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D23 Special Member Events Announced for Orlando Area

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BURBANK, Calif. – MARCH 26, 2015 Today, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club announced additional special member events in the Orlando area, adding even more exclusive experiences for fans in Central Florida. On the heels of a D23 Member-exclusive screening of Walt Disney Studios’ live-action Cinderella, the fan club is slated to bring more magic to the Walt Disney World Resort area throughout the rest of the year, including—for the first time—intimate events celebrating classic Disney films similar to what members enjoy at The Walt Disney Studios lot with guest speakers, screenings, and other surprises.

WAKING UP WITH SLEEPING BEAUTY: On the morning of Saturday, April 18, D23 Gold and Silver Members will be able to enjoy this animated classic on the big screen. Special guest, animator and Walt Disney World Creative Designer Lon Smart, will explore the film’s numerous landmark achievements including its unique artistic style and groundbreaking visual effects. Plus, all members will receive a special journal designed to look like the ornate storybook at the beginning of the film.

MICKEY’S OF GLENDALE ORLANDO SHOPPING EVENTS: The Walt Disney Imagineering store is opening up a pop-up shop for D23 Gold and Silver Members. OnSaturday, June 6, guests will be able to peruse and purchase signature items from the store’s unique collection. And on Saturday, November 14, members will be able to pick up some key holiday gift items for the Disney fans in their lives—and for themselves.

LET’S GET TOGETHER WITH THE PARENT TRAP: Celebrate this beloved film—starring Hayley Mills in dual roles—with D23 as we present the 1961 hit on the big screen Saturday, June 6. D23’s Steven Vagnini will present a look at the making of the movie with rarely seen photographs and imagery. All attendees will receive a special gift. Plus, guests who attend the screening will receive priority admission on that day to D23’s shopping event with Mickey’s of Glendale.

SIP AND STROLL: D23 brings a new twist to a fan favorite, as members gather in celebration of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival on Saturday, October 3. Attendees will enjoy a continental breakfast, guest speakers, and an insider look at this annual event, now in its 20th year, before sipping and strolling around World Showcase—with some delectable surprises.

Calendar (all events and dates are subject to change):

  • April 18: Waking Up with Sleeping Beauty—AMC Downtown Disney 24, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
  • June 6: Let’s Get Together With The Parent Trap—AMC Downtown Disney 24, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
  • June 6: Mickey’s of Glendale Orlando Shopping Event—Location TBA, Walt Disney World Resort
  • October 3: Sip and Stroll—Epcot, Walt Disney World Resort, Fla.
  • November 14: Mickey’s of Glendale Orlando Shopping Event—Location TBA, Walt Disney World Resort

About D23

The name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his fledgling studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s 90-plus-year history. D23 gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic through its quarterly publication, Disney twenty-three; a rich website at D23.com with members-only content; member-exclusive discounts; and special events for D23 Members throughout the year.

Fans can join D23 at Gold Membership ($74.99) and General Membership (complimentary) levels at D23.com and at DisneyStore.com/D23. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.

Skyforge Launch Classes Revealed

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March 26, 2015 — Today, Obsidian Entertainment and Allods Team have unveiled all 13 unique classes of immortals that players will be able to battle and explore with at the launch of the upcoming sci-fi fantasy MMORPG, Skyforge. Each class, from the mighty Knight to the half-mad Alchemist, have their own unique style, appearance, abilities and talents, allowing players to experiment with many playstyles and find what matches them best. Players can switch classes anytime outside of combat so will have ample opportunity to try all 13 classes.

For a short overview and image for each class, please visit the official Skyforge website: http://sf.my.com/us/news/announcements/skyforge-launch-classes-unveiled

Bohemia Interactive Announces Make Arma Not War Contest Winners

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March 26, 2015 — Bohemia Interactive, creators of the Arma series and the standalone version of DayZ, today announce the winners in the €500,000 Make Arma Not War content creation contest for Arma 3.

In the Make Arma Not War contest, Arma 3 content creators were invited to compete in four different categories: Total Modification, Singleplayer Game Mode, Multiplayer Game Mode, and Addon.

