Earn money by clicking ads- Paid since 2008
Saturday, October 29, 2011
This is What Battlefield 3 Looks Like in Ridiculously High-Definition
A gamer has uploaded a video that shows just how pretty you can make the PC version of EA's Battlefield 3 look. The ultra high-res video above was taken with a PC rig powered by 2 GTX 580 in SLI in 1920 X 1080.
Blizzard President Apologizes for Anti-Gay Insults at BlizzCon
During the closing ceremony of this year's BlizzCon, the Blizzard employee band Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain took to the stage, accompanied by guest singer George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of death metal outfit Cannibal Corpse. L90ETC's set was preceded by a video of Fisher expressing his love for World of Warcraft -- specifically, the Horde -- using some somewhat colorful language. His swearing, homophobic insults and expressions of desire that Alliance players should "die" were bleeped out, but many people took offense, and quite rightly so. The uncut, massively NSFW video, can be found here.
Discussion erupted on the Blizzard forums criticizing the company for endorsing a video encouraging the abuse and death of a considerable proportion of its player base. Blizzard later noted that the video was framed as a joke, and the band also claimed that the video was "never intended to be taken seriously" but that they were sorry they offended anyone.
This wasn't enough for some people, who were personally upset by Fisher's verbal abuse -- particularly the use of homophobic slurs. In response, Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, posted a personal apology which reads thus:
Dear members of the Blizzard community,
I have read your feedback and comments about this year's BlizzCon, and I have also read the feedback to the apology from Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain. I'd like to respond to some of your feedback here.
As president of Blizzard, I take full responsibility for everything that occurs at BlizzCon.
It was shortsighted and insensitive to use the video at all, even in censored form. The language used in the original version, including the slurs and use of sexual orientation as an insult, is not acceptable, period. We realize now that having even an edited version at the show was counter to the standards we try to maintain in our forums and in our games. Doing so was an error in judgment, and we regret it.
The bottom line is we deeply apologize for our mistakes and for hurting or offending anyone. We want you to have fun at our events, and we want everyone to feel welcome. We're proud to be part of a huge and diverse community, and I am proud that so many aspects of the community are represented within Blizzard itself.
As a leader of Blizzard, and a member of the band, I truly hope you will accept my humblest apology.
- Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment
Good on Blizzard for responding to this in a classy and timely manner -- but this should never have happened in the first place. Alienating a significant proportion of the player base of your community/social interaction-based game is not a smart move.
Discussion erupted on the Blizzard forums criticizing the company for endorsing a video encouraging the abuse and death of a considerable proportion of its player base. Blizzard later noted that the video was framed as a joke, and the band also claimed that the video was "never intended to be taken seriously" but that they were sorry they offended anyone.
This wasn't enough for some people, who were personally upset by Fisher's verbal abuse -- particularly the use of homophobic slurs. In response, Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, posted a personal apology which reads thus:
Dear members of the Blizzard community,
I have read your feedback and comments about this year's BlizzCon, and I have also read the feedback to the apology from Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain. I'd like to respond to some of your feedback here.
As president of Blizzard, I take full responsibility for everything that occurs at BlizzCon.
It was shortsighted and insensitive to use the video at all, even in censored form. The language used in the original version, including the slurs and use of sexual orientation as an insult, is not acceptable, period. We realize now that having even an edited version at the show was counter to the standards we try to maintain in our forums and in our games. Doing so was an error in judgment, and we regret it.
The bottom line is we deeply apologize for our mistakes and for hurting or offending anyone. We want you to have fun at our events, and we want everyone to feel welcome. We're proud to be part of a huge and diverse community, and I am proud that so many aspects of the community are represented within Blizzard itself.
As a leader of Blizzard, and a member of the band, I truly hope you will accept my humblest apology.
- Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment
Good on Blizzard for responding to this in a classy and timely manner -- but this should never have happened in the first place. Alienating a significant proportion of the player base of your community/social interaction-based game is not a smart move.
Nintendo Investor Briefing: 3DS' Challenges, eShop Overhaul, Final Model Wii U to Appear Next E3
Following some dreadful financial results, Nintendo clearly needs to think quickly to recover. President Satoru Iwata has addressed his company's investors and noted that he feels "greatly accountable" for the poor performance.
Iwata accepts that the 3DS sales since launch have not met expectations, but notes that the price markdown has improved pace somewhat. Throughout November, he anticipates that some keenly-awaited 3DS titles will give the ailing platform a further boost in the year-end season. He also plans to re-adopt the DS and Wii strategy of "working on new genres of software that may attract people who are not particularly interested in video games" for the 3DS, specifically pointing to titles such as Brain Training and Wii Fit as examples of the sort of titles we can expect. Perhaps we should be watching out for a "Touch Generations 3D" range soon.
Iwata also noted that the 3DS needed to have more software with a long tail -- that is, titles which sell for up to as long as the system's lifespan. He believes that Nintendogs+cats, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 all hold potential for this protracted period of sales -- previous entries in this series certainly achieved this, but on a platform which was more popular than the 3DS. Iwata noted that slow initial sales of a new game isn't necessarily cause for concern, however -- 81% of Mario Kart DS' total lifetime sales came after the year in which it was launched. As such, if the company can encourage more widespread adoption of the 3DS is a viable, desirable platform, these titles are likely to succeed over the long term.
Iwata also announced that the eShop for 3DS would be getting a makeover. A new update will allow DLC for games and demo versions. The facility to download titles while the 3DS is in sleep mode is also proposed, as is a web interface to access content via PC or smartphone. Iwata notes that part of the reason for this is to integrate the 3DS more tightly with social media, allowing for viral promotion of eShop titles rather than relying purely on user reviews within the 3DS-based eShop interface itself.
Finally, Iwata said that the final model of the Wii U would be showed at E3 next year. He notes that the company has learned "a bitter lesson" with the launch of the 3DS, and intends to "take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch."
Iwata accepts that the 3DS sales since launch have not met expectations, but notes that the price markdown has improved pace somewhat. Throughout November, he anticipates that some keenly-awaited 3DS titles will give the ailing platform a further boost in the year-end season. He also plans to re-adopt the DS and Wii strategy of "working on new genres of software that may attract people who are not particularly interested in video games" for the 3DS, specifically pointing to titles such as Brain Training and Wii Fit as examples of the sort of titles we can expect. Perhaps we should be watching out for a "Touch Generations 3D" range soon.
Iwata also noted that the 3DS needed to have more software with a long tail -- that is, titles which sell for up to as long as the system's lifespan. He believes that Nintendogs+cats, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 all hold potential for this protracted period of sales -- previous entries in this series certainly achieved this, but on a platform which was more popular than the 3DS. Iwata noted that slow initial sales of a new game isn't necessarily cause for concern, however -- 81% of Mario Kart DS' total lifetime sales came after the year in which it was launched. As such, if the company can encourage more widespread adoption of the 3DS is a viable, desirable platform, these titles are likely to succeed over the long term.
Iwata also announced that the eShop for 3DS would be getting a makeover. A new update will allow DLC for games and demo versions. The facility to download titles while the 3DS is in sleep mode is also proposed, as is a web interface to access content via PC or smartphone. Iwata notes that part of the reason for this is to integrate the 3DS more tightly with social media, allowing for viral promotion of eShop titles rather than relying purely on user reviews within the 3DS-based eShop interface itself.
Finally, Iwata said that the final model of the Wii U would be showed at E3 next year. He notes that the company has learned "a bitter lesson" with the launch of the 3DS, and intends to "take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch."
Classic Dungeon Crawling Series Wizardry Coming to iOS November 3
The Wizardry series is one of the longest-running franchises in gaming. Originally developed by now-defunct American company Sir-Tech, it gained enormous popularity in Japan despite low-quality translations causing many of the game's popular culture references and parodies to be misinterpreted or missed altogether. As a result, it was taken far more seriously by Japanese gamers and developers than originally intended -- but it did form part of the inspiration for the Dragon Quest series, so perhaps that's not a bad thing.
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, one of the latest entries in the series, was originally released on PSN in 2009 in Japan and made it to North America in June of this year to somewhat mixed receptions -- we quite liked it. Now, it's coming to iOS devices too, starting from November 3.
The game goes back to the Wizardry series' roots with first-person turn-based dungeon crawling, albeit with considerably better graphics than the Apple II original. Players can take on the role of one of ten adventurers, build an unstoppable party and descend into two dungeons to deal with whatever great evil is threatening the land this time.
Following a growing trend among App Store titles, the game will be downloadable for free in a limited form, allowing players to level up to 5 and explore the first floor of the Dungeon of Trials for no cost. Players who want to continue their journey past this point will have to hand over $9.99 via in-app purchase for the full game.
"It is an honor to bring such a respected and long-lived RPG franchise to mobile devices for the first time in history," said Richie Casper, creative director at Japanese independent developer Acquire, perhaps best known for PS1 ninj 'em up Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. "We worked hard to ensure that Wizardry: Labyrinth of Souls for iOS stays completely true to the series' roots while also providing players with the same high quality graphics and challenging gameplay they've come to expect from the console version."
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, one of the latest entries in the series, was originally released on PSN in 2009 in Japan and made it to North America in June of this year to somewhat mixed receptions -- we quite liked it. Now, it's coming to iOS devices too, starting from November 3.
The game goes back to the Wizardry series' roots with first-person turn-based dungeon crawling, albeit with considerably better graphics than the Apple II original. Players can take on the role of one of ten adventurers, build an unstoppable party and descend into two dungeons to deal with whatever great evil is threatening the land this time.
Following a growing trend among App Store titles, the game will be downloadable for free in a limited form, allowing players to level up to 5 and explore the first floor of the Dungeon of Trials for no cost. Players who want to continue their journey past this point will have to hand over $9.99 via in-app purchase for the full game.
"It is an honor to bring such a respected and long-lived RPG franchise to mobile devices for the first time in history," said Richie Casper, creative director at Japanese independent developer Acquire, perhaps best known for PS1 ninj 'em up Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. "We worked hard to ensure that Wizardry: Labyrinth of Souls for iOS stays completely true to the series' roots while also providing players with the same high quality graphics and challenging gameplay they've come to expect from the console version."
Report: Apple to Release Siri-Controlled TV by 2013?
New York Times blogger Nick Bilton notes that in Steve Jobs' recently released biography, the late Apple CEO reportedly told his biographer "I've finally cracked it!" when referring to Apple's designs on the TV market. Bilton believes that Jobs was not talking about a significant change to the TV set itself, as many have assumed, but that he was referring to the incorporation of artificial intelligence software Siri into the user interface.
Siri, which has come to prominence since its inclusion with iOS 5 on new iPhone 4S devices, allows users to do a variety of things using their voice. On the iPhone, it's possible to send messages; create reminders, alarms and calendar events; get answers to logical questions; and even indulge in a bit of playful banter with the AI. But things get interesting when you consider the possibility of talking to your TV to control it -- among other benefits, it removes the need to rely on the antiquated and often unnecessary remote controls which we've been using for decades.
Using your voice to control content isn't something which is new, of course -- Kinect has been allowing users to speak to their Xbox for some time now. But were your TV itself able to respond to your voice commands as well as connect to the Internet, it opens up a wide range of possibilities which are already hinted at by technology such as that seen in TiVo boxes suggesting other shows you might enjoy or recognizing content by factors other than just its title.
"Play me videos of cats jumping into boxes," you might say, and be presented with a playlist of Maru videos. "Put on the last episode of Dexter." "Show me the local news." The possibilities are intriguing, assuming Siri is appropriately adapted to display the relevant content.
Bilton believes that it's not a case of "if" Apple will produce a TV, more a case of "when." A report by Barclays suggests that Apple could bring in an additional $19 billion a year by capturing just 5% of television buyers. And several reportedly reliable sources within Apple and its partners believed that it was a "guaranteed product" for Apple, noting that "Steve thinks the industry is totally broken."
Bilton suggests that we could see the announcement of a full-scale Apple TV set by late 2012, with the first to arrive on the market by 2013. This being Apple, though, we won't hear anything official until a week or two before it hits the market.
Siri, which has come to prominence since its inclusion with iOS 5 on new iPhone 4S devices, allows users to do a variety of things using their voice. On the iPhone, it's possible to send messages; create reminders, alarms and calendar events; get answers to logical questions; and even indulge in a bit of playful banter with the AI. But things get interesting when you consider the possibility of talking to your TV to control it -- among other benefits, it removes the need to rely on the antiquated and often unnecessary remote controls which we've been using for decades.
Using your voice to control content isn't something which is new, of course -- Kinect has been allowing users to speak to their Xbox for some time now. But were your TV itself able to respond to your voice commands as well as connect to the Internet, it opens up a wide range of possibilities which are already hinted at by technology such as that seen in TiVo boxes suggesting other shows you might enjoy or recognizing content by factors other than just its title.
"Play me videos of cats jumping into boxes," you might say, and be presented with a playlist of Maru videos. "Put on the last episode of Dexter." "Show me the local news." The possibilities are intriguing, assuming Siri is appropriately adapted to display the relevant content.
Bilton believes that it's not a case of "if" Apple will produce a TV, more a case of "when." A report by Barclays suggests that Apple could bring in an additional $19 billion a year by capturing just 5% of television buyers. And several reportedly reliable sources within Apple and its partners believed that it was a "guaranteed product" for Apple, noting that "Steve thinks the industry is totally broken."
Bilton suggests that we could see the announcement of a full-scale Apple TV set by late 2012, with the first to arrive on the market by 2013. This being Apple, though, we won't hear anything official until a week or two before it hits the market.
Wargame: European Escalation Delayed Until Early Next Year
Wargame: European Escalation, the new strategy game from the developers of the rather underrated R.U.S.E., has been delayed until the first quarter of next year. The decision to do this was a mutual one between publisher Focus Home Interactive and developer Eugen Systems, and is apparently to "ensure Wargame: European Escalation offers the best possible experience both in single player and in multiplayer."
For the unfamiliar, Wargame: European Escalation is an RTS game set in the period between 1975 and 1985 -- an underexplored era in strategy gaming. The game pits NATO, comprising the U.S. and Western Europe, against the Soviet and Eastern European countries that make up the Warsaw Pact across a series of hypothetical battles that explore what would have happened had the Cold War escalated into a full-scale conflict. Battles take place on a global scale, with Eugen Systems' impressive IrisZoom system allowing you to zoom right out to see the world map or right in to see individual units doing their thing.
