The making of Fallout 4

The sevenyear journey behind the biggest game of the year

Coming off of the success of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bethesda Game Studios began work on its most ambitious game yet for hardware that didn’t exist. The team’s plans were impressive, allowing players to build their own weapons and homes, and dictate their own fates in the wasteland through intertwining story arcs and relationships that could end in love or death. The development spanned seven years, delivering successes, failures, and unexpected detours like porting Skyrim to the Xbox One (keep reading). Just 25 days before Fallout 4 releases, the creators sound off on the lengthy development process as they brace for players to experience their game.

Quantum Break

Part game, part show, Remedy’s bold storytelling experiment is unlike anything you’ve ever played

For more than 20 years, Remedy Entertainment has developed story-focused action games like Max Payne and Alan Wake – while working at the leisurely pace of a bullet-time shootout. In the span of two decades, Remedy has created five titles. Contrast that with other high-profile studios like Naughty Dog or Gearbox, who have both worked on more than a dozen games in that same period, and Remedy’s gameography feels a little thin.

Remembering… BASIC

David Hayward recalls writing programs that insulted classmates

There’s a popular educational movement at the moment to get the current generation of students back behind keyboards and programming. The likes of the Raspberry Pi and the attention attracted by the BAFTA Young Games Designer and Concept awards has somewhat helped to force a change in the curriculum.

Top 5 Laws Of Platform Games

Where would Mario and Sonic be without these?

1 Leaps And Bounds

More than anything, a platformer needs platforms, things to jump on, leap off and hop over. That, without doubt, is an absolute must. What’s not so necessary, however, is that these obstacles stick to the rules of physics. How often, for example, have you seen games where the things you jump on are just floating in the air, as if held there by magic? Imagine, though, if platform games were based on real life. The biggest hurdle you’d probably have to get over would be when you climb the broken-down escalator in the tube station, on your daily commute. Or perhaps your greatest struggle would be just dragging your tired bones out of bed. Wouldn’t make for much of a game, though.

HP Deskjet 3630

HP brings the Deskjet brand to a new generation of personal printers

Ifirst used the Deskjet Plus in 1989, and 26 years later, we’re not a long way from that original highly successful concept. HP’s new Deskjet 3630 is still built around a combined ink head and reservoir in the cartridge, and produces reasonably rapid output on a good range of stock. And in this variation, it also comes with a scanner to add extra scan and copy functionality to the standard printing skills.