The Hytale price has been confirmed, as rejuvenated developer Hypixel Studios prepares to bring back the long-anticipated sandbox game after its cancelation in June by Riot Games. In a year where a lot of gaming news is downcast - including the developer's recent shutdown - the return of Hytale promises to be a bright spark. Hypixel, a reincarnation of a team founded by the creators of some of the best Minecraft servers, is now preparing to launch it sooner rather than later, with the emphasis on building it alongside the community. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Rescued "Minecraft challenger" Hytale finally shows off gameplay, and it has the building blocks of something great Hytale founder has "good news" in quest to save Riot's canceled sandbox game Minecraft challenger Hytale hangs in the balance as ex founder plans roadmap View the full article
Genshin Impact studio HoYoverse has been keeping busy with new games, and the latest reveal comes with a 30-minute gameplay trailer to show off all the details. Following Genshin Impact, HoYoverse released Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero and teased future titles like Petit Planet and Ananta. So far, the studio's efforts have been consistently successful, even while competing in an increasingly crowded market. View the full article
If you've been waiting patiently for an announcement for Mass Effect 5's release, you're not alone. The next game from BioWare in the epic sci-fi saga is one of the most anticipated games of the decade, but information about its release or progress has been quite sparse. However, there's another upcoming sci-fi game that shares many of Mass Effect's gameplay features, and fans will definitely want to put it on their radar. View the full article
The Hytale price has been confirmed, as rejuvenated developer Hypixel Studios prepares to bring back the long-anticipated sandbox game after its cancelation in June by Riot Games. In a year where a lot of gaming news is downcast - including the developer's recent shutdown - the return of Hytale promises to be a bright spark. Hypixel, a reincarnation of a team founded by the creators of some of the best Minecraft servers, is now preparing to launch it sooner rather than later, with the emphasis on building it alongside the community. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Rescued "Minecraft challenger" Hytale finally shows off gameplay, and it has the building blocks of something great Hytale founder has "good news" in quest to save Riot's canceled sandbox game Minecraft challenger Hytale hangs in the balance as ex founder plans roadmap View the full article
Dungeons and Dragons has confirmed more details about the revised Artificer 5e class that will appear in its upcoming book, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. A D&DBeyond post shows a few more minor tweaks that have been made, mainly concerning the Artificer's signature Flash of Genius feature. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Get new, custom D&D and Pathfinder species every month for a year with this mysterious Kickstarter Why the Ranger doesn't belong in Dungeons and Dragons any more This enchanting Steam demo is the biggest love letter to retro D&D I've seen in years View the full article
Parable Games is releasing a big expansion for its horror tabletop RPG SHIVER, exploring the most desolate, terrifying setting of them all: the workplace! This 228-page expansion is part-horror, party-comedy, and we're intrigued to learn more about it. That's why we've invited the book's lead writer Adam Holloway to a live Discord AMA next week, so he can confess to taking our lunch from the communal fridge. Ahem, sorry, I mean answer all of your burning questions. Read the rest of the story... View the full article
PlayStation's 2025 ****** Friday ***** is well underway, running right through to December 1, and a fresh wave of newly added games has just dropped into the mix. A stack of strong PS5 titles are already discounted across every major retailer, including standouts like Astro Bot at $39.99, Battlefield 6 at $52.99, and Spider-Man 2 at $29.99. To keep things straight, I've broken out my top picks into two buckets: the newest heavy hitters of 2025 and the rest of the must-play releases from the PS5's nearly five-year run. 2025 PS5 Games on ***** for ****** Friday For the uninitiated, ****** Friday deals tend to go live a week early these days, so while ****** Friday isn't until Nov. 28, we've already got all the best discounts on PS5 games to check out. Standout offers for 2025 PS5 games include a few of my personal favorites, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for $44.99, alongside Assassin's Creed Shadows for just $34.99. I also love to sing the praises of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 as well, and that's just hit its lowest price ever as part of the ****** Friday sales. It's just $30 at Amazon right now, a huge $40 in savings. There's also a great deal from Amazon Resale, where an extra 30% off at checkout will bag you Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for just $42.99. That's a "Used - Like New" copy, so you're getting the best possible condition, at the best possible price. This can sell out quic, though, so snap it up fast while you still can. While it came out for Xbox and PC in 2024, it hit PS5 in 2025, so this just scrapes through as a new game for PlayStation users. I love a cheeky ****** Friday loophole. More PS5 Game Deals for ****** Friday There's some big discounts on first party PlayStation games in the ***** as well, especially from the past few years. My top pick is Game of the Year 2024 winner, Astro Bot, for $39.99, which is endless amounts of fun. You can also pick up Helldivers 2, Spider-Man 2, The Last of Us 1 and 2, all for $29.99. Stellar Blade is down to $39.99, and you can even pick up Horizon Forbidden West for just $19.99. There's also games like Final Fantasy's 1-6 Pixel Collection for $39.99, which has dropped to its lowest price ever, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake for $34.99, while Elden Ring and Star Wars Outlaws are both just $19.99 right now as well. PS5 Digital Game Deals and More Some great digital discounts at the moment include Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Premium Edition, Monster Hunter Wilds, The Outer Worlds: Board-Approved Bundle (perfect to pick up with The Outer Worlds 2 out now), and plenty more. I've barely scratched the surface across the sales as well, as there's even more games to check out between now and ****** Friday, including a 2025 Game of the Year nominee, Death Stranding 2, for $49.99. That's $20 off, and matches the best deal on the game so far this year. There's also $20 discounts on big Konami hits like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and Silent Hill f, both also down to $49.99 from $69.99. Both of these can be found in Best Buy's ****** Friday sales. That's alongside new all time low prices on Battlefield 6, down to $52.99, EA Sports FC 26 for $29.99, Borderlands 4 for $47.99, and more. Other standout offers in the PlayStation 2025 ****** Friday ***** include $100 off PS5 consoles and PlayStation VR2 bundles, $20 off DualSense Controllers and PlayStation Portal, and up to 33% off PlayStation Plus memberships. There are plenty more games on ***** that we haven't mentioned either, so be sure to check out the full PS5 sales pages at retailers like Amazon as well. Should You Wait for ****** Friday on November 28? ****** Friday deals are a bit of a mess these days. Retailers spend the whole of November dangling so called limited time offers, but the truth is simple, the real discounts always land about a week before what I call "****** Friday proper". And we're already in the endgame now. After over six years of tracking PlayStation pricing, one pattern never breaks, once a PlayStation deal goes live, it barely moves. So the prices you're seeing right now on consoles, controllers, and games are almost certainly the prices you'll be looking at through to early December. If you've been sitting on your hands waiting for something better, stop. This is as good as it's getting. Grab what you've been eyeing up, because the only thing you're risking at this point is missing out. Planning to grab anything in PlayStation's ****** Friday *****? Drop a comment, and keep an eye on IGN for daily updates as we track the best deals of 2025. Follow IGN's ****** Friday Coverage The IGN Deals team has over 30 years of combined experience finding the best discounts and preorders available online. If you want the latest updates from our trusted team, here’s how to follow our coverage: Sign up for our IGN Deals NewsletterSet IGN as a preferred source in GoogleFollow us on social mediaIGN Deals on XIGN Deals on InstagramIGN Deals on FacebookIGN Deals on TikTok [/url] Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky. View the full article
Resident Evil Requiem will feature classic characters connected to the Raccoon City incident, Capcom has now acknowledged — while stopping short of confirming exactly who. Speculation is rife that floppy-haired fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy will be back for Requiem, revisiting the city where he spent a fateful first day as a rookie police officer back in Resident Evil 2. But, to date, Capcom has refused to discuss whether fans will reconnect with any familiar faces in Requiem, choosing instead to focus its marketing efforts on new protagonist Grace Ashcroft, daughter of Resident Evil Outbreak's Alyssa Ashcroft. Now, in an interview with Well-Played, producer Masato Kumazawa has finally confirmed that "yes, there are going to be some characters from the past series to come in." It's worth stating that Kumazawa is responding here to a question which asked specifically whether