Gaming

Introduction

Few types of media hook me like a good documentary. The genre uses the best elements of traditional filmmaking to amplify what will always be the greatest story ever told: reality. Whether it’s an educational look at the natural world, a gripping true crime tale, or an enlightening biography of a noteworthy figure, the best documentaries manage to educate as effectively as they entertain.

The video games industry is now old enough to have been subjected to its fair share of documentaries, from The King of Kong to Indie Game: The Movie to Netflix’s High Score. But no matter how good they are, they all generate a tough-to-pin-down anxiety in me I never consciously noticed until recently: By the time the film ends, or, more often, in the middle of it, I just want to stop watching and play the games in question.

It’s a frustration shared by Chris Kohler, the editorial director at Digital Eclipse. And it’s one of the reasons why he enjoys working on the studio’s Gold Master Series. Essentially the gaming equivalent of the Criterion Collection, it consists of two titles, The Making of Karateka and Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story. Each game takes players on a playable history lesson of its subjects, be it a single game, a creator, or an entire studio. The result is a new genre Digital Eclipse can call its own: the interactive documentary.

Digital Eclipse’s neon-lit arcade

Built On Preservation

Built On Preservation

Digital Eclipse has led the charge in commercial video game emulation since its early years. Founded in 1992 as Williams Digital Arcade, it specialized in creating arcade-accurate console ports of classic arcade titles via emulation at a time when this was mainly accomplished by replicating an arcade game’s code from scratch.

“It was if you went and bought The Godfather on VHS, and it was just new people trying to recreate the version of The Godfather that was on film instead of somebody coming up with technology that would allow you to take a filmstrip and get that information onto a Blu-ray or DVD or whatever it is,” Kohler explains.

Digital Eclipse is a pioneer in commercial emulation. While the studio’s methods equated to a more enjoyable gaming experience, it also served as an early example of game preservation. Kohler says the company was essentially built on the need to pay retro games the proper respect.

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

The 2000s saw the company undergo a complicated period of mergers and rebrands before reemerging in 2015 as Digital Eclipse once more. This saw the studio shift its focus back towards preservation in the form of retro game compilations such as the Mega Man Legacy Collection, Disney Afternoon Collection, and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. These titles included bonus features such as long-lost concept art and other development and marketing materials that, with each release, gradually grew from being a sideshow to almost the main attraction.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, released in 2022, is perhaps the most impressive of these game bundles. In addition to packing in 13 old-school TMNT games, it boasts an exhaustive number of forgotten materials such as original magazine ads, scans of the original game boxes and manuals, comic book covers, and never-before-seen concept art. For ’80s babies, they weren’t just revisiting old TMNT games; they were reliving the franchises’ early pop-culture boom while getting a behind-the-scenes look at how these games were brought to life.

While retro collections help keep old games alive, Kohler says they only offer the “What” of a game’s overall history. They don’t provide the “Who,” “Where,” “How,” and, most importantly, the “Why.” To fill those gaps, Digital Eclipse needed a fresh approach.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story

Creating A Genre

Creating A Genre

Kohler joined Digital Eclipse in July 2020. At the time, the company had licensed the Karateka IP from creator Jordan Mechner to create a new retro collection of sorts. Unlike its previous projects, Digital Eclipse had full control over the Karateka game’s direction since the studio didn’t have to work with a publisher. The Karateka title became Kohler’s first major project, and the team also gained access to years’ worth of Mechner’s personal materials. These included his journals documenting his daily life while developing Karateka, design documents, publisher correspondences, and more. As Kohler pored over decades-old legal negotiations and Mechner’s written insights into creating Karateka and other games, he and the team saw the potential to tell Karateka’s story in a new fashion.

“And just realizing that there was this incredible narrative behind this game, and because we had Jordanʼs journals where he was writing down day by day everything that was happening in his life as he was creating this game, we could really go far beyond the idea of the retro collection,” says Kohler. “We could really tell this in a narrative way, and the story itself can become the main event, as it were.”

The Making of Karateka

The seed for the interactive documentary had been sewn, and the team began brainstorming. What if they could tell a linear story that takes players down the complete timeline of a game’s development? Better yet, what if players could play not only the finished product but also its various prototypes?

