Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors on Steam Deal world-ending combos and blitz through infested dungeons! Vampire Crawlers: the turbo wildcard from Vampire Survivors is a casual, turn‑based deckbuilder with roguelite elements. Master the Turbot...

That's game of the year number two

This is game of the year number one store.steampowered.com/app/3265700/...

Very excited for game of the year to launch tomorrow

The good old days!!!

Gonna say this in the rare moment where I’m far enough from a release:

Dear game journalists and pundits: Almost every important / cool / successful game you’ve ever raved about launched without genre defying concurrent numbers. I get that metrics are cool, but learn tracking

Ty! Honestly writing this all out is unlocking a lot of old thoughts I have about matchmaking and its association to the make-or-break nature of online multiplayer games - service-adjacent, but a different conversation

I'm sure there are myriad good reasons that an independent server-based online structure doesn't happen anymore, but that particular detail feels a little square/rectangle to me - all service games use matchmaking, but not all games with matchmaking are service games.

The tricky part of servers-turned-off also comes from a broader issue that all multiplayer games are built exclusively with in-house matchmaking. I'd argue once new weapons and content was getting added to Team Fortress 2, it was a service game - but at that early stage, it was still server-based.

IF FGs were online-only compatible, your definition would work. But given they're a genre that's intended for two people to sit down and play against each other directly, in-person play would (and does) keep FGs alive way past the end of their lives as service titles.

Fighting games have a sticker price and have long-tail expansion packs aka Season Passes, but modern FGs also do regular cosmetic content releases, limited-time events, and battle pass unlocks with free/paid tracks to juice potential player spend.

Cont.

Sure! Fighting games are... maybe a bit of a hybrid, but imo in-model.

- All (except 2xko and KI 2013) boxed products
- Ecosystem-wise, largely built around online play *though offline communities exist*
- Monetization comes from ongoing cosmetic purchases AND season passes (new characters/stages)

Imo an "if the company's server's got nuked the game isn't playable anymore" breaks on one of the genres that - again, imo - is near-exclusively service-based, fighting games

EX: Quake III Arena launched as a full-featured multiplayer game with no additional monetization. Not a live service game.

BUT, if the same Quake III Arena launched, and then continued to expand content via regular seasonal paid cosmetic battlepasses that you can earn or pay for, live service game.

Having a sticker price + live service definitely aren't mutually exclusive. But I do think service games are effectively dictated by the monetization structure, and what that requires:

- Seasonal content w/ battlepass
- Earn vs. spend, with a huge tilt towards spend
- Blind box pulls

Congrats on all your success <3 this looks very cool and interesting and I can't wait to play it

you gotta get your trades in *before* reporting it, obviously

The scene from wall-e with the humans in space, but it's actually the rest of earth sending them there so we can get on with our lives

Every year, I start anticipating @danfloydplus.bsky.social's Best Game Animation videos in November. And every year, I'm still surprised and delighted by the absolute gems he finds to showcase.

Dan's knowledge, enthusiasm, and principled takes are unmatched. You owe it to yourself to watch!

This triggered an age-old ritual of going down the street to get bagels and coffee that i can enjoy over a new frame plus video

DS games that use the touch screen are particularly charming - Pokémon Ranger games, The World Ends With You, Yoshi's Touch & Go, Edgeworth Investigations 1+2 (2 needs an EN patch though)

My most anticipated video of the year... is almost upon us

Thermite rifle is an inspired choice

If I ever find my way to chair guy or point guy, I'll call that a win

Evergreen

I haven't tried yet, but the idea is exciting. I may in the near future!

How much did it take to stand up a server?

Every AAA boardroom:

Maybe a decade ago, certainly not now

The visual feel of it is HZD x Monster Hunter Stories x Dauntless + 15% anime exaggeration

Which is pretty cool

It's very funny to me in that - he could just solve all the world's, or at least most of the US's, problems! He could choose to use his wealth to reduce costs, solve hunger and homelessness, and be universally loved!

But he's so rich that even getting to that thought is now impossible

I sometimes even have this thought about story-based games vs. competitive games I can hop in and out of. Same result, it tends not to be true once I sit down and do it, but it remains a nagging fear