Variety got the list of nominees for the Writers Guild’s Best Writing in a Videogame 2008 award, and well, I’ll get right to it:

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (EA). Writer: Haris Orkin. Story Producer: Mical Pedriana.

Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble! (Mousechief). Writing: Keith Nemitz. Additional Writing: Adrianne Ambrose.

Fallout 3 (Bethesda). Lead Writer: Emil Pagliarulo. Quest Writing: Erik J. Caponi, Brian Chapin, Jon Paul Duvall, Kurt Kuhlmann, Alan Nanes, Bruce Nesmith, and Fred Zeleny. Additional Quest Writing: Nate Ellis, William Killeen, Mark Nelson, and Justin McSweeney.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts). Writers: Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey.

Tomb Raider: Underworld (Eidos). Story: Eric Lindstrom and Toby Guard. Screenplay: Eric Lindstrom.

It’s an…interesting list to say the least. There are some things to bear in mind here, though. First, far from every game is written under WGA guidelines by WGA writers. It’s a relatively new medium for the WGA (last year was the first time this award was offered), as story has only recently become a dominating factor in games. While there have been games using deep detailed stories for a couple generations of games now, with the current generation even racing games like Need for Speed have been heavily driven (no pun intended) by their stories. Also, for WGA awards, the first nomination needs to come from the writers, developers, or producers of the game. So, of the few that were WGA based, even fewer moved into the nomination pool.

Digressing, of the nominees I’d say the competition is likely between Fallout 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Fallout 3’s sheer scope, offering multiple dialogue paths and personal choices is intimidating. The Force Unleashed, though, told the best acted out Star Wars story since the original trilogy, and did so with an important, in-cannon tale.

[Via]

Funcom’s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures drew some attention for several reasons when it was released in May 2008. It was a Mature rated MMORPG (yes, that means vicious violence and bare breasts), it had a more realistic visual flare than most MMOs (based quite a bit on the look established in the Conan comic book), and it had a nearly 30 gigabyte install. Well now, less than seven months after its release, the MMO is getting attention, but likely not the kind Funcom hoped for. It seems server load is much lighter than they were hoping, and to increase interaction between players, they’re closing over 60% of the servers worldwide.

This is actually good news for those playing the game. With only one U.S. player-versus-player (PVP) server and two mission servers (PVE), players can expect to see many more possible friends and foes running around than they currently do.

The closures come in the midst of a recession in the U.S. that seems to be expanding worldwide; this obviously is not the ideal economic climate for a pay-monthly-to-play game. Of course, World of Warcraft continues to fly in the face of this, proving that if you just make the experience fun and accessible enough, people will continue to support it. Steep system requirements and the M rating have likely restricted the game’s growth more than anything else, so this doesn’t spell doom for MMOs just yet. With City of Heroes recently released for Mac, and Champions Online and DCUniverse Online coming later this year, the future still looks bright for more-piggers.

[via GI.Biz]

Activision today launched an official website for the game version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine at Uncaged.com. The game is being developed by Raven Software, whose previous Marvel Superhero work can be seen in the X-Men Legends games and the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance. The site is pretty bare bones for now, featuring a 360 degree version of the screenshot seen here, a link to 1UP’s first look coverage of the game (which was featured in what is now known to be the final print issue of EGM, sob), a new forum where fans can talk to producers and developers, and a “slash counter.” By moving your mouse down the logo in the middle of the screen, you can slash it apart with Wolverine’s claws. Once the slash counter reaches “numbers to their liking,” according to the press release, Raven will put up more info about the game. So go start slashing away, and hopefully the game will be as good as EGM was optimistic about it.

The New York Comiccon has announced a tentative lineup of its panel schedule!

Here are some of the highlights for this year’s programming:

The Do’s and Don’ts of Being a Comic Professional: Creating the work is one thing, but what should you keep in mind in order to present yourself well to an editor? Do personality and rapport play a part in how you’re perceived? What’s the difference between a pro’s attitude and a novice’s? How do you balance doing quality work with making the deadline? What’s the proper way to pitch? (Friday, 2-3pm)

BOOM! Studios: BIG! BOLD! BOOM! Join Mark Waid, Ross Richie, and Chip Mosher as they run down the most exciting new projects at BOOM! Including a special announcement by Mark Waid that is sure to make your head explode! (Friday, 2:15-3:15)

(more…)

I’m not usually one who likes to report on reporting, but we have something of an ongoing discussion here recently. The state of print media has been called into question more seriously over the past several years, as the internet continues to expand and things like iPhones and Blackberrys allow people to be directly connected to a constant stream of information. Whether it’s monthly comic books, newspapers, or magazines, no corner of print seems entirely safe.

