The latest video, titled ‘A Big Mountain to Climb: Animating Skyrim’ shows off a number of Skyrim’s smooth, and rather wonderful animation sequences. The accompanying text and podcast over at the Elder Scrolls community website covers all things animation with Bethesda Game Studios animators, Josh Jones, Jangjoon Cha, Jeremy Bryant, Rick Vicens and Mark Teare .

Click this link here to be taken to the article, just try not to explode with excitement, OK?

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GGS: First of all, thank you for taking the time out to speak to us, I’m sure this is the first interview of many over the coming few days.
Sebastian Streiffert [SS]: More than likely. It’s not a problem at all, fire away.

GGS: Let’s start with an overview: It’s been 6 months since the launch of Rift – how do you think it’s gone so far?
SS: Well, the game has gone very well. We have turned around big content patches, monthly updates and listened to the feedback we’ve had from our fanbase. We’re giving a lot back to our subscribers, and you can’t say that with a lot of games on the market. I can safely say the whole experience has been a success.

GGS: Have you had any major problems since the games launch?
SS: There’s always going to be a certain extent of hotfixing, and with us working to such a tight schedule with each update, there’s going to be bugs. We’re always quick to rectify everything though, and solutions are often dealt with the next day. There’s been nothing major or catastrophic, but yeah, you’re always going to have one or two teething problems.

GGS: The President of Sony Online Entertainment has recently said that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be the last pay-monthly, subscription based game, as the free-to-play model is now the industry standard. Any thoughts on that?
SS: I think it works for certain games – you need to make that choice. Rift is very much a service game. We’re not only releasing the game and patching it, but constantly updating it and developing expansions. We now have a larger team working on the game than we did prior to release, and for it to be viable and to continue to have this constant push and service on all fronts, you need this subscription.

GGS: Speaking of expansions, you’re soon to launch your latest patch, 1.5: Ashes of History. Can you tell us a bit more about what that’ll add to the Rift experience?
SS: Certainly. Ashes of History is arguably our biggest expansion update so far. We’ve got a ton of new content, especially for new players looking at end-game and wanting more from Rift. We’ve got the new Planar Attunement, which lets characters progress even after they hit the maximum level of 50. There’s also one and two man dungeons in the form of Chronicles, which should be a lot of fun. We’re chucking in Veteran Rewards as well, for those who’ve stuck with Rift for a while, and finally, something the community are quite split about, the introductions of Add-ons.

GGS: World of Warcraft have opted for small updates, but paid, larger expansions to the game world. Is this a model Rift has contemplated adopting in the future?
SS: I can’t comment on that. There has been talks, and out forth statements, but I couldn’t say anything definite at this point.

GGS: The level cap in Rift is currently at 50 – is raising this something that’s on the cards?
SS: We’re adding alternate progression with the Planar Attunement to keep players progressing after the maximum level, but it’s not something I can rule out – I won’t go out on a limb and rule something out that has been talked about time and time again.

GGS: Understandably. Previous patches have added a lot to the game, but are there any talks of adding further classes and races to Telera?
SS: I love questions like this! Again, I’m going to have to give you a very particular, uncertain answer. The thing is that Rift’s development is different to other companies – while they tend to have a couple of years to progress towards a certain goal, we’re constantly fighting to keep our players entertained. We work to a super tight schedule, and always have, and whilst we add plenty of smaller updates to the game, we also develop larger patches also. It’s really hard to talk about changes like races and classes at this point. I don’t want to rule anything out, but I can’t make promises.

GGS: World of Warcraft saw quite a drop in memberships towards the start of Rift’s life, and have been on a bit of a recruitment drive since, offering plenty of discounts to returning players. Do you feel particularly threatened by this? Are you pleased to have shown the gaming world that this genre isn’t necessarily a one-game monopoly?
SS: The nature of this industry means we can’t feel threatened. We can’t be worried about competitors. We’re aware of what others are doing, and we’re aware of the new releases, and while companies may want to pursue a marketing push, we’re just very happy with our game. We’ve proven Rift’s quality, and we’re sure it will continue to be successful.

