Archive for the ‘ News ’ Category

Kot-in-Action Creative Artel Announces: Steel Storm website,beta, episodes

Del Rio, TX – 10.8.2010

Kot-in-Action Creative Artel is proud to announce that the official website for Steel Storm, an episodic top-down shooter, is now live. Episode I, which will be released for free, is coming to public beta this September, for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Steel Storm is an old school top down arcade shooter with score oriented competitive gameplay, and is designed for people who like fast paced action and have limited amounts of time to play computer games.

The events of the game take place in an alternative universe where you control an advanced hovertank, packed with the most advanced and sophisticated weapons. Your task is simple, but, nevertheless, is not trivial. In the fight with presumed extraterrestrial invaders, you must prevail!
Features include:

  • Deathmatch and coop game modes;
  • Exploration and time-trial gameplay types;
  • Score driven gameplay – master your skills to stay ahead;
  • Intelligent AI knows no mercy;
  • Hordes of enemies to destroy;
  • Vast numbers of destroyable structures and obstacles;
  • Huge territories to reclaim;
  • 6 missions of various difficulty, for beginners & hardcore gamers;
  • Edit or create your own missions with SandStorm in-game realtime multi-user editor (will be released as a patch for Episode I).

Coming in Episode 2:

  • 6 new weapons;
  • 3 huge and deadly bosses;
  • 10 more types of enemies;
  • 4 more unique environments;
  • 2 new campaigns totalling 18 missions;
  • Game Source Code;
  • Mod Development SDK;
  • and more!

Kot-in-Action invites all old-school shmup fans to register on our forums and join our official IRC channel and get ready for the beta. Preorders are also available for the upcoming second episode.

Screenshots, video, and further description can be found at http://www.steel-storm.com .

About Kot-in-Action Creative Artel

Kot-in-Action Creative Artel is a new independent developer based in Del Rio, TX with team members in the U.S., Poland, Russia, and Germany. Steel Storm is their first release. More information can be found at http://www.kot-in-action.com .

OMG Sex Scandals! And I care why?

Let me try to understand something here, and no, it’s not really gaming related but I don’t always stick to the industry sometimes when I feel motivated to write about something. Now then as all the world and Twitterati now know, David Letterman is involved in a sex scandal, well some kind of sex related hullabaloo.

Right so… why do we care? Whenever some star or another has an affair or some kind of scandal it seems like it’s some kind of massive news. Now don’t get me wrong, when a crime has been committed that’s an entirely different story. I’m talking about some actor, musician, athlete, politician, or other public personality got freaky with someone who isn’t their significant other/partner/spouse.

For some reason the media seems to go wild on this. They have their interviews, and “special panels” and all sorts of other the nonsense. And all matter of people discusses it like its some monumental piece of news. I don’t understand, I really don’t, why does this matter in the grand scheme of the universe? Does it really make a difference about say an actor’s ability to act?

Why do we place these people on pedestals and expect moral virtue from our celebs and other public figures? Oh and don’t give me that bullshit about “They are role models” What the hell?

The main role models in any person’s life is their parents, teachers, elders, and to a degree their peers. We don’t see the world go nuts every time someone has an affair; sure it’s much more public for a celeb than it is for your average husband or wife.

Plus it’s sex, sex happens all the time, people cheat for a variety of reasons, right or wrong, and the truth of the matter is, human’s aren’t genetically disposed towards fidelity, there’s no instinct to be true to your “One person”. That’s a societal/religious rule not a biological one, and yet we hold it to some standard that someone who commits “adultery” (Funny term for that) must have something wrong with them.

I’m not advocating cheating on your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband. I’m just saying it’s not coded into our DNA to be connected to only one other person, it’s entirely a choice, most people chose one person they love and that’s that. But shit happens, things fall apart, people get dissatisfied and find somewhere else to get what they need.

It’s true for us common folk, it’s true for celebrities/politicians/etc and it’s not going to ever change. People get horny and have sex with other people; that are the bald truth of the matter. Humans have sex for the fun of it much of the time, alright so getting some strange poon-tang isn’t all that absurd since we’re copulating for giggles to begin with.

I don’t suddenly think an actor or actress is somehow an evil person because they got the wild monkey love on with an assistant while on the set off in Timbuktu. Acting is an emotionally charged career and when a person gets their dander up, things happens. Politicians are the same, we want them to be trust worthy, but they’re human and crap happens, it doesn’t mean they can’t do their job, it just means their personal relationships have icebergs in the way of their journey.

Why all this hoopla over it all?

When someone can answer me in a way that makes sense that will be a day I look forward too. Otherwise, move on and lets talk about the important issues in the world, not who did who when and where.

Ironically we don’t hear gaming news talking about Designer X cheats on his wife with Producer Y while at the launch party for Game Z. That would be amusing. Also, sex tapes are different in that people want to see if the celebs they dream about are any good in the sack. But still not news, sorry but if celebrity A has a sex tape leak it’s not the end of the world, lots of people tape themselves getting it on, how is that such a major thing when a celeb does something normal too?

Oh and that rot about being a hypocrite, we’re all hypocrites on one thing or another, that’s another part of being human, get over it people and talk about what really matters.