In today’s marijuanapy gaming news, learn more about Ferret Baudoin, senior designer at Bethesda Softworks and lead designer of Fallout 76, has passed away. According to a Facebook memorial page, he “died away abruptly” on October 15, “surrounded by his family and friends.” Meanwhile, Ben Brode, co-founder of Second Dinner, explains why simplicity and speed are essential to the growth of Snap as a competitive card game (CCG). Lastly, the Steam app for Android and iOS, in addition to the standalone APK, has finally received a number of significant improvements from Valve. The updates include enhancements to the user interface as well as the underlying architecture, in addition to some exciting new features.
Fallout 76 Designer Ferret Baudoin Died
Original Source: Fallout 76 lead designer Ferret Baudoin has died
Ferret Baudoin, a senior designer at Bethesda Softworks, died. A Facebook tribute page said he “died abruptly” on October 15, “surrounded by family and friends.”
Former Fallout 76 project lead Jeff Gardiner praised Baudoin as “an everlasting optimist and great friend” and a keen RPG lover.
“Since leaving Bethesda, we’ve had lunch several times. He’s missed “Tweeted Gardiner. “We texted about our RPGs. He’s the only person I know who plays more than Dezinuh and I. He soloed the latest Pathfinder OwlcatGames RPG.”
Pagliarulo praised Baudoin on Twitter “Unstoppably creative, he worked hard because it wasn’t work. He was a gamer.”
Baudoin’s real name was Eric, although he was known as Ferret in games and on Reddit. One redditor says he met Baudoin in 1989, when he was a college student, and he was using the nickname then.
“I stayed in his dorm room for three years and he was best man at my wedding,” they added. “I’m sure he enjoyed it in Ireland. He used the craze of stuffing a ferret down your pants as a pick-up line.”
Kenneth Vigue, who worked with Baudoin on Fallout For Hope charity drives, disclosed his death on Reddit(opens in new tab). Some fans are leaving Baudoin tributes in Fallout 76, and an in-person tribute will be given during a 25th anniversary cosplay gathering on October 22. The gathering will include charity walks in four cities to collect money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Baudoin’s family is now taking donations for his children’s college fund and the American Cancer Society.
Baudoin was a quest designer and writer on Fallout 4 before becoming post-launch lead designer on Fallout 76 and Wastelanders. According to his LinkedIn page, he worked on Starfield.
Before joining Bethesda, he worked as a lead designer at BioWare on Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and various DLCs, and at Obsidian Entertainment on Neverwinter Nights 2 from 2003 to 2006. At Black Isle Studios, he designed the original Baldur’s Gate 3 (codenamed Jefferson) and Fallout 3 (codenamed Van Buren).
Marvel Snap Will Be the ‘largest Card Game Ever,’ Says a Former Hearthstone Executive
Original Source: Former Hearthstone boss says Marvel Snap is going to be the ‘biggest card game of all time’
Second Dinner’s Ben Brode loves Marvel Snap. His goal is to convert Marvel fans who don’t play card games or are frightened by the genre.
Marvel Snap is “the best card game for beginners,” says Brode. And considering his past as game director during Hearthstone’s golden phase, he may be onto something.
Marvel Snap has rapid, easy matches, unlike Hearthstone and Runeterra. A short match can soon turn into 10 if you’re not attentive.
Snap hasn’t changed much since we reviewed it this summer. Twelve cards portraying Marvel heroes and villains battle for dominion over three random battlefields over six turns. To win, score the most points in two of three areas.
Brode compares Marvel Snap to Hearthstone’s low barrier to entry. It’s hard to develop a basic game with so much depth. It’s easy to construct a deep game; “you can just keep adding rules,” but it’s “overwhelming” for new and lapsed players.
Brode made the simplest cards possible without compromising depth for long-term entertainment. “We have the fewest numbers on a card. Our card game has the fewest types. There are only cards.”
Ben Brode, cdo
Brode said playtesting was needed to get Marvel Snap matchups just right. “We did everything. Five, six, seven turns. We tried skipping turn 1 and played 2-6.” He claimed six gave players the “ideal balance of rapid games and cool combos.” He wants players to feel “wise and cunning” in every game.
As for the cards, we discussed Marvel Snap’s plans to keep things fair and balanced for those with less competitive decks, especially after ditching Snap’s controversial former monetization scheme. Here, there are no card packs to buy or unlock. New cards are unlocked with its combat pass.
