【新闻部】开发商Epic-Epic工作室/38工作室新闻部

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微软内部正在积极讨论《战争机器（Gear of War）》系列未来计划

　　《战争机器》系列的续作肯定会在以后出现。目前，这一点是毋庸置疑的，但是游戏具体的内容和平台还有发售时间才是微软下一步计划的重点。微软的高管Phil Spencer最近在一次采访中谈论了这个广受欢迎的系列，他表示尽管目前还没有能够确认的新游戏，但是微软正在积极讨论系列的未来。

　　Spencer说：“我是系列非常重视的粉丝。我想继续同系列合作。我认为这个系列还有很多活力。我们昨天才在内部讨论过这个系列。这个系列一直是我们内部积极讨论的目标。”但是，是否新游戏会出现在PS4上呢？目前有很多传言，但是Spencer表示这个问题取决于Epic Games。

　　他说：“这是Epic Games的游戏系列，所有人都知道这一点。我不能为别人的系列下保票。这是他们的游戏系列，我们需要同他们商讨关于合作的细节。他们目前正把精力集中在其他区域上。”《战争机器：审判》并不非常成功，所以现在对系列做出改变恐怕是最佳时机。

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《战争机器》创始人表示正制作真正的射击游戏



　《战争机器》创始人Cliff Bleszinski近日表示他正在努力制作一个真正的第一人称射击游戏，他近日表示：现在那些第一人称射击游戏都不能算是真正的射击游戏。他在采访时说：“我有制作平台，我有场地，我有概念艺术，我知道我已经得到了开发制作想要的所有东西。”

　　“这款PC游戏是一款致敬原先对游戏业发展十分有利的某个特定类型的游戏。现在有太多人玩《OCD》了，我不认为他们知道什么是真正的竞技射击游戏。”可能因为真正的竞技射击游戏卖不了几百上千万份，但Bleszinski并不关心发行商的销售预期。

　　他说：“我不想和那些顽固派一块合作，我会和他们进行交谈。但是我最不想听到的就是某个市场部人来告诉我‘传统的来说，这样做不会卖得好，我们很担心’，这样我真的很头疼。”

　　这位前Epic游戏设计师透露说这个游戏的概念阶段名为“Silverstreak”，最终名字还没定下来，虽然他还没有一个开发工作室，但他说已经拥有一个小团队，足以开发这款游戏。

　　“Siverstreak”将是一个以PC为中心的竞技场FPS，有望采用Epic Games的虚幻4技术。

　　Cliff的新作听起来像是一个新的“虚幻竞技场”。尽管Silverstreak不是《虚幻竞技场4》，不过这款游戏将会是早年Epic经典竞技场射击游戏一个最接近的“重制版”。

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Microsoft accquires Gears of War IP from Epic Games
微软买断《战争机器》版权确保XONE独占优势

    据华尔街报道，微软已购买第三人称射击游戏《战争机器》（Gears of War）的版权，以保证这一热门游戏为Xbox One游戏机独有。

    微软周一表示，已从美国游戏开发商Epic Games买下系列游戏《战争机器》的版权。微软称Epic的前设计总监罗德·弗格森（Rod Ferguon）将加入微软，并为游戏的进一步开发助一臂之力。

    微软并未透露向Epic支付的版权购买金额。

    微软Xbox视频游戏的开发总监菲尔斯·宾塞（Phil Spencer）在声明中表示，“这一系列游戏和玩家们是Xbox的精髓所在。通过购买游戏特许权，微软游戏工作室将继续为玩家开发更多的《战争机器》系列游戏，并提供更丰富的娱乐体验。”

    微软于2006年首次发布《战争机器》，此后推出多部续集，总销量达2200万，为微软净赚十亿多美元，成为游戏史上最赚钱的游戏之一。

    更重要的是，收购其独家特许权有助于微软Xbox One在与索尼PlayStation 4的对抗中提升竞争力。

Microsoft Studios acquires rights to Gears of War franchise

Today we're excited to announce that Microsoft Studios has acquired the rights to the “Gears of War” franchise from Epic Games, including rights to all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise. In addition, we are excited to announce that Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver, BC will take over development of the “Gears of War” franchise and that Rod Fergusson, former Director of Production at Epic Games on the “Gears of War” franchise, will join Microsoft and play a key studio leadership role at Black Tusk on the development of the franchise going forward. We had a chance to chat with Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft Studios, Hanno Lemke, General Manager of Black Tusk Studios at Microsoft Studios, and Rod Fergusson about the big news.

