About a year ago, and out of the blue, I got an e-mail from one John Miles, an enforcer (okay, not really) for the British arm of EA Games. He had a proposition for me, was I interested? Interested, of course, was putting it mildly. Video gaming is the only thing in my life that I would fully qualify as an addiction. I like a fairly limited number of games (there’s an awful lot of dross out there), but those I like, I really like, and will play them until the game paths, enemy spawning points and scripted incidentals are graven into my synapses. Some game spaces I probably know better than the streets of the city I live in. And, as I’ve said once or twice on this site, I think the gaming medium has a potential for storytelling every bit as charged and exciting as literature or film. So was I interested? Yeah – just a little bit.

Well, John flew up to Glasgow to buy me lunch, and brought with him fellow enforcer Jeff Gamon and development capo Colin Robinson, who framed their proposition thus: was I interested in coming aboard with EA to write and script for a particular game project they had going, with a view to other game projects thereafter, and if so could I be in Berlin in a week’s time?

Talk about your offers you can’t refuse.

That was a year ago. Now, without breaking any Non-Disclosure Agreements, I can cautiously reveal that I’ve been pulled in to consult on three separate games, have spent more time on airplanes and in overseas hotels during the last year than in my entire previous life, and have hit one of the steeper learning curves of my creative existence. Gaming turns out not only to be exactly as fascinating a medium as you’d expect, it’s also a very young industry and its norms have yet to be fully formed. So while it shares some characteristics with the movie world, gaming has yet to produce its version of Story guru Robert McKee or the cut-and-dried writing formula requirements that have strangled so much creativity in places like Hollywood. What you can put into a big budget game is still very much up for grabs, and what’s more, with the breakneck pace of technological development backing the field, it’s constantly changing as well. One producer I’m working with at the moment likens what we’re doing to working in Hollywood circa 1920, when everyone was still working out what you could do with this wild, new medium called film; the only difference is that the rate of evolution in technique for video games is running at about a dozen times the speed it ever did for film. The field is open, the potential huge and, in story terms, only just beginning to be properly tapped

For a writer, that’s a pretty close definition of paradise.

And it hasn’t hurt that the projects I’m working on are all science fiction, so while I chisel patiently away in fantasy at The Dark Commands, my SF muscles are being kept in trim by the concepts at the heart of each game.

Word of Ember blazed across the land, and the town of Torchlight flared to life.

Ember is the essence of magic and the keystone of alchemy; it lures the restless with promises of power and riches. Miners burrowed deep beneath the dirt streets of Torchlight, discovering veins of the ore richer than any found in living memory- but they were not the first to covet these mines. The miners broke through into the buried past, a dangerous labyrinth of caverns and ruined civilizations, twisted creatures and the bones of those who came before. Evil bubbles up from the depths and threatens to overrun this town as it has so many others. The heart of a villain has infused the Ember, and his darkness seeps through the veins. To survive, the townspeople must break the cycle of destruction; they need a champion who can destroy the evil at its root. Removing the source of the rot may purify the Ember, but it is a long and perilous journey. The champion must battle through rock and fire, through lost cities and ancient tombs, into the palace of the villain himself.

The adventure is set in the mining settlement of Torchlight, a boomtown founded on the discovery of rich veins of Ember – a rare and mysterious ore with the power to enchant or corrupt all that it contacts. This corruptive power may have dire consequences however, and players set out into the nearby mountains and depths below to discover the full extent of Ember’s influence on the civilizations that have come before.

DDO Unlimited introduces an innovative new way to play – you can download and play DDO for free! For even more action and fun, you can purchase additional adventures, convenience items, and account services at your leisure from the new DDO Store. Can’t get enough of DDO? You can even subscribe, becoming a “VIP”, to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content.

The US-only, free-to-play makeover for the MMO turns regular subscribers into VIP members and gives access to all game content as well as a monthly Turbine Point allowance. But, said Mersky, the company has still profited from Turbine Point sales.

