It might be late, but L.A. Noire is due to arrive on PC in a little over a fortnight in the form of L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition. Hitting shelves, both physical and digital, on November 12, PC gamers who hadn't already placed their pre-order on Steam are in for a rude shock.
As of today, the Australian Steam price is now listed as $89.99 USD, with a 10% discount for pre-orders making it $80.99 for those who buy in advance.
Until now, the Steam price for Australia had been the same as America, priced at $44.99 USD.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Ed Boon wants Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter to happen
Liu Kang versus Ryu. Sonya versus Chin Li. Kano versus Gon. Will these eternal rivalries never be settled? They most certainly will, if Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon ever has his way.
Speaking to G4, Boon said Netherrealm "dreams" about a Street Fighter vs Mortal Kombat crossover game.
Speaking to G4, Boon said Netherrealm "dreams" about a Street Fighter vs Mortal Kombat crossover game.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Fruit Ninja Fans, Can You Really Say No To This Face?
No offence to Halfbrick, but I already developed the Puss in Boots mobile game. My cat wanders into the office, stares at me with big, sad eyes, and then gets a cat treat or five. “You have acquired mah servicesssss,” I say, to my little honey bunny baby bear the cat, mimicking Antonio Banderas’ voice from Shrek 2. Honey Bear don’t give a shit, of course.
Puss in Boots is getting his own cinematic prequel in a couple weeks (the lead voiced by Banderas, with a lot of friends) and the film’s marketers have found a way to team up with Fruit Ninja, the Pepsi to Angry Birds‘ Coke in the mobile space. It’s a bidness deal, sure. But Halfbrick makes a solid effort with Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots (iOS, available today), a 99c spinoff that manages to disguise its obvious flackery with a new slicing minigame that’s fun to play and should be incorporated in the main title whenever Puss in Boots finishes its theatrical run.
You get two modes. “Desperado”, is basically the Classic mode from original Fruit Ninja. It gives the game a foundation for those who don’t have the original. The new addition is “Bandito,” a midway shooting-gallery series that switches objectives quickly. I haven’t yet been able to reach its third act.
In “Bandito,” you’re given four randomly chosen minigames to complete in each of three levels, with three “lives” to spare across the entire session. The minigames will be unlike anything you’ve seen in Fruit Ninja so far. There are traditional Fruit Ninja levels simply asking you to cut a certain number of fruit. In others, you’ll be tasked with destroying a “Mega Tomato” that splits into constituent tomatilloes, with bombs bouncing all over the screen after you make your first cut on big red. In another, fruit rolls down a wooden produce chute, offering four-and five-fruit combo slices but, of course, sprinkling in those goddamn bombs. One slice of a bomb and you lose a life.
There’s a good deal of variety and a challenge that teases you just enough with the idea that you can beat it all blindfolded, before it really bends you over and tells you to crack five coconuts on the third stage. It all plays out to the accompaniment of a badass World’s-Most-Interesting-Man Spanish guitar, with snarky commentary — and excuse-making when you mess up — from Puss-in-Banderas.
Fans of Fruit Ninja should pony up the buck for Bandito’s challenging anything-goes modes. “Desperado” is here only to introduce people to the main game, it seems. On the whole, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is an honest extension of Fruit Ninja‘s clever theme and experience, and enjoyable whether or not you have any intention of seeing the film.
Puss in Boots is getting his own cinematic prequel in a couple weeks (the lead voiced by Banderas, with a lot of friends) and the film’s marketers have found a way to team up with Fruit Ninja, the Pepsi to Angry Birds‘ Coke in the mobile space. It’s a bidness deal, sure. But Halfbrick makes a solid effort with Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots (iOS, available today), a 99c spinoff that manages to disguise its obvious flackery with a new slicing minigame that’s fun to play and should be incorporated in the main title whenever Puss in Boots finishes its theatrical run.
You get two modes. “Desperado”, is basically the Classic mode from original Fruit Ninja. It gives the game a foundation for those who don’t have the original. The new addition is “Bandito,” a midway shooting-gallery series that switches objectives quickly. I haven’t yet been able to reach its third act.
In “Bandito,” you’re given four randomly chosen minigames to complete in each of three levels, with three “lives” to spare across the entire session. The minigames will be unlike anything you’ve seen in Fruit Ninja so far. There are traditional Fruit Ninja levels simply asking you to cut a certain number of fruit. In others, you’ll be tasked with destroying a “Mega Tomato” that splits into constituent tomatilloes, with bombs bouncing all over the screen after you make your first cut on big red. In another, fruit rolls down a wooden produce chute, offering four-and five-fruit combo slices but, of course, sprinkling in those goddamn bombs. One slice of a bomb and you lose a life.
There’s a good deal of variety and a challenge that teases you just enough with the idea that you can beat it all blindfolded, before it really bends you over and tells you to crack five coconuts on the third stage. It all plays out to the accompaniment of a badass World’s-Most-Interesting-Man Spanish guitar, with snarky commentary — and excuse-making when you mess up — from Puss-in-Banderas.
Fans of Fruit Ninja should pony up the buck for Bandito’s challenging anything-goes modes. “Desperado” is here only to introduce people to the main game, it seems. On the whole, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is an honest extension of Fruit Ninja‘s clever theme and experience, and enjoyable whether or not you have any intention of seeing the film.
Gears Of War Expansion Adds 3 Hours To Campaign
For $US15 on December 13, you’ll be able to add three hours to Gears of War 3‘s storyline campaign by downloading a new expansion to the game called RAAM’s Shadow. You’ll also be able to play as a bad guy in it.
The creators of Gears of War 3 spilled details on the second big downloadable content release for September’s Xbox 360 exclusive today, promising that RAAM’s Shadow will add more than three hours of gameplay through a mini-campaign set after Emergence Day, the event that triggered the war that has been raging through the three Gears games. Emergence Day preceded the events of the original Gears of War by 14 years.
In RAAM’s Shadow, you’ll be playing as members of Zeta squad, including Michael Barrick from the Gears comics, Lt Minh Young Kim from the first game, Tai Kaliso from the second and a new character named Alicia Valera. Players will also play as RAAM, essentially taking on the role of one of the end boss of the first Gears of War as he storms a human stronghold.
The $US15 expansion will also add six characters to multiplayer, an opportunity for 250 Achievement points and the Chocolate Weapons Set, which is presumably a silly, alternate array of guns for multiplayer. Yummy!
Those who bought the Gears of War 3 season pass will get RAAM’s Shadow as part of their pass.
The creators of Gears of War 3 spilled details on the second big downloadable content release for September’s Xbox 360 exclusive today, promising that RAAM’s Shadow will add more than three hours of gameplay through a mini-campaign set after Emergence Day, the event that triggered the war that has been raging through the three Gears games. Emergence Day preceded the events of the original Gears of War by 14 years.
In RAAM’s Shadow, you’ll be playing as members of Zeta squad, including Michael Barrick from the Gears comics, Lt Minh Young Kim from the first game, Tai Kaliso from the second and a new character named Alicia Valera. Players will also play as RAAM, essentially taking on the role of one of the end boss of the first Gears of War as he storms a human stronghold.
The $US15 expansion will also add six characters to multiplayer, an opportunity for 250 Achievement points and the Chocolate Weapons Set, which is presumably a silly, alternate array of guns for multiplayer. Yummy!
Those who bought the Gears of War 3 season pass will get RAAM’s Shadow as part of their pass.
This Beautiful Art Is From… Call Of Duty: Black Ops? Huh?
Yup. And don’t look so surprised. There’s more to the Call of Duty series than military hardware, moustaches and door hinges.
The environments in which the games take place are rarely 100 per cent authentic, which means someone had to dream them up. In this case, it’s artist Michael Zimmerman, who takes us on a tour of a Cold War too gorgeous to have been sullied by shoe-banging or a Hungarian uprising.
Zimmerman has worked on projects as diverse as PlayStation Home to Command & Conquer to Killzone 3, but it’s just his Black Ops art we’re looking at today, and how his vibrant colours make the game’s locations look a lot more inviting than they end up in the game, when they’re full of Russians trying to shoot you in the face.
If you like what you see here, you can see a lot more of Michael’s work at his personal site.
