBurgerLab


Diablo IV ‘s Joe Piepiora said That Players Can Enjoy a Max Item Level of 90 in Interview

With Diablo IV releasing soon, we had the opportunity to speak with Associate Game Director Joe Piepiora as well as Game Producer Ash Sweetring in an interview.

Associate Game Director Joe Piepiora | Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Game Producer Ash Sweetring | Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Joe Piepiora started his career in the game’s industry in WB Studios Boston as a Quality Assurance Tester. He would eventually join Blizzard Entertainment as a Lead Systems Designer for Heroes of the Storm before working his way up to Associate Game Director for Diablo IV.

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Whereas with Ash Sweetring, she started her career in Electronic Arts (EA) as a Quality Analyst. She then joined Joe Piepiora in Blizzard Entertainment as a Game Producer for Diablo IV.
Designing Diablo IV
Diablo IV is often considered to be a callback to Diablo II with its tone and references. We asked Ash about the thought process with Diablo IV going back to the well without fear of retreading.
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“When creating Diablo IV, we wanted to stick with the return to darkness and remain with our grunge tones we were holding throughout Diablo II and forward. It was really important for us to create experiences for players to be immersed in whatever feelings in the storytelling that we were really telling as we’re progressing throughout Diablo IV”.
“They’re going to be times that we’re provoking you to feel sadness or happiness all throughout the storyline, and those reasons are intentional and there’s a reason that we want you to be feeling that”.
“Throughout playing Diablo IV, we think the overall tone of immersion that you get from Diablo III with it being dark and compelling are definitely conveyed inside Diablo IV”.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
As a follow up, we then asked Joe about what made the push for a darker and more realistic visuals, as compared to the franchise’s previous mainline title Diablo III.
Joe brought up John Mueller, the art director for Diablo IV, had thought about the style of the game and set some early pillars around it. He mentioned that one of the things John wanted to approach this from the direction was the idea of what the team called “The Old Masters”, where they wanted to evoke the imagery of gothic medieval paintings in renaissance portraits.
“Rather than thinking deeply about the way a certain character looked in previous versions of the game, or the way that Diablo I looked when the player arrived. We start from the position that we know have this history in the series, but we have a new vision for this dark, hauntingly beautiful world of Sanctuary that we came to create together, and this is the framework that we’re trying to build it around”.
“That was some of the driving ideas for the visuals. For the storytelling, the focus was really on trying to make sure we were telling a story that was emotionally resonant with players today. We wanted to tell a dark grounded story, and part of that is embracing what Sanctuary is. Sanctuary is the world where Diablo IV takes place, and Sanctuary is this place caught literally between the High Heavens that the Angels delve there, and the Burning Hells and the Demons that writhe within”. Joe mentioned.
He continues by mentioning that it allowed the team to tell this story between Inarius and Lilith, the literally Father and Mother of Sanctuary to both introduce these characters for new players and filling in the 50 year gap between the events of Diablo III: Repaer of Souls and the beginning of Diablo IV.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
There has been a lot of talk about Diablo IV returning to the roots of the franchise. We asked Ash how did that impacted the development of Diablo IV as a whole.
“One of the things that we really wanted to consider in creating a lot of the dungeons, and the environment scenes in Diablo IV is what we’ve historically seen success and really good highs with throughout the Diablo series, and what we wanted to see continuing over into Diablo IV”.
“Quality of Life improvements have been a large part of what we’re trying to remember makes the game fun and enjoyable to a wide range of people. We keep mentioning how we want to elaborate onto player choice, and we want people to be able to play the game as they will and how they would like”.
“We’re trying to take those different types of perspectives in with that kind of returning to our roots, understanding that we are players first, before we are game developers. So we’re really taking that perspective and approach which has guided us through dungeon making, and the environments in general”.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
At launch, players have the option to pick between five uniquely distinct classes being: Necromancer, Barbarian, Rogue, Druid and Sorcerer. We asked Joe which class that the team found the toughest and easiest class to design during the game’s design process.
“I think every class has had things about them that were really particular, that require a little bit of work. With Barbarian for example, the way that the Arsenal system worked, with that system players were allowed to assign certain weapons to certain skills”.
“You could look at your Hammer of the Ancients attack, and obviously that’s going to use a blunt weapon, but you could choose to use your one hand maces or you could use your big two handed mace, and it’s up to the player to choose which they want to use, the game will default to one selection or the other”.
Joe mentions that the team the lack of symmetry between the classes and how each of them should feel overpowered in their own ways. He says that trying to make sure all these differently powerful mechanics work together was one of the most challenging parts when designing the classes.
Individually, Joe mentions that the toughest class to design was making sure that the Druid Shapeshifting and spellcast mechanics felt unified in terms of the fantasy and theme. While on the flipside, he said that the easiest class to design was the Sorcerer, as the team figured it out right away since it’s a callback to the Spellcaster class back in Diablo II.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Progression in Diablo IV
One of the general consensus about scaling in Diablo III was that it virtually had limitless progression upward, which resulted in some players finding the game to be frustrating or boring. We asked the devs if that feedback led to Diablo IV to have a more defined ending.
To which Joe replied with “Different games have different answers. Diablo IV, we did want to focus on having capped progression, so there’s no sense of infinite power for the player to obtain through prolonged play. That’s because you want all the decisions the players make while they’re levelling their character up to have a lot of weight, such as the build you have, crafted by yourself so that when you reach level 100 is one that you really have optimised every item that you get, you’re looking for the right affixes on the item. You’re really looking to be the sum of the choices that you make versus saying that you’ve invested 300 more hours in your character and did more work on the paragon board, you’re much more powerful because of that”.
Joe mentions that the highest pinnacle challenges in Diablo IV doesn’t only require the players to be level 100, but also have an extremely good build, great items with great rolls, while also having an in depth understanding of both your character and the encounters.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
On the topic of Diablo III, one thing the previous entry showed us was how hard it was to balance loot drops. We asked Joe how did the team find balance between making sure that a player’s main character gers enough gear and encouraging players to make alt characters in Diablo IV.

“When we’re thinking about balancing loot drops for players between playing single characters and playing alts, this is where Seasons really help us quite a bit. We know with every new quarterly season in Diablo IV, players are asked to start fresh. Players will still have characters that they played before that will be on the Eternal Realm, and they can play them for as long as they like. But we do want to make sure that as we’re progressing through the experience of Diablo IV, we’re balancing the gameplay and loot hunt gameplay around the idea that players are playing during a seasonal period, which is a three month period”.
Joe mentions that the team wanted to make sure that was a fun experience for players during that seasonal period, where there’s thousands of hours of gameplay loot hunt for players to engage with in DIablo IV. And as a player progressing through any given season, it’ll also provide players wtih some unlocks that benefit their alt chaarcters such as skill point from completed zone renowns.
“We don’t mind the idea of you playing alts, and we want you to benefit that way. But there is a primary focus on ensuring that one character that you play each season, at least one character you play each season feels like a very strong experience on its own to loot chase”. Joe continued.

