Hi! I'm Alanah, an Australian living in California. Welcome to my rarely updated portfolio. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Writing publications:
addictoffiction.com
dustycartridge.com
galaxynextdoor.com
gamearena.com.au
games.on.net
gametraders.com.au
Girl Power (print magazine)
Hyper Magazine (print magazine)
IGN.com (currently full-time)
kotaku.co.uk
kotaku.com.au
lunadigital.tv
MCV Pacific (print magazine)
newgameplus.tv
nonfictiongaming.com
nonspecificaction.co.uk
savegameonline.com
techraptor.net
The Guardian (newspaper)
Toronto Star (newspaper)
wired.com
womensagenda.com
womenyoushouldknow.net
xbox.com
zedgamesau.net Video publications:
Button Bash
EA Games Australia
GamesHQMedia
Geek Bomb
Geek Speak (TV)
Good Game (TV)
HuffPost Live
Impulse Gamer
NewGamePlus (TV)
Non-Specific Action
Out Fox
ReelFeed
Sky News
Sunrise
Team Garage (TV)
The Project (TV)
Upbeat Juice
Videogamemes
Xbox Australia
XXP Gaming
Zelda Universe
Radio/podcast publications::
2SER (AU)
BBC: Outside Source (INTL)
BBC: The World (INTL)
BBC: World Service (UK)
BBC: Radio 5 (UK)
BBC: Click (INTL)
BBC: Trending (UK)
Hack (AU)
HuffPost Live (USA)
Life Matters (AU)
On The Media (USA)
NPR (USA)
The Brekky Show (AU)
SiriusXM (USA)
Sunday Night Safran (AU)
The Take-Away (USA)
Zed Games (AU)
Evil TeddyBear Podcast
I Doubt It Podcast
Microsoft’s HoloLens, the company’s take on VR/AR headset technology, is going to be shown at E3.
The HoloLens is a wearable headset which Microsoft describes as a “see-through holographic computer” that “enables high-definition holograms to come to life in your world, seamlessly integrating with your physical places, spaces, and things.”
The company didn’t specify in which capacity the headset would be shown at the show, but they have launched a new website and YouTube channel to showcase the technology.
Despite being announced in January alongside a Minecraft tech demo, no games have been announced for the technology, but Microsoft did announce a HoloLens partnership with game engine company Unity.
Regarding their E3 presentation, Microsoft said, “We look forward to showing and telling you more at E3, the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related products.”
E3 2015 takes place in Los Angeles from June 16-18, though Microsoft have not yet announced a date for their annual press conference.
Originally published on SaveGameOnline.com on May 2nd, 2015.
Star Wars Battlefront DLC, Missions and Partner System
‘The Force Awakens’, a free DLC based on the Battle of Jakku, a location that is going to be in the upcoming Star Wars movie, has been announced for Star Wars Battlefront.
The DLC will act as a prologue to the events that will be in the new film, and is set to release on December 8th, with the film releasing on December 18th. For those who pre-order, the DLC will be available on December 1st.
Battlefront is also set to have its own independent story for those wanting to play offline or split-screen co-op, known as Battlefront ‘missions’ that will unlock advantages in multiplayer.
In order to prevent over-levelling for those who may purchase Star Wars Battlefront after the release of The Force Awakens film and the Jakku DLC, the game features a ‘partner’ system. This allows players to partner with one another so they are automatically paired in multiplayer, spawn with each other and share unlocks. If a new player partners with an older player, they will be able to advance faster to catch up to their partner.
Star Wars Battlefront is releasing on November 17th on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The Force Awakens DLC is set to release on December 8th.
Originally posted on savegameonline.com on April 18, 2015.
How DICE will make Battlefront the most authentic Star Wars game yet
Star Wars games have had an uneven history. For every Knights of the Old Republic, there’s been a Masters of Teras Kasi. SO in order to make Star Wars Battlefront as authentic as possible, LucasArts have given DICE and EA unprecedented access to Star Wars props, costumes and original sound clips.
Using a process called ‘photogrammetry’, DICE took thousands of pictures of genuine props from different angles, in order to turn them into digital replicas for 3D assets. DICE Designer, Nicklas Fegraeus, said: “this means that when you use your lightsaber or jump into your X-Wing, it’s the actual lightsaber, and the actual X-Wing.”
The LucasArts director of franchise management, Douglas Reilly, said, “we didn’t want this to be a normal licensing arrangement. We didn’t want to make movie games, we wanted to make great games.”