The environments in which the games take place are rarely 100 per cent authentic, which means someone had to dream them up. In this case, it’s artist Michael Zimmerman, who takes us on a tour of a Cold War too gorgeous to have been sullied by shoe-banging or a Hungarian uprising.
Zimmerman has worked on projects as diverse as PlayStation Home to Command & Conquer to Killzone 3, but it’s just his Black Ops art we’re looking at today, and how his vibrant colours make the game’s locations look a lot more inviting than they end up in the game, when they’re full of Russians trying to shoot you in the face.
If you like what you see here, you can see a lot more of Michael’s work at his personal site.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
BioWare Talks Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer
BioWare continued to roll out details about its new co-op multiplayer mode in Mass Effect 3, with Executive Producer Casey Hudson sitting down to describe what's in store for friends interested in playing the sci-fi shooter together
Mass Effect 3
In Mass Effect 3, an ancient alien race known only as Reapers, has launched an all-out invasion of the galaxy, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction in their wake. Earth has been taken, the galaxy is on the verge of total annihilation, and you are the only one who can stop them. The price of failure is extinction. You, as Commander Shepard, must lead the counter assault to take it back. Only you can determine how events will play out, which planets you will save from annihilation and which alliances you will form or abandon as you rally the forces of the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all.
Friday, October 21, 2011
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!
What I would like to see in 2011
The video game industry is a strange beast. It’s not unlike the movie or comic book industry in that creative heads are constantly looking for new and fresh ways to present their product in an artistic and entertaining way, but unlike the latter two, video game developers take a longer time to realize their projects. Where it only takes months for a new film or issue to come out from inception, it can take years for a game project to come to fruition. Engines can take up to four years to fully materialize and the subsequent work-hours in programming/producing/designin g/testing leave very little room for surprises, so writing a video game industry wish list boils down to when you hope to first hear about a game in development, not the year you will actually get something to sink your teeth in.
Regardless, here is what I’d like to see (or read about) in 2011.
NO MORE CALL OF DUTIES
For the love of God, Activision, just call it something else. Most COD games have little-to-no resemblance to one another. They are just shooters with extravagant set pieces and an over-exaggerated appetite for glorifying war. It first started as a pretender to the WW2 throne trying to capitalize on the success of Medal of Honor, then “it” jumped on the modern warfare bandwagon popularized by Battlefield. Now we have Black Ops. What’s next in this call for profit? COD: SWAT? COD: Submariner? COD: Aircraft Carrier Controller? Just stop. Call it whatever you want, but get the COD out.
NO MORE FREE-TO-PLAY MMOS, PLEASE
Free-to-play MMOs remind me of the Hokey Pokey. No, sorry, the Crocodile Rock. Wrong again: the Elephant. Actually, they’re more like the Mashed Potato, The Monster Mash, The Monkey, The Dog, The Frug… You get the picture. Like 60s dance crazes, one company struck it big with a winning concept and now the internet is littered with free-to-play MMOs. But unlike the aforementioned fads, you won’t be seeing me skipping around humming to any catchy tunes.
Truth be told, the culprits are but a handful of companies. Publisher likes Aeria Games have over a dozen such games under their belt, all being nothing more than clones of one another. Sure, they appear to have a few distinct genres (The Cutesy Jailbaits with Big Eyes, The Serious Dudes with Big Swords, The Voluptuous Babes with even Bigger Cleavage), but ultimately they all follow the same formula of enticing would-be MMOers with over-sexed female concept art, gratuitous grinding and GMs (Game Masters) plugging crap to their community through various in-game and website activities. Such companies are nothing more than suppliers, really, since they have absolutely no input in the design process of the games they “publish.” The true developers and publishers are faceless enterprises, comfortably holed up in distant lands from where they spit out the same game with new titles and skins jobs. Having said that, the press needs a new category to accompany “Developer” and “Publisher” in their game descriptors (one guess -- it also starts with a “P”) because “Publishers” they are certainly not. We have way too much of their cargo on our superhighways; let’s clean up our streets.
MIRROR’S EDGE 2
Ok, time for what I want to see more of. In November of 2008, EA made a courageous attempt at giving players a cool parkour game: Mirror’s Edge. The title had some flaws, mainly in flow (something the main character, Faith, ironically talks about when describing her lifestyle) because gameplay and story had a hard time keeping up with our nimble heroine. But the game also had a heart as big as Faith’s. Fans were given a slick game with daring first-person mechanics and clean urban settings. The result painted an eerie canvas of how our world might look one day. It wasn’t just a nice game to look at, it had a message. More importantly, despite its gameplay shortcomings it grew on you if you had the guts to come back for seconds, thirds and fourths after the end-credits. My review ( http://www.gameobserver.com... ) was a bit harsh, and I stick by it, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to see more of Mirror’s Edge.
Mirror’s Edge was unnecessarily hard at times, probably because players had a difficult time adapting to the levels. We had to know what to do to fully enjoy the game; unfortunately DICE was unable to program runner instincts as well as they hoped. All we had for guidance was a despondent objectives menu, an almost mocking destination pointer (which omitted every objective in between) and some red paint to guide us through the hail of bullets. It was also short and didn’t give us a good idea of how Faith’s world, including some of her gameplay mechanics like disarming unsuspecting opponents, really behaved. Nevertheless, the game deserves a sequel, not only to have a second chance at fixing flow issues, but also to expand on a winning formula. The sum of its parts gave us a memorable experience with a lot of potential.
Mirror’s Edge 2 is being “considered” by EA, so I am here to say that as an editor, and more importantly a gamer, I want to see a sequel. Most of us harsh critics simply wanted Mirror’s Edge to be perfect because it’s one of the few titles that can even hope to aim for that goal. I have come back to the old game on a few occasions, and I have to admit it plays better each time. Faith, it seems, has stamina in those legs.
VAGRANT STORY 2
I don’t care if they make a remake or a sequel, Square Enix’s epic and often misunderstood work of genius deserves a second chance. The game originally came out on the PS1 in 2000 and was heralded by some critics as a masterpiece. Unfortunately Vagrant Story was overshadowed by Final Fantasy IX and Chrono Cross, which also came out that same year. Detractors complained about the game’s difficulty. I for one never had problems with it, and the much-hated weapon creation process was one of my favorite features.
Gameplay offered players a little bit of everything: action, RPG, adventure, strategy and puzzle-solving. Combat revolved around a spherical grid that appeared around the player’s character. It determined target range and hit locations. To some extent it resembled Fallout 3’s V.A.T.S. targeting system. Complimenting the grid was a timing feature that let players juggle attacks almost indefinitely. A player could technically defeat a dragon with a rusty dagger with the right timing and skill (actual gameplay skill, not your character’s skill stats). To top it off, the game wove an amazing tale with ample background -- better than most Hollywood blockbusters. The story’s conclusion saw our protagonist starting his journey as a vagrant, so Vagrant Story was but a mere prequel to what Square had in store for us. Let’s hope they finish the job one day.
MORE SPACE EXPLORATION GAMES
I’ve had a hard time finding a decent space exploration game in the last few years. I tried what feels like all of them: Freelancer 2 (too linear, a shooter), Darkstar One (pretty good but no planet exploration), Galactic Civilization (strategy game, focuses on warfare not exploration), Sins of a Solar Empire (strategy game, no space exploration), Spore (close, but the final frontier would have greatly benefitted from more lead time and prettier gibberish-talking space muppets).
At this point in my trek to find new space games, online Samaritans usually point me towards MMOs. Eve Online is often suggested to me first. You see, my fellow readers, space exploration isn’t about finding attractive asteroid mining ventures. It’s, like Captain Kirk so eloquently put it, about boldly going where no one has gone before. It’s hard to get that feeling when all you can think about is reaching the next floating pile of crap on the horizon. ISK be damned, I want to find planets! I want to explore strange new worlds. I want to feel how precious it is to find an M class planet. I want to feel the space around me. I want to bask at the sight of finding a region with a high concentration of Rodnium (ok, ISK isn’t all bad -- baby needs a new pair of thrusters). What I’m getting at is space needs two equally important things: a feeling of distance and planets to explore. You can’t explore planets when you don’t have a ground game (looking at you space shooters) and you can’t get a feel for distance when traveling is determined by pointing and clicking on a map (looking at you space strategy games).
