Let's Play For Honor - Still Bad At Online
/Chris and I are still playing For Honor, so here's another video!
Toronto Games
Let's Play For Honor (And Be Bad At It)
/More For Honor! Check out the video below. Remember to subscribe!
For Honor In The News
Let's Play For Honor And - Steve And Chris Play Games
/Here is Chris and I play some more For Honor! Remember to subscribe on YouTube!
Recent Reviews
For Honor Let's Play - Original Video
/Hey there! Watch Chris and I play For Honor, and make sure to subscribe!
Original Video
For Honor Out Now - Launch Trailer
/Ubisoft's medieval action game For Honor is now out on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. For Honor has players controlling Knights, Samurai, or Vikings in a war of factions - you can check out the trailer below:
For Honor is developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with our very own Ubisoft Toronto helping out with various things in the game, similar to Watch Dogs 2, and Far Cry Primal.
You can pick up the game for your platform of choice over at Ubisoft's website. I was also given a code, and will be posting plenty of videos on our YouTube channel (which you should definitely subscribe to). See you on the battlefield!
Ubisoft in the news
Embers of Mirrim Announced - Coming Spring 2017
/Creative Bytes, a indie developer in St. Catharines, announced Embers of Mirrim last month, an adventure platformer coming to consoles and PC later this year. The developer did also take to the PlayStation Blog to discuss the game:
As you can see in the teaser trailer, Embers of Mirrim is an adventure-platformer featuring a powerful creature, Mirrim, with the ability to split into light and dark entities called Embers. As Mirrim, you can explore the dramatic landscape using opposing Embers to affect creatures and relics in the world in exciting and unexpected ways.
The Light and Dark Embers are independently controlled by the left and right analog sticks and offer new ways to solve puzzles, overcome obstacles, and traverse through the world. While developing the mechanic, we found it satisfying to seamlessly transition back and forth between the traditional platforming and dual stick flight!
The game will be coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in Spring of 2017. In the meantime, give Creative Bytes a follow on Twitter.
Ubisoft Announce Battle For Canada
/With the For Honor launch just around the corner, Ubisoft has gone ahead and launched #BattleForCanada, a website where you complete a survey and then battle for Canada with the three factions from For Honor.
#BattleForCanada
On February 11, Canadians are invited to fight alongside members of their chosen faction to conquer Canada and celebrate the honour of battle. Warriors will be able to fight using their phone as a weapon and watch the battle unfold online. Wielding their phone like a virtual sword, warriors will make slashing movements to recreate the combat moves from For Honor. Warriors will score points for their faction depending on the range, speed and force of these strikes.
An interactive map on ForHonorCanada.com, as well as on a giant billboard at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto, will show the state of the three armies battling it out in real time. As an added moment of celebrity, the best warriors will see their name and faction featured live on Yonge-Dundas Square and the most memorable warriors will be featured in an animated trailer after the battle.
So make sure to head over to ForHonorCanada.com, complete the survey and check out For Honor on February 14th on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
For Honor
Interview: Aakaash Rao, Composer For Valley Discusses Creating The Soundtrack And More
/A few months ago, I was reached out by Aakaash Rao, the composer for Valley from Blue Isle Studios, asking about an interview. I really dug the soundtrack in Valley so I of course said yes! You can check out the interview below, and a lot of Aakaash's work can be found right here.
TorontoGameDevs.com: Thanks for doing the interview! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What your role was in creating Valley?
Aakaash: Thanks for reaching out! I’m a game composer based jointly in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Chicago, and I had the privilege to compose the soundtrack for Blue Isle Studios’ Valley.
TorontoGameDevs.com: How long have you been creating music? What other games or projects have you worked on?
Aakaash: I’ve been composing ever since I learned to play piano as a child, but I only got into games a couple of years ago. Since then, I’ve worked on several PC, console, and mobile titles — I particularly enjoy writing story-driven soundtracks for RPGs. One of my larger project, a voxel-based sandbox called Planet Explorers, came out late last year.
TorontoGameDevs.com: What was the design process like for Valley? Did you have free range to create the music you thought would fit the mood, or was there specific notes from different members of the team?
In general, I had a lot of creative freedom. One thing I really appreciated about working with Blue Isle is that I had a working build of the game almost from day one — which happens a lot less often than you might think. The game itself was a fantastic source of inspiration, and I’d often hit upon ideas while exploring the landscape or leaping around in the L.E.A.F. suit.
That said, the other two members of the audio team (Brenden, the audio and technical director and Selcuk, the SFX designer) definitely gave me plenty of input through the process. I’ve worked with a lot of big audio teams in the past, and I think there’s definitely a “too many cooks spoil the stew” effect when too many people get involved in the music, but Selcuk and Brenden did a great job of balancing their own visions for the game’s soundtrack with my ideas. The live musicians with whom I worked also gave me some very helpful input, particularly in regards to using world instruments with which I was not familiar.
TorontoGameDevs.com: There's a lot going on in Valley. There are open world elements within forested areas, buildings, underground mines, etc. You get to move really fast, and jump extremely far as you traverse this world, but there is a lot of historical pieces from the 40s told to the player while they are playing. How did this contribute to the overall soundtrack for the game?
One of the biggest challenges in tackling projects of this scope is balancing variety with cohesiveness. You don’t want to bore the player by repeating the same motifs over and over, but you also don't want a complete musical disconnect between the themes associated with different areas. For example, I made a conscious choice to write sweeping orchestral music for the outdoor areas and more distorted, electronic music for the darker indoor environments, but I approached the indoor areas with a mindset of muting and warping the outdoor style rather than selecting a whole different musical palette. Amrita, the theme for the final level and one of my favorite pieces from the soundtrack, blends pads and electronic sounds with some warped live flute.