• Why did Microsoft purchase the “Gears of War” franchise?

Phil Spencer: It all comes back to our commitment to Xbox fans. The “Gears of War” franchise has a very strong, passionate and valued fan base on Xbox. Over twenty-two million units have been sold across all “Gears of War” titles worldwide, grossing over $1B dollars (US). This franchise, and these fans, are part of the soul of Xbox. By acquiring this franchise, Microsoft Studios will continue to offer them more of their favorite games and entertainment experiences from the “Gears of War” universe.

• Why did Epic Games agree to this acquisition?

Hanno Lemke: Epic has been a tremendous partner to work with, and it has been a privilege for Microsoft to be Epic’s publishing partner and work together to achieve the phenomenal success of the “Gears of War” games. Epic remains great partners and good friends of Microsoft Studios. In fact we will collaborate closely with Epic to ensure the inclusion of the Unreal Engine technology into the “Gears of War” franchise going forward remains consistent with the high quality fans have come to expect from the franchise.

• Why was an as-yet-unproven studio like Black Tusk chosen to lead the “Gears of War” development over a more established studio?

Phil Spencer: Black Tusk has assembled a world-class team with deep experience and passion for the shooter space, and specifically the “Gears of War” franchise. I am extremely confident that under the leadership of Hanno Lemke, Rod Fergusson and our other leaders in the studio, Black Tusk is well equipped to take on the future development of the “Gears of War” franchise.

• Are there plans to bring anyone who worked on previous “Gears of War” games onboard to work on the future of the series?

Hanno Lemke: The news that Rod Fergusson is joining Black Tusk should be really exciting for fans of the franchise. Rod has played a leadership role at Epic on all of the “Gears of Wars” games, he understands the franchise deeply but equally importantly he understands the fans of the franchise – what they love, where they want to see the franchise evolve. Once the news spreads about the opportunities at Black Tusk, I’m confident we’ll see interest from a number of talented developers who share the same passion for the “Gears” franchise as the developers at Black Tusk.

• When can we expect to hear more about the plans for the “Gears of War” franchise?

Hanno Lemke: We hope to be able to share more news about “Gears of War” later this year.

• You’re moving back to Canada and back to working on the “Gears” franchise. Is it like a homecoming for you?

Rod Fergusson: I’m extremely excited to be joining Black Tusk Studios to oversee development on the “Gears of War” franchise. I’ve been privileged to work on a lot of great games with a lot of great teams, but “Gears” has had the most impact on me professionally and personally, so this really feels like a homecoming. I can’t wait to share more with you all soon.

Finally, Epic games shared the following statement on the acquisition

“Epic Games has reached an agreement to sell the ‘Gears of War’ intellectual property rights to Microsoft. We’re very proud of the franchise we built in close partnership with Microsoft over the past decade and are happy that this agreement enables Microsoft to forge ahead with the ‘Gears’ universe on their industry-leading platforms as Epic concentrates its efforts on new projects,” said Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. “Epic remains totally dedicated to supporting Xbox One and is licensing the Unreal Engine 4 technology to Microsoft in support of their future projects.”

Xbox Wire：http://news.xbox.com/2014/01/games-microsoft-studios-gears-of-war

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Epic Games工作室GDC会议上透露此前未公开新作

　　 在今年早些时候把战争机器系列卖给微软之后，Epic Games工作室正在打造一款全新的游戏来推动工作室发展。

　　在刚开始的今年GDC游戏开发者会议上，针对其中一场名为“动画训练营：游戏动画原型设计”的讨论会，Epic Games的首席动画师Jay Hosfelt解释了工作室的设计哲学思路，毕竟工作室目前完全没有寻找发行伙伴就在开发新作。虽然新作具体名称和发行时间并没有给出，但是在这场讨论上Epic Games展示了相应的概念设计图和角色模型，这与Epic Games 2011年展示的英雄“撒玛利亚人”技术展示十分相似。

　　“撒玛利亚人”是在2011年的GDC会议上展出的，当时作为Epic的虚幻3引擎的3.5版代表来表现，旨在针对次世代平台来开发。但之后Epic便没有再提“撒玛利亚人”展示的事，在2012年中工作室是以“元素”来展示虚幻4引擎的。去年的GDC上Epic也展示了基于虚幻4制作的宣传短片“渗透者”。

