Before today, I really didn’t know much about Sony On the web Entertainment’s MMO, DC Universe Online. But then it sent me a MySpace friend request and … wait, what the hell? Why do games have their own MySpace pages? Is that like when people make pages for their cat?

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Before today, I really didn’t know much about Sony Online Entertainment’s MMO, DC Universe On the internet. But then it sent me a MySpace friend request and … wait, what the hell? Why do games have their own MySpace pages? Is that like when people make pages for their cat?

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Now that the Medic and Pyro have gotten their updates, there has been some speculation over which class Valve would be releasing new weapons and accomplishments for next. Even though there were some rumors that it would be the Spy — complete with fake update posters! — Valve has announced that the next update will be for everyone’s favorite minigun wielder, the Heavy Weapons Guy.

Valve has also decided to start giving us some insight on why exactly they make the changes they do in an attempt to be more open with their development process. In the latest post on the official Team Fortress 2 blog, Robin Walker talks about the need to set clear goals on what needs to be accomplished before the idea pitching process begins.

“We do design collaboratively at Valve, and one of the side effects of it is that we really need to be able to evaluate design ideas as objectively as possible. Otherwise design meetings would devolve into subjective arguing. We’ve found that the ideal method of working objectively is to have clear goals up front. Once we’ve got clear goals, we can throw a bunch of ideas up on the board and measure how well each idea achieves those goals. Often the work of testing those ideas against the goals causes us to further refine or clarify the goals.”

She sets forth their latest goal: finding a way to make the Heavy more viable when there aren’t any medics hovering around, and sets forth several constraints and parameters that need to be kept in mind when coming up with a solution. If you want to try coming up with your own awesome idea to solve the design goal (and rub it in Valve’s face) then head on over to the blog entry and give it a read.

[Via MATTFOO’s cblog]

Via Destructoid

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Destructoid readers should no doubt be aware of Luc Bernard’s title, Eternity’s Child. The designer — who is active in the Destructoid community — has for a while now been documenting the title’s development quite publicly. Originally conceived as an Xbox LIVE Arcade title, Eternity’s Child will eventually be finding its home on the Wii via WiiWare and PC’s by way of Valve’s Steam service later this year.

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Destructoid readers should no doubt be aware of Luc Bernard’s title, Eternity’s Child. The designer — who is active in the Destructoid community — has for a while now been documenting the title’s development quite publicly. Originally conceived as an Xbox LIVE Arcade title, Eternity’s Child will eventually be finding its home on the Wii via WiiWare and PC’s by way of Valve’s Steam service later this year.

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Those of you disappointed in the less-than-stellar performance of Insecticide on the DS, but not inspired enough to put forth the momentous effort required to pick it up for the PC, take heart! Gamecock has announced an agreement with Valve Studios allowing them to launch their titles on Steam starting today.

The first titles available on Steam are Stronghold Crusader Extreme, a title picked up by Gamecock from Firefly Studios, and Insecticide Part One. So if a noir-themed insect shooter isn’t quite your bag, you can find solace in the decimation of the Middle East and its inhabitants via Stronghold Crusader Extreme. Isn’t cultural exchange fun?

Part two of Insecticide, Legendary, and Velvet Assassin will be available on Steam later this year. While I’m hesitant to spend more money on Insecticide, there’s just something about bug noir I really can’t resist, especially sans hard copy. Hit the jump for the full release.

Via Destructoid

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Poor Star Trek Online. It got chucked by Perpetual Entertainment back in January, a full eleven months after we were shown a slew of fantastic concept art at GDC 2007. Even after the rumor surfaced that Cryptic Studios had picked up the title, it was hard to guess if the massive project would ever see the light of day again.

CVG spotted a countdown on the Cryptic Studios website that seems to be aiming for July 27th and has a piece of the Star Trek On the web concept art as its backdrop. Could the game be unveiled next month? I certainly hope so, as it’s definitely a universe I am a fan of and would love to play a game within.

Have you been holding out any hope for this one, or is it just another time-gobbling MMO to you?

[Thanks, Jonathan]

Via Destructoid

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Oh, you crazy kids and your clicky-clicky loot games. In the wake of Diablo III’s official announcement, it seems that fans of picking up crap that a skeleton dropped simply can’t wait for the PC roleplayer to arrive, and are filling in time with the Diablo Battle Chest.

Diablo Battle Chest collects the original Diablo, Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction along with two hint guides in one handy box, providing fans of the Blizzard series with everything they need to catch up. It currently rests atop the mountain as Amazon’s top-selling Personal computer game, but you better hurry if you want one — at present, there are but three left in stock. Oh noes!

I’m guessing this Diablo stuff is a big deal, right?

[Cheers, Zulu]

Via Destructoid

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The answer to the question of Blizzard taking Diablo III to a console is mired in a bit of a mess right now. CVG is reporting on an interview with Blizzard’s COO Paul Sams and The Guardian about a release on either the PS3 or the Xbox 360, and the answer is unclear.

When asked directly, Sams replied fairly shakily.

I don’t know yet. A lot of it depends on whether we think the gameplay experience will be the same on console, especially regarding the controls. Also I’d like to keep our audience together.

Sams then went on to comment on the give and take that developers face when porting a game onto a console.

When you are developing for multiple platforms you sometimes have to compromise. We aren’t willing to compromise. We’ve relationships with all the console manufacturers. I know they would love to have us on their platforms, ideally on their own and not their competitor! But it’s all about the game experience.

For quick reference on the whole matter, I got out my copy of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and rapidly starting killing rats in a cellar. I can now personally confirm that Diablo III’s action will translate to a console. For future review, I think I’ll try running across the city map in GTA IV. I assume that hitting the “A” button that many times in succession is bound to give me an even superior idea of the Diablo III experience.

Doesn’t this just seem like Blizzard is trying to be inclusive for the sake of it? I have the ability to certainly comprehend how it would be troubling to port a game designed specifically for the mouse and keyboard, but many developers have succeeded in this regard. Furthermore, I find it laughable that Blizzard is probably going to be willing to take the time to make Diablo III Macintosh compatible, but the idea of going to a console is just too silly.

Via Destructoid

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The last time we talked about the Square Enix PC MMO Concerto Gate, we were still waiting on information for the upcoming public beta. This morning they’ve finally sent that info along for us.

The North American closed public beta kicks off some time later this day. Gamescampus.com is publishing this sequel to the 2001 Japanese MMORPG Cross Gate, and those lucky enough to get in will get a chance to play it, from this day through July 14th.

What’s this “lucky” I speak of? Well, there’s only 5,000 beta keys. They’re not available yet, but I’d keep an eye on FileFront.com today if you want one. You’ll need to go to GamesCampus and plug that key back in to get started.

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