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Designing Deathloop’s Colt & Julianna

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Many aspects of Deathloop have gone through changes since we started this project, but through this entire process, we’ve had our main characters, Colt and Julianna, to serve as our guiding lights. From the earliest stages of the development, we knew who we wanted them to be and how we wanted them to act and react. We created their personalities, quirks and flaws. And, of course, we crafted absolutely badass designs for them. 

Remembering where we come from

The first thing we think about when starting research on a new project is what we want to retain from our previous titles and what we want to push in other directions. Many people know us for the Dishonored franchise and its unique and identifiable art style. We strive to constantly keep our artistic style evolving and maturing, while still maintaining what makes it unique and “Arkane-y.” 

In the case of Deathloop we wanted to keep some stylized cloth and anatomy, but we also wanted to introduce more realistic proportions and push the realism of our anatomy. We want our characters to feel like part of the world. They have a past and carry some heavy stories. Our style aims at highlighting our characters’ personalities, while idealizing certain proportions. We maintain clear shapes and readable lines and avoid visual noise, high frequencies and unnecessary details. We usually invest several months in the early stages of the project into finding the right balance between stylized and realistic when it comes to volumes, textures and materials. We want the characters to be readable from a distance, yet detailed and rich when you get close to them. 

Viewing the 1960s through the Arkane lens

When Art Director Sebastien Mitton suggested grounding Deathloop in the 1960s, the idea resonated with the team straight away. We had spent a decade in the Victorian era with the Dishonored series, and this was a refreshing change for the studio. We saw the 1960s as a fantastic playground to develop new visual ideas. However, each of us have our own visual culture and understanding of the 1960s. It took some time and absorbing conversations to grasp how we wanted to design an Arkane take on the 1960s. 

We gathered hundreds of references and looked at important figures from the fashion world of the 1960s. Courrèges’ clothing, Pierre Cardin’s vibrant colors, Vidal Sassoon’s distinctive hair styling, and many, many more. We developed some specific types of materials representative of the 1960s, like the glitter material you can see on certain weapons and characters, or the translucent plastic from some of the sculptures present on the island. 

The birth of Colt and Julianna

Julianna and Colt were conceived as a stylish fighting duo. We knew from the beginning that the characters would have tons of dialogue and interaction with one another, and we wanted them both to look equally elegant and engaging. 

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PlayStation Now games for September: Tekken 7, Killing Floor 2, Final Fantasy VII, Windbound

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Epic adventures, fantastical lands, daring heroics and thrilling combat awaits PlayStation Now members this month, with a mammoth new selection of titles available to play starting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 7.

Let’s check out each of the games in turn.

PlayStation Now games for September: Tekken 7, Killing Floor 2, Final Fantasy VII, Windbound

Tekken 7*

Discover the epic conclusion of the Mishima clan and unravel the reasons behind each step of their ceaseless fight. Tekken 7 features stunning story-driven cinematic battles and intense duels that can be enjoyed with friends and rivals alike through innovative fight mechanics. Love, Revenge, Pride. Everyone has a reason to fight. Values are what define us and make us human, regardless of our strengths and weaknesses. There are no wrong motivations, just the path we choose to take.

●  Tekken 7 available until February 28, 2022

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PlayStation Now games for September: Tekken 7, Killing Floor 2, Final Fantasy VII, Windbound

Killing Floor 2

Combat vicious threats solo, or team up online in this first-person shooter. A failed experiment has given rise to monstrous creations that have torn through Europe. With governments collapsing, volunteers and mercenaries have banded together to protect the populace from the growing bio-threat,called Zeds, heading into hot zones to wipe them out and save civilization. 

Observational thriller Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View launches November 2 on PS5, PS4

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Hey everyone, I’m Pete Bottomley, Designer at White Paper Games, and I’m excited to be back on PS Blog with some big news. We’re thrilled to announce that Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is launching on PS5 and PS4 on November 2!

Observational thriller Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View launches November 2 on PS5, PS4

For those of you unfamiliar with our latest game, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a gripping observational thriller set in 1950s England. When 8-year-old Charlotte May is reported missing from Dahlia View, retired detective Robert Conway searches for the truth behind her disappearance, observing his neighbours from his apartment window and questioning their behaviour. As suspicions escalate, Conway launches his own investigation into Charlotte May’s disappearance, following leads, uncovering new evidence, and piecing the case together on an unpredictable path to the truth.

