Industry & Interviews

19Nov

By PaulNo Comments

The Game Awards 2024 – Nominees

It's that time of year again. Time to roll out Geoff Keighley and crown the unofficially official best game of the year at the biggest advertising/awards show, The Game Awards. Although open to genuine criticism for how it's run, I really do enjoy the show each year. It presents an opportunity for me, at least, to get together with friends and celebrate another year of games, and get excited for the next. For 2024 we now have the all important list of nominees, let's take a look at some of the highlights and controversies. Geoff Keighley's Pre-Christmas Friend Fest 2024 I don't think there's much surprise in the bigger categories, as usual. The games vying for the biggest awards are the games that reviewed best overall throughout the year. However, in what is a first for The Game Awards,...

14Aug

By StuartNo Comments

Features

Monster Jam Showdown – Dev Interview

Following on from our invite to the Monster Jam Showdown Press Event last month we had the opportunity to ask the developers of the upcoming Monster Jam Showdown game some questions. We were lucky enough to put these to Milestone Italy's Game Director, Federico Spada. Even the TC Mini Crew got involved. And yes, they asked the important questions. Check out the interview below. How has the development of MJS differed from other Milestone games such as Hot Wheels? Monster Jam Showdown brought completely new challenges to the development team. One of the main differences is that Monster Jam trucks are real, whilst Hot Wheels are toys, so players have some expectations about their driving experience. Even if driving a Monster Jam truck is a privilege only a few people on ...

Debug Announces 2024 Indie Game Awards Show Nominees

23Jan

By PaulNo Comments

News & Updates

Debug Announces 2024 Indie Game Awards Show Nominees

The Debug Indie Game Awards, sponsored by Press Engine, is a brand new award show starting in 2024. It is taking place in Nottingham, UK on February 2nd and features an exhibit floor, developer talks and the awards themselves. Debug are a group dedicated to shining a light on indie games and the people that make them. As well as sponsored shows, such and the awards, another way they do that is by releasing a quarterly magazine. It is absolutely packed with previews, reviews, interviews, and nods to loads of games. And is set to become 16 pages bigger from Issue 4 later this month. If you're not a subscriber but love indie games, check them out. Bug Gets Excited For The Debug Awards Leading up to the show, Debug have announced the nominees for 16 of the award categories. Let's take a look...

Life In First Person – John Romero Interview

28Jun

By Tony CNo Comments

Features

Life In First Person – John Romero Interview

There are only a few people that can be called true rockstars in the videogames industry - John Romero is one of them. With a legacy of over 40yrs creating games, the Doom Guy himself turns his hand to being an author as his highly anticipated autobiography - Doom Guy: Life In First Person hits the shelves. Doom Guy - John Romero If life wasn't already so crazy busy with running his studio Romero Games, working on the sequel to Sigil - Sigil 2, while also working on the recently announced, highly anticipated, brand new FPS game, then taking on a load of writing an autobiography and all of what that entails is certainly no easy task. I had the great pleasure to sit down with John recently to chat about his upcoming book, his early days making games, his passion for gaming and life...

Jordan Minor’s Video Game Of The Year Book

22Jun

By DanNo Comments

Features

Jordan Minor’s Video Game Of The Year Book

If there is one thing there isn't enough of, that is most definitely the physical print within gaming. Over the past couple of years, we have seen a few amazing companies set up that produce stunning material. Here we have what looks to be another must-have for the gaming book collection, Video Game Of The Year. Too many games, too little time! Video Game Of The Year is brought to us by Jordan Minor. Residing in New York City, Jordan has done everything from freelancing to writing physical books. As an entertainment and Tech Journo, he spent a good amount of time as a Senior Editor with the team over at Geek.com. Jordan is now working on Apps and gaming over at the legendary Pcmag.com. A Closer Look Minor takes the reader on a journey of gaming history in Video Game Of The Year. St...

Xbox Showcase 2023 – Our Top 5 Announcements

13Jun

By VinnoNo Comments

Features

Xbox Showcase 2023 – Our Top 5 Announcements

Microsoft really went all out with their Xbox Games Showcase + Starfield Direct last night. The showcase saw the announcement of many exciting new games, from both third and first-party developers. We’ll be taking a look at our top 5 announcements from the Xbox Showcase 2023. 5 Announcements From The Xbox Showcase That Excited Us Most Now, before we go any further, we realise this is highly subjective and your list may differ. After all, Microsoft gave us a lot to be excited about. Without further ado, here are the 5 announcements from the Xbox Showcase 2023 we’re most looking forward to. 5. Persona 3 Reload We kick things off with Persona 3 Reload. Touted as "the best one in the series" by many of its fans, Persona 3 Reload was technically announced before the Xbox Showcase, albeit ...

7Jun

By PaulNo Comments

Features

4 Games Still To Come In 2023

With Showcase season almost upon us, I wanted to put the spotlight on a few games that I'm excited about. Below, you'll find 4 games made by teams of varying sizes, but all of which look to have the utmost passion and care being poured into their development. Whilst none of these have confirmed release dates yet, they are all expected to launch in 2023. Feast Your Eyes and Prepare Your Wallets I hope this list gives you something to add to your wishlists. Though, if your lists look anything like mine, there may not be room. I expect that come the end of June they'll be many more games vying for spots too - it's such a fantastic time of year for gamers! Paper Trail Developer: Newfangled Games Publisher: Newfangled Games You'll Like This If You Like: Carto, Monument Valley, Gorogoa...

PowerWash Developer Assists With Video Game Study

5Jun

By PaulNo Comments

News & Updates

PowerWash Developer Assists With Video Game Study

PowerWash Simulator developer FuturLabs has collaborated with the Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford) to conduct a study into how playing video games affects players' well-being. Wash and Learn If you've played PowerWash Simulator, Donut County or Unpacking, you'll have first-hand experience with how zen-inducing those games can be. When I'm playing this type of game, I often find myself entering a Flow state. A complete feeling of immersion, fulfilment and enjoyment. If you've ever looked away from the TV or monitor and wondered where the past 4 hours went, chances are you've experienced this too. Now there's a comprehensive data set created to explore this subject. The study was conducted by gathering data from over 11,000 PowerWash Simulator players. An open data resou...

10Mar

By Tony CNo Comments

Features

Game Over – The Deals That Weren’t

Failed mergers and collaborations over the years have shaped the videogames industry as we know it. There have been so many sliding doors Game Over moments that we could so easily have a different gaming landscape today. Failure doesn't mean GAME OVER! With Microsoft's potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard hanging in the balance, let's take a look back at some of the pivotal events in history that have brought us to where we are in the modern era of video games. Nintendo & PlayStation - Late 80's In 1988 Nintendo struck a deal with Sony to develop a CD- ROM add-on for the hugely successful SNES. Sega had been gaining huge ground on Nintendo with the Megadrive/Genesis and they needed to develop a way to stay ahead in the "Console War". The partnership would see Sony develop i...

Thumb Culture’s Most Anticipated Games of 2023

10Feb

By MalNo Comments

Features

Thumb Culture’s Most Anticipated Games of 2023

2022 offered up a healthy serving of amazing games from Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West. We now look to 2023 and what games have got us excited. Already it's looking like it will be better than 2022 with the sheer variety and quality of games to be released. 2023 is Going to be an Exciting Time for Gaming! What game are you excited about in 2023? This a hard question, for me at least, with so many games announced to be released this year. Let us know in the comments below your choice. We put this question to Thumb Culture's writers, check out their choices below: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Release: TBC 2023 Vinno Squires - Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, from Sega developer R...