Gameplay Aspects
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
There are certain MMORPG elements in Diablo IV, with gameplay aspects such as the World Events and fighting World Bosses, which are a first in a mainline Diablo game. We asked Joe what was the decision to implement those elements in Diablo IV.
Joe talks about how the team thought about Diablo IV in the early stages of development where they wanted to make an online roleplaying game, but not as a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, which he mentions there’s a very subtle distinction between those two categorisations of game.
“MMORPGs typically place the player’s position where they are in support of a larger set of goals working alongside other players, where your performance and your belonging really ties to the presence of other people. You are playing a character that is more powerful when you’re paired with other characters because they have something they do specifically, such as the holy trinity, the DPS class, the Tank class, and the Healer class”.
Whereas with Diablo IV, every class is a DPS class and that the team didn’t like to categorise them based on what they do for other characters. Joe also mentions while there are some interactions where skills from certain classes that can be used to benefit nearby allies, but that’s not how the team define the characters, as the fantasies come first.
“We like the online roleplaying aspects of the experience in Diablo IV, in that we like the idea that you’re wandering through the world, you come across the occasional other player, you might see other players in the major cities. But generally speaking, with Diablo I, we have this touchstone of this sense of dread and atmosphere, the sense of isolation when you’re beneath the Church and you’re kind of walking through the catacombs”.
“We thought we wanted to maintain that as much as possible, so players are encouraged to come together for contents like World Events like with the fight with Ashava during the Server Slam for example. We like the idea of a whole bunch of players arriving to do a thing together, like alongside other players, but they’re not really working together in a coordinated fashion. And at the end of that kind of splitting off in their own directions and pursue their own goals and aims”.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
The Diablo IV skill tree is a lot more expansive than previous Diablo games, we asked Joe how does the team find balance between catering to new players who have Diablo IV as their first, and also veteran fans of the franchise.
Joe mentions that as a game designer, one of the things that they look at is what they can do to reduce the complexity, so that players have an easier time playing, but a Diablo game is all about the depth and complexity of the experience.
“What we did is we took a look at the skill tree, and we have it where it starts as a very simple experience initially. When players start playing the game at level one, they’ll only have one attack that they’re allowed to have. When they reach level two, they get to make 1 choice where for example, if you’re playing a sorcerer, you’ll need to decide if you’re planning on specc-ing into either fire, ice, or lightning”.
“For the rest of their levelling up experience from one to 50, is about trying to slowly unveil that depth of choice as they’re progressing through the skill tree. The skill tree itself is relatively straightforward in many ways, many of the choices we provide to players are kind of themed after certain options, they have a lot of context baked into them”.
Joe says that when player get to the end, they’ll have a good understanding of the mechanics of their class and how to make a build. The team tries to keep things straight forward to make players understand and engage with those features.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
One of the new gameplay features we get to see in Diablo IV was the introduction of the evade mechanic. We asked Joe if that was to help ease players coming from different genres or players who might not be accustomed to more old-schooled ARPG titles.
Joe said that the reason the team added the evade mechanic in Diablo IV was to put emphasis on action combat, and that they wanted to make sure players had some baseline tools to help them dodge out of the way of enemy attacks, and move into and out of conflict as needed.
“The addition of the dodge mechanic also allowed us on the design side of what we like to call The Design Space, and this is just more things that players can do, that designers could interact with. For example, in Diablo IV we have our simple evade mechanic, so every player if they’re playing on mouse and keyboard for example, press spacebar and kind of dodge in that direction, and they could do that every few seconds”.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Moving away from the general gameplay mechanics, we ask both Joe and Ash about some of the more nitty gritty details in Diablo IV. One of them being what was the maximum level that an item can be in Diablo IV.
“Monsters that are level 90 and above cannot drop any higher gear for you. So basically, the highest level item you can get is basically a level 90 item in Diablo IV. Everything you fight after that doesn’t account for in terms of power scaling. And again, those are Ancestral Items, you could get that power level 90 item effectively, as soon as you hit level 70”. Said Joe.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Another question we brought up when we tried Diablo IV, we realised that Damage Over Time (DoT) skills can’t be Critical Hits, and was there a reason behind that decision.
To which Joe said that in the team felt that there were a number of effects that fire off Critical Strikes would cause problems in terms of the overall gameplay, and that the team didn’t want players to be constantly fish for Crits on DoT as part of their loop.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Diablo IV has a bountiful amount of dungeons with all sorts of different types of bosses. We asked the team how they decide which Codex of Power and what kind of bosses will be in which kind of dungeon.
Ash mentions that there are a lot of different things that go into the decision of that, where the team are evaluating both long term goals from the player.
“We’re trying to consider what’s going to provide a particular experience that we’re aiming for the player to be having during that time”.
“We’re also trying to make it more rewarding when you have the opportunity to go back and do Nightmare Dungeons and stuff. We really want your first experience inside a dungeon to feel rewarding, and your very last experience inside of the dungeon. Those are the few aspects from the dungeon side”. She continued.
Meanwhile, Joe said from a system standpoint, the team looked at the entirety of the game and wanted to make sure that every class and every build has some Codex entries found through the Codex of Power System. However, he states that not all Legendary powers in the game are accounted from the Codex of Power System, and that there are deterministic ways for players to acquire some of the baseline power which might be needed for their build to become available to them.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
“We went and picked a variety of these and have them show up in various regions of the game so while the players finish the campaign for the first time and they’re levelling up their characters, they kind of have touch points that they can see in every zone, there’s certain powers they might be going to try and find to get a particular power for their build, and even if they get that, they’ll need to collect a lot more other powers to really unlock the fullness of their build”. Said Joe.

The Live-service Model

With Diablo IV being a live-service title, we asked how is the team balancing the player’s journey in the endgame while also involving a commitment to rolling new characters for Seasonal content as well as future expansion content.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
Joe mentions that the team had to find balance on the progression of the character over the course of a three month period versus expecting to play a character forever, as they have different considerations to take into account when a player gets a Legendary drop, or whenever a player gets other progression systems.
“Diablo IV allows us to really focus on making sure that the ARPG portions of it really sing at all times when you’re playing as opposed to having things feel watered down over a prolonged period. That’s kind of our expectation on how the endgame should feel, there are hundreds of hours of gameplay available for players to engage with, as part of their character building. But we do want to with every season provide new mechanics and features, new story content, new seasonal quest lines about the season mechanics and themes for players to dive into, explore and have fun levelling up a new character”. Joe continues.

Is Diablo a Good Entry Point?
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
It’s been 11 years since the release of Diablo III, so it might not be a surprise that Diablo IV might be someone’s introduction to the Diablo franchise. We asked Ash if Diablo IV would be a good entry point for players with zero exposure to the franchise, both from a story and gameplay perspective.
“Yes, absolutely. That’s something that we took as a major pillar in crafting Diablo IV. Just using myself as an example, I’m entry to the Diablo series with Diablo III, and they wanted to take my personal experience along with everybody else’s, some of whom have been playing since the first Diablo game”.
“We really wanted to ensure that the game was overall pleasurable, and you’re finding enjoyment at any stage of your progress in the Diablo series. There’s going to be a little piece of something that if you love lore heavy stuff, you’ll be able to enjoy our campaign and story as we go along. If you’re someone like me, who enjoys exploring, and really understand your mechanics before you go fight those nasty monsters, you’ll have the opportunity to do that as well”.
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We would like to thank both Joe Piepiora and Ash Sweetring for taking the time to answer our burning questions.

Diablo IVPublisher: Activision BlizzardDeveloper: Blizzard EntertainmentRelease Date: 2023-06-06Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Diablo IV is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, and is the fourth main installment in the Diablo series.

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Tags: Blizzard EntertainmentDiablo IVInterview


SEGA Pocket Club Manager now globally available

If you love soccer and would like to manage a virtual soccer team on mobile, here we have a recommendation for you! SEGA Pocket Club Manager, the latest title in SEGA’s popular soccer simulation games series is now available globally for both Android and iOS!

Powered by Football Manager, the game was previously released in a few countries including Japan, Hong Kong and Canada. It is then available in Southeast Asia in July and achieved over 50,000 downloads in just 1.5 months (in SEA alone).

If you are new to the game, it is a casual soccer RPG that combines soccer club management with RPG elements, allowing players to raise a small soccer club into the world’s best team. Filled with delightful 3D cartoon style visuals and humorous dialogue, this is a soccer game accessible and fun for both hardcore fans and soccer newbies of all ages.

