The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has awarded the very first Videogame Writing Award to D3Publisher of America and Vicious Cycle Software's Dead Head Fred for the PSP. As expected, the entire team behind the video game was very excited to hear the news. For more information, head on over to the full article.

A recent press release by D3Publisher of America has announced that they have just entered an agreement with Vicious Cycle Software, where the makers of the Vicious Engine for consoles, handhelds and PC platforms shall become a subsidiary of D3PA after the agreement pulls through.

 

D3Publisher was signed up as Vicious Cycle Software's publisher for Dead Head Fred for the PSP, but it appears that D3Publisher wishes to extend their relations with the North Carolina-based developer studio for a much longer time. And Vicious Cycle will be marked their first true internal developer studio as soon as the share acquisition agreement is successfully concluded.

"Having worked with D3PA for the past few years, we know the company shares our passion for creative excellence and our commitment to quality," said Eric Peterson, president of Vicious Cycle Software. He added that they are excited to be part of the D3Publisher family and providing their skills and talents to D3PA's game portfolio.

Details of the agreement seems to affect nothing throughout the management of Vicious Cycle, as the current leadership will not be changed nor shall the studio be moved from North Carolina. That said, financial figures pertaining to the acquisition have not been revealed, however.

Vicious Cycle Software, founded back in 2000 by former MicroProse game developers, is a developer for titles for a broad range of customers, including educational titles for children and action games for the mobile gamers. Their works include titles that were released on the Sony PS2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube. They have recently focused a development effort toward the Windows platforms.

However, since the release of their Vicious Engine middleware solution, they have delivered a cross-platform edge for games on both the next-gen and current-gen consoles. The Vicious Engine was conceptualized back in 2005, but recent improvements to the software allowed the engine to be the first to extend toward the Wii and the PSP.

We don't know if you guys are interested to compute your intelligence quotient or something but in case you are, then you are probably anticipating the release of video game PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient from Nowproduction Inc. and D3Publisher of America (D3PA).

The game was developed with the help of Kyoto University Professor Masuo Koyasu. What it does is present various puzzles to players, and then compute their PQ based on the number of moves and the speed with which they complete the given puzzles. The game is actually a sequel to title PQ 1 and some of the improvements include:

• Players will encounter more than 10 new obstacles, more than 250 puzzles, and unlock 10 hidden puzzles; themed puzzles will focus on Single Moves, Traps, Reasoning, Fewest Moves, and more.
• Players will discover their preliminary PQ score in roughly 10 minutes through Quick Mode, or play through the full puzzle set for their full PQ Score.
• Players will move around with faster and sharper movements as well as choose which puzzles they want to play first.
• Using Infrastructure Mode for the PSP system, players can upload their unique puzzles and download puzzles created by other players or new tests that will be made available weekly.
• Using Ad-Hoc Mode for the PSP system, players can send out a trial version of the game to their friends allowing them to solve 10 puzzles to discover their preliminary PQ score.
• Players will check their rank among the world’s top 100 scores, their country, their region, their age group, their gender and even their own blood type.

Fans in North America should get PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient this coming June 12.

Video game title Dead Head Fred features the dark, bizarre, and undead character of Fred Neuman. You see, he was a private detective savagely murdered and then resurrected in a bizarre scientific experiment. The thing is, upon his return, both his memory and his head are missing.

Developer Vicious Cycle software and publisher D3Publisher of America (D3PA) announced earlier today that Hollywood actor John C. McGinley will lend his voice talent to help re-animate Neuman. Vicious Cycle President Eric Peterson strongly believes that McGinley's personality and vocal style will perfectly suit Neuman's character.

The Hollywood veteran is currently portraying the character of Dr. Perry Cox on the NBC sitcom Scrubs. Before this, his acting experience transcends two decades including appearances in popular movies Identity, Are We Done Yet?, and Platoon among others under his belt, not to mention several roles in various TV shows and theater performances.

"Mr. McGinley is one of the most versatile and talented actors in the business and he is the perfect choice to bring the lead character in Dead Head Fred to life. The combination of Mr. McGinley's superb voice acting and Vicious Cycle's compelling storyline and gameplay will make Dead Head Fred a must-have title for the PSP system," commented D3PA's Brian Christian.

Dead Head Fred will be exclusively released on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) across North America this coming August 21.

 

Cartoon Network's hit original series, "Ben 10", will be making its way to the PS2, Nintendo DS, and the PlayStation Portable (PSP), thanks to D3Publisher.

Coming to the world of video games as Ben 10: Protector of the Earth, you'll find Ben still accompanied by his friends and foes, Gwen and Grandpa Max, the Forever Knights, evil Kevin 11, and his arch-enemy Vilgax. Apart from this, you may very well expect the Omnitrix's most popular alien heroes to be playable characters. As for the storyline, it is set in Ben's summer vacation, and will include all-new locations and content for players.

