15 Highest Paying URL Shortener to Earn Money Online 2019

1. BIT-URL: It is a new URL shortener website.Its CPM rate is good.You can sign up for free and shorten your URL and that shortener URL can be paste on your websites, blogs or social media networking sites.bit-url.com pays $8.10 for 1000 views.
   You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $3.bit-url.com offers 20% commission for your referral link.Payment methods are PayPal, Payza, Payeer, and Flexy etc.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$8.10
   • Minimum payout-$3
   • Referral commission-20%
   • Payment methods- Paypal, Payza, and Payeer
   • Payment time-daily
   
   
2. Cut-win: Cut-win is a new URL shortener website.It is paying at the time and you can trust it.You just have to sign up for an account and then you can shorten your URL and put that URL anywhere.You can paste it into your site, blog or even social media networking sites.It pays high CPM rate.
   You can earn $10 for 1000 views.You can earn 22% commission through the referral system.The most important thing is that you can withdraw your amount when it reaches $1.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$10
   • Minimum payout-$1
   • Referral commission-22%
   • Payment methods-PayPal, Payza, Bitcoin, Skrill, Western Union and Moneygram etc.
   • Payment time-daily
   
   
3. Wi.cr: Wi.cr is also one of the 30 highest paying URL sites.You can earn through shortening links.When someone will click on your link.You will be paid.They offer $7 for 1000 views.Minimum payout is $5.
   You can earn through its referral program.When someone will open the account through your link you will get 10% commission.Payment option is PayPal.
   
   • Payout for 1000 views-$7
   • Minimum payout-$5
   • Referral commission-10%
   • Payout method-Paypal
   • Payout time-daily
   
   
4. Shrinkearn.com: Shrinkearn.com is one of the best and most trusted sites from our 30 highest paying URL shortener list.It is also one of the old URL shortener sites.You just have to sign up in the shrinkearn.com website. Then you can shorten your URL and can put that URL to your website, blog or any other social networking sites.
   Whenever any visitor will click your shortener URL link you will get some amount for that click.The payout rates from Shrinkearn.com is very high.You can earn $20 for 1000 views.Visitor has to stay only for 5 seconds on the publisher site and then can click on skip button to go to the requesting site.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views- up to $20
   • Minimum payout-$1
   • Referral commission-25%
   • Payment methods-PayPal
   • Payment date-10th day of every month
   
   
5. Clk.sh: Clk.sh is a newly launched trusted link shortener network, it is a sister site of shrinkearn.com. I like ClkSh because it accepts multiple views from same visitors. If any one searching for Top and best url shortener service then i recommend this url shortener to our users. Clk.sh accepts advertisers and publishers from all over the world. It offers an opportunity to all its publishers to earn money and advertisers will get their targeted audience for cheapest rate. While writing ClkSh was offering up to $8 per 1000 visits and its minimum cpm rate is $1.4. Like Shrinkearn, Shorte.st url shorteners Clk.sh also offers some best features to all its users, including Good customer support, multiple views counting, decent cpm rates, good referral rate, multiple tools, quick payments etc. ClkSh offers 30% referral commission to its publishers. It uses 6 payment methods to all its users.
   • Payout for 1000 Views: Upto $8
   • Minimum Withdrawal: $5
   • Referral Commission: 30%
   • Payment Methods: PayPal, Payza, Skrill etc.
   • Payment Time: Daily
   
   
6. LINK.TL: LINK.TL is one of the best and highest URL shortener website.It pays up to $16 for every 1000 views.You just have to sign up for free.You can earn by shortening your long URL into short and you can paste that URL into your website, blogs or social media networking sites, like facebook, twitter, and google plus etc.
   One of the best thing about this site is its referral system.They offer 10% referral commission.You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $5.
   
   • Payout for 1000 views-$16
   • Minimum payout-$5
   • Referral commission-10%
   • Payout methods-Paypal, Payza, and Skrill
   • Payment time-daily basis
   
   
7. Adf.ly: Adf.ly is the oldest and one of the most trusted URL Shortener Service for making money by shrinking your links. Adf.ly provides you an opportunity to earn up to $5 per 1000 views. However, the earnings depend upon the demographics of users who go on to click the shortened link by Adf.ly.
   It offers a very comprehensive reporting system for tracking the performance of your each shortened URL. The minimum payout is kept low, and it is $5. It pays on 10th of every month. You can receive your earnings via PayPal, Payza, or AlertPay. Adf.ly also runs a referral program wherein you can earn a flat 20% commission for each referral for a lifetime.
   
8. Bc.vc: Bc.vc is another great URL Shortener Site. It provides you an opportunity to earn $4 to $10 per 1000 visits on your Shortened URL. The minimum withdrawal is $10, and the payment method used PayPal or Payoneer.
   Payments are made automatically on every seven days for earnings higher than $10.00. It also runs a referral system wherein the rate of referral earning is 10%.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$10
   • Minimum payout -$10
   • Referral commission-10%
   • Payment method -Paypal
   • Payment time-daily
   
   
9. Short.pe: Short.pe is one of the most trusted sites from our top 30 highest paying URL shorteners.It pays on time.intrusting thing is that same visitor can click on your shorten link multiple times.You can earn by sign up and shorten your long URL.You just have to paste that URL to somewhere.
   You can paste it into your website, blog, or social media networking sites.They offer $5 for every 1000 views.You can also earn 20% referral commission from this site.Their minimum payout amount is only $1.You can withdraw from Paypal, Payza, and Payoneer.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$5
   • Minimum payout-$1
   • Referral commission-20% for lifetime
   • Payment methods-Paypal, Payza, and Payoneer
   • Payment time-on daily basis
   
   
10. Oke.io: Oke.io provides you an opportunity to earn money online by shortening URLs. Oke.io is a very friendly URL Shortener Service as it enables you to earn money by shortening and sharing URLs easily.
    Oke.io can pay you anywhere from $5 to $10 for your US, UK, and Canada visitors, whereas for the rest of the world the CPM will not be less than $2. You can sign up by using your email. The minimum payout is $5, and the payment is made via PayPal.
    
