As reported by @HaloHubGG on Twitter, Microsoft’s filing for the Halo: The Endless trademark is being opposed by Sega-owned developer Amplitude Studios, developer of roguelike tower defense title Dungeon of the Endless. Amplitude Studios feels Microsoft’s trademark would infringe on their own property’s name.

Amplitude Studios has developed a number of instalments in its Endless series, including Endless Space, Endless Legend, and Endless Space 2. The studio is currently working on Endless Dungeon as well.

What this means for Microsoft’s trademark filing remains to be seen, though there’s a chance that the company decides to rename the Halo project in question in order to avoid issues with the trademark filing.

Leaks have repeatedly claimed that 343 Industries is working on a new unannounced Halo game. Multiple job listings over the last couple of years have also suggested the same.

As we have previously reported, the trademark application for Halo: The Endless indicates that the trademark is likely related to a game, versus a book or other game related content/products.
(Tweet 2 of 5) pic.twitter.com/rFMdtMdFHL

— HaloHub (@HaloHubGG) December 10, 2022

Amplitude Studio's have a game called "Dungeon of The Endless" which they likely feel Microsoft's new trademark will infringe upon. Hence, the opposition.
(Tweet 4 of 5) pic.twitter.com/azLrc8dNVL

— HaloHub (@HaloHubGG) December 10, 2022

"Perhaps now more than ever, there are games that players tend to invest an unnatural amount of hours into to the exclusion of everything else."

At the time, I couldn’t really imagine putting that many hours into video games over such a period of time, let-alone for a single title. There were the marathon sessions with Borderlands 2 but once it was done, it was done. Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer was good for a round or two of Silver difficulty, and then back to work. But a thousand hours, even for someone who might have been in college at the time, sounded nuts. Of course, you’ve probably seen people who aren’t in college racking up those numbers as well. Today, it isn’t about hitting 1000 hours in a year or something along those lines.

A quick glance at my Steam friends list tells the story. 1897 hours in Dota 2. 466 hours in Warframe. 6249 hours in Dota 2. 678 hours in Counter-Strike: GO. 1043 hours in Dota 2. 343 hours in Dark Souls 3. 620 hours in Don’t Starve Together. That’s not including the hundreds of hours that friends have put into Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Destiny, Destiny 2 and so on. I’m no different, mind you, with 444 hours in Warframe, 201 hours in Path of Exile and 234 hours on Clicker Heroes (the less you know the better).

Back in the day, it was about owning the hottest new games and expanding one’s collection. It still is to a degree but perhaps now more than ever, there are games that players tend to invest an unnatural amount of hours into to the exclusion of everything else. Some do it for the additional challenge or to open up an intriguing new experience – no-damage runs in Dark Souls or deathblow-only runs in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are a few examples. But the number of titles that are demanding your continued investment, your every free hour to their cause, is definitely higher than before.

"It’s not like everyone dispenses such updates in a piece-meal-followed-by-epic-buffet fashion (with some tiny morsels in between)."

Such titles often fall into the “live service” or “games-as-a-service” category. Titles like Warframe have login rewards, building times, Alerts (which were refashioned into Nightwave for an even stronger form of FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out), Gifts of the Lotus, Prime Vault openings, Prime Part removals, Baro Ki’Teer with his weekly wares, Arbitrations with their constant mission cycling, the list goes on. The amount of time required to even learn and leverage the game’s mechanics, forget clearing the entire Star Map, is fairly hefty in its own right. A feeling of community is thus fostered among all the players who are constantly plugging away at the game, digesting each new bit of weapons, cosmetics, Ephemera, mods and what have you before completing their slate of rituals. Of course, then a massive update like Fortuna, Profit-Taker, Nightwave, the upcoming Railjack and The New War roll around to demand even more time

It’s not like everyone dispenses such updates in a piece-meal-followed-by-epic-buffet fashion (with some tiny morsels in between). Path of Exile drops massive updates with each new Challenge League, introducing heaps of new mechanics to try out and new items, spells, class changes and so on to make a new playthrough compelling. It even changes the core game, allowing those happily grinding away to have some new stuff to enjoy.

