560°

Xbox Series X Makes Horror Game The Medium's Key Feature Possible, Developer Teases

Wojciech Piejko, lead designer of the Xbox Series X exclusive horror game The Medium, says he had a secret feature in mind that kept it from being made for almost a decade.

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gamespot.com
Spurg1862d ago (Edited 1862d ago )

"While the developers mentioned the feature is a "super-secret", the patent available on Freepatentsonline shows what it is all about. The patent, entitled "Method of simultaneous playing in single-player video games," is about a method that would allow players to simultaneously control one character with several avatars in different universes. The incident in each world will have dire consequences on the other, and the character in multiple worlds will be shown together at the same time in the same viewport. A subtle hint of the feature can be seen in the clip uploaded by a Reddit user which has been trimmed from the trailer of the game"

That good if it's used to enhance the gameplay experience. Because if it was only used for making load screens faster then it wouldn't have been a big deal. Loading times ain't never been a top priority issue in games. I'm acclimated to the long load times of Jrpg so it doesn't faze me at all.

I can understand why this could be a showcase piece for Series X. Drastically shifting the environment during gameplay shows something that would be hard to achieve on old gen. I wish this was something that was shown rather than coming out from an interview piece.

Nyxus1861d ago

For me, getting rid of or reducing loading times is actually one of the best features for the new consoles. I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey and the constant loading when you die and between fast travel and such gets annoying, to the point where you adjust the way you play the game to avoid them. If fast travel was instant I'd probably be doing that and hop around the map a lot more than I am now.

monochromer1861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

Dude, same with Odyssey. I'm going back now and having the same exhausting experience.

Sometimes the load screens come right in the middle of cutscene and lead to... Another cutscene. It's very immersion breaking.

CaptainHenry9161861d ago

The same way I feel about Red Dead Redemption 2

SugarSoSweet1861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

Exactly Nyxus. Fast Loading is EASILY in my top 3 most anticipated features of not gen.

neutralgamer19921860d ago

i just finished HZD and those loading times in between fast travels were long so if those could be instant the gaming experience would be that much better

1860d ago
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1861d ago Replies(1)
monkey6021861d ago

Sounds like a ramped up version of Demons souls or Dark Souls in a sense. It actually sounds like the original "leak" that described what Death Stranding was going to consist of and I'm all aboard for it. Sounds awesome

Although I will say after the pop in I suffered through with Jedi Fallen order, The freezing and stuttering of Control and the painful load times of The Division 2 I really do hope the next gen systems are going to cut all that craic down to near nothing.

starchild1861d ago

You got a lot of pop-in in Jedi Fallen Order? I'm playing it on PC and I've seen very little. I've seen worse pop-in in open world games like AC Origins or Horizon Zero Dawn.

I do agree that it would be nice if we no longer had to deal with long load times, pop-in, aliasing, stuttering and screen tearing.

DJStotty1860d ago

@Starchild

It is plainly obvious that monkey is not regarding PC with his comments, mainly due to the quote "next gen systems"

monkey6021860d ago

No it wasnt on PC. It was the PS4 pro I played these games on. Although I do have an extremely good PC i mainly just use it for RTS and SIM games

_dangerclose_1861d ago

Well good thing both Microsoft and Sony disagree with you and are implementing SSD's becasue loading times are a top priority.

TheEroica1861d ago

Down votes can only equate to pSFear

PrinceAli1860d ago

You're definitely wrong on the loading time front... Loading times NEED to be cut out, people have already mentioned AC Odyssey which has immersion breaking loading screens they're soo frequent and annoying.

SyntheticForm1860d ago

You can have some of that argument and I agree to a degree, but keep the downplaying of faster loading times to yourself.

I'm absolutely thrilled that the SSDS are here and that loading times will be reduced or eliminated on some cases.

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1861d ago Replies(11)
timotim1861d ago

Even though Microsoft absolutely made the best decision for consumers and gamers by supporting all there platforms for the next year and some change with first party... I like the fact that Series X is still getting exclusives on the console side from 3rd party...even at this early stage.

N2NOther1861d ago

On paper it's a good decision but clearly the games are being held back by being able to run on current gen hardware so while it helps folks who don't want to upgrade at launch, people that do are getting gimped games for the sake of the stragglers.

timotim1861d ago

On paper? What does that even mean??? Its a good decidsion for the consumer...period. Thats all that needs to be said. And clearly you have no idea whats being held back without even seeing a single game yet in action on next gen and being able to compare it with that of previous generation...until that happens, youre clearly talking out your ass. The Halo Infinite Slip Space Engine is designed for next gen experiences as an example. It will shine most on next gen platforms.

