Fans want Psychonatus 2, what shall Tim do!?

Fear not, Tim has kept up with the changes and knew just what to do: Kickstarter! Kickstarter.com is a website where you can put up your project in the hopes that the common people will support you by putting in their money.

Simply said, it helps you crowdsource funds.

“It occurred to me: Kickstarter,” Schafer said. “We could use Kickstarter to make a fan-funded old school adventure game. It’s perfect. We have the perfect team at Double Fine to make it, [and] we have the inventor of the genre here to make it, Ron Gilbert.”

Did Kickstarter work?

Oooh hell yeah! It did! In fact, it exceeded the goal of $400,000 in only a bit over 8 hours and still growing… Guess how much they have now… Guess… Go ahead…

$1,961,618!

People can keep investing in DoubleFine through Kickstarter until Tuesday March 13, 8:00pm EDT, so the actual amount of fund won’t determined until then.

Tim is not going to buy himself some big house or massive computer with the extra money, it seems… He responded to the massive investments, saying that it will help the company develop further and that the extra money has given him the chance to make additional plans for the game and documentary in order to give back to people.

Making the games more accessible

Tim: Proud to announce we’re going to be developing for PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android!  In addition to Steam codes, we will also be offering DRM free versions.  And for all our lovely friends overseas, we’ll be localizing the text in French, Italian, German, and Spanish.  Thanks for the support!

Documenting the whole production, the good and bad bits

Tim: All money raised will go to make the game and documentary better. Additional money means it can appear on more platforms, be translated into more languages, have more music and voice, and an original soundtrack for the documentary, and more!  We’re still working to figure out exactly what we can offer, but we’ll post more information as soon as possible.

Rewards for investor (interested?)

Pledge $15 or more: The finished game in all of its awesome glory DRM free on PC, Mac, and Linux, or via Steam for PC and Mac, exclusive access to the Beta on Steam, access to the video series, and access the private discussion community.

Pledge $30 or more: HD download of the documentary series with extras, Digital game soundtrack, and all previous reward tiers.

Pledge $100 or more: Original “Double Fine Adventure” poster (suitable for framing) exclusive to the campaign, special thanks in the game’s credits, and all previous reward tiers. (Posters will be shipped for free in the US. Please add an additional $10 to your pledge for international shipping)

Pledge $250 or more: “Double Fine Adventure” Poster autographed by Tim Schafer, Ron Gilbert, and the rest of the design team, and all previous reward tiers.

Pledge $1,000 or more: Mini portrait of YOU, painted by the game’s artist, and all previous reward tiers.

Pledge $10,000 or more: Lunch with Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert, a tour of the Double Fine offices, and all previous reward tiers. THERE ARE MORE REWARDS but we can’t post them here because they’re too big! For premium rewards past a $10,000 pledge, see www.doublefine.com

Their Kickstarter page is here.

During the last investor call CEO Mike Morhaime said the following, “We can also confirm that we are targeting a Q2 launch for Diablo 3. We expect to announce more details about the release schedule in the coming weeks.” I am truly interested in finding out if this will prove to be true, I really hope it is.

In the meantime if you are interested in getting a hold of a beta key you could enter some of the contest located on the Diablofans.com, they have 450 keys they will be giving away.  There is a wide range of contest that are available so everyone has a chance to win, I know I will be trying for a beta key.

I will post updated information as it becomes available and please feel free to comment about the game and add any news you hear. I think Diablo 3 will be a solid competitor for Game of the Year for 2012, assuming it is actually released this year.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is #1

The dramatic finale features a frantic shoot-out inside a submarine and provides our hero Mason the chance to take vengeance for a murdered friend.

The closing sequence offers a new twist on the classic JFK conspiracy theory.

Resident Evil 4 is #50

No comment, unfortunately I really wanted to know what they had to say about the last game on the list.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is #3

OH YES! Old game but one of my all around favorites since it was basically the first RPG game I ever played. It’s so nice to see it mentioned. Here is what Guinness had to say:

Over 13 year’s old, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time takes third place in the list.  One of the best loved games of all time ends in classic fashion with our iconic character defeating Ganondorf and rescuing Princess Zelda.