However, there are also games like Monster Hunter World. It introduces new timed event quest (usually available for a weeks) that adds new items and cosmetics to earn every few months or so. Once out of circulation, other timed event quests return, filling out a list of things-to-do and monsters-to-slay for the week. The base game itself is massive enough to facilitate replaying. You can pick up an entirely different weapon tree, go back to square one to learn all of its nuances, and net dozens of hours of fun as you progress through its various upgrade paths. The build variety coupled with farming Tempered Elder Dragons and Decorations alone will take up a lot of your time, to say nothing of the co-op quests and SOS Flares that you respond to.

"Once again though, when you take all of the above into account, it’s interesting to see titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt command so much time."

Is Monster Hunter World a games-as-a-service title? No. It doesn’t dole out little bits of content each month. It can be played offline. There’s no real fear of missing out (even if there are login rewards) because all the content eventually cycles back in. That’s not including the Seasonal Festivals that see all timed event quests return. Regardless, there is a hefty amount of investment required for this Monster Hunter title. The same could be said of its predecessors over the years.

It’s a bit easier to see why multiplayer titles get so much commitment from players. That competitive grind, the desire utterly brutalize your opponent and emerge on top, is hard to shake once you’ve gotten a taste for it. Furthermore, each game can turn out different since you’re facing another living breathing person as opposed to AI with predetermined patterns. So if you throw in varying layers of strategy and hero diversity (Dota 2, League of Legends), a huge map to conquer and ways to either play nice or go to war with neighbours (Endless Legend, Anno) and a wide map with numerous possibilities for conflict (insert battle royale title), it’s no wonder that certain games can net thousands of hours of playtime solely on the basis of their multiplayer.

Once again though, when you take all of the above into account, it’s interesting to see titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt command so much time. Even if you don’t factor in their online components or meaty updates, these are games that you can easily sink a good 100 to 200 hours into. Those may seem like rookie numbers compared to many live service games but if you’re the average working class individual with limited playtime every week, that’s essentially your game for the next month or two. Though Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has its own range of randomly generated contracts and events, it still provides a couple hundred of hours of gameplay if you decide to stick to the main story and side quests.

"Several games do tend to leverage the “sunk cost fallacy” to keep people invested way past the point of having fun."

There are plenty of games that require some kind of investment from a player. In a way, that’s not so bad. I can’t really fault people for indulging in a game like Overwatch for three years straight, playing on and off, partaking in the new events, heroes and maps. After all, they’re having fun and still getting their money’s worth. It also doesn’t hurt that players feel a sense of accomplishment from their investment. Achievements granting different sprays for tasks, Competitive Play with its placement matches and ranks each season, a shifting meta that has you coming back and mastering different things also ensure that players keep coming back.

Several games do tend to leverage the “sunk cost fallacy” to keep people invested way past the point of having fun. You could look at those who play Destiny 2 and mock their suffering as they struggle to complete the various collections of armour, lore, Triumphs and weapons in the game. However, some people have fun with that and revel in it. Even if Bungie inevitably nerfs a hard-earned weapon like Luna’s Howl or Not Forgotten, some players want that kind of chase and to be rewarded with such a powerful weapon. Yes, even if it inevitably becomes a lesser version of itself somewhere down the line.

Look at a game like Dead Cells (who’s end-game system I’ll be covering in greater depth in another article). That’s a game that presents so many different things to unlock. There are dozens of Blueprints for weapons, mutations, secondary abilities, etc across the three core statistics. Unlocking those takes a fair bit of time in terms of the number of Cells to collect, especially if you factor in all of the upgrading required for the Forge to get higher tier items.

