The Iterative Digest #87
itch.io/w3itch.io, Ludonarrative Dissonance, crunch culture, solo dev life and more!
Hello and welcome to issue #87 of the Digest! This week we discuss itch.io accusing w3itch.io of theft, the meaning of Ludonarrative Dissonance, crunch culture, solo dev life, and more!
So without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s latest - curated by yours truly! If you like what you see, don’t forget to share and subscribe; your support means a lot to us. Have a great week!
The owner of itch.io has accused the newly launched alternative w3itch.io of theft stating that it’s “blatantly ripping it off, in addition to using our name directly in your project. As far as I’m concerned, this is a scam to trick people by using @itchio’s established brand on an unrelated project for your own profit.”
Allegations surfaced earlier this month that the development of Fallout 76 was plagued by a heavy reliance on crunch, however, Xbox Games Studios chief Matt Booty has come out saying he’s “confident” that the situation has changed.
Blizzard has acquired Proletariat, the team behind battle royale Spellbreak to move onto World of Warcraft development. This comes shortly after the announcement that Spellbreak is set to shut down sometime in early 2023.
A modder has found Half-Life 2 code hidden in the new Portal Switch release and managed to get it running, despite some crashes and bugs.
The producer of the upcoming Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series (more in our upcoming games) has said he hopes the game will be successful enough to lead to more Klonoa titles.
Halo Infinite’s upcoming campaign co-op will let everyone make progress to their own campaigns. “The goal going in was to ‘allow everyone to play their campaigns together.
Over on the blog we dig into the meaning of Ludonarrative Dissonance and why it is incredibly important to keep in mind while designing your game. It refers to the unfortunate phenomenon when there is a conflict between the story the gameplay is telling and the story told by the game’s narrative.
5th July
In Last Call BBS, the barkeep’s loaded up his retro computer with a full set of puzzle games for you to download and play. Enjoy eight full games such as 20th Century Food Court, Dungeons and Diagrams, Kabufuda Solitaire, and HACK*MATCH. No need to worry about copy protection, they’re all fully cracked and ready to enjoy on Steam!
7th July
In Witch Strandings, you are a strand of light in a top-down world inspired by dark fairytales. Create pathways, nurture creatures, and confront the Witch who broke this place in this adventure puzzle title when it releases on PC.
8th July
Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the first title in the series, Klonoa Phantasy: Reverie Series is a remastered title combining both “Klonoa: Door to Phatomile” and “Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil." With updated graphics and adjustable difficulty settings, celebrate this unique universe and our hero Klonoa, as he sets off on a journey to save the world. The game is dropping on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, PS5, and Switch.
Are you a solo dev? Always wondered what being a solo dev is like? Here’s a super informative video from this year’s Game Developers’ Conference about the myths, realities, and survival strategies of solo development.
Cameron - NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
Ever since the introduction of PUBG in 2017, the battle royale genre has become increasingly popular as the emergence of the format has gained traction with gamers, live streamers, and e-sports communities. Other titles such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, Fall Guys, and even Tetris have had their moment in the limelight leading to fatigue given the saturation of the market.
Despite this, Naraka: Bladepoint mixes the long-standing formula of a decreasing zone with tight melee combat and mobility that feels rewarding to pull off. Don’t get me wrong, despite the initial bot-filled matches you start with early on, there is a very high skill ceiling here.
The game puts 60 players against each other on a war-torn-isle giving you control of one of seven unlocked (up to 12) heroes in teams of solo, duos, or trios. You’ll spend your first few minutes scavenging for melee weapons such as spears, daggers, katanas, swords, and ranged weapons such as bows, pistols, cannons, and more. On top of this, you will need armor, healing materials, and souljades (trinkets that give you unique abilities) to complete your setup to even stand a chance of winning.
The melee combat straight off the bat feels incredibly satisfying, especially compared to the limitations behind ranged weapons. Hiding in bushes, or jumping off the side of a tower to catch an enemy off-guard feels advantageous as it should compared to running in the open. Each hero’s skills are diverse and allow for creative combinations to pull off satisfying combos against foes.
The only criticism I have is with the number of different menus thrown at you, new players will struggle to understand what they are meant to be doing in their first few matches. However, new players are introduced slowly to combat with bot matches so as not to frustrate and allow them the ability to understand the gameplay. These first few matches are incredible to learn mechanics from grappling across maps, scaling buildings, and experimenting with environments (a waterwheel can be struck midmap to run over your enemies for a hilarious kill).
Naraka: Bladepoint is a refreshing take on a saturated genre with satisfying mobility and incredible combat that I have immensely enjoyed my time in. As I continue on I will be experimenting with the different skills of each hero as I learn to master their abilities.
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