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Card Hunter: Interview with Blue Manchu

September 24, 2013

Card Hunter, is a free to play collectible card game meets table-top strategy, playable in your browser. We scored an interview with their creator, Blue Manchu, a group of industry vets trying something new and different. Card Hunter has been met with a large critical acclaim and we at Capsule Computers haven’t been able to stop talking about it; so without further adieu, here’s the interview.

Your team has a lot of experience in the industry; including Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: the Gathering. How’d all this talent get together? What was the energy while working on Card Hunter? What led to the development of Card Hunter?

After selling Irrational Games to Take Two, Jon retired. He got bored very quickly and so he decided to work on something he really wanted to make. He was a big Magic: The Gathering fan and he decided to experiment with merging a CCG with a more traditional dungeon crawler, to make something new. We decided to get Richard Garfield involved because there’s a yawning abyss between playing a game and making one. We’d never made a CCG in our lives. So we asked Richard to help us out. Plus, we wanted to work with Richard Garfield.

How long of a process was it to refine the art-style in Card Hunter? Did you always have a certain look in mind?

It took a long time. We went through lots of different iterations. At one stage we experimented with using real lead figures. These things always take a lot of iteration to get right.

How big of a part did mechanics play while designing Card Hunter? Did you always have an idea on how the system would work? Or did you go through a few revisions?

It was the entire focus of development. We went through many different versions before getting it right. The toughest challenge was to create a deep battle system that was accessible and quick. This is a very tough balance to strike.

Why’d you choose to make Card Hunters browser based? How long into the process were you before you decided that? has it worked out how you intended?

We decided to go with a browser because we felt it was the easiest way to get the game to the widest audience. We made this decision early on. It’s been both good and bad. It’s been good in that people use browsers everyday. It’s been tough in that there’s a lot of stigma around browser-based games.

Are you planning on adding more classes? Or are you sticking with the holly trinity; warrior, priest, and wizard?

Yes that’s something we’d love to do. Obviously we want to make sure that what we have is working well before adding any new content.

I’ve noticed a queue forming here and there to get onto the Card Hunter server, were you expecting this large of a turn out? have plans to expand your server?

We were surprised by how popular the game is. We’re working right now on increasing server capacity and adding more servers. It’s a problem, but it’s a good problem.

Micro-transactions are all over Card Hunters; how do you balance the game so that it’s both fair and fun for those who participate in micro-transactions and those who don’t?

By not trying to squeeze money out of people at every turn. Really, the monetization in Card Hunter relies on people giving us money because they love the game and want to support what we’re doing. Most of the game is free. The pay-walls are minimal. And you can’t really buy an advantage over other people in multiplayer. It has to be like this because the basic requirement is a fun and balanced game.

Obviously table-top games of yore have been a large influence on Card Hunter, will we be seeing more of the table-top tropes sneaking in? Any specific table-top and card games you took inspiration from? What are some of your other influences?

Obviously first edition D&D was a huge inspiration for us. But really it draws upon all the first generation of pen and paper RPGs, like Tunnel and Trolls and Runequest.

After developing Card Hunters for so long, do you still play for enjoyment? What are some of your favorite tactics? Any tips you can give us noobs?

Yes, absolutely, which is surprising, given how much we’ve played it at this point. The most important tip is to rebuild your deck for every battle. Unlike a traditional RPG, that has a linear power progression, Card Hunter is about building your deck to face every challenge.

Now that Card Hunter is out, what’s next for Blue Manchu? Anything in the works or are you just planning to support Card Hunter, for now?

We’re really focused on bug fixing and then adding new stuff to Card Hunter. It’s a 24 hour, seven day a week operation at the moment!

What advice would you give to those looking to get into the industry or make games of their own?

My advice would be start making! There are lots of games out there you can mod. And middleware engines like Unity are relatively easy to pick up and start using.

We’d like to give our thanks to Blue Manchu for giving us their time for this interview. What are you waiting for? Now that you’ve got the inside scoop, go check out Card Hunter here.

