Battleborn: Get aside Mr Destiny A new addiction is incoming !

BATTLEBORN !

Nice name, yeah? Well, not really.Generic space marine is what I think of when I hear  Battleborn but I paid attention because it sounded a lot like that awesome amazing super fantastic Miyazaki love called Bloodborne but, calm your horses,  it has nothing to do with it which is sad because anything to do with Bloodborne is most welcome, will be appreciated and devoured till  no more can be devoured ! 

     The similarity of name with the Japanese masterpiece is not the only reason Battleborn caught my attention, in fact, putting aside teh jokes, the real reason is that its being made by Gearbox, the creators of Borderlands franchise and, well, I liked Borderlands 2 quite a bit. The cast of multiple crazy characters and the skill trees combined with the unique art style worked its magic on me back in the day and , in fact, writing this right now makes me wanna re-buy the game for my ps4 to try out the newer characters which were released later as DLCs. Damn it, there goes my money again, I shouldn't be writing stuff at all and should be just posting this kaboom-a-shazaam of bad-assery mixed together with some phonetic crooning of exotic sorts :D .......!

   What you just saw, Ladies and Gentlemen, needs no explanation : its gamingsuace being poured in dollops ! Bring it on Gearbox, let the games begin :) ! Yeah ! all that excitement brewing in me and I haven't even shared the gameplay demo yet. Well, I am not Snake to keep you waiting, here , here :

(That Ratchet and CLank vibe to te banter is unmistake-able)

You know what, I can be that Archer right now :^) and that Vampire Ninja :O : the cast of characters is crackling with energy ! I think Destiny, the only game that actually ever got me "addicted" in the true painful sense of the word is in danger now. I sense a true competitor even if the games are very different from each other. Destiny is following the MMORPG formula while Battleborn wants to tread the MOBA way, both not really committing to the respective genres instead trying to be lighter versions of each. Yet the common element of selling a fantasy of playing as exotic characters mowing down enemies together with your friends while earning yet stronger powers as you play remains at the heart of both .......and that both are aimed at the FPS lovers out there ! 

The competition is real and as far as I am concerned, Battleborn is already in the battle with Destiny for my time. I cannot wait to try it out for myself and see the punches it packs considering I am already getting jaded with the DLC pricing and the direction Bungie is taking with the way they serve content in Destiny. Instead of being a world where regular new events occur, Destiny is more on the lines of fixed content being delivered via DLCs which you keep playing till the next paid DLC arrives. This may have always been what Destiny was 'destined' to be but I perhaps had a different vision of a persistent world where newer events get pushed into the world every week, like Warframe does. I mean whats the point of running your game on servers if you aren't pushing fresh events regularly? Even small missions which change things, like :

"Fallen are taking over cosmodrome...defend it , events lasts till Monday evening."
 Or
"Hunt a special target amidst a massive firefight between hive and fallen on earth. "
Or
" Fight alongside cabal in taking over an area from Vex....some guardian can choose to take Vex side... Events lasts for few hours ! "

 /end_Destiny_rant.  I got carried away but thats how I had imagined Destiny to be. 

So, what does Battleborn do? Battleborn isn't going that way either, instead they are being a MOBA with a co-op campaign. A MOBA is primarily PvP genre, just like League of Legends and DOTA, and I think thats why Gearbox is so focussed on revealing co-op content first to distinguish themselves from regular MOBAs and catering directly to the FPS fans first and foremost. Just like any other MOBA, Battleborn has a wide array of characters, 25 to be specific and Gearbox is making a huge deal out of it and comparing it to Borderlands 2's 4 but, to be honest, that comparison is just misleading. This is a MOBA-esque game and 25 is not over the top for a MOBA !( C'mon Gearbox, get your act together ;) !) But when they are as crazy and imaginative as Gearbox makes them, then that count of 25 sure packs a punch !

This difference from Destiny, yet sharing the similar fantasy is what excites me actually. This game can be heaven with a bunch of friends, just like Destiny is... but with 25 characters to choose from and each match letting you level your character up differently, there is a LOT of builds to try out and a LOT of fresh gameplay to be savored. Considering that we are having so much fun with just the three classes, technically six, in Destiny, imagine having 25 characters with multiple skill trees which can be changed every mission... ....I see smiles plastered on my face :^)! I hear cackles of laughter while failing and victory dances when the classes just work together ! Who doesn't want to be a Vampire Ninja, for gods sake ! I know I do ! :^D and did I mention a four handed witch yet , oh and a Mecha that can fly up in the air and shoot tracking missiles ala "insert-favourite-anime-name"  !!!

.....and just look at the art style  ! 

In-Game screenshot !

My heart screams :OKAMI !!! :)

Although I am not totally convinced by the art but the mix of Diablo-esque art with Sci-fi with Ratchet n Clank tendencies looks fantastic to me. The explosions are what caught my fancy instantly, they look hand drawn and pulled straight out of Anime ! Apparently the character designer from Borderlands has the reins of Art direction in this one and he has been allowed to go as crazy as he wants and though something feels off about it IMO, it still feels "alien" in a very new way. Its unsettling, unfamiliar to look at and I guess that's the premise of the game. Its the place left after all star systems have died and your warriors fight the last battle of the universe in this far-away corner of the universe ! A world alien to all aliens too, an inviting yet unsettling place for adventure. SOunds and looks equally cool. Hoping it gets mroe polished by the time beta arrives and more importantly, hoping to jump into the beta myself. Sony hasn't really been giving us the betas that were promised with PS+ subscriptions !

Here's the official website, btw: https://battleborn.com/

The promise here is huge and the possibilities immense.

