November
8
November
8
Nintendo sues Palworld for £50,000
Earlier this year, Nintendo issued a statement saying they’ll be suing the developers of Palworld (PocketPair) for copyright infringement of their Pokemon IP.
Today, on X (formerly twitter) the official Palworld account posted they they’re being sued 10,000,000¥ (which is £50,670) from Nintendo (5,000,000¥ for Nintendo, 5,000,000¥ for The Pokemon Company), as well as an additional interest.
It hasn’t been communicated to the genral public what type of infringement Palworld has committed at this point.
(Link to the Tweet: https://x.com/Palworld_EN/status/1854835101000970725?t=0ItD9tcmWjxIgpZYEPnUjg&s=19)
November
7
Nintendo’s next console will be backwards compatible!
Nintendo confirmed that their next console will be backwards compatible with both the entire Nintendo Switch library as well as the Nintendo Switch Online service. This news was tweeted by president of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa. He also added that they still have plans on revealing the system before the end of the fiscal year, in March 2025.
(Link to the article: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/nintendo-confirms-its-next-console-will-be-backwards-compatible-with-the-switch)
November
6
Game Devs should be able to spot AI generated 3D models
There’s a ton of work that goes into 3D modelling, so when an AI generates one it should be easy to spot. For example, baked-in lighting, mushy meshes, and high polygon counts are all giveaways that generative AI has been used.
With 2D art, it’s easy to recognize if an image has been AI generated, simply “look at the fingers.” However, with 3D modelling, it’s a bit different.
Over at the social platform Bluesky, Liz Edwards made a thread explaining how to spot an AI generated 3D model.
Bad Textures and jumbled UVs
She was scrolling on Fab (which is a site/shop where you can purchase 3D assets), and she pointed out glaring issues such as “baked-in lighting”, and that the image is projected automatically from a 2D image, leaving artifacts.
She then accessed the model and looked at its wireframe, noting that the UVs will usually look like a “dense automesh” that “looks like a jumbled mess.”
She’s also pointed out that AI generated crate models (such as the ones sold in Fab) have around 50,000 triangular polygons, whereas the amount that you’ll need for a game would be about 500 triangular polygons (at the upper end).
3D Models generate with AI can create confusion
Edwards has warned that the traits above don’t automatically identify a model as being generated by AI assistance/tools. For example, 3D models captured with photogrammetry share these same traits. The difference being that those models have natural textures and are usually free of artifacts, they also have coherent and naturalistic details.
If you aren’t animating a given 3D model, or you’re unbothered by the high count of polygons you may shrug off models that were created with photogrammetry. However, Edwards warns that even these models can have coherent inconsistencies that can look unsettling or weird when viewed close up.
She also points out that the meshes created from AI are “rarely” symmetrical and are often melded together as “featureless blobs”, these “blobs” often feature the feet or arms of animals/humanoid models, which will make it impossible to pose or even animate them.
(Link to article: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/art/how-devs-can-spot-ai-generated-3d-models)
November
5
Nintendo Lowers fiscal forecast
Nintendo has lowered its fiscal forecast for the current fiscal year. Due to the Nintendo Switch under selling by 1 million units the amount they had envisioned.
Nintendo believes its the lack of a big title, such as 2023’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom, That 2024 hasn’t been as successful on their hardware sales. Despite Nintendo releasing ports and remasters of beloved Mario titles throughout the year, it seems that it didn’t have as big of an impact with the hardware as they envisioned it would. They have also commented that the Nintendo Switch is on its eight year, so it is difficult to encourage new people to purchase a Nintendo Switch if their extensive library hasn’t already convinced them. However, Nintendo looks forward to their next console’s release, the long awaited “Nintendo Switch successor.”
(Link to the article: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/nintendo-lowers-fiscal-forecast-with-switch-hardware-and-software-in-decline)
November
1
Nintendo doesn’t credit their artists on their new music streaming software
A couple of days ago, Nintendo released their own music streaming software “Nintendo Music”, despite having a wide selection of Original Sound Tracks from their vast library of games, they have not credited a single artist that has worked on the sound track for their games. The only additional information given within the app is the IP the track belongs to, as well as the copyright of the music.
This hasn’t settled well in with Nintendo fans, and they’ve released various complaints on social media asking for Nintendo to properly credit their artists.
