Official Xbox Live Arcade Thread

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http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/900/900938p1.html

GC 2008: Lode Runner Coming Soon
So says the display at Microsoft's booth.
by Erik Brudvig

August 20, 2008 - In the midst of a booth filled with old demos and mislabeled kiosks sat a lone Xbox Live Arcade title that has not yet been released. Lode Runner, a visually updated release of the classic arcade game, is at the Microsoft booth at this year's German Games Convention. The gameplay feels much the same as it did in the past, but no amount of staring at the German text on screen could tell me which features this release sports. Thankfully, the intrepid Charles Onyett previously previewed Lode Runner and lays out the details here.

The sole new detail comes courtesy of the placard on the kiosk in which Lode Runner was housed. That card had a snazzy "coming soon" descriptor just below the game's name. The build on the show floor looked largely done (and translated for the German audience no less) so we might be seeing this one tossed up on the Live Arcade quite soon.
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i mean i totally support ms's xbla summer program, imho finally one of the best parts of 360 experience(xbla) is getting some spotlight and it's been really awesome summer so far as ms promised: loved geowars2 despite not being a huge fan of the first one, adored braid(still gotta beat the game some time though), welcomed bionic commando rearmed(too old school for me but that's just my weaksauceness speaking), currently enjoyin galaga legions' goodness, most probably will buy castle crashers at one point too but my real question is "can 360 user base handle this many good quality xbla titles in such short amount of time?". i got a feeling that galaga legions may be overlooked because of the scheduling dspite being one of the best additions to xbla library so far.
 
<nu>faust said:
i mean i totally support ms's xbla summer program, imho finally one of the best parts of 360 experience(xbla) is getting some spotlight and it's been really awesome summer so far as ms promised: loved geowars2 despite not being a huge fan of the first one, adored braid(still gotta beat the game some time though), welcomed bionic commando rearmed(too old school for me but that's just my weaksauceness speaking), currently enjoyin galaga legions' goodness, most probably will buy castle crashers at one point too but my real question is "can 360 user base handle this many good quality xbla titles in such short amount of time?". i got a feeling that galaga legions may be overlooked because of the scheduling dspite being one of the best additions to xbla library so far.
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Galaga Legions is selling way faster than Bionic Commando. In fact I think it's already surpassed it. Check the leaderboards.
 
I agree that the "crunch" on now is a pain. It was literally months since my last XBLA purchase, and now I'm picking up four of the five "Summer" purchases. It's like the September to November crunch in arcade form.
 
pswii60 said:
Galaga Legions is selling way faster than Bionic Commando. In fact I think it's already surpassed it. Check the leaderboards.
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Uhm, what BC:R leaderboard are you checking? Hopefully not the Area Total one (or whatever it's called - the first one), since it only tracks people who have completed the game. The Area 01 leaderboard has (naturally) tons more people on it than on the GL leaderboard.
 
pswii60 said:
Galaga Legions is selling way faster than Bionic Commando. In fact I think it's already surpassed it. Check the leaderboards.
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No. It's not.

I'll have my first day numbers out at around 10am tomorrow. But unless a miracle happens, GL won't be anywhere near Bionic Commando's first day (which was around 15,000 units).

GL is doing very good, and may even get close to Ikaruga numbers for it's first week...But it's not going to debut as high as Braid, BC:R or Geometry Wars 2.
 
http://v8arcade.com


V8 Arcade Achievements Revealed
Monday, August 18th, 2008

While we await Microsoft certification, we’re blowing the lid off V8 Achievements! So, without further ado, here’s how you can rack up to 200 Gamerpoints in V8 Arcade:

* Learner’s Permit: Defeat any vehicle in any mode. (5 G)

* Charge-Up Trainee: Fire 10 Charge-Up Attacks. (5 G)

* Whammy Master: Achieve 100 Whammies. (10 G)

* Grease Monkey: Collect enough Salvage Points to fully upgrade one vehicle. (10 G)

* Quest > Unleaded: Complete single player Quest Mode on Easy difficulty. (10 G)

* Charge-Up Pro: Fire 100 Charge-Up Attacks. (20 G)

* Total Pro: Destroy 100 cars by ‘totaling’ them. (20 G)

* Alien Contact: Collect all 100 ‘Alien Artifacts’ in single player to unlock a secret craft. (20 G)

* Quest > Super Unleaded: Complete single player Quest Mode on Medium difficulty. (20 G)

* King O’ Online: Win 10 online multiplayer battles. (20 G)
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Dev Update #4
Monday, August 18th, 2008

So, the game went “gold” and was submitted for certification to Microsoft last week. Hurray! But as many of you ask, what’s involved and what does it mean exactly??