I just hope the MOBA influences don't dilute the fun for me. Battleborn has a 2015 release window.Here's hoping for a excting end to this wonderful gaming year of 2015 !

Oh, edit: Here's the latest interview of th eproducer, much needed tons of info in there, enjoy:

Halo 5 Vidoc: A Hero Reborn.....really HALO???

Fellow Spartans, I think its pretty well know now that a new Vidoc titles "A Hero Reborn" was released by 343i recently showcasing quite a bit of new footage from Halo 5 as well detailing out their plans for the direction they are taking with the campaign of Halo 5.

Here's the vidoc for your viewing pleasure:

Now, I know its supposed to make us go gaga and over our heads with frenzy but .

........Call me cynical or whatever, but that vidoc does not look like Halo to me at all!

The armour and environment design , the colours, the art direction is so so damn different now that it could be some other game all together. Even the Master Chief silhouette is so changed that its hardly recognisable. IMO, they went too far already.

I don't feel excited :( , I am not angry or anything but I feel a gem is lost. I used to wait with baited breath for all HALO Vidocs and ads as they were all so amazing. This ......not at all. They are changing things for the sake of changing things. Its as if they want to make sure they leave their mark on the HALO franchise. They seem to believe they are bigger than HALO in this HALO project. Its not about HALO, its about our HALO and Bungie's HALO.

or maybe I am just crazy !

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review: Rights, wrongs.......and all the fun in between !

(This review was written for www.cgtantra.com and is published here :http://cgtantra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36656 . I am posting here just for personal non-commercial archiving purposes.)

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

 Rights, wrongs …… and all the fun in between !

This review of the ps4 version of the game is 100% story-wise and gameplay-wise  spoiler-free to keep your gaming goodness intact while playing this masterpiece.

“I am Geralt of Rivia”, this statement outlines the world of The Witcher 3 very appropriately. How, you may ask? Well, because this statement is true, yet false. Yes, you play as Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher, a monster hunter by trade but Geralt, as he proudly introduces himself, is not from Rivia and even his slight Rivian accent is a fake, a fact not well known among even his friends, and this same theme of dubiousness runs throughout the whole game. Nothing here is what it seems like!  No character you meet here is what the world or first impressions would make you believe. Every place, person, incident, decision or its subsequent result has another layer of motive, doubt, apprehension or misunderstanding! ………and this makes for an enchanting, exhilarating ride through a game world so well made that it is difficult to find an equal in our recent times !

   So, my friend, if you fancy yourself a tale well told, then come! Come, for a Witcher roams our lands! A Witcher whose tales may well be passed on, for they are worthy, brave, infallible as a Hero’s feats and yet unsure, aching and imperfect as our own feeble deeds. Come, for a fire burns and tales flow for all…. Geralt of Rivia has arrived ! 

The Adventure:

In a world co-inhabited by sorcerers, dwarves, elves, beasts, witches, werewolves and humans CD Projekt Red kicks off the adventure with a high quality CGI cut-scene that gets the ball rolling from the get-go. You, as Geralt , are introduced to being a Witcher, in exceptionally beautiful graphics to boot, and are set on the main quest immediately to go find Cirilla, a young girl tied to Geralt by destiny, a child-surprise as they say, if we go by the detailed mythos of the Novels set in the Witcher universe. Let’s just say she is a daughter to Geralt. What ensues is a series of quests to track some important returning characters from previous games (and novels) which takes you through a highly detailed hand crafted world full of side quests so good that they can put some full games to shame !

 I am not exaggerating here, as these short stories from the side-quests evoke empathy towards the side-characters in simple but such effective ways that a lot of major full releases lack. Also, true to the game’s theme, every quest you undertake can end up in you doing exactly the opposite of what you intended while starting the quest. Heroes turn out to be equally villainous while tormentors turn out to be victims of the actions of the preachers of good or simple plain survival instincts of others. This makes the open world come alive with a magic which even the best games of the genre (Skyrim included) fall severely short of !

      You develop an attachment towards the detailed world as you progress through the game. Anticipation runs high as you explore each area, as you find insignificant items and seemingly mundane treasure hunts bring forth highly emotive stories in the wake of their discovery. I will not mention any story detail here to not spoil the surprise one feels while playing the game, but it suffices to say that even some optional treasure hunts paint tragic tales of deceit, misunderstood morals and lonely penances. Seemingly violent Witcher contracts, quests to kill monsters for cash, evolve into quests of re-uniting timeless lovers and other times turn into moral arguments about the right to live, of survival instinct of other species v/s seemingly irrefutable piousness in human acts of indiscriminate expansion and the desire to usurp the whole world.

The opposing perceptions of right and wrong, when viewed from opposing perspectives, is a theme that runs through everything in this game. Characters, quests, hunts and even banter among NPCs question the right of the righteous and the wrongs in the wrongdoings. This is not a world you will forget upon shutting down the game. Instead, you will find yourself narrating these dilemmas to friends and family and thinking about your actions in your waking and sleeping hours. In time, you will start living as Geralt, the ultimate goal of any RPG ! 