other Outbreak characters, as well as Alyssa, will show up in Requiem. But Kumazawa does then go on to mention characters "involved in the Raccoon City incident" generally will appear. Here's the full quote: "I would say that yes, there are going to be some characters from the past series to come in, but don’t over-expect or hype it," Kumazawa teased. "We can’t promise you anything about that, but the only thing I can say is that there will be characters that have been involved in the Raccoon City incident involved in the game." The debate around whether other characters — and specifically Leon — are in Requiem has dominated discussion of the game to date, though Capcom seems happy to keep the speculation going. While focusing on Grace Ashcroft in trailers and early gameplay previews, the publisher has never explicitly stated that she is the sole playable character. In a separate interview published online this week, Kumazawa branded a specific fan image of Leon with an eyepatch as "fake news," and suggested it was the work of AI. But again, the producer stopped short of simply saying Leon isn't in the game — which, at this point, you'd think developers would simply state in order to manage expectations. Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S. There's still plenty of time for more reveals. Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social View the full article
Dungeons and Dragons has confirmed more details about the revised Artificer 5e class that will appear in its upcoming book, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. A D&DBeyond post shows a few more minor tweaks that have been made, mainly concerning the Artificer's signature Flash of Genius feature. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Get new, custom D&D and Pathfinder species every month for a year with this mysterious Kickstarter Why the Ranger doesn't belong in Dungeons and Dragons any more This enchanting Steam demo is the biggest love letter to retro D&D I've seen in years View the full article
You've finally gotten the third Crystal Key from Tigger, so it's time to tackle the next big Wishblossom Ranch challenge in Disney Dreamlight Valley. The Crystal Cavern: Pixie Acres challenges you to tackle another series of complex puzzles. Exploring the Crystal Caverns isn't easy, as they're quite mazelike and easy to get lost in while you're also trying to work through an array of puzzles. It's easy to get stumped by this mission, so here’s how to complete Crystal Cavern: Pixie Acres in Disney Dreamlight Valley. Table of contentsHow to complete Crystal Cavern: Pixie Acres in Disney Dreamlight ValleyBring the Crystal Key to Tinker BellFind a way to open the doorRemove the Decay crystals to allow the Wishblossom to bloomUse Khan in the green areaUse Maximus in the blue areaUse your custom horse in the pink areaTalk to the Wishblossom in the third Crystal CavernBreak the Decay crystals around the Wishblossom MountainsHow to complete Crystal Cavern: Pixie Acres in Disney Dreamlight Valley Screenshot by Destructoid To complete the Crystal Cavern: Pixie Acres quest, you need to navigate through the third trial, which is packed with puzzles, and free the final horse, Pegasus. It's a pretty complex mission to work through, so here's a full breakdown of everything you need to get done. Bring the Crystal Key to Tinker Bell First up, it's time to return to the Wishblossom Heart once again so you can give the third Crystal Key to Tinker Bell. It's been a bit since the Crystal Caverns: Glamour Gulch quest and the Crystal Cavern: Wishing Alps quest, so if you've forgotten how to get there, just head through the stone archway between the bridge leading into Wishblossom Ranch and the bridge leading into Wishing Way. Once you're inside, chat with Tinker Bell to give the Crystal Key. Follow her around to the backside of the massive Wishblossom and talk with her again to open the last Crystal Cavern. Once you're inside, call upon Khan to break the barrier and proceed forward. Find a way to open the door Screenshot by Destructoid On the other side of the barrier is your first puzzle, as the door is blocked. Make an immediate right and walk over to the barrier inside the room. Have Khan break down the barrier, then switch to one of your own custom horses. Walk around to the back of the massive stone. Now that you've broken the barrier, you can push the stone forward onto the pressure plate. Once it's in place, go stand on the other pressure plate near where you entered this room to unlock the door. Head through the door and deeper into the cave. Remove the Decay crystals to allow the Wishblossom to bloom There's another giant Wishblossom that needs saving, so it's time for you to break some more Decay crystals. Just like there were in the other Crystal Caverns, there are three to find here. To break them, you'll need to: Use Khan in the green area to break the barricade and take the