Latest news with #TheOuterWorlds
Digital Trends
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 Game Pass games to play this weekend (June 6-8)
As Xbox fans, we have a big weekend ahead of us. Summer Game Fest is well underway, but the real attraction comes on Sunday with the Xbox Games Showcase. There are tons of rumors swirling about what games will be shown. We already know that The Outer Worlds 2 will get its own dedicated direct, but who knows if we might see more of Fable, Perfect Dark, or State of Decay 3. Plus, could it be time for a new Halo? Sunday is right at the end of the weekend, so that leaves us with plenty of time to kill with some hot Game Pass games. There's even a good chance that Xbox will drop, or at least announce, a new game coming to Game Pass during the show so I wanted to make sure to put these games on your radar for this weekend just in case a surprise drop does come. Crypt Custodian I love it when Xbox supports smaller indie games by giving them the spotlight in Game Pass. Similar to Tunic years ago, Crypt Custodian is another delightful Zelda-like adventure where you play as a cat named Pluto who is hit by a car and sent to the afterlife. Using a broom as your main weapon, you will become the afterlife's custodian. Mixing in equal parts action and platforming, this is a perfectly tuned and paced adventure. You will explore detailed environments, unlock new abilities and moves, and face off against tough bosses. You can spot its many inspirations, from action RPGs and Souls-likes to Metroidvanias, but it has such great vibes that you won't mind the familiarity. Recommended Videos Crypt Custodian is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. Symphonia Sticking to smaller games that are well worth your time, we come to Symphonia. This is a pure platformer that weaves music into every moment. You take control of a violinist who is revived into a dying world with the goal of bringing music — and thus life — back. Your violin and bow act as a weapon and a way to traverse the world. Both the soundtrack and art style are eye-wateringly beautiful. That's important because this isn't a simple platformer and will give you a real test of your reactions and skill. It isn't overly long, which you can take as a positive or a negative. My personal take was that it was just the right length for what it needed to be, and a perfect weekend game. Symphonia is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. State of Decay 2 I'm going out on a bit of a limb with this one, but I predict we're about to see a lot more of State of Decay 3 at this year's Xbox Games Showcase. This game has been in the works for years with almost no updates or showings for way too long. So, either playing the last game now will get you more excited for what we see of the third game, or it will help ease the pain of yet another showcase with no news. That's a win-win, right? Part of why this series has such a hungry fanbase is that there's just no other zombie survival game quite like it. It is especially fun if you can grab a couple of buddies to go scavenging with or playing the horde mode. State of Decay 2 is available now on Xbox One and PC.
WIRED
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
Director of the Game ‘Avowed' Says AI Can't Replace Human Creativity
Feb 13, 2025 9:00 AM 'Good game stories are going to be written by good narrative designers,' says Obsidian's Carrie Patel. The new fantasy RPG she helmed gets an early release today. Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Photograph: Obsidian/Carrie Patel As the video games industry continues to face massive layoffs, narrative jobs are taking the biggest hit. The industry's job cuts over the past couple of years—more than 30,000 roles were eliminated in 2023 and 2024—disproportionately affected narrative designers, the creative professionals who craft the story elements of the game and give a title its emotional punch. Even the director of the game Avowed, Carrie Patel—a successful author and narrative developer with over a decade of experience at the game studio Obsidian Entertainment—feels lucky she was able to start her career years ago. She can't imagine trying to break into the industry under today's conditions. 'It just seems to be harder and harder to find a path in,' Patel says. 'I've heard colleagues hired within the last three or five years say essentially the same thing.' Patel has been with Obsidian since 2013, when she started as a narrative designer on the first Pillars of Eternity , a role-playing game released in 2015. She was narrative colead on the 2018 sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire , and went on to work on the narrative design for 2019's The Outer Worlds . Avowed , a first-person fantasy RPG set in the same universe as Obsidian's acclaimed Pillars of Eternity series, is available today on Windows PC and Xbox Series X via early access. The game's official launch is Tuesday, February 18. Patel is excited to launch a title with a rich, immersive story—especially as the talent required to make such a game becomes more scarce in the industry. 'I think RPGs, especially the kind we make, give players an opportunity to show that they're excited about games that are deep, nuanced, and respect their time,' she says. Part of Obsidian's storytelling success has been its unwillingness to rely on artificial intelligence. 'Good game stories are going to be written by good narrative designers,' Patel says. AI use at studios has grown over the past few years; a survey of industry workers published earlier this year reported that 52 percent of respondents said they worked at companies using generative AI to develop games. Scenes from Avowed . Courtesy of Obsidian Entertainment The game gets an early release today. Courtesy of Obsidian Entertainment Despite corporate interest in the tech, however, game makers are less positive about AI than they have been in past years. 'I don't think any technology is going to replace human creativity,' Patel says. 'I think what makes our games special, our stories special, and our dialogs and characters special, are things that I haven't seen any AI replicate.' Other developers are certainly trying. Last March, Ubisoft showcased a conversational generative AI prototype that allows players to voice-chat with a non-player character. Patel feels encouraged by the reception to games with intricate narratives like Baldur's Gate 3 , which speaks to there being 'an audience for these thoughtful, sometimes complex games.' 'Our goal has never been to make the longest game you're going to spend hundreds of hours in,' Patel says. 'Our goal has always been to make a really great game that gives you an adventure that you feel like you're at the center of in this immersive new world.' Avowed 's general release is on February 18. Courtesy of Obsidian Entertainment It takes place in the Pillars of Eternity universe. Courtesy of Obsidian Entertainment While Patel says every team's culture will be a little different, depending on who's on it, strong leadership is key. It's important to have 'enough decisiveness to drive the project toward completion, to give people clarity about what they're doing.' That still means being open to feedback about what's working, or not. 'You want a team to be an organism that is always improving,' she says. Less effective: attitudes like those of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who recently said that companies need more 'masculine energy' in their workplace. As tech companies roll back their programs supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and politicians take aim at policies that assist marginalized communities, Patel's leadership and attitude are firmly the opposite of 'masculine energy.' 'I can say I have definitely never thought about that specific phrase before,' Patel says, jokingly adding, 'yeah, I'll start thinking about the Roman Empire soon too.'