Noskypeno1861d ago

Was BF4 gimped down because it was on xbox 360 as well? Was Crysis not superior on PC because of the console versions? Now you can say what about game mechanics that are held back, im sure the 360 version of BF 4 didnt have the destruction or player count of the One and ps4 versions, and same thing with the physics of Crysis. And with a Halo game what kind of mechanics can you even think of that are worthy of being next gen only, most fans just want a simple game because the last couple disappointed fans trying to do something that isnt halo, we dont need it to be bigger than No Mans Sky or Minecraft, we just want Halo and if they can offer a little more exploration thats fine.

safyiirx1860d ago

That’s why it’s called next gen. You’re either in or out. Wait til you upgrade.

DJStotty1860d ago

"On paper it's a good decision but clearly the games are being held back by being able to run on current gen hardware"

Current-gen? This is not available on the xbox one/X as stated in the article.

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The Wood1861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

I wouldn't be happy as a gamer or consumer if there's any concession made for the base xbox or PlayStation for a new console I just purchased for whatever the amount will be. Resources will have to be spent catering for all. Sorry bro not everyone is fine with that and I bet you the majority of 3rd party developers would prefer to focus on the new one powerful hardware than a base current gen console. Sorry, call me selfish but I want my purchase to be better in more ways that just visuals and from what I'm hearing there will be more improvements from ai, size, sound, physics, speed on top of various graphics tech. Get the best out of my purchase where you can please. . Why bother upgrade if its just more of the same

timotim1861d ago

Sure...we can go around and make up our own scenarios...I'm more interested in what will happen though, not what you've made up here. Again, we have yet to see any of these games in question on both current gen and next gen to determine just how different they are at this point. You say you want more than just visuals for next gen, yet performance, loadtimes, texture streaming, physics. sound can all be added to the next gen versions thus giving the gamer a vastly superior experience over current gen. More than just visually...giving you exactly what you want, yet also giving there millions of existing gamers a great experience on there current Xbox as well. Ill let Microsoft themselves explain to you though 😏✌🏾...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media...

1860d ago
Dragonscale1860d ago (Edited 1860d ago )

Its actually a really dumb idea lol. Its only because they are terrified of losing their current base they are doing it.

tontontam01861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

Oh!!! so this game is not on xbox one? But in the trailer they still put the logo saying optimized for xbox series "X",

I guess the rumored lower end xbox series "S" is true then. we will again see xbox fanboys who brags about the power of the series "X" but the truth is they only own the lower end series "S" .

Fishy Fingers1861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

I guess something. And based off that guess i already guess what some people will say.

I guess I guess. How internet facts are birthed. Its a beautiful thing.

GTgamer1861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

Same way you guessed that the ps5 didn't have hardware based ray tracing 😂😂😂

Fishy Fingers1861d ago (Edited 1861d ago )

Cute, emojii's. But think you're confused https://n4g.com/news/234138...

Doesnt have "dedicated" (eg. tensor cores) neither system actually do but will use CUs for hardware acceleration, unoptimal, but thats where more CU's will be handy... Wasnt a guess, just basic understanding of a GPU (backed up by a Killzone dev)

monkey6021861d ago

That makes absolutely no sense what so ever! So because theyve inserted a disclaimer to clarify which system it does run on, the absence of other fictional systems confirms their existence?! Wow!

tontontam01860d ago (Edited 1860d ago )

"That makes absolutely no sense what so ever! "

putting that logo on a game that is "supposedly" xbox series x console exclusive. makes absolutely no sense what so ever!.

your are like those xbox fanboys blurring the line between og xbox one and xbox one x. bashes the ps4 because of inferior hardware but amazingly they only own xbox one s.

monkey6021860d ago

You just like coming to wild conclusions dont you?

safyiirx1860d ago (Edited 1860d ago )

Yeah... optimized for series X. Couldn’t be anymore clear. You’re worried about the wrong things.

Pancit_Canton1861d ago

It looks like a xbox 360 game.

Kaedro1861d ago

You mean Pancit_Canton should have said that it looks like an OG Xbox game? Wow, even xbox fans are disappointed.

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70°

Proceed With Caution: Scariest Video Games on Xbox Series X/S

COG writes: Dim the lights, put on your headset, and prepare to embark on a heart-pounding journey into the scariest video games on the Xbox Series X/S.

