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First Playable 2022

Italian Video Game Awards

International Industry Leaders Celebrate a lot of Talent!

Milan, 9 June 2022: Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association (IIDEA), Italy’s video game trade body representing the national games industry and fostering the growth and development of the sector, is proud to announce the nominees of this year’s prestigious Italian Video Game Awards. The ceremony is set to air in July on the opening night of First Playable 2022; originally the premier international gaming B2B event in Italy, First Playable is making an in-person return following the pandemic for its 4th edition of bringing together the Italian games industry.

In addition to the trio of categories whose nominees are listed below, the Italian Video Game Awards will also bestow recognition on the worthy winners of Outstanding Italian Company and Outstanding Individual Contribution.

“There’s so much talent in the Italian games industry, it’s a privilege to play a role in championing and celebrating it”, said Thalita Malagò, General Manager at IIDEA. “The Italian Video Game Awards put the spotlight on the growth and excellence of our industry. Seeing the work that’s being produced, by larger studios and indie developers alike, it’s clear that the future of Italy’s games industry is bright.”

The jury for this year’s awards was built on a foundation of different perspectives, from both games industry figureheads and leading specialized members of the press. Renowned game developer, studio founder and consultant Rami Ismail, ex-PlayStation Access host and currently Head of Influencers and Engagement at Frontier Developments Hollie Bennett, and Jon Goddard of metaverse developer Lockwood Publishing and formerly Jagex brought their vast industry experience and expertise to the judging panel.

Leaders in specialist video game media approached the judging process with their broad, industry-wide scope of knowledge to access submissions to the highest standards. MCV/DEVELOP’s Editor Richie Shoemaker, Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+ Sam Loveridge and Vikki Blake whose work can be seen across some of the world’s largest games B2B and B2C outlets including BBC, Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, MTV and PC Gamer formed the second half of the 2022 jury.

With the judges having evaluated submissions and cast their votes, here are the chosen nominees (in alphabetical order) for the Italian Video Game Awards 2022:

Best Italian Game

  1. Dice Legacy by DESTINYbit
  2. Faraday Protocol by Red Koi Box
  3. Hot Wheels Unleashed by Milestone
  4. Martha is Dead by LKA
  5. Vesper by Cordens Interactive
Italian Video Game Awards

Best Italian Debut

  1. Angry Giant by Jokerrsoft
  2. Faraday Protocol by Red Koi Box
  3. Nostalgici Anonimi by Hufu Interactive Storytelling
  4. RiMS Racing by RaceWard Studio
  5. Vesper by Cordens Interactive
Italian Video Game Awards - Chris Jones Gaming

Best Innovation

  1. CUCCCHI by Fantastico Studio
  2. Dice Legacy by DESTINYbit
  3. Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator by Broken Arms Games
  4. Martha is Dead by LKA
  5. Vesper by Cordens Interactive

You can check out the nominations for this year’s awards, and read about the jury, over at www.firstplayable.it/italian-video-game-awards/. The Italian Video Game Awards ceremony will take place on 5th July at 6pm BST/7pm CEST, hosted by internationally revered games industry presenters, and will be available to stream in English via FirstPlayable – Twitch.

Italian Video Game Awards - supported by Chris Jones Gaming
V Rising Chris Jones Gaming

V Rising

Skövde, Sweden – 30th May, 2022

Stunlock Studios Discusses their Next Steps after V Rising’s Early Access Launch gets to 1 million Copies!

Devs thank their fans and release an update on what’s in store for V Rising

Stunlock Studios has published their latest Dev Update discussing V Rising’s next steps after it’s hugely successful Early Access launch which has sold over 1 million copies and seen 150,000 concurrent users in it’s first weekend! As with all Early Access titles, there is a still a lot of work to do but the Stunlock Studios team are getting fully prepared for the journey ahead: 

“The release of V Rising has been met with overwhelming support, and we really can’t thank you all enough for joining us on this journey… and it will be a journey. Opening into Early Access is the first step we’re taking on the misty road to the game’s full release.”

Click for the official Developer Update

More on V Rising

V Rising is an open-world vampire survival game. Awaken as a weakened vampire from centuries of slumber and survive a world full of peril. As a vampire, you need to hunt for blood in nearby settlements to regain your strength and quench your thirst. Build and customize your castle, invite friends to join your clan, and convert humans to servants to grow your empire. Engage in real-time combat and compete for world domination with PvP and PvE challenges. Will you become the next Dracula?

V Rising

Stunlock Studios’ concept artists are already sketching possible future scenarios in V Rising.

Wishlist on Steam here
Visit our Website: https://playvrising.com/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stunlockstudios
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VRisingGame
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VRisingGame
Join the Discord server: https://discord.gg/bsSgmhMVSe

There has to be a reason this is doing so well – you should check it out!

Against The Storm

Against The Storm

Build Your City – Against the Storm coming to Steam and GOG Q4 2022, new update release is on Epic Now!

Lead intelligent beavers, lizards, harpies, and humans will establish a bastion against darkness

DALLAS, TX – 26th May 2022 – Hooded Horse is proud to announce the publishing of Against the Storm, a roguelite city builder developed by Eremite Games and set in a fantasy world where it never stops raining. Build endless settlements populated by intelligent beavers, lizards, harpies, and humans and upgrade your citadel while a recurring storm of darkness destroys outposts and reshapes the world.

Against The Storm

With hundreds of gameplay modifiers and 5 distinct biomes, every city location presents unique challenges for even the most resourceful Viceroy. Adjust your strategy to changing weather conditions and mix and match ingredients to take advantage of the resources at hand. You never know what wares the Trader will bring next year, and the forest hold treasures, resources… and ancient threats.

