Rockstar Backs Alien War in GTA Online

The Alien War in Grand Theft Auto Online has been going on for weeks and now Rockstar is officially supporting the war and offering players both alien suits for free.

Over the last few weeks, the war between purple and green aliens in GTA Online has gradually increased. What started out as a small conflict between some players has become a full scale war between a huge chunk of the games player base. 

All over Reddit you can find subreddits dedicated to war, yet the event is completely fan made which makes it so much more special.

The Rockstar Games Twitter account tweeted yesterday that for the next week both the green and purple alien suits will be free to all players. In their tweet, they also reference the current conflict stating “Grab yours and join the fight...”

Rockstar Relief

Rockstar Announced that it is going to donate 5% of its in-game profits of GTA Online and Red Dead Online will be donated to the COVID-19 relief efforts. These funds will be used to support business that are struggling from the impact and also bolster local communities. 

Red Dead Online shot by me

GTA Online is still one of the most played games across all formats and boasts a huge player base, very much dedicated to keeping the game alive. While Red Dead Online hasn't reached anywhere near the same numbers, during lock down it is bound to see some more gunslingers arriving in the saloon. 

COVID-19 aka Corona Virus an Update

Right now we are living in unprecedented times, as a Global Pandemic sweeps the nations we all sit in uncertainty and worry about what the future holds. As of the moment I write this I am also going into self isolation. My partners work colleague who she spends most of her days with has been diagnosed with COVID-19 along with his wife and child.

The UK so far has not put measures in place quite like Germany, Italy and Paris, but we are getting there. I have had cold symptoms and a temperature for a couple of days but today it has developed into a sore throat, muscle and ear pain. Maybe it isn't COVID-19 but obeying government guidelines I have decided to stay away from the population for two weeks. 

However, I do not write this in despair. For the majority of the population the illness is no more than a mild cold or nasty fever, some people seem to show no symptoms at all. Regardless, we will be going out less and having to be inside more. We need to be responsible and think of others, as nothing could be worse than infecting the sick, elderly or infirm. 

While some companies and people are profiting from our misfortune and misery, it is nice to know others care. Today both Rockstar Games and CD Projekt Red posted announcements onto their social media.

Rockstar Games in their announcement says that it will continue to roll out their usual schedule as planned but also is hoping to have an extra few surprises in store for gamers due to the self isolation a lot of us will experience. 

CD Projekt Red promises to not shift their release date of Cyberpunk 2077. Their team are working remotely to make sure the work still gets done. Despite prior delays the team know how to work the media and appease their fans. I was won over by the reversible cover featuring V, the female poster girl of the series, leaked on International Woman's Day. 

Also with cinemas closing, concerts cancelled and all other public meeting places being avoided, we are seeing many streaming services bringing forward their releases. Frozen 2 is being pulled forward by 3 months and hosted on Disney+, while Universal is to make Trolls World Tour, The Hunt and the Invisible Man available early on home entertainment.

With everyone so worried it would make a nice change for the media to present us with hope and joy instead of increasing our worry and causing our wallets to empty. Panic buying all over has led to shortages of many essential products and some people going without. 

Take care of those around you, stay inside if you are unwell and most of all spread the positive, as we all could do with a dose of it right now.

The Passing of Kazuhisa Hashimoto

Most programmers in video games sadly go unnoticed, especially in this day and age of gaming. The focus is generally more on the designers, producers, concept artists and voice actors. Well, not all programmers fade into the  background. Kazuhisa Hashimoto was possibly one of the most famous programmers of all time. Known for his code ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B, A, Start. Rather like the Wilhelm Scream, this has lived on past its initial use. Over three decades later we still can find it as an Easter egg in games. 

While this is week old news, I thought it would be a fine moment to pay tribute to Kazuhisa Hashimoto and also use it as a reason to showcase some fine VP talents work. I have hunted down some shots from games that have paid their own tribute to the programmer's code and included them for you to see here. 

Originally the code was created to play the NES port of Gradius during its development cycle, as Kazuhisa Hashimoto felt it was too difficult to play. Since then it had been used in over one hundred games, below are a handful of examples. 

In Fortnite the code was used to unlock a Space Invaders mini game for a limited time ahead of Chapter 2. 

Above and below, two shots of Harely Quinn from Fortnite by the ever-talented Scionjay96

The code showed up in BioShock Infinite unlocking the more difficult "1999 Mode" from the start.

Above and below mypath_inlife showcases two (of many) breathtaking BioShock Infinite shots.

Boarderlands 2 uses it on the menu screen to unlock "extra wubs", but in lacking a photo mode I decided to go with the even more beautiful Boarderlands 3.

The two wonderful shots above are from Artistry Impact, showing the wonderful juxtaposition between Boarderland's grim wastelands and urban landscapes.

Above and below we have two more shots from Tisben, which portray the neon chaos of the game wonderfully.

In Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, 4 and Rising: Vengeance the code was used for a variety of Easter eggs within the games.

Once again the Metal Gear series has no photomode, so here are two captures from Tonio Game Show, one of very few VPs that I have seen upload content from the series. 

If entered at the title screen of Rocket League it replaces the title screen with the original games title: Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars.

GTA Online features an arcade game titled Invade and Persuade, if used the code lets you start with 99 lives. 

Above and below are two shots by Saucy_Reaper of GTA Online using the Rockstar Editor as the game has no photo mode. 

It is nice to consider that one simple line of code inspired so many. Hopefully seeing these VP shots also inspired you as much as they do me. Happy shooting VPs, I look forward to what you have in store for us.