Screenplay

Screenshot jigsaw puzzle #37

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:01:15 GMT

Well, it's been a big week hasn't it?

Actually, I don't know: I'm writing this article almost a week before you're reading it. As you read this, I will be on my way home from spending the ...

Friday Question: Which game is your worst time-devourer?

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:59:32 GMT

Generally when I write up one of these Friday Question conversation-starters, I can list two or three examples of my own, and then I turn the topic over to you, the readers, for more examples. ...

Xbox One: Everything you need to know

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:15:46 GMT

Microsoft unveils Xbox One

PlayStation First to give Aussie game students practical skills

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:52:06 GMT

Academia is a funny thing. You can teach a student the skills involved in their business, whether that be law or music or science, but there are always some real-world skills that are difficult to ...

Indie review: FTL: Faster Than Light

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:03:51 GMT

First-time indie game developers Subset Games have a lot of guts. You have to be pretty brave to make a game in which many players will be brutally killed off in their very first ...

Tuesday Newsday: Nintendo's YouTube PR disaster, and the right way to combat sexism

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:02:40 GMT

Nintendo lays claim to all YouTube videos featuring their gameplay

Are you a hardcore Mario player who likes to upload your Super Mario Bros. 3 speed runs for the world to ...

The Walking Dead: Remarkable

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:11:26 GMT

Acclaimed designer Sid Meier once described games as "a series of interesting choices" but when playing story-based games it's rare for your decisions to feel meaningful.

Developers find it ...

Screenshot jigsaw puzzle #36

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:45:28 GMT

Welcome to Friday, Screen Play readers.

Next week is going to be a busy one, as Microsoft will be flying me to Seattle for the "unveiling of a new generation of Xbox". Clearly, this means ...

Your Turn: Guilty games

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:44:20 GMT

I play games nowadays to feel something inside. To feel anything from fear and disgust to elation and even relief that the game is finally over. But something that I find absent or not too ...

Friday question: What are your gateway games?

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:43:42 GMT

My dad never understood my obsession with computer games.

He had bought the Amiga 500 as an educational tool for the whole family, whereas I, of course, had only wanted a games machine. He ...

Drama in the deep freeze: Lost Planet 3 interview

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:51:58 GMT

About a year ago, I was at a preview event in Melbourne for upcoming THQ and Capcom titles. Darksiders II, DmC: Devil May Cry, Metro: Last Light, and Company of Heroes 2 were the stars of the ...

Drama in the deep freeze - a Lost Planet 3 interview

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:51:58 GMT

About a year ago, I was at a preview event in Melbourne for upcoming THQ and Capcom titles. Darksiders II, DmC: Devil May Cry, Metro: Last Light, and Company of Heroes 2 were the stars of the ...

Metro: Last Light - Beauty in the darkness

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:12:35 GMT

One of the most overwhelming aspects of Metro: Last Light, and indeed its predecessor Metro 2033, is just how Russian it is.

It's not just that it's a Ukrainian-made game based on a Russian ...

Indie review: Blendoku

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:37:49 GMT

There aren't many games that can be explained fully in just a single sentence, but Blendoku on Apple and

Tuesday Newsday: Business woes continue, new modding tools, and extra GTA V details

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:33:58 GMT

Big business: Activision down, EA up, and Sega still struggling

Making video games is a risky business, and we have seen far too many times in recent years just how quickly ...

Fire Emblem Awakening: An essential companion

Sun, 12 May 2013 21:02:14 GMT

Death has little sting for most video game characters, ensuring their joypad-wielding masters can play with reckless and carefree abandon.

But in the fast-paced fantasy battles of Fire ...

Screenshot jigsaw puzzle #35

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:56:07 GMT

The jigsaw is back! Yes, after weeks of frustrating technical issues, my PC is now running smoothly again, and I have (most of) my software reinstalled on a fresh Samsung solid-state drive. Before ...

The father of modern fantasy - a personal memorial for Ray Harryhausen

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:55:02 GMT

I was six.

I'm not sure what woke me up, but I suspect it was hearing my name mentioned in the next room. I lay in bed, and I recall faintly hearing my father's voice saying, "James would ...

Friday question: What is your gaming comfort food?

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:36:46 GMT

As you've probably noticed, the regular Friday jigsaw puzzle has finally returned. The Friday question was originally conceived as a conversation starter to fill the jigsaw void, but I've been ...

Dragging games away from their violent roots

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:51:00 GMT

Last week,

Your Turn: Give mobile gaming a chance

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:49:32 GMT

IT WOULD be easy to dismiss mobile gaming as a means of ‘passing time’.

But is that what people thought in the late 80s and early 90s when they saw the wealth of games across ...

Playing those mind-games: a preview of Remember Me

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:05:26 GMT

Why are video games so rarely set in Paris? It seems strange to me that such a popular travel destination is so rarely seen in our interactive fantasies.

In Remember Me, the upcoming ...

Indie review: Fish Out of Water

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:39:44 GMT

Brisbane's Halfbrick is one of the consistent achievers in Australia's greatly changed video game industry. We no longer have studios that focus on packaged games to be sold in bricks-and-mortar ...

Tuesday Newsday: Legal issues

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:32:31 GMT

Meme creators sue Scribblenauts developer for breach of copyright

Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat may be internet memes that are recognised and remixed all over the world, but ...

ShootMania Storm: Blast from the past

Sun, 05 May 2013 21:14:58 GMT

Reviewing ShootMania Storm is like passing judgment on a box of Lego. Its strength is an extensive toolset for creating shoot-'em-up battle arenas, so your enjoyment largely depends on how much ...