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Havok, developer and distributor of the powerful middleware engine of the same name, recently announced a new, altruistic initiative that should fill indie devs with gallons of holiday cheer. The aptly named Independent Developer Program offers the engine’s entire software suite (Havok Physics, Havok AI, Havok Cloth, etc.) to developers at a “flexible and affordable” rate. Rather than licensing the tools directly, these developers sign up for an annual agreement with Havok, which allows them to prototype the tools, picking and choosing which ones they want to leverage for the creation of their latest opus.

The recently downsized Krome Studios is the first outfit to benefit from the program. We really hope Sony Santa Monica is the next team to utilize the software, if only so we can make the following joke: “Sony tried Havok, and let slip the God of War.” We’re not certain it qualifies as “independent,” unfortunately. Shucks.

Havok announces discount program for indie devs originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know how hard it can be to expend precious energy on something as trivial as a keyboard – we spend all day doing exactly that! So it’s with proud, near-jubilant excitement that we bring you news of the gaming glove “Peregrine,” which allows for keyboard-free game playing, becoming available for pre-order.

It’s not exactly equipped to handle twitch shooters: the Peregrine was made with MMOs in mind. Rather than push down all those pesky keyboard buttons, it allows for up to 40 different configurable movements instead.The $129 device (that’s if you pre-order — it’ll be $149 otherwise) runs on USB and will connect as a keyboard, so compatibility shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

You can quit writing your Power Glove 2.0 fanfic right now – this ain’t it. We do, however, expect to see a YouTube-derived sequel to The Wizard around the end of January, when the first pre-orders are expected to ship to consumers. Get on that, internet!

[Via Engadget]

Game controlling glove now available for pre-order and ‘The Wizard’ remakes originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click to read the inFamous comic.

Sucker Punch’s superpower game has sold 1.2 million copies, according to a recent update by the PlayStation.Blog. According to Sony’s rules, that’s enough to make the game a certifiable “Greatest Hits” title. However, a game can’t don the ugly budget box art until ten months after the game’s original ship date.

Until then, inFamous will get an almost-Greatest Hits price for its almost-Greatest Hits status: $39.99, effective immediately. Also, the former GameStop-exclusive power-up Gigawatt Blades will be available for all as a free PSN download, starting December 10 — a nice freebie for latecomers to the game.

Considering Black Friday has already passed, it seems like Sony may have missed the best opportunity to announce a price drop on inFamous. Of course, there might be another motive behind this move: to keep this game on the mind of video game editors (and fans) readying their GOTY lists.

inFamous becomes almost-Greatest Hits game, drops to $40 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Following yesterday’s report that unsung steampunk action title Edge of Twilight had ceased development, we were unsure of the fate of the game’s Australian developer, FuzzyEyes. That fate was revealed earlier today in a public statement from the company’s CEO, Wei-Yao Lu, who explained, “On 30th of September, FuzzyEyes has let go the majority of staffs as FuzzyEyes was confronted with number of challenges, including economic downturn and some legal complications.”

Lu confirmed that the studio is still in business, and is transitioning as it sells a “portion” of its shares to an unnamed third-party company. During this transition, the studio will “suspend all onsite development,” while outsourced development will continue on. Lu claims the studio will be fully operational once more, after the transition, and that a number of employees will be offered their positions back in early 2010. The statement promises more details once the transition is finished — at which point, we’ll hopefully learn the true fate of Edge of Twilight.

Edge of Twilight developer FuzzyEyes laid off majority of staff originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One day after the ship date of its DS game Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, the newest project from Critter Crunch developer Capy has been somewhat revealed: a collaboration with artist Craig “Superbrothers” Adams and singer Jim Guthrie, called Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP.

We aren’t sure exactly what this is: the description on the site describes it in terms like “a brave experiment in I/O cinema” and “a crude videogame haiku about life, love & death.” It appears to be for the iPhone platform, and the “EP” in the title suggests a short-form experience. Whatever it is, we desperately want to know more, as you will after you watch the teaser after the break.

[Via GameSetWatch]

Continue reading Capy’s latest: Sword & Sworcery EP, a ‘brave experiment in I/O cinema’

Capy’s latest: Sword & Sworcery EP, a ‘brave experiment in I/O cinema’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sad that you missed all the Black Friday sales? Walmart wants to take advantage of that feeling of being left out, with a series of December sales and price drops. The most exciting offer: for one week (from December 5 -12), every Wii will come with a $50 gift card, effectively dropping the price to a ridiculous $150.

Walmart’s price drops on games are less dramatic, failing to reach the depths of, say, Amazon’s Black Friday weekend drops, but the list provided (after the break) does include a lot of hot games for less than MSRP — like The Beatles: Rock Band on Wii for $40 and Batman, Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, and a lot more for $50 each. Walmart promises more price drops on its website and in stores. How can it afford to do this stuff?

Oh, right, by dominating the entire retail industry.

Continue reading Walmart offering $50 gift card with Wii purchase next week, cheaper games now

Walmart offering $50 gift card with Wii purchase next week, cheaper games now originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As exciting as the prospect of Puzzle Quest in Space might have been, the excitement offered by Galactrix was completely derailed by the game’s outrageously lengthy load times. However, in a recent interview with Kotaku, D3 Publisher’s Michael Cerven claimed that the recently announced Puzzle Quest 2 won’t be plagued by the frequent intermissions, as developer Infinite Interactive “rebuilt the DS engine from the ground up to be fast and perform smoothly with very quick load times as opposed to retrofitting the lead SKU code for the DS.”

If Cerven’s claims are true, we suppose this is good news for the impatient puzzle-solvers out there. However, we got so much stuff done during Galactrix’s near-constant loading screens. We even learned to speak Esperanto! Ĉi tiu estas rakonto pri videoludoj!

D3 Publisher: Puzzle Quest 2 won’t have Galactrix’s load time issues originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oscar Carlén, a lighting artist at EA’s DICE studio, lists two “2009-present” projects in his portfolio: Battlefield 3 and Mirror’s Edge 2. Not only do those games possibly exist, you’ll be able to see what’s going on in them.

Battlefield 3 was first mentioned in June at a conference by EA COO John Pleasants. At that time, Pleasants also revealed a Criterion-developed Need for Speed game, which was announced again during EA’s latest financial conference call — so Battlefield 3 is somewhat of an expected property, lending credence to the existence of Mirror’s Edge 2 by association. The last we heard about a follow-up to Mirror’s Edge was that a “small team” was working on something back in June. Carlén could be part of that small team.

It’s possible, given EA’s recent layoffs and turn toward more surefire franchises, that Mirror’s Edge 2 did exist but no longer does. We’re checking with EA to verify the information found on this portfolio and to determine the current state of the franchise.

[Thanks, Tim]

DICE lighting artist lists Mirror’s Edge 2 on portfolio originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo DSi LL gets DS-ected originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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