There's no specific new release date as yet, but Focus and Eugen say we'll find it out in the next few weeks -- the first quarter of 2012 is as specific as you'll get for now.
For the unfamiliar, Wargame: European Escalation is an RTS game set in the period between 1975 and 1985 -- an underexplored era in strategy gaming. The game pits NATO, comprising the U.S. and Western Europe, against the Soviet and Eastern European countries that make up the Warsaw Pact across a series of hypothetical battles that explore what would have happened had the Cold War escalated into a full-scale conflict. Battles take place on a global scale, with Eugen Systems' impressive IrisZoom system allowing you to zoom right out to see the world map or right in to see individual units doing their thing.
There's no specific new release date as yet, but Focus and Eugen say we'll find it out in the next few weeks -- the first quarter of 2012 is as specific as you'll get for now.
Killing Floor Announces Halloween Sideshow Event
On paper, Killing Floor might sound like a Left 4 Dead knockoff -- a group of online players get together to hold off hordes of monsters in a cooperative, first person shooterish manner -- but in practise it's a little different. Set in arena-like levels rather than the "always pushing forward" pathways of Left 4 Dead, the game's a lot of fast-paced fun, particularly if you get a good team together. It's also notable for being on the receiving end of an absolute ton of new -- often free -- content since its original launch in May of 2010.
The game has also held a number of special events throughout its lifetime, with the last being the Summer Sideshow, which featured series of new enemies and challenges to take on. Developer Tripwire Interactive is running a similar event this Halloween, with a batch of special achievements on offer and an unlockable character available as a reward for anyone who completes all of them. Those who missed the Summer Sideshow event will also be able to take on those achievements again and unlock the special Steampunk Mr Foster character. Hurry, though -- you've only got until November 3.
The game has also held a number of special events throughout its lifetime, with the last being the Summer Sideshow, which featured series of new enemies and challenges to take on. Developer Tripwire Interactive is running a similar event this Halloween, with a batch of special achievements on offer and an unlockable character available as a reward for anyone who completes all of them. Those who missed the Summer Sideshow event will also be able to take on those achievements again and unlock the special Steampunk Mr Foster character. Hurry, though -- you've only got until November 3.
Monday, October 24, 2011
The iPhone 4S Shifts 4 Million Units In 3 Days
When people release sales figures, I often struggle to find perspective. Is it a success? Is this spin? But when you consider that sales of the iPhone 4S (four million units in three days) actually doubled sales of the iPhone 4 in a similar period — well, I think it’s safe to say things are pretty peachy for Apple.
“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” claimed Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.”
I like the iPhone 4S, but after being constantly misunderstood by Siri, I wouldn’t recommend upgrading just for that feature. Then again, I am Scottish.
Still, it is a nice phone. And four million units is no joke.
“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” claimed Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.”
I like the iPhone 4S, but after being constantly misunderstood by Siri, I wouldn’t recommend upgrading just for that feature. Then again, I am Scottish.
Still, it is a nice phone. And four million units is no joke.
So Many Batmen, So Many Batman Musical Themes
On the eve of the release of Batman: Arkham City (which the Kotaku staff gave a unanimous “yes” in last week’s gut check
), I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the various Batman themes we’ve had over the years, and see how the motifs and melodies that summon the caped crusader have changed over time.
Something I noticed, which I’ll come back to as we go, is how more than most superheroes, Batman has a “vibe” that almost all of his various music captures. Some combination of swelling pads, specific chord progressions, string patterns and brass, an agreed-upon template that Batman music must match. More than anything else, Batman music sounds like “Superhero Music”, more so perhaps than any of the themes given to other characters, even those with actual super powers.
), I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the various Batman themes we’ve had over the years, and see how the motifs and melodies that summon the caped crusader have changed over time.
Something I noticed, which I’ll come back to as we go, is how more than most superheroes, Batman has a “vibe” that almost all of his various music captures. Some combination of swelling pads, specific chord progressions, string patterns and brass, an agreed-upon template that Batman music must match. More than anything else, Batman music sounds like “Superhero Music”, more so perhaps than any of the themes given to other characters, even those with actual super powers.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The Ultimate Edition Of Diablo III Is Stuffed, Probably Expensive
Revealed at Blizzcon today, this is the Ultimate Edition of Diablo III, which includes the game, collectibles, copies of the older Diablos, a fake skull (!) and more.
We have no release date or price yet. Sorry!
We have no release date or price yet. Sorry!
Warhawk Players Get Elite Private Beta Access For Starhawk Next Month
Many members of the Warhawk team from developer Incognnito wound up at Lightbox Interactive, with another chance to iterate on the some of the massive action mechanics that they explored in the 2007 downloadable PS3 game.
Dylan Jobe and his fellow Incognito alumni want to reward those who supported their earlier game by giving them a peek at the new PlayStation 3 title. As announced on the official PlayStation blog, there’ll be an exclusive private beta for Starhawk in November, with players who’ve done well in Warhawk ranking or community forums getting first dibs at the multiplayer action.
This is presumably in advance of the public beta that you can get access with purchase of Uncharted 3. What’s more, those OG Warhawkers will be able to talk to members of the development team and give them feedback that will go into tuning of Starhawk.
This beta will be one of the first non-event appearances for the highly anticipated game so if you gave Warhawk some love, get ready to get some back from its successor.
Dylan Jobe and his fellow Incognito alumni want to reward those who supported their earlier game by giving them a peek at the new PlayStation 3 title. As announced on the official PlayStation blog, there’ll be an exclusive private beta for Starhawk in November, with players who’ve done well in Warhawk ranking or community forums getting first dibs at the multiplayer action.
This is presumably in advance of the public beta that you can get access with purchase of Uncharted 3. What’s more, those OG Warhawkers will be able to talk to members of the development team and give them feedback that will go into tuning of Starhawk.
This beta will be one of the first non-event appearances for the highly anticipated game so if you gave Warhawk some love, get ready to get some back from its successor.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Ten things to love and hate about: Nazi Zombies
We all love zombies, right? So when Nazi Zombies was discovered as a bonus on CoD5, most of us were in total addiction for the next few months. However, not everything kicked off immediately - for me, the zombie goodness started at Verruckt (Map Pack 2). Comparing Verruckt to the other maps isn't really fair content-wise, but at the time it was the most fun I've ever had in a CoD game! Of course, things got better and better, and before you knew it, you were hooked. Why not? After all, it is basically what kept CoD5 alive for so long, it was fresh, punchy and a tad scary at first. Although, as much as I love Nazi Zombies, it doesn't come without any faults - mainly not with the game itself, but with the way the community have played it. This list was INCREDIBLY hard to conjure up, but I'm sure it is an accurate summary for my experience ;)
Things to love:
1. The Concept
You are a group of four unlikely heroes, all from very different backgrounds - forced to team up in order to survive a massive horde of flesh-eating zombies resurrected from Nazi Germany after the war. What ISN'T there to like about that?!? Whether it is Nikolai's vodka jokes, Takeo's formality, Tank's inappropriate yelling or Richtofen's pronunciation of "Wunderwaffe", every character is instantly recognizable and easily likable. Also, the fact that you need to cover many windows all at once, trying to prevent zombies from breaking in and attacking you - it sends chills down your spine!
2. Kick-ass Weapons
A ray gun. A RAY gun. RAY GUN. When you think of Call of Duty, what do you think of? Let's see.... WW1/WW2, old fashioned characters, shooters, rusty old weapons, a dark war-story... and..... A RAY GUN!?!? Could they think of something more random?? But it didn't stop there - we got treated to the Wunderwaffe as well, a gun that can easily eradicate countless zombies in an instant... Too epic to be legal xD. Don't forget Monkey Bombs too - they draw in the zombies and explode to create a huge clearance in the crowd. How fitting for WW2 :D
3. Teamwork
A big MUST if you plan on getting far in this game. It is extremely fun, planning with your friends what door to open, or what strategy is needed in the situation. Without mics (or friends :P), communication is low, and your teammates are less predictable. If you talk to your team, and get to know them, they will care more about you, and you'll care more about them - which pushes you that extra little bit to be a co-operative player. talking out problems like low ammo, or when to make a crawler is essential, and makes the experience much more rewarding and a good laugh!
4. Perks
Introduced in Verruckt, these little diddies made the game a LOT more challenging, and easier in the later rounds. Whether you needed extra hits against zombies, lightning-fast reloading, extremely quick reviving skills or double the fire rate - they were in there, a vending machine with a very unfitting jingle alongside it. It was so much fun in Verruckt, trying to find which perk did what!
5. Scooby Doobie.... Dead!?!?
Who let the dogs out..? In Shi No Numa, I remember my pants being dyed brown the moment I saw one of those vicious hell hounds bound their way across to me! After that, every time my team heard that sudden jingle at the end of every fifth round or so, we'd all huddle together in the darkest corner of the hut and prey the first one wasn't coming for us. It was another thing to love about zombies: it brought the team together and we fought our way through them as one - none of the "hey guys, I'll go off on my own and get killed repeatedly for the rest of the game!!" :D
6. Easter Eggs
Oh god, here we go. Where can I start.... If Treyarch are good at ANYTHING, it is hiding easter eggs within their games. Zombies wasn't an exemption. Especially with Der Riese, you couldn't walk two paces without walking right past one of them! Whether they were radio messages, element 115 crates, notes, blood-written messages, hanging people, teddy bears - you name it, there WERE easter eggs. They made us think about the actual story behind it (let's not get too far into this lol), and it was surprisingly fun to hunt around aimlessly, hoping to stumble across something no one has seen yet. PC modders looked high and low around the maps, that's how much people cared about this game!
7. Tension
We've all been there - it's Round 34, you are almost out of MG42 ammo, no monkey bombs, ray gun isn't even upgraded yet - you know you're boned. You HAVE to rely on your team mates to survive, but you're forced into camping, and your team is in the exact same predicament you are in. There's no possible way to describe it - you feel a sort of adrenaline rushing through you, pushing you forward. The tense situation makes the entire game so serious, and yet fun and exciting at the same time! If you've ever been in this situation, it really does feel like you are facing a horde of zombies!
8. The "silent" co-operation
Have you ever had a game where no one has a mic, and yet you all know EXACTLY what all of you are doing? No, not telepathy dumbass - it's difficult to explain, yet again lol. Like when you are taking care of the windows at the back while your team fights the zombies at the front - and one slips through one of your windows - you'd be screwed normally, right? Well, in some cases, your teammates will split themselves off accordingly, depending on what guns or perks they have, and help you out while the rest focus on the front. THAT, is true teamwork. To know that much about your team without even talking to them, to understand a situation so well, it doesn't even have to be discussed - it is a truly remarkable team, and you can't wait for the game to end so you can add them as your friends - players who actually don't suck, for a change :D
9. Being Competitive
There's nothing like good old-fashioned competitions, and Zombies doesn't disappoint. Whether it is trying to see who can rack up the most points, get the best headshots or kills - even trying to beat your highest round record, there is always room for fun here!
Things to love:
1. The Concept
You are a group of four unlikely heroes, all from very different backgrounds - forced to team up in order to survive a massive horde of flesh-eating zombies resurrected from Nazi Germany after the war. What ISN'T there to like about that?!? Whether it is Nikolai's vodka jokes, Takeo's formality, Tank's inappropriate yelling or Richtofen's pronunciation of "Wunderwaffe", every character is instantly recognizable and easily likable. Also, the fact that you need to cover many windows all at once, trying to prevent zombies from breaking in and attacking you - it sends chills down your spine!
2. Kick-ass Weapons
A ray gun. A RAY gun. RAY GUN. When you think of Call of Duty, what do you think of? Let's see.... WW1/WW2, old fashioned characters, shooters, rusty old weapons, a dark war-story... and..... A RAY GUN!?!? Could they think of something more random?? But it didn't stop there - we got treated to the Wunderwaffe as well, a gun that can easily eradicate countless zombies in an instant... Too epic to be legal xD. Don't forget Monkey Bombs too - they draw in the zombies and explode to create a huge clearance in the crowd. How fitting for WW2 :D
3. Teamwork
A big MUST if you plan on getting far in this game. It is extremely fun, planning with your friends what door to open, or what strategy is needed in the situation. Without mics (or friends :P), communication is low, and your teammates are less predictable. If you talk to your team, and get to know them, they will care more about you, and you'll care more about them - which pushes you that extra little bit to be a co-operative player. talking out problems like low ammo, or when to make a crawler is essential, and makes the experience much more rewarding and a good laugh!
4. Perks
Introduced in Verruckt, these little diddies made the game a LOT more challenging, and easier in the later rounds. Whether you needed extra hits against zombies, lightning-fast reloading, extremely quick reviving skills or double the fire rate - they were in there, a vending machine with a very unfitting jingle alongside it. It was so much fun in Verruckt, trying to find which perk did what!
5. Scooby Doobie.... Dead!?!?
Who let the dogs out..? In Shi No Numa, I remember my pants being dyed brown the moment I saw one of those vicious hell hounds bound their way across to me! After that, every time my team heard that sudden jingle at the end of every fifth round or so, we'd all huddle together in the darkest corner of the hut and prey the first one wasn't coming for us. It was another thing to love about zombies: it brought the team together and we fought our way through them as one - none of the "hey guys, I'll go off on my own and get killed repeatedly for the rest of the game!!" :D
6. Easter Eggs
Oh god, here we go. Where can I start.... If Treyarch are good at ANYTHING, it is hiding easter eggs within their games. Zombies wasn't an exemption. Especially with Der Riese, you couldn't walk two paces without walking right past one of them! Whether they were radio messages, element 115 crates, notes, blood-written messages, hanging people, teddy bears - you name it, there WERE easter eggs. They made us think about the actual story behind it (let's not get too far into this lol), and it was surprisingly fun to hunt around aimlessly, hoping to stumble across something no one has seen yet. PC modders looked high and low around the maps, that's how much people cared about this game!
