Category: Video Games
Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 449: Busy Season
Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS, or download here
Hey y’all! The team’s back and sharing news to use if you so choose about PS VR 2 ahead of its launch Feb 22.
Stuff We Talked About
- PS VR2
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- Resident Evil Village VR
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Dead Space
- Season: a letter to the future
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me
- The Last of Us on HBO
The Cast
Tim Turi – Manager, Content Communications, SIE
Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Making Live TV for Not For Broadcast
Not For Broadcast is an FMV game about making a TV show. As the National Nightly News airs live on screen, you will make the edits, censor the swear words (and later, politically controversial phrases, if you choose), and even pick what plays in the ad breaks.
As tensions rise, a burgeoning resistance movement demands you transmit their anti-government propaganda instead of the regularly scheduled news, to dramatically change the message going out to the masses of avid viewers.
The feeling of making a TV show, of being in control of what the audience at home sees, and impacting the stories of the characters and the world was the experience we want for you, our player.
In a world dominated by the consumption of visual media, it’s time to take a closer look at the power it has over us. And what better way to raise the stakes and give you a keen sense of urgency and power than to make it all live? After all, the news is reported as it happens. There’s no pausing in real life, no rewinding an interview to ask a different question, and certainly no avoiding the barrage of advertising. That experience, the stress, fun and creativity of making choices on the fly to tell your story, to see the narrative developing from the consequences of these decisions; that’s the fun of Not For Broadcast.
Of course, this presented a different problem altogether.
Our biggest challenge was shooting footage as single, continuous takes. Evoking that “Live TV Feeling” meant no cuts at any point… That’s right: not one. You are the editor here, not us. So, while a movie is composed of only the best shots cut from all the takes you got on the day, we don’t have that luxury. We had to nail each scene in one go — some of them approached 20 minutes!
Our incredibly talented cast had to learn relatively long scripts and perform them in one take without a single mistake in front of moving cameras whose operators had their own world of complications to handle. We were fortunate that most of our scenes were shot in ten takes or less, but it wasn’t uncommon for a longer or more complicated scene to run into the teens.
We pulled it off with a powerful combination of planning, exceptional actors and crewmembers, and a very deliberate decision: We ran the shoot more like a theatre show than a film set. Rehearsing an ensemble of actors who were prepared to roll with the punches of live performance and react accordingly until we had a scene that worked.
This meant seriously high pressure for everyone. Fluff your line in minute 12? Drop your camera out of focus? We’re all going back to the top. Though the upside is when you nail that one take, you’re done and you can hit the pub.
There were further wrinkles to this format, too, in the shape of long, complex tracks for our friends doing the Russian and Chinese dubbing of Not For Broadcast, but if you’ve heard our fully produced rap single “Paint It Red” in Russian, I think you’ll agree it was time and money well spent. As it turns out, it made for a record-breaking amount of footage in our game by the end, at over a whopping 41 hours.
So, the next time you’re playing Not For Broadcast, and you get to a sequence that’s over 15 minutes long, take a moment to think about the actors, crew, dubbing teams, and the team at NotGames who’ve taken that piece of flawless, one-take action from script to set to game. We certainly will when we’re planning the next one!
Not For Broadcast
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It’s time for the National Nightly News. A nation tunes in, and you get to decide what’s fit for broadcast. Pick the most exciting (or scandalous) camera angles, bleep the swears and determine which ads to run to keep the sponsors happy. No pressure, right? I mean, who pays attention to the news anyway?
Not For Broadcast is a darkly comedic game of televised chaos that lets you pick what you want to see on TV, no matter what anybody else wants. Egotistical celebrities, dishonest politicians, and strange sponsors clash on the airwaves. You’re here to ensure that the show goes on uninterrupted.
Cut between multiple camera feeds, tweak the headlines, bleep the foul language, all with just moments to spare on a live broadcast! Whether you toe the party line or stir up a scandal is your choice, so long as you can hold the audience’s fickle attention.