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Here are the main features:

Scout: Scout new players to strengthen your team
Supervise: Shape your players’ growth with Skill Transfer and Special Training systems
Strategize: Create your own winning strategies
Organize your Club: Manage a club that will make your fans proud
Take the World Stage: Compete against the world’s best national team in “International Mode”
You can be a player by using your Phone Camera: Use the ‘Footie Face’ feature to take a photo of yourself, your friends, etc. and turn them into unique players for your team via image recognition technology.
Be the strongest Club: Challenge yourself to the “The Super World Club Cup (SWCC)” tournament, where you will compete with one another in each Division through Qualifiers and Tournament Finals to determine the strongest club.

Also, the game recently features a new event – WORLD Tour where players can challenge the world’s strongest clubs to earn rewards such as a 4★ Manager “Garione”. Do give the game a try if you are interested! You can also visit their official site for more information.

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Tags: AndroidFootball ManageriOSMobilePocket Club ManagerSEGASEGA Pocket Club ManagerSoccer Simulation


Crystal of Reunion and Overlord collaboration now live

Gumi’s Crystal of Reunion (stylized as Crystal of Re:union) is having a collaboration with popular light novel and anime series, Overlord! This collaboration will run from 20 April to 10 May 2020. A total of four characters from Overlord will be playable in this collaboration in Crystal of Reunion! Get these characters and read their original stories in the game.

Ainz Ooal Gowns will be available as a log in bonus, as well as a special limited Overlord card within the game. More relevant for Japanese residents, a 5,000 yen Amazon card is also up for grabs.

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Albedo, Shalltear and Nabe are the remaining obtainable characters from the collaboration. You can also get Ainz’s “Momon” armour as a skin! Besides the log in bonus card, there are also two other collaboration exclusive cards.

Battle against Clementine in this collaboration and obtain various items to strengthen your Overlord characters. In addition to these characters and special battle, you can also obtain more stickers and icons featuring a variety of characters.
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If you just want an Overlord fix, check out the global release of the series’ mobile game, MASS FOR THE DEAD. Lounge around with your favourite overlord in whichever game you opt to play, why don’t you?
via appmedia

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Tags: Crystal of Re:unionGumiOrange CubeOverlord


Sony EXTRA BASS XB12 and XB32 Review – Compact but packs a punch

There are times when we want to show something to a friend or play some music for them. But if you’re fussy about audio, a smartphone’s speaker just won’t cut it. In that case, you could consider a Bluetooth speaker like the Sony EXTRA BASS SRS-XB12 or SRS-XB32.

For your information, the XB12 and XB32 are upgrades of the XB10 and XB30 respectively. Sony sent us these two speakers recently and we like them a lot. These speakers are excellent companions for both music and mobile gaming. For one, you can play games even by the poolside and not worry about being splashed. The XB12 and XB32 are relatively compact too, so you can carry them around easily if you need to.

Looks and feel
You can tell from the dimensions that the Sony EXTRA BASS XB12 and XB32 aren’t quite the same. The XB12 is shaped like a cylinder with the dome top outputting the sound. It’s also much smaller and can easily fit in the palm of your hand. If you have butterfingers, the provided strap can be used to hook the speaker to a belt or bag.

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On the other hand, the XB32 is a much larger speaker. It has a slightly more oblong shape and a base to rest on. In addition, the speaker unit consists of two 48mm speakers. A metal grate with a honeycomb design covers the speakers, while a nylon covering helps ensure that the grate won’t get scratches.

Both speakers are available in different colors such as red, blue, and black.
Features
Both Bluetooth speakers come with IP67 rating, making them dustproof and waterproof to a certain extent. We dunked both into a pail of water as it is playing something and they continue to work. Generally, you won’t have a problem as long as the water immersion is brief or not too deep.
The XB12 is quite barebones but the XB32 is feature-packed. Firstly, it comes with party lights embedded into its sides. In addition, you can tap its body to make different sounds, including those of a kick drum or snare. It can also be used to charge USB devices – useful when there’s no power outlet to charge your smartphone.

Audio performance
The audio from the two speakers is decent, considering their sizes. For the SRS-XB12, you’ll have to use two of them to get stereo sound quality. With just one, you end up with a very shallow soundstage. However, its bass has quite a bit of punch to it, making it good for pop music or for action games.
Moving on to the SRS-XB32, it has a much higher max volume and delivers very good stereo sound quality. It’s also got a stronger bass and the Live button helps add a surround effect, boosting its sound separation capabilities.
Overall, both speakers did best in the bass department as suggested and have pretty decent midrange. Considering that they’re waterproofed portable speakers, this kind of sound quality is praiseworthy.
Final thoughts
For those of you specifically looking for wireless speakers with good battery life and decent bass, do consider the Sony EXTRA BASS XB12 or XB32. The former provides decent audio performance at a reasonable price, while the latter is a feature-packed device with plenty of oomph. The waterproofing is the cherry on top, as it allows you to even bring them to places like beaches or the pool.
Interested in these speakers? Click on the following links to find out more: Sony SRS-XB12, Sony SRS-XB32.

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Tags: EXTRA BASS XB12EXTRA BASS XB32SonySpeakers


Square Enix to launch Grimms Note worldwide

Following the success of its iOS and Android game Grimms Notes, which had gotten more than 15 million downloads since its launch in Japan since January 2016, Square Enix is planning to make it available in more places. As such, the game will come out in North America, Europe, and China through a third party company known as Flero Games.

A quick rundown of the game then. Grimms Notes is being marketed as a “new interpretation RPG” which features notable fairy-tale characters such as Little Red Riding hood, Alice of Alice in Wonderland fame, Aladdin, Cinderella, and many more. Grimms Note boasts “pretty graphics and simple controls.” At first glance, the game very much resembles SINoALICE minus the grimdark elements and Yoko Taro’s touch. Something to look forward to if you are curious as to what Japan’s take on these famous characters will be like.

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Tags: AndroidGrimms NoteiOSRPGSquare Enix


Fire Emblem Heroes adds characters from The Blazing Blade

Fire Emblem Heroes is adding characters from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade to the mobile gacha game’s ever-growing roster.

Four characters from The Blazing Blade will make their way to the game in the Bonds of Trust new heroes banner. You can watch the trailer for the new summoning event below:

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The banner will go live on 6th April 2021 at 12 am PT.
The new faces coming to the game are:
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Farina: The Great Wing
Louise: Lady of Violets
Erk: Studious Mage
Pent: Mage General

Amongst all of them, Erk: Studious Mage will also be available as part of the 4★ focus.
Unfortunately, none of the characters in this banner appears to be particularly outstanding. It is recommended that you save your orbs for better characters in other banners. However, feel free to pull for them if stats and abilities are not a major concern.
Furthermore, a new story chapter, Treachery, will also make its way into the game with this banner.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade released for the Game Boy Advance. It came out in Japan and North America back in 2003 and in Europe a year later.
Besides the new banner, the next Grand Hero Battle will go live on 7th April 2021 at 12 am PT. It will feature Sonia: Inhuman Beauty.
Follow the game on Twitter for all the latest updates.
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Fire Emblem HeroesPublisher: NintendoDeveloper: Intelligent SystemsRelease Date: 2017-02-02Android, iOS
Nintendo's hit strategy-RPG Fire Emblem series, which has been going strong for more than 25 years, continues its journey on smart devices.

Fight battles customized for touch screens and on-the-go play. Summon characters from across the Fire Emblem universe. Develop your Heroes' skills, and take them to new heights. This is your adventure—a Fire Emblem that's like nothing you've seen before!

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Tags: Fire EmblemFire Emblem HeroesFire Emblem: The Blazing BladeIntelligent SystemsNintendo


Lemon Sky Animation is now hiring

Get those walk cycles ready as Lemon Sky Animation Sdn Bhd is now hiring for various positions! You can find out what Lemon Sky Animation is hiring for through their CareerBraves’ page, a Malaysia-based gaming-centric job portal.

