Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.

Already reeling from the closures of the likes of Team Bondi and Blue Tongue Entertainment, the Australian development community has suffered yet another blow. As reported by MCV, EA has called time on one of its Victorian developers. Though it didn’t enjoy the high profile of its US based progenitor, Visceral Games Melbourne contributed to the success of the Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno properties.

According to the local chapter of the International Games Developers’ Association, the decision will result in 21 job losses. EA has stated that there was “no active project in development at that location” at the time of its closure. A studio source recently informed Kotaku that Visceral Games Melbourne spent the past three years working on a major multiplatform title only to see it cancelled by senior management at EA.

The news comes less than two months after EA told Joystiq that it was expanding its Austin, Texas operations by some 300 positions.

It was a warm night out on the 14^th of September when id Software took to the stage at the Sydney Opera House. The intention of their visit? A look at the “past, present and future of gaming.”

The presentation was delivered by Tim Willits, who is perhaps best known for his work as the lead designer for Doom 3. At the time of writing, Willits is leading the development team on id Software’s latest title, an original IP known as RAGE. Powered by id Software’s new engine and promising a marriage of the RPG, racing and FPS genres the game has sparked a fair amount of excitement. Read the rest of this entry »

Presented in glorious alphabetical order, New Media: Retail Roundup is your indispensible checklist of the home console and handheld titles arriving in stores this week. What will you be playing?

MICROSOFT Xbox 360 Gears of War 3 * Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey and Gallop Racer

NINTENDO Wii Champion Jockey: G1 Jockey and Gallop Racer 3DS Nothing DS Nothing

SONY PS3 El Bleach: Soul Resurrection PSP Nothing

VARIOUS PC Nothing

New Media: Downloadable Digest is your handy reminder of the new downloadable titles released during the past week.

MICROSOFT XBLA Radiant Silvergun * Red Bull X-Fighters * Renegade Ops

NINTENDO WiiWare MotoHeroz eShop Nothing DSiWare Nothing

SONY PSN Renegade Ops Minis Alpha Mission * Arcade Essentials Evolution * Revoltin’ Youth

VALVE Steam Astro Tripper * Hard Reset * Magic: The Gathering 2012 – Expansion * Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water’s Edge * Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad * Sengoku

Recent instalments of New Media: 11.09.11 l 04.09.11 l 28.08.11 l 21.08.11 l 14.08.11

Welcome to The Black List, your one stop shop for the stories published on the site this week.

MONDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Syndicate > If you were mortified by 2K’s decision to resurrect XCOM as a first person shooter, prepare to be outraged all over again. Thanks to an (alleged) leak published on NeoGAF by forum member faulty_fork, you can now assume that Bullfrog’s action strategy classic Syndicate is going down a very similar path. READ MORE

TUESDAY NEWS Techland says sorry > Polish developer Techland has apologised to gamers offended by content found in an incomplete build of its action horror game Dead Island. As reported by Stuff Tracey Writes, a version of Dead Island erroneously published on Steam last week contains a line of code reading “FeministWh*re”. The offending edition of the game has since been replaced, but the slur will do little to assuage the perception that the industry hasn’t done enough to address its ‘boys club’ culture. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS nanoBITES 57 > Four year old PC show pony Crysis is about to join its sequel on consoles. According to EA and Crytek, the new version will feature “optimised Nanosuit controls, fine-tuned combat and full stereoscopic 3D support”. Look for it on XBLA and PSN in October. This is just one of the stories in this week’s edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

THURSDAY FEATURE Developer Playlist 2: Jon Paquette > In the latest in our series on developers and the games that inspire them, Resistance 3 writer Jon Paquette tells The Black Panel about the influence of classic titles Half-Life, The Legend of Zelda and Rock Paper Scissors on his career. READ MORE

FRIDAY NEWS Apple pulls plug on critic > An iPhone game that alleges that Apple and other electronics manufacturers have encouraged a range of unethical practices has been removed from the App Store. As reported by Giant Bomb, Phone Story implies that Apple has been complicit in the exploitation of child labour, the promotion of mindless consumerism, the enforcement of brutal working conditions and the proliferation of environmentally unfriendly materials. READ MORE

Recent instalments of The Black List: 10.09.11 l 03.09.11 l 27.08.11 l 20.08.11 l 13.08.11