Archives for October, 2009
Posted on Oct 31, 2009 under Main |
A team with members from Microsoft, the University of Toronto, and the University of Washington have developed an interface that uses electrodes to monitor muscle signals and translate those into commands or button presses, allowing a user to bypass a physical input device and even control a game or application while their hands are full. The video demonstration shows somebody playing Guitar Hero by making strumming motions and tapping his fingers together, a jogger changing his music without having to touch the device, and a man flexing a muscle to open the trunk of his car while he carries objects in both hands. The academic paper (PDF) is available online.
Posted on Oct 31, 2009 under Main |
negRo_slim writes “Who knew the N-Gage was still kicking? Well apparently it still is — however, it looks like 2010 will be the end. From the announcement: ‘While the N-Gage.com site together with the N-Gage Arena and other community features will remain in operation throughout 2010, the Ovi Store will be the new central place for all the mobile games that Nokia and other publishers offer from this point forward. We will no longer publish new games for the N-Gage platform.’”
Posted on Oct 30, 2009 under Main |
Jon Stokes at the Opposable Thumbs blog relates his experience using Google Wave as a platform for Dungeons and Dragons — the true test of success for any new communications technology. A post at Spirits of Eden lists some of Wave’s strengths for gaming. Quoting: “The few games I’m following typically have at least three waves: one for recruiting and general discussion, another for out-of-character interactions (’table talk’), and the main wave where the actual in-character gaming takes place. Individual players are also encouraged to start waves between themselves for any conversations that the GM shouldn’t be privy to. Character sheets can be posted in a private wave between a player and the GM, and character biographies can go anywhere where the other players can get access to them. The waves are persistent, accessible to anyone who’s added to them, and include the ability to track changes, so they ultimately work quite well as a medium for the non-tactical parts of an RPG. A newcomer can jump right in and get up-to-speed on past interactions, and a GM or industrious player can constantly maintain the official record of play by going back and fixing errors, formatting text, adding and deleting material, and reorganizing posts.”
Posted on Oct 30, 2009 under Main |
A recent Notice of Inquiry from the FCC is looking for opinions on how the “evolving electronic media landscape” affects kids, and whether the FCC itself should have more regulatory control over such media. The full NOI (PDF) is available online. “FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski included a statement with the NOI in which he noted that ‘twenty years ago, parents worried about one or two TV sets in the house,’ while today, media choices are far more widespread for children, including videogames, which ‘have become a prevalent entertainment source in millions of homes and a daily reality for millions of kids.’”
Posted on Oct 29, 2009 under Main |
lbalbalba writes “This morning, Nintendo announced the third upgrade to the DS family, the DSi LL (or DSi XL), will be released in Japan on November 21, one year after the DSi debuted, for ¥20,000 (approx. $220). The LL’s main improvement is the size of its screens, which have been increased from 3.25″ to 4.2″ with a moderate increase to the size of the chassis. The device also includes a much bigger stylus, which looks to be the size of a ballpoint pen, and battery life has reportedly been increased to five hours at maximum screen brightness.”
Posted on Oct 29, 2009 under Main |
Fret Nice is a unique platform game with a distinct art style, a lot of great music and support for all guitars controllers out there. Fret Nice is the first platform game ever to be played with a guitar controller. The game will be available from Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2010.
We felt sorry for gamers who bought a guitar only to be used for pure music games, so we made a platform game for them! Fret Nice is the perfect blend of two worlds. - says Pieces Interactive CEO Johan Hellberg.
Pieces is an up-and-coming Swedish developer that has quickly garnered attention to their titles. Their unique style and innovative game mechanics, blended with great music has become a signature trademark.
The game industry is under a lot of stress, we have to differentiate our products against the competition. Fret Nice looks and feels like nothing else! says Johan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Oct 29, 2009 under Main |
Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce that Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony is now available for download exclusively from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and at retail stores everywhere as part of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. For the first time ever, players are invited to experience The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, two complete games, together on a single disc as Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City. The disc-based offering does not require Internet connectivity or a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Were thrilled to share the final chapter of this epic Liberty City tale, said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. The team at Rockstar North has exceeded every expectation with The Ballad of Gay Tony, creating an explosive conclusion to the Grand Theft Auto IV saga.
In The Ballad of Gay Tony, players assume the role of Luis Lopez right-hand man, bodyguard, and confidant to Tony Prince, the nightlife impresario of Liberty City. Luis story explores Liberty Citys high-end nightlife as he struggles to balance the temptations of money and vice with family loyalties. In addition to new story missions, The Ballad of Gay Tony introduces a host of new vehicles, weapons, music, television content, multiplayer features, and side activities such as base jumping and managing Tonys various clubs.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Oct 29, 2009 under Main |
waderoush writes “Physicist Shahriar Afshar is famous as the designer of the ‘Afshar Experiment,’ a study first described in 2004 that called into question Neils Bohr’s observation that it’s impossible to observe light’s wave-like properties and its particle-like properties at the same time. Not surprisingly, the idea met with widespread resistance in the physics community. While he waits for the controversy to settle down, Afshar himself is taking a detour into the video game world. He’s now the president and CTO of Immerz, a Cambridge, MA-based startup building an ‘acousto-haptic’ interface that drapes over a gamer’s shoulders and turns video game sound into (literally) chest-pounding vibrations. Xconomy was allowed to test the device, and has the full story behind Afshar’s unusual journey and the company’s hopes for enhancing PC and console gamers’ experience of action/adventure/first-person-shooter titles.”
Posted on Oct 28, 2009 under Main |
eldavojohn writes “Game Politics makes note of criticism over leaked footage from the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 release. (Spoiler warning.) Footage shows the player engaged in killing civilians with terrorists (relevant video begins at about 1:50, second source in case of DMCA). Several game sites are asking if this is taking things too far. Probably just advertising at work, but the footage is indeed controversial — the question remains whether or not it is out of context.”
Posted on Oct 28, 2009 under Main |
sleeponthemic writes “Developer 2D Boy has posted the final results of their ‘pay-what-you-want’ experiment, selling their World of Goo game for an unrestricted price. After coming to the attention of Slashdot, a further ~26,000 sales were recorded, bringing the total to 83,147. Note that publicizing crucial mid-sale statistics — such as the revelation that ~17,000 people chose to ‘donate’ $0.01 — seems to have affected the average donation, which increased from $2.03 to above $3 by the end of the week.” They also show some interesting charts which break down the average donation by operating system, saying, “We were expecting the average price paid to be highest for Linux users and lowest for Windows users, but the gap was larger than we thought it would be”