The positions listed include:

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Art Director
Game Producer
Junior 3D Modeler
Intermediate 3D Modeler
Senior 3D Modeler
Junior 3D Animator
Intermediate 3D Animator
Senior 3D Animator
Junior Concept Artist
Intermediate Concept Artist
Senior Concept Artist
3D Generalist
Junior Rigging Artist
UI / UX Designer
FX Artist

For more information, you can always click through to the position you’re interested in to check out all the details. Experience required varies accordingly, from fresh grads to more specific skillsets needed in tools and programs where relevant, including After Effects, Houdini, Maya, Miarmy, and RealFlow just to name a few, alongside communication skills for more senior positions. All listed positions are looking for full-timers.
Lemon Sky Studios has worked on a number of high profile games across the years, as you can see displayed on their Project Timeline. Their animation department has been involved in both local and international projects as well, so there’s no shortage of opportunities of having your name in the credits for the next big thing.
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Tags: Lemon Sky AnimationLemon Sky Studios


Square Enix Support Website Leaks a Logo For a Star Ocean 2 Remake

A Square Enix support website has seemingly leaked a Star Ocean 2 Remake called Star Ocean: The Second Story R, through a banner uploaded to the website.

The image has now been taken down but it has been circulated around the internet. You can see it for yourself below:

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Star Ocean: The Second Story, is the second game in the Star Ocean series, originally released in 1998 for the PlayStation. The game was developed by Tri-Ace, well known for the Star Ocean and Valkyrie series, and published by Square Enix.
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It should be noted that the original Star Ocean was remade for the PSP in 2008 under the name Star Ocean: First Departure and the second game received a remaster also for the PSP called Star Ocean: Second Evolution. Star Ocean 2 was also ported to the PS3, PS4, and PS Vita but these versions were also released in Japan.
This of course should be taken with a grain of salt as it does not fully confirm a Star Ocean 2 Remake but the fact that it appeared on an official Square Enix website does give some solid evidence for it.
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The latest entry in the Star Ocean series, Star Ocean: The Divine Force was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
Star Ocean 2 is available for the PS1 and PSP if you have access to one of those.

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Tags: Square EnixStar OceanStar Ocean: The Divine Forcetri-Ace


SINoALICE Global launch delayed

Previously set for a July 18th launch, SINoALICE Global’s launch has been indefinitely delayed.

The delay was announced on their official Facebook post on June 16, two days before release. The management team explains the localization quality not meeting standards as the cause. The team says they are in negotiations regarding the new launch date, as well as relevant compensation as apology. The new launch date will be announced in the future.

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SINoALICE x Nier.Automata collaboration promotional image.
SINoALICE is a dark fantasy RPG featuring fairy tale characters reimagined in a Yoko Taro (Drakengard, NieR) world. It first launched in Japan June 6, 2017. The Global server was slated to get the NieR: Automata collaboration event at launch.
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SINoALICEPublisher: Square Enix, PokelaboDeveloper: PokelaboRelease Date: 2017-06-06Android, iOS
Fairy tale characters fight to "revive their author". Enter the dark world of SINoALICE as imagined by Yoko Taro (Drakengard, NieR).

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Tags: AndroidiOSPokelaboSINoALICEYoko Taro


Genshin Impact’s Venti Nendoroid announced

Genshin Impact adds Venti to the upcoming Nendoroid line-up as Wonfes 33 kicks off today! It’s only an announcement for now, but you can check out the promotional image for the Venti Nendoroid below, to be coming from Good Smile Arts Shanghai:

via GSC US
The Tone-deaf Bard will soon be gracing your shelves, and his nendoroid will be a perfect companion to the game soundtrack merchandise set that comes with a tiny wisp, and other Venti goods.

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Speaking of which, the prototypes for the previously announced Traveler nendoroids, for both Aether and Lumine, have been revealed. Going by the image, it looks like they might have parts that will allow them to link hands, should you get both. Their announcement was made roughly four months ago, so Venti fans can look out for an update in this time span, or the event nearest to it.
via GSC US
If none of these happen to interest you at this time, Genshin‘s popularity will only mean there will definitely be more to come. Who knows, Zhongli’s nendoroid might be announced next, and fans can clutch at their precious mora / primogems / genesis crystals and what have you and save up to obtain physical items of their favourite characters.
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Tags: Genshin ImpactGOOD SMILE COMPANYmiHoYo


Sony’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide is here!

You need not worry about what to get your loved ones with Sony’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide! Narrow down your gift choices by going through this guide to decide what’s the best gift for the best person!

THE KING OF TV: A9G

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The A9G is Sony’s latest 4K OLED television, providing the pinnacle of picture quality available to home viewers and capable of displaying images faithful to creator’s intent. The MASTER series is granted only to the very best of Sony TVs, which can provide premium picture quality, colour, contrast, and clarity approaching that of a professional-grade monitor. The MASTER Series TVs also feature Netflix Calibrated Mode to further ensure that content is delivered as intended.
Price and Availability: 77” RM 49,999, 65” RM 18,399, 55” RM 11,949
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THRILL OF DOLBY ATMOS
HT-Z9F

The world premiere of the HT-Z9F, a Dolby Atmos supported soundbar, is designed to further an enhanced, connected and compelling listening experience for consumers. Developed through Sony’s unique virtual technology, the HT-Z9F brings a new level of impressive cinematic audio environment to any home entertainment setup. The new Vertical Surround Engine from Sony provides a breath-taking virtual three-dimensional surround sound experience, without the need for ceiling reflection or up-firing speakers.
Price and Availability: RM 2,999
HT-X8500

Upgrade your home theater setup with Sony’s HT-X8500 soundbar. Experience a cinematic surround sound from the comfort of your home with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. At 2.1ch, it is capable of delivering object based cinema sound, putting you in the middle of the action. With Sony’s unique Digital Signal Processing technologies like Vertical Surround Engine, max 7.1.2ch surround sound can be delivered by the X8500 without extra speakers. The built in dual subwoofer delivers deep bass sound and with Cinema Mode on, one of the seven optimised sound modes, you can experience every film at its best.
Price and Availability: RM 1,599
Experience the Deeper, Richer Bass Sound
HT-S350

320W of high power sound lets the HT-S350 soundbar deliver impressive sound and deep, powerful bass with its wireless subwoofer. Sony’s unique and improved S-Force PRO Front Surround technology combined with 5.1ch Decode support means a wider, more enveloping and accurate surround sound experience like never before. Connect the soundbar to the TV via HDMI ARC for easy remote operation. It also has Bluetooth connectivity like the X8500.
Price and Availability: RM 849
Rediscover the Timeless Vinyl Experience. New Wireless Freedom
PS-LX310BT

Enjoy your vinyls wirelessly with the PS-LX310BT record player. Enjoy clear, natural sound with your favourite LP, or a reissue with the family. Connect via Bluetooth to listen to your records on your wireless speakers and headphones.
Price and Availability: RM 849.00
Fill Your Space with Cosy Atmosphere, Crystal Clear Sound
LSPX-S2

This Glass Sound Speaker can be placed anywhere in your room and let it fill the space with sound from an organic glass tube for exceptionally clear high tones spread in a 360-degree direction. Enjoy music in high resolution clear sound wherever you are.
Price and Availability: RM2,599
Enjoy the Next Level of Silence
WH-1000XM3

Escape the sounds of the city, into silence with the WH-1000XM3. Sony’s industry leading noise cancellation and smart listening improvements, along with a huge 30 hours battery life, means you can listen to music anywhere, anytime.
Price and Availability: RM2,599
WF-1000XM3

