All Zombies Must Die is a RPG and weapons-based arena combat game developed by doublesix, the same guys who brought us the highly flammable game, Burn, Zombie, Burn!

Though AZMD and BZB have some similarities in terms of fighting hordes of brain-craving zombies, AZMD offers uniquely different gameplay strategies then its previous successor.

Jack may be suffering from some serious delusions, but he's ready to take on the zombies hordes!

Who knew gaming addictions could be so helpful?

In All Zombies Must Die, you first play as Jack, a gaming fanatic who believes that he’s the badass hero in a zombie video game (and not that he’s actually in any – you know – real danger).

The first character I met in the demo was Rachel, an extremely pissed ex-girlfriend of Jack. Though it seems she would rather see her ex be ripped apart by the oncoming zombie onslaught, she agrees to join his side after some coercion on Jack’s part.

The other two characters – Luxo, an alien trying to learn English, and Brian, a mad scientist – can also be unlocked as you progress through the game and will have an integral part of the overall story.

Players can join in co-op mode during any point in the game. You will be able to play as any unlockable character alongside Jack. If you join in co-op play before any main characters are unlocked, you will play as Jack’s bodyguard.

Sometimes, it's okay to run away.

Zombie genocide will not save you

Fighting the zombie horde in All Zombies Must Die is different from its Burn, Zombie, Burn! predecessor. In BZB, your objective is to burn as many zombies at a time in order to raise your score multiplier and get better item drops.

However, in AZMD, your objective is not mass-zombie-slaying, but finding a strategy that will award you the most experience points to progress through the game and become stronger. You will still receive item drops such as hamburgers and ammo through killing zombies, however, mass-killing may not be the most effective solution for AZMD.

The zombie hordes also function differently in AZMD. There are several different types of zombies that can affect the gameplay, including jogger zombies that run out of nowhere, swat zombies that carry shields and police batons, and normal zombies that never seem to stop coming.

Zombies can also be affected by various status conditions, which can work both for and against you.

For example, a zombie affected by police sirens will be stunned for a few moments, but if they are not taken care of while stunned, the zombies will become larger and harder to kill.

Burning zombies in AZMD will cause zombies to shrink in size, but they will also become faster and chase you.

What's better than a irradiated chainsaw? Using it to kill zombies!

What could be better than a fire shotgun?

Through the game, you will also have a choice of what weapon you would like to use.

Personally, my favorite weapon is the shotgun, because I am able to pump more powerful bullets into the horde, however, each player may find a weapon that suits their different and unique play style.

Weapons can also be customized with different status effects through the weapons customization in the game. (By the way, the fire shotgun is amazing.)

The player is also able to craft necessary items that they retrieve throughout the game, such as torches that light zombies on fire.

Leveling in the game also adds a unique element of customization to your character. After you unlock Rachel as a playable character, you are able to visit her bathroom, which allows you to turn the experience you gain into higher stats. Players can decide if they would like a higher offense to crush the zombie horde, a higher defense to survive more hits, and more through this leveling system.

Prepare to actually use your brain – if you still have it

Aimlessly killing zombies in All Zombies Must Die will not get you very far, as the dynamics of the zombie horde can change within a few moments.

However, utilizing the vast amount of character and weapons customization, as well as taking advantage of your environment in the game will help you battle against the zombies.

And hell, you may even win your ex-girlfriend back.

Maybe.

All Zombies Must Die is slated to come out on the PlayStation Network and Steam this Christmas.

This week we have an awesome giveaway from SPLITREASON.COM.  They specialize in gear and apparel for gamers and geeks, with a strong focus on a high-tech lifestyle and a passion for retro nostalgia.   Their products are concepts and ideas they receive from their community and staff.  They host an ongoing design contest and brainstorming session to collect thoughts, ideas, and artwork from like-minded individuals to inspire their product line.  With that said, we at GamingAngels are excited to host this giveaway for our followers to win a designer Tee from SPLITREASON.COM!

Contest Rules:

• To enter, post a comment on this entry telling us why you want an Ultra Cool SplitReason Tee!
• For extra chances to win, RT this on Twitter:
• Enter me to win a #SplitReason Tee @GamingAngels
• SORRY, THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED!  THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.
• We’ll randomly pick a winner from all the comments and tweets.