"Games that require hefty investment from players have their advantages but it’s understandable why some choose to partake in more immediately gratifying games."

From the perspective of your average consumer though, Dead Cells is a game that provides instant gratification. It’s a game where you pop in and experience the awesome combat, seeing how far you can get based on the items obtained. Beat the final boss, maybe do a few more runs, that sort of thing. There are plenty of people who will never mod their games, mess around with the Custom Mode or even bother with the Boss Stem Cells. And it’s not because they’re uninterested in tougher challenges – it’s because they got their stellar, sleekly produced hours-long rogue-lite experience. For others, slaving through and having everything while still enjoying the amazing combat is where it’s really at.

Games that require hefty investment from players have their advantages but it’s understandable why some choose to partake in more immediately gratifying games. We’re talking about titles like Life is Strange, Hyper Light Drifter, Layers of Fear, Metro Exodus or even Mortal Kombat 11’s Story Mode. Such games have a somewhat limited replay value attached to them since the experience itself doesn’t change drastically when you go back. Instead, it’s more about the overall quality of the experience, from the Zelda-esque exploration and dungeons of Hyper Light Drifter to the epic, seasonal journey of Metro Exodus.

These are games that you can easily pop into for an hour or two and pretty much have a good time. There isn’t a long list of activities to complete and the narrative is generally top-notch. You’re along for the ride, meeting all these different characters and experiencing unique events. The story may have a profound effect on you by the time the credits roll.

Instant gratification games don’t necessarily have to be solid story-based games either. They can also be titles like Dungeon of the Endless, a combination of role-playing, tower defense, dungeon-crawling and real-time strategy. Though a single romp through a specific “pod” can take a good 2 to 2.5 hours, the entire experience is broken up into bite-sized floors that are easy to clear. Even when you’re learning the game for the first time, there isn’t that feeling of being overwhelmed like, say, Stellaris or Endless Legend. It’s not 3 AM in the blink of an eye as you wonder how it all went wrong.

"There’s more going on than just the desire for improvement the hook of the grind or that insatiable hunger for content."

Let’s take a much simpler example – Crackdown 3. This is a game that is so straightforward, so absolutely simplistic in getting to the action that it’s almost a dumb throwback to its predecessors. Explore the city, blow up enemies, collect some things here and there, maybe liberate some outposts, repeat. There’s platforming and shooting. Characters are telling you things that don’t really matter all that much – funny quips, mission objectives et al. But you’re having a fun time. It’s dumb and utterly pointless gaming distilled to its core.

Perhaps the line between instant entertainment and hearty investment boils down more to the person playing. You may spend a good 90 hours completing Persona 5 but someone else might play the game multiple times, mastering every single Social Link, completing the secret battles and just replaying it tirelessly because they love it. I put a good 89 hours into Divinity: Original Sin 2 and haven’t touched the Definitive Edition. But I know that if I went back, exploring different Origins stories, trying different classes and experiencing all the changes that I could easily put in another 100 hours or more into the game. Then you have games like ABZU or Journey which take only a handful of hours to complete but whose emotional impact makes them worth coming back to again and again.

Games, in general, have the potential to hook people. The ways they do this may vary. Perhaps they’re designed to keep players invested, all for the sake of daily active user numbers and monthly spending. It could also be the result of a developer packing in as much content as possible to provide a worthwhile experience, that so-called “bang” for the player’s buck. However, even titles that don’t have that same goal in mind and simply want to present a message can have players revisiting them for years and years. Seeing someone rack up that many hours may appear strange but it’s more than just dedication. There’s more going on than just the desire for improvement the hook of the grind or that insatiable hunger for content.

"Perhaps this borders on an unhealthy obsession, to give so much of yourself to a game that there’s no real alternative beyond it."