(Link to article: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/why-doesn-t-nintendo-music-credit-composers-)
November
1
Angry Birds released a mobile game filled with AI and stolen artwork.
Angry Birds Block Quest is a game that released a couple of hours ago. The game aims to bring a new visual to the series. However, it was quickly found out by users on social media, that the title screen is AI generated work, and the assets are using AI as well as stolen art work from fans. At the moment there isn’t any news articles on it since the info is so fresh, but I will update this once there’s a news article on it.
November
1
Ubisoft Launches a NFT Blockchain game
Three years ago, Ubisoft promised they would release full blockchain games. A couple of days ago they secretly released a game called “Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles” on PC.
Champions Tactics is described as a “PvP tactical RPG game on PC”, developed and published by Ubisoft. It features various warriors and collectibles from the world of Grimoria. At a glance, the game doesn’t look like a Web3 game, however a quick look at their socials will quickly tell you the truth.
To start off the game, you’re given temporary fighters to start off with. However, in order to progress you will have to either buy the actual figurines (NFT’s) from other players using either in game gold or cryptocurrency. Or, you can craft your own using the “Forge” system, which also requires in game currency or cryptocurrency.
At the moment, there are figurines that are listed at above £50k, however that doesn’t mean that people are paying that much for it. The second highest listed champion is listed as £19.3K.
It’s weird that this game has been secretly developed and published while Ubisoft’s CEO recently said that they’re focusing on better experiences for their players a couple of days ago.
(Link to article: https://www.ign.com/articles/ubisoft-just-quietly-launched-a-full-blown-nft-game)
November
1
Monopoly Mechanic and Aesthetic Changes (Also The Rules!)
I’ve decided that I am going to re-arrange the board. I will fit the tiles to match the atmosphere of the region. For example, I’ve decided to change Andalusia to have more chance time tiles and one Duel tile.
I’ve also decided to change the chance tile (and by extension the cards) to include the upside down question mark. So with the “¿?” Now appearing on the board can now transmit to the player that they’re playing “in Spain”, I also plan on changing the “Community Chest” card design to have a closer design to the tale of King Midas, which despite not being of Spanish origin, is a very popular tale to be told in Spain!
The “¿?” Also gives the idea that no matter where you’re looking at the board, you will be able to see that there’s a chance time, since you’ll always be able to see a question mark that’s regardless of your angle. This also puts an emphasis on “this game has become more chance and chaotic”, however staying true to one of my design pillars which is “Strategy” the chance elements also work in favour or against those who have more money. With Duel cards I aim to create a powerful balance so everyone has a fighting chance within the element of chance. Knowing what could possibly be drawn, and what you’re willing to bid is a fundamental element of what makes the Duel System strategic yet chaotic.
The Community Chest’s design could be a reference to Midas’ gold touch, showing to the player that the community chest could be a net positive for the player that draws the card.
with this I hope to shaken the design of the board a bit!
Rules:
-Each Player will be given €2,000 at the beggining of the match. (An increase from usual Monopoly, which usually gives 1,500 I made this increase in order for money to not drain as quickly from the players. Also, due to the nature of duel system, for example some cards forcing €100 to be played, its in the best interest for game purpouses to have said increase!)
-Players will decide on who is the banker.
-The order will go from the person who rolled the highest to the person who rolled the lowest.
-Each player is to roll the dice, once a full rotation has gone by, the banker will draw a Duel card (unless the last player to roll lands on a Duel tile)
-Duel System is a system where two or more players will engage in a minigame. This will happen at the end of a full rotation (so when all players have rolled their dice.)
November
1
Ubisoft is optimistic about recovering from a weak half-year
Due to the weak sales of Star Wars: Outlaws, Ubisoft has decided to delay their next Assassin’s Creed game. Which drove to Ubisoft downgrading their forecast for 2024 and 2025.
Despite the low income in 2024, CEO Yves Guillemot is staying optimistic stating that the studio can come back from this with “player-centric and gameplay-first approach.”
Their “player-centric mindset” will continue with Star Wars: Outlaws, which they have stated previously in the year had vastly undersold their expectations. They aim to fix these issues with a post launch DLC coming out in November 2024 (this month!), Ubisoft hopes this process “engages a large audience during the holiday season and positions the game as a strong long-term performer.”
(Link to article: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ubisoft-s-recovery-from-weak-half-year-to-involve-addressing-polarized-comments-about-company)