Frame the picture (and the debate): Keep the general public entertained with your editing skills. You are the artist and the broadcast is your canvas.
Keep it PG: Smash that big red CENSOR button to keep rude words (and other sensitive information) off the air. Keep the news safe for children and oppressive political regimes alike.
Hand-pick the headlines: There’s more news to see than a single broadcast can possibly contain, so someone (that’s you) gets to choose what goes on air. Frame a footballer as a loving beau or a drunken lout? Your call to make, and just one of many. It’s just TV, right? It’s not like you could change an entire nation’s fate…
Cue the ads: Powerful as you are, they’re really not paying you enough here. Some hand-picked (if slightly sketchy) sponsors might help pad that bank balance, and provide some laughs along the way. Customer satisfaction is not guaranteed and absolutely no refunds.
The show must go on! Nothing will stop the National Nightly News, not even existential threats! Keep broadcasting no matter how bizarre things get. News stops for no-one, not even a category 5 storm!
Keep them laughing as you go: Okay, so the news isn’t all sunshine and celebrity embarrassments. There’s all that talk of war, and the politics are just getting to you. But don’t worry, be happy! Tune out the chaos, turn up the ads, and whatever you do, don’t listen in on the increasingly panicked chatter of the news crew behind the scenes. Everything’s fine.
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Hogwarts Legacy: Developer Confirms There Are No Current Plans for DLC
Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software has revealed to IGN that the studio has no current plans to release additional content for their Wizarding World RPG.
Speaking during IGN Fan Fest, Hogwarts Legacy game director Alan Tew explained that the team was so busy preparing the game for its launch last week that it hasn’t yet planned on releasing any expansions.
“We’ve been really heads down bringing [Hogwarts Legacy] to life,” said Tew, “so at the moment there are no current plans for DLC.”
That’s not to say Avalanche Software won’t be supporting the game post-launch, of course, as it has already released a patch for the game that includes several performance improvements and other updates.
Hogwarts Legacy has also already received somewhat of an additional mission thanks to the PlayStation exclusive quest that takes place in Hogsmeade.
Fans will just have to wait and see if Avalanche Software announces any proper extras, but given Tew’s comments, it doesn’t look likely. That being said, Hogwarts Legacy did get off to an exceptional start, netting nearly half a million players on Steam even before it officially launched, so the success might motivate its developer and publisher to expand on the Wizarding World.
In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “In almost every way, Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter RPG I’ve always wanted to play.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward Finally Gets Its First Trailer
Lazy Bear Games has officially released an announcement trailer for a sequel to its 2016 RPG Punch Club in Punch Club 2: Fast Forward.
Revealed as part of IGN Fan Fest, Lazy Bear Games didn’t share a release date for the game but did reveal that it’s coming to PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
That trailer showed off some story elements and gameplay from Punch Club 2. Seemingly as full of pop culture references as the last game, the trailer (and game) opens with a Matrix-esque sequence in which the protagonist is told to wake up from the ominous Corporation.
A montage then takes place as the protagonist trains in an empty garage, dances with robots in a club, fights baddies in factories, talks to a head in a jar in a mall, watches news reports in an evil lair, and so on.
In our 6/10 review of the original, IGN said: “Punch Club is tedious at times, thanks to an unfortunate level-down system that artificially extends the road to the championship with grinding repetition, but its upgrades, stat growth, and more compensate with satisfying depth.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Ultimate Audio Bang #30: Steam’s most wishlisted FPS is in our crosshairs
Ultimate Audio Bang, we get an update on Hayden’s knees and the various ways in which he’s attempting to save them. We also take a gander at fantasy FPS Dark And Darker, Steam’s most wishlisted ‘shooter’. I’m less keen on it than Hayden is.In the second part of the pod, we talk about the goals we’ve achieved in theHunter: Call Of The Wild, including a tale about moose and a deer that knocked me out.
Random: This Official Wailord Pokémon Plush Could Actually Squash You
“Big. Blue. Buddy.”.