In essence, Microsoft QA (Test Department) is verifying that the game complies with a zillion different “technical requirement guidelines” (TRG). For example, things like the maximum allowable load screen durations, what happens if the network cable is unplugged amidst play, what if the downloaded data is corrupted at any point, playing the game off the MU card, required terminology for menus, etc. etc. There are virtually hundreds of these scenarios and even more permutations. Most of these TRGs are absolutely essential, although a great number are pretty obscure and unlikely to affect the average user. But rules are rules! Bottom line, every Xbox 360 game must pass this rigorous certification prior to being released.

Having watched the game undergo numerous TRG sweeps at Activision QA over the past three months, we are confident it’s in a very solid state by now. We’re anticipating one re-submission at the most to obtain certification, but unfortunately there are no guarantees. Remember, a release date cannot be secured until the game is approved.

So, at this point, it’s all about getting certified :)

- P.
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Re: Where is the school bus?!?
Monday, August 11th, 2008

I’m a huge fan and my favorite car always has been the School Bus! Recently though, I noticed on the site that the bus in Arcade looked more like the bus from the second game. So my question is, will the School Bus be unlockable, or DLC? It’s such a V8 symbol!

-Jesse

Iso Team:
Given the amount of fan mail we get about the school bus, we wish! The harsh reality is that the school bus won’t be coming back, now or in the future. It generated so much controversy back in the day, we were under strict orders to exclude it from V8 Arcade. Hey, you can always pick the prison bus with a yellow color :)
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Re: We love you gays!!! [sic] (Question about mines)
Monday, August 18th, 2008

Greetings! We love you gays!!! We playing Vigilante for 10 years!!! I have a question about mines: 1) Are the mines put in the game? 2) If so, I would like to know if there will be mines limit in the area?

-Arlo

Iso Team:
Hi Arlo. It’s all cool, just an honest misspelling, right? :) Sure, mines are in. So long you keep on finding them, you can continue to drop them. There is a timeout on each mine, however, so they won’t stick around forever.
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Bit of an update on Airburst, appreantly the game is on partnernet right now undergoing testing and is set to use the new dashboard features in some fashion.

http://www.strangeflavour.com/page14/files/secrettitle.html

This way to the secret title
17/07/08 20:59 Filed in: Airburst XBLA | Game Dev
The XBLA version of Airburst is now testing on Partnernet, the special testing network for Xbox developers. We’ve put it up so we can run some tests, but also so other friendly neighbourhood Xbox devs can have a play Happy

It’s still under NDA and there’s plenty of work left for me to do, so don’t post screenshots or anything, but feel free to drop me a line if you spot anything that shouldn’t be there.

Oh, and one feature just for the devs as it won’t be in the final version due to the new Dashboard they showed at E3. Check out the dash when you’re in Airburst Winking
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From the Stick of Joy:

X08: Duke Nukem 3D coming to XBLA 'sometime in September'

18 Comments by Xav de Matos Aug 21st 2008 2:56PM


In an interview with Xbox representative Jason Ing, it was revealed to Joystick that Duke Nukem 3D, developed by 3D Realms, has passed certification and is expected to release "sometime in September." The Xbox Live Arcade revival, which sports the same minimal graphical enhancements as Doom did on the service, is being published by Microsoft and is an exclusive release for the platform.
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X08 Canada: Portal: Still Alive Impressions

A buzzing noise fills the room as you are shaken awake, bright lights bounce off the windowed walls of your 4 foot by 5 foot holding cell making them twice as bright. As you rise from your bed and adjust your eyes a timer clicks from beyond your transparent walls and immediately you can't help but to fear you've seen this all before.

Portal: Still Alive is the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title based on the critically acclaimed original found in The Orange Box from Valve. Those who were unfortunate enough to never play the original Portal are in luck as Portal: Still Alive is essentially the exact same experience but with a few added bonuses.
"With Portal: Still Alive, you're getting the original game that comes in The Orange Box," an Xbox representative told us. Experienced players need-not worry however as Portal: Still Alive will sport, "a host of new levels and new achievements." As recently confirmed by Doug Lombardi some of the new levels included are the maps found in Portal: The Flash Version map pack, currently available for free on the PC.

Explaining how Portal: Still Alive feels is harder than you'd imagine it would be. It would be easy to say it felt like Portal - since it is exactly that - but one key element was missing from our hands-on time: the sound. Forget the enigmatic pops and buzzing noises emitting from turrets, the metallic bounce of energy orbs or the whizzing noise of a freshly summoned portal; removing the sound made us realize how important the dialog was to Portal's success. While sounds will be included in the final build of the game (breaking news!) the noisy atmosphere helped to confirm one of our lingering fears: with no new audio from fan favorite GLaDOS for the bonus levels, Portal: Still Alive feels lifeless.