Ben Brode began with Blizzard Entertainment as a QA tester on Warcraft III before working on the Hearthstone team as lead designer and game director from 2016-2018. Second Dinner co-founder and CDO Brode. First game is Marvel Snap
You can buy boosts to unlock cards faster or variants to change a card’s look. So you can turn Kang the Conqueror into Kang the Cosmic DJ or, my fave, Baby Doctor Doom (opens in new tab).
Unlock all cards by playing more. Brode wants you to “earn” your cards but also feel like you can construct a powerful deck with what you have. “Cards unlocked later aren’t more strong, only different. You have more possibilities.”
New players fear being pitted against someone with a superior deck of cards they’ve never seen. Brode said Snap’s matching system only pits you against folks with similar card collections to keep things fair. This means both of your 12-card decks will originate from the same pool of cards you’ve unlocked.
I asked Brode how delighted he was about Marvel Snap’s global release. I think Marvel Snap will be the best card game ever. After that bold assertion, he said he has “Experience growing the card game genre. This is the best crew in the industry, and Marvel Snap will be massive.”
Will Marvel Snap satisfy Ben? We’ll know on October 18 when it hits PC, iOS, and Android.
Despite Ui Issues, Steam’s New Mobile App is Great
Original Source: Steam’s new mobile app is a big improvement, despite UI annoyances
It’s been a while, but Valve has finally updated the Steam app for Android, iOS, and the standalone APK (opens in new tab). New features and upgrades to the UI and framework are included.
“We’ve overhauled Steam Mobile,” claims Valve. You’ll still be able to browse the store, receive Steam Guard codes, and confirm trades, but with QR code scanning for PC sign-in, smarter notifications, a new Library view with remote downloads, and customisable tabs.
Users may now log into numerous accounts in the mobile app and limit device access, so you won’t be logged in on your ex-best friend’s computer.
The software can also start Steam downloads remotely so they’re ready when you arrive home. You may customize the UI tabs and your homepage.
I looked at the app this morning, and the UI is much improved. Less “’90s HTML” vibe. You may now point your phone at your PC and use a QR code to log in, like Discord and WhatsApp. It’s beneficial if, like me, your partner uses an odd keyboard layout (opens in new tab).
When you’re scrolling through a long list of games and choose one, using your phone’s back button will put you at the top of the list or in a different part. Similar to Valve’s Steam Deck, the Steam OS will randomly return you back to the top, making it difficult to scroll down down the list.
It’s bugged me that you can’t hop back to where you were when scrolling through the store. But generally, the upgrade is amazing.
Yesterday’s Steam News Hub post(opens in new tab) offers further specifics on how to use the app refresh. For now, it’s nice to see that Valve’s focus on making the Steam Deck more user pleasant has permeated across the board.
Valve said it will add QR sign to the Steam Deck, experiment with new notifications, and let users alter device authorization in the Steam Client and browser.
Summary of Today’s Computer Gaming News
Overall, Ferret Baudoin, who worked as the lead designer on Fallout 76 and was a senior designer at Bethesda Softworks, has died. Former Fallout 76 project head Jeff Gardiner announced Baudoin’s passing on Twitter, describing him as “an everlasting optimist and close friend” and a devoted RPG enthusiast. “We have had lunch multiple times since I left Bethesda. He will be missed terribly “Gardiner tweeted. “We would text about all role-playing games we were playing. He is the only one I know who plays them more frequently than Dezinuh [Bethesda Game Studios design director Emil Pagliarulo] and I. He completed four solo plays of the most recent Pathfinder RPG from OwlcatGames.”
On the other hand, Brode describes Marvel Snap as the “ideal card game” for those who have never played before. And based on my brief conversation with him at New York Comic Con and his history as game director during what is widely regarded as the golden age of Hearthstone, he may be onto something. What distinguishes Marvel Snap from other card games such as Hearthstone and Runeterra is the speed and simplicity of gameplay. It is a snack-like style to combat in which, if you’re not careful, one brief match can soon turn into ten.
Finally, Valve has finally updated the Steam app for Android, iOS, and the standalone APK in a big way. There are some cool new features and improvements to the user interface and the framework. Valve says, “We’ve changed everything about the Steam Mobile app.” “You’ll still be able to look through the store, get Steam Guard codes, and confirm trades, but you’ll also be able to scan QR codes to sign in to your PC, get smarter notifications, see your library in a new way that lets you download things remotely, and change the tabs. The mobile app now lets users log in to multiple accounts and control device access, so you can make sure you’re not still logged in on your ex-best friend’s computer.
