News

Video: How Deus Ex: HR balanced authorial control and player choice
Video: How Deus Ex: HR balanced authorial control and player choice
Deus Ex: Human Revolution writer Mary DeMarle explains how Eidos Montreal created a game that offers meaningful choice within the context of an authored narrative.
Sept. 4, 2012
GDC Online adds new narrative sessions on Halo 4, Guild Wars 2, more
GDC Online adds new narrative sessions on Halo 4, Guild Wars 2, more
GDC Online organizers have debuted a trio of new sessions in the Game Narrative Summit for October's Austin event, with talks spanning Halo 4, Guild Wars 2, and more.
Sept. 4, 2012
Better level design via line of sight
Better level design via line of sight
In a new Gamasutra feature, PhD and educator Luke McMillan -- who consults for Ubisoft -- writes that line of sight is the "primary metric that alters difficulty" in games, and explores its use in detail.
Sept. 4, 2012
GDC China debuts Valve, Bethesda level design day, first design talks
GDC China debuts Valve, Bethesda level design day, first design talks
This November's GDC China 2012 is quickly taking shape, and the Shanghai event has revealed a level design workshop featuring Valve and Bethesda, plus more major game design talks.
Sept. 4, 2012
Valve's solution for Steam Greenlight's noise: A $100 fee
Valve's solution for Steam Greenlight's noise: A $100 fee
Worried that your indie game won't get noticed among all the clever joke submissions like Half-Life 3 and Minecraft on Steam's Greenlight initiative? Valve has a solution, but it'll cost you.
Sept. 4, 2012
Sony hacked by NullCrew; Anonymous attacks MI5 and MI6
Sony hacked by NullCrew; Anonymous attacks MI5 and MI6
NullCrew, a new hacking group that has been particularly active over the last couple of months, has hacked Sony mobile websites – adding to its rapidly growing list of victims (Cambridge University, Yale University, Cambodia Army, PMT Air and many more).
Sept. 4, 2012
Armenian cyber-warriors target Azeri websites after Safarov pardon
Armenian cyber-warriors target Azeri websites after Safarov pardon
A cyber-war of sorts has broken out between Armenian and Azeri hackers over the August 31 extradition and pardon of Azeri murderer Ramil Safarov.
Sept. 4, 2012
Hackers claim FBI is tracking iPhone users
Hackers claim FBI is tracking iPhone users
Is the government spying on your latest Plants vs. Zombies session or watching what you post on Facebook via your smartphone? Some hackers say yes.
Sept. 4, 2012
UK schools put kids' information at risk through faulty security policies
UK schools put kids' information at risk through faulty security policies
The safety of schoolchildren in the U.K. is at risk, according to a new study from the British Educational Research Association, which found that 48% of schools have no personal data policy implemented. That means that a range of exploitable information, including addresses, routes to school and fingerprints are easy game for hackers.
Sept. 4, 2012
DSW Shoe Warehouse awarded $8.6M in cyber-insurance payout
DSW Shoe Warehouse awarded $8.6M in cyber-insurance payout
Time for a shopping spree? For the owners of the DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse it may be. It has been awarded $6.8 million in insurance coverage, according to a federal appellate court ruling, after a 2005 data breach that exposed transaction information from 1.4 million credit card transactions.
Sept. 4, 2012
Forget violence: Do co-op games make us less aggressive?
Forget violence: Do co-op games make us less aggressive?
Psychologists are starting to examine the flipside of video game violence, finding that violent games can actually lead to more trust between players. What's more, game designers might be able to capitalize on it.
Sept. 3, 2012
Don't Starve: A Tim Burton take on Minecraft
Don't Starve: A Tim Burton take on Minecraft
Role-playing survival games are currently on the up and up, thanks to the behemoth indie title that is Minecraft. Don't Starve is an upcoming survival game from Shank dev Klei, with an obvious Tim Burton inspiration in place.
Sept. 3, 2012