For more info on gear and apparel, go to: http://www.splitreason.com/

A huge congrats goes to Kat for winning season 2 of WCG Ultimate Gamer. This season was a huge step up in both competition and the type of challenges. All the contestants this year were amazing and Kat finished the season beating out Yaz for the $100,000.

Kat, we send our congrats, but maybe next time don’t start with the drama. Let your skills talk. They are obviously amazing.

Congrats and I hope that this helps you in your career in gaming. I’d like to encourage other women to watch the old episodes and train if you are interested in trying out for a Season 3.

Through the years we have seen Google celebrate a number of thing with their logo on their opening  search page. Different holidays,sporting events such as the Olympics, and ever random events that you would only know about because they are an image on the Google opening page. Now, Google and Namco have joined together to celebrate Pac Man’s 30th Anniversary.  The great thing about this logo is you can play it.  You get three lives and run Mr. Pac Man around the Google logo.  I won’t lie, I have been paying with it while writing this article.  All you have to is click on logo use your arrow keys to move around. Enjoy!

http://www.google.com

This new video campaign from Ford is a cute tribute to all gamers and what they would do given money, console, and a cool car.

In the video Jonathan Nafarrete, takes the Ford Fiesta out for a workout. This is not your typical drive to the gym. Instead Jonathan takes the scenic route and visits workout places like the Bowling alley, golf range, and tennis. Thanks to the Wii console and the 40 inch screen in the trunk of the car, Jonathan got a workout without having to pay for each sport.

Check out the video below. It’s a fun look at gaming and shows how marketing companies are reaching out to the gamer audience.

GamingAngels: Can you tell us a little more about how your career path turned towards game design? Was it something you saw yourself doing when you were younger or did fate conspire to bring you to where you are now?

000000;">Jennifer Canada: I started playing games in college and quickly became hooked, but even so it never occurred to me that creating games was a career. I finished my undergraduate degree with two unrelated majors, neither in fields I wanted to pursue. Then, it was in the months after I graduated and I was just kind of floating around that I heard about the SMU Guildhall. Immediately level design and game design felt like a perfect fit for me. I read constantly, so I’ve always been pretty invested in narrative and telling stories, and I also love to do crafty things, both in real life and on the computer. For instance, back in college I used to spend hours playing with architecture programs building houses, basically turning a DIY planning program into a game.

000000;">GA: What do you find most rewarding about being a game designer?

000000;">Jennifer: Making a steady stream of creative choices every day is really rewarding. As a designer, you aren’t always deciding how the game ends or what happens at this or that huge moment, but even when you are just deciding if the path should turn right versus left or this object should be moved 2m, it is constantly engaging and you are always putting your stamp on the game—both with your big decisions and your small ones.

000000;">GA: What are some of the games you’ve worked on that you enjoyed the most and what made working on them fun?

000000;">Jennifer: Some projects I worked on were harder than others either in terms of hours or stress levels, but I am grateful to have enjoyed every project I’ve worked on. My favourite project at Vicious Cycle was probably Flushed Away based on the Aardman movie of the same name. I loved getting to design levels based in such a fun and unique universe, and being in the exciting position of finding out about a blockbuster movie before it played in theatres was an added bonus. One funny thing that happened on that project was early on in development we decided to use the slugs as enemies in the game because in the rough draft of the script they harassed the main characters. But when the movie came out, the slugs had transformed into cute little guys who liked to sing songs, but in our game you were still killing them! And of course, my other favourite project is what I am working on now at Insomniac Games—but I can’t talk about that one!

000000;">GA: Can game studios can get away with putting graphics first, as opposed to writing a story and then making a game around it?

000000;">Jennifer: Well, honestly, yes. A lot of bad games sell based on their graphics and a lot of good games don’t sell because of bad graphics. But in a lot of ways I think graphics are given a bad rap, in terms of taking time away from gameplay. In my experience, how something looks and the visual feedback it gives to the player can be just as intrinsic to how a moment plays out as the design behind it. And certainly with most mainstream titles, designers are asking players to feel immersed and for many players, without good graphics, they’ll never feel grounded enough in the world to become fully invested in the game.

