Hey! Listen!
Welcome back to Press Start to BGN, Laurier’s gaming show by a bunch of Game Design & Development students here at Laurier’s Brantford campus. The program is very new and so is our show, so for those who don’t know Game Design & Development is headed by Dr Scott Nicholson through the Brantford Games Network or BGN, hence the name “Press Start to BGN” which sounds like “begin.” This week we talk about politics in video games and the recent developments with famous YouTuber JonTron and his war on Political Correctness. Thanks for tuning in!
NEWS!
- From Feb. 9th until Feb. 12th, Ubisoft will be holding an open beta for For Honour, available on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
- Konami has reported a rise in profits by 69.8 per cent and a decline in revenue by 8.5 per cent.
- The impressive sales of Pokémon Sun and Moon has proven to be a significant amount of Nintendo’s profits last year.
- Nintendo has delayed their mobile release for Animal Crossing to a date ranging between April 2017 and March 2018.
- Overwatch’s character Bastion is getting buffed in their new update.
- The Elder Scrolls Online will be getting a Morrowind expansion for Windows PC, Mac, PS4 and Xbox One on June 6th for $39.99.
- Dong Nguyen, the creator of Flappy Bird, has developed a new game called Ninja Spinki Challenges, and has been described to be “more polished and accessible.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Px7ns5I6U
- Super Mario Run has been updated and now features an easy mode.
- Production on the Wii U has now been discontinued worldwide.
- Various game developers, such as Valmbeer, Polytron and Ink Stories have taken action in light of the recent “Muslim ban” in America.
- Insomniac Games has released a video statement against the US ban of Muslims.
What’s Coming Out Soon!
Here are the stuffs coming out this week!
- The Overwatch Lunar New Years (on all platforms) event is about half way done, get those loot boxes before it’s too late! I got my Sombra voice line, so I’m happy. 53/67 unlocks? That’s pretty good.
- Fire Emblem Heroes (February 2nd, 2017 on iOS & Android)
- The NEW Fire Emblem app is out, and it’s called Fire Emblem: Heores! Nintendo continues to release new apps onto the mobile scene, and with this release, they have officially released a truly free to play game with the iconic heroes of the Fire Emblem series! Nintendo seems to be pushing towards new apps, even with the new Nintendo Switch coming out soon, so lets see where this is going.
- Poochy and Yoshi’s Wooly World (February 3rd, 2017 on 3DS)
- Yoshi’s Wooly World is back and in a tiny new way! Ported to the 3DS (and all of the 3DS family), Yoshi and his cute, wooly new friend Poochy, are back in a feel-good adventure platformer! The game will be released with a new Poochy wool Amiibo, which Stephan seems to want really badly, so maybe I’ll get it for him for his birthday. (Shh, don’t tell him 😛 ) The Amiibo gives new functionalty to the game, with new unlocks that you can only get with Poochy. Plus, he’s adorable, so why wouldn’t you want it? The game is sold in cartridge and digital download forms for $39.99. Have fun!
And that’s all we talked about this week, unfortunately. As the year just started, the big new games will be coming out soon, so please wait!
Topic of the Show:
The topic of the show this week on PSTBGN we discuss how politics are affecting the video game industry and the recent news involving JonTron or Jonathan Jafari, a YouTuber, and his views about the Muslim Immigrant ban happening in the US currently. JonTron has also previously been criticised on other views of controversial topics such as women’s rights and the use of an offensive term for people who have an intellectual disability. We also discuss how the immigration ban in the US will affect the gaming industry considering many creators come from different countries, including Nasir Gebelli who produced the early Final Fantasy games, this ban is something that will pose a risk to the gaming industry as creators who have been hired previously can no longer enter the country.
What We’ve Been Playing:
Stephan:
- RunGunJumpGun:
- Grab your gun and fight for your life in Indie studio ThirtyThree Games’ RunGunJumpGun. In this platform shooter, you play as the lone survivor of a galactic civilisation making their way through the post-apocalyptic solar system. Every character you meet wants something from you and you must fight your way to survive what obstacles lie in your path. Expect to die trying in this PC game.
- Rocket League:
- From Psyonix comes Rocket League, the single-player/multiplayer sports game. Choose your vehicle and join your team as you play the game of soccer but with rocket power cars instead of human players. Score a goal in this game available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Linux.
Cassie:
- Unravel:
- From Coldwood Interactive comes the puzzle platformer, single player game Unravel. Play as Yarny, a little red yarn figure who travels through open landscapes to collect the memories of an elderly woman. Use your body of yarn to get past obstacles, use the landscape around you to your advantage and discover memories lost by time. String yourself over to a PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One device to play.
- From Coldwood Interactive comes the puzzle platformer, single player game Unravel. Play as Yarny, a little red yarn figure who travels through open landscapes to collect the memories of an elderly woman. Use your body of yarn to get past obstacles, use the landscape around you to your advantage and discover memories lost by time. String yourself over to a PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One device to play.
- Firewatch:
- Immerse yourself in Campo Santo’s single player adventure game Firewatch. In Firewatch, you play as Shoshone National Forest fire lookout Henry whose job is to watch out for arising fires happening in Yellowstone during 1989. With only your supervisor Delilah as your company via radio communications, uncover the conspiracy that seems to be present in the forest. Grab your walkie talkie and head on out into the woods on your PC, Linux, Playstation 4, or Xbox One device today.
Paris:
- Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue:
- In this latest instalment of the Kingdom Heart Franchise comes Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. This action role-playing game contains a remastering of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and two new pieces of content, Kingdom Hearts X Black Cover which is a cinematic of unseen events from Kingdom Hearts X and Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage which takes place after Birth By Sleep and is shown through the perspective of female protagonist Aqua. Grab your Keyblade and play the newest instalments of this franchise available on PlayStation 4.
Brayden:
- Super Mario Strikers:
- In this Mario themed sports game, play as Mario, Luigi and other characters from the earlier franchise in a game of soccer. Play as the main Mario character and your three sidekicks as you face your opponent. Score your way to a win in this GameCube game.
WRAP
That’s everything! We’re super excited to be doing this show and we hope you’re enjoying it too 🙂 We’re on every Wednesday at 7 pm on this site and if you have any questions or feedback feel free to tweet Stephan (@StephanReilly) or email reil4130 (at) mylaurier (dot) ca. Thanks again and catch you next week!