Sometimes, it’s just that indelible urge to keep playing way past the point of a game feeling fresh, to the extent that you instinctively know everything that’s going to happen. Every enemy attack and parry window in Dark Souls 3. Every cheese and exploit in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Every mechanic in every raid of Destiny 2. Every little detail of every faction in Endless Legend necessary to win a game despite starting out in the worst possible areas. Every optimal weapon and trick in the book to beat Enter the Gungeon, going all the way to Bullet Hell and back without taking damage in the various boss fights. Every composition that has the potential to completely fall flat in Overwatch not because of the lack of damage or heroes picked but because of the positions and errors that your teammates make.

And sometimes, you’re just like that guy who played a single game of for ten years straight, chronicling the tale of three factions locked in eternal war with nukes and an irradiated landscape. You’re just there to see how it all pans out.

Perhaps this borders on an unhealthy obsession, to give so much of yourself to a game that there’s no real alternative beyond it. Then again, perhaps it’s a passion that simply feeds on how much fun you’re having. Whatever the case may be, whether you’re in it for the long or short haul, it’s interesting how so many different types of games have a way of drawing the player in and never letting go. Whether it’s the looter shooter of the month or a rogue-lite survival game that lets you endlessly break its difficulty in new and fascinating ways, there truly is a game for everyone to get invested in.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Amplitude Studios’ Endless universe has been built up quite extensively over the years. Whether it’s the 4X machinations of Endless Space or the rogue-lite quirks of Dungeon of the Endless, there’s quite a lot to go through. The entire franchise is on sale this weekend, but you can also try any of the games for free until January 28th, 7 AM PT.

The games in question include Endless Legend, a 4X title with stunning art-work and compelling factions. Then there’s Endless Space 2, a 4X space expansion title that builds significantly on the first game. Finally, we have Dungeon of the Endless, which mixes way too many genres to count (more about that here).

If any of these titles catch your fancy, then you can pick them up for pretty deep discounts on Steam (and even snag the Endless Space Collection for cheap). Amplitude continues to release new expansions for Endless Space 2 and Endless Legend. The former has received Penumbra, which brings the hack-tastic Umbral Choir to the universe, while the latter receives Symbiosis with its assimilating Mykara.

And while the rogue-like nature of Dungeon of the Endless seemed at odds with the other involving mechanics, it also felt seductive with the threat of ever-present danger. But honestly, there’s a lot to appreciate about Amplitude Studios’ little project, besides the fact that it’s the origin point for the whole Endless storyline that continues in Endless Legend and Endless Space.

"What if your characters had to level up though? What if they each had innate perks and abilities that could be unlocked by spending food resources? Oh, and just for fun, let’s throw in resources that players can gather like it’s a strategy game."

The idea behind Dungeon of the Endless began in the way that many ideas do – as a crazy “What If?” scenario. At the time, Amplitude Studios was working on the bigger, more ambitious Endless Legend. The studio had already tasted success with Endless Space, its approach to 4X space strategy and continued to release expansions for fans to devour. Endless Legend was also a 4X title but sought to be more Sid Meier’s Civilization than Galactic Civilizations. It melded fantasy with sci-fi, questing systems with conquest and exploration with fairly hands-off combat.

But Dungeon of the Endless? How could you possibly “sell” this vision to people? Dungeon of the Endless is about a prisoner transport ship whose escape pod crash-lands on a nearby planet. The goal is to transport an Energy Crystal from the escape pod to the surface to probably plan some kind of escape off of the planet (Spoiler: It doesn’t happen). Players will explore numerous floors, all randomly generated, en route to the surface and gather different items to aid in their pursuits. So far so good. The fact that you can choose two starting survivors and unlock more as time goes on is easily understood.

What if your characters had to level up though? What if they each had innate perks and abilities that could be unlocked by spending food resources? Oh, and just for fun, let’s throw in resources that players can gather like it’s a strategy game. Exploring each room on a procedurally generated floor has a chance to net different resources like Tech, Science and Food.