The winners, per category, are:

Singleplayer Game Mode
1st place (€50,000) – RESIST by Kydoimos
2nd place (€30,000) – Pilgrimage by Rydygier
3rd place (€20,000) – Deliverance by Sarge Studio
Multiplayer Game Mode
1st place (€50,000) – King Of The Hill by Sa-Matra
2nd place (€30,000) – Battle Royale: Ghost Hotel by PLAYERUNKNOWN
3rd place (shared) (€10,000) – Get Wrecked* by Sli
3rd place (shared) (€10,000) – Twilight Onslaught* by Dorian23Grey*These entries received an equal amount of points from the Make Arma Not War jury.
Addon
1st place (€50,000) – Task Force Arrowhead Radio by Nkey
2nd place (€30,000) – Bornholm by Egil Sandfeld
3rd place (€20,000) – F/A-18X Black Wasp by Saul
Total Modification
Winner (€200,000) – RHS: Escalation by Red Hammer Studios

As part of a unique collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Bohemia Interactive also instituted the Health Care in Danger Special Award. Given to the entry which covers the topic of health care in danger the best, the winner of this award will go on a one-week trip to an ICRC mission in a foreign country, organized by the ICRC.

The winner is:

Health Care In Danger Special Award
Winner (one-week trip to an ICRC mission) – Pilot Civilian Air Rescue On Missions by RobJ2210

In celebration of the winners, Bohemia Interactive will be hosting a special livestream tomorrow, Friday March 27th, at 16:00 UTC. Live from the Bohemia Interactive offices in Prague, Associate Producer Matt Lightfoot and other members of the Make Arma Not War team will be playing some of the winning entries. The session will be broadcasted from the official Arma 3 channel on Twitch.tv.

Bohemia Interactive’s CEO, Marek Spanel, said:
“On behalf of everyone here at Bohemia, I’d like to congratulate the winners, and thank all of the contestants, supporters, and judges for their enthusiasm and hard work. As developer of the Arma series, it’s very inspiring to see content creators bring such varied, creative, high-quality additions to the Arma 3 platform, as well as the passionate embrace of their efforts by the Arma community. The Make Arma Not War contest is an important first step in the promoting and rewarding of content creators, and we look forward to building upon this commitment in the upcoming year.”

In order to better facilitate player-created content, Arma 3 features Steam Workshop integration, which enables people to easily share and install custom scenarios and addons. Bohemia Interactive plans to expand Arma 3’s Steam Workshop implementation to support full mods, total conversions and much larger file sizes in the near future. In addition, the studio is pursuing other opportunities that might help player-created content flourish, such as a potential Steam Workshop marketplace where Arma 3 content creators could sell their work. More specific details will be shared in a future devblog.

More information about the Make Arma Not War contest and the winning entries can be found on www.makearma.com/winners.

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QuakeCon 2015 Fourth Round of Online Pre-Registration Opens Today

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March 25, 2015 — We’re pleased to announce that QuakeCon 2015 online pre-registration for the BYOC Select-a-Seat’ package will open for attendees today, March 25th at 7pm CT/8pm ET at: registration.quakecon.org. The ‘BYOC Select-a-Seat’ package includes:

BYOC Select-a-Seat

Includes Guaranteed Reserved Seating

$55 (Limit of 1,600 packages available)

  • Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area
  • Official QuakeCon 2015 BYOC T-Shirt
  • Official QuakeCon 2015 Lanyard

Additionally, pre-registration for the Swag Pack’ as well general admission attendee online pre-registration are set to become available next week on the QuakeCon pre-registration site. The full description for the limited‘Swag Pack’ package, and the dates it will be available for purchase are below.

