This week in video games, October 17, 2017: Indie game summit in Van city

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      This week, indie developers will be hanging out in Vancouver, Fire Emblem fans get to play on the Switch, and South Park returns to consoles.

      Indie video game developers gathering in Vancouver to 'inform, educate, and motivate'

      Independent developers are coming together this Saturday (October 21) to share the creativity and excitement they get from making video games.

      The Full Indie Summit is being held at the Vancouver Playhouse, with doors opening at 8:30 a.m.

      The annual event includes a number of locals talking about their experiences making games, and it will feature overview discussions as well as topical deep dives.

      Among the presentations:

      • Jesse Ringrose will review the challenges in making Splitter Critters, a puzzle game with a unique mechanic.
      • Cloudhead's Joel Green will talk about his studio's work in virtual reality
      • Matthew Marteinsson from Klei talking about the importance of failure in making games.
      • Super Meat Boy creator Tommy Refenes explains the close connection between level design and control mechanics.

      Kelly Wallick closes the day's talks with stories about independent game developers around the world. The founder of the Indie MEGABooth showcase and the chair of the Independent Games Festival has unprecedented experience in the community development that is central to indie scenes. 

      The summit ends with attendees hanging out in the lobby of the Playhouse to mingle and play demos of games currently in development.

      The event is produced by Vancouver's Full Indie, a volunteer collective of developers.

      Tickets are $35.

      New Fire Emblem game arrives on Nintendo's Switch and handheld systems

      The Warriors games are unique in that they cast characters from other games into massive, epic-scale battles, with you controlling the flow.

      With Fire Emblem Warriors, the royal twins Lianna and Rowan and their guide, Darios, are the main characters. Set in the kingdom of Aytolis, the game will have you fighting against King Ozosid of Gristonne, who wants to awaken an evil dragon.

      The game supports the use Nintendo's Amiibo toys, including two—the characters of Chrom and TIki—that are releasing with the game.

      Available for the 2DS and 3DS handhelds and the Switch, Fire Emblem Warriors is available on Friday.

      Cartman and the gang turn into superheroes in new South Park video game

      Releasing this week on PS4, Windows, and Xbox One is the second video game from Trey Parker and Matt Stone and set in South Park.

      The Fractured But Whole is a satire of superhero tropes—Marvel's Civil War, in particular—that features a new combat system that incorporates some tactical elements. It also includes the humour that is typical of the franchise. Fart jokes abound.

      The title of the game came about because Ubisoft told the creative duo they couldn't use The Butthole of Time, reasoning that some retailers wouldn't stock the game.

      Parker said he came up with the current subtitle as a way to get "butthole" into the title.

      Games released or releasing

      • Gran Turismo Sport, for the PS4, brings car-racing into your living room with a fun arcade mode and the competitive online "sport" mode
      • Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Episode 2 for PS4, Windows, and Xbox One
      • WWE 2K18 for PS4, Windows, and Xbox One

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