000000;">In terms of whether a development team should start with graphics vs. story when making a new game, I’d say it’s often fairly detrimental to start with either of those focuses. In my opinion, most of the really great games out there started with a gameplay idea. It’s much easier to write a story that fits the theme of your gameplay and how you want a play experience to feel than to start with a story and try to pull gameplay out of it. That can be a recipe for either uninspired gameplay or a story and gameplay that never cohere because their themes fight each other. The graphics should probably be the final consideration in terms of planning, because they have to pull everything together in a way that, just by seeing a screenshot, players can sense how the game will play.

000000;">GA: What is your experience developing a game such as Ben 10 that spans across not just multiple consoles, but also handheld systems? Did your levels have to be completely redesigned to fit the PSP in comparison to the Nintendo Wii?

000000;">Jennifer: I was lucky in this regard, to have developed multi-platform titles at a company that is well known for its ability to release on multiple skus simultaneously. Which is not a coincidence—no levels or any assets at all had to be redone for the different platforms on Ben 10. The Vicious Engine, from Vicious Cycle Software, is browser-based so you are able to edit and play on your computer and, for the different platforms, there is a dropdown that lets you choose your platform and it converts everything behind the scenes and you’re ready to go. It’s really that easy. I am actually hoping to see more schools start using the Vicious Engine to train future developers. It’s really powerful and user-friendly and I greatly enjoyed working with it.

000000;">GA: You’ve talked a lot about making games a little more “pink”. What would you personally like to add to games to make them more “pink”?

000000;">Jennifer: I recently gave a talk at GDC and at the Triangle Game Conference called, “Paint-by-Gender: How to add ‘pink’ gameplay to your ‘blue’ title (and still keep all the boys happy)”. The content of this talk arose from my Master’s thesis for the SMU Guildhall on women’s gameplay preferences and its results. I made a level to test established theories on what game features women prefer when playing games, and what I found is that women did self-report greatly enjoying those features in my test level, but that the male players reported enjoying those features nearly as much.

000000;">Just to clarify, referring to these features as ‘pink’ in the title of my talk was my attempt at a catchy way to make it clear I was talking about girls’ preferences, but none of the features I tested actually involved making things pink! Here is a list of the features I tested:

1. 000000;">Detailed backstory
2. 000000;">Non-stereotypical female characters
3. 000000;">In-game relationships
4. 000000;">Emotional stimuli
5. 000000;">Moral complexity
6. 000000;">Non-violent action
7. 000000;">Gameplay flexibility
8. 000000;">Meaningful victory

000000;">It’s my hope and my opinion after conducting this research that developers can leverage these design features to make their games more appealing to men and women both. In the end, all of these features really come down to one idea—enabling players to connect more strongly with the overall game experience: the characters, the story, the world, and the player’s own actions in the game. Some players are satisfied with mindless action and there’s nothing wrong with that, but increasingly players are demanding a deeper connection and I think designers should try to give it to them.

000000;">If you want to read my full thesis, it’s available here: www.jennifern.net/thesis

000000;">And the slides for my Paint by Gender presentation can be found here: www.jennifern.net/PaintbyGender

000000;">GA: How might you “add a little pink” to the traditionally “blue” game genres like first-person shooters? Is it all in plot and setting, or would the actual gameplay have to change a little?

000000;">Jennifer: Well, I’m going to talk about a third person shooter here instead, because I think there is already a great example on the market of how to adapt the shooter genre into a game that everyone, men and women alike, love. Uncharted 2 is probably the least contentious Game of the Year ever. Everyone absolutely adores it. And it utilizes nearly all of the design features I tested in my level as features that appeal to women. I am not going to run through how for each example, because if you’ve played it you know how, and if you haven’t, I don’t want to spoil it. Notably though, the only feature it really misses is flexibility in terms of affecting the story/outcome since the game is so linear, but it actually does have a bit of flexibility in terms of gameplay strategy thanks to its stealth elements.

000000;">So to get back to FPS’s, I really can’t make any claims about what settings or plot specifics are likely to help make the genre female-friendly. It really comes down to creating the circumstances that help women to become invested in the game. For many women, that means they want to see some likable female characters—even if it isn’t the main character. They want a story that is emotionally engaging in a world they care about. And they want the ability to effect the direction of the game and how they play through it.