　　下图便是本次展示的概念图和角色模型，内容自然是正在开发中的新作，虽然Epic没有直接表示该作就是之前的“撒玛利亚人”，但是这次展示的角色应该是在新作中作为主角出现。

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Epic Games解释为何将《战争机器》系列卖给微软

　　Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney日前解释了此前为何工作室要将《战争机器》这个被很多玩家认为是Epic代表作的系列卖给微软。在采访中，Sweeney做了简明的解释，表示虽然工作室很喜欢该系列，但确实另有其他计划要做。

　　“我们经过较长一段时间的准备，分析清楚了未来Epic要在全球范围内进行的项目，最后定论我们不会再开发任何《战争机器》系列的作品。”Sweeney同Polygon网站交流时表示，“虽然我们都很喜欢该系列，但是我们要朝新的方向发力。”

　　“战争机器核心内容在于通过大型场面事件，单人主机游戏配合有趣的掩体机制，这些特性以及其他一些内容，它们与我们未来准备开发极具竞争性及合作性的多人游戏及在线游戏的理念并不一致。”他补充道，“所以我们并不打算继续再开发战争机器系列游戏，当时决定先让该系列封存在那里，等个十年或者更久，说不定以后对我们会有价值。”

　　Sweeney接着解释，表示后来考虑：与其让战争机器系列封存在Epic工作室的架子上，不如让该系列在微软的手上继续发扬光大，“我们不会再继续做该系列了，但我们意识到还有很多玩家希望更多战争机器游戏出现。”

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信心十足 Epic Games创始人认为VR将改变世界

　　Epic Games的创始人Tim Sweeney相信VR（虚拟现实）将会成为一个比智能手机还重要的现象级事物。在最近一次采访中，Sweeney表示Epic正在进行一些如何在游戏中使用VR的研究。公司已经为使用Oculus Rift制作了几个技术Demo。他说“我认为这是个可以改变世界的技术。我认为它将成为比技能手机还重要的现象级事物。你需要理解我们可能出于类似Iphone 1的阶段，也就是说有一个好的产品，但是因为某些原因不能被所有人接受。

　　目前的技术可能只有1000万用户，但是在技术逐渐成熟后，用户群体将持续增长，直到完美的虚拟现实硬件的出现。”Sweeney表示Epci正在研究如何利用VR的威力，而不仅仅是移植以往的老游戏设计。尽管目前技术Demo很成功，但是《虚幻竞赛》这种高速度第一人称动作游戏会让人有呕吐感。

　　Facebook上周宣布以20亿美金的价格收购了Oculus VR。Oculus的高冠John Carmack对批评做出了回应，声称他们目前有了足够的让产品成为现实的资源。

iD创始人维护Oculus Rift收购 称VR太强难以独立

　　对于Facebook收购Oculus VR的愤怒终于渐渐平息。除了Oculus创始人Palmer Luckey在网上对于对于收购行为的维护，其他相关的内部人士也没有发表言论。而现在，为了加入Oculus而离开了iD的John Carmack首次发表了言论。

　　Carmack在回应一个帖子的时候写到：“我也和你们一样讨厌那些只是为了被收购而存在的公司。目前这种情况让人想起以往的Valve。业内人士很多年以来都认为Valve的想法是愚蠢的。Valve的坚持配得上他们目前的成功。

　　VR不会如此，技术的体验非常优秀，会转变任何体验过的人的想法。业内大型公司的加入时不可避免的，真正的问题是如何合作，还有合作人是谁。”

　　我们对于收购感到震惊和不赞同，但是我看到有很多喜欢Oculus的玩家把希望寄托在Carmack身上，认为如果他还决定留在Oculus，那这次合并肯定有正面的一面。《Doom》的创始人还提到他并没有参与这次的收购，声称“我个人没有参与谈判，我用了一个下午的时间同Facebook的总裁Mark Zuckerberg谈论了技术，一个星期后我得知了收购。”

　　尽管他充分揭示了为何这样的收购肯定会出现，但是他并没有打消玩家对于Facebook拥有大量通过VR技术而获得的个人资料的担忧。Facebook对于这项技术的长期目标还不明朗，这让很多玩家担忧。

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Game Informer May Cover Revealed: Fortnite ~ Alpha Signups Now Open

May Cover Revealed – Fortnite - Game Informer

Welcome to the World of Fortnite

A little over two years ago we introduced Fortnite via a short trailer at the VGAs.