It was around this time that Digital Eclipse began a partnership with Atari to create a title celebrating the companyʼs 50th anniversary. Coincidentally, Atari wanted something different than the average retro collection, and Digital Eclipse saw this as the perfect opportunity to implement its nascent documentary game concept. The idea that was originally envisioned for The Making of Karateka would make its debut in Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection.

In addition to conducting a staggering amount of research, Digital Eclipse filmed interviews with former Atari employees and industry luminaries. Perhaps most impressively, it included over 100 playable Atari games, from the iconic to the forgotten, via emulation. The result was a robust story of Atari’s founding and golden age told through linear timelines divided by chapters. Players read informative blurbs, viewed development documents and other key materials, watched documentary clips, and, of course, played the games that define a generation. As a bonus, it had even developed modern reimaginings of select titles.

Digital Eclipse CSO and Head of Publishing Justin Bailey summons Karateka’s dreaded hawk at the Portland Retro Expo

The result was a resounding success. Atari 50 earned widespread acclaim as one of the most complete and well-made video game compilations ever created. It also worked as a successful proof-of-concept for the fledgling interactive documentary concept.

“By taking that all the way to the finish line, we were able to kind of work out the structure and the format,” says Kohler. “And as weʼre kind of getting towards the end of Atari 50, it was like, ‘Okay, now itʼs time to take all these learnings that weʼve had by finishing out Atari 50 and then revisit that back on to Karateka.’”

By this time, Digital Eclipse had also signed on with famed UK developer Jeff Minter, creator of hits such as Gridrunner and Tempest 2000, for a title documenting his studio, Llamasoft. Thanks to Atari 50, Digital Eclipse found a winning formula for telling more great stories from video game history. The Gold Master Series was born as a result, and The Making of Karateka and Llamasoft adhered to Atari 50’s blueprint to tell their respective stories and expand players’ appreciation for them.

Reshaping History

Reshaping History

“Nobodyʼs really doing what weʼre doing,” says Kohler. “And maybe for good reason. Maybe weʼre crazy, but weʼre doing our best to try to figure out what this new type of video game is.”

The Gold Master Series team consists of former game journalists like Kohler and Dan Amrich, who handle the lion’s share of researching and crafting the resulting narratives. The games are made using the Eclipse Engine, proprietary software specially designed to easily ingest emulators, either licensed or developed in-house, to run several old games from a plethora of platforms. The Eclipse Engine is the secret sauce of the Gold Master Series, as its ability to juggle emulators alongside sound and video in a fast and responsive manner is the reason why navigating the games’ timelines feels smooth and snappy.

Of course, each game needs a central topic, and everyone at Digital Eclipse, as you might expect, has a personal wishlist of subjects. “Iʼm still waiting for that call from Shigeru Miyamoto,” says Kohler. “He has my number.” I found it hard to think that anyone could top Jordan Mechner. His absurdly meticulous note and record keeping (Kohler: “Nobody’s that organized! Who does that?!”) makes him the gold standard when it comes to providing enough reference material to fill a game. But Kohler tells me that so long as the subject is interesting/important, how much they choose to hold on to isn’t a prerequisite to be considered for a Gold Master Series game. If Digital Eclipse needs something, one way or another, they’ll find it. And whatever they gather will shape the game accordingly. Jeff Minter didn’t have as many design documents as Mechner, so Digital Eclipse leaned more into showing what the actual games looked like. Llamasoft includes models of the cassette tapes along with advertisements and reviews from UK gaming mags at the time. Some materials aren’t found until close to the end of production.

Atari 50, for example, had to be patched to include film footage recorded by a Berkeley University student of Atari back when the company was still called Syzygy. Essentially an amateur documentary capturing the birth of Atari, the footage vanished for decades. While the Atari Museum possessed a copy of the film, Digital Eclipse didn’t have the rights to use it. So, instead, the studio had to track down one of the students who made it, get their permission to use their footage, research the legal rights for its commercial use, and patch it into Atari 50 after it was already finalized. “We did so much legwork to get that little like, two, three minutes snippet of a film in this,” says Kohler.