Full list

50. Resident Evil 4

49. Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic

48. Ratchet & Clank: a Crack in Time

47. Crysis 2

46. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

45. Call of Duty: World at War

44. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

43. Half-Life 2: Episode Tow

42. Super Metroid

41. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

40. New Super Mario Bros. Wii

39. inFamous

38. Fallout 3

37. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

36. Gears of War 2

35. Bioshock

34. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

33. Sonic Adventures 2

32. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

31. Kingdom Hearts II

30. Mass Effect

29. Super Mario Galaxy

28. Sonic the Hedgehog

27. Metal Gear Solid

26. Assassin’s Creed II

25. Assassin’s Creed

24. Shadow of the Colossus

23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

22. Kingdom Hearts

21. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

20. Super Mario Galaxy 2

19. Mass Effect 2

18. Grand Theft Auto IV

17. Portal 2

16. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood

15. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

14. Halo: Combat Evolved

13. Halo 3

12. Pokemon Black and White

11. Super Mario Bros

10. Heavy Rain

9. Final Fantasy VII

8. Metal Gear Solid 4

7. Portal

6. Red Dead Redemption

5. God of War

4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

2. Halo: Reach

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops

To see their post, go here… Be warned, there are bit of spoilers on select games (like the Black Ops and Zelda’s quotes… If you have been spoiled… sorry? :] )

EA reports that they are attaching several copies of Mass Effect 3 to weather balloons and sending them into space. They will be released from several different cities around the world; San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, Berlin, London and Paris.

The objective is that when they land, approximately one week before the game is officially released, any fans who find them will be allowed to keep them. You can track the progress of the games via GPS on Mass Effect’s website. This has to be the coolest thing a video game company has ever done.

One can only wonder what will happen if some of them land in the ocean. Are you going to go for a swim to pick up a copy?

Ubisoft recently announced that Assassin’s Creed III has already received a specific release date. October 30, 2012. That’s even faster than the last few, but Ubisoft reports that it has been in development for about three years now, and it’s supposed to be a lot bigger than all of the previous releases, especially with it being set to be released on the Wii U as well. The goal is that it will be a true sequel to the second game, unlike Brotherhood and Revelations, which were basically extensions of Ezio’s adventures and a good way to keep fans entertained until the story really got moving.

We should be seeing an entirely new protagonist, as Ezio’s journey has finally come to an end. Who could our new assassin be? What point in history are we going to be adventuring in? Many speculate that we could finally be playing in the modern time, making Desmond our full-time main character (something he’s been aching for since the beginning). That would be fantastic, as long as Ubisoft does it right. If they turn it into a third person shooter, the entire thing will fall apart. Moving this game to modern times is a delicate task. That being said, several fans have voiced that they’d like to see the Animus take us to several different places, including Medieval China or the American Revolution.

My hope? Modern times, with modern gadgets. Hidden stun guns, flashbangs and sleep gasses. Maybe even a grapple of some sort. With all those goodies, Desmond might even be able to give Batman a run for his money (because he’s rich, get it!?).

Are you excited to see what kind of turns the Assassin’s Creed series is going to take? What kind of locale would you prefer? Shout out in the comments and let us know what you think.

What did Adam do? He is a concept designer, so he has designed buildings, weapons, characters, outfits, monsters and more and his work can be clearly seen in two of his most successful games: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 3. He also worked with Jaleco Entertainment, INC. for a couple of years.

I will not say more because you really should go to Awesome Robo. They have a page dedicated to Adam Adamowicz, filled with details, pictures and videos about his work and life. It’s worth a look!

May you be happy in the afterlife, Adam. Thank you for your stunning artwork.

While retailers are not ready to sell the retail boxes of Tera, many that want to wait for the Physical Collector Edition are worried about not being able to get in Beta on time and En Masse has taken that into account. They recently announced that the Physical Collector Edition is finally for sale now for $74.99 + shipping. If you see an additional $5.00 for Beta key, do not rage! For some reason they took $5.00 off the box and put it back on under the “Beta Access” but in the end, it is the same price as the advertisement. Why they had to do that? No idea… Maybe the box will be $5.00 cheaper after beta?

So far, it is only available for U.S. (they are still working with EU retailers) and while the box is snailing to your house, you will be given the Beta code electronically, so you will be able to get in the game RIGHT AWAY.

Keep in mind that “this is the only physical product we offer and it will only be available for a very limited time.” so if you want it, you need to get it now.

Happy gaming!

 VS.

                The first time I heard of Minecraft was when my friend showed me an air fortress he built out of wooden planks and glass cubes. It amazed me to see a game with such openness. All you needed was some patients and a little bit of imagination and you were able to build your own world. However, soon after I heard of another game…Terraria. My first thoughts, “Oh, this must be a crappy 2D version of Minecraft.” However, some friends of mine convinced me to play Terraria, and very quickly I learned that Terraria was its own game. I currently own and play both games, and never once do I think I am playing the same thing. However, if it was not for my friends, I would never of tried Terraria, and I would have missed such an enjoyable game. Nobody should make the mistake I almost did, so here are some differences about these two games.

1) GAMEPLAY

While it is true that both games are sandbox games, gameplay is much different. In a broader way of looking at it, Minecraft is a game where you can focus on building anything from a wooden shack to a full scale model of the Millennium Falcon.

Terraria on the other hand is a game of exploration. The Terraria map is much smaller than a Minecraft map, but most of the time you are digging down battling creatures and monster bosses to find treasure chests with special materials and items. While there may be no storyline in either games, you can find and even save some NPC characters in Terraria that will become friends with you and sell you items.