GGS: You told us right at the start about the value of community feedback in Rift’s progression. What have you implemented as a direct result of the fan base?
SS: Add-ons. Straight off the bat, they’re something the community have wanted for a while. It’ll split our fans down the middle, as people like the level playing field that all Rift users have, but we’re ready to take that gamble. We’ve added Planar Attunement to make sure that players don’t feel like they’ve hit all Rift has to offer when they hit 50, and the inclusion of PvP Warzones are there because of the voice of our community. Everything we do is at their bidding.

GGS: That wraps up our time with you today – any final statements for our readership?
SS: Continue enjoying Rift – it’s been out for a while, but there’s never been a better time to join the community. 1.5 is nearly here, and that adds so much to the game. Here’s hoping to see some of you in game.

GGS: Thank you very much for your time, Sebastian, and enjoy the rest of the Expo.
SS: Likewise, it’s been a pleasure.

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You can find out more about Sebastian’s work over at his Twitter, or his personal website.

Earlier today, a dev team blog post said that while they are working on the Cold Stream expansion, they also wanted community input to help them spot bugs and fix problems before they become an even bigger issue. “While we are still tweaking Cold Stream and making some game play changes, we really want people to pound on the Cold Stream maps and help us find any bugs,” said the blog post.

As they would normally have the company take days to do nothing but play such upcoming DLC, Valve has said that since Cold Stream is also being developed partially by the community, they want your help. And there’s a little reward in it for you. “If 20,000 people can earn the Stream Crosser achievement (Survive a campaign of Cold Stream on any difficulty) by the end of day this Sunday, we will give all Steam players a reward,” said Valve. “On July 22nd we will release Dead Air from the upcoming Cold Stream DLC early.”

Wait. Dead Air being…re-released? As in, it’s getting No Mercy’s facelift treatment? We’re not sure, as details have not been forthcoming at this moment. Actually, it’s starting to sound like we won’t know until 20,000 people have hopped in and gained the achievement and we see the physical release. So get cracking on your Steam accounts!

Don’t roll your eyes, Xbox players. Valve has said that in the future (as in, when the project is completed) an Xbox 360 DLC of Cold Stream will also be released. We just can’t participate in the bug hunting. Safe to say we’ll be spirtually helping our zombie-slaying bretheren by playing it on the Xbox this weekend. Right?

For more information, read the full blog post.

Via Facebook.

When I was a young lass, I played Silent Hill 2 for the very first time. I was in the apartment buildings and trying to figure out what to do, and I ended up backtracking a lot. After a few pointless circles, I heard a loud scream down the hallway! This didn’t make any sense, because I had just been there and didn’t see anything. As I retraced my steps, the now infamous Pyramid Head was waiting for me, standing behind the grate, while the radio squealed. I remember I was so startled and actually fired at him a little bit, because I didn’t realize he was behind the fence. And even when I went into the apartment, I was rushing around like crazy, checking every corner. I was so worried about him springing an ambush that, for years, I never saw the guy who caused the initial scream — which was the mysterious dude who blew his brains out on the TV in that room.

Another oldie, but to this day I still haven’t beaten Fatal Frame. My weakness is fire, cats, and GHOSTS. I don’t have a single explanation to justify my irrational fear of not being able to kill something you can’t see, so I’ll just re-direct you to a Youtube listing full of scary ghosts!

Anyone have a funny reaction to a scary moment in games? I like playing survival horror with friends because it’s better to scream together.

“OnLive breaks the console cycle. We don’t need new hardware devices,” said company founder Steve Perlman.
That sentiment was echoed by his chief operating officer Mike McGarvey.
“We want to take your dollars from hardware and let you spend it on software. We are a new platform and we’re building a network and infrastructure to last for the next 30 years of gaming, not the next five years,” Mr McGarvey told reporters.
‘Disruptive’
OnLive has been in development for eight years and will officially become available on June 17. The company said it will deliver on-demand video games via the cloud to the PC, Mac or TV and that it could provide high quality gaming on low-end machines.

