Gamer's Outpost Press (archived)

by Ryan Martinez

Transgender game developer Rachel Bryk was told by cyber bullies to jump off a bridge, in the end that’s what she decided to do.

It’s a sad time for the gaming industry as it loses a creative young game developer to suicide. Rachel Bryk, 23, was a prominent transgender developer who was best known for her work on Gamecube and Wii emulators. Years before she dived into development work and joined all the communities involved in it, however, she had suffered from low self esteem and chronic pain. Those problems only grew worse after joining the only game development community where she was subject to constant harassment.

As many people know being gay or transgender in the gaming community can make you a major target for trolls and cyber bullies. Rachel Bryk was no exception, for months now cyber bullies told the young developer that she should jump from a bridge. On April 23, after months of this severe bullying Bryk jumped from the Washington Bridge in New York. Only weeks after posting on a 4chan VG that she would be leaving a number of online communities because of their treatment.

That post was also met with a wall of hateful message telling Bryk that she should commit suicide. Now as news of her death spreads scores of other game communities, like the one centered around the Dolphin emulator, mourn her loss. Memorials have appeared all across the internet to remember Bryk and the contributions she made to the emulators she loved.That outpouring of sadness at her loss has sparked a new discussion in the gaming world about homophobia and transphobia.

The strongest voices in that new conversation are the people she worked with on the Dolphin emulator. Rachel Bryk was an important name to anyone who closely follows Dolphin and her presence is already being sorely missed there:

“She was a very kind and helpful person, one of many to help guide me through the project when I first started to contribute to the program. Her contributions to both the TAS and Dolphin Emulator community were vast, adding multiple helpful and sorely needed tools to make Dolphin easier to TAS. Although I did not know her as long as the others, I know she will surely be missed by all of those who knew her.”

In memory of Rachel, here she is playing the hell out of her favorite game: Pucca’s Kisses Game.

Source: Dolphin Emulator Blog

“This was in no way intended to misrepresent the title on Xbox One.”

by Eddie Makuch

Earlier today, the official Microsoft Xbox YouTube channel published an impressive new video for CD Projekt Red’s upcoming role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Since the video was published to the Xbox channel, some might have thought the gameplay was captured on the Xbox One edition of the game.

However, it’s now been discovered by Kotaku that the footage of the game shown in the video is from the PC edition, not the Xbox One version, despite the Xbox logo being featured prominently. Microsoft has since apologized for the confusion (more on that later).

Microsoft never explicitly stated that the footage was not captured on Xbox One, but–just a few hours after the video went up–the company added a disclaimer to the video to say the footage was “captured on a PC.”

One major giveaway that the footage was captured on PC and not Xbox One is that the gameplay video plays at 1080p/60fps. The Xbox One version of The Witcher 3, however, outputs at 900p/30fps, which raised some red flags–the video’s comments are overflowing with people pointing out the difference.

In a statement sent to GameSpot this afternoon, a Microsoft representative said it never intended to misrepresent the visual fidelity of the Xbox One version of The Witcher 3, and apologized for any confusion caused by the video.

“This morning we posted a new trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to our YouTube channels featuring footage provided by CD Projekt Red that was captured from the PC version of the game and may not be reflective of final Xbox One gameplay,” the spokesperson said. “This was in no way intended to misrepresent the title on Xbox One. We have updated the description of the asset to make clear the source and platform of this footage. We apologize for any confusion and look forward to the game arriving on both Xbox One and PC on May 19, 2015.”

Whatever the case, The Witcher 3 looks quite nice across all platforms: PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. But the PC version, like so many other games, is likely to look the best, as it will run at 60fps (if your computer can run it).

The Witcher 3 launches on May 19th.

by Chris Reed

If you like massive games you can play for dozens of hours, your needs will be well served in next week’s video game releases. Two franchises that have been big names for decades are set to launch games, including the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V, which has been available on other platforms for nearly a year-and-a-half.

Even though only four major games are launching next week, you’ll probably find something worth playing. That’s because we’ve got a fighting game, a strategy game, an open world game, and a unique indie title heading our way. Read on for details about what’s coming to all systems during the week of April 13, 2015.

1. Grand Theft Auto V

Finally coming to PC on April 14

Console owners have been painting the neighborhood red for 17 months now, with GTA V available on two generations of Xbox and PlayStation hardware. Finally, after seemingly endless delays, developer Rockstar is bringing one of the best games in recent years to the PC, where it will serve up simulated criminal activity to a sizable group of dedicated gamers. And since top-end PCs are powerhouse machines, the game will look better than ever — assuming you have a super-powered rig.

The story, for those who haven’t played it yet, follows three criminals with very different backgrounds who come together to work on a number of big scores. The storytelling is cinematic and the action set pieces are some of the most memorable ones in the series’ history.

There are two minor consolations for PC gamers who have waited patiently these 17 months to play the game:

1. They get the first-person mode from the get-go, and

2. They won’t have to wait to play the GTA Online heist missions that seemed like they’d never come out.

And now that GTA V is available on all the major current platforms (sorry, Wii U!) maybe Rockstar can get started on GTA VI.