7. Tension
We've all been there - it's Round 34, you are almost out of MG42 ammo, no monkey bombs, ray gun isn't even upgraded yet - you know you're boned. You HAVE to rely on your team mates to survive, but you're forced into camping, and your team is in the exact same predicament you are in. There's no possible way to describe it - you feel a sort of adrenaline rushing through you, pushing you forward. The tense situation makes the entire game so serious, and yet fun and exciting at the same time! If you've ever been in this situation, it really does feel like you are facing a horde of zombies!
8. The "silent" co-operation
Have you ever had a game where no one has a mic, and yet you all know EXACTLY what all of you are doing? No, not telepathy dumbass - it's difficult to explain, yet again lol. Like when you are taking care of the windows at the back while your team fights the zombies at the front - and one slips through one of your windows - you'd be screwed normally, right? Well, in some cases, your teammates will split themselves off accordingly, depending on what guns or perks they have, and help you out while the rest focus on the front. THAT, is true teamwork. To know that much about your team without even talking to them, to understand a situation so well, it doesn't even have to be discussed - it is a truly remarkable team, and you can't wait for the game to end so you can add them as your friends - players who actually don't suck, for a change :D
9. Being Competitive
There's nothing like good old-fashioned competitions, and Zombies doesn't disappoint. Whether it is trying to see who can rack up the most points, get the best headshots or kills - even trying to beat your highest round record, there is always room for fun here!
What exactly is a fanboy?
On N4G their have been SO much trash talk about who is a fanboy, and whose console is better. Not only on N4G, but pretty much every gaming website. (Although N4G is the best example of fanboyism, because its glaringly obvious). I thought I knew what the meaning of fanboy meant, but I have seen so many comments that use the word fanboy that I barley know what it means anymore.
When I first found N4G I thought the meaning of fanboy meant someone who is loyal to a franchise, and I still think that. With that definition in mind I think I am a PlayStation (or SCE) fanboy. The reason I didn't say Sony fanboy is because I don't think I'm loyal enough. I only have 2 Sony products, and those are the PS3, and the PSP. I consider myself a PlayStation fanboy, because I trust the games they make, and I defend the company when somebody says something bad about them. If they have some opinions that they can back up i'll except it. If they have facts about it I will except that. I DON'T REPLY WITH AN IGNORANT RESPONSE. Which brings me to my next point.
Some people here think a that the meaning of fanboy is someone who spouts ignorant nonsense, and backs up their company by any means necessary. Personally I don't agree with this meaning. I will say it again that I think that I am a PlayStation fanboy, and when I see people bashing on a person's comment, because it was ignorant, and calls him/her a fanboy I think "Whoa hold on not all PlayStation fanboys are like that."
Some people just think that being a fanboy means just taking agreeing or defending a company. Like when someone says "I don't think Halo: Reach deserved a 10/10" that person gets labeled as a "Sony fanboy". Same thing when someone says "Uncharted 2 isn't the best game this generation" that person gets labled as a "Microsoft fanboy". Seriously not everybody thinks the same, and have the same preferences.
What I'm trying to say is that I think that nowadays the term fanboy is used way to loosely. So loosely that i'm staring to forget the meaning of it. People call each other fanboys left and right like how they eat, and sleep. They don't like Gears Of War...FANBOY! They don't like Killzone...FANBOY! He doesn't like Mario...FANBOY. Well thats what i'm trying to say is STOP BEING SO DEFENSIVE, AND CALM DOWN. JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T AGREE WITH YOU DOESN'T MEAN THEIR A FANBOY! IN FACT YOUR A FANBOY, BECAUSE YOUR ACCUSING THEM OF BEING A FANBOY.
When I first found N4G I thought the meaning of fanboy meant someone who is loyal to a franchise, and I still think that. With that definition in mind I think I am a PlayStation (or SCE) fanboy. The reason I didn't say Sony fanboy is because I don't think I'm loyal enough. I only have 2 Sony products, and those are the PS3, and the PSP. I consider myself a PlayStation fanboy, because I trust the games they make, and I defend the company when somebody says something bad about them. If they have some opinions that they can back up i'll except it. If they have facts about it I will except that. I DON'T REPLY WITH AN IGNORANT RESPONSE. Which brings me to my next point.
Some people here think a that the meaning of fanboy is someone who spouts ignorant nonsense, and backs up their company by any means necessary. Personally I don't agree with this meaning. I will say it again that I think that I am a PlayStation fanboy, and when I see people bashing on a person's comment, because it was ignorant, and calls him/her a fanboy I think "Whoa hold on not all PlayStation fanboys are like that."
Some people just think that being a fanboy means just taking agreeing or defending a company. Like when someone says "I don't think Halo: Reach deserved a 10/10" that person gets labeled as a "Sony fanboy". Same thing when someone says "Uncharted 2 isn't the best game this generation" that person gets labled as a "Microsoft fanboy". Seriously not everybody thinks the same, and have the same preferences.
What I'm trying to say is that I think that nowadays the term fanboy is used way to loosely. So loosely that i'm staring to forget the meaning of it. People call each other fanboys left and right like how they eat, and sleep. They don't like Gears Of War...FANBOY! They don't like Killzone...FANBOY! He doesn't like Mario...FANBOY. Well thats what i'm trying to say is STOP BEING SO DEFENSIVE, AND CALM DOWN. JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T AGREE WITH YOU DOESN'T MEAN THEIR A FANBOY! IN FACT YOUR A FANBOY, BECAUSE YOUR ACCUSING THEM OF BEING A FANBOY.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
BULLETSTORM PS3 DEMO PLAYTHROUGH
User blog
This game is over the top. I wander what all of you think of this game. the action in this game reminds me a lot of Outtrigger for the dreamcast and Duke Nukem very fun game..
Anyway check out the video if you have not played the game yet..
This game is over the top. I wander what all of you think of this game. the action in this game reminds me a lot of Outtrigger for the dreamcast and Duke Nukem very fun game..
Anyway check out the video if you have not played the game yet..
Tales Of Grace F PS3 review
This is my latest review of Tales of Grace F for the ps3. This game is a gem on the ps3, I really hope Namco Bandai bring this state side at some point. Let me know what you guys think of this game and whether or not you think Namco Bandai should bring it state side.
New Moderators
Hey, N4Gers! I invite you all to join me in welcoming two new Mods! Cgoodno and Nineball2112 are joining the N4G Moderator team today, names I'm confident you guys will recognize from their involvement across the site. If you don't recognize them, step up and introduce yourself! Then, be sure to show your love by disagreeing with all their comments. :D
As always, let me know if you have any questions - but if they're really annoying questions you can now direct them to cgoodno or Nineball2112.
As always, let me know if you have any questions - but if they're really annoying questions you can now direct them to cgoodno or Nineball2112.
Perfect World Entertainment is giving away 25 3-Day passes to E3
Hey, guys! I know lots of you would love to go to E3, and the good news is more than just VGVN ( http://n4g.com/user/blogpos... ) are giving away passes!
Perfect World Entertainment have built a community page for one of the two new games they'll be showing at E3 this year - Rusty Hearts. To enter, like the Rusty Hearts FB page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/... .
Perfect World Entertainment have built a community page for one of the two new games they'll be showing at E3 this year - Rusty Hearts. To enter, like the Rusty Hearts FB page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/... .
Saturday, October 15, 2011
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Betas: never join them, never will
With the close of the Uncharted 3 beta last week, Sony released some impressive statistics on the participants over at the Playstation Blog ( http://blog.us.playstation....
Over 362 collective years of playtime logged by some 1.53 million unique players. For an Uncharted fan like myself all this is good news- even though I didn't personally participate in the beta. In-fact, even though I consider myself a hardcore gamer, I've never participated in a beta, and I never will.
It's not that I don't think the beta process is worthwhile. Actually I think for modern games its essential. How many online games have we played over the years that require patch after patch to bring it up to speed on launch? Too many for my count. Black Ops on PS3 was a shining example of a game that could have used an open beta- it was and still is a hot mess for PSN users.
But I personally have no place for betas- or demos- for that matter in my life. You see, to me, the best time I have with a game is those 2 or so hours after I first get it, and I'm being wowed by the new experience in front of me. There's no way I want those first magic moments with my hotly anticipated game being spoiled months before its release where I see a warts and all beta version full of bugs for me to find.
Betas and demos rob me of the surprise in gaming. Nowadays gaming coverage is so saturated that you basically know how to play and beat a game before it comes out. No surprises, no moments of revelation, its all out there on the table as part of the hype machine. Hell I've even taken to avoiding previews of games I'm really looking forward to, and not reading reviews (just scores) until after I've bought and played a substantial amount of a game.
So while I urge all you beta lovers and sneak-peekers to keep doing what your doing for the good of gaming, I for one will sit out, and enjoy the finished product you people helped create.
Over 362 collective years of playtime logged by some 1.53 million unique players. For an Uncharted fan like myself all this is good news- even though I didn't personally participate in the beta. In-fact, even though I consider myself a hardcore gamer, I've never participated in a beta, and I never will.
It's not that I don't think the beta process is worthwhile. Actually I think for modern games its essential. How many online games have we played over the years that require patch after patch to bring it up to speed on launch? Too many for my count. Black Ops on PS3 was a shining example of a game that could have used an open beta- it was and still is a hot mess for PSN users.
But I personally have no place for betas- or demos- for that matter in my life. You see, to me, the best time I have with a game is those 2 or so hours after I first get it, and I'm being wowed by the new experience in front of me. There's no way I want those first magic moments with my hotly anticipated game being spoiled months before its release where I see a warts and all beta version full of bugs for me to find.
Betas and demos rob me of the surprise in gaming. Nowadays gaming coverage is so saturated that you basically know how to play and beat a game before it comes out. No surprises, no moments of revelation, its all out there on the table as part of the hype machine. Hell I've even taken to avoiding previews of games I'm really looking forward to, and not reading reviews (just scores) until after I've bought and played a substantial amount of a game.
So while I urge all you beta lovers and sneak-peekers to keep doing what your doing for the good of gaming, I for one will sit out, and enjoy the finished product you people helped create.
PC Gaming and why I'm confused.
You know lately if you've been paying attention to the news here, a lot of PC gaming stuff has been popping up. Now I'm not talking about actual PC games (though admittedly the issues do involve PC versions of games) but the quality of PC versions, their relation to consoles, and the attitudes of PC gamers.
Take the new Battlefield game coming out. For some reason there is this huge uproar about the quality of the PC version vs. the Console version. Console owners are whining about how the PC version is so much better, Dice telling everyone to shove it, PC gamers loving it and walking around like their... well you know.
And today I noticed a FarCry 3 story stating that the PC version is going to be superior to the console version. This is just one of the many types of stories that are floating around. All stories designed to stroke the ego of PC gamers, with console gamers being pissed off for some fairly ridiculous reasons.
FACT: PC games will always have superior visual and sound quality to console games. There is really only one reason you would need to support this, and that's that PC gaming has the advantage of having ever evolving hardware. It can constantly use state of the art technology right now, whereas consoles are closed off in a hardware sense and only evolve after the end of a console's life. You wouldn't expect an old vinyl record player to be able to output lossless audio like the kind you'd get out of a .wav file would you? So you can't expect consoles to output the kind of quality a PC with the latest tech can output. So in that regard, I can see the point devs like Dice have.
But where I'm having an issue is, who the hell cares? I'm about to make a radical generalization that is not at all true about every member of the group I'm generalizing, it's merely discussing an observation. Why does anyone care about stroking the ego of the PC crowd? They have to be the most entitled, elitist bunch of gamers most of us have ever come across and it's ALWAYS about the GRAPHICS with them. Why is it that so many articles lately have to make PC gamers feel better about the quality of their version of any game? As a PC gamer, you should know that even a shoddy port will look better on your gaming rig than on any console, yet for some reason this massive sense of entitlement raises up as if PC gamers are "owed" something and you have devs practically bottle feeding them and giving in to the temper tantrums.
I suppose the fact that, by comparison in a marketing sense, PC gaming is small next to consoles. Most of gaming devs develop for consoles, consoles have a hell of a lot more variety and options of games that will never appear on PC, devs fear piracy on PC more than they do on consoles, etc... So maybe PC only devs, and devs looking to move into that realm will do anything they can to keep what fanbase they have for their games. Of course, once you give an inch, people tend to take a mile, and that's where the sense of entitlement comes in.
Every article here that so much as hints at PC in even the smallest way is bombarded by PC fanboys down playing consoles and posting comment after comment about their rig and how it only cost them $200 more than a launch PS3 to have "teh bestest grfx evar" and how "PC's are a gen ahead of consoles." Seriously, if you have to keep saying it then I guess there must be something wrong with the games you're not playing on that PC, or you're trying to convince people that PC gaming is bigger than it is.
We get it, PC's are superior in hardware to consoles. Always have been, always will be. Anyone who doesn't get this fact has probably been living in a cave somewhere with their eyes shut, and their ears blocked. But if you're really into gaming, then you know 2 things. First, gaming isn't about the graphics. Graphics are the most superficial aspect of gaming. Take the sh*ttiest game in the world and give it the most photorealistic graphics possible, and you're left with a very polished, very "pretty" turd.
Second, console gaming is far larger than PC gaming and is where the real money is. Quite frankly, people will ALWAYS choose a convenience first. A console is built for everyone to have the exact same experience at a cheaper price than a PC, with years of never having to buy an upgrade to make your games only look better but not actually BE any better. It is for this reason devs make more games for consoles, and why the industry focuses on consoles to a much greater degree than PC's.
I'm sure this blog will be torn apart by innumerable PC fanboys once again talking about their rig, why if you do the calculations PC gaming is cheaper, throw in some reference to Steam, and accuse people of being to lazy to spend $600 to build their own "better than consoles" gaming PC. I don't really care. I'm just sick of the ego stroking PC gamers seem to need to have and the devs who bend over backwards to give it to them just because they can't be satisfied with already having the superior hardware.
I believe there is a word for someone who is clearly superior yet has to have everyone continuously acknowledge it and have everyone appease him/her for it. I don't know what it is right now, but if anyone does feel free to post
Take the new Battlefield game coming out. For some reason there is this huge uproar about the quality of the PC version vs. the Console version. Console owners are whining about how the PC version is so much better, Dice telling everyone to shove it, PC gamers loving it and walking around like their... well you know.