    • The payout for 1000 views-$7
    • Minimum payout-$5
    • Referral commission-20%
    • Payout options-PayPal, Payza, Bitcoin and Skrill
    • Payment time-daily
    
    
11. Short.am: Short.am provides a big opportunity for earning money by shortening links. It is a rapidly growing URL Shortening Service. You simply need to sign up and start shrinking links. You can share the shortened links across the web, on your webpage, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Short.am provides detailed statistics and easy-to-use API.
    It even provides add-ons and plugins so that you can monetize your WordPress site. The minimum payout is $5 before you will be paid. It pays users via PayPal or Payoneer. It has the best market payout rates, offering unparalleled revenue. Short.am also run a referral program wherein you can earn 20% extra commission for life.
    
12. Linkbucks: Linkbucks is another best and one of the most popular sites for shortening URLs and earning money. It boasts of high Google Page Rank as well as very high Alexa rankings. Linkbucks is paying $0.5 to $7 per 1000 views, and it depends on country to country.
    The minimum payout is $10, and payment method is PayPal. It also provides the opportunity of referral earnings wherein you can earn 20% commission for a lifetime. Linkbucks runs advertising programs as well.
    
    • The payout for 1000 views-$3-9
    • Minimum payout-$10
    • Referral commission-20%
    • Payment options-PayPal,Payza,and Payoneer
    • Payment-on the daily basis
    
    
13. CPMlink: CPMlink is one of the most legit URL shortener sites.You can sign up for free.It works like other shortener sites.You just have to shorten your link and paste that link into the internet.When someone will click on your link.
    You will get some amount of that click.It pays around $5 for every 1000 views.They offer 10% commission as the referral program.You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $5.The payment is then sent to your PayPal, Payza or Skrill account daily after requesting it.
    
    • The payout for 1000 views-$5
    • Minimum payout-$5
    • Referral commission-10%
    • Payment methods-Paypal, Payza, and Skrill
    • Payment time-daily
    
    
14. Linkrex.net: Linkrex.net is one of the new URL shortener sites.You can trust it.It is paying and is a legit site.It offers high CPM rate.You can earn money by sing up to linkrex and shorten your URL link and paste it anywhere.You can paste it in your website or blog.You can paste it into social media networking sites like facebook, twitter or google plus etc.
    You will be paid whenever anyone will click on that shorten a link.You can earn more than $15 for 1000 views.You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $5.Another way of earning from this site is to refer other people.You can earn 25% as a referral commission.
    
    • The payout for 1000 views-$14
    • Minimum payout-$5
    • Referral commission-25%
    • Payment Options-Paypal,Bitcoin,Skrill and Paytm,etc
    • Payment time-daily
    
    
15. Ouo.io: Ouo.io is one of the fastest growing URL Shortener Service. Its pretty domain name is helpful in generating more clicks than other URL Shortener Services, and so you get a good opportunity for earning more money out of your shortened link. Ouo.io comes with several advanced features as well as customization options.
    With Ouo.io you can earn up to $8 per 1000 views. It also counts multiple views from same IP or person. With Ouo.io is becomes easy to earn money using its URL Shortener Service. The minimum payout is $5. Your earnings are automatically credited to your PayPal or Payoneer account on 1st or 15th of the month.
    
    • Payout for every 1000 views-$5
    • Minimum payout-$5
    • Referral commission-20%
    • Payout time-1st and 15th date of the month
    • Payout options-PayPal and Payza
    
    

Mapgen4: Beta

I put mapgen4 on hold a few weeks ago because I was having some seemingly random unreproducible freezes, where it would still calculate the map updates but it wouldn't draw them. I had tried everything (or so I thought), gotten frustrated, and taken a break. I often find that I need to take a break from something, and then when I get back to it, I figure out the problem. During this break I've been "productively procrastinating", working on several other things that I've wanted to do, including map generation on a sphere, a procedural face generator, improving touch support on many of my pages, and improving my tower defense pathfinding page. I ended up also experimenting with a better interface for my mouse-drag code, a recursive renderer in Vue.js, and a D3 + Vue.js experiment in which Vue keeps track of dependencies for D3.

Mapgen4's style takes inspiration from hand drawn fantasy maps

It's time to get back to work on mapgen4.

Within 10 minutes I had written a test environment to try to trigger the bug. It didn't. But the test environment in combination with moving the sliders around triggered the bug reliably. There were 2 sliders out of 27 that would cause the symptoms I was dreading. But in making the problem reproducible, I had made it much easier to find the problem. Within another 10 minutes I had fixed it. Yay!!

I believe I have fixed the bug, but it's possible there's another bug hiding in there.

Why was I able to find this now but not earlier?

1. I was frustrated earlier. After taking a break, I'm calm. Being frustrated makes it harder for me to figure things out.
2. I was looking in the wrong place. I was convinced it was a problem with my multithreading (in part because multithreading is such a common source of bugs), but it wasn't.
3. By taking a break, my brain generated new hypotheses in the background. At some point, maybe a week ago, a thought came to me: there's some weird behavior with rivers. When I came back to this project, I discovered that the weird behavior was linked to the bug. The problem is that occasionally, no rivers are large enough to be drawn, and my code tries to draw 0 rivers. This seems to mess up the graphics state. I fixed it by only drawing if the number of rivers was greater than 0.