There’s a lot of subtle melodic and textural motifs weaved into the soundtrack, so the idea is that they help weave the disparate elements together. This is probably more of a subconscious phenomenon — I doubt that most people are listening intently to recognize the musical motifs as the play the game — but I think it does contribute to the player’s immersion. This is most important at the end of the game, where the final track states outright a lot of the themes that previous pieces have been hinting at. As I’m sure your readers who have finished the game can attest, the ending of the game is definitely a cathartic experience, so I hope that the final piece reflects and amplifies the feeling of cleaning and completion.
TorontoGameDevs.com: In your mind, what game excels with its soundtrack?
I’ve always been a huge fan of Nobuo Uematsu’s work on the early Final Fantasy. These were some of the first games I played, so there’s an element of nostalgia, but I still think it’s absolutely incredible how much emotion he was able to convey under the console’s technical constraints. Arnie Roth’s Distant Worlds albums include some fantastic orchestrations of Uematsu’s work. More recently, I’ve also really enjoyed Austin Wintory’s Journey and Gareth Coker’s Ori and the Blind Forest.
TorontoGameDevs.com: Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers? What can we look forward to next?
As I mentioned, Planet Explorers came out last year. I’m also currently working on a strategy RPG called Liege, which is a dark, strategy-driven RPG somewhere between Fire Emblem and A Song of Ice and Fire. Now that I’m done with Valley and Planet Explorers, though, I’m keeping my eye out for interesting new projects — I’d love to do a more intimate soundtrack for an RPG or puzzle game.
Thanks so much to Aakaash for taking the time, and remember that Patreon's got access to this interview early. You can check out Valley on Steam, and all of Akaash's work right here.
Past Interviews
Original Video: A Lover Letter To Guacamelee
/I've mentioned on the podcast numerous times my love for Guacamelee and DrinkBox Studios. Chris and I decided to play a bit of the coop and discuss my love for it. Check it out below, and subscribe on Youtube!
Original Video
For Honor Beta Registration Opens Up
/For Honor, the action hack-n-slash from Ubisoft, is going to be one of the first big releases of 2017, and now Ubisoft has opened up registration for the Beta.
The Beta is set to take place January 26th-29th, and players can register for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC right here. For Honor will be out for everyone February 14th for those platforms. Our good friends at Ubisoft Toronto is assistant developer on the game.
Ubisoft Toronto
Original Video: Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime And Talking Nintendo Switch
/Another Wednesday, another video. Subscribe on Youtube today!
Original Video
Original Video: Playing Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime
/Another Friday, another video. This time we played Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime. Check it out, and make sure to subscribe!
Featured
TorontoGameDevs.com 2nd Annual Game Of The Year Voting - Results!!
/Well, it was a solid 2016, and there were a lot of great games that were created in Toronto and Southern Ontario. Just like last year, supporters and fans of local content took part in the 2nd Annual Game of the Year voting, and here are the results!
10) Maize - Finish Line Games
9) Kapsul Infinite - Luke O'Connor
8) Far Cry Primal - Ubisoft Toronto
7) Alone With You - Benjamin Rivers
6) Watch Dogs 2 - Ubisoft Toronto
5) Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander - Massive Damage Inc
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander had a huge Kickstarter. After a successful funding thank to Square Enix Collective, the game came out in Early Access, followed by a full release later in the year. The developers are still updating the game, so make sure you head over to Steam to pick it up.
4) Runbow: Satura's Space Adventure - 13AM Games
Back-to-back Years of placing 4th in voting, 13AM Games released a healthy chunk of DLC for its party platformer. Satura's Space Adventure gives players more single, and multiplayer content - while also releasing the game on Steam, and 3DS.
3) Severed - DrinkBox Studios
The first-person hack-n-slash found eventual homes on 3DS, iOS, and Wii U, but it was made from the ground up for the little Sony portable that could. Probably one of the last "exclusive" Vita games, Severed has you playing as a daughter trying to find out what happened to her family. Now I'll be praying for a Guacamelee 2.
2) Hard Vacuum Lullaby - One More Story Games
Friends of the site, One More Story Games claims our top two spots in this years Game of the Year voting, first with Hard Vacuum Lullaby. "After a savage battle in deep space, the 2nd Yagoshan Expeditionary Fleet Battlecruiser #6 retreats to the orbit of a gas giant with other damaged vessels to undergo repairs by the fleets logistics and repair corvettes."
1) Mandatory Upgrade X Marks The Spot - One More Story Games
Joining the ranks of N++, this years winner is Mandatory Upgrade: X Marks The Spot from One More Story Games. The story based game was written by Chris Tihor from Ironic Iconic Studios, and tells the tale of Special Agent Rachel Varley who has to investigate the death of a runaway cybernetic exosuit on her first day back to work. You can pick it up here for $3.99, which includes a demo as well.
Thanks to everyone for voting, and congratulations to everyone who released a game in 2016. Onwards to 2017!
Video Games!
Use Your Words Make You Funny - Check Out The Official Trailer
/
I wrote about Use Your Words earlier this year, and now there is an official trailer for the upcoming party game. You can check it out after the jump.
Read More2nd Annual TorontoGameDevs.com Game of the Year Voting!
/Last year, N++ won the Game of the Year voting. Who will be the winner this year? Vote below, and in the new year I'll post the winners!
Only one vote per person, but you can vote for as many games as you want. If I missed any there is a Write In feature at the bottom, or let me know on Twitter.
Note: Ports didn't count (sorry Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, and N++), but DLC, and extra episodes do. Feel free to use the search on the right hand side to find out more about that game.
Chivalry 2, the hotly anticipated sequel which is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S has gone gold ahead of its June 8th release date. The game, which will feature crossplay across the board, is also currently having an open Beta from May 27th to June 1st, the Beta is also cross-play enabled.