Game Infliction, Author at Game Infliction

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake interview: how the classic RPG was revamped for its PS5 debut

The launch of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is fast approaching on November 14. We had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with the game’s producer, Masaaki Hayasaka, to chat about this stunning remake that brings back the iconic masterpiece in HD-2D.

Masaaki Hayasaka
Producer, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

How HD-2D graphics draw out the full potential of this retro classic

PlayStation Blog: HD-2D has become much more popular since games like Octopath Traveler. What are some of the unique characteristics of this visual style?

In a nutshell, HD-2D is a visual style that combines pixelated characters with 3D backgrounds. Personally, I think this style works better in retro titles. When the original game first came out, players roamed the world while picturing how beautiful the landscapes must be. HD-2D actually brings that world to life.

Even though the game adopts HD-2D, it is still immediately recognizable as Dragon Quest III. What do you think are the most important aspects needed to achieve the iconic Dragon Quest-style?

The most obvious is the color palette. Dragon Quest games are characterized by rich, vivid colors, so we aimed to fully embrace that in the remake as well. If you compare the original game and the HD-2D remake side-by-side, the graphics will look completely different. Even so, the color palettes are similar so it shouldn’t feel far off from what OG players remember.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake interview: how the classic RPG was revamped for its PS5 debut

Built in tandem with Yuji Horii

What sort of discussions did you have with Yuji Horii (creator of the Dragon Quest franchise), during development?

We connected regularly from the early phases of planning till the very end of development. We exchanged a lot of details. We discussed everything from new features like the Monster Arena and additional narrative episodes, to the game balance of battles, and even the size of the character pixels.

Did you make any changes based on Yuji Horii’s recommendations?

He made a comment around the blurring of the game background, and I find that particularly memorable. Background blur in games is usually referred to as depth of field, which is a technique also used in photography. In HD-2D, depth of field is extremely important. We had previous experience working on HD-2D games, so we thought we’d already mastered the sense of implementing background blur. However, when we showed it to Horii-san, he said that the blur was far too intense, and it made him feel like there was something wrong with his eyes. He then asked us to dial back the intensity. We were quite shocked, in a good way, by his suggestion from a player’s point of view. However, as a result, this change made Dragon Quest III stand out from other HD-2D titles, so his recommendation was on point.

So, different games leverage HD-2D in various ways?

Absolutely. The only common thread between all HD-2D titles is that they place pixelated characters in a 3D world. Otherwise, every title is completely unique. For example, Octopath Traveler incorporates pixels in the background as well, but Dragon Quest III does not. The characters’ body proportions and pixel size also vary depending on the title. Dragon Quest III is the first-ever HD-2D title to integrate a world map where players can actually wander around.

Is the distance between towns the same as the original?

The layout of the buildings is exactly the same, but the scale of the map and distances have been changed. The most difficult part of the development process was scaling the map. If we had made the map as dense as the original, the game would have felt too compact in both volume and appearance. On the other hand, if we made the map too large, it would lose its perfect pacing and slow down the game. We spent a lot of time adjusting to find the ideal balance in terms of both look and feel. If you watch the teaser trailer that was released at the time of the announcement, you will notice that the scale is completely different from the finished version.

The passion behind the new character customization feature

In the remake, players can customize the appearance, like hair color, of party members. Why did you decide to add this new feature?

In the original, when you changed a character’s vocation from Martial Artist to a Mage, the young man suddenly turned into an old man and there was no way to alter it. I personally felt that was a bit strange. Character creators or customization is very common in modern games, so I thought players would find it a bit confusing if we kept it like the original. Character customization was intended to make the game feel more modern.

To tell you the truth, out of all the new features we added in the remake, I’m most passionate about the character customization. I proposed it to the development team, and even when they refused, saying it was unnecessary, I kept pushing that it was absolutely crucial [laughs]. I spent about three months working on it, so it would mean a lot to me if players spent some time creating their own distinct characters.

Even though you can change their appearance, the main colors for each vocation are the same as the original. How did you decide what to change and what to leave untouched?

I believed it was important to respect the vocation colors that Akira Toriyama originally designed. We didn’t change any of the main colors, so it’s easier for players to distinguish between each vocation at a glance. However, we wanted to give players the freedom to play around with hats and hairstyles as a fun new feature.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Dev Says Game Pass Helped Convince People Who Were ‘On the Fence’ to Try the Game — but Now the Challenge Is to Convince Them to Stick Around

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched day one on Game Pass — the first Call of Duty game to do so following Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

It was a big gamble for Microsoft, with some analysts predicting a significant decline in game sales, particularly on Xbox, as a result. But in its recent financial report, Microsoft sounded delighted with Black Ops 6’s early days performance, saying sales on PlayStation and PC were 60% higher compared to the 2023 release of Modern Warfare 3.

All eyes were on Black Ops 6’s impact on Game Pass, though. Growth in Microsoft’s subscription service has stalled in recent years, and the day one release of the latest entry in Activision’s phenomenally successful first-person shooter series was seen as a make or break moment for Game Pass.