I'm posting this in part to remind myself to take more breaks and to get frustrated less.

I can now get back to implementing the remaining features. Yay!

Go play with the mapgen4 beta! If you run into a bug, let me know!

2017 GAME OF THE YEAR - Genre Awards

2017 Game of the Year - from media outlets

* Video Game Awards Only - The Video Game includes Console games,
PC games, Handheld games, and Indie games, but not Mac games, Kids games,
Free games, etc.

* Professional Awards Only - The Media include Sites, Magazines, Newspapers, Publications, Broadcastings, but not Blogs have a staff of one.

* All-Format GOTY Awards Only - But a single GOTY pick must be a single title, except for a tie.

* In release order.




2017 SHOOTER OF THE YEAR


Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Critical Hit (ZA) : Destiny 2

TechTudo (BR) : Destiny 2

WIRED UK Magazine (UK) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Gameblog (FR) : Prey

IGN (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

IGN Readers' Choice (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

VOXEL (BR) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

TechRadar (UK) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Attack of the Fanboy (US) : Destiny 2

GameCrate (CA) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

4Players (DE) : Prey

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

3DJuegos (ES) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Atomix.vg (MX) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

TheSixthAxis (UK) : Splatoon 2

Bleeding Cool (US) : PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Gamereactor Italia (IT) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

DualShockers (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Gamereactor PT (PT) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Gamereactor Nederlands (NL) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Game Informer (US) : PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Everyeye.it (IT) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Hardcore Gamer (US) : Call of Duty: WWII

VGChartz (UK) : Splatoon 2

New Game Network (CA) : Destiny 2

GameMAG (RU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

SaudiGamer (SA) : Splatoon 2

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Play Legit Readers' Choice (US) : Splatoon 2

NeoGAF (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

ResetEra (US) : Splatoon 2

IlVideogioco (IT) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Игромания (RU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Zing.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Mail.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : Call of Duty: WWII

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Game Industry News Readers' Choice (US) : Call of Duty: WWII




2017 RPG OF THE YEAR


Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Persona 5

The Game Awards (US) : Persona 5

Critical Hit (ZA) : Persona 5

Areajugones (ES) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

TechTudo (BR) : South Park: The Fractured but Whole

WIRED UK Magazine (UK) : Persona 5

Twinfinite (US) : Persona 5

MWEB GameZone (ZA) : South Park: The Fractured but Whole

Gameblog (FR) : Persona 5

IGN (US) : Persona 5

IGN Readers' Choice (US) : Persona 5

Cheat Code Central (US) : Persona 5

VOXEL (BR) : Persona 5

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Persona 5

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Persona 5

TechRadar (UK) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Attack of the Fanboy (US) : Persona 5

Stevivor (AU) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

GameCrate (CA) : Persona 5

Entertainment Buddha (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

4Players (DE) : Persona 5

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Persona 5

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : NieR: Automata

3DJuegos (ES) : Persona 5

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Persona 5

Atomix.vg (MX) : Persona 5

TheSixthAxis (UK) : Persona 5

Bleeding Cool (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Gamereactor Italia (IT) : Horizon Zero Dawn

DualShockers (US) : Persona 5

Gamereactor Deutschland (DE) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Persona 5

Gamereactor PT (PT) : Persona 5

Gamereactor Nederlands (NL) : Divinity: Original Sin II

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Divinity: Original Sin II

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Varvat (SE) : Persona 5

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : South Park: The Fractured but Whole

BILD Readers' Choice (DE) : South Park: The Fractured but Whole

Game Informer (US) : Persona 5

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) : Persona 5

Alfa Beta Juega (ES) : NieR: Automata

The Gaming Ground (SE) : Persona 5

Everyeye.it (IT) : Persona 5

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Persona 5

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Nioh

Hardcore Gamer (US) : Persona 5

Jeux Capt Readers' Choice (FR) : Xenoblade Chronicles 2

VGChartz (UK) : Persona 5

New Game Network (CA) : Divinity: Original Sin II

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Play Legit Readers' Choice (US) : Persona 5

NeoGAF (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

ResetEra (US) : Persona 5

IlVideogioco (IT) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Игромания (RU) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Игромания Readers' Choice (RU) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Games.cz (CZ) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Zing.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Divinity: Original Sin II

Mail.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Divinity: Original Sin II

GameStar Hungary Readers' Choice (HU) : South Park: The Fractured but Whole

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Divinity: Original Sin II

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : South Park: The Fractured but Whole

Hrej.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Persona 5

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) : NieR: Automata

Game Industry News Readers' Choice (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild




2017 ACTION / ADVENTURE OF THE YEAR


Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) :
Action - Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Adventure - Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

The Game Awards (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Critical Hit (ZA) : SteamWorld Dig 2

Areajugones (ES) :
Action - Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) :
Action - Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

TechTudo (BR) : Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

WIRED UK Magazine (UK) : Action - NieR: Automata

MWEB GameZone (ZA) : Assassin's Creed Origins

Gameblog (FR) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

IGN (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

IGN Readers' Choice (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Cheat Code Central (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

VOXEL (BR) :
Action - Nioh
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) :
Action - Nioh
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Attack of the Fanboy (US) : Action - Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Stevivor (AU) : Assassin's Creed Origins

GameCrate (CA) : Action - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Entertainment Buddha (US) : Horizon Zero Dawn

4Players (DE) :
Action - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Adventure - What Remains of Edith Finch

ActuGaming.net (FR) :
Action - Assassin's Creed Origins
Adventure - Super Mario Odyssey

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) :
Action - Assassin's Creed Origins
Adventure - Super Mario Odyssey

3DJuegos (ES) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

TheSixthAxis (UK) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Bleeding Cool (US) : Horizon Zero Dawn