Tech Defense Now Available

Vicky Martin

September 24, 2013

G4M3 Studios presents Australians and New Zealanders at the frontline of Tech Defense; the new strategy and action tower defence game that is now available on iOS devices for free at the App Store. In Tech Defense players must protect themselves and their Earth Mining Colony from the endless wave of android hordes, by upgrading their main weapon and turrets to conquer the various types of cybernetic machines, with different behaviours and tactical formation.

The key features of Tech Defense include:

7 secondary turrets; mortar, shield generators, flame-thrower, kinetic lighting, anti-infantry, anti-armour and anti-mechanized
11 consumable upgradable items; concussion grenade, autocooler, electromagnetic pulse brust, mines launcher, electrons cannon, incendiary bomb, plasma cannon, orbital bombardment, Icarus beam, H-bomb, money x2.
6 types of enemies, including Templars and Tanks and 3 final bosses
90+ options to improve and customize weapons and base
30 achievements and lucrative rewards
Multiplayer Battles and Bets against your friends
Share your score on Twitter and Facebook

Feeling up to the challenge? Download your exclusive copy here now and enter the battlefield!

SteelSeries Siberia v2 Heat Orange Edition Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

September 24, 2013

SteelSeries Siberia v2 Heat Orange Edition Review

SteelSeries Siberia v2 Heat Orange Edition
Manufacturer: SteelSeries
Platform: Mac, Windows
Price: $119.99 USD- Available Here

The SteelSeries Siberia v2 Heat Orange Edition is the latest addition to the Siberia line of headphones that started back in the mid-2000s with the well regarded Icemat Siberia. Since then, some small design and hardware improvements have been added. In the v2 Heat Orange Edition, the Siberia now sports an integrated USB sound card, 50mm drivers, a retractable microphone, and a bright orange and black colour scheme.

Inside the SteelSeries Siberia v2 box, we find the headset, a USB extension cable, and some paperwork. The headset’s cable is kept short for ease of use for laptop gamers. Approximately two feet down the headset is the mute switch and volume control. Another foot and a half down is the cable is the USB sound card. The USB plug is built into the end of the sound card. Those needing extra length will find a generous USB extension cable roughly six feet in length. Both cables are slightly thicker than the average USB cable but extremely light. The strain reliefs on the ends of the cables are slightly pliable which bodes well for the headset’s long term survival.

The cable length is perfect for laptop users, however, I found the volume and mute switch to hang a little low for my liking. Those on the shorter end of the spectrum may find themselves sitting on the remote. The volume wheel is tightened perfectly so there will be no accidental change of volumes. I liked the fact the wheel is coated with a rubbery material to ensure good grip. The remote has a glossy finish. This can make the mute button a little difficult to manipulate with dry fingers. I found the best way to do it was to lay my thumb flat against the switch and slide the switch. There is a dark brown line to signify the microphone muted that can be difficult to see in low light conditions. I believe a bright orange that matched the headphones would have been a better colour choice.

The SteelSeries Siberia v2 headset is extremely light. They are full sized over the ear headphones. The ear cups are generously sized, so most ears will fit inside. The cups are a little shallow, so ears that end to protrude away from the head may bump up against the inside. The material that pads the insides of the ear cup is a dark pumpkin orange. The ear cup padding is made from a very soft foam that is extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The padding is covered in a leather material that can get a little damp during an extremely hot gaming session, but the padding does allow enough airflow within the ear cups to prevent sauna like conditions.

On the outside of the ear cups are a mesh grille that hides the 16 orange LEDs. They are a very intense shade of orange that contrasts nicely against the gloss black plastic. The light distribution is very even which produces a nice orange band in the ear cups.

The Siberia’s suspension system means no fiddling around to size the headphones. They are slid on and immediately adjust themselves to the users size. It is an extremely comfortable system that is often found in higher end headphones from brands like AKG. The self-adjusting headband is attached with four thin metal cables that runs into the ear cups. The headband is able to move back and forth which may be a problem for those who prefer to slide their headphones on horizontally versus putting them on vertically. The horizontal slide is used especially by those with long hair who need to brush back their hair away from their ears before putting on the headphones. Unfortunately, the design means the suspended headband can catch on the forehead. Some adjustment will need to be made to accommodate those with long hair, whether the hair is pulled back in a ponytail or some change in how the headphone is donned.