A big, heavy Pokémon deserves a big ol’ plushie, right? That’s obviously what The Pokémon Center thought with Wailord, who has a big of a reputation among Pokemon fans for its size.
Well, it’s a whale, so it should be big, right? Right. So it makes sense that you can buy a 57 ¾ inch-sized Wailord plush — that’s just shy of 1.5 metres, by the way. That’s 1/10th of the size of Wailord itself, so if you buy ten, then you can get an idea of just how big is. So what we’re saying is, yes, a plushie could squash you.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Hogwarts Legacy: Support Animal Conservation with the Magical Beasts Quiz
Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for February 17-21
The gun genie, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week’s reset. If you’re looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further.
Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he’s got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians.
We’ve rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP.
Where Is Xûr Today?
Xûr’s location can be found at The Tower on February 17 through February 21. To reach him, travel to the landing point at The Courtyard and make your way to the Hangar. Hang a left when entering the hangar and you’ll come face-to-face with space Amazon.com.
What’s Xûr Selling Today?
Exotic Engram
The Queenbreaker – Exotic Linear Fusion Rifle
Young Ahamkara’s Spine – Exotic Hunter Gauntlets
- 2 Mobility
- 13 Resilience
- 19 Recovery
- 14 Discipline
- 6 Intellect
- 10 Strength
- Total: 64
Eternal Warrior – Exotic Titan Helmet
- 9 Mobility
- 11 Resilience
- 12 Recovery
- 2 Discipline
- 17 Intellect
- 13 Strength
- Total: 64
Wings of Sacred Dawn – Exotic Warlock Chest Armor
- 18 Mobility
- 2 Resilience
- 10 Recovery
- 6 Discipline
- 9 Intellect
- 16 Strength
- Total: 61
The Hunter chestpiece and the Titan helmet are decent rolls, but none of the exotic weapons this week are particularly great.
Exotic Weapons
Hawkmoon – Exotic Hand Cannon
- Paracausal Shot
- Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Alloy Magazine
- Eye of the Storm
- Smooth Grip
Dead Man’s Tale – Exotic Scout Rifle
- Cranial Spike
- Smallbore
- Flared Magwell
- Vorpal Weapon
- Hand-Laid Stock
Hawkmoon‘s roll this week isn’t amazing (Eye of the Storm can be great, but is pretty situational), but Dead Man’s Tale has a fantastic roll with one of my favorite perks: Vorpal Weapon.
Legendary Weapons
Vulpecula – Hand Cannon
- Fluted Barrel/Polygonal Rifling
- Tactical Mag/Flared Magwell
- Tunnel Vision
- Explosive Payload
- Handling Masterwork
Tarantula – Linear Fusion Rifle
- Full Bore/Smallbore
- Accelerated Coils/Particle Repeater
- Genesis
- Dragonfly
- Charge Time Masterwork
The Third Axiom – Pulse Rifle
- Extended Barrel/Fluted Barrel
- Appended Mag/Light Mag
- Feeding Frenzy
- Rampage
- Vanguard’s Vindication
- Handling Masterwork
Sojourner’s Tale – Shotgun
- Arrowhead Brake/Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Appended Mag/Steady Rounds
- Moving Target
- Dragonfly
- Reload Speed Masterwork
Punching Out – Sidearm
- Arrowhead Brake/Chambered Compensator
- Extended Mag/Armor-Piercing Rounds
- Encore
- Wellspring
- Vanguard’s Vindication/Suros Synergy
- Handling Masterwork
Escape Velocity – Submachine Gun
- Model 6 Loop/Model 8 Red
- Accurized Rounds/Extended Mag
- Overflow
- Quickdraw
- Range Masterwork
Extraordinary Rendition – Submachine Gun
- Extended Barrel/Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Appended Mag/Tactical Mag
- Surplus
- Thresh
- Stability Masterwork
None of the weapons this week are going to blow you away, but The Third Axiom Pulse rifle has potential. Escape Velocity also has a pretty good roll that might be worth trying out.
