 |
|
|
|||||
Supergiant Games just treated Hades fans to an extensive look at the game's upcoming sequel. Seriously the developer hosted a three-hour livestream that showed off Hades II's gameplay, new features and mechanics, as well as the new designs for its characters based on the gods of Greek mythology. Supergiant's Creative Director Greg Kasavin and Studio Director Amir Rao demonstrated the abilities of the game's new protagonist, Melinoë. While she's the sister of Zagreus, the first title's protagonist, and Hades II is a direct sequel to the original, Kasavin and Rao said players don't need to have prior knowledge of the first game and of Greek mythology to enjoy it. Old fans, however, will catch "delightful references" here and there. Melinoë is a witch and assassin, who's adept with her staff and can wield magic, and has a pretty different playstyle from Zagreus, as the gameplay footage showed. Kasavin and Roe also showed off new gods like Apollo, returning ones like Aphrodite and Demeter, new resources and various environments within the game. They played the technical test version of Hades II, however, which means certain environments and elements could still go through some changes before the final product is released. The developer is hoping to fix any issues technical test players might find expeditiously so that the game can go into early access, which is expected to take place sometime this spring. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/supergiant-shows-off-hades-iis-gameplay-and-new-god-designs-070033467.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Twitch has been testing a discovery feed for livestreams and Clips on mobile since last year, in hopes of giving users a new way to find new streamers to follow and, hence, spend more time on the platform. Now, the website has announced that it's rolling out the feature to all users later this month. The feed will first appear as a new tab in the mobile app and will allow viewers to switch between a scrollable feed for livestreams and another one for Clips. Like their names imply, the live feed will show users broadcasts from people they already follow and ongoing streams from people they don't based on their watch history. Meanwhile, the Clips feed will be filled with short snippets from live broadcasts. Users will be able to join ongoing streams from the live feed by tapping on the streamers' avatars to immediately go into theater mode. Twitch will also show when the streamer is live in the Clips feed, so viewers can check them out from there, as well. And just in case it isn't clear, Twitch explained in its announcement that the discovery feed will only be aggregating streams and clips from the service and that creators cannot upload to it directly. In other words, getting highlighted on the feed is a game of chance, though featured Clips will be given priority over non-featured ones. The discovery feed launching this month isn't its final form, though. Some users might start seeing the feed as their actual home page sometime next month, which is what Twitch had in mind for the feature in the first place. In early March, company CEO Dan Clancy said the service is giving its mobile app its first major redesign in years and that the discovery feed will be its new landing page. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitch-is-giving-all-users-access-to-its-discovery-feed-later-this-month-041009070.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
The News/Media Alliance, formerly the Newspaper Association of America, asked US federal agencies to investigate Googles removal of links to California news media outlets. Googles tactic is in response to the proposed California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), which would require it and other tech companies to pay for links to California-based publishers news content. The News/Media Alliance, which represents over 2,200 publishers, sent letters to the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and California State Attorney General on Tuesday. It says the removal appears to be either coercive or retaliatory, driven by Googles opposition to a pending legislative measure in Sacramento. The CJPA would require Google and other tech platforms to pay California media outlets in exchange for links. The proposed bill passed the state Assembly last year. In a blog post last week announcing the removal, Google VP of Global News Partnerships Jaffer Zaidi warned that the CJPA is the wrong approach to supporting journalism (because Googles current approach totally hasnt left the industry in smoldering ruins!). Zaidi said the CJPA would also put small publishers at a disadvantage and limit consumers access to a diverse local media ecosystem. Nothing to see here, folks: just your friendly neighborhood multi-trillion-dollar company looking out for the little guy! Google described its link removal as a test to see how the bill would impact its platform: To prepare for possible CJPA implications, we are beginning a short-term test for a small percentage of California users, Zaidi wrote. The testing process involves removing links to California news websites, potentially covered by CJPA, to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience. Until theres clarity on Californias regulatory environment, were also pausing further investments in the California news ecosystem, including new partnerships through Google News Showcase, our product and licensing program for news organizations, and planned expansions of the Google News Initiative. In its letters, The News/Media Alliance lists several laws it believes Google may be breaking with the short-term removal. Potential federal violations include the Lanham Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The letter to Californias AG cites the states Unruh Civil Rights Act, regulations against false advertising and misrepresentation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and Californias Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Importantly, Google released no further details on how many Californians will be affected, how the Californians who will be denied news access were chosen, what publications will be affected, how long the compelled news blackouts will persist, and whether access will be blocked entirely or just to content Google particularly disfavors, News/Media Alliance President / CEO Danielle Coffey wrote in the letter to the DOJ and FTC. Because of these unknowns, there are many ways Googles unilateral decision to turn off access to news websites for Californians could violate laws. Google has a mixed track record in dealing with similar legislation. It pulled Google News from Spain for seven years in response to local copyright laws that would have required licensing fees to publishers. However, it signed deals worth around $150 million to pay Australian publishers and retreated from threats to pull news from search results in Canada, instead spending the $74 million required by the Online News Act. Google made more than $73 billion in profits in 2023. The company currently has a $1.94 trillion market cap.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/media-coalition-asks-the-feds-to-investigate-googles-removal-of-california-news-links-212052979.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||