After recent rumors, and several months of closeout sales by Ziff Davis Media following their Chapter 11 filing last summer, What They Play had a story today saying 1UP.com, the online source for video game news tied to long standing magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) (and until recently several other magazines) has been sold. The buyer is Hearst Corp, who already owns and operates UGO.com, itself reputed to have had financial difficulties in the past several months, including layoffs and long time contracted employees being reduced to freelancer status. Hearst’s plan, according to the report, is to fold 1UP into UGO, re-expanding the gaming section of the site. EGM comes along as part of the sale, and Hearst plans to make the issue currently in production the final issue of the magazine.

Now, 1UP.com has confirmed the sale of the site and its related properties, but has yet to comment on the future of EGM. As the sources got the first part of the story right, odds are the rest is, as well. The magazine was started in 1989. It leaves in its wake Gamepro and Game Informer as the last two major multiplatform gaming magazines published in the U.S.

UPDATED: January 7:

Joystiq has a list of employees laid off as a result of the merger. Included in the list are Shane Bettenhausen and James Mielke, two high profile EGM employees, including the now former Editor-in-Chief of EGM. This is noted as confirmation that EGM is, in fact, done. The full list can be seen here.

One of three things is necessary for you to enjoy the next minute and twelve seconds of your life. A knowledge of the Japanese language, a love for everything Street Fighter, or a love for kicking and explosions. If you happen to have all three, well, you’re in for a special kind of treat. Enjoy!

Well hot damn! Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros Interactive really want to make a good realistic Batman game. Lego Batman was tons of fun and all, but obviously geared to the funny. The graphics looked great, and the first trailer seems pretty cool, but now the best news yet about the game has come in the form of casting. Mark Hamill will reprise his role as The Joker, and Kevin Conroy will once again provide his trademark grit as Batman. They played the roles in the landmark Batman: The Animated Series, amongst other games and productions.

Cast, graphical prowess, and in-motion sequences are all a go, now we just have to wait for a chance to play it. So far so good, though, hopefully they can pull off the seemingly impossible. As of right now, I’ll remain cautiously optimistic.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is due next summer on PS3, Xbox360, and PC.

[Via Joystiq]

Activision has released this shiny promo image and a little bit of new information on the game that’ll come out next May alongside the movie of the same name. Raven Software (X-Men Legends 1 & 2, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Jedi Knight 2 and 3, etc.) is handling development on the game, which takes players from Wolverine’s “escape of the Weapon X Facility to the jungles of Africa and beyond.”

The game promises to let gamers not just experience Wolvie’s berserker rages, but also use all his other abilities. Wolverine will take damage, showing wounds and healing in real time while you play. Players will also use his heightened senses to “uncover hidden dangers” and hunt down enemies.

Previous games featuring Wolverine solo have frankly fallen pretty flat, but Raven’s résumé has been close to flawless the last few years. No word yet on whether any of the other Marvel characters announced for the movie will be playable characters in the game, but as the game will primarily follow the movie’s plot, you can bet on them at least appearing.

Atari’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes (See, there’s hope for you, Midway!) continues with the announcement today that they have acquired Cryptic Studios. Famed Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, according to Brian Reed’s Twitters, is a big fan of City of Heroes/Villains, Cryptic’s well known entry into the MMO world. Coming up, they have three new MMOs: Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and an as-yet-unnamed one. The similarly-themed superhero MMO Champions Online is first up in 2009. They follow that up the following year (dated for the first time officially here) with Star Trek Online in 2010. The mystery MMO will follow that in 2011, helping the short attention span set continue their MMO habits.

Atari also gets to use Cryptic’s technology in other games, though none were specifically mentioned. A bit under $27 million was the going price for the Studio, with bonuses for performance allowed for along the next few years.

Overall, this is a tremendous move for Atari, and Cryptic is one of the closest to a “sure thing” that exists in the game industry right now. Their base technology has been praised as easy-to-use, with playable internal demos of Star Trek Online, for example, being made in just a few weeks, as opposed to the year or more of development usually required, especially for an MMO. Between this, and the official announcement that they’ll be publishing Ghostbusters The Game next summer, it’s been a good couple months for the company that nearly died completely just a couple years ago.