They also took pictures of the actual locations in the films to render them as “authentically and realistically as possible”, and had access to all original soundtrack recordings and sound effects. Star Wars Battlefront is also the first and only game in development to feature Dolby Atmos, a surround sound technology that allows up to 128 audio tracks. Dolby refers to Atmos as “the most significant development in cinema and audio since surround sound” and it is usually utilised in film. Dolby Atmos has only been confirmed for the PC version of Battlefront.
Fegraeus said, “this is the most authentic game – the most amazing visual and audio experience that we at dice have ever made,” and “I believe we’ve created the most immersive Star Wars game ever made.”
Star Wars Battlefront is coming out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on November 17th, and is said to play at 60fps on all platforms.
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on April 18th, 2015.
Playtonic is a new independent game development studio formed entirely of staff who once worked for Rare Ltd., the creators of Donkey Kong Country and Banjo Kazooie.
The studio revealed themselves on PlaytonicGames.com and asked that people join them on their “epic quest” to create “unforgettable fun, unforgettable characters and unforgettable experiences, all sprinkled with a hint of magic dust from a golden age of gaming.”
The website currently only features an image of 2 sets of eyes behind leaves with the caption “who’s hiding in here?” and a news post outlining the company’s future plans. It says:
“Currently we’re a sextet of artists, programmers and designers – sort of like The Pussycat Dolls with computer science degress – with one thing in common; we were all once core member of famous UK studio Rare, where we helmed franchises such as Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country and Viva Piñata.
“We’ve got the bloke who programmed Donkey Kong Country, the character designer behind Banjo and Kazooie, and the artist who made your console fit to burst with lavish environments across a decade’s worth of adventure games.”
The post also announced the studuio’s debut game, ‘Project Ukulele’. It is set to be a spiritual successor to “fondly remembered” platforming adventures such as Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie.
“Over the coming months we’ll reveal more about our project and future growth plans, and we very much intend to get you involved and listen to your views on our game’s direction,” they added.
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on February 12th, 2015.
Bethesda are holding a stand-alone E3 press conference for the first time ever. The conference will be held on June 14, the Sunday before E3, in Los Angeles, California.
The conference will be streamed on twitch.tv/Bethesda, though Bethesda also said, “We’ve saved some seats just for you, our fans. Feel like a celebrity by attending our most exciting event yet, live and in-person!”
They are yet to share details regarding registering to attend the event or what they have planned to show or announce.
The extra effort has sparked further rumours regarding the potential announcement of Fallout 4, which has been speculated for the past two years. Bethesda are also believed to still be working on an upcoming Doom game.
Other companies likely to have exclusive conferences at E3 are Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Sony and Nintendo, as they have in previous years.
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on February 12th, 2015.
Raptr, the videogame social-networking website, has been hacked and suggests all users change passwords as soon as possible.
Raptr CEO Dennis Fong linked the attack to recent hacks on Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayStation Network, saying:
“We’re very sorry to inform you that some Raptr user data may have been recently compromised in an attack similar to hacking activities that have targeted other high-profile sites and services.”
He also said that usernames, full names, email addresses and password hashes may have been accessed, noting that “users with weak passwords are vulnerable to unauthorized access”.
Though he said the potential risk to those using Raptr itself is minimal, Fong has encouraged users to change passwords on other sites if they are the same as those used for their Raptr accounts, and to use “reasonably complex” passwords in the future.
All Raptr Reward Points, which can be earned by participating in the Raptr community in order to purchase various game-related ‘rewards’, have been protected by the ‘redeem’ system’s two-factor authentication.
You can change your Raptr password here: http://raptr.com/account
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on February 3rd, 2015.
Nintendo have updated their policy regarding YouTube advertising revenue via the Nintendo Creators Program.
Previously, YouTube videos containing Nintendo content had all advertising proceeds go directly to Nintendo themselves, but the new program is designed to transfer some of that money back to the YouTubers, via PayPal.
The Nintendo Creators Program is currently in beta but is set to fully rollout in May, with users able to register single videos or entire channels via Google+ accounts. For a single video that meets Nintendo’s requirements, content creators will be paid 60% of ad revenue earned, and 70% for an entire channel.
There are various terms that must be met to ensure a video is eligible, such as a disclosure, which must be either spoken or written on all videos. It says:
“I have a license to use Nintendo’s content in this video through the Nintendo Creators Program. This video is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, but any advertising revenue from this video will be shared with Nintendo.”
Only content featuring a specific list of titles is eligible for the Nintendo Creators Program, and payments will be processed two months after the eligible videos are initially published.
More information can be found here.
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on January 30th, 2015.
Warner Bros. has announced that TT Games are developing LEGO Jurassic World and LEGO Marvel’s Avengers videogames, set to release later this year, alongside new mobile and handheld titles.