Warlock Legendary Armor
For Warlocks, Xûr is selling the Holdfast set which includes:
Holdfast Gauntlets
- 15 Mobility
- 2 Resilience
- 15 Recovery
- 25 Discipline
- 2 Intellect
- 6 Strength
- Total: 65
Holdfast Chest Armor
- 14 Mobility
- 12 Resilience
- 7 Recovery
- 10 Discipline
- 6 Intellect
- 16 Strength
- Total: 65
Holdfast Helmet
- 2 Mobility
- 14 Resilience
- 16 Recovery
- 7 Discipline
- 14 Intellect
- 9 Strength
- Total: 62
Holdfast Leg Armor
- 24 Mobility
- 2 Resilience
- 2 Recovery
- 6 Discipline
- 10 Intellect
- 15 Strength
- Total: 59
Holdfast Bond
Warlocks are looking pretty great this week with two high-stat rolls worth considering.
Titan Legendary Armor
For Titans, Xûr is selling the Holdfast set which includes:
Holdfast Gauntlets
- 9 Mobility
- 16 Resilience
- 6 Recovery
- 6 Discipline
- 16 Intellect
- 12 Strength
- Total: 65
Holdfast Chest Armor
- 12 Mobility
- 16 Resilience
- 2 Recovery
- 20 Discipline
- 10 Intellect
- 2 Strength
- Total: 62
Holdfast Helmet
- 2 Mobility
- 6 Resilience
- 23 Recovery
- 10 Discipline
- 15 Intellect
- 7 Strength
- Total: 63
Holdfast Leg Armor
- 7 Mobility
- 9 Resilience
- 15 Recovery
- 9 Discipline
- 2 Intellect
- 19 Strength
- Total: 61
Holdfast Mark
Titans have one decent roll this week with those high-stat guantlets, though they aren’t particularly spikey, unfortunately.
Hunter Legendary Armor
For Hunters, Xûr is selling the Holdfast set which includes:
Holdfast Gauntlets
- 16 Mobility
- 12 Resilience
- 2 Recovery
- 16 Discipline
- 2 Intellect
- 9 Strength
- Total: 57
Holdfast Chest Armor
- 26 Mobility
- 2 Resilience
- 2 Recovery
- 7 Discipline
- 10 Intellect
- 15 Strength
- Total: 62
Holdfast Helmet
- 7 Mobility
- 17 Resilience
- 7 Recovery
- 12 Discipline
- 10 Intellect
- 10 Strength
- Total: 63
Holdfast Leg Armor
- 6 Mobility
- 6 Resilience
- 17 Recovery
- 14 Discipline
- 9 Intellect
- 7 Strength
- Total: 59
Holdfast Cloak
Hunters don’t have anything to recommend them this week — sorry, cloak bois!
That’s a wrap on Xûr for this week, Guardians! What did you think of the Lightfall ViDoc this week? Let us know in the comments! For more on Destiny, check out all the news from the Lightfall reveal and read about how Sony’s purchase of Bungie fits into its larger plans.
Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his games coverage here.
Share of the Week: Romance
Last week, we asked you share the love, by highlighting romance in the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s romantic shares:
Comput_ART shares Aloy making a heart with her hands in Horizon Forbidden West
ForgottenJasmin shares Cloud and Tifa embracing in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mur4dQ shares Cody and May from It Takes Two standing in front of a broken clock
_nvrheardofit shares Markus and North pressing palms together in Detroit: Become Human
skykiller1000 shares Ellie showing Dina her tattoo in The Last of Us Part II
CarrotsCaptures shares a set of Light Elf and Dark Elf lovers from God of War Ragnarök.
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Horizon Forbidden West
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on February 22, 2023
Next week, we head back to the future of Horizon Forbidden West to celebrate its one year anniversary. Share epic moments from Aloy’s adventure using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.