“They all got a ton of points for being loyal subscribers, for being in the beta. We weren’t really expecting a ton of sales – they had no incentive to. They already had access to all of the content as VIP subscribers, and we just gave them a butt-load of Points,” Mersky told Kotaku, as reported by Eurogamer.

“They’ve gone through their points, and we’ve already sold millions more Turbine points, and we’ve not even opened up the world to the public yet.”

“The hottest selling items are the new Favored Soul class, which is unlockable in-game, but all of our subs just went ahead and spent points on it, unlocked it, and they’re playing it right now,” he added.

[...] Alongside the switch to a free-to-play model comes Module 9, which raises the level cap, adds two new storylines, overhauls the combat system and introduces the Favored Soul. Module 9 will also be released as a regular free update to European subscribers.

Well, the story setting for this Zelda is, of course, in a completely different era and Link is older than he was previously. More approaching adulthood. There is one hint. Maybe from the art work you can see that he’s not holding a sword.

While everything is calm on the surface, the world of Lunar is slowly devolving into chaos. The legendary Dragonmaster Dyne and his faithful companions have faded into obscurity only to have a shadowy figure known as the Magic Emperor begin to wreak havoc on the world created by the Goddess Althena. Meanwhile, in a small, humble village far removed from the turmoil in Lunar, lives a young man named Alex. As one who idolizes the legendary Dyne, Alex dreams of one day becoming the next Dragonmaster and matching the accomplishments of his life-long hero.

Egged on by his childhood friend Ramus and with his adopted sister Luna in tow, Alex heads off on what seems to be a meaningless adventure, unaware that it would be the first step in an epic journey with the fate of the entire world at stake.

Since it debuted over a decade ago, Lunar: Silver Star Story has continuously captivated fans with its timeless tale of love, betrayal and redemption, expertly woven into its involving gameplay and cinematic presentation. The classic masterpiece has now been reborn on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony with all new graphics, added gameplay features, and a re-mastered soundtrack so a whole new generation of fans can experience this legendary first entry of the Lunar universe, while added story elements are sure to intrigue returning fans alike. This title is being developed by Game Arts and is scheduled to be released Fall 2009 exclusively for the PSP.

The last remake of Lunar on the GBA wasn’t as well received by fans as the Sega CD and PlayStation versions. What aspects of Lunar: Silver Star Harmony will appeal to new fans? Long-time fans?

Masato Dobashi: I really think the opinions of Lunar fans towards the series is very important. For this PSP remake, I really wanted to use the Sega Saturn version as the basis to create a solid title because it was also what everyone was hoping for [in Japan].

For the new fans, I would love for them to experience an adventure full of dreams and hopes. Don’t you feel like we’re lacking those types of RPGs lately? I really wanted to show why Lunar has been loved for 17 years with this new PSP version.

For the old time fans, I would first like to say thank you to everyone. The reason Lunar can be played on the PSP now is because of their long time support and love for this series. For this version, Kei Shigema has put extra effort into the scenario and created a new episode to make it a more complete version of Lunar.

How does XSEED plan on handling the game’s quirky humor and sexual innuendos? That was one area that really stood out for me in the prior releases.

Jimmy Soga, XSEED Games: We’re still in the early stages of translation so it’s hard to say how we will handle it, but it would be a fine balancing act between keeping the original Working Designs English translations as is or to retranslate some of the stuff to be more true to the original Japanese. Working Designs did an excellent localization job, but their text has a lot of 90’s pop culture references and possibly some copyright issues that might have been okay when the original was released, but something we need to be more careful about today (such as “Tootsie Rolls”, “M&M’s”, “Wheaties,” etc.)

While editorial gaming video is our passion and our first love, we feel that we have the best team in the business when it comes to creating and editing video for the gaming industry. Area 5 Media is here as our outreach to any developer, publisher, or marketing team that is looking for highly efficient contractors to handle their video needs. We can handle every aspect of the video-production pipeline: developer diaries, DVD extras, mini- or long-form documentaries, or even editing your trailers and making sure that the formats are suited for wide distribution among all of the outlets, online and broadcast, that you deal with every day. Our previous experience creating video directed solely at the gaming audience gives us a unique perspective on how the video game industry can best utilize the moving image as a resource and as a vehicle to reach the gamer. After all, we’re as “gamer” as they come. Can you find that in Hollywood? Maybe. There are a lot of gamers these days. Can you find a video-production studio in Hollywood that’s done everything that we’ve done and knows the industry as well as we know it? Doubtful. Also, we’re fun to work with, and if you’ve already made a game, chances are that at least one of us has played it.