The sound quality in the Siberia v2 is very good. It is a closed headset which means the ear cups are closed to outside sound. This is excellent for those who play in noisy areas or share their space with others as the sound that leaks out is minimal. The bass is strong without overpowering the headset’s highs and mids. Upon listening to music, I noticed that the extreme highs does suffer from a slight distortion. Most musical genres, games, and movies will not hit those levels, but those who enjoy certain genres of music like classical may find the distortion distracting. The soundstage is pretty large for a closed headset, a type that tends to struggle with extremely small soundstage. With the large soundstage, I could easily pick out distant sounds in Battlefield 3, a boon for competitive FPS gamers.

The microphone is a retractable microphone that stows away inside the left ear cup. When stowed, the Siberia v2 could easily be mistaken for a regular pair of headphones. The microphone is attached to a bendable plastic that can be easily shaped for any size and build. There is no foam padding to act as a pop filter, so one should be very careful with the positioning of the microphone to ensure it is away from the nose and mouth. A Darth Vader breath effect is no fun to listen to. The microphone’s audio quality is very good. It picks up voices clearly and sports an active noise cancelling microphone to help deal with noisy environments. My noisy computer fan is often picked up by microphones. The Siberia’s active noise cancellation did an excellent job on recording my voice, not the fan.

The headset works as a plug and play USB device for most Mac and Windows computers. The SteelSeries Siberia v2 can be used without the SteelSeries Engine. However, the Engine allows users to control the LED brightness and the pulsation effects or turn off the LEDs completely. The Engine also allows users to tweak the equalizer settings. The headset defaults to the “Balanced” profile, but there are profiles optimized for precision FPS gaming, voice chat, etc.

Priced at $119.99, the SteelSeries Siberia v2 Heat Orange Edition is priced at the high end for a stereo USB headset. However, it features an excellent design for extended wear and strong audio performance. The Siberia v2 is most definitely worth to extra money for anyone looking for an extremely comfortable set of headphones.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Alien Rage Review

Joe Morgan

September 24, 2013

Alien Rage
Developer: CI Games
Publisher: CI Games
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release Date: September 24, 2013
Price: $19.99 – Available Here

Overview
CI Games, the creators of the Sniper: Ghost Warrior franchise, are back with a different kind of beast in the cage. Though the Sniper franchise has been lukewarmly received by most, CI Games is looking to bolster their lineup with Alien Rage – their new fast-paced, sci-fi first-person shooter. How does Alien Rage hold up? Should we unleash the beast or send it to anger management classes? Let’s find out.

alien-rage-ss-05 — Some enemies will be on your before you can blink.

Story
Alien Rage tells a tale familiar to fans of the first-person shooter genre. Resources have become increasingly scarce on earth and everyone is scrambling to find an alternate energy source. The United Earth company finds an asteroid packed with promethium – a fuel source that could power the entire world. They quickly stake a claim and begin mining, but the Vorus (our resident alien race) soon show up, running humans off the energy rich asteroid. Now it’s your job to go in and destroy it all. Yep, that’s right. If we can’t have it, then nobody can.

Gameplay
Players take on the role of a space soldier. He’s given a name, but it’s inconsequential. He’s defined completely by heavy armor, big guns, a face tattoo, and the attitude of a toned-down Duke Nukem. He’s there to kill aliens and blow things up, and that’s about it.

alien-rage-ss-01 — Space soldier with an attitude, reporting for duty!

Alien Rage‘s true strengths lie in its combat, which is great since you’ll be spending most of your time in it. You can carry a pistol and two other guns at any given time. Those other guns can range anywhere from SMG and assault rifle to Vorus blasters and rocket launchers. Each gun handles wonderfully, and they’re all equipped with a unique secondary fire that gives you some good options for situational combat.

On top of the basic shooting mechanics, Alien Rage has a heavy arcade feel to it similar to arena shooters like the Unreal Tournament series. You’re rewarded for headshots, multikills, melee attcks, environmental kills, and more. There’s even an announcer to shout it to the world. It’s a fun mechanic that adds to your engagement with the combat.