Since then, we’ve been quietly working to make sure Fortnite is a great experience for players. We appreciate all of the interest and questions during that time and have been anxious to tell you more about our plans.

Now it’s time to start talking. Today we’re excited to share the news that Fortnite is featured on the May cover of Game Informer. (Pictured above.) The issue is available digitally to subscribers today and physical copies will ship out to subscribers and newsstands in the coming days. Inside you’ll find the first details about Fortnite and why we hope you’ll work with us to help bring the game to the world.

Make sure to register for a future opportunity to play and keep an eye on Fortnite.com in the coming days and weeks. We’ll highlight lots of great coverage from Game Informer, continue to keep you updated as we make progress and offer some surprises.

If you’d like to talk to us about Fortnite, don’t hesitate to reach out on Twitter and Facebook. We look forward to sharing more and building a fantastic community of players.

Talk to you again soon. Seriously, much sooner than last time. And head over to Game Informer for more exciting details.http://www.gameinformer.com/p/fortnite.aspx

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《战争机器》XBOX ONE新作会为系列带来革新

　　根据微软游戏工作室成员Ken Lobb表示，负责《战争机器》XBOX ONE新作的Black Tusk工作室将会为这款系列作带来革新。



　　Lobb目前参与所有微软自家工作室的事务。当被问及对Black Tusk接掌《战争机器》的想法，Lobb回答：“事实上我对创意总监Chuck Osieja与Black Tusk的所有成员充满尊敬。我认为我们真的有在革新《战争机器》，我相信他们会推出这样的新作。”

　　“他们是微软内部的工作室，但立刻就有大作可以发挥真的很酷。他们尝试的概念也很赞。我们会接纳他们的想法与他们对于Unreal 4引擎的经验，因为这就是他们创立时抱持的理念，而且这个理念会在《战争机器》中实践。这是一种共识，并非“你们一定要这样做”。这不是Phil Spencer(Xbox部门领导人)的做法，也不是我们的做法。”

　　前Epic Games资深制作人与《战争机器》设计师Rod Fergusson正与Black Tusk合作开发《战争机器》的新作，但前Epic Games设计总监Cliff Bleszinski并没有参与。针对何时才能听到新作的消息，Fergusson只在推特回答：“快了…”难道新作会在今年E3展正式发表吗?玩家也只能继续等下去了!

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Unreal Tournament's future to be revealed next week, Epic says

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The new Unreal Tournament will be free, moddable and developed with players



The Future of Unreal Tournament Begins Today

Work on the future of Unreal Tournament begins today, and we’re happy to announce that we’re going to do this together, with you. We know that fans of the game are as passionate about Unreal Tournament as we are. We know that you have great ideas and strong opinions about where the game should go and what it should be. So let’s do something radical and make this game together, in the open, and for all of us.

Here’s the plan

• We’ve created a small team of UT veterans that are beginning work on the project starting today.
• From the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers. We’ll be using forums for discussion, and Twitch streams for regular updates.
• If you are a fan and you want to participate, create a free account and join the forum discussion.
• All code and content will be available live to UE4 developers on GitHub.
• The game will be true to its roots as a competitive FPS.
• Development will be focused on Windows, Mac and Linux.

So what’s the catch?

• It will take many months until the game is playable by gamers. This is real development from scratch.
• When the game is playable, it will be free. Not free to play, just free.
• We’ll eventually create a marketplace where developers, modders, artists and gamers can give away, buy and sell mods and content. Earnings from the marketplace will be split between the mod/content developer, and Epic. That’s how we plan to pay for the game.

A lot of this is brand new for Epic, and we don’t yet have everything figured out. Things will probably definitely go wrong from time to time, and when they do, we’ll have to work through them together. There will be a lot of tough decisions to make, and not every feature will make it into the game. But if you’re a fan of Unreal Tournament, a UE4 developer, or a future modder – or if you just want to learn how we make games – we hope you’ll join us. It’s going to be fun.

Want to get involved?

• Want more detail on the project? Read our wiki.
• Want to participate and give feedback? Check out the forums, and sign up for a free account here to join Unreal Engine 4 community.
• In case you want to check out the classic Unreal Tournament games, they will be on sale soon here.