Features

Thumb Culture @ PAX Online x EGX Digital 2020!

20Sep

By ArNo Comments

Thumb Culture @ PAX Online x EGX Digital 2020!

With this year's EGX being cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, events have taken a digital turn this autumn with PAX Online x EGX Digital 2020. In even more exciting news, Thumb Culture has been given the opportunity to present a panel as part of PAX X EGX's digital showcase! We're honoured to have had the chance to present our digital panel on all things cross-platform. As advocates of Gaming For All, we're passionate about encouraging cross-play in the gaming community. We're all about encouraging gamers from a range of backgrounds to get involved in everything games have to offer. As part of our live-streamed digital panel, the Thumb Culture team discussed cross-platform, cross-progression and everything in between. Join us and watch below as they give their opinions o...

PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X? Apples vs Oranges? What Does The Next Gen Bring…

19Aug

By Jay Armstrong2 Comments

Features

PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X? Apples vs Oranges? What Does The Next Gen Bring…

We're now pretty deep into 2020 and with that we've had some news on the next generation of console gaming, however we still don't actually know much about the launches themselves. What we do know however is that both Microsoft and Sony are adopting very different approaches to the next generation and as a multi-platform owner I find that exciting. Often during these times it's interesting following the hype and the build up of the new machines and that's something I personally follow quite closely. What I aim to do here is summarising some key facts that differentiate the 2 companies and speculate about what this could mean moving forward; but by no means is this meant to be a comprehensive list. With events expected in August from both Sony and Microsoft as part of GamesCom it's in...

The Cost Of Playing Video Games – An Arm Or A Leg?

17Jul

By Mike DifferNo Comments

Features

The Cost Of Playing Video Games – An Arm Or A Leg?

With the approach of the new console generation, video game players eagerly await any news about the prices of the upcoming PS5 and X-box series X. Arguably of equal importance to the consoles themselves is the price of their games and following the news that NBA 2K21 will increase from $59.99 to $69.99 USD. 2K games who develop the NBA series are the first to take this step and it seems like other developers are ready to follow on the next console generation. At first hearing video games now cost just under $70 may be cause for frustration for gamers. As an entertainment medium have typically cost more than others such as film & TV but have not had the same inflation over the years. Film/TV where the technology used in production, from Blu-ray to 3D has always come with an inc...

The Games That Have Helped Us During Lockdown (So Far!)

15May

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Features

The Games That Have Helped Us During Lockdown (So Far!)

Well, what a year 2020 has been so far! I think it's fair to say no one expected things to go the way they have. More than anything, whilst we're in lockdown, we hope you all staying safe, staying healthy, and staying positive. Everyone has gone through their own difficulties over the last few weeks, and whilst we may now have a road map for getting life back to normal (whatever shape normal will be after this), we've still got to someway to go. Here at Thumb Culture, we're all trying to get through this situation as best as we can. Thanks to our passion for gaming, it's made that journey a little bit easier. So let's take a moment to praise the amazing work developers, creators, and publishers have put in. Or at least those we can pry away from Animal Crossing. Stuart S So, during ...

Top 10 Narrative Games of the Generation

13Feb

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Features

Top 10 Narrative Games of the Generation

As the curtains are closing on the 8th generation of consoles and the bigger, more powerful consoles are eagerly awaiting to take centre stage, I believe it’s time to reflect on the generation. As a film fanatic, I adore cinematic games. In my opinion, the medium can explore narratives in a fascinating way. Not only can games tell stories through characters, but they can also intertwine gameplay and the environment in order to build a world around the core narrative. So, not including re-releases (sorry Last of us) and focusing solely on games that were released on the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U (Yes, it’s an 8th Generation console), let’s look at the Top 10 Narrative Games of the Generation. God of War God of War is a cinematic masterpiece. The execution of the single-cam...

19Nov

By ArNo Comments

Features, PC Reviews

Fractured Minds – A Game That Matters

It’s not often that I’m lost for words when it comes to writing. In fact, I’m never been backwards in coming forwards when sharing my thoughts online. Having just completed Fractured Minds though, I’ve genuinely had to take ten minutes to compose myself before attempting to write this piece. Fractured Minds is a beautiful, atmospheric BAFTA award-winning game, designed and created by 17-year old Emily Mitchell and published by Wired Productions. It takes a deep dive into the world of the human brain at it’s most unsettled, inspired by Emily’s own personal journey of severe anxiety. When I say personal, I also mean personal to anyone who has ever experienced anxiety, because they will absolutely identify with this game on a deeply relatable level. “I created Fractured Minds to ...

4Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Features

An Interview With… Squishy Sports Dev

We here at Thumb Culture were lucky enough to chat to Chris Jeffery, the programmer and game designer at Made By Titans, to discuss his latest game, Squishy Sports. So, tell us a little bit about your game and where did the idea come from? Oof. Straight in there! Squishy Sports is a couch competitive, physics-based 2D party/sports game where the characters are shapes and everything is squishy! Since it's physics-based, all our characters hit the ball in unique ways, thus create interesting and quite manic gameplay! So Squishy Sports came around quite sporadically really. There wasn't any "AH HA!" moments with it. My background for a lot of my game development career has been in web games and I've always toyed around with the idea of creating a couch multiplayer game but never really c...

24Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Features

EGX 2019 – Game(s) Of The Show!

So EGX 2019 has come and gone, and with it, a whole raft of games played, watched, experienced. We could write up all about the individual games that the team got to play, but we would be releasing content until next years show! Instead, we thought it best to give a short run down from each person that was at the show and for them to give their own personal "Game of the Show!" So without further ado, let's get started! Stuart S Having been to EGX for a number of years previously, I kinda knew what to expect when walking through the doors at the eXcel London. A Whole swathe of indie games surrounded by those classy and shiny triple-A titles. Personally I always spend more time around the indie sections, namely the Rezzed and Leftfield areas! This year at EGX 2019 it was no different...

Playstation State of Play – Roundup and Release Dates

24Sep

By JasonNo Comments

Features

Playstation State of Play – Roundup and Release Dates

Wow, I don't know about you but having just sat through the Playstation State of Play Live event there was a right mixed bag of games to look forward to! I'm excited over some of the forthcoming releases, and also worried at the same that I will also have even less money in my bank account as a result! First off we saw the very strange looking Humanity from Enhanced games, coming in 2020, which reminded me of a mix between lemmings and we are billions as waves of people seemingly snaked across ledges while avoiding being shot and maimed, the end goal seemingly being a bright white light. Not much was said but graphically there was a lot going on! Call of Duty Modern Warfare by Infinity Ward, releasing October 25th was up next, having played the beta over the weekend I felt very...

5Jun

By Stu NNo Comments

Features

F1 2019 Interview with Lee Mather

Ben ‘Rwaggy’ McConnell had the greatest pleasure of visiting the Codemasters HQ to meet the team behind the creation of the new F1 2019 game and even got to experience the stunning new instalment in the F1 gaming franchise. Whilst on the visit, Ben managed to get an amazing opportunity to interview the Game Director of the Formula 1 Game Series, Lee Mather. Ben: First of all I want to thank you for this opportunity to come down and try the game, I experienced some major changes immediately between F1 2018 and F1 2019 in terms of graphical changes. What sort of conversations were being had within the organisation to capture the audience? Lee: We always wanted to expand on building the F1 season but also building the world around F1, building the driver journey. That was always impo...