And today I noticed a FarCry 3 story stating that the PC version is going to be superior to the console version. This is just one of the many types of stories that are floating around. All stories designed to stroke the ego of PC gamers, with console gamers being pissed off for some fairly ridiculous reasons.
FACT: PC games will always have superior visual and sound quality to console games. There is really only one reason you would need to support this, and that's that PC gaming has the advantage of having ever evolving hardware. It can constantly use state of the art technology right now, whereas consoles are closed off in a hardware sense and only evolve after the end of a console's life. You wouldn't expect an old vinyl record player to be able to output lossless audio like the kind you'd get out of a .wav file would you? So you can't expect consoles to output the kind of quality a PC with the latest tech can output. So in that regard, I can see the point devs like Dice have.
But where I'm having an issue is, who the hell cares? I'm about to make a radical generalization that is not at all true about every member of the group I'm generalizing, it's merely discussing an observation. Why does anyone care about stroking the ego of the PC crowd? They have to be the most entitled, elitist bunch of gamers most of us have ever come across and it's ALWAYS about the GRAPHICS with them. Why is it that so many articles lately have to make PC gamers feel better about the quality of their version of any game? As a PC gamer, you should know that even a shoddy port will look better on your gaming rig than on any console, yet for some reason this massive sense of entitlement raises up as if PC gamers are "owed" something and you have devs practically bottle feeding them and giving in to the temper tantrums.
I suppose the fact that, by comparison in a marketing sense, PC gaming is small next to consoles. Most of gaming devs develop for consoles, consoles have a hell of a lot more variety and options of games that will never appear on PC, devs fear piracy on PC more than they do on consoles, etc... So maybe PC only devs, and devs looking to move into that realm will do anything they can to keep what fanbase they have for their games. Of course, once you give an inch, people tend to take a mile, and that's where the sense of entitlement comes in.
Every article here that so much as hints at PC in even the smallest way is bombarded by PC fanboys down playing consoles and posting comment after comment about their rig and how it only cost them $200 more than a launch PS3 to have "teh bestest grfx evar" and how "PC's are a gen ahead of consoles." Seriously, if you have to keep saying it then I guess there must be something wrong with the games you're not playing on that PC, or you're trying to convince people that PC gaming is bigger than it is.
We get it, PC's are superior in hardware to consoles. Always have been, always will be. Anyone who doesn't get this fact has probably been living in a cave somewhere with their eyes shut, and their ears blocked. But if you're really into gaming, then you know 2 things. First, gaming isn't about the graphics. Graphics are the most superficial aspect of gaming. Take the sh*ttiest game in the world and give it the most photorealistic graphics possible, and you're left with a very polished, very "pretty" turd.
Second, console gaming is far larger than PC gaming and is where the real money is. Quite frankly, people will ALWAYS choose a convenience first. A console is built for everyone to have the exact same experience at a cheaper price than a PC, with years of never having to buy an upgrade to make your games only look better but not actually BE any better. It is for this reason devs make more games for consoles, and why the industry focuses on consoles to a much greater degree than PC's.
I'm sure this blog will be torn apart by innumerable PC fanboys once again talking about their rig, why if you do the calculations PC gaming is cheaper, throw in some reference to Steam, and accuse people of being to lazy to spend $600 to build their own "better than consoles" gaming PC. I don't really care. I'm just sick of the ego stroking PC gamers seem to need to have and the devs who bend over backwards to give it to them just because they can't be satisfied with already having the superior hardware.
I believe there is a word for someone who is clearly superior yet has to have everyone continuously acknowledge it and have everyone appease him/her for it. I don't know what it is right now, but if anyone does feel free to post
What defines a 'good' or a 'bad' game?
This blog post is for open minds only. Not people who are too full of themselves to consider other people's opinions. Now, inevitably this will focus on certain games and it may annoy people, so be prepared as I give you my undiluted take on certain games and why they were or were not successful as a game. This is totally opinion, in case you hadn't got that, already. And also, it could get pretty long, so if you want the short version of my point, skip to the end.
Case study 1: Haze
Now... First off, does anyone remember this game? How much potential it had? How hyped it was? This game was released back in the era of pessimism when the PS3 had very little to show in terms of exclusives. So it was a game that they figured would sell systems (before release). Now the general consensus is that the game sucked (as far as I know of on the internet).
It received a fairly average score of 55 on metacritic, so it indeed did not live up to the hype that surrounded the game. Now, as a whole, I didn't really think the game was that bad. It was really short. It had bad script writing.... and the multiplayer.... well, yeah. But I still enjoyed the game. It wasn't perfect, but I think there were a lot of things they could've done to make it better. Now, I'm going to propose this: imagine this game was released as a 360 title at launch (when it was most popular). Would the game have gotten the same amount of hype? No. My point is that hype can do really bad things in terms of a person's perception of games. A mildly entertaining game that has been hyped to hell is going to be described as "awful". The moral of the story is don't get too excited about games, because if your expectations are high, the game can only do so much to live up to those. Now, I really enjoyed the game but that was before I read what people were saying on the internet. They kept putting it down until eventually I started to see their point. I'm not suggesting that these people ruined the game for me, but they did sort of soil my memory of it to some degree. And your memory represents what games go down in history as very good games. You'll forget the average games. You'll remember the great games.
Wow, whole paragraph talking about haze. Took me longer to write that than it did to finish the game. (drum: bum bum cha!) Thank you, I'm here all day!
Case study 2: Mass Effect 1 and 2/ Dragon age: Origins and 2
Now, I'm gonna tread very carefully here, but were these games hyped up at all? I don't recall hearing much noise about them pre-release but after they came out, it was like a bleeping orchestra. Everyone and their gran was on the internet raving about these games. Now, how does that set us up for the sequels? They both have a gargantuan reputation to live up to. Millions of gamer's hopes are resting on what these games promised and if they'll deliver and improve on it.
Did they? Well, it's debatable. On one side, they were both very enjoyable sequels, but on the other hand, they were quite different from the originals in terms of the RPG elements that some say have been "dumbed down" for the masses. This was more so in dragon age very recently. People are overreacting because it isn't "the same" as what they were expecting. Now I realise, I'm going on a bit so there it is, whatever. Point made.
Case study 3: Grand theft auto 4
Majority of the opinions for this game is that it was good. I for one was actually disappointed. For the same reasons people were disappointed about the other games I've mentioned. The hype around this game was unparalleled in the long months before it's release. Especially with the delays etc. I think on a scale from 1 to blowing my freaking head off excited: my head was unhinged way before the game was released. It really didn't live up to the standard set by san andreas.
First off, the world wasn't nearly as big.
Secondly, the character customisation was not as good. No hair, no gym, no healthiness. No fun
The last thing that annoyed me was: No planes. You know the things with the wings that fly? None of them.
You'd think the idea with a sequel would be to add features and not take away. Fair enough, they added the phone. And the graphics were much better in IV. But that didn't really compensate for the things that were missing.
The game was a good game, no doubt.
So here is the short version. Not quite the point that I was going for, but I can barely finish a sentence without re-deciding what the sentence is going to mean halfway through.
Hype. Ruins games. How is hype generated? Word of mouth. You are reading this blog post on something called an internet. This is the biggest purveyor of word of mouth in the universe(especially regarding gaming). People here express their thoughts on games in an unrelenting manner. Without realising it, everyone here is being moulded by their fellow internet users to conform to the way they think.
So... thanks for ruining games that I would have otherwise enjoyed.
^^^I of course blame no one for this, because everyone's guilty of overhyping things.
Now that is my opinion of what defines a good game. A good game is one that is enjoyed by the people who play it. No matter how hyped it has been. Now, let's hear your thoughts. What do you think makes a game good or bad? Let me know in the comments below.
Case study 1: Haze
Now... First off, does anyone remember this game? How much potential it had? How hyped it was? This game was released back in the era of pessimism when the PS3 had very little to show in terms of exclusives. So it was a game that they figured would sell systems (before release). Now the general consensus is that the game sucked (as far as I know of on the internet).
It received a fairly average score of 55 on metacritic, so it indeed did not live up to the hype that surrounded the game. Now, as a whole, I didn't really think the game was that bad. It was really short. It had bad script writing.... and the multiplayer.... well, yeah. But I still enjoyed the game. It wasn't perfect, but I think there were a lot of things they could've done to make it better. Now, I'm going to propose this: imagine this game was released as a 360 title at launch (when it was most popular). Would the game have gotten the same amount of hype? No. My point is that hype can do really bad things in terms of a person's perception of games. A mildly entertaining game that has been hyped to hell is going to be described as "awful". The moral of the story is don't get too excited about games, because if your expectations are high, the game can only do so much to live up to those. Now, I really enjoyed the game but that was before I read what people were saying on the internet. They kept putting it down until eventually I started to see their point. I'm not suggesting that these people ruined the game for me, but they did sort of soil my memory of it to some degree. And your memory represents what games go down in history as very good games. You'll forget the average games. You'll remember the great games.
Wow, whole paragraph talking about haze. Took me longer to write that than it did to finish the game. (drum: bum bum cha!) Thank you, I'm here all day!
Case study 2: Mass Effect 1 and 2/ Dragon age: Origins and 2
Now, I'm gonna tread very carefully here, but were these games hyped up at all? I don't recall hearing much noise about them pre-release but after they came out, it was like a bleeping orchestra. Everyone and their gran was on the internet raving about these games. Now, how does that set us up for the sequels? They both have a gargantuan reputation to live up to. Millions of gamer's hopes are resting on what these games promised and if they'll deliver and improve on it.
Did they? Well, it's debatable. On one side, they were both very enjoyable sequels, but on the other hand, they were quite different from the originals in terms of the RPG elements that some say have been "dumbed down" for the masses. This was more so in dragon age very recently. People are overreacting because it isn't "the same" as what they were expecting. Now I realise, I'm going on a bit so there it is, whatever. Point made.
Case study 3: Grand theft auto 4
Majority of the opinions for this game is that it was good. I for one was actually disappointed. For the same reasons people were disappointed about the other games I've mentioned. The hype around this game was unparalleled in the long months before it's release. Especially with the delays etc. I think on a scale from 1 to blowing my freaking head off excited: my head was unhinged way before the game was released. It really didn't live up to the standard set by san andreas.
First off, the world wasn't nearly as big.
Secondly, the character customisation was not as good. No hair, no gym, no healthiness. No fun
The last thing that annoyed me was: No planes. You know the things with the wings that fly? None of them.
You'd think the idea with a sequel would be to add features and not take away. Fair enough, they added the phone. And the graphics were much better in IV. But that didn't really compensate for the things that were missing.
The game was a good game, no doubt.
So here is the short version. Not quite the point that I was going for, but I can barely finish a sentence without re-deciding what the sentence is going to mean halfway through.
Hype. Ruins games. How is hype generated? Word of mouth. You are reading this blog post on something called an internet. This is the biggest purveyor of word of mouth in the universe(especially regarding gaming). People here express their thoughts on games in an unrelenting manner. Without realising it, everyone here is being moulded by their fellow internet users to conform to the way they think.
So... thanks for ruining games that I would have otherwise enjoyed.
^^^I of course blame no one for this, because everyone's guilty of overhyping things.
Now that is my opinion of what defines a good game. A good game is one that is enjoyed by the people who play it. No matter how hyped it has been. Now, let's hear your thoughts. What do you think makes a game good or bad? Let me know in the comments below.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!
Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!
Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games
A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
MMORPG, what are you really achieving?
Hello everyone, a lot of opinions will be made in this Blog so if opinions are not your thing your welcome to leave.
MmoRpg, they're large fantasy games that toss you into a world where you and millions of other players could progress through the game with Quests, or just straight grinding. MmoRpgs usually a lot of things to keep players around, like Building your home, creating your characters appearance, and some good quests. They're riddled with many things too suck you into the game to guarantee you will keep giving them your hard earned money. Now before i go any furture, this blog is more towards Hardcore MMo'ers and not casual players.
Hardcore Mmo Gamers usually stick to One Mmorpg game, and these are the ones im mostly geared toward to. Hardcore Mmo Gamers play these games like World of Warcraft, or Rift just leveling their players up to max level and having dozens of more characters all max leveled. These people like to play the game, I get it Im a gamer I love video games, but im not obsessed toward 1 game that I would play it for years. Hardcore Mmo gamers usually just sit on their computer all day and it's very unhealthy, they play and play doing sieges quests and it never seems to get repetitive for them. A lot of these people will be heartbroken if their game was to get canceled after all the hard work they put into the game, all the items they've gotten and more.
This is why I ask, what are you really achieving? Your playing in a virtual world all day that is also not very healthy, not only physically but mentally. A lot of these Mmo Gamers are very anti social because of the game itself. They have a hard time communicating in the real world and they will not react normally to real life situations.
Now, is that worth it? Is it really worth your whole social life? your physical life? Try being more casual, go out more, exercise, make real friends, your real life is more important than your in game life. Don't make them One, separate them and your life will get better, don't let these games consume you.
I would love to hear everyone thoughts in the comments.
MmoRpg, they're large fantasy games that toss you into a world where you and millions of other players could progress through the game with Quests, or just straight grinding. MmoRpgs usually a lot of things to keep players around, like Building your home, creating your characters appearance, and some good quests. They're riddled with many things too suck you into the game to guarantee you will keep giving them your hard earned money. Now before i go any furture, this blog is more towards Hardcore MMo'ers and not casual players.
Hardcore Mmo Gamers usually stick to One Mmorpg game, and these are the ones im mostly geared toward to. Hardcore Mmo Gamers play these games like World of Warcraft, or Rift just leveling their players up to max level and having dozens of more characters all max leveled. These people like to play the game, I get it Im a gamer I love video games, but im not obsessed toward 1 game that I would play it for years. Hardcore Mmo gamers usually just sit on their computer all day and it's very unhealthy, they play and play doing sieges quests and it never seems to get repetitive for them. A lot of these people will be heartbroken if their game was to get canceled after all the hard work they put into the game, all the items they've gotten and more.
This is why I ask, what are you really achieving? Your playing in a virtual world all day that is also not very healthy, not only physically but mentally. A lot of these Mmo Gamers are very anti social because of the game itself. They have a hard time communicating in the real world and they will not react normally to real life situations.