[Source: GI.Biz]

Midway Games, who have had some well documented financial problems in the last several months, has now hired what is essentially a last chance company, Lazard Ltd. (who hopefully have the same affect as a Lazarus Pit), to try to help them get out of their latest problem. The company, which was just sold off for $100,000 and a whole bunch of debt, is now being told it’s about to default on $240 MILLION in loans. The Chicago Tribune, covering its hometown company, has more:

According to the regulatory filing, the change in ownership triggers provisions in two series of Midway bonds that allow bondholders to ask for full repayment. Midway said it expects all of its bondholders to request this option. This would require Midway to pay out $150 million, an amount that the company said it would not be able to furnish based on its current liquidity.

So, essentially, the sale of the company that some looked to as hope for a change and a ressurection is actually what’s queued up this latest problem. What’s more perplexing is later in the article, where the Trib notes that Mark Thomas, the private investor who made the purchase, has gone on record as wanting no management control in the company. Why exactly do you buy a seeming sinking ship if not to personally plug the holes?

I am an unabashed, hardcore fan of Nerdcore Hip-Hop. For the uninitiated, Nerdcore is a movement by underground do-it-yourselfers who happen to be nerds and geeks, seeking to bring storytelling and topical conversation back to hip-hop. You won’t hear raps about guns and hos in these rhymes. Instead you’re more likely to hear about Star Wars, video games, comic books, and the latest technology. Being a fan of such rappers as MC Lars, MC Frontalot, YTCracker, Optimus Rhyme, and many others, I was excited to hear that RAVAGE aka MeccaGodZilla sparked a new personality, Ryu Black, for a single about Chun Li that will be followed by an album in 2009. The entire album will be Street Fighter themed, in honor of the Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li movie coming next year, along with Street Fighter IV. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, besides having the awesomest title of any game in recent memory, just came out on PSN and Xbox LIVE, as well. Check out the killer love song to Chun Li at THIS LINK HERE and head HERE for more of RAVAGE’s beats.

This trailer for the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum game gives a virtual tour of the Asylum’s facility. Sorry, no actual gameplay in this footage since it’s only a teaser.

Tiscali Games has the first screenshots from the upcoming Watchmen video game from Warner Bros. Interactive, Watchmen: The End is Nigh.

Developed by Deadline Games for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, the episodic game follows Rorschach and Nite Owl in 1972. The first game will be released in March, around the time of the movie’s debut. A sequel is planned to coincide with the release of the Watchmen DVD.

(via Slashfilm)

… flying into the middle of what looks like could be a really fun Peanuts game:

According to Joystiq, the game doesn’t have a publisher yet, and it won’t be done until 2010. Rats.

On the heels of a pair of high-profile firings from NBC’s Heroes comes news that Ubisoft is dropping plans for a video game based on the once red-hot TV series.

“The rights to the Heroes video game have reverted back to NBC Universal,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told MTV’s Multiplayer blog. “Ubisoft will no longer produce a video game based on the TV series.”

The game had been announced in July 2007, when the show was riding high after a well-received first season. But that was before producers dropped the ball with Season 2 — it was, perhaps thankfully, shortened by the writers’ strike — and NBC canceled the planned Heroes: Origins spinoff series.

According to Variety, Heroes is averaging 10.4 million viewers, a drop of 21 percent. Still, it’s NBC’s highest-performing scripted series.

Here’s a Halloween treat for fans of LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Ace of Cakes and Food Network Challenge: a behind-the-scenes video detailing the creation of that fantastic Gotham City cake we blogged about last week.

(Via The Feed)

Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, of Penny Arcade fame, have been making an online storybook based on the characters in the upcoming Prince of Persia game. (hat tip: The Ephemerist)

Comedian Rich Kuras ventures inside the World of Warcraft to gauge opinions on Election ‘08. How many electoral votes does Azeroth have, anyway?

(Via Andrew Sullivan)

Here’s a new trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. the DC Universe that offers a glimpse at the game’s story:

Remember that video I posted about back in August that featured the Joker’s fatality move in the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game? (It’s been awhile, so go watch it … I’ll wait).

Well, it’s been altered for the final game, per a discussion the gaming blog Kotaku had with Midway’s Ed Boon. In order to be rated “T” for teens, they’ve had to make some changes to the game. Kotaku writes:

We asked Midway’s Ed Boon about the difficulty in getting that T-rating, something he said the team has been working closely with the ESRB on. They’ve sent “at least three” submissions to the ESRB, going in with something that’s full of M-rated content, getting feedback and “scaling it back.”

Another Fatality that’s seen some revision was Kitana’s, one that involved her opponent being impaled by her trademark blade-fans. Initially, the first fan went into the torso, the other into the forehead. That second was a T-rating no-no. Double fans delivered to the chest, however, that’s a T-rated way to end someone’s life.

It kind of makes you wonder why they don’t just release a mature-rated “director’s cut” at some point.