The noise cancelling in the WF-1000XM3 is the most advanced yet in truly wireless earphones in the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1e. Lose yourself in the music and enjoy breathtaking sound quality. Bluetooth wireless technology and ergonomic fit for all-day comfort, enjoy true wireless freedom.
Price and Availability: RM949
Working Out In Style
WF-SP700N

Choose out of four fresh shades to match your style with the WF-SP700N truly wireless earbuds. Listen to your favourite tracks with Bluetooth/NFC connectivity. It has noise cancelling for blocking out distractions. IPX4 rating means splashes and sweat won’t stop the beat.
Price and Availability: RM749
Hear Every Note with EXTRA BASS
WH-XB900N

Discover wireless, noise-cancelling headphones with smart functions like intuitive touch controls, Quick Attention for easy conversation, and long battery life in a smart design for all-day listening with deep punch sound. With exceptional bass and advanced noise cancellation, the WH-XB900N lets you focus only on the music.
Price and Availability: RM999
WH-XB700

The WH-XB700 is part of the EXTRA BASS Sony range, enhancing all low-end frequencies while maintaining vocal clarity, lifting every track with thundering rhythm. A 4 hour charge gives all day power for about 30 hours play time so keep on listening.
Price and Availability: RM579
SRS-XB12/XB22/XB32/XB41

Always on the move and need a portable speaker? Try the Sony EXTRA BASS compact wireless speaker with Bluetooth. Built with bass in mind, and with the IP67 rating. you can bring the small but mighty speaker to anywhere without any issue. Drop it in water – even salt water is fine! – and you can wash it with no problem. The wireless speakers have undergone extensive shock tests to ensure they withstand knocks, bumps and everyday use. It’ll just keep going.
Price and Availability: SRS-XB12 RM199; SRS-XB22 RM419; SRS-XB32 RM619; SRS-XB41 RM849
GTK-XB72

Make it a party to remember with the GTK-XB72 one-box sound system. Deep bunch pass sound and vibrant LED lighting makes it a major music event. Push the EXTRA BASS button for serious low-end power to the music as it reinforces bass lines for that punch. Resounding bass is just one button press away.
Price and Availability: RM1,499
A New Level of Image Quality
A7R IV

The full-frame mirrorless α7R IV reveals ever more overwhelming photographic vision, with expressive prowess once expected only in medium-format cameras, and remarkably high speed in a compact body. Enhanced rigidity and connectivity only raises productivity. The 61.0-megapixel2 full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor and BIONZ X imaging engine combination means unprecedented resolution, fine gradation and low noise for new dimensions of detail, capturing every scene’s mood and subject’s texture.
Price and Availability: RM15,299
A Full-Fledged Toolkit for Your Imagination
A6600

Feature packed and ready for just about any situation – fast AF, steady image stabilisation and stunning image quality, a high-capacity battery and serious 4K HDR (HLG) movie shooting.
Price and Availability: RM6,199 (body only)
Pro Features in A To-Go Package
RX100 VII G

The RX100 VII’s compact body has everything it needs to deliver gorgeous images: 24-200mm zoom lens is complemented by 0.02-sec. super-fast AF, new Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF, plus enhanced image stabilisation and an external microphone jack for high-quality movie shooting. The newly developed Single Burst Shooting function allows even very fast-moving action capture, taking seven shots in rapid succession with selectable speeds of 90FPS, 60FPS or 30FPS. Capture decisive moments, even with the self-timer. JPEG and RAW formats are supported. Pro-level features for both still shots and movies will meet the demands of professional photographers, creators and vloggers.
Price and Availability: RM5,499 (body + shooting grip kit)
Premium Image Quality, High-Resolution Movies from An Ultra-Compact Body
RX0 II G

The ideal life-sharing companion, capturing stunning images even in dim light, with the powerful 1.0-type sensor and low-distortion ZEISS Tessar T* lens. Share them easily with your smartphone too. It also has internal 4K-movie recording, impressive image stabilisation, an improved 20cm minimum focus distance, and a 180°-tiltable LCD screen.
Price and Availability: RM5,499 (body + shooting grip kit)
The Trinity Lens
SEL2470GM

Constant F2.8 24-70mm zoom with an unprecedented union of high resolution and creamy bokeh that can fully utilize the performance potential of current and future high-resolution camera bodies.
Price and Availability: RM9,622
SEL1635GM

A wide-angle F2.8 16-35mm zoom means a wealth of opportunities to capture subjects in new, creative ways. Whatever zoom setting or focus distance, enjoy consistently superb resolution with stunning background bokeh when required. The compact and lightweight design also makes it manageable for active shooting.
Price and Availability: RM10,499
SEL70200GM

G Master design and technology in a new constant F2.8 70-200mm zoom with extraordinary resolution and bokeh that offers unsurpassed rendering, blazing AF, and extraordinary image stabilization performance.
Price and Availability: RM11,799
The One Mount Strategy
A6400 + SEL35F18F
Perfect pairing with a fast, versatile prime for all occasions.

Outstanding image quality even at maximum F1.8 aperture. A compact, lightweight 35mm prime lens for APS-C and full-frame cameras make it a versatile choice for everything from tabletop photography to the outdoors. Fast, precise, quiet AF operation, reliable AF tracking means it suitable for videos or stills.
Price and Availability: RM2,899
A6400 + SEL1655G
The fast F2.8 APS-C standard zoom for you.

Sony’s first 16-55 mm (24-82.5 mm full-frame equiv.) APS-C zoom with a constant F2.8 aperture is remarkably compact while offering performance befitting the G Lens series. A new optical design delivers excellent corner-to-corner resolution, and beautiful bokeh is available when needed. It is compact, lightweight, and ideal for a wide range of subjects.
Price and Availability: RM5,499
A6600 + SEL200600G
You can even explore the world with 200-600mm zoom on A6600.

Perfect for wildlife and more, this 200-600mm super-telephoto zoom can reach as far as 840mm or 1200mm with 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters, with full G lens quality and AF performance. Aspherical and ED glass elements achieve superb resolution throughout the zoom range, while Sony’s Nano AR Coating cuts flare and ghosting. The bokeh is gorgeous, too.
Price and Availability: RM8,499
Browse all these gift ideas and deals right here, and have a great gift giving holiday with Sony’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide!

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Tags: SonySony Holiday Gift


[LVL UP KL 2019] We had the chance to talk with the Founder and Game Director of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke!

As board games evolve, we have come across various titles of Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) games in a computerized format. One of the most recognizable games is the Divinity franchise. We are lucky enough to have the chance to kid- I mean approach the founder and game director of those hit games, Swen Vincke!

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We had a short interview with Swen about his experiences and plans for Baldur’s Gate III. Baldur’s Gate is a series that highly emphasizes the DnD mechanics being imported to the game. This time around, we did not get any specifics as Swen mentioned to us that it’s still under development. Not letting us going away in disappointment, he told us that the game will be big and fans of DnD and RPG will be hooked with the game. Expect multiplayer with a new and interactive storyline. The ruleset will also be determined as similarly to the traditional physical DnD style but with an improvement to fit the computerized version. The game is yet to have a release date but like as previously mentioned, it will be on PC and Stadia.

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Swen Vincke has a lot of experience in the game development industry so we talk about it in different ways to seek his wisdom in doing it for so long. We talk about how game development industry is not a simple job and that it requires us to put in a lot of effort and experiences from various aspects especially creating worlds in games. Game design majors would fully understand that difficulty. For him, the hardest part about such massive worlds is keeping every detail in mind. There’s so many things to do, and create.
Not only that, you will still need to be creative and imagine every single trajectory that includes story and logic. However, there are still so much to admire within the processes. Swen likes the challenge that game development has set for him and to him and most of the people in game development. The most satisfying moment is when the players enjoy playing the game. As such, players not liking the game would be a blow.