Now, is that worth it? Is it really worth your whole social life? your physical life? Try being more casual, go out more, exercise, make real friends, your real life is more important than your in game life. Don't make them One, separate them and your life will get better, don't let these games consume you.
I would love to hear everyone thoughts in the comments.
Should the gaming community have a major shake up?
Before I cut to the chase, I'd like to thank iamsuperman's blog post http://n4g.com/user/blogpos... regarding this issue. In his blog, he mentions what gaming journalism should do in order to present a more "fair and balanced" tone in all of their outlets, whether it be reviews or articles. After reading both that blog and viewing the usual comments that come through here, I had to ask myself: Who's going to take the first step towards a more welcoming atmosphere? I purpose that you, the reader, and I can be the first to achieve a better gaming atmosphere IF we can recognize these aspects.
1.) Opinions and bias are not going away
Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Onion News, New York Times, and even NPR are all examples of educated indivduals giving biased news at some point or another, whether it would be through suspicious camera shots to their talk show hosts. We need to recognize that another opinion will be leaked in some way shape or form into a review (and some news articles). Yes, it's shocking to see Edge, IGN, and every other reviewing site to think that not every exclusive is the "cat's meow". Even though reviews have objective means of displaying the game's true quality, the reviewers themselves all have dispositions to find different qualities of a game to be more important than others. The problem with this, as seen with some low scores to hyped games, is the backlash received by the community for this disagreeable score; however, the advantage is the ability to find that certain reviewer you can relate with that gives the best explanation (in your opinion) as to why this game is bad/mediocre/good/excellent. The reason this is number one goes by the rule of finding a problem by first recognizing the problem.
_____________________________ ______________________________ _ _____
2.) You're wasting time by complaining, rather than making a change internally.
This is more of an uplifting aspect to the blog, rather than an analysis. How many examples have we seen throughout the Bible where someone is dawned with a sense of "spiritual self-realization" in order to change his/her outlook on life, or a situation at hand? The answer would be dozens upon dozens, I imagine. Although you may be questioning my example, I've used it to help you, as the reader, to realize that this isn't the only generation to be bombarded by these types of complaints, only the technology has changed. Throughout various stories, both fiction and non-fiction, the general outlook of said character usually only makes a turn for better once they've changed internally; more often than nought, the external situation has stayed the same or even gotten worse in some cases, yet he/she stays with their new outlook in order to feel satisfied. With number two on this list, I hoped this would come off as the no-brainer solution.
_____________________________ ______________________________ _ _____
3.) Attack the quality of the review content, not the review score.
If you are a usual to n4g, it's easy for you to notice that ps3 and 360 fanboys feel that certain sites have it out for some of their system's heralded exclusives. Just the other day, I was greeted to comments on Edge's recent review score for inFamous 2 that made me appauled to be a member of this site. For every herd of users who say "But you gave X exclusive a higher score than Y exclusive", you'll be lucky to see a handful of users grab a quote FROM the review and make a complaint about the diction, grammar, etc. You should also note that these attacks against a certain site are exclusive only when exclusives to a console are involved. This is a definite sign where gamers need to understand the reasons why this game received this score before openly attacking it.
I've even seen it in my own personal reviews (there was some good criticism given as well, mind you): http://n4g.com/channel/call...
_____________________________ ______________________________ _ _____
4.) Patience is a virtue
Face it, the reason some of these disagreeable sites have such a strong following is that they started from somewhere, made their way up the ladder, and lost sight of what gamers truly wish to see from the site altogether. I believe that we, the "website sojourners", can be the first to create a better enviroment on the internet if we go after the "meat and potatoes" of the site, rather than bashing the flair that gives the site more hits. You don't need to start a revolution in order for the industry to change for the better, just let your honest voice be heard before the masses and the internet will have one less troll to worry about.
1.) Opinions and bias are not going away
Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Onion News, New York Times, and even NPR are all examples of educated indivduals giving biased news at some point or another, whether it would be through suspicious camera shots to their talk show hosts. We need to recognize that another opinion will be leaked in some way shape or form into a review (and some news articles). Yes, it's shocking to see Edge, IGN, and every other reviewing site to think that not every exclusive is the "cat's meow". Even though reviews have objective means of displaying the game's true quality, the reviewers themselves all have dispositions to find different qualities of a game to be more important than others. The problem with this, as seen with some low scores to hyped games, is the backlash received by the community for this disagreeable score; however, the advantage is the ability to find that certain reviewer you can relate with that gives the best explanation (in your opinion) as to why this game is bad/mediocre/good/excellent. The reason this is number one goes by the rule of finding a problem by first recognizing the problem.
_____________________________ ______________________________ _ _____
2.) You're wasting time by complaining, rather than making a change internally.
This is more of an uplifting aspect to the blog, rather than an analysis. How many examples have we seen throughout the Bible where someone is dawned with a sense of "spiritual self-realization" in order to change his/her outlook on life, or a situation at hand? The answer would be dozens upon dozens, I imagine. Although you may be questioning my example, I've used it to help you, as the reader, to realize that this isn't the only generation to be bombarded by these types of complaints, only the technology has changed. Throughout various stories, both fiction and non-fiction, the general outlook of said character usually only makes a turn for better once they've changed internally; more often than nought, the external situation has stayed the same or even gotten worse in some cases, yet he/she stays with their new outlook in order to feel satisfied. With number two on this list, I hoped this would come off as the no-brainer solution.
_____________________________ ______________________________ _ _____
3.) Attack the quality of the review content, not the review score.
If you are a usual to n4g, it's easy for you to notice that ps3 and 360 fanboys feel that certain sites have it out for some of their system's heralded exclusives. Just the other day, I was greeted to comments on Edge's recent review score for inFamous 2 that made me appauled to be a member of this site. For every herd of users who say "But you gave X exclusive a higher score than Y exclusive", you'll be lucky to see a handful of users grab a quote FROM the review and make a complaint about the diction, grammar, etc. You should also note that these attacks against a certain site are exclusive only when exclusives to a console are involved. This is a definite sign where gamers need to understand the reasons why this game received this score before openly attacking it.
I've even seen it in my own personal reviews (there was some good criticism given as well, mind you): http://n4g.com/channel/call...
_____________________________ ______________________________ _ _____
4.) Patience is a virtue
Face it, the reason some of these disagreeable sites have such a strong following is that they started from somewhere, made their way up the ladder, and lost sight of what gamers truly wish to see from the site altogether. I believe that we, the "website sojourners", can be the first to create a better enviroment on the internet if we go after the "meat and potatoes" of the site, rather than bashing the flair that gives the site more hits. You don't need to start a revolution in order for the industry to change for the better, just let your honest voice be heard before the masses and the internet will have one less troll to worry about.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Is the PS4 closer than we think?
Now I am like most PS3 gamers. We want to get more money out of our machine before the next cycle arrives. But looking at the line up this year, I just can't help thinking that a large majority of the big developers have released a game this year which has got to hint at something
The PS3 has enjoyed some wonderful exclusives this year. From Killzone and LBP2 all the way to Resistance and Uncharted 3. It is not really the amount that, to me, hints at a PS4's announcement on the horizon but it is the high quality studios themselves who have released/releasing a game this year. So Media Molecule, Guerrilla Games, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Zipper Interactive, Evolution Studios and more have released/going to release a game this year. That is a lot of major Sony studios
Sony exclusives do sell well. But to release a game pretty much every month or two seems, to me, a bad business plan. Everyone has preference over which exclusive to like but with the situation this year the amount means that not all of us can afford to get every exclusive. I have found it more difficult this year than I have in the past. But you may ask what has this go to do with the PS4
Well it feels that this year is the last hurrah for the PS3. The biggest studios have come/about to come out with big games. These developers usually spend around two to three years developing a game. It may seem plausible to you that in two to three years they will come out with more games for the PS3 but I am not getting that feeling. Media Molecule have already stated they are now looking beyond LittleBigPlanet. The studio director told Edge that they are "stepping away from LittleBigPlanet to focus on some new ideas." A tweet was shortly followed on the media molecule twitter feed which read "Loyal sackfolk - please be reassured that we will always be involved with LBP, at least a bit, and there's lots more fun yet to come! <3".The words "at least a bit" caught my eye. At the moment Media molecule are basically following up some ideas.
A lot may be thinking this might have something to do with narrowing the PS3 and 360 gap. I believe that is true but there could be another motive for this. The amount of games and the price cut shows it has been a busy year for the PS3. I am getting the impression this is the last chance to entice more people to buy a PS3 to increase sales before the PS4 is announced.
I conclude with this open thought to you. Why would Sony release all its major games and unveil a price drop this year? We have had some games announced for 2012 but not many major ones. Could we see a PS4 announcement at E3 2012. I kind of hope not as it means buying a new console but Sony are defiantly indirectly hinting at a new console. Why bunch up all the exclusives into one year if this wasn't so? I would love to know
The PS3 has enjoyed some wonderful exclusives this year. From Killzone and LBP2 all the way to Resistance and Uncharted 3. It is not really the amount that, to me, hints at a PS4's announcement on the horizon but it is the high quality studios themselves who have released/releasing a game this year. So Media Molecule, Guerrilla Games, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Zipper Interactive, Evolution Studios and more have released/going to release a game this year. That is a lot of major Sony studios
Sony exclusives do sell well. But to release a game pretty much every month or two seems, to me, a bad business plan. Everyone has preference over which exclusive to like but with the situation this year the amount means that not all of us can afford to get every exclusive. I have found it more difficult this year than I have in the past. But you may ask what has this go to do with the PS4
Well it feels that this year is the last hurrah for the PS3. The biggest studios have come/about to come out with big games. These developers usually spend around two to three years developing a game. It may seem plausible to you that in two to three years they will come out with more games for the PS3 but I am not getting that feeling. Media Molecule have already stated they are now looking beyond LittleBigPlanet. The studio director told Edge that they are "stepping away from LittleBigPlanet to focus on some new ideas." A tweet was shortly followed on the media molecule twitter feed which read "Loyal sackfolk - please be reassured that we will always be involved with LBP, at least a bit, and there's lots more fun yet to come! <3".The words "at least a bit" caught my eye. At the moment Media molecule are basically following up some ideas.
A lot may be thinking this might have something to do with narrowing the PS3 and 360 gap. I believe that is true but there could be another motive for this. The amount of games and the price cut shows it has been a busy year for the PS3. I am getting the impression this is the last chance to entice more people to buy a PS3 to increase sales before the PS4 is announced.
I conclude with this open thought to you. Why would Sony release all its major games and unveil a price drop this year? We have had some games announced for 2012 but not many major ones. Could we see a PS4 announcement at E3 2012. I kind of hope not as it means buying a new console but Sony are defiantly indirectly hinting at a new console. Why bunch up all the exclusives into one year if this wasn't so? I would love to know
Gaming, and what has changed
Ever since games were made, they were always there for a purpose, to either be beaten, used for being competitive or just as a challenge, but how has it evolved from the olden days of Pitfall and Pong?
Let's say we had to make something amazing, we had equipment, and a lot of things ready for use and aid of making a video game, but how do we put those together and create something that's never before been seen and create an amazing spectacle people would easily buy into?
I have no idea, but I can tell you that the people that made games such as Pong and Pitfall had the right idea!
Before gaming, we had things like Bowling, Pinball and other competitive forms of things, but some of them put the body to use and required you to go out and play, and if you were to buy your own Pinball Machine or Bowling Alley, it would be costly (Although so much damn fun!) so what did someone then think of?
Gaming Consoles! I'd presume it was born out of the entertainment you use to get from playing a good game of Pinball or any other games that use to exist and competing with your friends, what changed was that people wanted to experience that fun and enjoyment in their homes and living rooms, but couldn't due to the fact that it was too costly, but when Consoles arrived that was a whole different story.
Affordable, Easy to learn, and cheap to run, Consoles were a thing of Marvel! People could get that same taste of fun and enjoyment they got from the Arcades, in their home, and boy did they evolve over time!
Games went from 8 Bit to 16 bit to 32 bit, and then we had 3D gaming, that was pixelated and pretty much would look amazingly bad to us now, but then again, was a marvel to most people.
Then came online gaming, I'd assume it was created on the PC and then slowly evolved into something that in now day's, almost everyone has used.
Now we have a combination of games, created from not just known publishers, but people that are independent and in their homes just creating games cause they can and want to!
Gaming has come a long way from what it use to be, but still as it evolves so do people and that being said we as humans can still create even more wonders in the future and I for one cannot wait to see what it holds, perhaps a Virtual Reality game with almost Real to Life graphics, or even a game based on the moon somehow, we never know, but we shall see!
Let's say we had to make something amazing, we had equipment, and a lot of things ready for use and aid of making a video game, but how do we put those together and create something that's never before been seen and create an amazing spectacle people would easily buy into?
I have no idea, but I can tell you that the people that made games such as Pong and Pitfall had the right idea!
Before gaming, we had things like Bowling, Pinball and other competitive forms of things, but some of them put the body to use and required you to go out and play, and if you were to buy your own Pinball Machine or Bowling Alley, it would be costly (Although so much damn fun!) so what did someone then think of?
Gaming Consoles! I'd presume it was born out of the entertainment you use to get from playing a good game of Pinball or any other games that use to exist and competing with your friends, what changed was that people wanted to experience that fun and enjoyment in their homes and living rooms, but couldn't due to the fact that it was too costly, but when Consoles arrived that was a whole different story.
Affordable, Easy to learn, and cheap to run, Consoles were a thing of Marvel! People could get that same taste of fun and enjoyment they got from the Arcades, in their home, and boy did they evolve over time!
Games went from 8 Bit to 16 bit to 32 bit, and then we had 3D gaming, that was pixelated and pretty much would look amazingly bad to us now, but then again, was a marvel to most people.
Then came online gaming, I'd assume it was created on the PC and then slowly evolved into something that in now day's, almost everyone has used.
Now we have a combination of games, created from not just known publishers, but people that are independent and in their homes just creating games cause they can and want to!
Gaming has come a long way from what it use to be, but still as it evolves so do people and that being said we as humans can still create even more wonders in the future and I for one cannot wait to see what it holds, perhaps a Virtual Reality game with almost Real to Life graphics, or even a game based on the moon somehow, we never know, but we shall see!
3DS not doomed...Just has competition.