However, you’re probably better off building generators for these so create some Tech for the sake of building things, Food for leveling up and healing units and Science to research better things to build. Of course, we can’t leave these unprotected. For that matter, what happens if characters stray too far from the Energy Crystal? So, build some turrets to protect them. Also, you have no idea what’s inside each room, lending a dungeon-crawling aspect to the whole deal.

"My particular favourite was the “possessed” mage Mizi Kurtiz. She wasn’t possessed per say but had a demonic war hero that existed and alternated between two planes of reality (I think)."

So, Dungeon of the Endless is essentially a rogue-like, tower defense, procedurally-generated, turn-based, dungeon-crawling role-playing game with Horde elements. In a nutshell, at least. Oh and it’s developed by a team of five people or so, utilizes a pixel-art style and was built using additional funding as opposed to crowd-funding. Just because a few development team members thought they could do it.

The key to Dungeon of the Endless isn’t in the smorgasbord of genres it presents but in how the gameplay seamlessly combines them. Starting with two survivors, you may build turrets in the starting room which are good enough to fend off the basic enemies. Exploring different rooms is easy but if a room is left unlit, then monsters can spawn in it. Lighting a room requires Dust, which can be thought of as Energy, but you have to ensure a clear path is created back to the Energy Crystal. So not only do you have to explore this dungeon but must also properly plan your routes. If a route is full of openings or isn’t properly adorned with turrets, then monsters can waltz right into your Energy Crystal.

Oh, but you just can’t build turrets willy-nilly thanks to limited resources. What happens if a certain route doesn’t lead to the exit? What happens if you build generators to produce different resources while deploying turrets to guard them and suddenly, that’s not the route you need to pursue? Simply destroying turrets is viable but it doesn’t give back all of your resources so you have to plan somewhat carefully. And if you play on Easy or above, resources can’t exactly be spent wherever you want. Further levels see monsters actually breaking down doors, even if you haven’t opened the way towards that specific area.

Then there are your party members. Other heroes can be found in the dungeon and you must hire them using Food. Each has their own calling card. My particular favourite was the “possessed” mage Mizi Kurtiz. She wasn’t possessed per say but had a demonic war hero that existed and alternated between two planes of reality (I think). Mizi’s abilities don’t make her fun to play with others but she could be a wrecking ball on her own. Her passive skill Bad Company reduced the defenses of other heroes in the room with her. On her own, she gained a substantial +15 Attack Power. Further leveling her up would unlock skills like Battle Madness for more Attack at the cost of not being able to move and Hellfire for damage over time to monsters (and other heroes) in the same room.

"The game further mixes all this up with the turret types. Turrets start out as your standard DPS-dealing fare but soon you’ll research technology like healing units, defense-bolstering units, repair units and whatnot."

These skills make Mizi a veritable one-woman army. Use them and watch as the monsters fall. Often times I’d leave her to guard the Energy Crystal while other heroes quickly rushed back and she was more than capable of holding off waves of foes. Other times, she would stand at chokes with turrets and stop any advance from a specific region. Mizi was also good for scouting ahead in case I wanted to leave my party behind to protect the Crystal.

And she’s only one of several heroes present in the game, each belonging to a different faction and coming with standard skills like Got Your Back for Crew heroes and Pack of Dogs for Prisoner heroes. You can encounter Native heroes on the planet like Lady Joleri Tulak, a hero with a mount that deals some good damage but whose skill reduces the probability of Dust appearing on floors. Then there are bonus heroes Esseb Tarosh, a special hero that debuted during Amplitude’s fourth anniversary; Rosetta Q, a machine that excels in battling multiple enemies at once thanks to Enlightenators; and even cameos from Team Fortress 2 heroes like Dell the Engineer, Pat the Pyro, Misha the Heavy and Kaspar the Medic.

