JP Villar, Author at The Escapist https://www.escapistmagazine.com/author/jp-villar/ Everything fun Tue, 09 Jul 2024 18:22:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.5 https://www.escapistmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-escapist-favicon.jpg?fit=32%2C32 JP Villar, Author at The Escapist https://www.escapistmagazine.com/author/jp-villar/ 32 32 211000634 Another Absurd Clicker Game Is Climbing the Steam Charts https://www.escapistmagazine.com/another-absurd-clicker-game-is-climbing-the-steam-charts/ https://www.escapistmagazine.com/another-absurd-clicker-game-is-climbing-the-steam-charts/#disqus_thread Tue, 09 Jul 2024 18:21:32 +0000 https://www.escapistmagazine.com/?p=249569 So, there’s a new doom-clicking game: Hamster. Unlike Banana, you don’t have to click on a fruit to get a higher score. Instead (you guessed it), you click on a hamster.

The game was just launched earlier in June, and developer/publisher Hamster Games is behind it. As of July 8, the game reached an all-time 16,970 player peak within just two days, according to Stream Charts. Reviews for the game seem to be mixed for now, but the charts are registering a good 1,090.5 in average daily players in the last 30 days. 

You may be asking yourself: What do you get besides seeing the hamster shake after a random number of clicks? Well, the number of clicks available is unlimited. So, you could technically keep on clicking forever. And as per its Steam site, you can “Droop different hamsters for your Steam inventory every 90 minutes.”

Related: How to Fix Steam Wishlist Not Loading

If you’re wondering if you have to pay, don’t worry. It is a free-to-play, idle-clicking game. But if, for some reason, you want to change the look of your hamster itself, you can. There are four different types of hamsters to choose from: Devil Hamster, Lover Hamster, Kebamster, and hEmpTuhR. Each one costs just a little over 20 cents.

If you’d rather stick to Banana, the original version is also still available for download on Stream. You can play Hamster online on your PC by downloading and installing Stream from their website. You will also be able to access a Discord Community Channel for updates on the game and other general updates from Hamster Games. 

And if you’re looking for another fruit to click on, you can always check out Tapple, another free-to-play idle clicker, if that’s your thing – which it is because we’re all guilty of stress-clicking from time to time. Regardless of the fruit, know there are some good (and absurd) options out there. Here’s to clicking!

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Until Dawn’s Creators Reveal the Horror Masterpieces That Inspired the Game https://www.escapistmagazine.com/until-dawns-creators-reveal-the-horror-masterpieces-that-inspired-the-game/ https://www.escapistmagazine.com/until-dawns-creators-reveal-the-horror-masterpieces-that-inspired-the-game/#disqus_thread Tue, 09 Jul 2024 15:38:58 +0000 https://www.escapistmagazine.com/?p=249471 Cold winters and desert lodges are perfect for teen slasher movies. Lucky for horror fans, production for the Until Dawn movie is set to be released later this year, and it’s taken inspiration from quite a few horror masterpieces.

Until Dawn’s Original Cinematic Inspirations Are The Shining and Psycho

David F. Sandberg, director of Shazam! and Annabelle: Creation, will direct the Until Dawn movie. Screenwriter Gary Dauberman, known for his horror work on It, The Nun, and Anabelle, will also partake in the project. But what about the original game’s horror influences? What inspired the original storyline?

Image of a character from The Shining in the snow in the hedge maze with harsh white light on him. The Shining inspired the Until Dawn producers
Still from The Shining (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick.

 The 2015 version of the Until Dawn game came with behind-the-scenes footage. The creators discussed the cast, production design, musical score, and more. But the idea behind a group of teens in a cabin far up in the mountains didn’t come out of nowhere. 

The storyline was written by filmmaker and writer Graham Reznick along with Larry Fessenden (filmmaker and owner of Glass Eye Pix). Both had already worked together on several projects; Graham had worked with Ti West on sound production and Larry on different indie horror films. 

“The production design for Until Dawn started with the great teen horror script that sets the characters in a Canadian winter mountain lodge. Being a contemporary setting with visual clues derived from classic films of that genre. Such as Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ and Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Shining’,” Lee Robinson, Production Designer of Until Dawn stated in the footage.

Both The Shining and Psycho plots take place in pretty deserted places. In The Shining, Jack Nicholson’s character takes his family to a resort high up in the Colorado mountains. As the plot gets thicker and more snow begins to fall, he goes crazier, and it becomes clear there’s no way Nicholson and his family are coming out of the Overlook Hotel untouched.

As for Psycho, it’s clear this isn’t a Bates Motel, but there’s an underlying feeling that something unwelcoming is lurking. And it’s only a matter of time before one of the characters goes insane.

In Until Dawn’s case, the story unfolds at one of the characters’ ski lodges in Canada. As one of them puts it, “for their annual Blackwood winter getaway.” The premise is similar: it’s freezing outside, and characters are bound to stay inside and fight their fatal destiny. This makes the characters more vulnerable to their surroundings in their quest to survive.