elevator.Use Maximus in the blue area to find the elevator's lever.Use your custom horse in the pink area to push the block onto the pressure plate.Use Khan in the green area Screenshot by Destructoid Make an immediate right from where you stood talking to the Wishblossom to enter the green area. Equip Khan as your mount, break the first barricade, jump over the obstacles, and break the second barricade to enter the main room. Then, turn right and break another barricade, jump over another obstacle, and walk down to the end of the path. Here, you'll find a lever you can flip, which raises the elevator out of the way to reveal a platform you can walk on. Return to the middle of the room to cross over the platform. On the other side, you'll find the first red crystal to break. Use Maximus in the blue area Switch your mount to Maximus and walk around to the blue area behind the massive Wishblossom. Leap over the first gap, then interact with the red puff of smoke by the elevator to activate the trail. Follow the red smoke deeper into the blue area to find the missing lever. Screenshot by Destructoid Then, bring the lever back to the elevator and interact with it to slot it back into place. Flip the lever to move the elevator over to a new area. Follow the path forward to find and destroy the second red crystal. Use your custom horse in the pink area Head around to the left side of the Wishblossom to access the pink area. Switch your mount to one of your custom horses before heading in, as you'll need them for this section. Once you're inside, make a right and loop around the cave to get behind the massive stone. Then, walk toward it while riding a custom horse to push it forward. Keep pushing until it lands on the pressure plate. Walk over and stand on the other pressure plate next to it to open the door. Go through the door to find the third and final red crystal you can destroy. Screenshot by Destructoid Talk to the Wishblossom in the third Crystal Cavern With the third Decay crystal now broken, head back to the massive Dream Wishblossom in the middle of the cave to discuss your progress. A short cutscene will play, and Pegasus from Hercules will spawn next to the Wishblossom. You now have your final Disney horse, so mount Pegasus and head over to the nearby wind tunnel to fly out of the cave. Talk to Snow White back in the Wishblossom Heart about what you've accomplished and what comes next. Break the Decay crystals around the Wishblossom Mountains Unfortunately, the Decay got worse while you were trying to stop it. The Decay crystals spread throughout the entire Wishblossom Ranch world, so you need to find and break 18 crystals in Wishings Alps, 18 in Glamour Gulch, and 18 more in Pixie Acres. There are between three and six crystals in each biome in all of these areas. Screenshot by Destructoid This guide is a work in progress and is receiving live updates as we work through this quest. The post Crystal Cavern: Pixie Acres quest walkthrough in Disney Dreamlight Valley appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
The Unheard quest is one of the many secret missions that you can complete in Escape from Tarkov, and starting the challenge can be slightly tricky. Hidden quests are different from the story chapters, since the latter are part of the main campaign. To finish the Unheard quest, you'll have to discover it in the first place. This guide will list all the vital steps you'll want to clear to start the quest. How to begin the Unheard Hidden quest in Escape from Tarkov To start the Unheard quest, you'll have to find the relevant quest item. To do so, we will first have to head to the Streets of Tarkov map. I have marked the location where you'll need to be, and you'll find the TerraGroup building. Image via Escape from Tarkov Wiki. Remix by Destructoid Go through the main entrance of the building. Go past a parked vehicle, and you'll find the entrance on your left. The TerraGroup building is opposite the Pinewood Hotel. Just reach the marked location, and the entrance should look like the following screenshot. Screenshot by Destructoid Get in through the broken gates, and turn right.Follow the narrow corridor from the entrance, and it will lead you to a small room on the left.Open the door, and go inside to find an office table with a computer on it. The quest item will be by the monitor. Pick the item up and read it to gain access to the Unheard quest. It will be automatically added to your backpack, and you can read it there. Screenshot by Destructoid There are plenty of hidden and secret locations throughout the maps of Escape from Tarkov. Another such area is the TerraGroup labs, which requires a key to access. The location to reach the Labs is also hidden and can be accessed via a secret transit in the Factory. The post How to start the Unheard quest in Escape from Tarkov appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