DualShockers (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Gamereactor Nederlands (NL) : Horizon Zero Dawn

PlayGround.ru (RU) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Assassin's Creed Origins

Varvat (SE) :
Action - Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Adventure - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : Horizon Zero Dawn

BILD Readers' Choice (DE) : Assassin's Creed Origins

Game Informer (US) :
Action - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Adventure - What Remains of Edith Finch

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) :
Action - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Adventure - Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

Alfa Beta Juega (ES) :
Action - Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Gaming Ground (SE) :
Action - Yakuza 0
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Everyeye.it (IT) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) :
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) :
Action - Horizon Zero Dawn
Adventure - Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

Hardcore Gamer (US) :
Action - NieR: Automata
Adventure - Night in the Woods

Jeux Capt Readers' Choice (FR) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

VGChartz (UK) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

New Game Network (CA) :
Action - Horizon Zero Dawn
Adventure - Night in the Woods

GameMAG (RU) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Sector (SK) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) :
Action - Assassin's Creed Origins
Adventure - Observer

Play Legit Readers' Choice (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

NeoGAF (US) :
Action - Yakuza 0
Adventure - Assassin's Creed Origins

ResetEra (US) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

IlVideogioco (IT) : Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Игромания (RU) : Adventure - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Игромания Readers' Choice (RU) : Adventure - Horizon Zero Dawn

Games.cz (CZ) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Zing.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Mail.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Action - Prey

GameStar Hungary Readers' Choice (HU) :
Adventure - Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) :
Action - Assassin's Creed Origins
Adventure - Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) :
Action - Assassin's Creed Origins
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : Assassin's Creed Origins

Hrej.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Adventure - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Horizon Zero Dawn

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) :
Action - PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Adventure - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Game Industry News Readers' Choice (US) :
Adventure - Assassin's Creed Origins




2017 SPORTS OF THE YEAR


Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : FIFA 18

The Game Awards (US) : Forza Motorsport 7

Critical Hit (ZA) : Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Areajugones (ES) : Forza Motorsport 7

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : Forza Motorsport 7

TechTudo (BR) : FIFA 18

Twinfinite (US) : Forza Motorsport 7

MWEB GameZone (ZA) : FIFA 18

Gameblog (FR) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

Cheat Code Central (US) : Forza Motorsport 7

VOXEL (BR) : FIFA 18

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : FIFA 18

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

TechRadar (UK) : Forza Motorsport 7

GAMES.CH (CH) : FIFA 18

Attack of the Fanboy (US) : MLB The Show 17

Stevivor (AU) : Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

GameCrate (CA) : FIFA 18

4Players (DE) : MLB The Show 17

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Forza Motorsport 7

3DJuegos (ES) : FIFA 18

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : FIFA 18

Atomix.vg (MX) : Golf Story

TheSixthAxis (UK) : Madden NFL 18

Gamereactor Italia (IT) : FIFA 18

DualShockers (US) : Pyre

Gamereactor Deutschland (DE) : Gran Turismo Sport

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Forza Motorsport 7

Gamereactor PT (PT) : FIFA 18

Gamereactor Nederlands (NL) : FIFA 18

PlayGround.ru (RU) : FIFA 18

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : FIFA 18

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : FIFA 18

BILD Readers' Choice (DE) : FIFA 18

Game Informer (US) : NBA 2K18

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) : FIFA 18

Alfa Beta Juega (ES) : Forza Motorsport 7

The Gaming Ground (SE) : FIFA 18

Everyeye.it (IT) : NBA 2K18

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : NBA 2K18

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : FIFA 18

Hardcore Gamer (US) : Golf Story

Jeux Capt Readers' Choice (FR) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

God is a Geek (UK) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

New Game Network (CA) : FIFA 18

GameMAG (RU) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) : FIFA 18

NeoGAF (US) : Rocket League

ResetEra (US) : Pyre

IlVideogioco (IT) : NBA 2K18

Игромания (RU) : Football Manager 2018

Games.cz (CZ) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : FIFA 18

Mail.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : FIFA 18

GameStar Hungary Readers' Choice (HU) : FIFA 18

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : FIFA 18

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : FIFA 18

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : FIFA 18

Hrej.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : FIFA 18

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2018

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) : FIFA 18

Game Industry News Readers' Choice (US) : NASCAR Heat 2




2017 BEST GRAPHICS


Golden Joystick Awards (UK) : Visual Design - Cuphead

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Cuphead

The Game Awards (US) : Art Direction - Cuphead

Areajugones (ES) : Artistic Design - Cuphead

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : Artistic Design - Cuphead

Digitally Downloaded (AU) : Art Direction - Blue Reflection

Twinfinite (US) : Art Direction - Persona 5

MWEB GameZone (ZA) : Art Direction - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Gameblog (FR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

IGN (US) : Horizon Zero Dawn

IGN Readers' Choice (US) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Cheat Code Central (US) : Art - Cuphead

VOXEL (BR) : Art Direction - Cuphead

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Art Direction - Cuphead

Gamekult Readers' Choice (FR) : Cuphead

jeuxvideo.com (FR) :
Art Direction - Cuphead
Graphical Performance - Assassin's Creed Origins

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Metro - GameCentral (UK) : Cuphead

4Players (DE) :
Art Design - Cuphead
Technical - Horizon Zero Dawn

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Artistic - Cuphead

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Artistic - Cuphead

Niubie Readers' Choice (ES) : Art - Cuphead

3DJuegos (ES) : Horizon Zero Dawn

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Atomix.vg (MX) : Star Wars Battlefront II

Gamereactor España (ES) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Gamereactor Danmark (DK) : Horizon Zero Dawn