The game further mixes all this up with the turret types. Turrets start out as your standard DPS-dealing fare but soon you’ll research technology like healing units, defense-bolstering units, repair units and whatnot. Poison monsters with damage over time, reduce their defenses or just increase the attack of heroes in the same room – these are all possible through different turrets. You could even build Dust Generators, expensive pieces of equipment that will light certain rooms if you don’t have enough natural Dust.

Monsters become stronger as you go higher into the dungeon so units and generators must be upgraded accordingly. This is done through Science – find a terminal, invest enough resources to research an upgrade (which depends on the terminal in question) and wait for a few turns for it to manifest. Producing Food and Tech may seem paramount in the early going but it’s Science which will allow for greater benefits from your units and generators, keeping you in it for the long haul.

"However, it’s in combining these various elements that complex mechanics and narratives begin to emerge over the long term."

Items are also an important part of the experience – various weapons and gear of different rarities exist throughout each floor. Many of them are straightforward stat increases, which are essential for boosting a hero’s regenerative capabilities and DPS. Some come with different skills like the Bandleader’s Baton granting +4 Attack to all heroes in the same room with Iron Fist or the First Aid Kit providing health regen to heroes in a powered up room with Placebo. These stat increases and skills are fairly typical for any rogue-like title.

The risk in locating these items is what makes things interesting since you’re creating more paths for monsters to get to your crystal. The item in question may also not be worth the trouble – it could be a duplicate of something you own, a lower rarity tier, a weapon that can’t be equipped by any unit and so on. However, if you locate a Merchant, then any excess loot can be sold off. In exchange, the Merchant may have something useful for you. Of course, it’s possible to recruit a Merchant to your cause by building a shop for him.

At first, the entire experience may seem one-note. The exploration, unit-building and leveling make the game feel more managerial, especially when combat is fairly hands off. For that matter, the interface doesn’t even feel super-intuitive. Many times I would get annoyed with selecting a hero to view their character sheet but accidentally opened up their skills menu instead. Quickly equipping items also felt like kind of clunky as did building turrets on spaces that overlapped with generator ports.

Breaking down the game’s various elements definitely make it seem repetitive and Dungeon of the Endless could feel more tuned towards shorter bursts of strategizing and dungeon-crawling than your average heavyweights of the genre. However, it’s in combining these various elements that complex mechanics and narratives begin to emerge over the long term. Everything else feels like a backdrop, a tool for facilitating this story-telling, creating stories that are familiar but play out uniquely in their own ways.

Seeing Mizi make a strong last stand at the Crystal, obliterating dozens of enemies before finally falling, only having her demonic companion as company; the various stories between certain characters in elevator conversations, interspersed with cynical humour and charm; the environmental story-telling that indicates a world gone wrong while simultaneously making faint call-backs to Endless Space and Endless Legend; or something as simple as facing never-before-seen enemies and learning how to deal with their attacks – the various elements in Dungeon of the Endless intertwine to create interesting experiences.

"However, Dungeon of the Endless feels truly risky, like a real labour of love that was never meant to find wide acceptance."

If tedium starts to set in, it’s always possible to unlock different heroes and use them in new playthroughs. New escape pods also exist for players to start the game with. These offer different kinds of modifiers on the overall experience. The Infirmary Pod, for example, reduces the cost of healing and doubles hero HP. However, healing is no longer done at the end of a turn, passive skills that provide health regen offer defense bonuses and all items with health regen skills are replaced. There’s also the Drill Pod which allows for endless floors to traverse and no Food, Science or Industry modules at the beginning.

Seeing strategy RPGs manage their genres in strange new ways isn’t unique – Disgaea combines a deep turn-based combat system with tower-stacking as a puzzle mechanic, various means to “exploit” or break the game to become more powerful in the process (like the Dark Assembly), and great characterization. Fire Emblem has evolved over the years to create a robust relationship system to go with the strong weapon triangle system (which itself has undergone refinements over the years), not to mention infusing each of its games with unique characters and experiences over dozens of maps.