The Combat:

This rich, lush world and quest system is ably supported by a robust combat system, which frankly brings a breath of fresh air and immediacy to a world full of  RPGs with slow, clunky or repetitive combat. Combat in the Witcher requires you to think on the feet and juggle between its three arms of Swordplay, Signs (ala magic) and Alchemy. Oh, and bombs, never forget the ever useful bombs! This brings enough variety to fights to not feel repetitive and enough possibilities to win a fight your way. This caters to the very core concept of being a Witcher, of slaying monsters and sharing those stories with your friends. The fact that there are 5 signs, with equal number of alternate modes, two sword attacks which upgrade to 4 (along with 3 passive abilities), multiple potions which you learn along the way and bombs which you upgrade to better versions and a mutagen system to add boosts to your style of play builds up into a system which lets you add your personality to each fight, lets you build your own fighting style and lets you have encounters which you can live to tell tales of.  Add to that a very well explained and the incredibly useful bestiary in the game which details out the origins and the weaknesses of each monster type, (which must be exploited in order to win a fight, otherwise you might find yourself at a loss in the fight)  you have a well-built combat system which holds the test of time and lasts you through the 100 hours you may very well spend in this game. 

Button mashing your sword can get you only so far and very early-on the game makes it clear that a Witcher needs his kaboom-a-shazaam to jazz up his combat or pack his bags and leave. You are free to upgrade any aspect as you level up, but a very clever slot-system for your skill-tree makes it clear that you can focus on maxing out only one of the three disciplines over the course of the game while keeping a second discipline leveled up for support. To put in numbers, you have around 70 skills you can level up but you can slot only 12 at a time pushing you to make hard choices about your play-style and hone your Witcher towards a particular specialisation. During my playthrough, I focused on leveling up my Magic signs (because magic is the coolest form of self-expression in this world :^)) in such a way to make them almost always ready-to-fire and maxed out my light sword attack for some knuckle-to-the-bone interludes between all the fireworks !   My combat style was further boosted by the Griffin armour set which boosted my sign intensity even further making sure when I spewed fire from my fingers, I had roasted monster meat for dinner ! There are three such sets, with very specific bonuses and handicaps and multitudes of other armours which provide various boosts.

In my time with The Witcher 3, which is north of a 100 hours, I was always excited for the next big fight, and not wary of it, and was still trying to think up new cross ability combos, which speaks volumes for the combat system when usually combat in most RPGs end up feeling repetitive and random. Popping a magic shield, then freezing the enemies only to light them up with my fire-streaming souped-up Igni sign and then letting them hack you to their fill, as you laugh maniacally, because every hit they strike regenerates your health : Priceless !

The Devil is in the details:

…….and in letting the player be! I cannot explain to you the joys of stealing  treasures from right under the noses of high levelled monsters, one who can kill you with one hit, and running off with the loot on your sturdy horse …….and the fact that the game lets you have it without penalties if you can pull it off ! There are no “magical game barriers’ which stop you from doing what you want to, it’s a living breathing open world, for real this time. I sneaked into Novigrad, a major metropolis in the game, long before the story wanted me to and add to that I sneaked in without a mandatory pass required to enter the city…..and the game just let me be and responded properly by opening up the connected story quests for me.

No reloading back, no messages or “you cannot do this” mumbo-jumbo to break the immersion. I was in the city I shouldn’t be in, that was my achievement and the game acknowledged it and let me progress on from there. Such moments, of which there were many, make your time invested in the game  feel even more worthwhile. You feel even more invested in your story of Geralt and the Geralt you have molded with your hands.

Usually such freedom of gameplay comes at the cost of a lackluster or barren world, but there are no compromises in the Witcher3. The world is unanimously the most beautiful open world you will set your eyes on (which you can travel by foot, steed or boats) and each area is lovingly handcrafted to pertain a sense of place.

The Time of Day and Weather systems are perfectly tweaked by CDProjekt Red to make sure each moment, be it dusk or dawn, sun or storm, looks awe inspiring and gorgeous ! That share button on your ps4 should and will get spammed a lot. In fact, the game’s beauty made me re- realize the meaning of “stop and stare”, literally ! 

The devilish detailing extends beyond just graphics, though. Each NPC you find in the little villages located around the map has a name, a profession and usually a side quest he/she stars in. Each NPC you pass usually has something to say about you, the current political situation, some quest located in that area or on war and its wake ! If you check out the Notice board at each village or town, which lets you pick up side quests, you will notice little stories for almost each of these NPCs in that village. 

The detailing spills over into dialogue options and the decisions you make too. Even seemingly disconnected quests have repercussions which affect your options in other quests or story quests. Friends or foes you make over time can suddenly make events pop-in out of nowhere affecting your story and gameplay in some other part of the game. It is difficult to tell how deep this rabbit hole goes, but I was pleasantly surprised multiple times in my game when thugs or help poured in from long forgotten characters and conversations.

Talking of conversations, you have multiple choices which you can make while talking to other NPCs, but contrary to other RPGs who offer black and white choices, Witcher 3 differs again. Not only are the choices more like real life, ie. ambiguous and unsure, but the dialogue also let you back out and change directions cleverly if the response from the NPC makes you change your mind ! Even during romances, I was able to commit, half-commit and then even back out of a relationship within a conversation scene making it feel…..surreal !

In no other games have I felt so compelled to think well before committing to a dialogue choice because in The Witcher 3, every decision you make has tangible repercussions which the game clearly feeds back to you making every decision or dialogue choice important and dear to your heart. I have found myself discussing my available choices with friends before taking decisions as many a times a seemingly just decision can later leave you with a terrible feeling of guilt. As I said before, in this world, nothing is what it seems !

Oh, and did I mention the humour ! The game has the same sense of humour that the novels have and this is one game where more than half of my time was spent smiling while playing the game. The amount of love put into crafting this game is simply staggering!

Conclusion:

To put it simply: This is RPG open-world gaming at its finest! Un-missable, un-skippable and one where your time spent in the game isn’t a pastime, it’s a purposeful adventure into your own conscience, your own sense of right and wrong and your ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. You might well never be a hero in The Witcher 3, but you can be the one who cares ! Whether what you do resonates with others or makes you a monster in their eyes is debatable and unpredictable, just like in real life.