If your wish for Portal: Still Alive is extra challenges with a disregard for story than this Arcade release is exactly what you want as it controls as well as it ever has with an Xbox 360 controller. However, if the realization that the additional content will solely be based on gameplay with a complete disregard for an additional story then Still Alive may have you worried that the Portal train is making an unnecessary stop on Microsoft's Arcade. Portal: Still Alive is slated to release exclusively on the Xbox Live Arcade by the end of the year.
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not at all. Gladdos was a nice perk but on the fifth or sixth playthrough, it gets old. especially after everyone on the internet ran every line in the game into the fucking ground.

just bring on new levels. sounds like it won't come to steam, so I'll buy it.
 
D3Publisher announced today the release date of its retro-futuristic bowling game with a twist for Xbox Live Arcade. Below is the press release with the announcement:
Get ready to roll! D3Publisher is pleased to announce that RocketBowl blasts onto Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360® on September 10th!

A refreshing twist on a classic sport, RocketBowl™ offers a 50’s style retro-futuristic vibe, out-of-this-world courses and rocket-powered bowling balls; Rocket Bowl rolls a perfect game of fun on the Xbox LIVE® Arcade. Players will compete in tournaments, challenge their friends in multiplayer, test their bowling skills and more!

Game Features

Rocket-Powered Bowling Balls – Rocket powered balls boost, jump and turn to help players knock down the pins and earn extra points with wild shots.

10 Crazy Bowling Courses – In addition to a regular bowling alley, RocketBowl features 9 crazy courses filled with ramps, tunnels, loops, hills, curves and more to create a bowling experience like never before.

Fun and Varied Single-Player Mode – Single-player RocketBowl allows players to take on the variety of courses in Free Play mode; or challenge the course pros in Tournament and Challenge mode where they can wager and win money to upgrade their equipment.

Exciting Multiplayer Matches – Up to 4 friends can compete against each other over Xbox LIVE or locally on one system. Xbox LIVE play features Player (unranked) and Ranked matches.

Upgrade Your Equipment – Using cash earned by winning matches, players can upgrade from more than 15 unique bowling balls including Strawbally, 8-Ball, the Jupiter 5000 and the Kalamazoo Special – more powerful bowling balls feature enhanced boost and curve abilities.

Players will enjoy the robust, full game features of RocketBowl for 800 Microsoft Points. RocketBowl was developed by 21-6 Productions Inc., and is rated “E” (Everyone) by the ESRB.
 
ESRB Watch:

R.B.I. Baseball Take 2 Interactive Software, Inc. Everyone No Descriptors Xbox 360

Blazing Birds Vector2 Everyone No Descriptors Xbox 360
 
Shard said:
ESRB Watch:

R.B.I. Baseball Take 2 Interactive Software, Inc. Everyone No Descriptors Xbox 360

Blazing Birds Vector2 Everyone No Descriptors Xbox 360
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This probably doesnt mean much since weve known the Achievements for months

but Finaaaaaaaaaaaaally. :lol Maybe my most wanted XBLA game. Please release it soon
 
Doing a bit of research I have found what this Blazing Birds is.

http://vector2games.com/blazingbirds.htm

Blazing Birds is a game developed for Xbox360 using 'XNA Game Studio Express'.

Blazing Birds is a one-on-one, action, sports game modeled after the game of Badminton. My goal is to capture the exciting, frenzied action of the sport without exceeding the natural limitations of human hand-eye coordination in the compact environment of a 2D video game. Several unique features of Blazing Birds achieve this goal.

Control

The game’s control scheme is designed to allow players to optionally lock their finger positions in place. While performing the various functions of the game, the players never need to lift or move their fingers from one button to another. Additionally, there is no redundant button input. Every shot in the game, including jump shots, can be performed using a single button press.

Artificial Intelligence

Blazing Birds features advanced artificial intelligence. The AI is designed to allow a slow and subtle increase in difficulty while maintaining a realistic, human sense of inaccuracy.

Power Shots

Blazing Birds takes advantage of its video game environment with the addition of ‘Power Shots’. These super shots are not only visually exciting but also difficult to return. All seven power shots in the game are specifically crafted and balanced to offer new dynamics to the game play.

Game Modes

There are five game modes available.

1. Arcade: The single player, arcade experience.
2. Quick Match: Set up a custom match between two players.
3. Tournament: Round robin style tournament including three to twenty players.
4. Rally Mode: Practice your game with no scoring and no penalties.
5. How To Play: An interactive teaching and learning environment.