This album features music from the NieR:Orchestra Concert re:12024 [ the end of data ] which was held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the series. View the full article
Как и было обещано, на ноябрьской презентации Xbox Partner Preview разработчики из китайской студии Eclipse Glow Games показали новый геймплей своего фэнтезийного экшена Tides of Annihilation, вдохновлённого легендами о короле Артуре.View the full article
With the latest minor update, the newer Quake II re-release that saw Nightdive Studios jump in to improve it is now Steam Deck Verified. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article
Half-Life 3 hype is officially at an all-time high, despite there not being a bona fide reason for the new rumors outside insider speculation and cryptic whispers throughout the industry. One of the newest and biggest driving forces surrounding recent Half-Life 3 rumors is the announcement of Steam's new hardware, particularly the Steam Machine. View the full article
You may have already seen the latest Tides of Annihilation boss fight gameplay trailer from yesterday's Xbox Partner Preview showcase, but we've got an extended version of it that adds 19 extra seconds at the beginning. Check out that extended cut above as well as exclusive new screenshots in the gallery below. This battle pits protagonist Gwendolyn fights against a powerful shape-shifting witch named Tyronoe. Gwendolyn is assisted in the fighting by the spear-wielding Sir Lamorak, a Knight of the Roundtable. The trailer also gives us a peek at the combat system called the Dual Frontline Battle System, as you will be able to control both Gwendolyn and Lamorak. We also get a glimpse at a story element with Tyronoe's creation of a mirror-like Folded Realm. The developers tell IGN, "Through her quest for the Holy Grail, Gwendolyn will be able to find several knights to summon and command in the game, including notable Knights of the Roundtable from Arthurian mythology. More details including the number and names of Knights will be disclosed in the future, please stay tuned!" If you missed the announcement trailer, catch it now. It's also worth taking a look at the 11-minute-long extended gameplay walkthrough. Tides of Annihilation will be available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 (PS5). Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan. View the full article
The name “Disney” has been showing up in quite a lot of gaming-related headlines as of late. As part of its arms race with Netflix, the conglomerate announced plans to add AI-powered user-generated content and “game-like features” to Disney+. Last year, it acquired a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, adding yet another cash cow to its portfolio. That deal paved the way for Disneyland Game Rush, a Fortnite island released earlier this month to celebrate the theme park’s 70th birthday that features well-received minigames based on Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and other iconic rides. These developments are more than a little surprising, not least because it’s been close to a decade since Disney pulled the plug on its own, in-house gaming initiatives. Disney Interactive Studios, lovingly remembered for its work with Square on Kingdom Hearts and that 1989 NES DuckTales platformer that inspired the bounce mechanic in Shovel Knight, closed down in 2016 following the cancellation of its flagship project, Disney Infinity. Asked why, Bob Iger – who was then nearing the end of his first stint as CEO – told shareholders that while the company was great at making movies and building theme parks, they weren’t nearly as skilled at designing games. Others would beg to differ. While it’s true that Disney has never managed to compete with Nintendo, Ubisoft, or Electronic Arts, its influence on games as a medium might well be greater than all of these three companies combined. To understand how the company was able to leave a mark on the one part of the entertainment industry it couldn’t conquer, you need to go where Fortnite has gone: to Disneyland. When Don Carson quit his job as a senior designer at Walt Disney Imagineering – the research and development group in charge of creating new rides for Disney’s theme parks – he filled up some of his spare time playing video games. To his surprise, his new hobby heavily reminded him of his old job, so heavily that he felt compelled to write a long and – in due time – widely-read article for Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra) about what people working in one industry could learn from those working in the other. Carson’s article was originally published in 2000, when 3D games like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake III Arena were all the rage and the industry found itself on the cusp of a revolution. “The ability to create virtual worlds is relatively new to us,” reads one particularly nostalgic line. “With the growing popularity