Battlezone designer Owen Rubin at his controller-laden work station

That effort speaks to the length Digital Eclipse will go to ensure its interactive documentaries are as rich and comprehensive as possible. “We have not had a situation yet where weʼve wanted to tell a story and have not been able to find cool things to tell that story,” Kohler says. “So, I donʼt think we ever will. I think we can find the things.”

The closest comparison I offer for the Gold Master Series is they feel like modern museum exhibits. A museum attendee can breeze through exhibits, giving little more than cursory glances, and walk away with a basic understanding of the history lesson told. Conversely, they can read every card, press every button, and play every video to absorb more details. Kohler says Digital Eclipse wants the Gold Master Series to offer the same range of engagement and that either approach, no matter how shallow or deep, is perfectly okay.

Additionally, Digital Eclipse is always looking for ways to add interactivity beyond just playing an emulated game. One great example is The Making of Karateka’s rotoscope theater, where players can watch a short clip of the game while toggling each animation layer, almost like Photoshop filters. In fact, Kohler cites the rotoscope theater as an example of how Digital Eclipse has only scratched the surface of what the interactive documentary can evolve into. That leads to the million-dollar question: Does he consider these types of experiences to be true video games?

‘Yes, I think itʼs a video game,” Kohler explains. “I think itʼs a video game as much as [a] documentary film is a film. And I think that in the same way that filmmakers and film critics back in the ’70s kind of started looking at film and saying, ‘We should be talking about film by making films about film,’ we should be talking about video games by making video games about video games.”

Writing The Next Chapter

Writing The Next Chapter

Kohler says Digital Eclipse regularly receives feedback that players unfamiliar or unattached to the subject of the Gold Master Series are less willing to give them a shot. It’s a constant challenge to communicate that not only has Digital Eclipse made these games with such people in mind, but you’ll likely walk away with a newfound appreciation or even fandom for the games being discussed.

“I think it all goes back to the fact that video games are just such a new medium,” he says. “And weʼre only sort of just scratching the surface of what could be done with that interactive medium.”

Despite this, Kohler says he believes that if Digital Eclipse keeps doing the work, eventually, they’ll attract enough attention to break through to a wider audience. At the end of the day, he believes people do enjoy being educated, as evidenced by the popularity of more traditional documentary-style programs and podcasts. In his eyes, the Gold Master Series isn’t just about teaching – he refers to the term “edutainment” as being “tainted” – but also about bringing more nonfiction into the medium of video games.

The Making of Karateka exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The Gold Master Series titles have unintentionally been released at a cadence of one per year (Llamasoft in 2024, Karateka in 2023, and their spiritual predecessor Atari 50 in 2022). Kohler says not to expect this pattern to continue, but the team has various projects in the works. Atari’s acquisition of Digital Eclipse in the fall of 2023 has presumably provided a stronger financial safety net, so I only hope we have many more Gold Master Series games to come. And while Kohler is hopeful, he also doesn’t want Digital Eclipse to monopolize the genre. He hopes their work creates enough of a demand to inspire other studios to pursue similar projects.

“We should be telling our own stories,” he says. “We shouldnʼt be letting books and films or a Netflix series tell the stories of video games. We should be looking at that ourselves because itʼs all part of the video game industry needing to treat video games with more respect.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 366 of Game Informer

With the immense popularity of Fallout 76 following the live-action television series, more players than ever are flocking to post-apocalyptic Appalachia. But they’re spread far and wide across multiple systems. With that in mind, is Fallout 76 crossplay?

Unfortunately, Fallout 76 does not support crossplay completely. There’s a caveat, of course, because it shouldn’t be too simple to play with your friends cross-platform, right?

You can play Fallout 76 crossplay between PC and Xbox Series X|S, but only when playing on the Game Pass version of the multiplayer wasteland adventure.

If you purchased a digital copy from the Xbox Store and your pal purchased a copy through Steam, you cannot play together.

Will the game ever receive crossplay support? There’s no telling. Microsoft is making a huge push to put its games on every platform imaginable, and that often means cross-platform support to some extent. However, the most significant blockage preventing crossplay from moving forward successfully is usually Sony.