Highscores: Saved automatically and can be viewed or cleared at any time.

Matches can be set up with any combination of Human and AI players.

Tutorial

Knowing exactly how a game is played is extremely important. The tutorial included in Blazing Birds is interactive on several levels. A player is able to perform a variety of key exercises in real time using an AI player to help train their skills. Both text prompts and audio narration are also included making the tutorial experience as interactive as possible.

Audio

For me as a developer, audio is just as important as graphics. Blazing Birds includes a wide variety of top notch, hard hitting sound effects and a fully licensed background score.

Polish

Finally, an underlying goal of any project I do is completeness. Blazing Birds was developed as a final product and therefore complete from start to finish. The addition of dozens of small animations and transitions gives the game a very “smooth” and “fluid” appearance.
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Shard said:
ESRB Watch:

R.B.I. Baseball Take 2 Interactive Software, Inc. Everyone No Descriptors Xbox 360

Blazing Birds Vector2 Everyone No Descriptors Xbox 360
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Weird, Blazing Birds is an XNA game, did not think they were rating those.

Or was that one of the winners from Dream Build Play or whatever? I think part of the deal was getting your game published on XBLA.
 
Sean said:
Weird, Blazing Birds is an XNA game, did not think they were rating those.

Or was that one of the winners from Dream Build Play or whatever? I think part of the deal was getting your game published on XBLA.
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It is a Dream-Build-Play winner, so that means it is being turned into a full-fledged XBLA game.
 
New XBLA game called Bounce, scheduled for 2009. It's being developed by Strawdog Studios, who previously made Geon Emotions last year. There's not much besides this cutesy artwork...

Bounce_07.png


http://www.strawdogstudios.com/bounce.html
 
http://www.gamerbytes.com/2008/08/ratings_watch_dreambuildplay_w.php

Ratings Watch - Dream-Build-Play Winners Show Up On Rating Systems
yohokablammo.png

Back in August 2007 Microsoft held a competition called Dream-Build-Play - an XNA based competition which would get you a publishing deal through Microsoft. There were 4 winners, but the only one we've seen anything about is The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

Two of the other titles have now shown up on rating websites - Yo-Ho Kablammo! has shown up on the German USK rating system, and Blazing Birds has popped up on the ESRB.

The final game, Gravitron Ultra, has not been seem in quite a while. In fact, it seems they've lost their website domain to some URL robot which now has it link to a Q&A about the Toyota Camry.
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nice to see the other winners coming through, speaking of competitions wasn't there one for a advergame for Doritos and it as going to be made? Maybe it was scraped as I'm sure it would have been another Yaris.
 
Gowans007 said:
nice to see the other winners coming through, speaking of competitions wasn't there one for a advergame for Doritos and it as going to be made? Maybe it was scraped as I'm sure it would have been another Yaris.
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That would be Doritos Dash of Destruction which is being done by Ninjabee and yea that has sorta fallen into the void apparently.
 
Team Xbox has an interview with George Broussard on the XBLA version of Duke Nukem 3D:

We definitely put a lot of work into the game. It would have been simple to just port it and ship it, but people kept suggesting cool ideas and we just had to do them. Some of it was hardware, as in being Xbox Live, you open the game up to really solid matchmaking, voice chat and multiplayer.

There are other things that we just did, because it was cool or the right thing to do. Small things like letting you remap every button on the 360 controller to larger features like the User Clip feature. There are small features like the concept art gallery or in-game achievement list that we didn’t have to do at all, but we thought they were features we’d like to see in games.

In the end I feel like we added everything possible within reason to update the game and keep it within a reasonable timeframe (a first for us!).
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http://interviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/2289/Duke-Nukem-3D-Interview/p1/

And there's some screenshots as well... here's a sample:

1219702594.jpg
 
I'm pretty stoked about DN3D - more than I thought I would be. The controller remapping is a cool idea I wish more games had.
 
Pirates vs Ninjas dev interview: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19982

Has the process of getting the game onto XBLA been a difficult one?

No, not really. We had to go through the MS gatekeepers when we first signed with Gamecock, and that took longer than I expected, and then certification at the end - but that's normal.

However, releasing on the platform has been kinda frustrating. We were fully certified and ready to launch on July 3rd but all their slots were full until September 3rd. I really wish they didn't have this hard rule of 2 titles per week - which ofttimes they don't follow either.
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Damn man you just know there's going to be one asshole grabbing up all the weapons while everyone else is stuck with pistols.