If you are an Action RPG fan you will be ably satiated with this game and if, like me, you crave the tales of wonder, you will be in heaven ! Just don’t rush with the main story, do every side quest that pops up, find hidden areas and take time with the Witcher contracts as those side activities are where the meat of the game is. The main storyline is the thread that binds the world together but doing a Witcher’s deeds in this wind swept world is where all the magic happens!  For this is one lush garden of little wide eyed tales, pick the ones that feel ripe to you and play them as you live the life of a Witcher !

Pros:

+Best Side quests in a game, ever.

+Amazing Fan service. Novels and previous games are constantly referred to in meaningful ways.

+The best living breathing open world, sense of adventure is un-paralleled

+Humour and the branching dialogue

+ Combat and leveling up systems

+Superb graphics

+Decisions have surprising effects

Cons:

-Main story can feel aimless in the beginning.

Verdict: “Reviewer’s Choice: A Must buy! Do not miss this game if adventure runs in your blood “

(*all screenshots taken with the Share button on a PS4 system)

Christmas Magic+ splashes on the front page of Desura !

After debuting exclusively on Indie Royale's Boxing Day Bundle, L'il Pono's adventure: Christmas Magic+ is now permanently available for purchase on Desura for Windows, Linux and Mac. A single purchase entitles players to all three versions of the game. Also, this special edition includes the OST and the beautiful Concept Art Bundle with the game, making it the best version of the game out there ! We found Desura to be the best platform for our PC release as it is the one stop shop for anything indie and fun !

Here's our little gem shining bright on the front page of Desura:

Here's a link to the game, it will lead you directly to Desura:

Its a joyous Valentine's Day for us and L'il Pono as he continues his journey to spread his magic on all platforms possible :) ! Hoping this brings Pono's magical adventure another step closer to your fingertips. If any of you had been holding out till now, now's there's no reason not to jump in ! Linux, Mac or Windows, whichever OS you play on, Christmas Magic is ready to be dived into !

Christmas magic + bedazzles Indie Royale ! Proves nothing is Impossible !

So, the BIG BIG news is out already :D ! Did you hear it?

Yes , yes, our game "Christmas magic +" is debuting DRM free on Windows, Linux and Mac exclusively on Indie Royale's latest xmas bundle titled "The Debut 8" ! And even greater news which overjoys me completely is that it has been chosen to be a Secret Bonus game for generous users who pay $5 or more for the bundle ! So, technically, we are the best game of the bundle :) ! Way to go L'il Pono, we are one step closer to world domination !

Its an even bigger news locally, as we are the first Indian PC game ever,let alone indie or corporate, to be featured on any kind of bundle, let alone be chosen as a bonus game ! Christmas Magic + has created ripples in the Indian gaming industry and I am sure the news will encourage even more aspire-rs to make their own games and live their dreams !  While scores of gaming studios were busy making clones of other hit games, this unique little game quietly made it into the international circuit.If a game made by two dreamers can make it at the world stage, then nothing is impossible !

Christmas Magic-al Storybook is now on MangoReader !

Hope this Christmas brings some good news for everyone, it sure did for us and the fans of L'il Pono. For all the people who do not own an iPad, the mesmerising tale of L'il Pono and The Magical Tree is now available on the awesome MangoReader website on PC and on the MangoReader App n the Android store !

MangoReader is a fantastic new platform that is going places with its interactive storybooks and the ability for users to create their own if they wish to. Christmas Magic has also been selected to be part of the Christmas Story pack which is also available as a separate app on the Google Play Store.

Here are the links for the Storybook on PC: http://www.mangoreader.com/#books/3114/christmas-magic

and on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mangoreader.thechristmas

So, get clicky on these links and get yourself and your family a warm christmas tale and gift your friends the best xmas gift in town :) !

For people, who want the full epxerience of the game and the storybook, the game app is available on the Appstore for iPad here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/christmas-magic-+/id587804888?ls=1&mt=8
For people who don't game on the iPad, well, lets say soe awesome news is inbound in just a little more time : wink wink  :)! 

Something special is cooking up for Christmas Magic this year !

Hmm....I will just leave this little video here and let the mystery deepen :)

What is it? What is happening this Christmas ? Well, the mystery will unfold in just a little more time :) ! So, keep your eyes n ears open and visit here often, Christmas ain't far now !

My Doom 3 can do a Last of Us !

Yes ! My Doom 3 can !

Okay, so what is the most striking thing that The Last of Us does well in terms of graphics ? Well, there are actually a lot, but two things stand out prominently:

1. The character models and their animation which Doom 3 can never match being a much older game
2. The superbly fantastic lighting in the game, including realtime global illumination cast by the Flashlight ! and that is what we are talking about here!

The realtime GI being cast by the flashlight is a first for any game to make it to the final retail version. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl had a realtime GI system but it was never optimised enough to work in the game. I tried it out once by enabling it via console commands, but that was about it. Guerrilla Games also had a realtime solution working for their superb game Killzone 2, but it was also never optimised enough to work in any of their games, including Killzone 3. Crysis 2 implemented it for the Sunlight but it finally worked only on the PC version. The console versions were again left in the lurch.

 But Naughty Dog finally cracked the nut with The Last of Us. You must have noticed that when you walk around in its many corridors with your flashlight turned ON, then the light from the flashlight bounces off from the walls, objects, floor or ceiling to nearby walls and objects. The colour from various objects also bounces off and falls all around. That is the effect I love and want in all games and guess what : it turns out my old and gold, good old Doom 3 can do it too :

Check out the bounced light on the wall on the left !