As you may already know, Larian Studios is opening a branch in Malaysia. Malaysians who love making RPGs are encouraged to join! Interested applicants would need to have a “straight path” in their vision, to make huge advancements in game development. You’d need to speak English fluently, of course. As for the location, the timezone allows Larian to have a smooth 24 hour workflow, passing it on from branch to branch – a crucial element to the success in developing Divinity: Original Sin II.
All these are very crucial for Larian Studio’s framework. He points out plenty of Malaysians are fans of their games, which is definitely encouraging! The upcoming Malaysia studio will also be part of Baldur’s Gate III’s development.

We will be covering more about the event to keep you updated in as much details as we can! So check back in over the next few days!

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Tags: Baldur's Gate 3Baldur's Gate IIIGame DirectorLarianLarian Studios


Guile shows off his moves in Street Fighter 6

Rocking a new jumpsuit while keeping his signature hair, Guile has been announced by Capcom for Street Fighter 6 during Summer Game Fest. He joins the likes of Ryu, Chun Li, Luke and Jamie with a new gameplay trailer, featuring his moves and slick comb for his hair.

Check out the trailer below:

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“Guile returns in Street Fighter 6 when it lands in 2023. He went home to become a family man, but now a new mission awaits. Guile’s move set in Street Fighter 6 combines his signature moves with fresh additions. He is one powerhouse of a character who retains his ability to keep opponents at a distance.”
For those who aren’t aware, Guile is a major in the United States Air Force and also represents said country in Street Fighter 6. As someone who bleeds red, white and blue, Guile is known for his signature move, Sonic Boom, where he fires energy waves via his biceps.
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Street Fighter 6 will release in 2023 at an unspecified date for PS4 and PS5. It will even feature real time match commentary similar to sports titles by having pre-recorded lines from tournament commentators play during a match.
To stay updated with Street Fighter 6 by following the game on Twitter.

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Tags: GuileStreet FighterStreet Fighter 6


Battlefield 2042 Season 4: Eleventh Hour Launch Date And Details Announced

EA and DICE have announced that Battlefield 2042 Season will launch on the 28th of February 2023. They have also unveiled further details about what players can expect from the latest season in terms of maps, characters, and more.

New Map: Flashpoint

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The first piece of news was a new map called Flashpoint. According to the developer Flashpoint was once a thriving biodiversity hotspot in Northern South Africa but has now become an abandoned development complex. This will be the setting for Season 4.
The setting is separated into six “flags” titled A1-F1 featuring a wide range of different terrain for players and their teams to travel across and different enemies and hazards to overcome. The main focus of the map however it more up close and personal combat with a lot of tight space areas to confront the enemy.
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New Specialist: Camilla Blasco

Season 4 will also bring a new specialist to the fray. Hailing from Spain, Camila Blasco is a recon class specialist, an expert in ambush with an X-6 infiltration device.
She is able to move without alerting any motion-based technology. Her X-6 further allows her to block any lock-on signals from hostile weaponry. It can also interfere with active spotting technology as well as create communication dead zones until destroyed or deactivated.
Blasco will be the last specialist added to the game, making for a total of 14 different specialists. Speaking of which Season 4 will also see the game receive an updated class system with the specialists being divided into four familiar classes: Assault, Engineer, Recon, and Support. This new class system will also determine what gear and equipment the specialists will have access to.
New Weapons
No Battlefield season would be complete without some additional weapons to add to your arsenal. Here is a list of every new weapon being brought in season 4:

Super 500: A stockless pump action shotgun that works well for both breaching and close combat. Its short range makes it good as a side arm
RM68 Assualt Rifle: This next-generation assault rifle features a counterweight for improved stability and recoil control. It’s powered by 6.8mm plastic case ammo and has a built-in scope. It’s recommended for use in up close and personal battles which appear a lot in Flashpoint.
AC9 SMG: A lightweight Submachine gun made for those that want to shoot fast. Its rate of fire is quick but the gun itself is quite handleable due to its smaller size.
RPT-31: A prototype LMG that has a low rate of fire but heavy-hitting rounds and fast bullet speed. Its modern design means it does not require a belt fed giving it greater mobility with excellent cover fire.

New Vault Weapons
There will also be new vault weapons added to Flashpoint. These are guns made in Battlefield Portal that will now be available in 2042.

SVD: This semi-automatic sniper rifle comes from Battlefield 3. It has a 10-round magazine and a good default zoom and scope. It’s good for long-range attacks.
Type 88 LMG: This one also comes from Battlefield 3. It’s a lightweight machine gun with 100 rounds.

New Vehicles
A new armored vehicle called the CAV-Brawler will be available in season 4. It specializes in close-quarters combat of Flashpoint. It’s equipped with a detection pulse that shows if enemy soldiers are nearby. Its detection system will also detect when you’re being attacked and can take out enemies close by with a built-in grenade launcher. It can also be used as a spawn point for your team.
New Gadget
The new gadget for this season is the SPH explosive launcher. It allows the player to shoot an explosive that will latch onto its target before blowing up after a short delay. It can shoot up to two projectiles inside one casing before needing to be reloaded.
Battle Pass
There will of course be a new seasonal battle pass which will feature 100 tiers of free and premium rewards. Tier zero will include the Legendary Irish ‘Greenback’ Skin and Tier 100 would feature the Blasco ‘Fault Line’ Skin.
All of the new content in Battlefield 2042 Season 4 can be unlocked within the game and as with previous seasons, players who manage to get to tier 100 on the battle pass will earn enough Battlefield Currency to buy Season 5 completely for free.
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Battlefield 2042 is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Battlefield 2042 Season 4: Eleventh Hour will launch on the 28th of February.

Battlefield 2042Publisher: EADeveloper: DICERelease Date: 2021-11-19Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Battlefield™ 2042 is a first-person shooter that marks the return to the iconic all-out warfare of the franchise. In a near-future world transformed by disorder, adapt and overcome dynamically-changing battlegrounds with the help of your squad and a cutting-edge arsenal.

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Tags: BattlefieldBattlefield 2042DICEEA


Tracer’s Comic Challenge is here in Overwatch!

Tracer’s Comic Challenge arrives like the cavalry to Overwatch, live on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Players will be able to earn limited-time rewards including a player icon, sprays with voice lines, and the new Comic Book Tracer epic skin for a total of nine new rewards until 29 September.

Your wins in Quick Play, Competitive Play, or Arcade will earn you a new player icon, a new spray, and a new epic skin: Comic Book Tracer!

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3 Wins | Player Icon
6 Wins | Spray
9 Wins | Comic Book Tracer (Epic Skin)

Want more? You can watch Twitch streamers before, during, or after matches to unlock even more cosmetics that pack a punch! These rewards have voice lines, so tune into any Twitch streamer playing Overwatch now through September 29 to earn these six Tracer’s Comic Challenge sprays!

2 Hours | 1 New Spray
4 Hours | 2 New Sprays
6 Hours | 3 New Sprays

Last but not least, Overwatch will be partnering with Dark Horse Comics to bring the first installment of the Overwatch London Calling Comic Series! Illustrated by New York Times bestselling comic artist Babs Tarr and written by Eisner Award winner Mariko Tamaki, the series focuses on the life of young Tracer in the streets of London. The first of five issues will be launching digitally, with the physical version launching in the coming months. Subsequent issues are to be released on a monthly basis. Issue #1 can be read here.
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OverwatchPublisher: Blizzard EntertainmentDeveloper: Blizzard EntertainmentRelease Date: 2016-05-24Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Blizzard's take on a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter! Featuring a whole cast of colourful characters, players fight in a variety of maps for victory.