I hope you’re ready for a little more disappointment, sadly. You cannot transfer save files between systems in Fallout 76. If you previously created a character on the PC version but went out and bought an Xbox Series S on sale, you must start an entirely new save file on the console.

At the very least, it’s an opportunity to test out a new build!

Whether you jump in-game with a friend or not, you’ll likely want to start accumulating resources for crafting and construction. Here is how to get Gold Scrap in Fallout 76! Before you boot up the game, however, why not sign up for the Insider Gaming Newsletter?

Related

We’re thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Leniese van der Merwe, the Assistant Project Director for MusicEx and Marketing Manager for Gallagher Convention Centre.

In this interview, Leniese shares exciting details about MusicEx, taking place from 26-28 July 2024 at the Gallagher Convention Centre. Discover how MusicEx is set to celebrate South African music and lifestyle with an impressive lineup of performances, workshops, and more!

Leniese provides an insider’s view on what makes this event a must-attend for all music enthusiasts. From the Main Stage in Hall 2 to the intimate Music Lounge, MusicEx offers a dynamic experience for everyone. The event will host performances from top South African artists across three days.

26 July 2024

• Main Stage: Spoegwolf, Karen Zoid, Pabi Cooper, Mafikizolo, Kamo Mphela, Francois van Coke, Prime Circle, Young Stunna.
• Music Lounge: Arno Carstens, The Soil, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Samthing Soweto, Kings of the Weekend.
• Workshop: Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

27 July 2024

• Main Stage: Kwesta, Shekhinah, Mi Casa, Zakes Bantwini, Cassper Nyovest, DBN Gogo, New Hero, Grimehouse, Zinah, Jesse Clegg, Thakzin.
• Music Lounge: Jesse Clegg, The Muses, Zinah, New Hero, Zolani & Feminine Force, Louise Carver, Tamara Dey & Jazz Band.
• Workshop: Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

28 July 2024

• Main Stage: Lady Zamar, Majozi, Matthew Mole, Jeremy Loops, Mango Groove, Dodo Nyoka, Mashudu, DJ Zinhle.
• Music Lounge: Sydney Ace Mnisi, Elandre, Refentse, Bunny Majaja, Nadine.
• Workshop: Willem Botha.

We’re giving away a day ticket to one lucky winner! To enter:

1. Watch the YouTube interview with Leniese van der Merwe.
2. Leave a comment on the YouTube video.
3. Come back here and comment “Done” along with your YouTube handle/name in the comments section of this article.

Open to all South African residents. The giveaway closes on 24th July.

The winner will be selected randomly and fairly and will be emailed with details on the tickets. T’s and C’s apply.

Good luck!

For those excited to attend this amazing event with all these artists under one roof for the weekend, tickets are available for purchase here:

Don’t miss out on this extraordinary celebration of South African music and lifestyle.

Get your tickets now and join us at MusicEx for an unforgettable experience!

A new report from Newzoo has revealed just how much of the world are gamers. The analysis tracked 73,000 people across 36 different markets.

The study (via VGIM) uncovered 85% of participants interact with gaming in one form or another, with 80% directly gaming. The remaining percent include people who watch gaming content, create content, or join communities around games. Based on generations, Gen Alpha and Gen Z are the most engaged, with 96% to 92% respectively branded as “game enthusiasts.”

Frankly, this revelation should come as no surprise, the gaming medium has become such a widely loved hobby, even a good portion of Baby Boomers — 50% — are playing games. In terms of genre, the favored one only changes from Gen X and Baby Boomer, with most Gens favoring adventure games while X and BBs favor puzzle games. Gen X likes puzzle games as its secondary favorite genre.

The study has proven just how far the hobby of gaming has come and how vast it is nowadays, whereas it was once considered a niche hobby for kids, people of all ages can enjoy video games, as there is really something for everyone out there.

The latest episode of VGC: The Video Game Podcast is out now.

This week, VGC’s Jordan Middler and Chris Scullion are joined by Pete Donaldson to chat about PlayStation‘s newest action figures, PlayStation Stars, and the man arrested for allegedly carrying a replica Master Sword with a 6-inch blade.