Microsoft has yet to say exactly how many new subscribers Black Ops 6 brought through the door, although CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that Game Pass set a record for new subs on launch day.

In an interview with the BBC, Treyarch associate creative director Miles Leslie, who has worked on Call of Duty for 16 years, said Black Ops 6’s release on Game Pass has helped convince players who were “on the fence” to give the game a shot.

“What we’ve seen is it’s allowed people that might have been on the fence, might have had some of that friction, might have been like, ‘I haven’t played in a while’ to actually come back and try the game,” he said.

That will be music to Microsoft’s ears, given it’s desperate to expand the Call of Duty audience in the long term. Analysts have suggested the company was willing to sacrifice Black Ops 6 launch sales on Xbox for a potential bigger overall player base, which it intends to monetize long-term with the release of battle passes and cosmetics.

“We’ve gotten to the point now where Black Ops and Call of Duty have been around so long – I’ve been working on it for 16 years,” Leslie added. “And really the challenge for us is how do you bring along the fans that love Call of Duty, but how do you create an environment where you can welcome new fans in?”

The trick now of course is to convince Game Pass players to stick around and keep paying that monthly subscription. To that end, Black Ops 6 Season 1 kicks off on November 14, and we’ve got all the details. Of course, this time next year fans will have another premium Call of Duty game to contend with, rumored to be a sequel to Black Ops 2.

Taking on Zombies mode? We’ve got Essential Zombies Tips and Tricks to help you get started, plus a guide on How to Exfil. Both Zombies maps are full of easter eggs and secrets; here’s everything we’ve found in both Terminus and Liberty Falls, including How to Pack-a-Punch in Liberty Falls and How to Get the Meteor Easter Egg in Terminus.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Here are the patents Nintendo and the Pokémon Company are suing Palworld about, according to Pocketpair

Palworld developers Pocketpair have finally revealed which patents Nintendo and the Pokémon Company are suing them about. It looks like they’re focusing on the act of throwing capsular items to catch or release monsters, together with the usage of monsters as mounts.

If you’ve somehow yet to encounter Palworld, it’s a bestselling survival game that takes hefty – some would say, scandalous – inspiration from Pokémon, with players poaching Pokésque critters using magic spheres, and deploying them as soldiers and minions.

Pokémon TCG Pocket Passes 30 Million Downloads in 9 Days

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has surpassed 30 million downloads in the nine days it’s been available, developer Creatures Inc. has announced.

Word of the milestone came via the Pokémon TCG Pocket X/Twitter, where the development team thanks players for their support. “Thirty million?! How many packs have been opened, then?,” it asked. “On behalf of everyone working on the game and me, thank you for all your support! Seriously.”

Pokémon TCG Pocket arrived October 30 as a streamlined, digital version of the beloved trading card game. It has players opening packs, collecting cards, building decks, and battling others; a simple formula that immediately proved popular given it made $12 million in four days.

Creatures Inc. is keeping busy since launch as it has already added three events to the game: one focused on collecting, one focused on solo battles, and one focuses on player versus player battles.

The first offers players a free Wonder Pick with the chance of pulling either a Meowth or Chansey alongside event tickets and Wonder Hourglasses, with its second part also released today and runs until November 15.

Next, the solo battle event let players take on a handful of water themed decks for the chance of winning new promo cards including Lapras ex. And a PVP event was later added too, putting badges on the line in true Pokémon fashion.

As you’d expect, players are looking to take the best decks into these events, and Mewtwo and Charizard are naturally dominating so far. One outlier comes via Misty though, whose heads or tails effect is driving many up the wall.

On the collecting front, some players are focused on a conspiracy theory about crinkled corners while most are swooning over mythical god packs that award five alternate art cards in one go. There’s also a secret Mew card hidden in the game that’s not super difficult to get.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Toads Of The Bayou is Into The Breach but with aristocratic, pipe smokin’ toads (of the bayou)

In all honesty, Toads Of The Bayou could have been several notches less ribbet-ing than its Steam demo ended up being, because its stylised pixel fly-snatchers are just that good. There’s only one of the three characters available in the freebie (one of the others is a toad nun with a shotgun), but he’s got a little cutlass, a flintlock pistol, and a can-do attitude – at least when it comes to either stabbing or shooting things. The game itself is a little bit deckbuilder, a little bit Into The Breach: turn based strategy with perfect information and various tricks you can pull to make enemies hit each other instead of the thing you’re trying to protect. Indulge yourself on the gourmet tray-tray below.

Random: ‘Nintendo Music’ Is Seemingly Being Advertised On Spotify

Cheeky cheeky.

With the launch of Nintendo Music, fans now have a legitimate opportunity to check out some of the very best soundtrack’s from Nintendo’s storied history. Yes, it’s a bit barebones at the moment, but we’ve no doubt it will be expanded upon significantly in the coming months and years.