of multiplayer games and the promise of higher band widths, I relish the day I can meet friends and explore these worlds together.” Despite its age, the article’s central argument – that gaming and themed entertainment “are not that far apart” – still rings true today, perhaps even more so than it did 25 years ago. Sure enough, the two have more in common than you’d think. Both can be described as immersive experiences where people move through a carefully constructed space that responds to their presence. More importantly, both are born from the same design philosophy – one Carson boils down to the following question: “How do I draw my audience into my imagined world and make them want to stay?” How do I draw my audience into my imagined world and make them want to stay? All too often, the answers point to the original Disneyland. Prior to its opening in 1955, most theme parks were disappointingly light on theming. As one the world’s leading providers of escapism, Walt Disney did not merely want to distract guests with thrills and frights – he wanted to transport them to a different reality. To sell this fantasy, Disneyland turned its ride vehicles into boats, spaceships, and teacups, covered up tracks and scaffolding, and made sure that each of its major attractions told a story that incorporated the rider. When you get on the Cyclone at Coney Island, you are you, riding the Cyclone at Coney Island. Not so in Disneyland. On the Jungle Cruise, you’re a tourist exploring the tropics. On Peter Pan’s Flight, you’re placed in the shoes of its titular character, soaring over London and Neverland. The list goes on. Video games have traveled down a similar road, enhancing raw experience with increasingly immersive theming. While some of the first-ever arcade games – think Pong and Pacman – took place in geometric voids, subsequent titles mapped their gameplay loops onto more clearly defined locations and situations, from Donkey Kong’s construction site to the roads and rivers of Frogger. This transition repeated itself when gaming veered into the third dimension. While large parts of Super Mario 64 played out in liminal spaces, levels in Super Mario Sunshine – released 6 years later, in 2002 – are all part of a single, interconnected, fully realized setting: Delfino Island. Echoing Disneyland’s ride design (Tokyo Disneyland, featuring many of the same attractions found in LA, opened in 1983,) Sunshine not only fleshes out the environments, but also serves up a more ambitious narrative. No more saving Princess Peach from Bowser because game. This time, Mario is going vacation, is framed for a crime, and has to clear his name to earn back his freedom. Disneyland’s influence on games is most evident when it comes to level design. To help guests find their way around the park – and encourage exploration on their own terms – Walt Disney envisioned a hub-and-spoke layout, with various lands connected to a central vocal point: Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. As mentioned in this Game Developers Conference (GDC) talk from 2022 – which covers the same ground as Carson’s article – Uncle Walt famously referred to the castle and other tall structures scattered throughout the park as “weenies,” because they lured guests from one area to another in the same way that he himself used hot dog wieners to lure his poodle around the house. If you’re familiar with Mark Brown’s popular YouTube channel Game Maker’s Toolkit, you may know that weenies have worked their way into the language of video game design as well. They’re especially common in the open-world genre, where they help players orient themselves and guide them towards worthwhile content scattered throughout the sprawling sandbox environment. In this sense, structures like the Erdtree and Minor Erdtrees in Elden Ring function as the digital equivalent of Mount Kilimanjaro in Animal Kingdom or Spaceship Earth in EPCOT. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are filled with various types of weenies, from shrines and Sheikah Towers to the Divine Beasts and – of course – Hyrule Castle itself. One game that particularly resembles Disneyland in outline is 2018’s God of War, where Midgard’s centrally located Lake of Nine (complete with a Jörmungandr-*******) opens up into several branching paths, some leading to other realms. Walt Disney envisioned a hub-and-spoke layout, with various lands connected to a central vocal point. These similarities do not imply that developing a game is functionally identical to designing a ride or an entire theme park. On the contrary, each industry works under unique constraints and pressures. Ideas for new attractions have to consider things like safety and carrying capacity. Short ride times, large vehicles, and efficient loading areas keep wait times low and guest experience positive. Another important distinction concerns user experience. While games can be enjoyed in isolation, theme