Its no secret that 3DS has had the best start but that does not mean it can't finish off great. Don't believe me? Why look at the PS3, but that's another topic. Articles flying left and right claiming Nintendo's downfall is near. No, no its not folks. Nintendo just saw its mistakes and decided it needs corrections.
Its not doomed. This holiday will be big for it, Mario, Starfox, Mario:And friends Game(Idk Sonic or somebody). Only thing is this time around there's a strong competitor. Yes Vita. The PS Vita is set to take the gaming industry by storm. Its going to have the games(oh the games...), features that will connect social networking and handheld gaming properly. Don't kid yourself folks, Nintendo has noticed this. Will all the announcements recently for Vita, its easy for people to say that "3DS is doomed! All hail Vita!" For the first time in years, Nintendo's handheld division has serious competition. Their rival's device has capabilities close to that of a console. Another topic brought up is the new circle pad for the 3DS. Lots of people claiming Nintendo is scared of Sony for this move. They're aren't scared, they just realized that with another circle pad, it will have better controls for games. Developers have been praising this for vita. I'm sure Capcom told Nintendo their experience with two sticks from Vita's development kit and saw the benefits from having two.
Now the games. Lets be honest here, Vita may just have the best Playstation launch just like Sony promised it would. You got Uncharted, U:MvC3, Ridge Racer(Don't you dare!), LBP, MGS HD & Rising, FFX etc.(BTW i know some aren't launch but you get my point) Sony has fixed their mistakes. They went back to making a developer friendly device, they're adding features gamers want. It's handheld heaven.
Like I said before, 3DS isn't going anywhere, its just has to actually fight its way to victory this time, no cheap shots *coughMayweathercough*. But I'm sure both devices can co-exist. If you ask me, I'd have to pass up a 3DS for Vita. Knowing i can share DLC between PS3 and it and all the games coming for them both is just a gamer's wet dream.
Its not doomed. This holiday will be big for it, Mario, Starfox, Mario:And friends Game(Idk Sonic or somebody). Only thing is this time around there's a strong competitor. Yes Vita. The PS Vita is set to take the gaming industry by storm. Its going to have the games(oh the games...), features that will connect social networking and handheld gaming properly. Don't kid yourself folks, Nintendo has noticed this. Will all the announcements recently for Vita, its easy for people to say that "3DS is doomed! All hail Vita!" For the first time in years, Nintendo's handheld division has serious competition. Their rival's device has capabilities close to that of a console. Another topic brought up is the new circle pad for the 3DS. Lots of people claiming Nintendo is scared of Sony for this move. They're aren't scared, they just realized that with another circle pad, it will have better controls for games. Developers have been praising this for vita. I'm sure Capcom told Nintendo their experience with two sticks from Vita's development kit and saw the benefits from having two.
Now the games. Lets be honest here, Vita may just have the best Playstation launch just like Sony promised it would. You got Uncharted, U:MvC3, Ridge Racer(Don't you dare!), LBP, MGS HD & Rising, FFX etc.(BTW i know some aren't launch but you get my point) Sony has fixed their mistakes. They went back to making a developer friendly device, they're adding features gamers want. It's handheld heaven.
Like I said before, 3DS isn't going anywhere, its just has to actually fight its way to victory this time, no cheap shots *coughMayweathercough*. But I'm sure both devices can co-exist. If you ask me, I'd have to pass up a 3DS for Vita. Knowing i can share DLC between PS3 and it and all the games coming for them both is just a gamer's wet dream.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Putting the 'face' in Facebook games: Arkadium and Image Metrics
Arkadium is likely best known on Facebook for games like Mahjongg Dimensions and Cooking Mama, but that's about to change. Thanks to a brand new partnership with Image Metrics, an animation studio best known for the facial capture technology it provides to traditional game developers, your own face could be the star of Arkadium's next Facebook game.
During an interview with Gamasutra, the new found duo revealed Portable You, a new toolset for Facebook game developers--starting with New York City-based Arkadium--to allow players to include their own face as the centerpiece of their avatars. Using a simple webcam, Portable You, embedded in any given Facebook, could create a 3D rendering of your head and face.
By the way, that picture to the right is a 3D reproduction of an actress's face done by Image Metrics--it's not real. But we doubt Portable You will be as powerful. This is especially considering the technology was bought through an acquisition of Big Stage earlier this year.
"Mostly we've been the user of our own technologies," Image Metrics CEO Robert Gehorsam said to Gamasutra. "But we've also really come to realize and believe there's a major shift going on in how people want to represent themselves, express themselves and communicate online, starting with creating your own character in a game."
"We work directly from video; we don't require any kind of markers, or the special makeup," Gehorsam told Gamasutra. "We can go directly from a video screen or from a single image to 3D animation... through a whole bunch of equations that recognize the face in a 2D context. It's not a photo; it's really 3D."
Sure, this has the potential to introduce a never-before-seen level of immersion to Facebook games. The idea of representing or expressing yourself more accurately than ever has plenty of charm. But the more pressing question I have for Image Metrics is: How well does Portable You render beards?
What do you think this type of technology means for Facebook games in the future? Would you ever place a 3D version of yourself into your favorite Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
During an interview with Gamasutra, the new found duo revealed Portable You, a new toolset for Facebook game developers--starting with New York City-based Arkadium--to allow players to include their own face as the centerpiece of their avatars. Using a simple webcam, Portable You, embedded in any given Facebook, could create a 3D rendering of your head and face.
By the way, that picture to the right is a 3D reproduction of an actress's face done by Image Metrics--it's not real. But we doubt Portable You will be as powerful. This is especially considering the technology was bought through an acquisition of Big Stage earlier this year.
"Mostly we've been the user of our own technologies," Image Metrics CEO Robert Gehorsam said to Gamasutra. "But we've also really come to realize and believe there's a major shift going on in how people want to represent themselves, express themselves and communicate online, starting with creating your own character in a game."
"We work directly from video; we don't require any kind of markers, or the special makeup," Gehorsam told Gamasutra. "We can go directly from a video screen or from a single image to 3D animation... through a whole bunch of equations that recognize the face in a 2D context. It's not a photo; it's really 3D."
Sure, this has the potential to introduce a never-before-seen level of immersion to Facebook games. The idea of representing or expressing yourself more accurately than ever has plenty of charm. But the more pressing question I have for Image Metrics is: How well does Portable You render beards?
What do you think this type of technology means for Facebook games in the future? Would you ever place a 3D version of yourself into your favorite Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
3 Blokes launches strategic assault on Facebook with Galactic Allies
We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.
Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)
Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.
Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >
Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)
Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.
Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >
Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Could Adobe Flash 11 make 3D the norm in Facebook games? [Video]
Well, it's certainly a possibility. VentureBeat reports that Adobe Flash, the software used by developers to create most of the Facebook games you play right now, will be updated to Version 11 this October. The new version of Flash will include something gamers, critics and industry folk alike have clamored for: 3D graphics. Namely, 3D graphics with no downloads.
San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe's goal is to get 3D gaming in front of 1 billion online gamers. Adobe evangelist Andrew Trice said that this new version of Flash can easily integrate with Facebook's social features. This could help bring (in theory) Adobe's vision of "the game console on the web" to life.
"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Adobe VP and GM of Platform Danny Winokur. Adobe should reworded that statement to say "Facebook" rather than "PC," because that's exactly where the company seems to be looking.
Another part of Adobe's announcement worth noting is that through its Adobe Air software, developers will be able to create games that are cross-platform--even on Apple's iOS, which is notorious for omitting Flash support from its iOS devices. This means that (again, in theory) you could enjoy social games that look and play no different on Facebook than on your iPhone.
And they'll both be directly connected, because (for a third time, in theory) they would be the same exact game. In fact, the company looks to have Adobe Air-powered games on over 1 billion mobile devices by 2015. But whether 3D gaming will become the norm on Facebook is ultimately up to the developers, some of which have turned to software like Unity to make it happen.
However, Unity requires a download from the user to work, something not many Facebook gamers are down with. This is especially considering how wary users like FarmVille fans are already of developers potentially encroaching on their privacy. The fact that 3D gaming in Flash will require no download is certainly a boon against its 3D competitors.
If developers take full advantage of this brand spankin' new Flash, it has the potential to push Facebook gaming into the same arena as console gaming. You know, if HTML5 doesn't take off first. The video below shows what your Facebook games could be like in the not-so-distant future with Adobe Flash 11.
[Image Credit: MacLife]
Are you excited that 3D gaming could hit Facebook in a big way? Do you think 3D games could become the norm on Facebook like they have on consoles? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe's goal is to get 3D gaming in front of 1 billion online gamers. Adobe evangelist Andrew Trice said that this new version of Flash can easily integrate with Facebook's social features. This could help bring (in theory) Adobe's vision of "the game console on the web" to life.
"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Adobe VP and GM of Platform Danny Winokur. Adobe should reworded that statement to say "Facebook" rather than "PC," because that's exactly where the company seems to be looking.
Another part of Adobe's announcement worth noting is that through its Adobe Air software, developers will be able to create games that are cross-platform--even on Apple's iOS, which is notorious for omitting Flash support from its iOS devices. This means that (again, in theory) you could enjoy social games that look and play no different on Facebook than on your iPhone.
And they'll both be directly connected, because (for a third time, in theory) they would be the same exact game. In fact, the company looks to have Adobe Air-powered games on over 1 billion mobile devices by 2015. But whether 3D gaming will become the norm on Facebook is ultimately up to the developers, some of which have turned to software like Unity to make it happen.
However, Unity requires a download from the user to work, something not many Facebook gamers are down with. This is especially considering how wary users like FarmVille fans are already of developers potentially encroaching on their privacy. The fact that 3D gaming in Flash will require no download is certainly a boon against its 3D competitors.
If developers take full advantage of this brand spankin' new Flash, it has the potential to push Facebook gaming into the same arena as console gaming. You know, if HTML5 doesn't take off first. The video below shows what your Facebook games could be like in the not-so-distant future with Adobe Flash 11.
[Image Credit: MacLife]
Are you excited that 3D gaming could hit Facebook in a big way? Do you think 3D games could become the norm on Facebook like they have on consoles? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Go on a Buddy Rush between Facebook, iPhone and now Android
Now, that's what I call cross-platform. Budang, South Korea-based Team Sollmo announced that Buddy Rush, its RPG (role-playing game) in which players can use the same adventurer between Facebook and iOS devices, has hit Android devices. What this means is that now, you can access the very same game with your very same character across all three platforms.
"We've been truly honored by the reception Buddy Rush has received thus far, reaching hundreds of thousands of users on Facebook and the Apple App Store," said Company100 (the game's publisher) President Jin Cheon Kim in a release. "With the launch on Android, we're proud to offer Buddy Rush to the vast majority of smartphone owners and establish ourselves as the first to offer an RPG with true cross-platform capabilities across these popular gaming channels."
If Buddy Rush for Android is anything like it is on both Facebook and iOS devices, which we assume it is given Kim's wording, then this is essentially the same game offered across all three modes of play.
Players can take the character they're used to dungeon crawling with on Facebook, play with it a bit on their Android phone, conquer some more monsters on, say, their iPod Touch and proceed to enter yet another battle with the baddies back on Facebook.
Gallery: Buddy Rush
While it's largely a single player experience, Buddy Rush allows players to take their friends' characters asynchronously on adventures like in most Facebook games of its kind. (The main draw, of course, being that you can do so across three platforms with the same character, and arguably whenever.) So, it pays to have lots of friends in this game that I likened to a saccharine take on Blizzard's popular if terribly dark Diablo RPGs. And now that it's on yet another gaming platform, you have no excuse.
Click here to download Buddy Rush for Android Now >
Have you tried Buddy Rush on either Facebook or iOS? What do you think of Sollmo's take on asynchronous, cross-platform gameplay? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"We've been truly honored by the reception Buddy Rush has received thus far, reaching hundreds of thousands of users on Facebook and the Apple App Store," said Company100 (the game's publisher) President Jin Cheon Kim in a release. "With the launch on Android, we're proud to offer Buddy Rush to the vast majority of smartphone owners and establish ourselves as the first to offer an RPG with true cross-platform capabilities across these popular gaming channels."
If Buddy Rush for Android is anything like it is on both Facebook and iOS devices, which we assume it is given Kim's wording, then this is essentially the same game offered across all three modes of play.
Players can take the character they're used to dungeon crawling with on Facebook, play with it a bit on their Android phone, conquer some more monsters on, say, their iPod Touch and proceed to enter yet another battle with the baddies back on Facebook.
Gallery: Buddy Rush
While it's largely a single player experience, Buddy Rush allows players to take their friends' characters asynchronously on adventures like in most Facebook games of its kind. (The main draw, of course, being that you can do so across three platforms with the same character, and arguably whenever.) So, it pays to have lots of friends in this game that I likened to a saccharine take on Blizzard's popular if terribly dark Diablo RPGs. And now that it's on yet another gaming platform, you have no excuse.
Click here to download Buddy Rush for Android Now >
Have you tried Buddy Rush on either Facebook or iOS? What do you think of Sollmo's take on asynchronous, cross-platform gameplay? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
6waves Lolapps puts up $10 million for indie social game developers
Is 6waves Lolapps looking to find the next FarmVille? It's possible, but what's more important is that the new found publisher-meets-developer duo is looking to give the little guy a chance. The company just announced that it has raised $10 million in what it calls the 6L Fund. With it, the publisher will grant independent social and mobile game creators the financial resources and support they need to (hopefully) create the next big thing on Facebook or elsewhere.
"There are game teams at all stages in the creative process that have fresh and potentially groundbreaking ideas," said SVP of Publishing at 6waves Lolapps Jim Ying in a statement. "With the capital and the resources that only 6waves Lolapps can deliver, they could help shape the future of social gaming."
The resources Ying referred to include cross promotion, funded user acquisition (essentially paying for more players through advertising), product management, localization, hosting, and the FLISO Game Engine. The latter is enhanced Flash--software game developers commonly use to create Facebook games--technology acquired by 6waves earlier this year.
Independent developers might want to bite, considering that 6waves Lolapps reaches about 38 million collective monthly players, according to AppData--that technically puts the company just under Diamond Dash maker wooga's over 41 million monthly players. Most importantly, this potentially gives indie social game makers a chance on Facebook, which some argue has otherwise all but dried up.