The game takes place in a fantasy medieval world where you play as the Viceroy of the Scorched Queen, tasked with rebuilding the Smoldering City – the only safe haven against a vile cycle of destruction ravaging everything in its path called the Blightstorm. In order to acquire the resources to rebuild, you must tame the wilderness, found endless settlements, and create supply networks while providing a good living for the beavers, lizards, harpies, and humans under your rule.

The game is currently available in Early Access on the Epic Games Store, and the Epic version of Against the Storm has received an update today revamping Trade Routes and introducing a new roguelite mechanic in the form of Timed Orders.

Timed Orders are challenging time-sensitive requests that provide large rewards if succesful but cause the permanent loss of reputation if they fail, encouraging players to experiment with different playstyles and production chains to achieve the objective.

Meanwhile, Trade Routes have been reworked into an export and diplomacy system, where nearby settlements procedurally generate requests for deliveries in exchange for Amber — a unique resource used to unlock new perks and technologies. Trade route offers increase as your relationship with settlements improve, and the goods take time to reach their destination, requiring the player to balance the cost and time of sending a caravan versus the rewards obtained.

Against the Storm is out in Early Access on Epic and it is coming to Steam and GOG in Q4 2022. The press kit for the game, including a downloadable version of the trailer, can be found here. For press inquiries, please contact press@hoodedhorse.com.

Knock knock knocking on Death’s Door

Death’s door is a stylized game with lovely graphics!

It’s to released on X-box S/X and steam in the coming future!

The movements of each character are unique, and the designs are stellar!

The textures used give depth to the already cute and easily-readable characters and environment. The isometric placement of the scenery and fight areas brings them an additional layer of depth in an already 3-D gamescape.

This game looks to a fun a fun romp through a lovingly crafted world, a will be one to look after.

From the Steam page

The Rewinder

Launching this fall on Steam is The Rewinder. Currently, a free Demo is available on Steam! This Game is based on Chinese folklore.

The colors are subdued, and the pastel palette focuses on more neutral colors. The backgrounds, even done in a pixel-art style, stay close to the art style seen in traditional paintings.

The forms of the characters are distinct, and the volume conveyed through the 2D art is nothing short of impressive.

The Sounds effects are excellent, and when the full thing is released, I hope that the story and gameplay are as elegant.

A screenshot of one of the scenes in the game: screencap from the game’s Steam page

How to Create Factions: Part 1

Starting with…

The World ready!

The easiest way to determine factions would be to simply split them by location, or world history.

Then, the conflict could revolve around gaining or maintaining territory, and that could include groups being pushed out of their original territories and then trying to take them back.

You can also split it by the each of the area’s history, using previous conflicts to shape the factions, i.e. political ones.

The Characters ready!

Build your factions around your characters’ core beliefs.

What do your characters care about? What is their worldview? What about the opposite?

With a focus on the characters, the creation of the factions can become integral to your OC’s story. Will they need to grow out of the faction? Will the faction grow and change as the character does? Will they leave one for another as their story moves forward?

And conversely: what does being in that faction say about the character? What does a monster being in a Hunter’s faction, for example, say about the monster? Are they guilty? Do they doubt their identity, or are they a wolf in Sheep’s clothing waiting to strike?

by Abby Zarakovich

Larger than Light

from their site

Larger than Light‘s gameplay takes full advantage of the medium its made for, with a playful style that’s a feat for the eyes.

The gentle pastels and harsh shadows don’t just look good: they’re used for gameplay! You maneuver Characters that represent both Shadow and Light source to traverse this puzzle-platformer.

You help the main characters Skia and Lux overcome their differences and bond as siblings as you adventure, and listen to their conversations as you go along. This game not only looks good, but also sounds good, with fully-voiced dialogue!

This game can also be found on steam, for the more than reasonable price of $4.99!

by Abby Zarakovich

Vivid Knight

This Upcoming game on Steam has all the cuteness of a mobile game paired with the dungeon crawl adventures found in early MMOs.

Vivid Knight fits its name and reunites the modern gatcha with it’s fantasy-based ancestor (the MUD).

It’s character designs (varied and colorful as the name implies) works well with the graphics that accompany the randomly-generated dungeons that are the base of the game.

Mixing and matching the crystals that represent characters let you fight mobs and move through the dungeon, moving your party and the story along.

Vivid Knight’s building on the respected genre of dungeon crawler may revive the fun that nerds in ages past have enjoyed for themselves, and bring the 8-bit style of game into a new era.

Overall Aesthetic: The gems and art style are cute, with good color choices!

Gameplay: As someone who like randomized dungeons, this is one that drew my eye: I like how some rooms are optional, and if you don’t want to do something, a whole bunch of room types have option to not engage.

from the game’s Steam page

START AGAIN: a prologue

How do you feel about Time loops, dear reader? Does the monotony of the same day over and over and over bore you to tears? Or does the hope to fix your mistakes blind you to the truth that the loop is whispering?

START AGAIN: a prologue has multiple endings, and is based on a series of short comics.

Providing a swift kick in the chest and eyes full of tears, you follow Siffrin in this story in the second person, and meet friends to help you on your quest.

Defeat monsters as you learn about the loop that has trapped you in it’s claws!

The game is available here!

From the Creator’s Tumblr

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

With an art style taken straight out of middle-aged engravings, this game is a fun twist on the recipe-style order games that litter both the mobile market and early 2000’s PC games.

In it you can create your own recipes, help the town, and interact with the customers going through your shop.

The game offers customization of your shop and an art style that immerses you entirely in your role as town alchemist.

The demo is free to play on Steam

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