TheSixthAxis (UK) : Visual Design - Cuphead

DualShockers (US) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Artistic - Horizon Zero Dawn

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Horizon Zero Dawn

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Assassin's Creed Origins

Alfa Beta Juega (ES) : Art Direction - Cuphead

The Gaming Ground (SE) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Everyeye.it (IT) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Horizon Zero Dawn

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Hardcore Gamer (US) :
Artistic Design - Cuphead
Technical - Horizon Zero Dawn

GameGrin (UK) : Persona 5

Jeux Capt Readers' Choice (FR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

VGChartz (UK) : Art Direction - Cuphead

God is a Geek (UK) : Horizon Zero Dawn

New Game Network (CA) :
Art - Cuphead
Technical - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

GameMAG (RU) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Sector (SK) : Star Wars Battlefront II

VideoGames24 Readers' Choice (GR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

SaudiGamer (SA) : Cuphead

Play Legit Readers' Choice (US) : Cuphead

Игромания (RU) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Artistic Design - Cuphead

Hrej.cz (CZ) : Horizon Zero Dawn

IGN Black Beta Select Awards (AU) : Cuphead

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Artistic - Horizon Zero Dawn

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) :
Animation - Cuphead
Art Direction - Cuphead

NAVGTR Awards (US) : Technical - Horizon Zero Dawn

Italian Video Game Awards (IT) : Art Direction - Cuphead

SXSW Gaming Awards (US) :
Animation - Cuphead
Art - Cuphead
Visual Achievement - Horizon Zero Dawn

Game Developers Choice Awards (US) : Visual Art - Cuphead

BAFTA Awards (UK) : Artistic - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice




2017 BEST STORY


Golden Joystick Awards (UK) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Torment: Tides of Numenera

The Game Awards (US) : What Remains of Edith Finch

Areajugones (ES) : NieR: Automata

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Digitally Downloaded (AU) : NieR: Automata

Twinfinite (US) : NieR: Automata

Gameblog (FR) : What Remains of Edith Finch

IGN (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

IGN Readers' Choice (US) : Doki Doki Literature Club!

Cheat Code Central (US) : NieR: Automata

VOXEL (BR) : Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Horizon Zero Dawn

jeuxvideo.com (FR) : What Remains of Edith Finch

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : NieR: Automata

TechRadar (UK) : Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Metro - GameCentral (UK) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Entertainment Buddha (US) : What Remains of Edith Finch

4Players (DE) : NieR: Automata

ActuGaming.net (FR) : NieR: Automata

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : NieR: Automata

3DJuegos (ES) : What Remains of Edith Finch

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Atomix.vg (MX) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Gamereactor España (ES) : What Remains of Edith Finch

Gamereactor Danmark (DK) : NieR: Automata

TheSixthAxis (UK) : NieR: Automata

Bleeding Cool (US) : The Evil Within 2

Gamereactor Italia (IT) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

DualShockers (US) : Persona 5

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Gamereactor PT (PT) : What Remains of Edith Finch

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Prey

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Gamesource (IT) : Persona 5

Alfa Beta Juega (ES) : Horizon Zero Dawn

The Gaming Ground (SE) : Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Everyeye.it (IT) : NieR: Automata

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : NieR: Automata

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Hardcore Gamer (US) : NieR: Automata

GameGrin (UK) : What Remains of Edith Finch

Jeux Capt Readers' Choice (FR) : The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

VGChartz (UK) : Horizon Zero Dawn

God is a Geek (UK) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

New Game Network (CA) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

GameMAG (RU) : Torment: Tides of Numenera

SaudiGamer (SA) : NieR: Automata

MonsterVine (US) : Persona 5

The New York Videogame Awards (US) : Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Games.cz (CZ) : NieR: Automata

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Mail.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

Игромания Readers' Choice (RU) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Hrej.cz (CZ) : NieR: Automata

IGN Black Beta Select Awards (AU) : Horizon Zero Dawn

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Horizon Zero Dawn

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) : Horizon Zero Dawn

Italian Video Game Awards (IT) : Prey

SXSW Gaming Awards (US) : What Remains of Edith Finch

Game Developers Choice Awards (US) : What Remains of Edith Finch

BAFTA Awards (UK) : Night in the Woods

Game Industry News Readers' Choice (US) : Attentat 1942




Previous Page - 2017 GAME OF THE YEAR

For Parkinson’s Patients, The Sense Of Loss Is Relentless

 MARCH 26, 2019    BY JEAN MELLANO

"I fight for my health every day in ways that most people don't understand. I'm not lazy. I'm a warrior!" –Unknown

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a disease of loss. It chips away one's ability to perform seemingly mindless tasks.

Examples of what I have lost to Parkinson's disease

The list of things I can no longer do, or no longer do without a lot of effort, may seem inconsequential:

• Putting a letter or card in an envelope
• Keeping a slipper or clog on my left foot
• Opening a sealed envelope
• Picking up a thread on the floor
• Turning the pages of a book
• Tying my shoes
• Rolling over in bed or on the floor
• Opening up packages
• Shaving my underarms
• Rolling a yoga mat
• Folding laundry
• Washing the hair on the left side of my head
• Holding a handbag close to the left side of my body
• Finding the edge of the toilet paper on the roll
• Slipping on a sports bra
• Trying to put on pants while standing on one leg
• Putting on pierced earrings
• Writing legibly
• Walking without fear of my left foot dragging and tripping me

"…[I]f opening your eyes, or getting out of bed, or holding a spoon, or combing your hair is the daunting Mount Everest you climb today, that is okay." –Carmen Ambrosio

What is the most troubling loss for me?

A more disturbing concern is that I can't be trusted to hold on to something firmly with my left hand, whether it is a cup of coffee or giving my rabbit his medication.

