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Developer Pop Quiz is a weekly interview series in which we ask developers from around the industry the same 10 questions and post their responses.

Crafting an all new multiplayer experience that gamers will embrace may seem daunting, but it was a challenge that Splash Damage's Creative Director, Richard Ham, and his team were up to tackling with "Brink." Ham originally got his start counseling gamers at Nintendo but has now come a long way to oversee the design direction for all Splash Damage titles. Find out what makes him tick in this week’s Developer Pop Quiz.

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Tags brink, splash damage

"Diablo 2" introduced the concept of followers. They were basically AI mercenaries who would follow you blindly into battle, dealing out damage every once in a while, but generally just hanging out and getting paid. You could customize your follower with a weapon or an item, but that was about it. In "Diablo 3," followers are getting a lot more attention, as evidenced in a new trailer from Blizzard.

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Tags blizzard entertainment, diablo, diablo 3

We had previously reported at the end of last month that Sony had a plan to "make good" on the inconveniences suffered by both PlayStation Network users and Sony Online Entertainment gamers. Yesterday, the company laid out the details on what SOE players can expect, and it looks like you're primarily being compensated through free play time and in-game rewards.

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Tags PSN, sony, Sony Online Entertainment

Well, it looks like the cat's out of the bag. Kotaku is reporting that "Modern Warfare 3" is set for a November 8 release date. There were plenty of rumors before, and the November release date isn't a huge surprise, but the site has somehow managed to gain access to just about anything you would want to know (or not, in the case of spoilers) about what's sure to be one of the biggest games of 2011.

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Tags activision, call of duty, call of duty modern warfare 3, infinity ward, raven software, sledgehammer games

Gearbox Software is apparently already at work developing the next "Brothers in Arms" game. When asked about the current status of the franchise by XG247, the Gearbox CEO responded to the site in the affirmative, but there's no indication yet as to what the next "Brothers in Arms" game is actually about. It strangely coincides with some news from the franchise's publisher, however.

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Tags Brothers In Arms, gearbox, ubisoft

You know, I honestly never thought the PlayStation Network outage would have lasted this long. Sony has just under three weeks to meet their self-imposed deadline of May 31, and if online services are not back up by this time next week, PlayStation 3 gamers will have spent an entire month without online gaming access. There's no shortage of gamers who have adamantly defended Sony throughout this situation, but I have to imagine even the most die-hard PlayStation fan is growing weary.

Speaking with Edge, a number of UK retailers claim that the number of PlayStation 3's being traded-in for cash, or an Xbox 360 replacement, has increased significantly.

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Tags PSN, sony

In the world of "Deus Ex: Human Revolution," the augmentations make the man. And in this case, the man is Adam Jensen, the head of security for Sarif Industries. After a particuarly nasty terrorist attack, Jensen is forced to become augmented to save his life. He's none too thrilled, but you should be, as augmentations give you all sorts of awesome powers as you play through the game.

Admittedly some of the augmentations are more useful than others, and having spent a considerable time with the game, we thought it proper to give you the rundown on all of the augmentations in "Deus Ex: Human Revolution," letting you know which ones are mandatory, which ones are fun and which ones are best left to the non-cybernetic squares.

A quick note about how you unlock new augmentations in the game. Completing objectives will earn Jensen experience points and eventually level him up. Every time he reaches a new level, he'll earn a Praxis point. These are basically skill points which you can use to unlock new augmentations. You can also earn Praxis points as items hidden in the world, and you can purchase them for a hefty sum at a nearby med clinic.

CRANIUM AUGMENTATIONS PART 1

CRANIUM AUGMENTATIONS PART 2

TORSO AUGMENTATIONS

ARM AUGMENTATIONS

EYE AUGMENTATIONS

BACK AUGMENTATIONS

SKIN AUGMENTATIONS

LEG AUGMENTATIONS

Tags deus ex, deus ex: human revolution, eidos montreal, square enix

If you're like me, you were supremely disappointed that the Nintendo 3DS eShop wasn't available at the system's launch. With a line-up of early games that teetered on the brink of boredom, the company's decision to delay a download service that would allow me to actually play something besides "Super Street Fighter IV 3D" was really unfortunate. I'm still not entirely sure why the eShop wasn't available at launch, but I sure am glad I'll be able to play – what's that? Oh.

Nintendo announced today that the eShop has been delayed until June 6 in North America and June 7 in Japan.

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Tags nintendo

NOTE: The following interview contains some spoilers regarding the events of the "Portal 2" single-player campaign.

It's safe to say that Stephen Merchant's portrayal of Wheatley, the malfunctioning robotic sphere in "Portal 2," is one of the best voice over performances in video game history. Equal parts hilarious, endearing and devious, the character was brought to life by Merchant's performance and was one of the many reasons the game is so beloved.

During a phone interview, I spoke with Merchant about the Wheatley character, the experience of working with Valve, and whether he'd be willing to return for "Portal 3"...if it ever happens.

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Tags portal, portal 2, stephen merchant, valve software

If we learned one thing from "Portal 2," it's that designing mind-bogglingly difficult challenge rooms and then having people solve them feels really, really good. Until today, players have had to scratch their creative itches with the boring ol' map creator from the original "Portal." But no more! Valve unleashed the "Portal 2" authoring tools to the world, letting folks create insanely complex challenges with bouncy ooze, floaty tubes and, of course, portals.

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Tags portal, portal 2, valve software