It seems the advent of 3D graphics has brought on a new set of limitations. Because we can see our surroundings in more detail, developers are scared to give us a galaxy full of barren planets that are noticeably generated by predictable algorithms. The result is what we’ve seen in Mass Effect’s exploration parts. We get a ground game but the limited amount of worlds we can visit deprives the galaxy of its vastness. And the planets we can actually explore are either too constrained with over-scenic environments, or give us ample freedom but in settings void of anything interesting. With today’s graphical expectations it has become too damn hard to place all those static meshes, align all those textures and position all those particle effects. Each planet needs the caring touch of a RedBull-swigging level designer. If there is one thing classic games did well it was focusing on what really matters, and in space that’s vastness and having too many options.
A perfect example of a good “space exploration” game is Starflight for PC and Sega Genesis. Here’s a little game that embodied everything Star Trek represents in a concise, little package. We had hundreds, if not thousands, of planets to explore; the pitfalls of distance were omnipresent; we could land on just about every world; we had a few alien species to keep us entertained; we had a simple but effective economy based around mining, capturing and selling the indigenous fauna and discovering M class planets; we had numerous planets with interesting environments; you could upgrade your ship with noticeable improvements in-game; your crew’s stats determined how well your ship’s features performed; and best of all, it had a bad story... What? You heard me. You know you have a successful game concept on your hands when you don’t need a story to carry you along. Having said all that, on to the next topic.
Regardless, here is what I’d like to see (or read about) in 2011.
NO MORE CALL OF DUTIES
For the love of God, Activision, just call it something else. Most COD games have little-to-no resemblance to one another. They are just shooters with extravagant set pieces and an over-exaggerated appetite for glorifying war. It first started as a pretender to the WW2 throne trying to capitalize on the success of Medal of Honor, then “it” jumped on the modern warfare bandwagon popularized by Battlefield. Now we have Black Ops. What’s next in this call for profit? COD: SWAT? COD: Submariner? COD: Aircraft Carrier Controller? Just stop. Call it whatever you want, but get the COD out.
NO MORE FREE-TO-PLAY MMOS, PLEASE
Free-to-play MMOs remind me of the Hokey Pokey. No, sorry, the Crocodile Rock. Wrong again: the Elephant. Actually, they’re more like the Mashed Potato, The Monster Mash, The Monkey, The Dog, The Frug… You get the picture. Like 60s dance crazes, one company struck it big with a winning concept and now the internet is littered with free-to-play MMOs. But unlike the aforementioned fads, you won’t be seeing me skipping around humming to any catchy tunes.
Truth be told, the culprits are but a handful of companies. Publisher likes Aeria Games have over a dozen such games under their belt, all being nothing more than clones of one another. Sure, they appear to have a few distinct genres (The Cutesy Jailbaits with Big Eyes, The Serious Dudes with Big Swords, The Voluptuous Babes with even Bigger Cleavage), but ultimately they all follow the same formula of enticing would-be MMOers with over-sexed female concept art, gratuitous grinding and GMs (Game Masters) plugging crap to their community through various in-game and website activities. Such companies are nothing more than suppliers, really, since they have absolutely no input in the design process of the games they “publish.” The true developers and publishers are faceless enterprises, comfortably holed up in distant lands from where they spit out the same game with new titles and skins jobs. Having said that, the press needs a new category to accompany “Developer” and “Publisher” in their game descriptors (one guess -- it also starts with a “P”) because “Publishers” they are certainly not. We have way too much of their cargo on our superhighways; let’s clean up our streets.
MIRROR’S EDGE 2
Ok, time for what I want to see more of. In November of 2008, EA made a courageous attempt at giving players a cool parkour game: Mirror’s Edge. The title had some flaws, mainly in flow (something the main character, Faith, ironically talks about when describing her lifestyle) because gameplay and story had a hard time keeping up with our nimble heroine. But the game also had a heart as big as Faith’s. Fans were given a slick game with daring first-person mechanics and clean urban settings. The result painted an eerie canvas of how our world might look one day. It wasn’t just a nice game to look at, it had a message. More importantly, despite its gameplay shortcomings it grew on you if you had the guts to come back for seconds, thirds and fourths after the end-credits. My review ( http://www.gameobserver.com... ) was a bit harsh, and I stick by it, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to see more of Mirror’s Edge.
Mirror’s Edge was unnecessarily hard at times, probably because players had a difficult time adapting to the levels. We had to know what to do to fully enjoy the game; unfortunately DICE was unable to program runner instincts as well as they hoped. All we had for guidance was a despondent objectives menu, an almost mocking destination pointer (which omitted every objective in between) and some red paint to guide us through the hail of bullets. It was also short and didn’t give us a good idea of how Faith’s world, including some of her gameplay mechanics like disarming unsuspecting opponents, really behaved. Nevertheless, the game deserves a sequel, not only to have a second chance at fixing flow issues, but also to expand on a winning formula. The sum of its parts gave us a memorable experience with a lot of potential.
Mirror’s Edge 2 is being “considered” by EA, so I am here to say that as an editor, and more importantly a gamer, I want to see a sequel. Most of us harsh critics simply wanted Mirror’s Edge to be perfect because it’s one of the few titles that can even hope to aim for that goal. I have come back to the old game on a few occasions, and I have to admit it plays better each time. Faith, it seems, has stamina in those legs.
VAGRANT STORY 2
I don’t care if they make a remake or a sequel, Square Enix’s epic and often misunderstood work of genius deserves a second chance. The game originally came out on the PS1 in 2000 and was heralded by some critics as a masterpiece. Unfortunately Vagrant Story was overshadowed by Final Fantasy IX and Chrono Cross, which also came out that same year. Detractors complained about the game’s difficulty. I for one never had problems with it, and the much-hated weapon creation process was one of my favorite features.
Gameplay offered players a little bit of everything: action, RPG, adventure, strategy and puzzle-solving. Combat revolved around a spherical grid that appeared around the player’s character. It determined target range and hit locations. To some extent it resembled Fallout 3’s V.A.T.S. targeting system. Complimenting the grid was a timing feature that let players juggle attacks almost indefinitely. A player could technically defeat a dragon with a rusty dagger with the right timing and skill (actual gameplay skill, not your character’s skill stats). To top it off, the game wove an amazing tale with ample background -- better than most Hollywood blockbusters. The story’s conclusion saw our protagonist starting his journey as a vagrant, so Vagrant Story was but a mere prequel to what Square had in store for us. Let’s hope they finish the job one day.
MORE SPACE EXPLORATION GAMES
I’ve had a hard time finding a decent space exploration game in the last few years. I tried what feels like all of them: Freelancer 2 (too linear, a shooter), Darkstar One (pretty good but no planet exploration), Galactic Civilization (strategy game, focuses on warfare not exploration), Sins of a Solar Empire (strategy game, no space exploration), Spore (close, but the final frontier would have greatly benefitted from more lead time and prettier gibberish-talking space muppets).
At this point in my trek to find new space games, online Samaritans usually point me towards MMOs. Eve Online is often suggested to me first. You see, my fellow readers, space exploration isn’t about finding attractive asteroid mining ventures. It’s, like Captain Kirk so eloquently put it, about boldly going where no one has gone before. It’s hard to get that feeling when all you can think about is reaching the next floating pile of crap on the horizon. ISK be damned, I want to find planets! I want to explore strange new worlds. I want to feel how precious it is to find an M class planet. I want to feel the space around me. I want to bask at the sight of finding a region with a high concentration of Rodnium (ok, ISK isn’t all bad -- baby needs a new pair of thrusters). What I’m getting at is space needs two equally important things: a feeling of distance and planets to explore. You can’t explore planets when you don’t have a ground game (looking at you space shooters) and you can’t get a feel for distance when traveling is determined by pointing and clicking on a map (looking at you space strategy games).