Says Christina Miller, vice president of Consumer Products for Cartoon Network Enterprises,

Taking the action-packed world of "Ben 10" to the next level and creating an immersive gaming experience for our fans is really exciting for us... D3PA has a proven talent for turning Cartoon Network's popular characters into authentic and well-designed video games. The variety of powerful action play in Ben 10: Protector of Earth will engage players of all levels and keep them coming back.

1st Playable Productions has taken Ben 10: Protector of Earth's DS version under its wing, while the Sony PSP and the PS2 versions are being developed by High Voltage Software, Inc. ESRB still has yet to rate the game, but it is already slated for fall this year.

D3Publisher has officially launched its puzzle solving action for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), Cube, to U.S. shores. Pegging its price tag at US$ 19.95, players can immerse themselves in enjoyable challenges with Cube's varying platforms and mazes.

Cube for the PSP provides players with nine themed zones, as well as 135 levels of gameplay that will surely get those webbed cogs in your head turning. If you wanna take on the challenge by yourself, you may perfectly do so. But at the same time, if you feel like getting some help from your friends, then you may also get that through the multiplayer modes where you can create and share levels with your peers.

Says Alison Quirion, D3PA's VP of marketing, "Cube delivers the action casual gamers have come to expect and is a game players of all ages can enjoy."

  

In recent news, D3Publisher of America (D3PA) has announced that Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for the PSP and the Nintendo DS has already shipped and is available now for an MSRP of US$ 29.99. They have tried to incorporate strategy, role-playing elements, and a storyline into a match-three puzzle board setting.

The game is set in the Warlords universe. You are challenged to create, develop, and customize the ultimate hero to save the land of Etheria from the evil Lord Bane. In order to advance, players will battle in turn-based, head-to-head, “match-three” style puzzle games in one of three gameplay modes.

Gameplay modes:

• Single-player-play 150 challenging quests against the computer AI
• Instant Action-continuous battles to level-up characters without participating in quests
• Multiplayer-battle live opponents via wireless connectivity on both the PSP system and Nintendo DS

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords has been rated E 10+ (Everyone 10 and older - suggestive themes) by the ESRB. The PSP version was co-developed by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd. and Vicious Cycle Software, Inc. while the DS version was co-developed by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd. and 1st Playable Productions, LLC.

To celebrate the announcement of the sequel for Practical Intelligence Quotient (which was released January last year), D3Publisher of America now shares with us the first batch of screens which we were lucky enough to find floating around at WorthPlaying.

Like its prequel, the PSP-exclusive Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 will help players calculate and gauge just how intelligent they really are by requiring them to complete more than 250 puzzles using the least number of moves in the shortest time possible. Here are a few of the game's features:

• create your own puzzles and share them with friends via the gamesharing or infrastructure mode
• choose which puzzles you wanna play first and get a preliminary PQ score in 10 minutes.
• you'll get your full PQ score once you solve the 10 unlockable puzzles
• infrastructure mode support allows users to show off their scores online
  

Rated E by the ESRB, Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 is currently being developed by Nowproduction and is prepped to boggle your minds this summer.

More baffling and befuddling screens in the full article!

Back in January of last year, Practical Intelligence Quotient 1 (PQ1) was released on the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Video game developer Nowproduction Inc. and publisher D3Publisher of America (D3PA) believe that the game was popular enough to merit a sequel.

So come summer of 2007, fans will be able to get their hands on Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 (PQ2). To those not quite familiar with the game, the PQ series uses a measuring system that was created with the help of Kyoto University Professor Masuo Koyasu. D3PA Vice President for Marketing Alison Quirion is excited about the new project.

PQ1 resonated exceptionally well with gamers and we look forward to offering PSP system owners the second edition to the best-selling brain game on the PSP system. PQ2 will offer a compelling and rewarding gameplay session that translates well to portable, on-the-go gaming.

In PQ2, players will be able to create their own puzzles and share these with other PSP users via the system's game share mode or utilize infrastructure mode. Also, Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 will promote flexibility among players as it gives them the option of playing what puzzle they want to finish first.

A preliminary PQ score can be obtained by playing around 10 minutes. To see if the video game has helped improve your intelligence quotient, playing the full puzzle set including 10 unlockable ones will give you your full PQ score.

Do you guys still say play WTF? It's one of those games that you pick up and try for a couple of times. It is fun at first but then, you'll get bored with it eventually and just toss it some place only God knows where. After a couple of weeks or so, you'll find it by accident and be amazed all over again.

Well, after being in the market for a couple of months now, we believe we've reached that part of the cycle where we find ourselves thinking and talking about WTF: Work Time Fun once more. We've actually come across "something" that we thought you'll find interesting as well. We call it "something" because we can't quite place it. It could be a mod, but then again, it could be a pure waste of time and effort.

There's this guy who claims that he's not good with WTF's mini game Wood Chopping. So what we he did was attached a webcam to the PSP and a little dynamo to press the "X" button. Then he added two laptop computers to the setup - one was for checking if your character is supposed to chop or not. If it's supposed to, the computer sends the data to the other laptop and it signals the relay board to press the button.

Sounds weird? Yeah, we thought so too. Anyway, here's a video clip to capture the weirdness. We wonder what the guys over at D3PA will say about this one...