The level design, though modernized, feels as though it were pulled out of a Doom title back in the early 2000’s. Each mission has a set path you will have to work through with very little choice to offer players. Invisible walls block anything off the path to the end. This corridor-focused level design has both pros and cons. It obviously restricts how you can tackle encounters. On the plus side, though, it keeps the pace of combat cranked up. You’ll constantly have to maneuver, dodge, and counter-strike, which plays well to the strengths of the combat.

alien-rage-ss-02 — He was hanging around, but had to split.

Hidden throughout each of the 14 stages are six items for you to uncover. You’ll find “bonus” items and audio logs. While the bonus items serve to up your score, the audio logs are genuinely interesting. They give you pieces of the story of a human scientist working in the compound before the Vorus attack. While they’re not required to progress, they’re well told and offer a genuinely interesting tale to an otherwise drab story.

You’ll encounter a variety of Vorus on your mission. Apart from vanilla soldiers, the Vorus employ explosives experts, cloaked units, spider bots, and more. They’ll throw everything they have to stop you. When that fails, you’ll encounter several nasty bosses.

The game’s AI can be both devilish and foolish. More often than not, as soon as you walk through a doorway, you’re greeted with a barrage of enemy fire, even though no one has seen you yet. They’re completely unforgiving, relentlessly mowing you down as swiftly as possible. On the other hand, if you can fool them, an entire room of Vorus will run right at you one by one, leaving you free to dispatch them easily.

alien-rage-ss-03 — Rewards for explosions? Sign me up.

Boss battles are a different beast. They offer a solid mix of intense, high octane combat while you figure out their weakness or pattern. They can be frustrating, but they’re a lot of fun and quite rewarding.

My biggest complaint with Alien Rage has to be the checkpointing system. Checkpoints are often spaced 2-3 encounters apart with no way to save between. This may not seem too bad, but an encounter can often involve 10-15 enemies eager to kill you. Fight through the first encounter or two, and you can still be ambushed before the checkpoint and have to do it all over again. When you couple relentless AI with poor checkpointing (and no save system), it’s a recipe that can only end in frustration for your players.

Visuals & Audio
Alien Rage is a beautiful game in motion. Everything looks crisp and fits in line with its unique aesthetic. The lighting in the game offers a pleasant glow amidst the chaos of gunshots and explosions. Enemy design is satisfying, somewhere between Killzone‘s Helghast and Halo‘s Covenant, though more menacing than either. Animation is crisp and fluid, with each round fired relaying a sense of weight and confidence. There is some occasional texture pop-in, but when everything else looks so jaw-dropping, it’s easily forgivable. It’s really fun watching this game in motion, especially when the heat is on.

alien-rage-ss-04 — This big boy looks unhappy.

Sound design feels somewhat hit-or-miss. The sound effects are excellent, with each gunshot and explosion packing weight you can feel. The soundtrack also does a good job keeping your adrenaline going. The weak part, though, is the cheesy dialog between the player and his teammates, cracking off the occasional cheesy one-liner when he’s not the otherwise-silent protagonist.

Overall
Though Alien Rage feels dated when comparing it to modern shooters, it is a terrific experience. It embraces the fact that many of its design choices are meant to play to old-school sensibilities and it’s a better game for it. Though enemy AI can be infuriating and the checkpoints are too far spaced out, the core gameplay feels fantastic. Combine that with incredible visual design and animation, and you’ve got a great old-school shooter for a budget price. Fans of old-school shooters will definitely want to give it a try.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Puppeteer Review

Andrew Day

September 24, 2013

Puppeteer
Developer: SCE Japan Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PS3
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $39.99 – Available Here

Overview

Puppeteer tells the story of a little boy who’s head was eaten by a giant Moon Bear King. Although it sounds brutal, this is definitely a game anyone can enjoy. The game is told through a puppet show, with you controlling a marionette puppet Kutaro. Its clever gameplay mechanics, combined with outstanding visual and audio presentation make for a game that it is as fun to watch as it is to play. While people of all ages will be able to enjoy Puppeteer, it does suffer from some slight issues; namely long cut scenes and a lack of overall difficulty for the most part. However, these issues are minor in the grand scheme of things.

Story

Puppeteer tells the story of a little wooden doll, Kutaro who has lost his head (literally). In order to keep going, he is tasked with finding additional heads, each which bestow him special abilities. In his quest for heads, he finds himself going toe to toe with the terrifying Moon Bear King, and a wealth of other monsters and colourful characters.