As an example, while giving medicine to my bunny, I was holding the bottle in my left hand and used an eyedropper with my right hand to administer the medication. Next thing I know, I looked down and saw pink medicine all over my rabbit's fur. I was unaware that my left hand was tipping the bottle. So, not only did I waste the medicine, I also had to clean the rabbit.

I once spilled hot paraffin wax all over the kitchen floor, counter, and cabinets because I could not hold on to the paraffin container while trying to empty it. It took me almost two hours to clean up the mess.

The loss of my left-handed grip is a problem in itself, but the extra work and cleanup I have to do when it fails me are even more troubling.

PD is progressive

Just when I think I can deal with what I have lost, something else that I used to perform with ease now eludes me. It almost feels like a death by a thousand paper cuts.

While the loss of the ability to perform each activity is no big deal, it is the daily, collective, and continuing loss of other activities that serves as a constant reminder that I have an incurable and progressive disease. Day after day, this wears me down, and it seems the list of lost functionalities grows on a monthly basis.

"Sometimes you will be in control of your illness and other times you'll sink into despair, and that's OK! Freak out, forgive yourself, and try again tomorrow." –Kelly Hemingway

What's the big deal?

While it may be easy to find a workaround now, PD is relentless, and someday it may get to the point where I don't have an alternative way to accomplish a task. This is when independence is lost. Facing new failings every day, no matter how insignificant, is daunting and can fuel a sense of despair and hopelessness.

How can I best combat PD?

Keeping my sense of humor about some of the ridiculous things PD does to my body will be my salvation. Laughter will be one of the most effective weapons in my arsenal while I battle this insidious disease.

"You either get bitter or you get better. It's that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you." –Josh Shipp

***

Note: Parkinson's News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson's News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson's disease.

https://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2019/03/26/parkinsons-patients-sense-loss-is-relentless/

Zomtober Week 2- Ali Alcatraz

   All right, folks, nothing unpredictable this week. I was able to finish two more zombies from the Malifaux Mindless Zombies set. These are both awesome characters- one obviously working the railroad or something and a girl that had a nasty run-in with an archer. I decided to start playing around with skintones. After all, what better time to experiment than on a couple of random zombies. And besides, Second Class Elitist loves layered washes and paint schemes, so I figured they'd go well with the Resurrectionist force he's making.

   So, for the girl, I went with a mix of blue and skintone paints, washed over with a wash of equal parts Army Painter Green Tone and Strong Tone, for that fetid remains look.
   The guy is using that obnoxiously pink Army Painter Barbarian Flesh, washed over with the Green Tone and THEN the Strong Tone, to give a two layered toning effect.

   Stay tuned next week, when I promise you some Pulp City, and possibly a Malifaux Substitute. I'm almost done with the Mindless Zombies box, anyhow. Don't worry, they will all come back for their own Zombie of the month article.

Storium Starters: Crash Landing

Storium Starters are starting scene ideas for the generic Storium worlds available to everyone. They contain introductory narration, challenge text, outcomes, and some location or world information that may be necessary to understand the first scene, though I attempt to keep them generic enough that they can easily be slotted in regardless of other world details you might have designed. Along with the initial scene idea, they will also contain ideas for where the story could go from the starting point. Storium Starters are released to public domain and may be used without attribution for your own games.

This Storium Starter is meant for the Space Adventure world. It is possible you may find uses for this starter outside of that world, but your mileage may vary on that.

This starter assumes that you are using the Dauntless ship described in the world's cards. If you have another name and design for your ship, you may need to make modifications to make this make sense with your concept.

Scene:

In the moments before the crash, it was like the world went silent.

It didn't, of course. The crash was the loudest noise any of them had ever heard by far. But in the moments before it, they heard nothing. The world moved slowly, too slowly, and they could see every little detail, every tiny blade of grass, every speck of dirt on the ground that was coming far, far too close.

The world moved too slowly, yes, but too quickly as well. They had time to take everything in, but not enough time to *do* something about it. One eternal moment they were plunging towards the ground, staring in horror at the shuttle's viewscreen and blaring alarms. The next...

Impact.

They weren't sure how long it took for them to shake off the daze, to clear their vision, to scrabble at their safety harnesses and crumple out of their seats. They weren't sure quite how they got out of the shuttle. Some walked, or walked and crawled and stumbled. Some were carried.

When they were fully able to take in the world about them once again, they were clear of the shuttle, and they were alive. That was what mattered.

They each looked around. Others had gotten clear too. Everyone? That wasn't sure. Some, at least. Shell-shocked, defeated, despondent, defiant...the expressions varied, but all knew the danger they now faced.

The *Dauntless* - the ship on which they served - would search. But it would take time, and in the meantime, they had to survive.

They were on an unknown world, in the middle of a wild jungle of strangely-colored plants and natural metallic formations. They'd come to explore it, in fact - that had been the mission. Quietly explore, take some samples, get recordings of the local wildlife, determine if there was any sign of sentient life. They'd taken a few preliminary scans on the way down, and located a safe place to touch down.

That place was *hundreds* of kilometers away.

So, first things first: They needed a safe location where they could patch up anyone in need of it, take stock, and get their bearings. It wasn't safe to remain by the crash site longer than they had to. The noise would certainly have attracted some attention, and chances were, anything willing to approach could be deadly. It wasn't a good idea to go traipsing off into the jungle on a longer journey yet, but hopefully they could find a place nearby that would serve their needs for the moment.

Hopefully without stirring up any of their own trouble, or getting lost. The jungle was sure to be confusing, but on the bright side, the smoke rising from the crashed shuttle, higher and higher, could guide them back if they ran into trouble.