Check out this (super dark) screenshot from Doom 3 running on my PC and you can see realtime GI in all its glory !

So, how did it happen? Well, the game doesn't have it natively but if you install Sikkmod, a graphics mod, for Doom3, then you can enable SSIL in the game. SSIL stands for Screen Space Indirect Lighting. It is a way of calculating GI only in screen space and so is not perfect but still it gets the job done if you tune its settings well. Let me show you some more screens with some SSIL goodness :

Aren't those Suweet !!! :)

The game with Sikkmod and Wulfen Texture pack can rival the newer games in terms of graphics and atmosphere, it looks so damn good ! The art direction really stand the test of time and with the newer effects like HDR, SSAO,SSIL, Bloom,Soft Shadows, DOF and Colour grading the game just looks Fantabulous !

Here are a few shots showing specifically the SSIL turned ON and OFF, showing you the subtle effect:

Here is SSIL OFF:

And here it is turned ON, Notice the indirect light on the ceiling:

Ok, here's another with SSIL OFF:

And here's the same place with SSIL ON:

Notice the areas close to the ground ! See it !


Doom 3's Sikkmod trumps The Last of Us in a way since it calculates GI for all lights where as The Last of Us calculates GI only for the flashlight, that too only in a few levels. But SSIL isn't really true GI, its just a Screen space approximation which gives wild varying results depending on the view. So, yes, it isn't better in any way.......... but hey ! at least out Doom 3 , an age old game, now does look superb and better than many current game :) !

I will update the article with a video link soon, showing Doom 3 in all its glistening glory, but that will take time. So , stay glued and stay tuned and in the meanwhile, go give your old copy of Doom3 a spin with the new mods ! Trust me, this old gem is still more fun than many newer games !

PS: Sikkmod and Wulfen Texture pack can be easily found on Desura. 

Apocalypse : My new MP mode for The Last Of Us !

We all know that multi-player as well as single player DLC for The Last of Us is coming soon and all wise gamers have already bought the Season Pass for it. As my last article must have clearly shown you all, I am completely in love with this game and consider it the epitome of good game design. The game is so good that either I am playing it or I am always thinking about it.

          While on one of those daydreaming trips of  mine :) I came up with an idea for a fantastic  MP mode for The Last of Us which could retain the multiplayer flavour we love, but also give us a real feel of surviving the apocalypse while fighting with real people and not AI. How can we have the SP mode's world and add real people instead of the AI and have a "real" survival game? How it would really feel in the apocalyptic future with rare supplies, rival factions and the infected roaming the world !


 The result, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call the : Apocalypse mode ! :) It is not a co-op mode, it is not a horde mode...

...the rules are pretty simple :

Phase 1:

• 2 teams start at their basecamps A and B with limited set of 'tickets' or 'spawns', like say in Battlefield
• The players rush to pick up supplies from different areas on the map just like in Survival or Raid while fending off enemy players.
•  along with supplies, You also get "Parts" or "tickets " from these supply points now. The supplies belong to each player for crafting weapons but these "Parts" have to be deposited back into their base to earn more 'tickets' for your team. If you die while carrying them back, your teammates or the enemy players can pick them up again.
• The supply points are littered all over the map, just like in Raid or Survival and you scuttle between your base and the next supply point to gather tickets and supplies.
• You can have your team to defend you while only one guy does it, or all team members can scuttle off to different supply points to gather as many as they can.
• Do whatever you can , plan to get as much supplies and parts and prevent the other team from delivering the parts to their base to keep their tickets down OR just steal their parts and deliver to your base ! Team work gets rewarded.

Phase 2:

• After a set amount of time OR when all supply points have been looted,  the 'Apocalypse' begins and the infected arrive from two points on the map. Both teams get engaged in surviving the infected wave as well surviving each other.
• No supply points exist now. Use whatever supplies you have left from Phase 1 and loot what you can from dead bodies of the enemy team or the infected.
• Fight the infected, stealth kill them, bomb them, Do whatever you can and but keep an eye out for the enemy team too. Total survival !
• The team which survives till the end of the wave or has more tickets when all the infected have been wiped out, wins the round.
  

   We can have three rounds where in each round the Infected get more and more dangerous.

• First round : invaded by Runners.
• Second round: Runners + Clickers invade the match
• Third Round : Runners, clickers and two Bloaters !!

  Each team can go for either collecting stuff quickly and hiding from the enemy team, saving their tickets and bombs for the infected attack or making the other team weak by killing them off as much as they can and looting their supplies and tickets. But then, during fights, they themselves will also lose supplies required for surviving the Infected ! Multiple strategies are possible keeping each round fresh and unique ! The presence of the Infected and 'real world' rival people makes for the perfect "Apocalypse" survival experience possible in the world of The Last Of Us! :) Whatcha say !

Different Map features like hutments, natural landscape features like drop-offs can add to the survival fun while being pursued by the Infected.  This can be insanely fun :) !  This could be so much more than just a plain co-op mode against the infected or a tower defence stuff that every game seems to have now.

      The rules are simple and so is the implementation and I am really hoping  that instead of a straight up co-op mode, ala Uncharted, Naughty Dog listens and incorporates something like this it into the forthcoming DLC. If you guys have more suggestions on improving this or more maps designs, do put them in the comments!  Do Tweet it, like or G+ it and let ND hear ! ALso, if you haven't already, check out my previous article on the excellence of The Las of Us:

The Last of Us: A Masterclass in Game Design !

C'mon Naughty Dog, let the community design some maps n modes for you :) !