It seems the advent of 3D graphics has brought on a new set of limitations. Because we can see our surroundings in more detail, developers are scared to give us a galaxy full of barren planets that are noticeably generated by predictable algorithms. The result is what we’ve seen in Mass Effect’s exploration parts. We get a ground game but the limited amount of worlds we can visit deprives the galaxy of its vastness. And the planets we can actually explore are either too constrained with over-scenic environments, or give us ample freedom but in settings void of anything interesting. With today’s graphical expectations it has become too damn hard to place all those static meshes, align all those textures and position all those particle effects. Each planet needs the caring touch of a RedBull-swigging level designer. If there is one thing classic games did well it was focusing on what really matters, and in space that’s vastness and having too many options.
A perfect example of a good “space exploration” game is Starflight for PC and Sega Genesis. Here’s a little game that embodied everything Star Trek represents in a concise, little package. We had hundreds, if not thousands, of planets to explore; the pitfalls of distance were omnipresent; we could land on just about every world; we had a few alien species to keep us entertained; we had a simple but effective economy based around mining, capturing and selling the indigenous fauna and discovering M class planets; we had numerous planets with interesting environments; you could upgrade your ship with noticeable improvements in-game; your crew’s stats determined how well your ship’s features performed; and best of all, it had a bad story... What? You heard me. You know you have a successful game concept on your hands when you don’t need a story to carry you along. Having said all that, on to the next topic.
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.
Corporate Capcom Conundrum!
Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? No. That was my train of thought upon discovering that Capcom was blatantly plagiarising indie gem ‘Splosion Man. Released in 2009 exclusively for XBLA, the development company Twisted Pixel took their game to Capcom initially, but it was rejected. The similarities between the original title and Capcom’s iOS game (cleverly titled maXplosion) are startling and you’d be hard-pressed to truly believe that this was all spooky coincidence. Now, of course, the App store is ridden with copycat games- but the fact that this title was such a small one makes the whole situation feel a lot more…below the belt. Also the irony is not lost on me that, in 1993, Capcom sued Japanese company Data East for copyright infringement after claiming their fighting games were just too
similar to Street Fighter II.
Obviously the crying shame is that Twisted Pixel is a small company that just doesn’t have the resources to challenge a company as big as Capcom. Co-founder and CEO Michael Wilford highlighted this in a series of recent Tweets; “Just sucks because we're too small to do anything about it, and I bet Capcom's counting on that” he said.
But what does all this mean? I don’t want to be sensationalist and claim it’s one giant symbol for the way in which big corporations are running the gaming industry. Certainly with the astronomic success of indie games in 2009/2010; this year, Limbo and Minecraft are the obvious staggering examples. It seems silly, for want of a better word, to claim that small companies are being pushed out by large publishers. However, for a moment direct your gaze to May 23 of this year- the date of the show trial. The above speculation may prove prophetic, or not, depending on the outcome of that trial; as big, scary Activision (lead, of course, by the 8th horseman Bobby Kotic) take on poor, defenceless Infinity Ward.
similar to Street Fighter II.
Obviously the crying shame is that Twisted Pixel is a small company that just doesn’t have the resources to challenge a company as big as Capcom. Co-founder and CEO Michael Wilford highlighted this in a series of recent Tweets; “Just sucks because we're too small to do anything about it, and I bet Capcom's counting on that” he said.
But what does all this mean? I don’t want to be sensationalist and claim it’s one giant symbol for the way in which big corporations are running the gaming industry. Certainly with the astronomic success of indie games in 2009/2010; this year, Limbo and Minecraft are the obvious staggering examples. It seems silly, for want of a better word, to claim that small companies are being pushed out by large publishers. However, for a moment direct your gaze to May 23 of this year- the date of the show trial. The above speculation may prove prophetic, or not, depending on the outcome of that trial; as big, scary Activision (lead, of course, by the 8th horseman Bobby Kotic) take on poor, defenceless Infinity Ward.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Expectations for the next-gen
What will the next generation of consoles (Not handhelds) bring?
We will most likely have one or two (possibly even three) next gen consoles revealed within the next 2 years. There will always be speculation up until the specifications are revealed and down below you will find my thoughts and expectations.
The next Wii:
Nintendo is mainly a console for casual types of gamers and games. My guess is that Nintendo will bring out a console capable of running all games in 720p for the next gen. (The resolution of which most of the games today run in on consoles.)
The graphics for the next wii will probably have the potential of looking like multiplatform-games today (Most games probably won't be as demanding on the graphics-department due to the very nature of most games that nintendo has made for us over the years. The simplicity and gameplay is, and probably always will be Nintendos strongest points)
The Nintendo Wii will probably have Wifi of the latest standards. The wii-motion controllers will be vastly improved and will probably be as accurate as playstation Move is today. The technology that will make that possible is cheap, and will be even cheaper at the launch of "Wii 2".
Nintendo will also most likely include a blu-ray drive, although the capacity of the discs in their drive will most likely not be above what we have today for Playstation 3.
The next Xbox 360/Playstation 3:
I expect these consoles to be similar in many aspects. Both will include a Blu-Ray drive with increased capacity. 100 Gb wouldn't be surprising. Microsoft cannot skip blu-ray another generation. It would be a very bad business decision with all the focus on HD-content and 3D that we have today.
The graphics will be a big leap from today. It is very unlikely that any game will run in anything but 1080p 60 fps or above. 720p (as most games are running in today) is about 0,92 million pixels. 1080p is about 2,1 million pixels. So the number of pixels will be more than doubled and will enable even more details and amazing graphics than ever before. We will not see consoles that can output resolutions higher than 1920x1200 until the generation after the next. It won't be viable. Even more so if we want full HD 3D running in 60 fps (Which would mean that a game that wants that needs to run in about 120 fps in normal 1080p – mode.)
Technical specifications are hard to guess, but I will give it a try.
RAM: Both consoles will probably feature at least 1 Gb. Not only because of the resolution, but it will be needed for a number of other features that will be present in next-gen consoles.
GPU: This is perhaps the trickiest one. It will, obviously, be much more powerful. We will most likely see dx11 features included, such as tessellation among other things, improved animations overall, more details in textures, models, basically everything that is in the game.
CPU: The CPU in both consoles will be much more powerful than today. There will be a smaller manufacturing process (40 nm at least), the number of cores will be at least doubled (To be able to handle more operations simultaneously as the eye-candy in every frame will be increased). One other thing we can say for sure is that it will be much easier to program for the ps4 – processors. Not only because it is an obvious mistake that Sony won’t do again, but also because of PlaystationSuite. It would be a very strange decision if the ps4 wasn’t compatible with PlaystationSuite. The more platforms a developer can program a game for, the more profit they gain.
The CPU in the Xbox 360 will be as easy at it is now, just a lot more powerful. There hasn’t nearly as much talk about troubles with that as with the ps3’s CELL-processor.
Other features: Both of them will of course have the Wifi of the latest standards. They will both have blu-ray (Not sure that they will go for the same capacity though). There will be USB 3.0 ports at least. Improved versions of Move and Kinect is obvious. An improved operating system with new web-browsers is also obvious. Sony is probably going to integrate NGP in some ways so that you can connect it to your ps4 and transfer games you bought through PSN among other features.
We will most likely have one or two (possibly even three) next gen consoles revealed within the next 2 years. There will always be speculation up until the specifications are revealed and down below you will find my thoughts and expectations.
The next Wii:
Nintendo is mainly a console for casual types of gamers and games. My guess is that Nintendo will bring out a console capable of running all games in 720p for the next gen. (The resolution of which most of the games today run in on consoles.)
The graphics for the next wii will probably have the potential of looking like multiplatform-games today (Most games probably won't be as demanding on the graphics-department due to the very nature of most games that nintendo has made for us over the years. The simplicity and gameplay is, and probably always will be Nintendos strongest points)
The Nintendo Wii will probably have Wifi of the latest standards. The wii-motion controllers will be vastly improved and will probably be as accurate as playstation Move is today. The technology that will make that possible is cheap, and will be even cheaper at the launch of "Wii 2".
Nintendo will also most likely include a blu-ray drive, although the capacity of the discs in their drive will most likely not be above what we have today for Playstation 3.
The next Xbox 360/Playstation 3:
I expect these consoles to be similar in many aspects. Both will include a Blu-Ray drive with increased capacity. 100 Gb wouldn't be surprising. Microsoft cannot skip blu-ray another generation. It would be a very bad business decision with all the focus on HD-content and 3D that we have today.