000000;">And in terms of gameplay flexibility, i.e. ‘how they play through it’, yes, the gameplay may need to change a little if it wants to be more inclusive. But I really consider this additive. I don’t think anyone out there expects dev teams to remove guns from their shooters. But they can add stealth elements, platforming, puzzles, or guns that reward a more strategic style of play. And I think adding flexibility is a good thing for guys too; no one is going to say, “I’d like less choice here, please.” So say you add a new strategic weapon type…well some people won’t use it, or they won’t care—this goes for guys and girls—but in the end those players aren’t going to be pissed that you gave them more options and the players who choose to use the new gun will get a lot out of that feature.

000000;">GA: What are your thoughts on marketing the traditionally “blue” games towards women? Why do you think companies seem unable to break away from these practices?

000000;">Jennifer: Speaking in terms of my impressions, it seems that sometimes even though developers might try to make an inclusive game that appeals to a broad market, sometimes marketers won’t advertise it that way. I definitely think there is an impression in marketing that the hardcore market is where the reliable sales are, so it can be easier (and more straightforward, because they’ve been doing it for so long) to market a game to that audience and ignore a game’s more female-friendly aspects. And while there are many examples of totally reasonable advertising out there, there is still a fair bit of game advertising that either ignores women completely or even worse, that actively alienates women. And these bad examples, even if they aren’t the bulk of it, are a big part of why some women out there think that games, all games, aren’t for them.

000000;">In terms of why these marketing practices stick around, I feel like maybe there is a big of stagnation in the marketing world for games. For every ‘I love bees’ ARG marketing campaign, there are about a thousand marketing images of a main character glowering. For game development, innovation is essential, we are always trying to anticipate the next trend and have the latest graphics, but for marketing, maybe there is so much fixation on trying to guarantee sales that they are only willing to try approaches that feel tried and true, even if some of those approaches are alienating to women.

000000;">I really think the important thing going forward is for women in development studios and in marketing houses to speak up. If you think content is alienating towards women or any group, just say something. Even if you get overruled, at least you got the issue on the table and someone else might think about it next time. So I guess my hope for marketing and for game development too in terms of moving forward is, even though it’s easier, don’t be the person—girl or guy—who stands there silently.

000000;">GA: As a woman in the industry, have you ever run into the “boys’ club” mentality? How did you deal with it? And do you have any advice for women who do come across this?

000000;">Jennifer: I have occasionally, but more in small ways than big ones, and I feel like it barely affects my day to day work at all. Most of the guys I’ve worked with have either enjoyed having women on their team or not cared one way or another—at least I hope so! I think for a woman in the industry, you just have to be willing to try a little harder and put yourself out there a little more. For instance, if the guys are going out for lunch, invite yourself along or invite them out to lunch the next day. And if you have something to contribute in a meeting, speak up. If you let the culture of a studio move forward without you, you are setting yourself up to be on the outside looking in.

000000;">The other thing I would say is, if you do have a bad experience, realize that it isn’t the norm and most men in the industry are welcoming and do want you to be there. And then just keep doing your best every day.

000000;">GA: We couldn’t help but notice you like anime. Given the chance to bring one anime series to life as a video game, which one would you be interested in working on?

000000;">Jennifer: I admit it, I do love anime! I just finished watching Book of Bantorra, am in the middle of Katanagatari, and I will watch anything by Gainax, which is currently Hanamaru Youchien. To turn a series into a game probably the easiest thing to do is to pick a series with lots of combat and genki characters, like two of my personal favourites Soul Eater and Die Buster.

000000;">But if I really got to choose the series and pick the direction of the game—this is crucial—I think would go for Mushi-shi and make a game that lets mushi spirits float through the natural world (inspired by the game Flower) and let the main character perform complex actions to rebalance infestations of mushi, such as baiting a spirit dragon back to his mountain or collecting mushi to reinvigorate a forest or recolor a rainbow. Wow, if you haven’t seen the show, I probably sound like a crazy person! But that is the game I would want to make.

000000;">GA: What advice can you offer to young women interested in making games as a career?

000000;">Jennifer: The best advice I can give is really applicable for everyone, women and men. Try to constantly improve your skills. Most people improve fairly slowly or not at all if they rely on osmosis. It’s too passive and lacks self-awareness. You have to go out there and chase improvement down and you need to be aware of your own weaknesses so you can target those as areas to focus on. Harness your passion for game development into the desire to become a better game developer and success will follow.