The Last of Us: A Masterclass in Game Design

…and I am back ! …after a week of being submerged in a world so captivating, soothing, disturbing, thrilling, challenging, intoxicating, mesmerizing and so magical that returning from it to the real world leaves me just wanting to go right back into it :)! I am talking about absolutely stellar game by Naughty Dog called The Last of Us ! Need I say more? Its time to dive in .......:)

The review scores all around had already prepared us all for a great game but the game’s geatness is far beyond what can be just measured by review scores or journalist reviews. This is a labour of love, a tale as much of the two protagonists as it is of the absolutely fabulous team of people who conceived it and brought it to life. Each and every room, scene, dialogue, expression and sound has a story to tell, and exists as a robust and independent entity supporting the other entities as aptly as possible. To find faults in this game is a waste of time, not because they are obvious or because there are none, but because that time will be much better spent in appreciating and learning from what the game has successfully achieved ! The game is what I would call a masterclass in game making and game design. Each level, each dialogue and each game mechanic has a specific and precise purpose and combined together they create a very specific mood which you cannot miss or not feel.

Since there are so many learning experiences in this game and each element interdependent on others , its difficult to put them in points, but lets try to list them in a bit of organized manner:

• Building a bond with the characters using gameplay: The biggest marvel of The Last of Us is its ability to make you feel for and cry for the characters within its first 10 minutes of game time ! Yes, stories and games make you go through hours of cut scenes, tears and extremes to make you feel sadness or love for a character. Shadow of The Colossus made you feel for Agro, but it took half of the game to forge that bond. MGS3 made your throat choke, but it took the full game to set you up for that end scene but the Last of Us accomplishes it in 10 minutes ! How? I think the answer lies in the apt use of gaming medium itself. First of all, the very first character you play as is Sarah ! Not Joel but Sarah. Its a brief segment, but it makes the player instantly connect with her. Had she been just a cutscene character there would haven't been the same impact of her death on the player. They used the medium,the controller, the ability to be a character in a game to intensify the impact manifold. Also, you watch all hell break lose as Sarah, as a victim, but as soon as the fear or tension starts building up and you feel the need to act, as a gamer, they instantly shift you to playing as Joel, the Dad, the guardian. You carry her in your hands through the apocalypse. You feel the fear as Sarah but you act as her Dad, so you are the victim but the responsibility is also yours. That controller in your hand ensures you feel that whatever will happen will be a result of my actions. And you do it, you save her and take her away from harm, a satisfaction in your heart and then......the final punch arrives : Sarah isn't killed by the infected but by humans ! You saved her from the apocalypse only to be killed by a human!  Even the part in cutscene is handled superbly. You first see that Joel is safe, free from harm, only to realise that it means its Sarah who is hit ! The same feelings are re-invoked at the end by making you play again as Joel carrying his daughter in his arms again trying to save her from , not infected, but the humans again. There was no way I would not kill Marlene or the people in my way. There's no way I would let it happen again to my daughter ! The very beginning was preparing us for the end of the game. The point to note is that all of it was done using the strengths of gameplay as a tool. This was not happening in a long cut scene. Instead, the medium's strength,the ability to interact, was used to amplify every impact of the story. This, my friends, is wonderful Game Design and superb use of the strengths of a medium chosen to tell a story!
• Foreshadowing of gameplay mechanics: We all know about foreshadowing in stories and movies but ND has gone one step further with foreshadowing of gameplay mechanics. Every gameplay feature or mechanic that they expect the player to use or be familiar with in the next segment of gameplay or the next level is foreshadowed casually in the segment previous to it. They make sure the player is already aware of  the new feature before he is expected to use it or be aware of it. For example, before the boss fight with David, we were made to roam around in that same room without any danger and introduced to the broken cutlery on the ground. We walked over it , learnt that it makes sound and breaks stealth, but it was introduced in a non lethal environment where we can learn about it without any punishment. Later, when David tries to find us in that room we are already aware that we are supposed to stay clear of the cutlery on the ground removing any chance of failure due to lack of info. If you fail, then you know you were careless, you never feel cheated.. It might seem very simple but most games would just go by the "learn by death" mechanism rather than explain in it by incorporating it in gameplay in a previous section. Its a detail which dictates level design and hence, can happen only if it is incorporated in your roots of game design. Another example is the light stealth section when you just cross outside the wall, before the actual use of stealth against the infected in the downtown area. The whole purpose of that section was to inform you that outside the wall, the enemy is overwhelming in numbers and force. So learn to hide as much as you can. This could have been said in tutorial message, like in most games, or via an NPC dialogue but ND knows actions speak louder than words. What better way than to present a situation where the enemy isn't as deadly as what is about to follow, but it forces you into hiding. Every gameplay mechanic has a similar foreshadowing in The Last of Us. This is brilliant game design and shows amazing detail in planning levels and mechanics.

• The Goal is always in sight: Be it the Capitol building, the Bridge in Pittsburgh,the Radio Tower, the Science Lab in the University or the Hospital in Salt Lake, the goal of the level is always in sight whenever you turn a corner or come out of a building.
  
