“The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates,”
Bingo. It’s a wonder why more digital content creators haven’t figured this out yet.
via Gamasutra – News – Valve: Piracy Is More About Convenience Than Price.
Heads up Left 4 Dead/Zombie/Comics fans – Valve just put up part 1 (of 4) of the Left 4 Dead comic, entitled “The Sacrifice.” (Which is unsurprisingly what the next Left 4 Dead 2 DLC campaign will be called)
Normally, I wouldn’t give a crap about some ancillary fan-fiction comic, but I noticed that the co-creator and artist of Powers, Michael Avon Oeming is involved with it. (Powers, if you didn’t know, is one of the best current comics, written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Oeming. It’s a gritty cop story set in a world where super-powered people exist.) Doing a little more digging on Oeming’s site revealed that the game writers over at Valve handled the scripting while he handled the art for this project.
“The Sacrifice” starts right after the end of the original Left 4 Dead and tells the story of what happened to that crew. We even get some flashback sequences from before the outbreak really hit the fan and learn a bit more about Louis’s life before he became a “survivor.” It’s actually a pretty compelling story and a recommended one if you’ve played the games or like zombies.
Now this is what I’m talking about.
Sticklers may point out that this Portal 2 extended co-op gameplay footage from PAX doesn’t show anything mindblowingly different from the very short teaser a couple weeks ago, but they can go stick it somewhere else. Something about seeing the game in live action makes the whole idea that they’re making a sequel to Portal more… tangible.
Watching this video, my mind began to race with all of the devilishly clever puzzle solutions that could be possible with four portals to play with. Plus, hearing GLaDOS deliver its acerbic, yet oddly charming post-test comments just brings a smile to my face. Like I’m coming home again.
Oh, and don’t forget robot hugsies.
Nary 24 hours since my request for someone to call when something awesome from Portal 2 was actually shown, someone called.
It’s not quite a 4 portal juggling event, but I love the mood shown in this new single player trailer for Portal 2. Stephen Merchant (The Office, Extras) sounds absolutely brilliant as your new spherical companion, Wheatley.
Plus, I’d be lying if I wasn’t absolutely terrified during the last scene of this video.
<shudder>
