Richard Gray, the level designer known across the industry as Levelord, has died at the age of 68. He is best remembered for his work on Duke Nukem 3D, a game whose maps helped define what a first-person shooter could be in the mid-1990s. Level design is one of the least visible crafts in games and one of the most consequential. Players rarely notice a good layout; they simply find themselves moving through a space without friction, always aware of where to go next and rarely sure what is around the corner. Duke Nukem 3D is a useful example of why that matters. Its levels were dense and interactive, packed with details that rewarded curiosity, and they gave the game a sense of place that held up long after its jokes dated. A weaker set of maps would have left nothing but the one-liners. The nickname itself says something about how the role was...
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Paul Bettany, who stars in Marvel’s VisionQuest, has a story about the perils of carrying a script around. He once left a complete copy of the Avengers: Infinity War screenplay on a plane, and realised what he had done only after he had got into his car. The detail that makes it vivid is the reaction. And I entered my vehicle and thought, oh no, oh no. Anyone who has patrolled an airport departures hall patting their pockets will recognise the feeling, even if what they left behind was a paperback rather than a Marvel blockbuster. Script security on films of that scale is serious business. Marvel productions are famous for secrecy, and with good reason: a plot point leaked in advance can flatten a marketing campaign that cost more than most films. Pages are numbered, watermarked and tracked, and actors are often given only what they need. Print versus digital is part of...
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Xbox has announced a new controller, and it is not the pro-style pad many observers were expecting. The Nano Controller is a compact gamepad that shrinks the standard model in both shape and cost, trading size and features for a lower barrier to entry. That is an unusual direction for a hardware reveal. Recent years have seen premium controllers dominate the conversation, with adjustable triggers, extra buttons and swappable parts aimed at players who treat input as a competitive advantage. A smaller, cheaper pad sits at the opposite end of that spectrum. Compact controllers have a clear appeal. They take up less space in a bag, suit smaller hands and are easier to carry for travel or for a second player who only plays occasionally. For families, a lower price also makes it more practical to keep more than one around. The compromises are predictable. Shrinking a gamepad changes how it sits in the...
Read MoreGrand Theft Auto 6 has a sweat system. That is the short version of a detail that has been circulating: Jason and Lucia perspire realistically, and the amount depends on how hard they dance. It is the kind of headline that sounds like a joke until you consider what it implies about the simulation underneath. Rockstar’s games have long been sold on density of detail. Beyond missions and map size, the studio’s reputation rests on systems that most players never consciously notice: crowds that react, vehicles that carry momentum, weather that changes how a world feels. Each one is small; together they create the impression of a place that exists without you. Perspiration is a good example of that philosophy because it is almost invisible by design. A character who glistens after exertion reads as alive, while one who stays perfectly dry through a chase or a dance floor reads as a mannequin. The...
Read MoreExclusive: VisionQuest’s showrunner and Paul Bettany analyze Vision’s “merciless” character transformation in episode 2…Learn More
Read MoreFallout co-creator worries RPGs are ditching secrets because “nobody thinks people will find things”
Things are truly transitioning to straightforward narratives, with a singular conclusion…Read More
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