OnLive says they are offering a new way to play games
OnLive relies on video compression technology, which instantly streams video via the internet so if feels like the game is playing locally. The reality is that all the heavy lifting is done by remote data centres that can be no more than a thousand miles away. Players use a PC or TV hooked up to a broadband connection to connect to the system.
“It could be very disruptive to the console vendors,” Billy Pidgeon, an independent game analyst told Bloomberg News.
“This also wouldn’t be good for retailers or anybody selling physical software formats.” Research group NPD reported that last year, US video-game sales fell 8% to $19.6bn (£13bn). Instant gratification OnLive said that it was reacting to a change in gamers’ habits, as they increasingly migrate online.

Popular titles like Mass Effect 2 will be available through the service “There is this huge shift from download and use later to use it right now. The bytes coming in are not being stored. They are being consumed the moment they arrive,” said Mr Perlman. Dean Takahashi of website GamesBeat believes instant success is not guaranteed.
“It is going to be small at first. At the beginning it becomes one more great channel for the game companies to pursue. But at some point, yeah there is going to be a transition,” he said. OnLive will be available for a monthly rental fee of $14.95 (£9.99) for subscribers to then buy or rent games over the internet.
It will have titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia and Borderlands.

No date was given for when OnLive will be available in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

Stay tuned! I know Gamefly.com is the Netflix for games, but this is for the lazy gamer! Provided they have a kicking sweet computer.

Source: BBC News

Sarah J.: Assassin’s Creed (PS3); Resident Evil 4 (PS2)
Steve: Borderlands (PS3); Bioshock 2 (PS3); Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares (PS3); Doom 3 (PC)
Vikki: Bayonetta (360); New Super Mario Bros (Wii); Tetris (DS)

So that’s what’s been keeping us busy this week. How about you?

Lyn: Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360), Fatal Frame (PS2), Call of Duty (PC); Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 3 (original Xbox)
Sarah G.; Assassin’s Creed 2 (PS3); Heroes of Newerth (Beta version on PC)
Sarah J.: Silent Hill Homecoming (PS3); God of War II (PS2)
Steve: Bioshock 2 (PS3), Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3); Assassin’s Creed 2 (360); Oblivion (360); Half Life (PC); Fallout 3 (PC)
Vikki: Bayonetta (360); MGS: Twin Snakes (GC); Mini Ninjas (PS3 – w/son); New Super Mario Bros (Wii); Bioshock 2 (PS3); Dante’s Inferno demo (PS3); Heavy Rain demo (PS3

So that’s what’s been keeping us busy this week. How about you?

Once a week we flip the tables and listen to what you guys have to say . . . rather than sitting back and make you listen to us!

Community Q: there’s recently been a slew of pinkified items hitting the gaming market, everything from ‘designer’ DS consoles (see below) to pink Wiimotes to overtly pink game art. Do you think that there is an industry-wide assumption that ‘pinkifying’ gaming will automatically appeal to the female market? If so, is it successful? Male or female, how do you feel about the perpetuation of pink peripherals?

Got an idea for a future Community Q question? Drop us a line and tell us about it!

Sarah: World of Warcraft (PC); Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360); Chrono Cross (PS2)
Steve: Demon’s Souls (PS3); Oblivion (360); American McGee’s Alice (PC)
Vikki: Mini Ninjas (PS3 w/son); Bayonetta (360); MGS: Twin Snakes (GC); Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2); New Super Mario Bros (Wii)

So that’s what’s been keeping us busy this week. How about you?

Sarah: Greed: Black Border (PC); Bayonetta (PS3)
Steve: Penumbra: Overture (PC); Demon’s Souls (PS3); Oblivion (360); Dead Space: Extraction (Wii); Project Zero 3 (PS2)
Vikki: Mini Ninjas (PS3 w/son); Guitar Hero 5 (360); Bayonetta (360)

So that’s what’s been keeping us busy this week. How about you?