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Tags: Blizzard EntertainmentDark Horse ComicsLondon CallingOverwatch


Smilegate Reveals Epic7 Character Introduction Trailer

Epic7 was first announced back in November 2017 where Smilegate signed a contract with Super Creative, developer of the game, to publish the game globally. Since the game’s first and second trailer released back in 2016, it was all quiet until now. They had recently released their first character introduction trailer.

Check out their first character introduction trailer below:

The first character introduced above is Karin. Karin is a katana-wielding warrior who can dish out single-target attacks based on the video above. The game features 2D art created with Live2D technology which allows for rich animation, keeping the artist’s 2D art-style. The developers also claimed that there will be no loading required in-game when players download a client patch.

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Check out some of the character art concepts released below:

Though the game was supposed to be launched this year in South Korea, North America, Europe, China and Southeast Asia, there’s still no official dates yet on its launch.
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Tags: AndroidEpci7Epic SeveniOSLive2DMobileSmilegateSuper Creative


Exoprimal Devs Say The Game Totally Isn’t Dino Crisis, Unfortunately In A New Interview

Exoprimal was a surprise reveal last year, with Capcom showing off unstoppable raptor hordes, slick exosuits and cooperative missions with hints of PvP in them- all the recipe for a potential banger release.

From the eerie voice of Leviathan to the simultaneously PvE and PvP nature of Exoprimal’s missions, it’s undestandable fans might have a lot of questions about Capcom’s newest dino-slaying romp and, thankfully, we’re here to help with that.

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We spoke to Ichiro Kiyokawa, Producer of Exoprimal as well as Takuro Hiroaka, Director, about all things Exoprimal, from exactly how much the game will expect players to min max to even the game’s unfortunate resemblance to the long-MIA Dino Crisis series, and subsequent fan expectations as a result of it.
It should be noted that these answers were given as a joint statement from the two, with the Japanese answers translated by DeepL and checked again for clarity.
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At first glance, I think a lot of Capcom fans might have mistaken this game for Dino Crisis. Did the Exoprimal team take any inspiration from the series?
A: This will be a new title, different from Dino Crisis in both gameplay and worldview. Dinosaurs were present from the very first idea. We want to experience the threat of dinosaurs, which are probably the most powerful creatures in history. We also thought that if we could experience in the game a desperate situation where dinosaurs attack in the thousands or tens of thousands, we would be able to create an intensity that has never been seen before.
Next, I came to the conclusion that dinosaurs with such overwhelming strength and numbers and a desperate situation could not be broken through by modern humans or technology, and that an unknown force (chemistry in the near future) would be necessary. At this point, I thought that by combining the conflicting elements of “the strongest in history” and “the strongest in the near future,” we could deliver a new and interesting experience to users, and the idea for Exoprimal was born.

So what can you tell us about the new character, Leviathan?
A: Leviathan, as a new generation AI, has repeatedly conducted combat tests (war games). In the course of its combat tests, Leviathan is making dinosaurs appear. Leviathan appears to players in various forms. Some look like giant humanoids, while others are part of the Leviathan, such as the Watcher, who is in charge of navigation near the player.
Play the game to find out why Leviathan repeats combat tests.
Can you share a bit about the progression system in the game?
A: Playing the main mode of this work, “Dino Survival,” will give you experience, which will allow you to level up your player and suit. Various rewards can be earned by leveling up. Among these rewards, we have prepared a system to customize the appearance of the exosuit as well as to change its performance.
A: Various rewards can be earned by leveling up. Among these rewards, there are those that allow the player to customize the appearance of the exosuit, as well as a mechanism to change its performance. The suit can also be fitted with a rig. The combination of “suit and rig” expands the possibilities of how to fight. Please experiment with various combinations and pursue your favorite fighting style.
It sounds like a lot of the focus around Exoprimal will be completing your mission objectives quickly. What systems do you have in place to motivate players to do this?
A: Dino Survival is based on the rule of “win if you can complete all the missions presented by Leviathan before the opposing team. Therefore, players will aim to accomplish their missions precisely. Winning the Dino Survival will also earn a lot of the aforementioned experience.

Could you describe what kind of gameplay high-level Exoprimal will be like?
A: While simple suit manipulation skills (character control, action/aim accuracy, etc.) will be important In Dino Survival, the Leviathan changes the missions, fields, and dinosaurs that appear each time you play.
So, it is important to make a decision on how to fight according to the situation, such as “What can I do against dinosaurs with my suit” or “Do I need to change my suit configuration (suit change) for the mission? Therefore, it is important to make decisions on how to fight according to the situation, and to cooperate with allies and play together.
And what about players who don’t want to min-max?
A: Of course, such players can also enjoy Exoprimal. Depending on the dinosaur or the mission, the suit may or may not be suitable, but it is not impossible to complete the mission without choosing the most suitable suit.
The game may sound difficult when you hear the words “flexible decision-making,” “role-playing,” and “cooperative/coordinated play with friends,” but in reality it is much more casual. Each exosuit in the game can unleash powerful attacks and skills that take advantage of its own characteristics with simple controls, and this makes for an exhilarating play experience.
The main mode, Dino Survival, will also be easy to navigate, even for first-timers, thanks to Leviathan’s navigation. Whether you play alone or with friends, you are sure to have an enjoyable experience.

In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of cooperative experiences like Anthem and Babylon’s Fall fail shortly after launch. What is Exoprimal doing different to draw in players?
A: The main mode, Dino Survival, changes the missions, fields, and dinosaurs that appear depending on the player’s game progress, so that players can enjoy a different experience every time they play. Players cannot predict what the battle will be like until they actually land on the field and the mission begins.
While in many other titles, advance preparation before gameplay is highly important, Exoprimal requires flexible play to deal with the mission presented by Leviathan (users can decide “how they want to fight” in that situation and freely change their suits to fight), and It will be fun.
We have asked other members of the development team to test play the game, and they were surprised at how the experience changes each time and how much they enjoyed it. We believe this is the unique charm of Exoprimal.
That’s pretty much all they had to say about Exoprimal. With the game slated for a 2023 release and a closed beta coming up though, expect a lot more information about this dino-hunting adventure as players get time with the game’s exosuits for themselves.
Our thanks to Ichiro and Takuro for answering our questions, and especially for the deeper look at the kinds of excitement you’ll be able to look forward to with Exoprimal ahead of its Closed Beta next month.

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Tags: CapcomCapcom Showcase 2022ExoprimalIchiro KiyokawaTakuro Hiroaka


Monster Hunter Stories 2: Hellblade Glavenus and Boltreaver Astalos Overview

With the new Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin update, Hellblade Glavenus and Boltreaver Astalos join as available Monsties to add to your stable. Here’s what you can expect when you get your own.

HELLBLADE GLAVENUS

                                        BASIC STATS

                                        ELEMENTAL STATS

                                        SKILLS

OVERVIEW
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With 5 speed, Hellblade Glavenus is one of the slower Monsties. However, it’s decently bulky with 7 HP, and defenses – excluding Water, its weakness, and Fire, its element – averaging at 6. Its 4 defense in Water is less relevant when the current patch does not have strong Water Monsties.