However, Dungeon of the Endless feels truly risky, like a real labour of love that was never meant to find wide acceptance. It’s like a daring shot at something only the developer could love, taking on a life of its own and becoming a sterling example of counter-culture, perhaps falling prey to many things typical of these genres but steadfastly doing its own thing. Perhaps it’s worth experiencing then, whether you’re a fan of RPGs and tower-defense titles or cracking a seemingly limitless veil of experiences in a quirky mashup.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

The Humble Bundle store has generally been a good place to pick up collections of games for decent prices. The Humble Strategy Bundle is no different and contains some great titles at various tiers.

Pay whatever you want and you’ll receive Dungeon of the Endless, the Endless Space Collection and Planetary Annihilation Titans. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Charity Pattern Pack for Company of Heroes 2 is also included in this tier.

If you beat the average asking price, which is $6.95, then you’ll also receive Empire: Total War Collection, Endless Legend – Classic Edition and its accompanying Tempest DLC. A coupon for 66 percent off on Total War: Warhammer, which can be used only on the Humble Store, is also provided.

Finally, at $12, you get all of the above with Endless Space 2 and Tooth and Tail. Even the soundtrack for the latter is thrown in. The Humble Strategy Bundle will be available for 13 days so head on over and pick it up quick.

If you thought Sega’s strategy division was already a big deal with Relic Entertainment and The Creative Assembly on-board, it’s added yet another strong studio to the list with the acquisition of Amplitude Studios. Amplitude is responsible for the Endless series of games including Endless Space, Dungeon of the Endless and Endless Legend with Endless Space 2 in development.

Sega of Europe president Jurgen Post noted that, “To have the opportunity to add a studio with the growing reputation of Amplitude’s to the Sega family is an exciting one and reinforces Sega Europe’s position as a market leader in publishing high quality PC games.

“Culturally, Amplitude is a fantastic fit for the business as it not only produces great games, but also has a proven track record in listening to fans and directly involving them in the ongoing development of their games through their GAMES2GETHER system.”

Sega currently has Relic’s Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 in development while The Creative Assembly is busy supporting Total War: Warhammer and adding post-launch content. What are your thoughts on Amplitude Studios joining the list? Let us know in the comments.

Indie games have absolutely exploded in popularity in the better part of the last two years. The games that have been developed outside of the influence of major production companies and in many cases, major, well known developers; have managed to spawn some of the most memorable experiences for gamers in recent history. Games like Minecraft and the new Shadowrun Returns and FTL, Gone Home and Rogue Legacy really helped to get the ball rolling.

Games like these show the world that a small, yet dedicated development team with enough money, support and spare time can make a game that is equally as entertaining as any of the big names, and sometimes more so. These developers blaze new trails in gaming, take risks and really try to inject some life into an industry that, frankly has a lot of stale or over-used ideas floating around in it. With the new consoles getting onboard the indie-train, the indie scene is really going to continue to pick up speed. With some great games coming in the near future, there’s even more to be excited for.

Starbound:

If this game looks kind of familiar,  you’re not exactly wrong. Starbound is being developed by Chucklefish and looks to be the successor to their popular title, Terraria. At first glance, the games do look incredibly similar, but this 2D theme is all that is similar. While you can still mine and explore the planet you start on, you can also traverse the galaxy, explore new worlds, find different resources, items and of course face the bad guys. In fact, if you run into the same monster that wants to kill you on another planet, it’s nothing but procedural luck of the draw.

Starbound is currently available for early release on Steam, but is still in very early beta stages. Things like balance and world generation are being modified regularly, sometimes daily. The quest system in place at the moment is not much more than a placeholder either. If you don’t mind having random character wipes, and want to help the developers refine the game to it’s finished product, then this early beta access may be for you. If not, you may want to wait for stage two of the three stage testing phases that Chucklefish has put in place, or maybe even longer. At any rate, Starbound certainly has a lot of potential and we’re seeing more of it almost everyday.