The Moon Bear King steals the souls of children in the dead of night and turns them into the puppet guards of his castle. Kutaro is one of the children, and during his capture his head was ripped off and eaten while the rest of his body remains. The story sounds dark and gruesome however the game is fairly light hearted and definitely suitable for all ages.

Puppeteer plays out like a stage performance, with marionette puppets filling in the roles of the characters. It is a unique approach, but one that definitely works. Through audience interaction and emotional outbursts, and the way the characters and enemies move, you will believe you really are watching a puppet show at your local theater.

The game is riddled with cut scenes that help push the story along, and they are all fantastic. Top notch voice acting and animations really bring these cut scenes to life and immerse you in its story. Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence for these cut scenes to go on too long, noticeably breaking the gameplay up.

Gameplay

Puppeteer is by and large a platformer. You will rush across 2.5D levels, solving puzzles, battling enemies and finding more heads. Each of the heads you will find along your journey will have their own unique characteristics, and bestow your little puppet with unique powers. Getting damaged forces your head to come flying off, giving you only a short amount of time to pick it up before it becomes unusable. Part of the game’s draw is to collect the staggering amount of heads for your character (ranging from a Skull through to a Hamburger, and everything in between).

The early stages of the game are pretty standard-fare for a platformer, which has you running and jumping over obstacles while battling enemies and solving some small puzzles. However, the game really shifts into gear when you unlock the Calibrus, a giant pair of scissors. The Calibrus are used in combat, and also as am eans of traversing the large levels that Puppeteer offers. “Cutting” is a unique mechanic that allows you to cut objects like paper, wood, grass and even water (i know, i know) to progress through. By continually cutting objects, you will immerse yourself in a sort of flight-mode that keeps you going as long as there is stuff to cut.

There are a handful of enemy types in Puppeteer, and each one of them acts differently and requires different tricks and skills to beat. It is a little sad that there are so few enemy types, as additional variety would have really spiced up the game. While there are such a limited variety of enemies, the bosses are completely different. Each boss looks and feels completely different from anything else in the game.

While the boss fights are some of the more difficult areas of the game, the game itself isn’t too much of a challenge. There are no areas where I felt the game was unfair or cheap, and in many cases I felt like the game was maybe a little too easy. You are given plenty of time to retrieve your head before it disappears and the puzzles although fun, are not intense brain teasers. This works highly in Puppeteer’s favour though, as this is a game made for all ages, and unlike most family-oriented games, this one really will be fun for everyone.

Visuals

The visuals here in Puppeteer are simply outstanding. Everything looks like it was carved roughly from a piece of wood, or sewn together from fabric. It really brings the puppet-show vibe to life, and seeing the characters and monsters on stage is a marvel to behold.

Screenshots for this game don’t do it justice, as a lot of the magic comes from the way characters and areas move. Kutaro looks and acts like a marionette puppet would, bobbing and staggering as he moves, yet it is all so fluid and impressive. For those who have been to professional puppet shows in the past, you will know exactly what I’m talking about – it looks that good.

The game has an interesting way of adjusting between stages too, with many of the backdrops and foreground being removed from the scene and replaced in front of your eyes. This adds to the live performance feel, and seeing the stage change in front of you is almost as enjoying as watching the characters move around. From a technical standpoint these animations couldn’t have been easy, but the time and care that has been put into them is really noticeable and really appreciated.

You 3d-TV owners out there are in for a real treat with Puppeteer, as it offers stereoscopic 3d. Not only does it offer 3D, but it absolutely nails it. The visual style and manner of things popping out of the screen at players makes for an incredible viewing experience and really adds to the feel of a puppet show that the game presents.

Audio

A lot of Puppeteer’s charm and character can be link to its audio. From the music that greets you as you enter the game, through to the extremely impressive voice acting, everything is just so well composed and honestly the game just wouldn’t be the same without it. The music is the first thing that will catch your attention. It is beautifully composed and accurately sets the tone for the story and for the stages as you play the game. This, coupled with some incredible voice acting and masterful sound effects really combine to bring the world alive.