The graphics will be a big leap from today. It is very unlikely that any game will run in anything but 1080p 60 fps or above. 720p (as most games are running in today) is about 0,92 million pixels. 1080p is about 2,1 million pixels. So the number of pixels will be more than doubled and will enable even more details and amazing graphics than ever before. We will not see consoles that can output resolutions higher than 1920x1200 until the generation after the next. It won't be viable. Even more so if we want full HD 3D running in 60 fps (Which would mean that a game that wants that needs to run in about 120 fps in normal 1080p – mode.)
Technical specifications are hard to guess, but I will give it a try.
RAM: Both consoles will probably feature at least 1 Gb. Not only because of the resolution, but it will be needed for a number of other features that will be present in next-gen consoles.
GPU: This is perhaps the trickiest one. It will, obviously, be much more powerful. We will most likely see dx11 features included, such as tessellation among other things, improved animations overall, more details in textures, models, basically everything that is in the game.
CPU: The CPU in both consoles will be much more powerful than today. There will be a smaller manufacturing process (40 nm at least), the number of cores will be at least doubled (To be able to handle more operations simultaneously as the eye-candy in every frame will be increased). One other thing we can say for sure is that it will be much easier to program for the ps4 – processors. Not only because it is an obvious mistake that Sony won’t do again, but also because of PlaystationSuite. It would be a very strange decision if the ps4 wasn’t compatible with PlaystationSuite. The more platforms a developer can program a game for, the more profit they gain.
The CPU in the Xbox 360 will be as easy at it is now, just a lot more powerful. There hasn’t nearly as much talk about troubles with that as with the ps3’s CELL-processor.
Other features: Both of them will of course have the Wifi of the latest standards. They will both have blu-ray (Not sure that they will go for the same capacity though). There will be USB 3.0 ports at least. Improved versions of Move and Kinect is obvious. An improved operating system with new web-browsers is also obvious. Sony is probably going to integrate NGP in some ways so that you can connect it to your ps4 and transfer games you bought through PSN among other features.
Yes Hacking and Stealing ARE the Same Thing.
Has anyone else heard any other poor excuses for hacking a PS3?
Let me address the first excuse by simply pointing out that hardware and software are two different things. Yes, you do own your PS3, but you do NOT own the software stored on it. Let me make this clearer. You are an END USER. Sony STILL owns XMB, even after you buy the PS3. You have no ownership of the PS3 software. So, to use the car analogy, you're not modding your car. You're installing a substandard and possibly dangerous engine assembled from stolen schematics by a guy who isn't even authorized to change your cars oil. As for the pirated games, I only have to say one thing. IP stands for INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. All you own is the disc. The code stored on the disc is Sony's property, or Activision's, or EA's, or Ubisoft's, or whoever published the IP.
"Unauthorized copying, reproduction, rental, public performance or broadcast of this game is a vioation of applicable laws." Find one game manual that doesn't have that on the back page. If you own a copy of Killzone 3 that you didn't pay for, or borrow from a friend, you stole it. If you modify the game code, you have infringed not only on the publisher's copyright, but also my right to enjoy a fair game.
So, in short, Sony has every right to ban anyone who uses custom firmware, backup managers, or pirated games. In all honesty, the banhammer is lenience on Sony's part. Sony would be well within their rights to file civil and criminal charges against anyone caught hacking their PS3 software.
Let me address the first excuse by simply pointing out that hardware and software are two different things. Yes, you do own your PS3, but you do NOT own the software stored on it. Let me make this clearer. You are an END USER. Sony STILL owns XMB, even after you buy the PS3. You have no ownership of the PS3 software. So, to use the car analogy, you're not modding your car. You're installing a substandard and possibly dangerous engine assembled from stolen schematics by a guy who isn't even authorized to change your cars oil. As for the pirated games, I only have to say one thing. IP stands for INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. All you own is the disc. The code stored on the disc is Sony's property, or Activision's, or EA's, or Ubisoft's, or whoever published the IP.
"Unauthorized copying, reproduction, rental, public performance or broadcast of this game is a vioation of applicable laws." Find one game manual that doesn't have that on the back page. If you own a copy of Killzone 3 that you didn't pay for, or borrow from a friend, you stole it. If you modify the game code, you have infringed not only on the publisher's copyright, but also my right to enjoy a fair game.
So, in short, Sony has every right to ban anyone who uses custom firmware, backup managers, or pirated games. In all honesty, the banhammer is lenience on Sony's part. Sony would be well within their rights to file civil and criminal charges against anyone caught hacking their PS3 software.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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.
Microsoft's E3 Conference
Modern Warfare 3 demo looked great, but I’m not a huge fan of Modern Warfare or similar games (I like FPS just not the Modern Warfare games), but I must admit this one has me interested. The game looks much better than any game in the franchise thus far, and the scale in the game is on a grander scale. I was impressed.
Tomb Raider looked great, and I love the new survival direction they’re going with. The game looks beautiful, and Lara has a Batman like detective vision. Really impressed with Tomb Raider, although she was screaming too much. Fall 2012 :(
EA came up. A few sports games have Kinect capabilities now, and more to come. The Mass Effect 3 demo was looked great, and you can use Kinect to replace speech and give orders, but it looked weird.
Ghost Recon Future Solider had a in-game trailer, which was nice. They demoed using Kinect to assemble and disassemble weapons using motions or voice commands. It works great, and looks great. They used Kinect to shoot, and while it works, it looks horrible.
Youtube is now on XBL, Bing is now on XBL (you can search, but it’s no web browser whatsoever), TV comes to XBL the demo trailer was ok, but you have to say “Xbox ______” to do everything. Not very convenient, but it works. DVR and On demand available.
Ice-T WTF. Gears 3 looks great, but it’s more Gears, great, but not mind blowing anymore.
Crytech’s Project Kingdom, is now called Ryse, and it looked good. The main characters grunts sound like Kratos, and it’s set in Rome, and it’s a first person hack and slash action adventure.....it’s the Xbox’s attempt at getting a God of War on their console, but it looks interesting I must say. 2012 Release date.
Halo Reamke, looks good a mix between Halo 3 and Halo Reach, has multiplayer, should be a good buy, 2011.
Forza 4 looks beautiful, but there doesn’t seem to be anything really new to the series, but the game does look gorgeous.
Fable The Journey had a great looking trailer, but when it came to the actual game I was completely underwhelm, but it did look good, better than any other Fable game.
The Sesame Street and Disneyland games were good........for a 6 year old, moving on along.
The Star Wars game looked absolutely horrible, graphically it looked good, but the gameplay was awful, and crawlingly slow.
Fun Labs was a really cool tech demo for Kinect, that’s become an actual game, and it shows Kinect off in it’s best light thus far (excluding Dance Central)
Kinect Sports Season 2 looks nice for anyone with Kinect. Dance Central 2 looks great for rookie dancers, to try and learn some moves, but again Kienct not my cup of team.
Halo 4 trailer. It was easily the highlight of the entire conference. It looked great, it looked like 343 Studios is going to make Halo more action packed than any of the previous titles, and it went all Dead Space with Zero-G. Release date 2012.
Microsoft’s Conference grade: C
There was some impressive stuff there, but it was stuff we all knew about with the exception of 1 or 2 games. MW3 we knew about although the showing was good, Tomb Raider had a great showing IMO, Mass Effect 3 looked great, Ghost Recon’s trailer was good, but the problem is ALL of these games are coming to PS3 as well. Youtube, Bing, TV are already on PS3 and have been on there since Sony has a web browser (although TV is debatable). Gears 3 had a good showing, but this is the second time seeing it at E3, and a lot of us have played the beta already. Project Kingdom now called Ryse was shown (FINALLY) and it looked good. The main characters grunts sound like Kratos, and it’s set in Rome, and it’s a first person hack and slash action adventure.....it’s the Xbox’s attempt at getting a God of War on their console, but it looks interesting I must say. Most of the exclusive Kinect stuff was for the casual audience which is fine for them. The only big reveal was Halo HD remake which looked good, but this is like getting excited for a HD Collection, they’re nice and you’ll pick them up but nothing mind blowing. Oh yeah and a Halo 4 trailer was shown which was the highlight of the show, but nothing was really shown in the trailer (A-holes where’s my gameplay). Overall there was nothing really there, MS is surviving off of the 3rd parties and Kinect this year, which makes me believe even more that we will be seeing the Xbox 720 in 2012 along with Halo 4 as a launch title, so 360 fans get ready to say goodbye to your console, and get ready to buy a new one, because this is now Kinect aka Casual territory. Pretty much everything was about Kinect and how it’s going to be used with core games to get gamers to buy the device, but there was nothing there that sold Kinect to me, there was impressive uses for Kinect, but nothing that made me want to go out and get it right now. The thing that brought them down from getting a C+ was the awful acting, just stop it, it’s cheesy and makes things completely uncomfortable for gamers and the presenters.