We designed Conway around three core gameplay loops to observe and profile suspects: Observation, Search and Evidence Review. During the Observation sequences, Conway observes the Dahlia View estate through the lens of his camera to watch his neighbours and photograph suspicious activities. With the DualSense Wireless Controller’s adaptive triggers, you’ll be able to feel the satisfying snap of a 1950’s camera as you photograph evidence and search Dahlia View for clues.

When the investigation leads Conway into his neighbours’ homes to follow up on leads and search for evidence, the DualSense’s haptic feedback will let you feel the texture and bumps of different surface types, like old cobblestone streets and creaking floorboards, adding to the immersion and suspense of Dahlia View.

The PS5 version will include two visual modes: a native 4K resolution mode for pin-sharp image quality and a Ray Tracing mode to experience the world of Dahlia View with enhanced fidelity.

Like they say, “you can never have too many skills”, and it’s the same in Torch City. The All Fur Society recently renovated a batch of the Legion terminals and gave furtizens access to learn mechanical skills. Just a small fee to pay for running costs. Extra Data Disks are also required to learn Advanced skills. You should pick up a few moves from these terminals when you see them, because they’ll definitely come in handy later on. You can even try to come up with your own style of combos.

3. Build up SP to unleash SP Skills

By the way, there are some special mechanical powers called “SP Skill.” SP skills are very powerful and can be mixed in with combos to add more variety to your fighting style. SP skills use up SP, but you can build SP up again by performing combos against the enemy. Collect Data Disks and use your SP skills with pride!

4. Don’t forget to grab some Carrot Juice

You are bound to get roughed up along the way. Take a drink of Carrot Juice to be right as rain again!

UPDATE: Pre-order Horizon Forbidden West now: Collector’s and Digital Deluxe Editions detailed

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Thursday was to be a celebration of Horizon Forbidden West and the amazing team at Guerrilla working to deliver it on February 18, 2022. However, it’s abundantly clear that the offerings we confirmed in our pre-order kickoff missed the mark.

Last year we made a commitment to deliver free upgrades for our cross-gen launch titles, which included Horizon Forbidden West. While the pandemic’s profound impact pushed Forbidden West out of the launch window we initially envisioned, we will stand by our offer: Players who purchase Horizon Forbidden West on PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version for free.

I also want to confirm today that moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive cross-gen titles (newly releasing on PS4 & PS5)–both digital and physical*–will offer a $10 USD digital upgrade option from PS4 to PS5. This will apply to the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, and any other exclusive cross-gen PS4 & PS5 title published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

— Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment

*To upgrade an eligible PS4 game on disc to the digital PS5 version, you will need a PS5 console with a disc drive. PS4 game discs can’t be used with the PlayStation®5 Digital Edition.

Horizon Forbidden West is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles on February 18, 2022! We were ecstatic to finally be able to share the release date with you last week during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live, and to see everyone’s reactions to our news. 

Pre-orders for the game are available now across the globe, so we wanted to share more details about the various editions that you can get your hands on. 

UPDATE: Pre-order Horizon Forbidden West now: Collector’s and Digital Deluxe Editions detailed

Horizon Forbidden West continues six months after the events of Horizon Zero Dawn. Aloy, a machine hunter, has travelled west to investigate a mysterious and deadly blight. In these uncharted lands, she will meet strange new tribes and encounter ever more deadly machines. Together with old friends and new companions, she must brave this new frontier to find the answers she needs to save life on Earth.

Now, let’s take a look at the pre-order options you have available for Horizon Forbidden West. By the way, if you pre-order any physical edition from participating retailers (region specific*) or any digital edition anywhere, you will receive the Nora Legacy Outfit and Spear to use in the game. You will be able to redeem these items vi

Share of the Week: Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut – Iki Island

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Last week, invited you to explore the sights of Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut using #PSshare #PSBlog. From flowering vistas and harrowing mountain peaks, here are this week’s highlights from the new region: 

We wouldn’t mind sharing a day on these beachy shores, shared by CDAsebastien203.

The sun frames a younger Jin in this red-strained shot by calisarah1998.

Jin stands beneath a beautiful blooming tree, shared by photomodeoftsu1.

An enemy is thrown through the air in this stormy shot by justinphotomode.

record_photo shares one of the Iki Island monkeys.

Jin climbs to a mountain peak, shared by posts_ghost.

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Ghost of Tsushima: Legends
SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on September 8

Next week, we’re celebrating the standalone launch of Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. Gather your clan and share daring moments using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. 