In the second half of the show, it’s a tribute to the Wii U as we look back on Nintendo‘s ill-fated console following Nintendo’s decision to end the console’s repair program.

VGC: A Video Games Podcast episodes are available weekly, hosted by VGC’s Jordan Middler, Chris Scullion and Andy Robinson, and broadcaster Pete Donaldson, featuring regular special guests from across the games industry.

You can subscribe to VGC: A Video Games Podcast now on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.

Helldivers 2 players have finally received the latest ship upgrades, only to find themselves a bit underwhelmed. The new modules require between 200 to 250 rare samples for upgrades, which is a nice addition. But as usual, the community is quick to voice their opinion.

Fans think that a more impactful update would’ve been increasing the sample cap. The current cap on samples has left players wanting more. And there are discussions on forums about increasing the cap limit and how it would affect the existing mechanics.

Helldivers 2’s current sample cap is 500 Common Samples, 250 Rare Samples, and 100 Super Uranium Samples. Any samples that players get beyond these limits during their missions become useless. 

Give us this Arrowhead I beg you
byu/ItsDaFunkMonkey inHelldivers

Many dedicated players who have already unlocked all available upgrades find themselves hitting these caps quickly. This leads to a lack of motivation to continue collecting samples. 

I am the only one who thinks the caps are too small?
byu/LaSiena inHelldivers

Players have voiced their opinions on the r/Helldivers subreddit, suggesting that increasing the sample cap would provide a greater sense of progression. 

One user pointed out that having a way to spend surplus samples would keep the gameplay engaging, especially for those who have already maxed out their upgrades. 

Many players argue that raising the cap would give players more reasons to play and maintain interest and activity. But if listening to the community is what works, then there are so many different options for Arrowhead to do so.

Remove or increase samples and medals cap limit
byu/DavRLe inHelldivers

With the recent struggles that the game is facing with player count and the release of other co-op games, it’ll be interesting to see if Arrowhead changes anything.

The Helldivers 2 community has been vocal about their desire for more engaging content. An idea circulating among players is the introduction of special orders or tasks that need to be completed before purchasing new upgrades.  

Comment
byu/DavRLe from discussion
inHelldivers

Despite this, there is another side to this as some players argue that limiting the sample cap keeps the game balanced and engaging. They believe that having to work for new upgrades maintains the game’s longevity and prevents burnout. 

While the Helldivers 2 community remains active and passionate about the game, this is not reflected in the player count as the game slowly loses players. 

The game’s addictive gameplay and constantly driven narrative is a good hook, but in a competitive environment, Arrowhead needs to do more.

However, others counter that the repetitive nature of grinding for samples without any new objectives can lead to disinterest and a decline in active players.

What do you think about Helldivers 2’s future? Let us know in the comments!

NoobFeed editor Kurtis Seid writes – As far as a city builder, Republic of Pirates doesn’t reinvent or improve anything. It uses a lot of the same systems and rules from other proven games from the last decade. The main draw is the pirate theming and sailing aspect. If the idea of pirates and raiding appeals to you, you might want to try the Steam demo first. Then from there, decide if Republic of Pirates is worth the full price.

• Evercade is set to debut new editions in its Super Pocket line of handhelds
• The Atari and Technos editions will feature games from said platforms
• There’s also a limited-run of woodgrain versions of the Atari handheld

Game preservation is one of those conversation topics that can get highly charged. Whether it’s the people crowing about it being piracy or those who say “Just emulate it!”, there’s never a crowd-pleasing answer. Fortunately, some companies do offer easier, official ways to access older games without paying eye-watering second-hand prices.

Evercade is one of them, and the company has just unveiled its latest line of products with the latest Super Pocket. This handheld device has already debuted with Capcom and Taito versions, but October 2024 will see the release of even more retro versions with the Atari and Technos editions, featuring games from said platforms.

There are also wood-grain versions of the Atari edition that will be limited to a production run of only 2600, going on sale soon.

Wow, so retro

With handheld gaming devices mainly being relegated to retro emulation, we’re always glad to see more official versions on offer. And Evercade has managed to cultivate a fairly good reputation over the past few years, although some may see their 2600 limited run as a bit of a gimmick, unless that’s real wood-grain of course.