It seems that The Big N is pretty keen on newcomers diving into its new app, too. According to a couple of accounts from Matthew Reynolds on Bluesky and user Jolemei96 on Reddit, Nintendo is actually hosting advertisements for Nintendo Music over on the streaming service Spotify.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Pokémon TCG Pocket Adds New Rewards and Missions to Wonder Pick Event

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket players can now participate in the Wonder Pick Event Part 2, which adds new rewards and missions to the game today, November 8.

This second half of the event, which offers players a free Wonder Pick with the chance of pulling either a Meowth or Chansey alongside event tickets and Wonder Hourglasses, runs until November 15. It’s unclear if there will be a Part 3 or if this will wrap up Pokémon TCG Pocket’s first Wonder Pick event.

The selection of missions is simpler than Part 1’s, with players not required to pull a certain number of Chansey or Meowth but instead just Wonder Pick a certain number of times and collect a certain number of Colorless cards.

As for the new goodies on offer, players can now use event tickets to unlock a variety of Meowth themed items including card sleeves, a playmat, coin, and icon. 50 Shinedust is also on offer, and event tickets from Part 1 can still be used.

Pokémon TCG Pocket arrived in October as a streamlined, digital version of the beloved trading card game. It has players opening packs, collecting cards, building decks, and battling others; a simple formula that’s already proved popular given it made $12 million in four days.

Developer Creatures Inc. is busy adding all sorts of events to the game, including not just this Wonder Pick continuation but a solo battle event focused on Lapras and a player versus player battle event too.

This isn’t quite a full competitive mode for Pokémon TCG Pocket but is certainly a step in that direction, and will be the first proper competitive test of which decks are best, with both Mewtwo ex and Charizard ex having dominated so far.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

The co-creator of magic puzzler Hidden Folks is making a sumptuous, spaced-out tower defender

Could tower defence be the ultimate “it’s Friday and I am here in body only” genre? I haven’t really thought about it before, but Rift Riff‘s effusively laidback crowd control has me pondering those optimal moments in any tower defender when the incoming horde hits the flamer-MG triangle just right, and you can settle back comfortably into the role of clockwatcher.

Rift Riff encourages this behaviour by being nice to look at. Created by a trio of developers including Hidden Folks designer Adriaan de Jongh, it’s a world of spacey, sun-carved mountains, forests and monoliths. The towers resemble the sacred architecture of Monument Valley, and the colour scheme and general ambience remind me of Cocoon. There’s a demo, if you fancy it.

Nostalgia, when you think about it, is bollocks. There has never been a better time than right this second – averaged out, and despite repeated attempts to the contrary, humanity has never been healthier, freer, or more enlightened by knowledge. It’s true of games too. For every by-committee platter of passionless map markers, there are thousands of more personal, more creative, more interesting works, all adding to the decades’ worth of great stuff we can still play today.

What isn’t bollocks is the emotional pull that nostalgia, for all its lack of cold, hard reason, still manages to wield inside our warm, squishy brains. Hence, the centrepiece of Apex Legends’ Season 23 update is a mode that recreates the battle royale FPS as it was back in 2019, defaulting back to the original map and weapon arsenal while cutting the 26-strong legend roster to the earliest ten. It’s a Fortnite-style rolling back of the clock, and a passably enjoyable one, but also a reminder that the good old days weren’t always that good.

PS5 Exclusive Astro Bot Sells 1.5 Million in 2 Months

Astro Bot has sold 1.5 million copies so far, Sony has announced.

As part of its latest financial results, Sony revealed that the PlayStation 5 exclusive platformer sold 1.5 million as of November 3, just shy of two months after its September 6 release date.

Astro Bot, developed by Sony-owned Team Asobi and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, is the sequel to 2020’s Astro’s Playroom and the third game in the Astro Bot series. It launched to critical acclaim, with IGN’s Astro Bot review returning a 9/10. We said: “A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation.”

While Astro Bot’s sales aren’t up there with some of Sony’s big hitters (Helldivers 2 remains the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time with an incredible 12 million sold in 12 weeks), it compares favorably to other recently released family friendly platforms. In Europe, launch sales of Astro Bot were 34% higher than those of 2022’s Sonic Frontiers and 52% bigger than those of 2020’s Crash Bandicoot 4.

To put Astro Bot’s sales success into more recent context, Sega’s Sonic x Shadow Generations hit the one million sold mark on its launch day of October 25, according to Sega. But that game launched across multiple platforms and generations, whereas Astro Bot is a PS5 exclusive. Astro Bot sales will surely continue to grow as we head into the crucial holiday shopping season and gamers look to buy a PS5 or the recently released PS5 Pro.

Team Asobi has continued to support the game since launch with a number of updates that have added speedrun challenge levels and new cameos to rescue. At launch, Astro Bot featured 173 bot cameos from PlayStation games past and present (check out IGN’s feature, Astro Bot: Every PlayStation Character – Easter Eggs, for more).

However, iconic Final Fantasy characters were conspicuous by their absence — an omission fans were quick to pick up on in the context of Final Fantasy’s long-standing association with PlayStation. That means no Cloud from Final Fantasy 7, or any other character from the famous role-playing franchise.