Local Gaming News-Bites

Looking at our print issue this week you’d think the Austin gaming scene is all Adam Saltsman all the time. Yes, Saltsman is a badass, but just because there’s limited space on paper doesn’t mean other locals aren’t making waves. Enter the internet and its unending capacity for info.

Video Games Live returns to the Long Center January 5, and while symphonies playing the Halo soundtrack doesn’t usually do it for me, the addition of Austin Wintory to the bill is making the whole evening more appealing. Wintory composed the evocative soundtrack to Journey, which has been nominated for a Grammy. It’s the first video game nominated in the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media category which has historically been dominated by films. This year's other nominees in that category include The Dark Knight Rises and The Artist. Local studio Stoic tapped Wintory for their game The Banner Saga earlier this year, and it was just announced that the composer will be writing the music for another local, Replay Games, for the upcoming Leisure Suit Larry remake.

Replay Games doubled up on newsworthy announcements by hiring Josh Mandel as their chief creative officer. Writer and designer Mandel made his name during Sierra Entertainment’s heyday in the early 90s helping on games like King’s Quest, Space Quest, and the original Leisure Suit Larry. He was also the director of cult classic Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist. Mandel joins fellow Sierra alum Al Lowe in working on the remake of Leisure Suit Larry and an original game titled Fester Mudd: Curse of the Gold.

In other Mudd news (yup, I have other Mudd news), Mutant MUDDS was recently released to the App Store for your platforming edification. The game from local developers Renegade Kid was originally released on the Nintendo 3DS and has since been ported to PCs and, now, iOS devices. I prefer to play the game with actual buttons (as opposed to the touch screen), but for 99 cents it's nice to have the game with me at all times in case I feel like shooting blobs of filth.

I’ve run out of catchy segues, but there’s more. Audio design firm Gl33k has less than two weeks to crowd fund their music creation tool Cosmic DJ. Their goal is to raise $32,510 via Gambitious. You should check out the pitch video because ... uh ... you should just check out the pitch video. Not sure what Gambitious is? It's like Kickstarter but solely for video games. Check out our previous coverage of Gambitious for more explanation. If you need a music creation app now, Gl33k just released their first app, Glitchamaphone.

Dishonored took home the award for Best Action Adventure Game from Spike's Video Game Awards, but that doesn't mean local developer Arkane Studios is resting on their laurels. They just released downloadable content for Dishonored called Dunwall City Trials. If you don't have the game, we recommend you remedy that situation, work on your teleporting and rat-commanding skills before testing your mettle with this add-on.

Spacetime Studios has a game to add to the “local success” file. Their massively multiplayer online game Arcane Legends was downloaded 2.7 million times to iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. This is their fourth and most successful title in the Legends series that has been their calling card. Arcane Legends is free, but with myriad ways to pimp your character and animal companion you'll be making in-game purchases in no time.

Got ATX gaming news? Email gaming@austinchronicle.com and do my job for me.