LEGO Jurassic World is set to follow the stories of Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III as well as the upcoming Jurassic World. The game is set to release in June.
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers will feature storylines and characters from Marvel’s The Avengers and the upcoming film Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, though it does not yet have a release date. It is set to launch at the end of 2015.
Both titles will be available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC, PlayStation Vita, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.
Warner Bros. also confirmed that last year’s LEGO Batman: Beyond Gotham would be arriving on mobile devices, and the LEGO Movie Videogame will launch on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
For handheld consoles, LEGO Ningago: Shadow of Ronin will be releasing on the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita on March 24th.
The Managing Director of TT Games, Tom Stone, said:
“This year will be the biggest yet for LEGO videogames with these incredible titles and several firsts for the series. TT Games are crafting humorous LEGO adventures, based on new stories and characters across some of the most well-known and iconic worlds.”
Regarding the array of releases, David Haddad, the Vice President of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, said:
“We look forward to expanding the successful series with this very exciting line-up of new LEGO experiences for players of all ages to enjoy on console, handheld and mobile gaming devices.”
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on January 30th, 2015.
Ubisoft are deactivating Steam keys for Far Cry 4 and Assassin’s Creed Unity that were acquired via “fraudulent” resellers.
A handful of PC games sites are able to obtain Steam keys and resell them to buyers at a heavily discounted rate, including some of Ubisoft’s newest titles.
Many gamers have already complained that their games have been deactivated on the Ubisoft forum, and in response, Ubisoft is claiming that this is a legal matter.
“We strongly recommend that players purchase keys and downloadable games only from the Uplay Store or their trusted retailers. We regularly work with our authorized resellers to identify and deactivate fraudulently obtained and resold keys,” Ubisoft said.
“In this case, we confirmed activation keys were recently purchased from EA’s Origin store using fraudulent credit card information and then resold online. These keys may have been deactivated. Customers who may have been impacted should contact the vendor where they purchased the key for a refund.”
G2A, one of the sites involved in reselling keys, has addressed the incident via a Facebook post, saying:
“As some of you may already know, steps have been taken to remove games purchased indirectly from a publisher, via main marketplaces in the web. G2A.COM is not in any case responsible for any of these procedures. However, we are well aware of this process and will do everything possible to compensate for that.
“G2A.COM will make every possible exertion to prevent this kind of procedures in the future and exclude merchants responsible for such incidents from the marketplace.”
G2A sells keys itself, but also allows other sellers to do so via their marketplace, and they claim that this is how the incident occurred. The company offers a service called ‘G2A Sheild’ that ensures keys sold via resellers on the marketplace are valid. Regarding this, they said:
“For users who have made transactions without G2A Shield, we will check if the corresponding merchant was responsible for the withdrawal of the code. If so, these users will get a compensation. Any user who used G2A Shield affected by the current process will get either a new code for the game or the money back.”
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on January 29th, 2015.
Sony Issuing Refunds For Misleading Microtransactions
Refunds are being issued to players of H1Z1 after complaints regarding in-game microtransactions.
Sony Online Entertainment president, John Smedley, originally said that the game would not include any microtransactions for in-game guns, ammunition, food or water. He told Reddit:
“That’s kind of the whole game and it would suck in our opinion if we did that.”
Upon release, H1Z1 technically does have weapons and other useful tools available via ‘airdrop’ microtransactions, despite Smedley also saying there was “no way there would be weapons” in airdrops at all.
H1Z1’s senior game designer Adam Clegg, or ‘arclegger’ said that the company has received an “overwhelming” amount of feedback from players claiming that they have been misled.
In response, SOE are issuing refunds to any players who have “an issue” with airdrops.
“If you feel like the airdrops are an issue for you, you may immediately request a refund to [email protected] – this offer applies till Monday and it applies only to people that have purchased the game as of 10:30am Pacific today 1/16/2015,” Smedley told Reddit.
He also noted that there could be time delays as SEO are processing the emails themselves, but you can get an instant refund through Steam by visiting Account Details >> Store Transactions and pressing the refund button under H1Z1. This will refund the cost of the game into your Steam wallet.
Clegg issued an apology on Steam, claiming that he had personally – though unintentionally – lied regarding weapons in airdrops. He also said:
“I want to say thank you to all of you, even the ones that are very upset with us. We have received an overwhelming amount of support and feedback from everyone and the dev team is all working hard on all of the current issues and I appreciate your patience as we try to get H1Z1 up and running smoothly.”
H1Z1 is a sandbox survival MMO that had its Early Access release on January 15th.
Originally posted on SaveGameOnline.com on January 20th, 2015.
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