2. Mortal Kombat X

Coming April 14 to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC

The year’s biggest fighting game is launching after months of slow reveals, character trailers, and roster updates. All signs indicate that this game is going to be well worth playing if you have even an inkling of an interest in fighting games. It has a huge cast of characters, heavy-hitting fighting mechanics, and some of the grossest, goriest fatalities ever to grace the series. Is that really a major selling point? You betcha.

3. Titan Souls

Coming April 14 to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita

Although it’s a very different game in practice, Titan Souls is built on the same principle as the PS2 classic Shadow of the Colossus: Every battle is a boss battle. You play as a small hero with a single arrow you can shoot and then retrieve.

Twenty bosses wait in 20 lairs for you to enter and take them on. The bosses are usually huge, and they each require a different approach to defeat them. But here’s the bad news: Your character dies in a single hit. That makes for some tense battles as you observe how the bosses behave and try to figure out what you need to do to kill them. Titan Souls is a puzzle-solving action game that looks like a whole lot of fun.

4. Age of Wonders III

Coming April 14 to Mac and Linux

This strategy game puts you in charge of a kingdom set in a fantasy world and has you oversee how it’s run. You’ll choose a race (human, high elf, dwarf, etc.) and direct your subjects to gather resources while you expand your kingdom by making alliances with neighbors or marching to war against them. The game has already been released on Windows to positive reviews, so if you’re a fan of strategy games with RPG elements, be sure to check it out.

by Michael McWhertor

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will once again send the first-person shooter franchise into the future, where “cutting-edge military robotics define warfare,” according to an official description of the game on the Call of Duty website. It will also see the return of Treyarch’s signature Zombies mode.

While Activision and Treyarch didn’t say much about Black Ops 3 when they teased the game earlier today, the official website offers a detailed description about the game’s setting in its source code:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is the first title for next-gen hardware in the critically acclaimed Black Ops series. Developed by Treyarch, the award-winning creator of the two most-played games in Call of Duty history. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 deploys players into a dark, twisted future where a new breed of Black Ops soldier emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the technology we created to stay ahead, in a world where cutting-edge military robotics define warfare. With three unique game modes: Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies, providing fans with the deepest and most ambitious Call of Duty ever.

On Treyarch’s Facebook, the Black Ops developer recently posted about embeddable implants and “biohacking,” potential clues about where Black Ops 3 might be headed.

The first Black Ops took place during the 1960s and played out as a series of flashbacks during the interrogation of SOG operative Alex Mason. The sequel, Black Ops 2, took place in the 1980s and in 2025, when Mason is retired.

In addition to the official description, Twitter user ThaTiemsz posted what they called “official Black Ops 3 art” that was supposedly pulled from the game’s website. That’s posted above, and we’re checking with Activision on its authenticity, but it looks inline with previous Call of Duty: Black Ops artwork.

A full official reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is planned for April 26.

by Eddie Makuch

Why did Nintendo finally announce plans to enter the smartphone market after years of holding out? It wasn’t because the company felt “cornered,” according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. The English translation of a Q&A session with analysts from last week’s presentation in Japan has been published, and in it, Iwata offers an in-depth explanation for why the company chose to make the dramatic move.

“A variety of media have written that Nintendo is cornered a number of times, but I do not think we were cornered at all,” he said. “Needless to say, we are also aware that unless a company can deal with the rapidly changing world, it will face decline. But I would like to emphasize here that our alliance [with DeNA] is not the result of a lack of better options for a cornered company.”

As for why Nintendo chose DeNA specifically as a partner for the new mobile venture, Iwata said, as discussions with the company progressed, it became clear that “DeNA knew so many things that Nintendo did not.” Partnering with DeNA allows Nintendo to tap into the company’s expertise in the mobile field and also develop games more rapidly than it could on its own, he explained.

“This is why I just said that this is not a decision made out of a lack of options,” Iwata said. “In fact, Nintendo has received a number of proposals from a variety of companies. Among them, Nintendo has proactively chosen DeNA.”

Iwata also responded to one analyst’s concern that Nintendo entrance into the smartphone market (the company expects to launch its first mobile game this year) is too late. The executive doesn’t agree.

“I think that whether it is late or not will be decided by what we produce in the coming years, and it could rather be described as the best timing,” Iwata responded. “My personal view is that the time is ripe as many factors like various encounters with people, the ways our internal discussions have progressed and the ideas we have generated through that process occurred simultaneously. We will do our best to prove that our decision was made at the right time.”

Nintendo has not announced any smartphone games so far, but has pledged it won’t simply port its console games to smartdevices. The company is also considering a range of business models, including free-to-play, which Iwata actually calls free-to-start.

Nintendo’s big move into the smartphone market has been received positively by investors, as shares of the company skyrocketed by more than 30 percent. The company also announced that it had started work on a new system, known internally as the “NX.” This system, which Nintendo says it won’t start talking about officially until 2016, aims to surprise and innovate.