Still, with the Super Pockets being compatible with Evercade’s existing cartridges, you can take your retro game collection on the go with ease, while popping them back into your main console once you’re done.

The new Super Pocket Editions go on sale in October of 2024.

But in the meantime if you’re looking for some games you can play right now on mobile, why not take a look at our list of the best mobile games of 2024 (so far) to get yourself started?

Better yet, you can always get stuck into our other list, which features the most anticipated mobile games of the year. So whatever your genre, there’s sure to be something for you!

Despite us being close to the Grand Theft Auto 6 launch, we’re still getting news and anecdotes from Grand Theft Auto 5‘s development. According to a former Rockstar Games developer, the game was set to get a story DLC, but that it was canceled in favor of GTA Online.

Joe Rubino guested on the SanInPlay YouTube channel, and you can watch the whole interview below. Rubino, who was an editor and did second-unit directing on the DLC, described it as “kickass” and “awesome,” but said that the success of GTA Online meant leaders at the company didn’t think it was worth investing in both projects. He didn’t offer up details on specifics, but said that Trevor actor Steven Ogg was involved.

“When [GTA Online] came out, it was so much of a cash cow, and people were loving it so much that it was hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would compete,” he said. “Looking back now, I would say that you could probably do both.”

While the free-to-play GTA Online was — and still is — popular, regularly bringing in tens of thousands of concurrent players on Steam, Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the top-selling games of all time. According to Take-Two Interactive’s February financials, it sold over 195 million copies to date. It even beat out a bunch of Call of Duty titles to become the top-selling game of the 2010s.

However, aspects of the project weren’t completely shelved. He noted that it was around “halfway” done, and elements were eventually incorporated into GTA Online. The teams were working on both GTA games and Red Dead Redemption 2 simultaneously, so when the DLC was scrapped, many of them moved over to GTA Online.

Rubino, who has since worked with Amazon Games and NetEase, also gave a bit more insight into the security situation around Rockstar Games — specifically the New York City office. He mentioned that you had to go through three levels of security to get to his part of the company, which handled a lot of the story and early parts of development.

Epic says that Apple has once again rejected its submission for a third-party app store, according to a series of posts on X. The company says that Apple rejected the latest submission over the design and position of the “install” button on the app store, claiming that it too closely resembles Apple’s own “get” button. Apple also allegedly said that Epic’s “in-app purchases” label is too similar to its own label, used for the same reason.

The maker of Fortnite suggests that this is just another salvo in the long-running dispute between the two companies. Epic says that it’s using the same “install” and “in-app purchases” naming conventions found “across popular app stores on multiple platforms.” As for the design language, the company states that it’s “following standard conventions for buttons in iOS apps” and that they’re “just trying to build a store that mobile users can easily understand.”

Epic has called the rejection “arbitrary, obstructive and in violation of the DMA.” To that end, it has shared concerns with the European Commission in charge of tracking potential Digital Markets Act (DMA) violations. The company still says it’s ready to launch both the Epic Games Store and Fortnite on iOS in the EU in “the next couple of months” so long as Apple doesn’t put up “further roadblocks.”

This is just the latest news from a rivalry that goes back years. The two companies have been sparring ever since Epic started using its own in-app payment option in the iOS version of Fortnite, keeping Apple away from its 30 percent cut.

This led to a lengthy legal battle in the US about Apple’s walled-garden approach to its app store. Epic sued Apple and Apple banned Epic. A judge issued a permanent injunction as a way to allow developers to avoid Apple’s 30 percent cut of sales. This didn’t satisfy anyone. Apple wasn’t happy, for obvious reasons, and Epic contested the language of the injunction, which didn’t call out Apple for having a monopoly. Both companies appealed, eventually making its way to the Supreme Court. The court decided not to hear the case. The justices must have had other things to do.

As the two companies continued bickering in the US, the EU passed the aforementioned DMA. This forced Apple’s hand into allowing third-party storefronts on iOS devices in Europe. Since then, Epic has been trying to get its storefront going but has been met by resistance from Apple.

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