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At 9 Crit Rate, it’s the second highest critical chance among all currently available Fire Monsties, just behind Fire Palamute. Additionally, 9 Fire Attack is also the second highest among fellow Fire Monsties, behind Teostra.
Hellblade Glavenus only has two new genes:

Power – Hellblade: Deals Heavy single target damage, fairly high critical chance
Speed – Burning Tail: Deals Medium Fire single target damage, high chance to inflict Burn

At a glance, the genes it brings look great for PVE, with potential for a single target crit Hellblade Glavenus with Critical Eye and Critical Healing, alongside Heroic genes. Its lower speed usually means it’ll get hit first, and its bulk will most likely help it survive. At that point, the Heroic genes can trigger to let it deal more damage when it takes its turn to attack.
BOLTREAVER ASTALOS

                                        BASIC STATS

                                        ELEMENTAL STATS

                                        SKILLS

OVERVIEW
Boltreaver Astalos is similar to Thunderlord Zinogre in many ways, sharing statlines and Ice weakness. Boltreaver Astalos edges out its compatriot by having a higher base crit stat at 10 to Thunderlord Zinogre’s 9. At 6 speed, 8 HP and an average of 6 in its defenses besides Ice and Thunder, it’s one of the faster Monsties, and is decently bulky.
The Monstie also comes with 3 new genes:

Technical – Blue Plasma: Deals Heavy Thunder damage to all enemies, Medium chance to inflict Paralysis
Lightning Blade: Deals Medium Thunder damage to a single target, Medium chance to inflict Paralysis
Azure Voltage: Moderately increases Thunder Attack and Defense for 5 turns, and Charges up power for 2 turns

These genes are great. In particular, Blue Plasma is currently the first and only ability that can deal damage to all enemies, while also having a Medium chance to inflict Paralysis. Compare this to Rajang’s Thundercrack and Ivory Lagiacrus’ Plasma Blaster, both of which having only a Low chance.
Azure Voltage works like Pink Rathian’s Valiant Fire, Charging up power similarly to Focus and Amplify, and can find incredible value in PVP.
Hellblade Glavenus and Boltreaver Astalos are now available as part of Free Title Update #2 for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.
You can check out our other guides for the game:

Finding Elder Dragon and Deviant Eggs
Quick Gene Farming
EXP and Nutriment Farming
Farming Elder Dragon and Deviant Eggs
Understanding Genes
Understanding Game Mechanics
Talismans Farm

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of RuinPublisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomRelease Date: 2021-07-09Nintendo Switch, Steam
A new adventure awaits you in this second installment of the turn-based RPG series set in the world of Monster Hunter! Become a Rider and form bonds with friendly monsters known as Monsties to fight alongside them as you take part in an epic story.

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Tags: CapcomMonster HunterMonster Hunter StoriesMonster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin


Netflix App Games expands library with Moonlighter, Hextech Mayhem, others

From humble beginnings, the Netflix App Games offerings have grown from 5 to 21 titles, including recognizable ones such as Moonlighter, as well as Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story. The full list of games include:

Arcanium: Rise of Akhan
Asphalt Xtreme
Bowling Ballers
Card Blast
Dominoes Café
Dungeon Dwarves
Dragon Up
Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story
Into the Dead 2: Unleashed
Knittens
Krispee Street
Moonlighter
Relic Hunters: Rebels
Shatter Remastered
Shooting Hoops
Stranger Things: 1984
Stranger Things 3: The Game
Teeter (Up)
This is a True Story
Townsmen – A Kingdom Rebuilt
Wonderputt Forever

It does note that the availability of some games may depend on your device.

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Besides that, Exploding Kittens – The Game will also be arriving to the app in May, with its associated animated series set to air sometime 2023, should the latter not be cancelled.
Netflix has been having something of a rough time considering poor financial reports, so more recognizable additions – Moonlighter notwithstanding – to the Netflix App Games which provides these titles for free at no additional cost to subscribers, would add some more value to the service. Keep an eye out to see what else could find its way to the library for more options to play while on the go.
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Tags: Hextech MayhemMoonlighterNetflixNetflix Games


YuGiOh Player Gets Accused Of Demonic Practices

A YuGiOh player has shared their story on Reddit, describing their parents accusing them of demonic practices by playing the popular card game.

In a thread on r/MasterDuel, user hyperdeeeee shared their modern-day experience of being accused of not only dragging themselves, but their 9 year-old brother down the path of Satan via demonic YuGiOh cards.

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“Well, what do you know? Apparently, my parents make this whole fucking lecture saying how demonic the game is, that there’s spells and demonic art that can make us devil worshipers. Witchcraft is bad. It’s a dangerous game. God wouldn’t appreciate us worshipping sorcery and demonic beings”, they write.
“What the fuck? Do you think I’m going to summon a dragon out of my asshole and let it consume my life?”, they continued. “They made my little brother delete the game, his face so sad, and there goes our brother bondage of having fun together. Who knew Yugioh could be so dangerous and summon the Devil /s. I feel so sorry for my little bro who’s stuck with them and literally can’t play any other game except for fucking mario”
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Getting hand-trapped turn one certainly does feel like the work of Satan.
Other users also chimed in in the comments, sharing their own experiences of card-game-based persecution.
“Where Im from our local churches would pay you cash to bring in Yu-Gi-Oh cards and burn them. That was like 10 years ago tho”, writes one user.
Moral panic was all the rage back in the 90s, particularly after Pokemon got popular- from Harry Potter to Pikachu, if kids liked it then there was a good chance it was secretly satanic.
On the other hand though, not every parent is like that- last year saw the touching story of a family honoring their late son’s love of YuGiOh with a custom tombstone.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master DuelPublisher: KonamiDeveloper: KonamiRelease Date: 2022-01-19Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
The definitive digital edition of the competitive card game that has been evolving for over 20 years! Duel at the highest level against Duelists all over the world.

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Tags: YuGiOh


Hamefura Game Announced For Nintendo Switch

A Hamefura game has been announced for the Nintendo Switch, adapting the plot of My Next Life As A Vilainness: All Roads Lead To Doom.

The game is slated to release on September 26th, and is described as a visual novel following the plot of the light novel.

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Aside from that, little else has been shown regarding the Hamefura game, but it looks like it will probably cover the first major arc of the light novels, which also makes up the first season of the anime. The Twitter has also shown off two characters not present in the first arc, so there’s a good chance it will cover the next arc as well.
A screenshot from Season 2 of the Hamefura anime

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Hamefura Plot
Hamefura follows the adventures of a girl who gets really hooked on an Otome game called Fortune Lover, before meeting her untimely demise. She wakes up reincarnated as a young Katarina Claes, the soon-to-be antagonist for said game.
Seemingly carrying all her knowledge from her past life with her, she lives her life trying to steer clear of the events of Fortune Lover, trying to avoid her “Doom flags” ie, any route that ends in her getting killed.
The series got adapted from a Light Novel into a manga, as well as an anime in 2020. Season 2 of the anime is currently airing this season, picking up after the first major arc in the anime.

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Tags: HamefuraMy Next Life As A Villainness: All Roads Lead To Doom


Mass Effect Legendary Edition releases on 14th May 2021

Critically acclaimed sci-fi RPG third-person shooter franchise, Mass Effect, returns with a remaster, dubbed Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

The Legendary Edition is a 4K ultra HD remaster of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. It will come with over 40 DLC from the three games, such as promo weapons, armours and packs. This remaster will launch on 14th May for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and on PC. PC players can get the game through Steam and Origin.

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Mass Effect’s YouTube channel dropped a 4K trailer announcing the good news. You can watch it here:

Casey Hudson, director of the Mass Effect trilogy, describes the remaster as such:
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For many months now, our team at BioWare has been hard at work updating the textures, shaders, models, effects and technical features of three enormous games. Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form. It’s been amazing to see the adventures of Commander Shepard take on new life in super-sharp resolution, faster framerates, and beautiful visual enhancements. As game developers, we always hope that our games will transcend their original platforms. Having the opportunity to remaster the trilogy means that the fruits of a decade of our work will live on, and will be experienced better and clearer than ever before.
Hudson also teased that “a veteran team has been hard at work envisioning the next chapter of the Mass Effect universe”. Whether or not this “next chapter” is related to Bioware’s teaser during TGA 2020 remains unknown.
To keep up with the latest developments on Mass Effect Legendary Edition and its franchise, stay tuned to EA’s page for Mass Effect.

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Tags: BiowareEAMass EffectMass Effect 2Mass Effect 3