And the shuttle...the shuttle itself was totaled, a mangled mass of metal. It was hard to believe any of them had gotten out of it at all. It was sure to be dangerous - sharp bits of metal were poking out seemingly everywhere, and exposed wiring and damaged control panels emitted sparks. But there might be something of use in there - and at the very least, they needed some basic supplies. Best to get what they could from the shuttle before they had to leave.

Slowly, the team set to work. The mission was a wash, but they had a new one now: Survival.

Challenges:

• Seeking (Relative) Safety:
• Description: A crash-landing on a world that's still a mystery...there's sure to be dangers lurking in the wilds. Immediate survival is priority number one: You need a place you can defend.
• Points: This is the major challenge for the scene. Assign it points equal to the number of players you have. 
• Strong Outcome: You find a location nearby the landing site that is safe enough for now. There aren't any notable dangers near it for the time being.
• Weak Outcome: You find a location nearby the landing site that *seems* safe enough for now. What significant danger did you miss spotting?
• Uncertain Outcome Idea: The players find a safe location, but there's a danger approaching that they're aware of so their time there will be limited. Or, the players are unable to find a safe location, and return back to the crash site to let everyone know they're just going to have to get moving as soon as they can. Or, the players find a site that *could* be safe...once they deal with a more minor threat.
• Salvage:
• Description: Your shuttle crash-landed, and it won't be flying ever again. Best see what you can salvage from the wreckage before you move on.
• Points: This is the secondary challenge for the scene. Assign it points equal to half the number of players you have, rounded up.
• Strong Outcome: You salvage some general supplies and one particularly useful item from the wreckage...what is it?
• Weak Outcome: You salvage some general supplies, and CHOOSE: You salvage a particularly useful item...what are it? But whoever played the most weakness cards (or a volunteer) is injured while they search the ship - how? OR: You salvage something that you think will be particularly useful - what is it? But you don't notice it was damaged badly in the crash.
• Uncertain Outcome Idea: The characters discover an item that would be very useful to them...but it is trapped within the wreckage. Now they'll have to figure out a way to free it in another challenge.

These two challenges are both focused on searching or exploring in some ways, but emphasize to the players that the manner in which these challenges progress is up to them. If characters are more combat-focused, for instance, they're welcome to state that they encounter aggressive wildlife while exploring or other minor physical threats that they can overcome with their weapons and combat skill. Or, maybe there's something in the ship that's being blocked by a heavy object, and a big guy needs to move it out of the way.

Storium allows players a lot of leeway with defining what happens during a challenge, including defining their own threats if need be. The Outcomes should tell players the range of things that can ultimately result from a challenge, but the way the challenge gets to those outcomes is fairly open. Players should keep things on theme for each challenge, but should feel free to come up with details that suit what their characters can do...or what they really struggle with.

If you plan to do a second set of challenges this scene, you may wish to warn your players not to play all three of their cards during these starting challenges (or all their card plays for the scene, in any case, if you are using different settings from the defaults).

Players get to get creative with the outcomes on these challenges - they're quite open. If you'd rather have more control over things starting out, or if your group doesn't seem comfortable with creating the details in the outcomes, you may wish to specify more clearly what "useful item" is found or what "safe location" is discovered. Making these sorts of things up can be a lot of fun for players, though - and for you as narrator - so if it feels possible, try letting players have more freedom with the details.

Setting Information:

This starter takes place on an uncharted alien world which the crew of the Dauntless had been tasked with exploring. The Dauntless itself is not present yet - the characters took one of the exploration shuttles on this mission. The Dauntless may arrive during the game as a change to the story, or its arrival may take place at the end of the game - the event everything builds towards.

The nature of the world is up to you, and depends on where, precisely, you would like the story to go. You might start with either the Planet DRX-31880 or the Planet EV-1996 location cards, or feel free to make up your own as suits the direction you'd like to go with the story. I've set things up with a jungle environment above by default, which fits DRX-31880 best, but that's a fairly easy modification to the narration if you'd like to have a different sort of environment.

The Dauntless itself is an exploratory space vessel with several decks in the offical cards, which should have a fairly large crew. The player characters and any NPCs you decide to have as part of the crash landing are a small subset of this crew. The Dauntless knows they are here, so it will come and look for them.

Moving Forward:

Where do you go from here? Well, there's quite a lot of options:

• Hostile Sentients: Maybe what brought the shuttle down was an intentional attack by a hostile force. Are they native to this world? Perhaps they are from an old enemy of humanity, or perhaps they are a new foe. With this idea, it's best to hint at the possibility of these sentients early on - maybe as early as right after these starting challenges, by having someone notice that some of the shuttle's damage looks like it was hit by a powerful energy pulse. Introduce them as actual antagonists as early as scene 2, and either have the players play the mouse to their cat and try to reach a place where they can safely signal the Dauntless, or find a reason they need to confront the hostiles directly. Is peace possible?
• Survival: With this, it's all about survival - the players are faced with challenges from wildlife and plants and unusual weather and anything else that seems interesting that you can throw at them. The story is all about waiting for the arrival of the Dauntless. You'll want to be careful to give players reasons to be active, though - what are the group's actual moment-by-moment tasks? Finding food and shelter, chasing after dangerous wildlife that also stole something crucial, saving an endangered crewmate...those are the sorts of challenges that can give the story a sense of momentum. It is harder to do a pure survival story than a story with solid antagonists. One angle that you can approach, then, is to find an antagonist - why did the ship crash? Maybe someone on the crew didn't want something on this planet to be found, and committed sabotage...and maybe he's working against the crew even now. Or, maybe there's just an incompetent NPC officer who tries to assert his authority and gets the group into dangerous trouble.
• A Trap! With this one, it's about the Dauntless. Bringing down the shuttle was a trap set by a hostile force, but a force that doesn't fully reveal itself until the halfway point when Dauntless arrives. Perhaps the players can realize the danger before then, and work to stop the plans of the aliens, or perhaps they struggle with their survival until the arrival and then have to work to take back Dauntless when the hostiles take it over.

