Valve stopped making games

"To sum it up, magic is a mixture of feelings. [It's what] my dogs make me feel when I have a shit day, and I don't need to say a word and they come and sit beside me or hug me. Magic is me and Ian are still in love, even though we both are passionate artists working and running a company together, running a household of ten dogs. It can be tough. We argue but we both know we are always there for each other. Magic is what I felt the day our game released on Nintendo Switch Indie World showcase, because after all the struggle, selling my apartment, [it] was all worth it. Magic is moments that define so much you feel that you have no words to express the feelings." … [Read more...] about What does magic mean to you?

I've seen names of newborn babies and pets given a mention in games before of course, but something struck me about seeing 12 dogs given a mention by a small indie studio (one of them turned out not to be a dog, though more on that later). As it turns out, nine of these are owned by the studio's co-founders Shruti Ghosh and Ian Maude. Nine! What a huge and busy family that must be. They're not just any dogs, however, but stray Indian breeds that they have rescued, fostered and then adopted. … [Read more...] about Devs and doggos: how Nodding Head made Raji while saving stray Indian dogs

Once you're back in the past you can follow the marker all the way to your destination, but we'd strongly suggest stopping off in Lake Mareotis on the way when the game prompts you - without doing the available sidequests you'll be severely underlevelled when you reach Alexandria and just end up having to backtrack anyway. … [Read more...] about Assassin’s Creed Origins – Aya I and May Amun Walk Beside You

I'm going to end by talking about my two favourite games of the year. I played Titanfall 2 and Dishonored 2 back-to-back, and, as others have noted, both games have levels based around the moment-to-moment manipulation of time. These levels are extraordinary achievements in themselves - really, just the most fun I've had this year, the kind of imagination and craft that makes you smile as you play. But I was struck, too, by the positioning of these levels. In both games they come after other, similarly intricate stages which offer thorough deconstructions of the very idea of space - Dishonored 2's clockwork mansion, which reformulates around us, offering alternate pathways and secret, behind-the-sets entrances, and Titanfall 2's Into The Abyss, featuring a colossal factory of giant moving platforms and self-constructing houses and towns. … [Read more...] about 2016: The year that time remembered

Whichever approach you choose, once the cutscene is over you'll be notified about the Phylakes that are now hunting you down. These high-level foes will attack on sight, and right now you stand no chance against them, so if at any point the game warns you there's one nearby make sure you're heading away from them! Their locations and level will be marked on the map, so keep checking in and plan your movements accordingly. … [Read more...] about Assassin’s Creed Origins – Gennadios the Phylakitai and End of the Snake