The Outlast Trials “is like a TV series”, offering new challenges for players and developer alike

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The Outlast Trials was one of the more surprising announcements made during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live Show. Reconfiguring the horror thrills of the first-person survival series into a cooperative multiplayer experience may be an unexpected direction for the series’ third entry, but according to developer Red Barrels – behind every game to date – it’s in keeping with the studio’s drive to challenge itself with each new iteration. Here, it sheds some more light on the upcoming title, coming to PlayStation in the future. 

What is the Tweet-length elevator pitch for this game?

In The Outlast Trials, you’ve been abducted by the Murkoff Corporation to go through unethical experiments that will modify your psyche and behavior. Whether you go through the trials by yourself or in teams, if you survive long enough, Murkoff will happily let you return into society… but will you be the same?

What would you consider the new key gameplay innovation for this title, and what sets it apart from other games in the team-based multiplayer horror genre as well as the previous Outlast entries?

This time, you can choose to survive with friends. If the previous games could be compared to movies, The Outlast Trials is more like a TV Series. Your journey to freedom will be a long one.

Why is now the right time for this reveal?

We simply wanted to give our fans an update and the unfortunate news that we have to delay the release into 2022. We’re getting closer than ever, but we need more time to refine the game. With each game, we try to give ourselves a new challenge and The Outlast Trials is no exception.

“There are a dozen warehouses, connected by underground tunnels. Inside the warehouses, Murkoff has constructed heightened lift-sized models of real-world environments.” 

What do you hope players will feel when playing this game?

Whether they play alone or with friends, we want players to feel like they’re fighting for their lives and their right to freedom. But can you have freedom of the body without freedom of the mind?

How would you describe the game’s art design, and what were some of the inspirations behind it?

The approach used is the same as the previous Outlast games… twisted realism, decadence, and in-your-face gore.  

How are you designing the main characters in a way that will appeal and connect with players?

Iconic nemeses are part of the Outlast DNA, and this time we have more variety than ever. Players will get to know many weird, dangerous, and violent characters. Although they’re also victims of Murkoff, most of them are definitely more than happy to prevent you from completing the program.

What game engine is this being built in, and what advantages does that give you?

Outlast 1 and 2 were made in Unreal Engine 3. This time, we’re using Unreal Engine 4. UE4 definitely played a big part in our prototyping phase. We were able to test new ideas and iterate pretty quickly.

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“In between the trials, Reagents return to the Sleep Room, where Murkoff takes good care of them. Reagents can interact with Murkoff employees to

Ghost of Tsushima: The music of Iki Island

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Chad Cannon (left) Bill Hemstapat (right) photo by Justin Fields

It was a tremendous pleasure to reunite with Chad Cannon to compose new music for Iki Island, the new territory included in Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut. Chad and I worked very closely while arranging and orchestrating Shigeru Umebayashi’s “Tsushima Suites” for the game’s original release and really enjoyed that collaboration. As was the case with the original score, we were incredibly fortunate to have some of the best musicians in Japan, China, Nashville, and Los Angeles contribute to these new pieces. Many of these talented individuals are featured in this blog, speaking about their performance and the instruments used on the recordings. We hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the music.  

A deeper dive on Jin Sakai

The story of Iki Island is personal, focusing on a traumatic chapter from Jin Sakai’s past. With this in mind, we wanted to make sure that the music was reflective of the heart and soul of the character, Jin himself.

Ilan Eshkeri wrote an incredibly emotional and iconic theme for Jin. The piece served as a “call to adventure” for the players of the original game to immerse themselves in the world and for Jin to begin his journey towards becoming The Ghost. With the Iki Island story, both Chad and I sensed an opportunity to add a greater dimension to Jin Sakai by exploring different ways of adapting and expanding Ilan’s brilliant theme. 

The result of our exploration is the piece “The Tale of Clan Sakai,” which represents Jin, his father, and other Samurai with the Sakai name. It explores the very heart and soul of the emotional baggage Jin has to carry; not only is he the last samurai on Tsushima, but the last of the entire Sakai clan. 

The piece features the Biwa, an instrument used by Ilan in “Heart of the Jito” in the original game. Although, in this new version of Jin’s theme, we are using the Chikuzen-style Biwa instead of the better-known Satsuma-style Biwa. Chikuzen-Biwa was traditionally performed by Buddhist monks instead of the Samurai. The monks used it for storytelling and ceremony rather than for practicing discipline. 

From Chad:

“Bill and I were super excited to involve a Chikuzen-style Biwa player from Fukuoka named Cyouka Ogata. Ogata Sensei was really happy to be involved in the Tsushima score, having grown up around the Mongol invasion sites. She introduced Bill and me to her instruments over Zoom and then worked with us over a couple of months, sending us samples of her playing different ideas, trying things out, etc. Check out her video! She went and played the Jin Sakai theme on the Hakata beaches, where some of the Mongol fights took place!”