Starting Sept. 27, developers can submit their applications for the 6L Fund, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of their labor sometime next year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another indie developer to enjoy wild success. Just think, what was Rovio before Angry Birds?
What do you think of 6waves Lolapps looking to indie game creators for the next social or mobile hit? Do you think this strategy could result in the next big Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
There may not be another Zynga game in which Energy is more important than in Adventure World. Every switch thrown, every puzzle solved and beastie whacked costs you the Facebook game juice. Players often find themselves without Energy minutes into an Expedition. But this isn't the time for whining--it's time to show you the value of upgrading your Tools and how to do it.
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
"There are game teams at all stages in the creative process that have fresh and potentially groundbreaking ideas," said SVP of Publishing at 6waves Lolapps Jim Ying in a statement. "With the capital and the resources that only 6waves Lolapps can deliver, they could help shape the future of social gaming."
The resources Ying referred to include cross promotion, funded user acquisition (essentially paying for more players through advertising), product management, localization, hosting, and the FLISO Game Engine. The latter is enhanced Flash--software game developers commonly use to create Facebook games--technology acquired by 6waves earlier this year.
Independent developers might want to bite, considering that 6waves Lolapps reaches about 38 million collective monthly players, according to AppData--that technically puts the company just under Diamond Dash maker wooga's over 41 million monthly players. Most importantly, this potentially gives indie social game makers a chance on Facebook, which some argue has otherwise all but dried up.
Starting Sept. 27, developers can submit their applications for the 6L Fund, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of their labor sometime next year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another indie developer to enjoy wild success. Just think, what was Rovio before Angry Birds?
What do you think of 6waves Lolapps looking to indie game creators for the next social or mobile hit? Do you think this strategy could result in the next big Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
There may not be another Zynga game in which Energy is more important than in Adventure World. Every switch thrown, every puzzle solved and beastie whacked costs you the Facebook game juice. Players often find themselves without Energy minutes into an Expedition. But this isn't the time for whining--it's time to show you the value of upgrading your Tools and how to do it.
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Game of the Day: Lost Island Mahjongg
lost island mahjongg game of the dayEnter the Lost Island of Mahjongg and explore its mysteries. Work your way through the adventure, or drop in for a quick tropical romp. It's your favorite tile game with a twist! Explore a variety of variety of locations and complete the 12 puzzles to unlock endless treasure.
Lost Island Mahjongg is the same game you know and love. But if you've never played a Mahjongg game before, don't worry, it's very straightforward. Remove uncovered tiles from the stack by matching the tile symbols. If a tile is partially covered by another tile, it isn't free yet and can't be used in a match. Colored prize tiles can be matched just by tile color rather than symbols and will boost your score. Remove all the tiles to complete the level!
If you're still not exactly sure on how to play, click the question mark (?) at the bottom right of the game screen to see the instructions. Have fun!
Click here to play Lost Island Mahjongg!
lost island mahjongg game of the day lost island mahjongg game of the day
What do you think of Lost Island Mahjongg?
Lost Island Mahjongg is the same game you know and love. But if you've never played a Mahjongg game before, don't worry, it's very straightforward. Remove uncovered tiles from the stack by matching the tile symbols. If a tile is partially covered by another tile, it isn't free yet and can't be used in a match. Colored prize tiles can be matched just by tile color rather than symbols and will boost your score. Remove all the tiles to complete the level!
If you're still not exactly sure on how to play, click the question mark (?) at the bottom right of the game screen to see the instructions. Have fun!
Click here to play Lost Island Mahjongg!
lost island mahjongg game of the day lost island mahjongg game of the day
What do you think of Lost Island Mahjongg?
DeNA gobbles up Chilean Little Cave Hero maker Atakama Labs
The Little Cave Hero just moved on to a much bigger cave. VentureBeat reports that DeNA has acquired Chilean social game developer Atakama Labs for an undisclosed amount, though the website recalls that the price might be around $6 million. Atakama Labs is best known for quirky Facebook games like Little Cave Hero and artsy iPhone games like Today I Die Again.
It appears that this acquisition was made with specific interest in Atakama, founded by Esteban Sosnik and Tiburcio de la Carcova after fleeing to Santiago, Chile in search of political and economic stability, helping DeNA's mobile efforts. Namely, Atakama Labs will work with DeNA-owned Ngmoco to support the Mobage mobile social game network.
The mobile scene will likely be the next major battlefield for social game creators, especially as social game developers and publishers focus more and more resources on creating the next top 10 app. Most recently, Zynga revealed that it's working on another mobile version of Mafia Wars after shuttering its existing HTML5 endeavor. This question remains, however: Will it be quality games or robust networks that will decide who wins the mobile social gaming wars?
Do you think this was a wise move on DeNA's part to acquire Atakama Labs? What types of games do you hope to see from Atakama now that it's with the Mobage network? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
It appears that this acquisition was made with specific interest in Atakama, founded by Esteban Sosnik and Tiburcio de la Carcova after fleeing to Santiago, Chile in search of political and economic stability, helping DeNA's mobile efforts. Namely, Atakama Labs will work with DeNA-owned Ngmoco to support the Mobage mobile social game network.
The mobile scene will likely be the next major battlefield for social game creators, especially as social game developers and publishers focus more and more resources on creating the next top 10 app. Most recently, Zynga revealed that it's working on another mobile version of Mafia Wars after shuttering its existing HTML5 endeavor. This question remains, however: Will it be quality games or robust networks that will decide who wins the mobile social gaming wars?
Do you think this was a wise move on DeNA's part to acquire Atakama Labs? What types of games do you hope to see from Atakama now that it's with the Mobage network? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Facebook games could get crazy good graphics with Unreal Engine 3
That's right, you supposed 80 million hardcore gamers on Facebook, Gears of War maker Epic Games announced that the upcoming Adobe Flash Player 11 will support its Unreal Engine 3. Considering the majority of Facebook games are created and played using Flash, we can't imagine it will be long before social game makers craft Facebook games in gorgeous 3D.
Kotaku reports that the Flash version of Epic Games's Unreal Engine 3, the technology through which numerous hardcore console game series like Unreal Tournament and Mass Effect are made, appears less powerful than on PCs and consoles. Regardless, this marks a huge step toward 3D gaming on Facebook, considering other methods like Unity have yet to catch on.
That's mainly because games that use the Unity Player requires an additional download, which could arguably scare less technologically-savvy players away. Flash requires no download, aside from the occasional update, though that's merely thanks to Flash's growing ubiquity. It's also important to note that Apple's iOS devices support Unreal Engine 3, meaning developers could create games that run similarly on both Facebook and iPhones or iPads. (Infinity Blade on Facebook, anyone?)
This type of cross-platform play is something social game makers have clamored for awhile now, many of which turning to HTML5 to make it happen. (Even Zynga mobile chief David Ko said that HTML5 is still too early.) But with the possibility for full 3D games that players could play between their iPhones and on Facebook, it's possible that developers could come running back to Flash. Check out what Unreal Engine 3 looks like on Flash Player 11, though not yet in motion, here.
Are you excited to hear that Flash games, primarily Facebook games, will be capable of full 3D graphics? How do you think this might change the enormous social games industry? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Kotaku reports that the Flash version of Epic Games's Unreal Engine 3, the technology through which numerous hardcore console game series like Unreal Tournament and Mass Effect are made, appears less powerful than on PCs and consoles. Regardless, this marks a huge step toward 3D gaming on Facebook, considering other methods like Unity have yet to catch on.
That's mainly because games that use the Unity Player requires an additional download, which could arguably scare less technologically-savvy players away. Flash requires no download, aside from the occasional update, though that's merely thanks to Flash's growing ubiquity. It's also important to note that Apple's iOS devices support Unreal Engine 3, meaning developers could create games that run similarly on both Facebook and iPhones or iPads. (Infinity Blade on Facebook, anyone?)
This type of cross-platform play is something social game makers have clamored for awhile now, many of which turning to HTML5 to make it happen. (Even Zynga mobile chief David Ko said that HTML5 is still too early.) But with the possibility for full 3D games that players could play between their iPhones and on Facebook, it's possible that developers could come running back to Flash. Check out what Unreal Engine 3 looks like on Flash Player 11, though not yet in motion, here.
Are you excited to hear that Flash games, primarily Facebook games, will be capable of full 3D graphics? How do you think this might change the enormous social games industry? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Supernatural show, Being Human, gets Facebook game in time for Halloween
News has been circulating that Being Human--a popular British supernatural drama with an American remake about a vampire, ghost, and werewolf that share a flat--will finally get its own Facebook game. Televisual reports that it's "available globally." DigitalSpy claims the game has been "released" and even has a screenshot.
The same screenshot was used by SFX, though to its credit, it doesn't claim the game has launched. Instead, Broadcast claims that. I guess everyone was excited to tell folks about the game, but no one could provide a link to the actual game.
If you love this show and don't mind being teased beyond your sanity trying to figure out where this game is, then let us fill you in on what we do know. As of this writing, there's no official announcement about a game on either the Syfy or the BBC website. Neither is there any news on the official Syfy and BBC Facebook fan pages for either the American or British version of the show.
So, perhaps it's safe to say that the game is totally not launched and available yet. But given those involved in the game's creation, it's clear this game will be based on the original BBC show and won't be originating state-side on Syfy's budding games portal.
Being Human Facebook Game
Zodiak Active, which manages the rights to the BBC show, had partnered with developer Utinni Games to bring Being Human to Facebook. Zodiak Active senior VP Edward Humphrey has this to say about it:
The Being Human social game will build upon the creative inspiration of the TV drama and allow players to take the roles of vampire, werewolf and ghost in compelling new storylines that they will play, rather than watch. . . The game is a mix of exploration, combat and problem-solving that immerses users into an intriguing world of supernatural creatures that exist just beyond the surface of everyday life.
That definitely sounds like this will be a role-playing game. In fact, SFX also reported that you can "play as a ghost, werewolf or vampire." The game has got the blessing of Toby Whithouse, the BBC show's creator, and thumbs-up from the show's producer, Touchpaper Television. Enough screenwriters from the series have been brought in to make sure that the content and banter will be top-notch. Currently, the BBC version of Being Human just ended Season 3. Season 4 will premiere sometime next year. So this game will obviously be filling the void for the duration.
Have you ever watched Being Human on either Syfy or BBC? What other shows would you like to see Facebook games for? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The same screenshot was used by SFX, though to its credit, it doesn't claim the game has launched. Instead, Broadcast claims that. I guess everyone was excited to tell folks about the game, but no one could provide a link to the actual game.
If you love this show and don't mind being teased beyond your sanity trying to figure out where this game is, then let us fill you in on what we do know. As of this writing, there's no official announcement about a game on either the Syfy or the BBC website. Neither is there any news on the official Syfy and BBC Facebook fan pages for either the American or British version of the show.
So, perhaps it's safe to say that the game is totally not launched and available yet. But given those involved in the game's creation, it's clear this game will be based on the original BBC show and won't be originating state-side on Syfy's budding games portal.
Being Human Facebook Game
Zodiak Active, which manages the rights to the BBC show, had partnered with developer Utinni Games to bring Being Human to Facebook. Zodiak Active senior VP Edward Humphrey has this to say about it:
The Being Human social game will build upon the creative inspiration of the TV drama and allow players to take the roles of vampire, werewolf and ghost in compelling new storylines that they will play, rather than watch. . . The game is a mix of exploration, combat and problem-solving that immerses users into an intriguing world of supernatural creatures that exist just beyond the surface of everyday life.
That definitely sounds like this will be a role-playing game. In fact, SFX also reported that you can "play as a ghost, werewolf or vampire." The game has got the blessing of Toby Whithouse, the BBC show's creator, and thumbs-up from the show's producer, Touchpaper Television. Enough screenwriters from the series have been brought in to make sure that the content and banter will be top-notch. Currently, the BBC version of Being Human just ended Season 3. Season 4 will premiere sometime next year. So this game will obviously be filling the void for the duration.
Have you ever watched Being Human on either Syfy or BBC? What other shows would you like to see Facebook games for? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: MaizaHedgerow's garden estate
farmville featured farmToday's featured farm is a beautiful specimen crafted by MaizaHedgerow. Throughout our FarmVille Pic of the Day posts, we've seen a variety of awesome hedge maze farms. Some of you might remember farms made by Kathy, Cotopaxi, and others. However, never have we seen a maze with as much style and class as MaizaHedgerow's.
Imagine that in an alternate universe, you own a massive estate, with a huge mansion on it. Now imagine what your patio and garden would look like. If you're like me, you've imagined something like MaizaHedgerow's farm. Any fans of Chris Van Allsburg might agree that this farm looks a bit like The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. With it's perfect symmetry, square tree & crop arrangements, and beautiful hedges, this farm is truly splendid.
What do you think of MaizaHedgerow's picture-perfect garden?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Imagine that in an alternate universe, you own a massive estate, with a huge mansion on it. Now imagine what your patio and garden would look like. If you're like me, you've imagined something like MaizaHedgerow's farm. Any fans of Chris Van Allsburg might agree that this farm looks a bit like The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. With it's perfect symmetry, square tree & crop arrangements, and beautiful hedges, this farm is truly splendid.
What do you think of MaizaHedgerow's picture-perfect garden?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Is there more to PS Vita's 'Near' social feature than we thought?
Catchphrases like "Social Gaming Revolution," have clouded what the device actually accomplishes with its social features somewhat. But now Sony has unveiled more than just cursory glances, and has detailed the PS Vita's Near feature in full.
Sure, we already knew that Near would allow players to gift one another based on location, but, according to the PlayStation Blog, it goes deeper than that. When PS Vita players press the "Update" button, it will send a ping in an outward radius to other potential Vita players with current, location-based information about you. From there, players can challenge those around them to competitive games or join forces in a co-op romp.
Of course, this is all assuming the games support said features, which we're sure at least some will. But how Sony is going to get you hooked on playing in public more often is the fact that players may have to share through Near in order unlock new content. Want that new multiplayer map for your Vita shooter of choice? Better head to the nearest library or airport to get it. You'll also be able to compare player stats like trophies through Near.