  Now this is a very small touch in game and level design but one which makes a huge difference. You are always aware of where you need to go, without the need of any UI message or an in-game compass. Not just that, you feel invested in the game all the time as you always have the goal in sight. Ok, thats where we are going ! and designing each level in such a way that every now and then you get a visual of your goal doesn't happen automatically. It means ND invested a lot of time and effort in making sure it happened every-time you jumped out of a building after scourging for supplies. At a time when developers put markers every 20m to keep the player guided in a linear mission, ND achieved the same without any obtrusive UI and it feels so natural that you might not even notice in the subtle way you are being guided around the level. And it isn't just limited to visuals. In the level where we wade through a snowstorm in David's camp, since the snowstorm made sure we weren't able to see anything, ND made sure the bells ringing loud in one the buildings provided you with an aural landmark, so that you could guide yourself in the snowstorm using the sound of the bells !
• Storytelling during gameplay:  Just like the opening sequence, ND uses gameplay moments to tell most of its story. A particular moment which stands out is how Ellie turns quiet and sullen after her encounter with David. When Joel and Sully reach Salt Lake city, Ellie doesn't respond to Joel's gameplay prompts as she is preoccupied and disturbed after what David tried to do to her. Joel has to go and talk to her to prep her up.Due to the fact that it happened during gameplay, it got noticed by the player and made an impact. Hence,the Giraffe scene that followed had a much greater emotional value as Ellie got back to her own self after that encounter.
  
  There are many more examples, like when Henry reveals his story during gameplay moments as we walk around in a suburban town. Also, the behaviour of Ellie changes from a talkative teenager to a more quiet survivor during winter to a grown up coming to terms with life and relationships by the end of the game. Another example is how Joel refers to Ellie as "the girl" during the initial sections of the game. It changes to "Ellie" during the mid and to "Kiddo" after their Father-daughter relationship gets cemented ! You can literally feel their relationship while playing the game !Also, the death of Tess doesn't happen in a cutscene, but during gameplay ! They could have simply extended the cutscene by a minute and added Tess's death and Joel teeth grinding histrionics into it, but instead , when the sacrifice of Tess became inevitable, they handed the control back into your hands. You were Joel, when Tess died ! You went over to the upper floor and peeked over the ledge to see Tess lying below. It wasn't just some character, it was you ! Whatever reaction that evoked in you , were yours. Had it been a cutscene, the reactions would have been of Joel, not yours, and hence the impact would have been lesser. These are small storytelling touches that add up to the masterpiece we experience in the game.
• Down-times were never so enjoyable: Most games, including ND's previous ones, use downtimes to provide breathers between heavy action sequences and I was expecting the same here, but boy was I in for a surprise ! The downtimes are the game here ! Yes, it is the combat segments that feel like they are there to provide break from the downtimes. We spend sometimes around 30 minutes without any action, scavenging for supplies and roaming the beautiful levels, but those are the times when the game's some of the best moments are.
  
  You soak in the environment , the game world and its stories during those serene times.Ellie would start talking to you about her and your past while you are exploring. At one instant I was inside this house and She and Sam sat down on the sofa and started talking, it felt so natural, so real ! Then there are times when we are prompted for conversations during these downtimes. Add to that the stories that are littered around in the form of notes you find in houses, settlements. Some of them were so moving that you actually felt you had just played a mini story inside the main game.For example, Ish's story, the settlement in the sewers where the mother killed all her children to prevent them from getting infected and left a note on the ground saying "They didn't suffer" for the Dad to find if he ever comes back ! To give him the 'comfort' that his children did not suffer in death! It was a chilling tale that was delivered during gameplay spanning around 30 minutes via notes, messages and children's drawings on the walls. There was even a hint in the next town that Ish might still be alive ! The exploration is full of stories and conversations you would just miss if you didn't have these downtimes in gameplay. Not to mention exploration is also always rewarded with collectibles! Me likes them shinies ! :)
• Razor sharp combat gameplay: 'Perfect' is the only word to describe the balance of gameplay in The Last Of Us. I played on Hard, with Listen mode turned off, and I always had just enough supplies to scrape by. Never had too much to feel confident and never too less to get stuck. Always barely surviving ! That shows how well the game has been play tested by ND and balanced accordingly. All the levels are open areas with multiple strategy options depending on what you have in your backpack at that moment.  If you have Shivs, time to go stealthy and grabbing people. If you have run out of shivs or can't stealth around enemies, there's the Bow, a fantastic stealth alternative. If you have run out arrows, which you won't as you can recollect them after a kill, you have the melee weapons, which can be upgraded for one hit kills. If you don't like stealth, there the whole arsenal of guns. Ammo is limited, but that can be overcome by crafting extra holsters for quick-swapping weapons. Change weapons quickly and you aren't out of ammo so soon. There's always a way to play. In fact, I found the combat as addicting as Demons Souls' combat. They are very different yet very similar in the sense that both have extremely well balanced gameplay, where if u pay attention, you can win any situation.
  
  If I may compare, I find The Last of Us' combat more rewarding and engaging than Demons Souls'. Tackle one enemy, run, hide...find something...craft ...tackle another, run....hide...wait ...LOU combat is also long drawn and tense like Demons Souls. One wrong move and your chances of survival go down exponentially. In fact, if you don't run often you won't find the supplies that are required to make it through. Running away is an integral part of the combat system, which itself is a unique mechanic. Demons Souls' combat is more about memorising and dodging correctly, whereas LOU combat is more about finding right moments for crowd control and using what you have to your advantage in a split second decision. The sudden fights and the panic decisions that ensue are so unique to The Last of Us that they provided some of the most memorable moments I have had in games. In Demons Souls fights tend to have a pattern whereas in LOU no two fights play out the same ! The magic of LOU is indeed fantastic !You are never stuck and you are never overpowered either. Kudos to the designers who could manage such a balance and could produce such an unpredictable AI. OH, and the perennial decisions: Molotov or Health Kit? Shiv or a nail bomb ? the thrill is amazingly well balanced.
• Stellar sound design aides gameplay: The amazing sound design supports the gameplay perfectly. I chose to play without the Listen ability, which meant I had to rely on sounds to make out enemy positions. Many a times it was only the sound that provided me information about my next move. Whether to turn this corner or not. Should I go upstairs or stay below. Each decision was aided by perfect audio information. The gameplay could have fallen apart if the audio processing was not precise as it is now.The fact that I could easily complete the game without the Listen mode, shows that the sound feedback is perfect in this game. Every little sound made by the enemies provides proper positional feedback even on a stereo headset. On a 7.1 channel headset, the experience is sublime !  The thunder in Downtown, the sounds of nature in Lincoln, the eerie underground Infected levels and the open spaces, all resonate with a perfect audio cues.Add to that the surreal sounds by ND and the music of Gustavo Santaolalla, this is one unforgettable aural experience.
• The little details, Crafted with Love: I won't talk about the details in the characters faces or models but the little touches like moving clouds. Yes, its not a big deal, but even though we could see these were just skyboxes, the 2D clouds subtly and slowly move if you care to look up and just gaze at them :) ! Ellie tells you little jokes if you care to linger around her. Also, the fact that Joel protects Ellie by shielding her body with his own, whenever they crouch in cover during gameplay shows extreme attention to detail. 
  