DESCRIPTION & AVAILABILITY

Wednesday, April 1st at 7pm CT/8pm ET

Swag Pack

Full of Limited Edition Items

$125 (Limit of 500 packages available)

  • Official QuakeCon 2015 T-Shirt
  • TWO Special Limited Edition T-Shirts
  • QuakeCon Exclusive Hoodie
  • QuakeCon 2015 branded 4400 mAh Power Bank

While general attendance remains free, attendees wishing to participate in the QuakeCon 2015 BYOC must pre-purchase one of the ‘BYOC Select-a-Seat’ packages through our online registration site to guarantee a seat. As ‘BYOC Select-a-Seat’ packages are limited and all seats will be accounted for prior to the show, we won’t have seats available on-site or on a first-come-first serve basis. Once the packages sell out, we’ll be giving people the opportunity to win a limited number of BYOC seats via social media giveaways, contests, and via our event partners leading up to the show. Be sure to keep an eye on our QuakeCon Twitter account and QuakeConFacebook page for all the details on how to win!

Slender: The Arrival Next-Gen Launch Trailer and Screenshots

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Toronto, Canada – March 25, 2015 – One of the most terrifying games in recent memory now returns! Slender: The Arrival, the official follow-up to the original indie phenomenon Slender: The Eight Pages, is now available for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft via the ID@Xbox self-publishing program. To commemorate the launch of Slender: The Arrival, a limited time discount is being offered whereby PlayStation Plus members can buy the game at 30% off, while Xbox Live Gold members can grabThe Arrival at 30% off through Deals with Gold on Xbox One.

Developed and published by Blue Isle Studios, Slender: The Arrival has already haunted scores of PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers with its incredibly dark and sinister atmosphere, a tense and mysterious plot, and one of the most shadowy and fearsome villains the videogame world has ever seen.  Set to a powerful and dramatic soundtrack, Slender: The Arrival features an engaging storyline that will have players unplugging their consoles and turning on all the lights! Lauren is in search of her friend Kate, who has recently become increasingly obsessed with the folklore of Slender Man. Was Kate’s disappearance the work of Slender Man? Use Kate’s forgotten flashlight to explore abandoned houses, creepy mines and dark forests to unravel the mystery – all the while being stalked by the menacing presence of Slender Man.

Now PS4 and Xbox One gamers listen closely! There is a hidden, ghostly, ethereal audio track that will randomly play while exploring the forest. Players who hear the song can record it, upload the clip to YouTube, and send the URL to contests@blueislestudios.com where winners will be drawn at random by Blue Isle Studios to win amazing, glorious prizes! (Or maybe a Slender t-shirt?!)

Developed in collaboration with Eric “Victor Surge” Knudson, creator of the paranormal Internet phenomenon Slender Man, and written by the creative team behind theMarble Hornets series, Slender: The Arrival is rated ‘T’ for Teen (Blood, Violence) and is now available for $9.99 digital download.

For more information, please visit www.slenderarrival.com, follow @BlueIsleStudios and ‘Like’ the game on Facebook.

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Ubisoft Announces The Crew Free Trial

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SAN FRANCISCO — March 24, 2015 Today, Ubisoft® announced that a free trial of the action-driving MMO The Crew™ is available today on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and will be available March 25 on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. New players will be able to hit the road in this free two-hour trial and keep all of their progress should they decide they want to continue by purchasing the game.

For current players, the Vintage Car Pack and Vintage Live Update, including a new PvP mode, are also available. Traverse America in style with the Vintage Car Pack, including the classic sleek-lined Chevrolet Corvette C2, the iconic and powerful Chevrolet Corvette C3 and the lightning-quick Spyker C8 Aileron. The Vintage Car Pack is now available for The Crew Season Pass holders or can be purchased separately.

Four new faction missions themed for speed racers are now available for all players free of charge with the Vintage Live Update. Saddle up for a dirt race through the Wild West, head to the Deep South to join in the Bayou Brawl, enjoy cruising down the historic Route 66 or imagine yourself in Sin City tracking down and smashing a cargo shipment in The Score.

Players can also enjoy the new Blitz Brawl PvP mode where they will hurry from zone to zone and score points alone or as part of a team. Push opponents out of the zone while remaining inside the zone to increase your chances of winning. The Vintage Live Update also comes with new tuning specs to enrich your car collection for six of your favorite cars. Keep it retro with vintage stickers, or refine your car with a brand-new wooden interior.