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cogconnected.com
100°

The Medium TV Show Announced by Bloober Team

Bloober Team has announced that it will turning its psychological horror game The Medium into a TV show, though no details were provided.

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glitched.online
ReelBigMike984d ago

I wonder if the TV will lean heavily on that same split-screen mechanic. Not sure if it would work, but it would definitely be interesting.

rlow1983d ago

I think that would be the main selling point. It would set the show apart from others in its category.

coolbeans983d ago

Given techniques like split diopter shots (seen a lot in De Palma films) or splicing different takes in editing, there's way to incorporate a similar split-screen effect.

Deathdeliverer983d ago

For the first time ever I feel like a tv show could be infinitely better than the game. Man that game was a dumpster fire of boredom.

Petebloodyonion983d ago

I do think there's nice untapped potential for a Tv show with a six-sense vibe.
Call me crazy but I'm one of the few who did enjoy the plot of the game and finished it.
Was it perfect hell no but nice and refreshing hell yeah.

coolbeans983d ago (Edited 983d ago )

-"Call me crazy but I'm one of the few who did enjoy the plot of the game and finished it."

Don't let the most vocal of this site fool you: you're in the majority for those who actually played it.

monkey602983d ago

If you guys enjoyed it, then good for you but Bloober has a history of writing trauma themes into their plot and handling it horribly. The Medium was particularly problematic. People aren't advocating against Bloober for no reason.

coolbeans983d ago (Edited 983d ago )

@monkey602

-"...Bloober has a history of writing trauma themes into their plot and handling it horribly."

As someone who's played almost all of their recent main games to some extent (Layers of Fear 2 excluded), they are inconsistent writers. Blair Witch had some rough execution for example.

-"The Medium was particularly problematic."

It has moments of shock value that harm the overall experience, but there's actually meaningful subtext buried here. Whenever I see the term "problematic" I reflexively wonder how much that accusation is fueled by reddit's subculture or whatever. By today's standard, Silent Hill 2 would get dinged for being problematic despite that... being the entire point. Bloober's applying a 'trauma begets trauma' motif through its world by incorporating the ravages done to Poland by Nazis and Communists. There are legit reasons why all of these pieces are in place and how they're explored is done in earnestness. I've seen some otherwise solid people, like Gene Park, critique it but I think he misunderstands some of its crucial context.

Not the best of last year, but it was well within its right for '21 writing nominations.

monkey602983d ago

I'm definitely not trying to be the voice of a new generation here. And I'm definitely not against using sensitive themes for setting and plot. But the conclusion Bloober came to with their themes in The Medium was incredibly jarring and poorly crafted.

I'm not going to deep dive into it, it is spoiler territory and I wouldn't want to ruin it for someone who would enjoy it.
But I played 2 games last year that absolutely botched what they set out to achieve in narrative. The Medium was one, The Suicide of Rachel Foster was the other.

coolbeans983d ago (Edited 983d ago )

-"But the conclusion Bloober came to with their themes in The Medium was incredibly jarring and poorly crafted."

I guess there's just going to be a hard disagree between us then. It ranks up there with Observer as far as Bloober's storytelling goes and it gave me more optimism about their heavily rumored Silent Hill project/remake. I can understand not wanting to get into details here, but I'm down for an extended convo via PM. It just might take a while for me to respond.

-"But I played 2 games last year that absolutely botched what they set out to achieve in narrative. The Medium was one, The Suicide of Rachel Foster was the other."

It's weird b/c I'm with you on Rachel Foster and its "Legal Lolita" angle too. I'd almost argue there's a yin/yang disparity between them with regards to handling their themes. *MAYBE* not black and white difference per se - Medium has some issues, but something closer to a black and... beige.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 983d ago
porkChop983d ago

Hmm. That actually makes a lot of sense. I could see the dual reality split screen being used in some scenes. That would provide some pretty incredible visuals that we don't normally get in films or tv shows.

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180°

Amazon Slashes Up To 75% Off On Several Action Adventure, RPG & Simulation Games

Daily Video Game writes: "The online retailer Amazon is running a new game sale that has decent discounts on several action-adventure, RPG, and simulation games across multiple gaming platforms! If you're looking to pick up new games this weekend, this is your chance to get them with up to 75% off!"

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dailyvideogame.com
After10Ben1029d ago

$30 for Crusader Kings 3 for the PS5 is a great deal. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.