Amazon has taken another step into the world of gaming today, taking to the stage at Twitchcon to reveal three brand new online games. Of course, all of these games come fully integrated with Twitch, allowing streaming and viewing natively. All three games come from the Amazon developed game engine, Lumberyard, which was created to allow developers to easily make online games that use Amazon’s servers and the Twitch platform.
Breakaway
A 4 v 4 eSports focused game that revolves around picking a hero and playing some kind of hybrid battle-ball game with a glowing ball called a relic. Think of it like a tower defence football game.
“Breakaway is a mythological sport brawler built for fast action, teamwork, and live streaming. Build the optimal team composition from an expanding roster of legendary warriors, each with their own unique skills, weapons, and Buildables – summonable structures that can be used to dynamically alter the arena and provide a new level of tactical depth. Fight for dominance across fabled locations such as El Dorado, Atlantis, and Styx as you engage in four versus four competition to control the Relic, an artifact of immense power. Broadcast your feats utilizing a host of new Twitch features designed to make Breakaway as fun to watch as it is to play.”
Breakaway has 3 ways to win a round:
By putting the ‘artificact’ into the enemy’s goal/portal/relay(it isn’t clear what they will call it yet)
By eliminating all enemy players at once(which sounds very difficult, as players respawn after a few seconds of dying)
When the time runs out, the side that the relic/ball is on loses the game(so at the end you want to get the ball on the enemy side near their goal)
A sandbox MMO set in the 17th century. All the usual magic and supernatural themes are here, and players will be able to build civilizations, fight monsters, and other players. The game will have time of day, in-game weather, seasons, events and more. Unfortunately, that’s all we know for now.
“Carve your own destiny in New World, a massively multiplayer, open-ended sandbox game set in a living, cursed land. Choose how you play, what you do, and whom you work with or against in an evolving world that transforms with the seasons, weather, and time of day. Band together to reclaim monster-haunted wilds and build thriving civilizations, or strike out on your own, surviving in the face of supernatural terrors and murderous player bandits. Focused on emergent gameplay and rich social features – including deep Twitch integration with broadcaster-led events, achievements, and rewards – your only limit in the New World is your ambition.”
Crucible
A survival game set on an alien world. There’s the usual choice of different heroes, with systems to make alliances and betray others. The game is said to contain dynamic events. What’s interesting is that is sounds like a Twitch streamer would host the game, while viewers participate and the streamer can trigger events and battles.
“Crucible is a battle to the last survivor on a hostile alien world. Players choose and customize heroes, making alliances and betraying allies on their path to victory. An additional player heightens the drama by triggering events, live-streaming the battles, and interacting with viewers.”
As a child still in my 30's (but not for long), I spend my day combining my love of music and movies with a life-long passion for gaming, from arcade classics and retro consoles to the latest high-end PC and console games. So it's no wonder I write about tech and test the latest hardware while I enjoy my hobbies!