The 2014 Game Critics Awards Best Racing Game of E3, The Crew takes gamers on a wild ride throughout a massive open world recreation of the United States filled with exciting challenges and populated by other real players.

For more information on The Crew, please visit thecrewgame.com.

Escape Room LA Announces The Cavern

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Los Angeles (March, 2015) – Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Escape Room LA will launch an all-new live action room escape adventure with ‘The Cavern’ beginning March 25. Trapped hundreds of feet below the streets of downtown Los Angeles, participants will become explorers solving ancient clues and puzzles in order to escape from the cavern before their oxygen runs out. After the enormous success of their 1940s themed first room, ‘The Detective,’ Escape Room LA’s The Cavern promises to have participants holding their breath in anticipation.

The Cavern echoes an Indiana Jones movie where ancient sought-after artifacts become secondary to surviving the journey. Ten explorers join forces on this expedition in search of a lost civilization’s ancient treasure located hundreds of feet below the downtown LA city streets. After explorers enter the mysterious cavern, things suddenly take an unexpected turn as the mission for treasure turns into one of survival. The only way to make it back to the surface is to find ancient clues and solve the puzzles in order to escape.

“Our first Escape Room LA experience, The Detective, launched this past fall. It has become such a huge success, we knew we needed to offer up a second experience,” said John Hennessy, Race/LA & Escape Room LA Founder. “I think our escape rooms offer a truly unique and exciting experience where participants are not only engaged with each other while solving a series of puzzles and clues, but are also intimately involved in the story that we’ve created around the experience.”

From the creators of the hugely successful adventure race series, Race LA, Escape Room LA’s experiences challenge participating member’s mental skills and ability to work together towards a common goal. Unlike the company’s premiere CityRace experience, which takes place across the city, The Detective & The Cavern occur within a four walled space.

The Detective is open Wednesdays through Sundays
Beginning March 25th The Cavern will be open Tuesdays through Sundays

For tickets & more information on Escape Room LA, visit:
www.escaperoomla.com

Tickets are $30/person on weekdays and $35/person on weekends

The Detective
Escape Room LA’s theme harkens back to the era of a 1940’s detective agency rout with mystery. As the excited crowd enters the dimly lit room, members are greeted by various artifacts that at first glance have no rhyme or reason. Racing against the clock, they must figure out the answers and complete the tasks in order to solve clue all of which lead to finding the exit key. No lines to the outside world, participants have to work together as hastily as possible to get out.

Designed by Hollywood set designer, Jeff McLaughlin, the look of Escape Room LA comes from an award-winning and seasoned decorator. With a long list of work seen on productions at Fountain Theatre, the Colony, The Falcon as well as a series of films, television shows and even Lady Gaga’s “Judas” video, McLaughlin brings a unique look to the Escape Room experience.

About Escape Room LA
Escape Room LA is a division of Race/LA, founded in 2004 by John Hennessy. Inspired by the adventurous tasks of shows like The Amazing Race, Hennessy sought to bring the same level of excitement to one-day races throughout the Los Angeles area. Inspired by an escape room story he read in The New York Times about a game concept in Budapest, Hennessy’s excitement for the idea lead him to believe that Race/LA was the perfect organization to create a similar experience in Southern California.

Similar to a real-life video or adventure game, Escape Room LA immerses participants in a mysterious location with an equally mysterious series of tasks all of which must be solved in order to escape. Pieces to the puzzle fit together and little by little, the mystery of the room starts to unravel.

Batman: Arkham Knight Pushed Back and New Gameplay Video

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Looks like Batman: Arkham Knight will now launch worldwide on June 23, 2015. Accordinf to game director Sefton Hill, Rocksteady Studios is “…a developer that hates to make any compromises, so we are sorry to say this means it’s going to be just a little bit longer until you can play the epic conclusion to the Arkham trilogy. As a reward for your patience and understanding, and to make the wait even more unbearable, we are pleased to whet your appetite with a new gameplay video of Batman: Arkham Knight”.