Wait a tick--that sounds a lot like how FarmVille players compare farms or Mastery achievements. Regardless of whether you're on board with Sony's PlayStation Vita handheld gaming console, it's undeniable that the device is a response to the social and mobile gaming scenes. We'll whether that response is strong enough in 2012.
[Via Kotaku]
What do you think of the PS Vita's social features? Do you think they're robust or slick enough to compete with what Facebook or mobile games are capable of already? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Sure, we already knew that Near would allow players to gift one another based on location, but, according to the PlayStation Blog, it goes deeper than that. When PS Vita players press the "Update" button, it will send a ping in an outward radius to other potential Vita players with current, location-based information about you. From there, players can challenge those around them to competitive games or join forces in a co-op romp.
Of course, this is all assuming the games support said features, which we're sure at least some will. But how Sony is going to get you hooked on playing in public more often is the fact that players may have to share through Near in order unlock new content. Want that new multiplayer map for your Vita shooter of choice? Better head to the nearest library or airport to get it. You'll also be able to compare player stats like trophies through Near.
Wait a tick--that sounds a lot like how FarmVille players compare farms or Mastery achievements. Regardless of whether you're on board with Sony's PlayStation Vita handheld gaming console, it's undeniable that the device is a response to the social and mobile gaming scenes. We'll whether that response is strong enough in 2012.
[Via Kotaku]
What do you think of the PS Vita's social features? Do you think they're robust or slick enough to compete with what Facebook or mobile games are capable of already? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Lunchtime Poll: Your thoughts on Pioneer Trail's Fort Courage finale?
Now that Zynga has finally released the Pioneer Trail finale to everyone with Fort Courage, it seems that many players are less than enthused about the release. While it appears that the developer made the area into a permanent zone on the World Map, pioneers everywhere sound bummed with, frankly, the lack of content available.
For one, capturing the Gratchet Gang in Fort Courage is nothing more than approaching the trio and clicking on them to receive a pop-up window and cute illustration. And once players arrive to the actual fort, they're simply given the opportunity to purchase items with Trail Points and start all over again from Beaver Valley with the opportunity for more rewards.
Pioneer Trail player free1indeed seems to capture the general sentiment of this 54-page forum thread: "Yeah, it's out and what a disappointment it is! All the hype and all you can do it collect from and talk to soldiers and water prickly cactus ... wow ... What a disappointment." Though, players like NiniD come to Zynga's defense regarding Fort Courage early on.
Forum moderator MizzFaith reminds players that more may be on the way for Fort Courage to hopefully make up for the lack of content. However, I wouldn't expect those updates to come until after this shiny new Ghost Town feature is released. But we want to know what you think of Fort Courage right now, so ...
What do you think of Fort Courage?
What a bummer!
I haven't made it to Fort Courage yet.
It serves its purpose quite nicely.
Bummed, but excited for future updates!
VoteView Results
Share ThisPolldaddy.com
Quantcast
Have something unique to add to this discussion? Have any particular ideas for enhancing Fort Courage? Share with us in the comments. 2 Comments
For one, capturing the Gratchet Gang in Fort Courage is nothing more than approaching the trio and clicking on them to receive a pop-up window and cute illustration. And once players arrive to the actual fort, they're simply given the opportunity to purchase items with Trail Points and start all over again from Beaver Valley with the opportunity for more rewards.
Pioneer Trail player free1indeed seems to capture the general sentiment of this 54-page forum thread: "Yeah, it's out and what a disappointment it is! All the hype and all you can do it collect from and talk to soldiers and water prickly cactus ... wow ... What a disappointment." Though, players like NiniD come to Zynga's defense regarding Fort Courage early on.
Forum moderator MizzFaith reminds players that more may be on the way for Fort Courage to hopefully make up for the lack of content. However, I wouldn't expect those updates to come until after this shiny new Ghost Town feature is released. But we want to know what you think of Fort Courage right now, so ...
What do you think of Fort Courage?
What a bummer!
I haven't made it to Fort Courage yet.
It serves its purpose quite nicely.
Bummed, but excited for future updates!
VoteView Results
Share ThisPolldaddy.com
Quantcast
Have something unique to add to this discussion? Have any particular ideas for enhancing Fort Courage? Share with us in the comments. 2 Comments
Dexter Slice of Life chops up Facebook after Season 6 debut
It's time to see the darker side of Facebook games ... much darker. Like, "a social game about serial killers" dark. Ecko|Code announced that Dexter Slice of Life is now available for play on Facebook, and just in time for the show's Season 6 debut last night. The game enlists players as Dexter, tasking them with the daunting mission of investigating big-time criminals and giving them the axe--literally.
It appears to be the first social game of its kind to employ real-time stealth gameplay that has players stalking Dexter's prey and lunging for the good old shot of tranquilizer. (We're sure you all know what happens afterward.) Of course, there's no escape yet from common Facebook game tropes like maintaining property--in this case, Dexter's apartment complex--but it's the Dark Passenger multiplayer system that Ecko|Code appeared most excited about when they told us all about the game last month.
Dexter Slice of Life kill room
Well, that and the fact that the game features full voiceover work from the show's star, Michael C. Hall. Not to mention that the Dexter screen writers worked with the developer to craft relevant missions that will explore the Season 6 plot in more detail every Monday, after the latest episode airs on Showtime. Slice of Life looks like it might tread new ground in the ever-growing branded games scene on Facebook, but don't take our word for it. See it for yourself, but beware: Spoiler Warning!
Click here to play Dexter Slice of Life on Facebook Now >
Are you psyched to see Dexter get his very own Facebook game? What do you think of branded games thus far on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
It appears to be the first social game of its kind to employ real-time stealth gameplay that has players stalking Dexter's prey and lunging for the good old shot of tranquilizer. (We're sure you all know what happens afterward.) Of course, there's no escape yet from common Facebook game tropes like maintaining property--in this case, Dexter's apartment complex--but it's the Dark Passenger multiplayer system that Ecko|Code appeared most excited about when they told us all about the game last month.
Dexter Slice of Life kill room
Well, that and the fact that the game features full voiceover work from the show's star, Michael C. Hall. Not to mention that the Dexter screen writers worked with the developer to craft relevant missions that will explore the Season 6 plot in more detail every Monday, after the latest episode airs on Showtime. Slice of Life looks like it might tread new ground in the ever-growing branded games scene on Facebook, but don't take our word for it. See it for yourself, but beware: Spoiler Warning!
Click here to play Dexter Slice of Life on Facebook Now >
Are you psyched to see Dexter get his very own Facebook game? What do you think of branded games thus far on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
Mafia Wars 2 gives a bird's-eye view of the mob life on Facebook
Most of the down and dirty events that take place in Mafia Wars--the hits, the robberies and the all-out wars--are implied. If there is one shining difference between that game and its upcoming direct sequel by Zynga, it's that all of those activities are laid out before you.
And yes, that includes all of the gory details that are normally alluded to in Mafia Wars behind the scenes. Mafia Wars 2 is, in a nutshell, the visual representation of what you've been up to for the past three years in Mafia Wars proper.
During a sneak peek of the game provided by Mafia Wars 2 Lead Product Manager Ian Wang and Art Director Christy Schaefer, it was almost shocking to see a player literally pull out a gun and blow an approaching thug away. Sure, the blood and gore is mild in Mafia Wars 2, but seeing that happen before your eyes after years of it portrayed in stylish concept art stills is quite jarring.
Mafia Wars 2 Bone Yard
For those of you who have been digging on Mafia Wars for awhile now, it will definitely be the sort of jarring effect that spurs an "Oh, hell yeah!" However, those coming from the CityVille crowd or even elsewhere might be a bit shocked--this could very well be the first Zynga game to feature animated blood and buildings like "grow houses" that generate profits. This certainly isn't anything new on Facebook (See: Weeds Social Club; strategy games like the new War Commander), but perhaps new territory for the massive developer.
Social games are growing up, and Zynga looks to keep up with the Joneses. "What we wanted to do with [Mafia Wars 2] is take the core of the violence, the ability to escape into a different world and act out your fantasies, and visualize that," Wang tells us just before his fully customizable in-game character blasts an approaching thug until the red stuff spurts out. "We actually found, with the success of [the first] Mafia Wars, that people actually really want to be violent and act out the fantasies. We want it to be gritty, we want it to be visceral, and we want the experience to be pretty climactic."
Gallery: Mafia Wars 2 on Facebook
You've been let out of prison for an unknown crime and a modest sum to revive your crime empire. But this time, it's off to the outskirts of Las Vegas to make it happen. Mafia Wars 2 takes on the common isometric perspective and property building mechanic of previous Zynga games like FrontierVille and FarmVille. (And, as it appears to this writer, competitors like Funzio's Crime City.) However, that experience is constantly peppered with action as enemies from the game's storyline sic thugs on you. And the action is presented in a fun, comic book-inspired art style that looks to help get players hyped about their exploits.
During your time in the game, you will grow your seedy shanty town of sorts into a thriving, crime-ridden metropolis that might put the Vegas strip to shame. And just like in its predecessor, there will be plenty of jobs to do and, yes, bosses to take down across seven sprawling sections of Las Vegas and its outskirts. This all happens within the game's combat system, which is decided by your character's equipment as it's sized up against your enemies' weapons. Clearly, it's important to build weapon and armor shops to increase your strength, and most weapons have uniquely gruesome animations.
Mafia Wars 2 Boss Fight
In fact, it's easy to simply take the design tropes of the first Mafia Wars and apply them to this more direct approach to the franchise when imagining what the sequel will be like. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and Zynga compounds upon that, touting features such as over 100 decorations at launch to improve the look, feel and function of your Turf. Over 300 different types of weapons, armor and vehicles will be available in the game at first, and players can deck out their digital mobster in over 600 pieces of clothing.
Of course, player vs player combat is as major a focus in this sequel as it was in the original. While players can invade their enemies' Turf and rob their properties, they can also rally their friends to form crews and defend or restore each other's Turf. To take the fight to even more random players, three Battle Arenas--Bone Yard, Badlands and Area 51--in asynchronous combat to spur longstanding rivalries of back-and-forth robberies.
While the game is under development in Zynga's San Francisco headquarters with many members from the original Mafia Wars team, Wang assures us that the first game will be maintained alongside the sequel for some time. And the giant social game creator is reaching further than any gang ever has with 16 languages supported at launch (including English): French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Japanese and Thai. Mafia Wars 2 will be available on Facebook within the next few weeks.
Click here to learn more about Mafia Wars 2 on Facebook >
Are you excited to get your hands on the brand new take on Mafia Wars? What do you think of this drastically different approach to the franchise? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
And yes, that includes all of the gory details that are normally alluded to in Mafia Wars behind the scenes. Mafia Wars 2 is, in a nutshell, the visual representation of what you've been up to for the past three years in Mafia Wars proper.
During a sneak peek of the game provided by Mafia Wars 2 Lead Product Manager Ian Wang and Art Director Christy Schaefer, it was almost shocking to see a player literally pull out a gun and blow an approaching thug away. Sure, the blood and gore is mild in Mafia Wars 2, but seeing that happen before your eyes after years of it portrayed in stylish concept art stills is quite jarring.
Mafia Wars 2 Bone Yard
For those of you who have been digging on Mafia Wars for awhile now, it will definitely be the sort of jarring effect that spurs an "Oh, hell yeah!" However, those coming from the CityVille crowd or even elsewhere might be a bit shocked--this could very well be the first Zynga game to feature animated blood and buildings like "grow houses" that generate profits. This certainly isn't anything new on Facebook (See: Weeds Social Club; strategy games like the new War Commander), but perhaps new territory for the massive developer.
Social games are growing up, and Zynga looks to keep up with the Joneses. "What we wanted to do with [Mafia Wars 2] is take the core of the violence, the ability to escape into a different world and act out your fantasies, and visualize that," Wang tells us just before his fully customizable in-game character blasts an approaching thug until the red stuff spurts out. "We actually found, with the success of [the first] Mafia Wars, that people actually really want to be violent and act out the fantasies. We want it to be gritty, we want it to be visceral, and we want the experience to be pretty climactic."
Gallery: Mafia Wars 2 on Facebook
You've been let out of prison for an unknown crime and a modest sum to revive your crime empire. But this time, it's off to the outskirts of Las Vegas to make it happen. Mafia Wars 2 takes on the common isometric perspective and property building mechanic of previous Zynga games like FrontierVille and FarmVille. (And, as it appears to this writer, competitors like Funzio's Crime City.) However, that experience is constantly peppered with action as enemies from the game's storyline sic thugs on you. And the action is presented in a fun, comic book-inspired art style that looks to help get players hyped about their exploits.
During your time in the game, you will grow your seedy shanty town of sorts into a thriving, crime-ridden metropolis that might put the Vegas strip to shame. And just like in its predecessor, there will be plenty of jobs to do and, yes, bosses to take down across seven sprawling sections of Las Vegas and its outskirts. This all happens within the game's combat system, which is decided by your character's equipment as it's sized up against your enemies' weapons. Clearly, it's important to build weapon and armor shops to increase your strength, and most weapons have uniquely gruesome animations.
Mafia Wars 2 Boss Fight
In fact, it's easy to simply take the design tropes of the first Mafia Wars and apply them to this more direct approach to the franchise when imagining what the sequel will be like. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and Zynga compounds upon that, touting features such as over 100 decorations at launch to improve the look, feel and function of your Turf. Over 300 different types of weapons, armor and vehicles will be available in the game at first, and players can deck out their digital mobster in over 600 pieces of clothing.
Of course, player vs player combat is as major a focus in this sequel as it was in the original. While players can invade their enemies' Turf and rob their properties, they can also rally their friends to form crews and defend or restore each other's Turf. To take the fight to even more random players, three Battle Arenas--Bone Yard, Badlands and Area 51--in asynchronous combat to spur longstanding rivalries of back-and-forth robberies.
While the game is under development in Zynga's San Francisco headquarters with many members from the original Mafia Wars team, Wang assures us that the first game will be maintained alongside the sequel for some time. And the giant social game creator is reaching further than any gang ever has with 16 languages supported at launch (including English): French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Japanese and Thai. Mafia Wars 2 will be available on Facebook within the next few weeks.
Click here to learn more about Mafia Wars 2 on Facebook >
Are you excited to get your hands on the brand new take on Mafia Wars? What do you think of this drastically different approach to the franchise? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)