Tomb Raider looked great, and I love the new survival direction they’re going with. The game looks beautiful, and Lara has a Batman like detective vision. Really impressed with Tomb Raider, although she was screaming too much. Fall 2012 :(
EA came up. A few sports games have Kinect capabilities now, and more to come. The Mass Effect 3 demo was looked great, and you can use Kinect to replace speech and give orders, but it looked weird.
Ghost Recon Future Solider had a in-game trailer, which was nice. They demoed using Kinect to assemble and disassemble weapons using motions or voice commands. It works great, and looks great. They used Kinect to shoot, and while it works, it looks horrible.
Youtube is now on XBL, Bing is now on XBL (you can search, but it’s no web browser whatsoever), TV comes to XBL the demo trailer was ok, but you have to say “Xbox ______” to do everything. Not very convenient, but it works. DVR and On demand available.
Ice-T WTF. Gears 3 looks great, but it’s more Gears, great, but not mind blowing anymore.
Crytech’s Project Kingdom, is now called Ryse, and it looked good. The main characters grunts sound like Kratos, and it’s set in Rome, and it’s a first person hack and slash action adventure.....it’s the Xbox’s attempt at getting a God of War on their console, but it looks interesting I must say. 2012 Release date.
Halo Reamke, looks good a mix between Halo 3 and Halo Reach, has multiplayer, should be a good buy, 2011.
Forza 4 looks beautiful, but there doesn’t seem to be anything really new to the series, but the game does look gorgeous.
Fable The Journey had a great looking trailer, but when it came to the actual game I was completely underwhelm, but it did look good, better than any other Fable game.
The Sesame Street and Disneyland games were good........for a 6 year old, moving on along.
The Star Wars game looked absolutely horrible, graphically it looked good, but the gameplay was awful, and crawlingly slow.
Fun Labs was a really cool tech demo for Kinect, that’s become an actual game, and it shows Kinect off in it’s best light thus far (excluding Dance Central)
Kinect Sports Season 2 looks nice for anyone with Kinect. Dance Central 2 looks great for rookie dancers, to try and learn some moves, but again Kienct not my cup of team.
Halo 4 trailer. It was easily the highlight of the entire conference. It looked great, it looked like 343 Studios is going to make Halo more action packed than any of the previous titles, and it went all Dead Space with Zero-G. Release date 2012.
Microsoft’s Conference grade: C
There was some impressive stuff there, but it was stuff we all knew about with the exception of 1 or 2 games. MW3 we knew about although the showing was good, Tomb Raider had a great showing IMO, Mass Effect 3 looked great, Ghost Recon’s trailer was good, but the problem is ALL of these games are coming to PS3 as well. Youtube, Bing, TV are already on PS3 and have been on there since Sony has a web browser (although TV is debatable). Gears 3 had a good showing, but this is the second time seeing it at E3, and a lot of us have played the beta already. Project Kingdom now called Ryse was shown (FINALLY) and it looked good. The main characters grunts sound like Kratos, and it’s set in Rome, and it’s a first person hack and slash action adventure.....it’s the Xbox’s attempt at getting a God of War on their console, but it looks interesting I must say. Most of the exclusive Kinect stuff was for the casual audience which is fine for them. The only big reveal was Halo HD remake which looked good, but this is like getting excited for a HD Collection, they’re nice and you’ll pick them up but nothing mind blowing. Oh yeah and a Halo 4 trailer was shown which was the highlight of the show, but nothing was really shown in the trailer (A-holes where’s my gameplay). Overall there was nothing really there, MS is surviving off of the 3rd parties and Kinect this year, which makes me believe even more that we will be seeing the Xbox 720 in 2012 along with Halo 4 as a launch title, so 360 fans get ready to say goodbye to your console, and get ready to buy a new one, because this is now Kinect aka Casual territory. Pretty much everything was about Kinect and how it’s going to be used with core games to get gamers to buy the device, but there was nothing there that sold Kinect to me, there was impressive uses for Kinect, but nothing that made me want to go out and get it right now. The thing that brought them down from getting a C+ was the awful acting, just stop it, it’s cheesy and makes things completely uncomfortable for gamers and the presenters.
Microsoft....the traitor...in the aftermath of e3
Notice: most if not all grammatical errors are made on purpose im speakin to u guys like a family #dontjudge..lol
Let me begin by saying..I love my xbox, it has been a rocky relationship, but i love it. Initially, around the launch time of the first xbOx i was skeptical, i felt like bill gates was out to commercialize gamin and turn it into another way to stuff thousand dollar bills into his coffers. If you read the magazines @ the time though, you saw how much attention MS was paying to the core gamer..everything from the implementation of a hard drive to the controller design (and inevitable re-design) were all features that were suggested by gamers themselves.
Even the approach to gaming and the type of games that would be on this behemoth of a machine were dictated by the core. MS showed me that they were there new SEGA.. bold brave.. and they had an ear to the street that the compulsively aloof Sony and the kiddie pandering nintendo couldnt come close to.. they hooked me.. i bought one.
In that sea of innovation that was x box they introduced a ethernet only online gaming service we all know and love called XBOX LIVE. Another gamer suggestion that most thought was too good to be true, to expensive to mass produce, or flat out not possible. Time passed and MS was rewarded for their forward thinking by the core and earned themselves a spot at the table alongside the big N and sony respectively.
Fast forward to 2011..MS has all but abandoned us and are showing their evil corporation side. Gone are the hopes and wishes of the people. MS is that evil dictator who seemed like a good man onmly to gain the trust of the people, and when he does? He throws them into worker camps. First all of their good IPS that they coulda held on to they let go multi plat..@ this rate im surprised gears is still theirs. they have for the lat 3 yrs been declining in original IPS and exclusives..and instead are more focused on turnin the once promising xbox brand into some kinda end all be all entertainment device that cooks ur breakfast, takes out movies, downloads music,and a plethora of other useless sh*t we have a gazillion other devices for.
This may work in other fields of entertainment.. but not here. Geeks may not be the most socially capable group (although i do quite well..lol) but we have principles! The same principle that will make us stand in line for days for the newest hardware, is the same principle that will make us flat out ignore your machines if your interest do not match ours..and our interest is gaming Microsoft.. do you hear us?
Perhaps Ms should look no further than recent history for a better perspective..Look @ what the geeks did to psn... they didnt do that outta blind rage or fanboyism it was the priciples! Once Sony got too big for their britches and started sayin they were gonna brick ps3's if you fiddle with their junk.. the geeks came out in force! you dont do that.. we put you here.. we can take you down. An even better example is the situation @ nintendo, yea yea.. the wii was underpowered commercial based crap, but why did nintendo have to sell out? Cuz we turned our backs on em. They ignored the core so long that we were basically through with them and nintendo was close to becoming the next sega so in response they sold out so that they can build up some moola and remain some kinda player in the game. Now they seem to be gettin the message and giving us.. the core.. what we want. They wouldnt have learned this lesson if we hadn't brought them so close to death. Perhaps it is Ms turn to feel some nerd rage..till next time playas.. GAME ON!!! -v!!!
Let me begin by saying..I love my xbox, it has been a rocky relationship, but i love it. Initially, around the launch time of the first xbOx i was skeptical, i felt like bill gates was out to commercialize gamin and turn it into another way to stuff thousand dollar bills into his coffers. If you read the magazines @ the time though, you saw how much attention MS was paying to the core gamer..everything from the implementation of a hard drive to the controller design (and inevitable re-design) were all features that were suggested by gamers themselves.