Oh and they definitely have to increase the number of enemies if there are gonna be 8 Dukes running around.
 
PepsimanVsJoe said:
Oh and they definitely have to increase the number of enemies if there are gonna be 8 Dukes running around.
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I can't remember, but it is either Doom or Duke3D that had infinite enemy respawn. The enemies would keep respawning until the level was beat.
 
Illuminati said:
I can't remember, but it is either Doom or Duke3D that had infinite enemy respawn. The enemies would keep respawning until the level was beat.
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Doom(hardest difficulty) has it and if fucking sucks sometimes.(especially cause you lose all your keys when you die, so it's just like starting the level over except all the ammo/health has been taken already)

Don't remember if Duke3D has it though, it's been so long since I played it last.
 
Illuminati said:
I can't remember, but it is either Doom or Duke3D that had infinite enemy respawn. The enemies would keep respawning until the level was beat.
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I don't know if it was infinite but I distinctly remember them porting in after I'd killed them all.
 
Jonnyram said:
For those who don't go to the Famitsu thread.
Meteos Wars for XBLA in October. 1-2 players. No price currently announced.
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Meteos like DS Meteos? :D Wow, XBLA is getting exponentially more awesome this summer/fall.
 
VOOK said:
Does this mean its up today?? Or sooon?
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Games for next week are already confirmed as Shred and PvN Dodgeball, and the week after is at least Rocketbowl.

We still need to confirm not only Duke's date but Mega Man 9.
 
Defense Grid: The Awakening

Press Release PROVIDED BY GAMES PRESS

Bellevue, WA (August 28, 2008) - Hidden Path Entertainment, an independent developer based in Bellevue WA, will be unveiling their new PC game Defense Grid: The Awakening during this week’s Penny Arcade Expo. Defense Grid: The Awakening, due to release in November 2008, is a unique spin on tower defense gameplay that will appeal to players of all skill levels. This PC game, built on Emergent’s Gamebryo engine, features beautiful environments, spectacular effects, and a dynamic, engaging soundtrack. The controls are intuitive and the gameplay is deep - the special attacks and properties of each tower work together to provide many ways to succeed.

“Defense Grid: The Awakening redefines tower-defense gameplay, introduces new concepts, and uniquely captures the full excitement and fun of this genre,” said Jeff Pobst, CEO and co-founder of Hidden Path Entertainment. “Defense Grid: The Awakening is as fun for the core gamer pushing their skills as it is for the novice just trying their hand at a strategy game.”

A horde of enemies is invading, and it's up to the player to stop them by strategically building fortification towers around their base. This highly replayable game features more than 8 hours of storyline gameplay and many hours of challenge modes that give players unique starting conditions and objectives. There are many different ways to solve each level with increasing rewards for improved efficiency.

“We have spent a lot of time studying the emotional curve of the game and worked to ensure that the challenge of each enemy wave creates an enjoyable pace and progression throughout the campaign,” said Mark Terrano, Design Director and co-founder of Hidden Path Entertainment. “We added a number of game mechanics in each level to create a large dynamic range of emotion and strategy so that we can engage both the hardcore gamer and the novice through one shared emotional experience.”

Defense Grid: The Awakening has 20 unique environments, each with a different placement of roads, tower build locations, and open areas to plan a strategy around. Each level encourages a different strategy, such as trying to find an optimal path to redirect enemies, making the best use of limited space, and breaking up individual enemy waves to avoid being overwhelmed, all while planning ahead for future waves.

There are 10 different tower types with 3 levels of upgrade for each. Each tower has unique tradeoffs that affect ideal placement, such as line-of-sight attack or ballistic trajectory fire; a large area of effect or damage over time; and minimum and maximum ranges. Over the course of the game, players battle 15 different types of enemies, each with their own unique capabilities and strategies.

About Hidden Path Entertainment

Hidden Path Entertainment is an independent video game development company established to develop and produce interactive entertainment software for current and future generations of video game consoles, as well as other computing platforms. Hidden Path's team is made up of industry veterans who have each contributed to highly successful titles in multiple genres and on multiple platforms. Hidden Path is currently developing fun and innovative titles for some of the most popular companies in gaming and their respective platforms. Hidden Path recently released the family party and trivia game Wits & Wagers on Xbox LIVE Arcade, but returns to their core gaming roots with Defense Grid: The Awakening. Hidden Path Entertainment can be found online at www.hiddenpath.com.
 
Shard said:
Well, that is sort of thing, this was announced as an XBLA game but it looks like it has switched platforms or something.
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Just checked - still coming out on XBLA, but the PC version is the lead platform, and assumedly will come out first.
 
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