The music and voice acting is great, but what really captures the spirit of the game is the ‘audience’ members. As you perform certain actions, the audience will react accordingly. Cheering, laughing, gasping and many other emotions are all inserted into the game, giving it the lifelike and interactive atmosphere.

Overall

Puppeteer is one of those rare examples in media which proves that games aimed at children can also be enjoyed by teens and even adults. It is masterfully crafted, and a joy to play. Although it seems a bit easy at times, and often the cut scenes will drag on for far too long, the clever cutting mechanic, great platforming and reliance on puzzle solving over straight up combat more than make up for it. The beautiful design and visuals, as well as the audio really bring the game to life, and if you were stuck watching someone play Puppeteer instead of being able to do so yourself, then you will get just as much enjoyment out of it.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Valve Announce Steam OS

Claire Phillips

September 24, 2013

In the first of three announcements to come this week, Valve have announced a free operating system that will combine the current Steam platform with Linux. A “stand-alone operating system for living room machines”, Steam OS looks to broaden the already existing features of Steam to include services expected from a TV centric system.

Users will be able to stream games from their PC or Mac on to their TV, running the Steam client as normal on the base machine. More family friendly features are on the way, with tools to customise exactly what games are available to different users. Family members will be able to take turns playing each others games but still earn their own achievements, saving individual progress to the Steam cloud. Valve are also working to bring popular music and video media services online. Both Steam and Steam OS will eventually boast these features.

Valve claim that hundreds of Steam games are already running natively on the Steam OS, with further announcements to come regarding the release of triple A titles on the platform. The next announcement is set to go live on Wednesday, with many expecting the reveal of some much teased hardware to match the operating system – the Steam Box.

Click here for the full announcement.

MechCorps Brings the Thunder

Jeffery Shull

September 24, 2013

There is always something to see at DragonCon and this year was no different as it had almost every type of gaming under its roof, and one of the showcases stood out from the others. Along with more table top gaming than you can imagine there was also a group of pods that housed the cockpit of a heavily armed battle mech. Welcome to the world of MechCorps, an interesting concept that is also a lot of fun.

Using a group of pods connected together, they set up a multiplayer battle royale where there can only be one winner. One of the coolest things about their system is that it puts you behind the controls of a cockpit instead of the standard joystick fare. The MechCorps group uses their technology to bring the BattleTech world into a new realm of action, taking a tabletop world and adding in head to head combat. The group also makes the experience accessible to as many as possible by bringing their pods to various conventions around America as well as various private events and tournaments. There were always people in line to play at DragonCon and people waiting could check out the action on monitors detailing what each pilot was seeing and doing.

The action in their game is intense and incredibly detailed with respects to damage tracking; each mech has a 2-d visual representation on a screen and the individual parts change from green to yellow to red as increased damage is taken. Points are calculated based on damage given instead of only by kills, leading to close outcomes and intense action packed battles putting nine competitors against each other on the field of war.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag to be playable at Eurogamer Expo 2013

Travis Bruno

September 24, 2013

Today Ubisoft has announced that they will be attending the Eurogamer Expo this weekend and they will be bringing Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag with them. THere will be three different demos available at the event, with playable demos at the Ubisoft, NVIDIA and Sony booths.

After playing the game at any of these booths, you can receive a free Assassin’s Creed Ace of Spades card which has been designed by award winning London artist Vic Lee. These cards are limited and will be given out until the supply is exhausted. It is also worth noting that if anyone at the event pre-orders the game from the GAME booth during the even they will be given a limited edition artwork print.

Hellraid ‘Edyn’s Escape’ interactive trailer released

Travis Bruno

September 24, 2013

To help promote their upcoming game, Techland has released a unique interactive trailer for Hellraid. I say it is interactive because it is something of a choose your own adventure trailer. As you watch the video below, you will be given various choices to make.

Some decisions will reveal bits of concept art, help you move forward in helping Edyn Escape, or end in a horrible death. If you manage to escape the dungeon not only will you have the satisfaction of doing so, but you will also net a free song download from the game’s OST.

The events in the video are set two weeks before the beginning of the game. Currently Hellraid is set to be released sometime this year for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, though no exact release date has been announced as of yet.

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