2) MODS

Terraria and Minecraft both have the ability to be moded. Terraria does not have that many, and the mods for Terraria tend to add creatures and maybe add some weather effects. Expansion is definitely needed in the Terraria Mod community. Minecraft on the other hand has hundreds of mods. The original Minecraft is fairly basic, so the Minecraft community quickly created different mods that eventually expanded Minecraft to more than a sandbox game. People create and submit makes that can go from an adventure map to a parkour map. The only problem with Minecraft mods is that every update breaks the mod, and you need to wait for the creator to update the mod to the current Minecraft version. Mods you can find can range from adding more animals, to more enemies, to more building materials, etc.

3) GRAPHICS

The obvious difference between the two games is the graphics. Minecraft is in 3D, while Terraria is in 2D. When you play Minecraft you are looking through a first person view. In Terraria you are playing in third person view.

4) CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION

When it comes to making a character, Minecraft wins the customization battle. Terraria gives you the option to choose gender, and the basic clothes colors as well as skin and hair color. However, once you start finding or crafting items, everyone begins to look the same. When you start playing Minecraft, everyone starts out as the same plain guy. That is until you find a skin you want and you install it on yourself. The Minecraft community has thousands of customs skins, and more are being made. In fact, Minecraft has a program called Minecraft Skin Editor that allows you to create your own skin to your own liking.

All in all, both games have their own unique gameplay and are hours of fun to play. Both games are available to buy and play via internet purchase. You can purchase and download Minecraft from www.minecraft.net. Terraria can be bought off of the gaming network STEAM. Enjoy your imagination.

Egoraptor is the creator of the Awesome Series (Awesome Reach, PokeAwesome and more) and a very acclaimed critic of video games. Those that want to learn how to make games, review them or how to make animations should read the interview because there are some powerful advices, most of them can be summed up by “Don’t stop. DON’T STOP. KEEP DOING IT”. All in all he had a fun and successful time in Reddit, unlike Woody Harrelson. Here is what he had to say about the experience:

Thank you all for being so fucking kind to me. I’ve had such a good time answering questions. I only took like 4 hours out of my day to do this and I hope that doesn’t make me a loser celebrity who only answers ten questions but I tried to answer a ton until I got to a point where 20 questions in a row were already answered. I hope that’s okay, because I’m so hungry, I need to go eat and then get some work done haha. Thanks for hanging out with me!

It is such a looooooong thread so, for this post, I’m going to pick a few gaming-related questions (maybe one or two unrelated but awesome questions/answers) so you get an idea of how it was like and, if interested, read the whole thing yourself.

Note: Bold are the Redditors and normal is the man himself.

INTERVIEW

How upset were you when the iOS port of Mega Man X featured just about everything you said was wrong with gaming today?

It’s pretty depressing, but it’s also uplifting that I’ve gotten nothing but comments saying how disgusting it is. I’m glad people aren’t suckered into it. That’s what’s more upsetting.

Anyway, the ME3 will be available in Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and PC. If you have a lover that likes to play games…here’s an idea for those freaking out over what to do that day: play it and kiss each other as rewards. If you don’t have a gamer one…well, too bad! You gotta choose!

xBox users will get free Gold membership

Something to be aware of, in case you did not pay attention to the fine details: you must be a Gold member to play the ME3 on XBOX.  However, Microsoft knows just how popular ME3 is and would have their company torn apart by rabid fans if they did not let Silver/Free members have access to the demo at the same time (they usually have to wait about a week), so… they will give free Gold benefits to ME3 players!

Stuff to know:

• You get access to ME3 at same time as actual Gold members
• You would have Gold benefits while playing ME3, but you might not be able to use the benefits outside of the game
• Play multiplayer demo with Gold. NO multiplayer for Silver/Free
• The Gold benefits will be gone by… we don’t know yet

PC users

To play, you need EA’s Origin and have a valid account (No, not Steam). Also the early access is actually on Feb 14 for the multiplayer demo, and then it will open up for everyone else on the 17th. How to get early access? Jessica listed it very nicely for us:

• Owners of Battlefield 3, on any platform, who activate their Online Pass will automatically be granted early access to the multiplayer portion of the Mass Effect 3 demo. There is no need to enter any other codes, the early access will be applied to the EA Account associated with the Online Pass. Note: BF3 Origin Customers automatically have the BF3 Online Pass.
• This applies to all regions where the demo is released (to be announced)
• The exact date of the demo launch will be announced in late November
• There will be another program whereby players and fans of the Mass Effect franchise can unlock this early access (with no purchase necessary) – this will also be announced in late November or early December.
• There will also be a tool posted on www.masseffect.com allowing players to check if their EA account has been granted the early access.
• The length of the early access period is TBA.

So… Happy gaming, guys and gals