Even the approach to gaming and the type of games that would be on this behemoth of a machine were dictated by the core. MS showed me that they were there new SEGA.. bold brave.. and they had an ear to the street that the compulsively aloof Sony and the kiddie pandering nintendo couldnt come close to.. they hooked me.. i bought one.
In that sea of innovation that was x box they introduced a ethernet only online gaming service we all know and love called XBOX LIVE. Another gamer suggestion that most thought was too good to be true, to expensive to mass produce, or flat out not possible. Time passed and MS was rewarded for their forward thinking by the core and earned themselves a spot at the table alongside the big N and sony respectively.
Fast forward to 2011..MS has all but abandoned us and are showing their evil corporation side. Gone are the hopes and wishes of the people. MS is that evil dictator who seemed like a good man onmly to gain the trust of the people, and when he does? He throws them into worker camps. First all of their good IPS that they coulda held on to they let go multi plat..@ this rate im surprised gears is still theirs. they have for the lat 3 yrs been declining in original IPS and exclusives..and instead are more focused on turnin the once promising xbox brand into some kinda end all be all entertainment device that cooks ur breakfast, takes out movies, downloads music,and a plethora of other useless sh*t we have a gazillion other devices for.
This may work in other fields of entertainment.. but not here. Geeks may not be the most socially capable group (although i do quite well..lol) but we have principles! The same principle that will make us stand in line for days for the newest hardware, is the same principle that will make us flat out ignore your machines if your interest do not match ours..and our interest is gaming Microsoft.. do you hear us?
Perhaps Ms should look no further than recent history for a better perspective..Look @ what the geeks did to psn... they didnt do that outta blind rage or fanboyism it was the priciples! Once Sony got too big for their britches and started sayin they were gonna brick ps3's if you fiddle with their junk.. the geeks came out in force! you dont do that.. we put you here.. we can take you down. An even better example is the situation @ nintendo, yea yea.. the wii was underpowered commercial based crap, but why did nintendo have to sell out? Cuz we turned our backs on em. They ignored the core so long that we were basically through with them and nintendo was close to becoming the next sega so in response they sold out so that they can build up some moola and remain some kinda player in the game. Now they seem to be gettin the message and giving us.. the core.. what we want. They wouldnt have learned this lesson if we hadn't brought them so close to death. Perhaps it is Ms turn to feel some nerd rage..till next time playas.. GAME ON!!! -v!!!
E3 2011 EA Press Conference
Man I was so bored watching the EA Press Conference. Seriously I'm sure everyone else what screaming ZOMGs all over the place but not me. Here's my responses to each announcement.
- Mass Effect 3 release at March 6 2012. It's a Galactic War. I'm not a fan of Mass Effect myself but it still looks good.
- Need For Speed: The Run. Uses Autolog and implements it in the games story. You get to play outside of the car. I really don't care myself.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic. The MMO to topple World Of Warcraft? I'm not sure. Not gonna play it either.
- SSX has a new game. Don't care myself at all. Hate sports games. It has 3 modes Race it, Trick it and Survive it.
- Fifa 12. So... bored now... EA Sports football club social network kinds thing... falling asleep...
- Madden NFL 12. Jesus Christ another roster update that should have been DLC. Greedy, just greedy. Really getting sleepy... YAWN!
- The Sims Social. A Facebook Sims game? It was bound to happen. Can I kill Sims is all I want to know.
- Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning. Another bloody fantasy RPG. I miss JRPGs being on top more and more with each new Western RPG.
- Overstrike. I am so sold on this game.
- Battlefield 3... Modern Warfare 3... what's the difference? Really? They look and play the same. Don't like FPS games where I kill people very much if at all.
All that was interesting was Overstrike from Insomniac. Sure Mass Effect 3 looks good but it's not my type of game.
- Mass Effect 3 release at March 6 2012. It's a Galactic War. I'm not a fan of Mass Effect myself but it still looks good.
- Need For Speed: The Run. Uses Autolog and implements it in the games story. You get to play outside of the car. I really don't care myself.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic. The MMO to topple World Of Warcraft? I'm not sure. Not gonna play it either.
- SSX has a new game. Don't care myself at all. Hate sports games. It has 3 modes Race it, Trick it and Survive it.
- Fifa 12. So... bored now... EA Sports football club social network kinds thing... falling asleep...
- Madden NFL 12. Jesus Christ another roster update that should have been DLC. Greedy, just greedy. Really getting sleepy... YAWN!
- The Sims Social. A Facebook Sims game? It was bound to happen. Can I kill Sims is all I want to know.
- Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning. Another bloody fantasy RPG. I miss JRPGs being on top more and more with each new Western RPG.
- Overstrike. I am so sold on this game.
- Battlefield 3... Modern Warfare 3... what's the difference? Really? They look and play the same. Don't like FPS games where I kill people very much if at all.
All that was interesting was Overstrike from Insomniac. Sure Mass Effect 3 looks good but it's not my type of game.
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.
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.
Friday, October 14, 2011
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.
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.
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!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Infographic: The average FarmVille fan plays for 15 minutes a day
Why do you look so confused? Hey, not every FarmVille player is a super fan like you are. An infographic put together by Hasai, a social media strategy firm that explores Americans' use of social media, reports that the 63 million active FarmVille players spend an average of 15 minutes a day tending to their digital crops.
While that number is already grossly inaccurate, according to AppData, it's nevertheless interesting to get a glimpse at the average FarmVille player. (Blame the breakneck speed at which this genre moves.) Why is the average so low?
When you compare the vast amount of monthly players to the relatively small group of daily players, that would surely skew the numbers. Hasai goes on to point out that, over a year, that's 5,475 minutes spent playing the virtual sharecropper--two weeks worth of a full-time job. (Come to think of it, I'd love to see higher times in this average.)
The infographic also shares an interesting statistic overall: Online video games, the second most heavily-used Internet activity, make up 10 percent of all Internet activity in the U.S. And yes, that includes Facebook gaming. Honestly, I thought this percentage would have been larger, considering the amount of online gaming platforms there are even outside of Facebook. Well, there you have it: Not every FarmVille player is the super addict that your average evening news spot makes them out to be. You know, like this lovely lady claims to have been? Find the full infographic below (click on it to make it larger)
[Via Mashable]
[Image Credit: Reve News]
Do you know anyone who spends more than 15 minutes daily playing FarmVille? Why do you think that number might be so low? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
American Identity -- Hasai
While that number is already grossly inaccurate, according to AppData, it's nevertheless interesting to get a glimpse at the average FarmVille player. (Blame the breakneck speed at which this genre moves.) Why is the average so low?
When you compare the vast amount of monthly players to the relatively small group of daily players, that would surely skew the numbers. Hasai goes on to point out that, over a year, that's 5,475 minutes spent playing the virtual sharecropper--two weeks worth of a full-time job. (Come to think of it, I'd love to see higher times in this average.)
The infographic also shares an interesting statistic overall: Online video games, the second most heavily-used Internet activity, make up 10 percent of all Internet activity in the U.S. And yes, that includes Facebook gaming. Honestly, I thought this percentage would have been larger, considering the amount of online gaming platforms there are even outside of Facebook. Well, there you have it: Not every FarmVille player is the super addict that your average evening news spot makes them out to be. You know, like this lovely lady claims to have been? Find the full infographic below (click on it to make it larger)
[Via Mashable]
[Image Credit: Reve News]
Do you know anyone who spends more than 15 minutes daily playing FarmVille? Why do you think that number might be so low? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
American Identity -- Hasai
The Sims Social thanks players, comes out as beta in official email update
While the official Facebook fan page of The Sims Social has kept quiet over the game's troublesome downtime, Electronic Arts have finally broken the ice by sending a direct email to all the fans via the game's newsletter. (Even if you don't remember ever agreeing to subscribe to the newsletter, you probably got automatically subscribed by being a fan of the game's Facebook page.)