Of course, these aren’t the game’s only cinematic references. Other horror classics that resemble the game’s plot are Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and the original Friday the 13th saga. On a side note, actress Hayden Panettiere, who plays final girl Samantha “Sam” Giddings, also played Kirby Reeds in Scream 4

The movie adaptation of Until Dawn is set to release later in 2024. 

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A Timeline of the Kardashians’s Love-Hate Relationship With Gaming https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-kardashianss-love-hate-relationship-with-gaming/ https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-kardashianss-love-hate-relationship-with-gaming/#disqus_thread Tue, 09 Jul 2024 14:06:45 +0000 https://www.escapistmagazine.com/?p=248882 Whether we like it or not, the Kardashians are almost everywhere. Since their family reality show debut in 2007, they’ve managed to step foot in any industry they could. The gaming industry was no different.

Kim’s Multimillion-Dollar Gaming App, Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Kim Kardashian and her team went straight to business and launched Kim Kardashian: Hollywood in 2014. The game went extinct this year, but the Kardashians have been more involved in gaming than you might think. 

After nine running seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim had already gotten deals and partnerships with shoe brands, TV studios, and so much more. Kim’s PR team, along with her mother Kris Jenner, were in touch with Glu Mobile (the publisher of games like Frontline Commando and Deer Hunter) to create Kim’s character-customization gaming app, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

The initial premise of the game was to create a character that players used to climb their way to fame and success and earn their “A-celebrity status.” Although predominantly popular among young girls, the game also had the option to create both female and male characters. Players could choose to style them with different hair, shoes, and clothes. 

The game had different levels to get you A-celebrity status, and challenges ranged from having to shop for outfits, attend parties, meet celebrities, do photoshoots, and even deal with the paparazzi. The game gave players rewards like K-fans and K-stars for establishing as many celebrity connections as possible, however crazy this may sound. Kim’s avatar was the one that guided players through different levels by offering little pieces of advice.

  • Image of the character speaking to Kim Kardashain beside a pool with Kim telling them how much she loves what they've done with the place
  • Image of the Starshop in Kardashian Hollywood with a variety of microtransaction options avaialble
  • A menu that announces the player has reached the e-list, and some text urging them to try and make it to the a-list
  • An image of the player character speaking to someone at the bar who mentions that Kim has just walked in
  • Image of the player character outside of the bus stop with a variety of intro-level quests on the left side of the menu
  • Image of the player character speaking to a male npc who's waxing on about how old school another person is but how they can help you find them a publicist

According to TMZ, the game generated $85 million for Kim during its first year. But how? External sponsorship and the game’s microtransactions were key elements. In Kardashian style, the game couldn’t go on without selling something. So players could purchase cash and items from the “star shop” to earn K-stars (the game’s other form of currency). However, if players wanted to, they could opt for the free-to-play version instead.

Despite the PR-obsessed nature and controversial takes, in 2019 the game was ranked 82 as one of the best 100 games of the decade by Polygon. The game went on for 10 years total and was finally shut down by April 2024.

Kanye West’s Attempt at a Spiritual Game: Only One

Although not officially a Kardashian, Kim’s ex-husband, Kanye West, tried to leave his mark in the gaming industry. After being a gamer himself and stating his appreciation for music in video games from a young age, Kanye has yet to release an official game.

His closest attempt came when he got in touch with Nintendo executives in 2015. Kanye’s inspiration for a game idea came from his late mother, Donda, who passed in 2007. His idea was revealed at E3 2016, where they showed a trailer for the game idea called Only One.

The trailer showed a group of angels (including Donda) ascending into heaven, either by themselves or a Pegasus-like horse. Kanye and his team also produced the ethereal soundtrack that was meant to be in the game. The idea for the game didn’t reveal much of a plot, but it certainly left fans wanting more. After beginning development with Encyclopedia Pictura, the project was discontinued. 

Kim’s UPS and Downs With Roblox

In 2021, Kim opened up about the nuances of parenting and brought up having to learn how to play Roblox with her kids. Later in 2022, an episode of The Kardashians showed an awkward moment; Kim’s son, Saint West, was playing on his iPad, and an ad for another game came up showing Kim’s face and claiming to release another “sex tape” as clickbait. 

The incident quickly escalated, and Kim subsequently threatened to sue Roblox for the inappropriate advertisement. Roblox representatives took responsibility and diffused the situation by banning the specific game developer who made the racy claim in their ad.

According to Polygon, a Roblox spokesperson publicly replied,

…we have strict moderation and policies to protect our community, including zero tolerance for sexual content of any kind which violates our Community Rules. The text reference to the tape that got around our filters was quickly taken down and fortunately visible only to an extremely small number of people on the platform.”

Roblox spokesperson.

Despite the incident, Kim’s family didn’t seem to have an issue with Roblox and kept playing. In 2023, Kim even shared on her social media that her son, Saint, had asked the tooth fairy for Robux (Roblox money) instead of real money. With that said, we’ll just have to wait and see what games this family comes up with in the future.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is no longer available for Android or iOS as of April 2024.

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