park rides are made for large groups. Unlike with games, where no two play-throughs are exactly alike, most attractions offer a near-identical experience to every rider, every time they ride. Customization and personalization, standard features in games, are largely unattainable in attractions. Still, while some of the details are different, the big picture is anything but. Whether you work at Universal Studios or Sony Santa Monica, your day-to-day job will see you navigating the same challenge: meeting economic and logistical demands without compromising the immersive quality of the final product. Rarely does this balancing act succeed without something breaking. When Disneyland opened, it quickly became clear that the quaint, narrow streets of its opening area – a traditional American town loosely based on Walt Disney’s birthplace of Marceline, Missouri – had to be widened in order to accommodate the large summertime crowds: an imperative that completely went against Disney’s original vision. Likewise, Carson – who after his Imagineering days ended up going into game development himself – recalls a time when he’d sunk weeks into programming realistic-looking flames for an Indiana Jones-style game, only for his colleagues to ramp up their flickering animations to unrealistic speeds. “When I complained,” he writes, “the programmer proudly argued (…) that ‘gamers’ should appreciate the visual effect of a high frame rate over the realism of my environments.” If the video game industry’s indebtedness to Disneyland’s theme park design was already evident during the arcade era, this relationship has only deepened over time. Already in the late ‘90s, Carson observed that “we can visit and explore worlds on our computer screens that are increasingly dramatic and realistic” – so dramatic and realistic that he had on more than one occasion “been blown to bits because I dared hesitate to admire a beautiful piece of virtual architecture.” Just as Disneyland made it all but necessary for theme parks to conceal the machinery of their own attractions behind mock-up space stations and plywood mountains, so too did the gaming industry arrive at a point where we expect developers to cover up the artificiality of their games by means of organic level design, invisible walls, and hidden loading screens. Games also bear a closer resemblance to theme park rides in that playing them has become an increasingly social experience. That moment Carson dreamt about, when you could meet friends and explore digital worlds as you would the real one, didn’t take long to arrive. Within just a few years, online play – from browser games like Habbo Hotel to multi-player shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield – had become the backbone of the industry, paving the way for our current live service era. At present, even purely single-player experiences are plugged into globe-spanning networks thanks to vibrant fan communities on Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms. Now, after decades of theme parks influencing games, the relationship appears to be reversing. While the gaming industry continues to *****, the world of themed entertainment is currently struggling due to mounting costs and decreased attendance. To stay with the times, ride designers are increasingly working with and learning from game developers. From Los Angeles and Florida to Paris and Tokyo, more and more theme parks are adding digital, interactive, AI-assisted elements to their attractions, blending the distinction between rides and games. Smuggler’s Run, the Millenium Falcon simulator at Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge park, is built in Unreal Engine and its next iteration will feature branching pathways to allow player choice. Then there’s the various Mario Kart attractions at Super Nintendo World, where riders wear augmented reality headgear that project virtual elements onto the physical ride itself, or Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure at Disney California Adventure, which uses motion tracking technology to allow riders to shoot their own webs. Before long, we might just see Fortnite show up inside Disneyland, rather than the other way around. Tim Brinkhof is a freelance writer specializing in art and history. After studying journalism at NYU, he has gone on to write for Vox, Vulture, Slate, Polygon, GQ, Esquire and more. View the full article
Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa confirms that the upcoming game will feature more characters from the past, though stops short of confirming any heavily rumored ones. With a February release date slowly approaching, Capcom has been a bit more forthcoming with Resident Evil Requiem details, leading to plenty of fan speculation. View the full article
Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.
Johan Pilestedt tips his hat to the Helldivers 2 community's definitionView the full article