  Not to forget all the small colour ques to guide the player through an environment, like yellow always means explorable area. Also, the movement of Rats always shows you where to go next! The state of the dead bodies you find always dictates which kindof enemies you will find in this area. When an enemy strangle Joel, his nose starts bleeding and the blood spreads on his face. When Joel kills an enemy, his blood spreads n the shirt and the stain grows. Also, when you switch on your flashlight, the FOV changes just a bit, objects appear just a bit closer, to give you an better illusion of things being more clearer than before !The amount of little details in unbelievable ! I am not even talking about the absolutely sublime ambient lighting and the real-time GI cast by your flashlight.Whether the player notices it or not, these details are always there for him to immerse him in this world. To make him suspend his disbelief. These small touches, little details show the developer's attention to detail, dedication to the experience and the love for the medium they are working with. One feels honoured to have played such a gem of a videogame !:)
• A Masterclass of story telling: The prologue itself is a masterclass in revealing the plot.I will just recap how the apocalypse was revealed to us in the prologue. First a phone call indicating something is wrong. Then a newspaper report about an infection, then a TV report about something wrong(nothing about infection), an explosion right outside the windows,Sarah is scared now, Dad is missing and then finally we see a infected enter the house! Now that we know there's an infection,we are shown the magnitude of the problem increasing as we ride in the car and then later we are thrust right into it running and screaming only to realize that it is not the infected who the story is about, but it is the humans...as it is a human who kills Sarah, not any of the infected ! In an indirect way the game makes it clear right at that moment, that this is a story about humans and their decisions, not the infected. A typical video game would show a TV report showing zombies rampaging the streets and be done with the introduction.But then would it be the Last of Us :) !Also, something people might not have noticed, that after every tense or heavy situation, the game always changes the mood to relief and puts a subtle smile on your face ! That is fantastic to experience: to smile right after a major tragedy! For example, when Joel gets wounded badly, the screen fades to black with a sense of dread about what will happen to Ellie now ? But the very next moment, after a pause , you see bright snow-scape with Ellie trying to hunt a deer. Like a child you run after it here and there, smiling at this play of life. Yes, life is back, the fear of death faded away the story moves forward :) ! Similarly, after the dreadful encounter with David, as Ellie weeps and reveals that David tried to abuse her, the screen fades away and we are left with a dark sense of an innocence lost to this dark brutal world. But the very next moment, after a pause to let us feel the pain, the screen comes back to life with the bright colours of Summer ! :)  Life is back and our goal is near, the Salt Lake city! The story telling was special in yet another way too: no one was a hero here, and no one a villian, the whole act of "Winter" was to showcase that our every heroic act towards Ellie was as villainous as any other enemy we encounter on our way. The entry of David in the story showcased the cruelty of our "Heroics" and made us see the other side. It also foreshadowed the 'end' of the story where Joel turns into a villian for the whole mankind while being a hero as a Dad. No one was a hero, no one was a villian. Yet we saw every journey with empathy and concern. We invested in every character as much as we invested in Joel and Ellie.
• Subtlety : I believe that was their keyword for the whole game! Except for the brutality of violence , everything else is done in the most subtle way possible. The acting is subtle, never over done, not in the case of a death scene. Take for example, Sarah's death or Tess' death. No emotion was overdone, yet we grasped the weight of the situation. The dialogues are short and subtle. Subtlety also seeps into the hints provided during gameplay. They are never loud, just subtle enough to be noticed. Characters talk bare minimum during interactions, yet convey a lot. The music , the fantastic music, is so subtle and minimal that it sets the whole game apart from anything else we have played before it. ND lets players' minds fill the gaps while providing just enough information to spark the imagination ! The best example for this point is the end of the game : Single-handedly the most mature and subtle end to a game ever. Very suggestive, sets your mind on fire and simply and gracefully fades away while leaving you thinking while a smile of satisfaction, as well as , "how long will this lie hold?" spreads on your face slowly :) ! Naughty Dog sure had the guts and the talent to bring this end to life in such a convincing way.

This is a game where I found myself watching the whole of the credits to honour the people who gave me such an amazing experience ! This is a game I found myself replaying the moment I finished it ! This is the game of which I will be telling my kids about , one day ! This is a game I will keep playing till I imbibe all that Naughty Dog has put into making it ! This game is my masterclass of Game Design ! :)

and while I leave you, to my mind springs a prose about The Last Of Us :

A tale was woven and a world sprung around it ,

A life was stolen and another lived without it,

An Innocence was lost, another hadn’t found it,

As a story unfolds, there’s a fire, gather around it,

A tale was woven and a world sprung around it !