What I would like to discuss instead is my personal experience with writing, and how I feel it relates to the situation, and perhaps gives me a different perspective than many people.

…

I started writing The Painted Man (AKA The Warded Man) sometime in 1999. I wasn’t fully dedicated to it, as I was also working full time and writing other books, but it was a project that I began plugging away at when I had time, and a couple of years later I put aside my other projects and started focusing hard on it. After several drafts (wherein I threw out a good 60% of the original story), I finished the sale manuscript at the end of 2006, approximately seven years after starting it.

…

When I sold the book in 2007, the publisher bought two sequels as well, and asked me how long I expected it to take for me to write them. I had just given notice at my job to shift to writing full time, and told them that I was already well into writing The Desert Spear (true), and that it would take about 9 months to finish it, meaning I would have it done in May/June of 2008. The third book, I said, should be ready about a year after that.

That was a very naïve thing to say, but I had been a professional writer for all of 5 minutes, and was very naïve. Now here we are in January 2009, and I still have two chapters left to write, not to mention several rounds of expected rewrites, all of which I believe are absolutely necessary to get the book up to my own standards, much less anyone else’s.

The internet hummed quietly this morning on inauspicious word that the rumored buyout of 1UP.com and Ziff-Davis game group by Hearst Media (owners of the high-traffic but surprisingly low profile UGO gaming portal) had gone through this week. Originally, word was seen on news portal PaidContent.org, and though the story was quickly pulled down this morning, it remained indexed in Google’s cache and RSS feeds. However, it was thought that this would likely mean a few layoffs while UGO attempted to fit 1UP.com within their content stable.

Based on Twitter and forum posts by (now former) 1UP staff, it appears all but certain that the 1UP Show video podcast and 1UP Yours audio podcast are no more.

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, 1UP editorial director Sam Kennedy could not confirm changes to its products / programming. “Will we have as many shows as we have in the past? Probably not, but we have – we’ve had – a lot of ideas for future shows and we’re pretty excited about what we’ll do in the future,” Kennedy told MTV. “Right now, we’re going to go through the process of really figuring out what kind of shows and products we want to keep going in the future. Our intention is to keep as many going as we can.”

1UP staff affected:

At present, the following 1UP staff have indicated — either in tweets, forum posts, or directly to us — that they have been let go: Andrew “Skip” Pfister, Matt Chandronait, Ryan O’Donnell, Jay Fresh, Cesar Quintero, Philip Kollar, Nick Suttner, Anthony Gallegos, Shane Bettenhausen, James “Milkman” Mielke.

UGO acquired 1UP today. That’s one hell of a way to kick off the New Year.

First of all, let me come out and say that there is no other gaming site like 1UP. Unlike some of the lumbering, impersonal behemoths out there, 1UP is all about its personalities, and its fans are awesome, passionate and willing to fight to the death over whether Final Fantasy X2 was an abomination or a triumph. It’s an honor to bring that passion into the UGO fold. We are like-minded in our love of video games and I plan on welcoming them to the family by kicking their collective asses in Street Fighter IV.

Speaking specifically of the team over there, Sam Kennedy and his crew at 1UP are the most hardcore of hardcore gamers. Cut them and they bleed pixels. There isn’t a better site out there to help UGO realize our vision of being the definitive voice in gaming.

Sam and I are already talking about all the cool things we can do together between epic Dhalsim v. Zangief matches. I can tell you that we’re going to own E3 this year. Our shared goal, our sole mission, is to make your head explode over and over again as we bring you the best video game coverage on the web. At the heart of all this madness is a desire to help 1UP do what they do best…”owning the conversation” when it comes to video games.