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Dungeons 2 Pre-Purchase and Twitch Gameplay Walkthrough

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Ridgewood, NJ – March 23, 2015 – Brace yourselves – evil is coming. Prepare for the coming of The Ultimate Evil by dedicating yourself to the almighty Dungeon Lord. Pre-purchase for Dungeons 2 is now live on Steam and offers a 10% discount to loyal followers of darkness who commit themselves early to the cause of the mighty Dungeon Lord. There are also additional pre-order bonuses for digital buyers that will be unlocked depending on the overall number of Steam pre-orders for Dungeons 2 – including a digital soundtrack & art book, the exclusive ‘Morningwood’ DLC and even a copy of the Gold version of the original Dungeons. Check out the Steam store page here for full details – and you can also pre-purchase Dungeons 2 via the Kalypso Launcher for a 15% discount and a digital download of the OST too.

Last week, we hosted a livestream for Dungeons 2 on Twitch.tv which showed off the basics of the game, including a look at how to build an epic dungeon and then eliminate the pesky humans of The Overworld. If you missed out on the action, you can now watch the archived stream below for a full hour of new gameplay footage.

Watch the Twitch Walkthrough for Dungeons 2 here:

Arma 3 Marksmen DLC Video Dev Diary Part One

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March 23, 2015 — To provide a more in-depth perspective on development, Bohemia Interactive today released the first of a two-part series of developer diaries about the upcoming Arma 3 Marksmen DLC.

Exploring the new weapons and supporting platform features, in the video. Arma 3’s Creative Director Jay Crowe, Project Lead Joris-Jan van ’t Land, and Encoding Lead Petr Kolar discuss the vision behind the Marksmen DLC, its development process, and the contribution it makes to the Arma 3 sandbox.

In the next developer diary, members of the Arma 3 development team will discuss the new End Game multiplayer mode, showcase scenarios, firing drills, training courses, as well as the Virtual Garage feature, which will all be shipped alongside the Marksmen DLC.

The Arma 3 Marksmen DLC consists of seven new weapons, two scopes, remote designators, ghillie suits, firing drills, and the Marksmen showcase scenario. The DLC will be accompanied by a major platform update, which will be free for all people who own Arma 3. The supporting update will introduce weapon resting and deployment, improved recoil simulation, improved AI suppression, various sound enhancements, a new multiplayer mode and showcase scenario, suppressor and bipod weapon attachments, heavy and grenadier vests, nine additional face paints, and Virtual Garage. The Marksmen DLC, and the supporting platform update, will be released on April 8th 2015.

More information on the Marksmen DLC, and supporting platform update, can be found here. A more in-depth explanation of Bohemia Interactive’s approach to DLC for Arma 3, and how it prevents a split in the game’s multiplayer community between those who own DLC and those who do not, is available in a previously released dev blog.

The Arma 3 Marksmen DLC will be available on April 8th for 12.99 EUR/10.99 GBP/15.99 USD on Steam and Store.bistudio.com. People can already purchase the Arma 3 DLC Bundle, which includes the Arma 3 Karts, Arma 3 Helicopters, and the upcoming Marksmen DLC, for 19.99 EUR/16.99 GBP/24.99 USD – saving them more than 25% over buying the DLC piece by piece.

Those who are completely new to Arma 3, but are looking for the complete experience, can now seize a massive discount of 50% on the Arma 3 Extended Edition at Bohemia Interactive’s official store. The Extended Edition includes the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition and the Arma 3 DLC Bundle, which already saves people 9.99 EUR/11.99 GBP/14.99 USD over buying the vanilla game and DLC bundle separately. The special offer runs from March 23rd until March 29th.

To enlist for regular Arma 3 service, people can purchase the standard edition of Arma 3, or the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition, from Steam and Store.bistudio.com. Both editions will be available for purchase with a 50% discount later today until March 29th.

For more information about Arma 3, please visit www.arma3.com and/or follow Arma 3 on FacebookTwitter, and YouTube.