Category: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Welcome to the final part of Electric Nightmares, a short series about generative AI and games. So far we’ve seen the past, the present and the problems surrounding this new buzzword as it filters its way into our games and communities. In this final part of the series, I want to try and think concretely with you about what the future might hold; to go beyond what we think is just or legal, what we might be excited by or fearful of, and instead think about the practicalities of making and playing games today and how that might be impacted by generative AI’s growing dominance.

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No James this week, but I am joined by Nate for this week’s Electronic Wireless Show podcast to discuss Ubisoft’s new NEO NPC prototype – an NPC you can have a stilted, weird conversation with using the power of AI! It’s fair to say we are quite partisan about this and do not want it, but we discuss why anyway. In counterpoint, we think World Of Warcraft’s new piratey battle royale game mode sounds pretty cool and good, actually?

Plus: I ask Nate to explain cool things that I’ve seen in Warhammer 40K: Darktide, and Nate tries to convince me to take a devil’s bargain where I have to play WOW for at least 12 hours a day, but I get a sort of increasing MDMA high while doing so.

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I usually know right away when I’m going to enjoy interactive fiction. But I don’t always know why. Isle Of Maligree is a bit of an all-rounder, as pretty much every part of it is doing something right, but it’s the sense that you’re making your own version of its story that marks it out.

People are going missing on the island, and you’ve been sent to investigate. Only, it seems this isn’t the first time, because some sinister magic is causing everyone to forget the whole thing ever happened. If you don’t figure it out in time, you’ll have to make a new character and try again. And if you’re an amazing genius who figures it out on your first try… you’ll want to try again anyway, to play it a different way and see what you missed. Maybe one day I’ll even do it without getting stabbed.

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I’m not saying it’s some kind of electronic commerce conspiracy orchestrated by Big Graphics Card, but I’ve noticed that most of the best Amazon Spring sale deals on gaming monitors are for 4K screens. On the one hand, aww, because everyone likes a bargain 1440p-er. On the other, woo, because gaming-spec 4K monitors are usually some of the most financially devastating PC hardware pieces you can get. Anything that makes these super-sharp displays more affordable is, therefore, quite welcome. 160Hz, UHD visuals for £399? Sure, why not.

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If you’re an MMORPG fan who’s been waiting patiently for news of Riot Game’s swing at the genre, then I’m afraid you’ll probably have to wait quite a while longer. Riot co-founder Marc Merrill announced that the project has been “reset” and won’t appear for “likely several years”, with one of the main reasons being a “need to do something that truly feels like a significant evolution of the genre”.

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In a powerful move, one of the two devs behind Cryptmaster announced the delightful typing-based dungeon crawler’s release date last night during his acceptance speech after it won the Independent Games Festival award for Excellence In Design. Powerful. May 9th is the day, so you have time to practise your touchtyping with Mavis Beacon. I really enjoyed playing Cryptmaster’s Steam Next Fest demo, so I’m excited for the full game.

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The winners of the 2024 Independant Games Festival were announced at GDC last night, and it was Visai Games’ Venba that came home with the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. The cooking adventure was up for four IGF awards in total, including nominations for Excellence in Audio, Narrative and Visual Art. But there was no runaway winner at this year’s IGF Awards, with all prizes going to completely different indie games. Come and celebrate the full list of winners below.

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Last time, you decided that highlighted interactive objects are better than retrievable reusable ammo. I understand why you decided that. Your fondness for this thing makes perfect sense. It is very helpful. An immensely practical thing. And still… ah, we must move on. This week, I ask you to pick between two right different right-clickings. What’s better: drawing Frog Detective’s magnifying glass or drawing Blade Runner’s gun?

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Bungie’s reboot of their nineties pre-Halo debut shooter Marathon seems to be slowing down its pace a little in order to get across the finish line, with a change in director and a delay meaning the multiplayer-only loot-shooter reimagining of the FPS is now expected to arrive next year – or potentially even after that, according to recent reports.

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After channelling the atmosphere and gory terror of Dead Space (though alas, not its reception) in 2022’s sci-fi horror shooter, The Callisto Protocol is apparently now looking to the likes of Hades to inspire a new roguelike spin-off set in its universe, currently codenamed Project Birdseye.

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