Starting right now, all our users can download and play these games, absolutely free.

Both are point-and-click adventure games by Revolution Software. Beneath a Steel Sky places you in the shoes of Robert Foster, the sole survivor of a plane crash in cyberpunk Australia’s Outback. Raised in the wasteland, you were forcibly “reintegrated” into the city. Now your plan is to get out. Lure of the Temptress is set in a fantasy world, where you become a peasant named Diermot. After an attempt to bring order to a rebellious town goes wrong, you’re flung from your mount and wake up in a dungeon. It is your duty to escape and rid the town of its evil enchantress and her minions.

Square Enix just announced Dragon Quest X is coming to the Wii. Considered the most important game franchise in Japan, this Dragon Quest announcement is a huge win for Nintendo and its Wii console. Sure, X wouldn’t be the first Dragon Quest game to hit the Wii (the DQ spinoff Dragon Quest Swords was released on the platform earlier this year), but it would be the first true Dragon Quest sequel to hit a Nintendo console since Enix took the series to Sony’s consoles with Dragon Quest VII (PS1) and Dragon Quest VIII (PS2). It’s significant.

Unfortunately, few other details are known about the RPG yet, but Nintendo president Satoru Iwata (shown above with Square Enix president Yoichi Wada and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii) was on hand and rightfully thrilled.

Interestingly, the new issue of EGM magazine has a rumor that Dragon Quest IX will also be appearing on the Wii, similar to how Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time will be playable on both the Nintendo DS and Wii. Whether this pans out or not, it’s clear Square Enix is moving more of its development resources over to the Wii.

1. We’ve got games your 10-year-old won’t be better at.

GOG.com offers you critically acclaimed games from major publishers in every genre. Don’t let your kids mock the graphics; remind them that the classics never go out of style, unlike their totally wicked haircut.

2. So you’re cheap. It’s okay – we are, too.

For less than the cost of a lunch at some lousy diner you can own some of the greatest games of all time. No matter how big the file is and how successful the game was, you’ll leave the table satisfied that you got a great deal for your money. As an added bonus, our house specialities won’t make you sick.

3. You buy it, you keep it.

Don’t let your DRMs turn into nightmares (clever, no?). You won’t find any intrusive copy protection in our games; we hate draconian DRM schemes just as much as you do, so at GOG.com you don’t just buy the game, you actually own it. Once you download a game, you can install it on any PC and re-download it whenever you want, as many times as you need, and you can play it without an internet connection.

4. All games are Vista and XP compatible.

Thanks to our handsome programming team, the classics are now Windows Vista and Windows XP compatible. Now you can use your lightning-fast PC to unleash the full potential of those games you just couldn’t play properly on that busted old 386.

5. Extend the experience with tons of cool and exclusive add-ons.

Buying the game is just the beginning. With the purchase of any game at GOG.com you’ll also get some great additional materials for free, including game guides, walkthroughs, MP3 game soundtracks, wallpapers and more. No joke.

6. We’re bringing together classic games and a classy community.

Dive into the GOG.com community, share your love for the games and meet other gamers with the same passion for classic games as you. Rate and review every single game, discuss your favorite titles on message boards, get support for your games and help others. Who knows, maybe you’ll find that special someone.

7. It’s so easy, your gramma’s probably already playing.

GOG.com is so easy to use. We have an easy account setup, game installers as user friendly as can be and simple, fast and hassle-free downloads. Thanks to these features, you’ll need just a few clicks to get you on your way to playing some of the best PC games of all time.

Who are you guys?

Everyone at GOG.com is a gamer, just like you. We’ve combined our real-life love for classic games with the amazing virtual world of the intarnets to bring some of our favorite games to your PC, with nothing – except maybe our budget – holding us back from conquering the world through gaming.

Why do you sell old games? Are you stupid or something?

Well, it looks like you haven’t played the PC classics much. Maybe it’s some sentimental attachment or maybe the games back then were different? Maybe a little bit of both; regardless, the truth is that the all-time classics never go out of style and we know that. So don’t criticize; play the game like it’s 1995.