There's sure to be more you could do - maybe the world is the home not of a hostile alien force, but of an inexplicable supernatural entity or other being beyond human understanding. Maybe the world itself is sentient and trying to kill the characters. Maybe they all actually died in the crash and their existence now is a purgatory where they have to work through their faults and come to understand themselves better...there's a lot you can do with this as a launching pad, so take the story where it seems to go...or just see what your players come up with and go from there, as suits your narration style.

I hope that you find this starter useful for your games! 

Donkey Kong 3

The Short

Pros

- Decently fun arcade shooter

- Music and sound effects are classic

- Platform idea for a shooter is clever and adds some interesting twists

- Very faithful to the original arcade game

Cons

- The original arcade game wasn't that great to begin with

- Stiff controls, which worked for the first two games, falter here in a shooter

- The bugs' patterns are maddening to try and figure out

- Like...it's a game where you shoot Donkey Kong between his legs. That's the game. Why. 

Yes, this is actually a real thing.

The Long

If your first reaction to seeing this review was "Wait, what? There's a Donkey Kong 3?" then you'd be in the majority. After the success of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr, Nintendo decided to take the big brown ape on what would be his final arcade excursion in Donkey Kong 3: Galaga Edition. That's right, this isn't a platformer starring Mario or DK's lovable if somewhat dorky looking son, instead you're playing what is essentially a space shooter. And the enemy (aside from DK)? Bugs. Or bees, I guess, as they have hives. And little worms that block your path.

Really not swan song to end out on, guys.

DK summons pestilence from above, a sign of the oncoming ape-ocalypse.

In this game you aren't Mario, but Stanley. Stanley, as you can imagine, is very well known in that he hasn't appeared in a single game since Donkey Kong 3. Due to his purple hair and shoes I like to pretend that all the exposure to the toxins in the bugspray warped him, turning him into Waluigi, but that isn't confirmed by Miyamoto yet and he won't return my calls. So it's pretty much 100% fact. Hey, denial = proof. 

In Donkey Kong 3: To Bee or Not To Bee, you are charged with one simple task: shoot DK's...um...tender spot. His nether regions. Between his legs, so to speak. Stanley (looking straight up while firing, must be quite the view) has this big dumb monkey in his zoo or something and needs to get him out. So the logical solution is to blast him over and over until he crawls off the top of the screen. Yeah, ok, it isn't Mass Effect or anything but it gets the job done. 

DK's most embarrassing moment.

You can't reach him from ground level, as your spray has limited range. The game does, however, remedy this with it's feeble attempt at platforming. As in, there is a literal platform Stanley is standing on (and it's structure changes slightly between three variations as you play levels) and you can hop up or down it at will. Kind of different.

DK's end game (aside from reaching the bottom of the poles and murdering you viciously), is agitating nearby bees' nests. These bees are the size of a man and are way pissed off...but mostly pissed off at the flowers beneath Stanley. The bees'll try and make off with them, and Stanley has to murder the nefarious insects in order to recover the plants. Lose all the plants, you die. Get hit by a bee, you die. And, of course, DK can crush you because he's a monkey the size of Andre the Giant. 

A laff a minute in DK3

There's a few more tricks. Shoot DK enough and he might drop a spray power-up, which gives it max range and pierces multiple enemies. This also carries between levels if you still have time left on it, which is nice. There are also obnoxious caterpillars that will block your shots and are unkillable unless you have the upgraded gun. The goal is, obviously, to get a high score, as the game just cycles with more and more bees (and varying types) until you succumb to an awful, bee-infested death. 

Stanley, played by Nicholas Cage, in the film adaptation of DK3.

There are multiple problems with Donkey Kong 3 that made it far less memorable than it's predecessors. First, it isn't a platformer, and while it's a decent enough shooter the risk probably pushed most die-hard players away. Second, the bugs come off as unfair. Their patterns are only somewhat predictable, unlike most shooting games like Galaga where you can learn the patterns easily, and they're such small targets they can be hard to hit. Third, your weapon sucks, and having to constantly fight a war of attrition with an ever-lowering DK only makes this all the more evident. And lastly, the game's clunky controls don't work in it's favor at all. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.'s movement and platforming feel archaic compared to modern games, but it was clear the game was built and balanced around that. I got none of this in Donkey Kong 3. Most of my deaths felt cheap or unavoidable, whereas in the previous two games I knew my deaths were always my own fault.

Point being, it plays clunky, feels unfair, and isn't at all like the previous two games. And that was enough to doom it to obscurity (and essentially kill the franchise, save the Donkey Kong Game Boy game and later Donkey Kong Country games). 

Stanley's enormous eye might be my favorite part of the game.

Graphically it looks good, in both the arcades on NES. While I have very limited experience with the arcade version of Donkey Kong 3, the NES version felt just about arcade perfect, for better or for worse. Again, these machines are hard to find, so correct me if I'm way off track here, but it looks and sounds almost identical.

But it doesn't really mean much if the underlying game is just a monkey's worth of problems. While still technically mostly sound, Donkey Kong 3 feels like a chore to play and fighting for high scores just isn't as engaging. As an added bonus, the NES cart still doesn't save high scores, not that you'd be inviting all the cool kids on the block over to play some high-stakes DK3 anytime soon.

How the mighty apes have fallen, Donkey Kong 3 is a misstep in an otherwise perfect series of arcade games. Two out of five stars. 

He's the now-sterile member of the DK crew