1、iOS系统热门游戏《无尽之剑》创意总监Donald Mustard在Gamasutra近期采访中表示，面向用户的快速更新未来必将成为控制器游戏的选择。Chair Entertainment团队近期在《无尽之剑》上更新了大量免费内容，还根据论坛帖子、邮件反馈和其他用户交流信息对游戏进行改善。他认为控制器游戏未来也需要仿效社交游戏和掌机游戏的做法，更新内容使之更契合市场需要才是关键。这可能完全改变控制器游戏的发展路线，Mustard表示5年之后控制器游戏市场或许与如今大不相同。

2、据外国媒体报道，视频游戏将参与明年格莱美音乐大奖的评选，这使游戏领域首次可以与电影和电视等媒体公开角逐。The Recording Academy副主席Bill Freimuth说道：“多年来许多游戏界人士希望我们为游戏开设专门的奖项，但我们没这么做的原因在于游戏发布者每年提交的竞选作品过少。”今年年初，作曲家Christopher Tin成为首个凭借视频游戏音乐摘得格莱美大奖桂冠的获奖者。（游戏邦注：获奖音乐“Baba Yetu”是策略题材游戏《文明4》的主题曲。）

心灵杀手

3、自Rockstar在《黑色洛城》中运用动作扫描技术捕捉角色行为后，各大开发者相继尝试研发自己的面部动画技术。目前，《心灵杀手》开发商Remedy Entertainment研制出全新的技术，目标是超越Rockstar。这项技术由首席动画设计师John Root设计完成，以动作捕捉为基础，调整系列动态影像来表现出不同的面部表情。原型可精确至半毫米，用来根据动画设计师的需要实时改变面部表情。但Root表示这项技术仍在发展中，工作室还计划加入彩色绘图，使系统能够精确模拟血液的流动。如果这些全部实现，那么当角色做出某些表情时，皮肤的颜色会呈现亮暗变化，甚为逼真。

4、BioWare出品的《质量效应》系列游戏执行制作者Casey Hudson表示，该系列游戏未来有可能开发成MMO游戏。他声称，多人游戏是团队将来必然要考虑到的选择，但目前还没有得出明确的做法，因而无从告知。当问及是否有可能开发成MMO游戏时，Hudson说道：“很多玩家都希望能让这款游戏往MMO方向发展，我认为游戏的题材也挺适合。”

元素：魔法战争

5、来自Stardock的Brad Wardell预测PC图像未来将经历一场变革，这可能令控制器黯然失色。他表示，内在的2GB限制使得近年来图像鲜有发展，一两年后这个限制或许将不复存在，超高清质感的图像就此面世。如果控制器制造商无法跟上这股64位图像潮流，那么PC游戏将重新占领市场。Wardell认为在64位变革到来之前，图像仍将停滞不前，不过目前仍是游戏开发的良机，像今日的《Minecraft》此类游戏在5年前根本不可能出现。（游戏邦注：Stardock是以PC游戏为主的开发商，主攻核心策略游戏，其作品有《太阳帝国的原罪》和《元素：魔法战争》。）（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

1. In Gamasutra’s latest feature interview with Chair Entertainment, developers of iOS hit Infinity Blade, creative director Donald Mustard says that quicker, user-driven updates to console games are “inevitable.”

The team at Chair recently updated Infinity Blade with a large free content update — as well as delivering improvements and requests gleaned from forum posts, email feedback, and other user communication.

When it comes to Infinity Blade, he said the ability to “put in new content and adjust quickly to what the market’s doing is key.”

He believes that console manufacturers will be forced to open up this style of updating on console games. Presently, even in downloadable titles, all patches and updates have to go through a lengthy certification process. Contracts are also not structured, in some cases, to allow for it.

“I think that the things that are happening in the social space and the handheld space are going to completely change the way we look at console games moving forward. I think in five years the console games will look very, very different than they do now, and it will be because of the work that’s happening in these spaces and the agile — I think ‘agile’ is probably the right word — just the agile way that the market’s developing,” Mustard said. (Source: Gamasutra)

2. Next year’s Grammy Awards will include video games in four of the awards’ main categories, giving video games equal billing with film and television for the first time, according to media reports.

The four amended categories will now celebrate video game music alongside the usual nominations. The four awards are as follows: The Music for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media); Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media); Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media); Best Song Written for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)

Vice president of The Recording Academy Bill Freimuth told IndustryGamers, “Many people from the game community have been asking us to create a special category for games over the years, but the main reason we haven’t is because we have received very few entries from game publishers.”

Earlier this year, composer Christopher Tin picked up the first ever Grammy Award win for a video game theme with his track “Baba Yetu”, the opening theme to strategy title Civilization IV. (Source: Gamasutra)

3. Ever since Rockstar played up Team Bondi’s use of Motion Scan technology to capture actors’ performances for L.A. Noire, other developers have been trying one up them with their own facial animation technology. Now, Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment is showing off its new tech behind closed doors, with the company aiming to be ahead of Rockstar’s setup.

The technology was created by lead animator John Root, formerly of id, Epic Games, and Disney. Remedy’s system uses motion capture as a starting point, but builds on that with a series of adjustable sliders to adjust for different expressions. The original model, accurate to half a millimeter, can then be used to change facial expressions in real time as the animator requires.

Edge was able to see the system in action and came away impressed with the subtlety and nuance shown, but Root said that the tech was still growing. The studio plans to add color mapping, allowing the system to accurately simulate blood flow. With that in place, characters’ skin could lighten or darken realistically as certain expressions are made. (Source: Gamedaily)

4. BioWare’s Casey Hudson says the Mass Effect team is yet to figure out a workable multiplayer premise for the franchise, but sees the attraction of an MMO.

“We’ve been trying to think of a way that makes sense for people to experience Mass Effect with their friends,” the series executive producer told Game Informer as part of the latest issue’s coverage.

“We haven’t yet come up with a way to do that, so we don’t have anything to announce at this time. But, obviously, multiplayer is something we want to do more of in the future as a company.”

Asked about the possibility of an MMO, Hudson admitted he feels the franchise is a good match.

“A lot of people say that they want to see an MMO, I think that kind of makes sense for this universe,” he said. (Source: VG247)

5. Stardock’s Brad Wardell has predicted a revolution in PC graphics, which may see consoles left gasping in the dust.

“If you think it’s cool now, right now games are about to make this jump to 64-bit,” Wardell told Destructoid.

“… We’re gonna go from messing around with these 2GB limits to having essentially unlimited memory, and people don’t realize what that means. But it means we’re gonna have these crazy high resolution textures.

“That’s what’s holding us back, that’s why graphics haven’t got that much better in the last few years. … Give them another year or two and we’re going to see some really crazy stuff.”

And if console manufacturers don’t jump on the 64-bit trend, then we’ll see another swing back towards PC gaming.

Wardell said that until the 64-bit revolution comes, graphics are “kind of at a standstill”, but that nevertheless, right now is a very exciting time for games.

“I mean look at Minecraft, right? Would Minecraft have been possible 5 years ago? This is the greatest time in gaming history, and we get to be part of it.”

Stardock is a PC-centric developer focussing on core strategy titles, including Sins of a Solar Empire and Elemental: War of Magic. Its digital distribution service, Impulse, was recently acquired by retailer Gamestop. (Source: VG247)