Lost Judgment pre-order and post-launch details revealed

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Hi everyone! Sega is excited to reveal all the details of the additional content found in the Digital Deluxe and Digital Ultimate Editions of Lost Judgment, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s upcoming action noir thriller launching September 24!

Quick-Start Support Pack

First up we have the Quick-Start Support Pack. This useful kit comes with all pre-orders and will be available at launch so you can hit the ground running. Inside you’ll find handy health items to assist you in battle while you practice using the new Snake style, as well as some impressive Extract recipes that you can use to create temporary combat buffs. The included Wayfarer’s Lucky Cat not only looks great on display in Yagami’s office, but it’ll also pad your wallet with extra yen the farther you travel in-game. 

Detective Essentials Pack

Pre-order the Digital Deluxe or Digital Ultimate Editions to also receive the Detective Essentials Pack at launch. Fans of the new detective dog pal will be able to “adopt” an additional three colours of shiba inu to choose from: white, black, and rust. 

Retro gaming fans will also be pleased to see four additional Master System games to play. Adding Global Defense, Alien Syndrome, Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, and Sagaia brings the total up to twelve classic SEGA titles to reminisce over!

This pack even includes the futuristic Hover Drive hoverboard to get around town accompanied by a new outdoor skate park. Just make sure you save your most impressive moves for later as you might want to take one of the three new additional characters on a date that come with the Detective Essentials Pack! 

In the combat department, Yagami will be able to craft six new Extracts that grant temporary boosts with extraordinary abilities such as telekinesis! Additionally, Shin Amon becomes a new opponent in The Gauntlet challenge mode. Test your might!  

School Stories Expansion Pack

Coming October 26 for those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe or Digital Ultimate Edition, the School Stories Expansion Pack enriches your school club experience. Spar with Yagami’s associates—Kaito, Sugiura and Higashi—in the boxing ring, and take a new bike gang motorcycle (including new parts), for a spin on the new race course.

Strut your stuff with a fresh new dance costume, as well as learning some new moves to take your dance team to the top! If you’ve still got some energy left after all that, head over to the Robotics Club where a new Yagami-bot awaits your command.

As if that wasn’t enough, take your newfound boxing talent from the ring to the streets with a fourth fighting style that joins Yagami’s base martial arts styles – Boxing! 

Marvel’s Midnight Suns gameplay reveal

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Just a week after we announced Marvel’s Midnight Suns at Gamescom we’re excited to share more details as well as a first look at gameplay. In today’s trailer you get a glimpse at our turn-based tactical combat as well as at a number of other gameplay features that empower you to interact with iconic Marvel characters in ways that you never have before.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns gameplay reveal

All of the Marvel characters in Midnight Suns have new looks, but if you’re a Marvel fan I’m sure you recognized most of them right away. One that you won’t be familiar with though is our protagonist, the Hunter, who is an all-new, customizable hero created specifically for this game. Today’s gameplay trailer alludes to the Hunter’s deep backstory, and you can uncover more of it by exploring the grounds of the Abbey, a centuries-old fortress hidden in Salem, Massachusetts that serves as the Midnight Suns’ secret base. 

While spending time at the Abbey between missions you can pay a visit to Tony Stark and Doctor Strange. Between them there’s not much they don’t know about engineering and the supernatural, and with the right resources they can create all manner of upgrades for you and even for the Abbey itself. Forging friendships with members of the Midnight Suns is also an important part of the game. Invite allies to hang out with you and, depending on how they feel about your choice of location or activity as well as your responses during conversations, you can unlock powerful combo abilities and passive bonuses that come into play when you fight alongside them. 

Turn-based tactical battles in Midnight Suns are very different to those in our XCOM games, and not only because you’re controlling a team of superheroes. One of the features that we’re most excited about is the way that we’ve mapped the heroes’ powerful abilities to cards. Being dealt a new hand of these cards every turn forces you to think on your feet, and outside of battles there are opportunities for you to customize each hero’s combat deck. Furthermore, cards can be upgraded and modified to include new effects or create synergies with different heroes. Factor in choosing which heroes you want to take into each mission and the possibilities are endless!

If you were paying close attention to the gameplay trailer you might also have noticed that character positioning and interactive environments have important roles to play during battles. When Wolverine uses his Power Slash attack, its Knockback effect creates an opportunity to cause extra damage to the target provided you’re able to send them careening into something. Better yet, if you cause your target to forcefully collide with another enemy they’ll bo

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