Women in Gaming Weekends is an interview series with women working in various positions throughout the video game industry. These interviews are to help answer questions that female gamers interested in pursuing a career in gaming might be looking to have answered, provide helpful information and inspire healthy debate.

Rude Gameware has launched a brand new gaming headset, the Primal PC Headset and mouse, the Fierce 3200 targeted to those PC gamers that are looking for the extra edge in their performance.

As suggested by the press release, the Primal PC headset is designed for the maximum in comfort for those long gaming sessions. Some very notable features of the headset:

• Can work with any PC, Portable gaming and audio device with a 3.5 mm audio jack.
• A battery pack adapter to power the feedback feature.
• In-line volume control.
• Noise cancelling technology
• Force feedback feature
• Lightweight, and fully adjustable for comfort
• Soft fabric ear cups and padding the headband
• Detachable noise cancelling mic

The Fierce 3200 DPI, is a laser gaming mouse which promises to provide comfortable with this specificly designed form, non-slip grips and slick pads.  Some important features of the mouse:

• A real-time adjustable DPI
• A high quality laser sensor
• Adjustable weights
• USB connection

One of the goals for the Rude Games is to provide affordable gaming peripheral for all gamers.  Each of these wonderful products are available at a suggested retail price of  $49.95 US.  If you compare similar products that are on the market for gamers, this is helping gamers get though this big bad recession.

For more information:
http://www.rudegameware.com/

We love to make sure people know we’re gamers. We play games (alot) and wear our Gamer badge with pride. But a recent study found that most women don’t want to associate themselves with the term, “Gamer”.

According to Q Interactive, the study conducted in January quizzed 770 women about their knowledge of online gaming and virtual worlds. Thirty six percent of respondents said that they play games on Facebook and 54 percent of those admit to playing social games every day. What were the most popular Facebook games? Not surprisingly, Mafia Wars and Farmville.

Only 42 percent of the women considered themselves to be a gamer. Which is interesting because 67 percent of those surveyed said they consider playing games online from one to five hours a week to be okay.

Q Interactive’s report found out that while they play social games, that 77 percent of them would stop playing if they were forced to pay.

“Applications and games are quickly becoming part of everyone’s daily lives,” said Ian Johnson, Director, Social Media World Forum. “This provides a terrific opportunity for brands to serve as a trusted, valued partner to them. By having a presence in the game and app space, brands get the benefit of reaching an influential consumer set. With the support of brands, advance in games and apps and we’re finding also get information from brands they value.”

The results of a survey from developer/publisher Activision, however, seem to show that parents are more familiar than we might think, and that gamer kids themselves are also familiar with ratings.

As part of their “Ratings Are Not A Game” campaign, Activision and The Harrison Group conducted 1,201 online interviews with gamers and their parents. They found that 82% of parents and 75% of children were familiar with the ESRB’s ratings, and 76% of parents believe that video games were a part of their family life.

Activision’s ratings-awareness campaign is supplemented with videos featuring Grand Theft Childhood co-author Dr. Cheryl Olsen. Olsen is also the co-director for the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital.

A video accompanied these survey results as well, which you can watch below.

How many parents do you think understand and use the ESRB ratings? Do you use them to determine what games are appropriate for your children, or are you more likely to do research about a game’s content before deciding that it is appropriate?

Related: “Ratings Are Not A Game”

You may remember me telling you about a TV show named “GameDamage” that was trying to get picked up. Well, two of the men from that show (Yug and Yahtzee) have also joined forces to bring us Aussies another excuse to drink and game at the same time – a brand new bar!

The “Mana Bar” is owned by Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, Ben ‘Yahtzee’ Croshaw, Pras Moorthy and Shay Leighton. Geeks will flock to this place in droves with the multiple LCD screens and next-gen consoles available to play. They will be catering for those who are casual gamers, as well as those who are hardcore.

(from left) Pras, Shay, Yug & Yahtzee

To enter the venue is free, and you don’t have pay to play the games either. The bar can host up to 50 people and plans to hold many events such as game release parties, Guitar Hero tournaments, trivia nights, launch events, and more.

For the latest info, visit the bar’s website. And if you’re in Brisbane, you’ll find the “Mana Bar” at 420 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley.

I’ve met Yug (at eGames 2009), and if the events that he and his team at AustralianGamer.com are anything to go by, the bar is sure to be a hit! Good luck fellas – I hope to drop in some time!