The email, with a subject heading of "Update about The Sims Social", was sent from "thesimssocialemail.com" which was registered by the Corporation Service Company (CSC), so it checks out as legit.
In it, the staff of the game thanks the fans for being "adventurous early adopters", promises us that they're working hard on improving the game, and that -- here's the most important bit --
Part of of this beta testing stage is gradually adding more players in a controlled way. So if you are currently not able to play The Sims Social, this is why. Please bear with us while we go through this process and rest assured that you will not lose your progress in the game to date.
This sounds like they're getting ready to let folks back in, but it's not going to be all of us at once. Aside from that, I guess they're being nice and just wanted to emphasize to players that the game's still in beta, which is why they refer to game as "The Sims Social Beta" in the opening and closing paragraphs. Because hey, if you look carefully, you'll also see that they've finally tacked the word "beta" onto the game's logo.
The Sims Social email
So, Electronic Arts... I guess that answers everything, except this: if we tell you, "You're welcome," do you think we'll get in faster? Signed, an Adventurous Early Adopter.
The email, with a subject heading of "Update about The Sims Social", was sent from "thesimssocialemail.com" which was registered by the Corporation Service Company (CSC), so it checks out as legit.
In it, the staff of the game thanks the fans for being "adventurous early adopters", promises us that they're working hard on improving the game, and that -- here's the most important bit --
Part of of this beta testing stage is gradually adding more players in a controlled way. So if you are currently not able to play The Sims Social, this is why. Please bear with us while we go through this process and rest assured that you will not lose your progress in the game to date.
This sounds like they're getting ready to let folks back in, but it's not going to be all of us at once. Aside from that, I guess they're being nice and just wanted to emphasize to players that the game's still in beta, which is why they refer to game as "The Sims Social Beta" in the opening and closing paragraphs. Because hey, if you look carefully, you'll also see that they've finally tacked the word "beta" onto the game's logo.
The Sims Social email
So, Electronic Arts... I guess that answers everything, except this: if we tell you, "You're welcome," do you think we'll get in faster? Signed, an Adventurous Early Adopter.
Have Facebook's platform policy changes killed free cash promotions?
At the end of July, Facebook changed their platform policies (rules that regulate the actions developers can take in their Facebook applications / games), and mostly for the worse. TechCrunch caught onto the changes today, and let me tell you: they reek of fear. One particular change seems to completely eliminate the ability for developers to cross-promote their applications across a wide variety of social networks, as developers are now told:
"Apps on Facebook may not integrate, link to, promote, distribute, or redirect to any app on any other competing social platform."
Let's put this more simply. Let's say a game that's available on Facebook also happens to be available to play on Google+ Games. If that developer mentions Google+ Games at all within the Facebook proper app, Facebook will now apparently block or remove the app from the site altogether. Our first reaction (that which makes perfect sense) is that this is Facebook corporate's attempt to stop all references of Google+ Games specifically from infiltrating the minds of players, to keep users right where they are (and keep the money flowing into its pockets). It looks like Facebook isn't entirely confident in its own abilities to combat the new social gaming platform after all.
The more interesting change, though, comes elsewhere, as the rules surrounding rewards of free virtual currency and items have changed. Here's the updated listing:
Applications may reward users with virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for user actions that do not involve third parties, but rewards for user actions that involve third parties must be powered by Facebook Credits by integrating Facebook Credits offers.
For example, you may not reward users with virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for any action in which personally identifiable information is shared with a third party, you may not reward users with virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for third party downloads, such as toolbars or ringtones, and you may not reward users with virtual currency for engaging in passive actions offered by third parties, such as watching a video, playing a mini-game, or taking an anonymous poll.
See that last sentence? If you're like me, the first thing that comes to mind might be something along the lines of FarmVille's many, many free Farm Cash promotions. The question then becomes whether or not these have now been blocked. Technically, users do watch videos and answer poll questions anonymously, and are rewarded with virtual currency for doing so, but since Zynga now deals in Facebook Credits, does that really violate the terms of this new Platform Policy? In typical legal speak, it's hard to really decipher exactly what's being said here, but it's definitely something to think about.
If Facebook continues to limit the possible actions of game developers, aren't they effectively pushing them into the arms of another host (I hear Google+ Games looks nice this time of year)? Sure, Zynga's locked in for a bit of the long haul, but what of other huge developers like EA/Playfish or Disney/Playdom? I'm reminded of the phrase "don't bite the hand that feeds," but we'll just have to wait and see if developers decide to actually bite back.
Would you be willing to purchase premium currency in any Facebook games if your free options suddenly stopped being available? Do you like interacting with Facebook game developers via links you find in-game to Twitter, Flickr and the like? Sound off in the comments.
"Apps on Facebook may not integrate, link to, promote, distribute, or redirect to any app on any other competing social platform."
Let's put this more simply. Let's say a game that's available on Facebook also happens to be available to play on Google+ Games. If that developer mentions Google+ Games at all within the Facebook proper app, Facebook will now apparently block or remove the app from the site altogether. Our first reaction (that which makes perfect sense) is that this is Facebook corporate's attempt to stop all references of Google+ Games specifically from infiltrating the minds of players, to keep users right where they are (and keep the money flowing into its pockets). It looks like Facebook isn't entirely confident in its own abilities to combat the new social gaming platform after all.
The more interesting change, though, comes elsewhere, as the rules surrounding rewards of free virtual currency and items have changed. Here's the updated listing:
Applications may reward users with virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for user actions that do not involve third parties, but rewards for user actions that involve third parties must be powered by Facebook Credits by integrating Facebook Credits offers.
For example, you may not reward users with virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for any action in which personally identifiable information is shared with a third party, you may not reward users with virtual currency or virtual goods in exchange for third party downloads, such as toolbars or ringtones, and you may not reward users with virtual currency for engaging in passive actions offered by third parties, such as watching a video, playing a mini-game, or taking an anonymous poll.
See that last sentence? If you're like me, the first thing that comes to mind might be something along the lines of FarmVille's many, many free Farm Cash promotions. The question then becomes whether or not these have now been blocked. Technically, users do watch videos and answer poll questions anonymously, and are rewarded with virtual currency for doing so, but since Zynga now deals in Facebook Credits, does that really violate the terms of this new Platform Policy? In typical legal speak, it's hard to really decipher exactly what's being said here, but it's definitely something to think about.
If Facebook continues to limit the possible actions of game developers, aren't they effectively pushing them into the arms of another host (I hear Google+ Games looks nice this time of year)? Sure, Zynga's locked in for a bit of the long haul, but what of other huge developers like EA/Playfish or Disney/Playdom? I'm reminded of the phrase "don't bite the hand that feeds," but we'll just have to wait and see if developers decide to actually bite back.
Would you be willing to purchase premium currency in any Facebook games if your free options suddenly stopped being available? Do you like interacting with Facebook game developers via links you find in-game to Twitter, Flickr and the like? Sound off in the comments.
Camelot: The Game leaves Facebook just as quickly as it arrived
Earlier this year (mid-May to be exact), we brought you a detailed look at Starz' new Facebook game based on the Camelot television show. This Facebook game tie-in was appropriately called Camelot: the Game, but just as quickly as it was launched on the service (earlier this summer), it has already been given a stop-date.
Gamezebo reports that Camelot: the Game's 266,000 monthly players are now receiving emails notifying them of the game's closure, which will take place on September 16. While no reason is apparently given in the emails, one can only assume it is due to the fact that the television show was also canceled. As it stands, the game hasn't been officially commented on, on its Facebook page, since late July, and players have now simply been told that they will receive reduced prices on in-game items, should they wish to continue playing the game until its actual closing date, further proving that it is no longer being supported. If players are willing to jump into a new game, they'll also be given a free in-game item in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
While this isn't the first time we've seen a Facebook game come and go, Camelot: the Game has definitely jumped into the pile of shortest lived games. Should any other developments surrounding the game's closure arise, we'll make sure to let you know.
[Final Image Credit: Gamezebo]
Did you actively play Camelot: the Game on Facebook? If not, will you play the game long enough to qualify for your free Spartacus item? Let us know in the comments.
Gamezebo reports that Camelot: the Game's 266,000 monthly players are now receiving emails notifying them of the game's closure, which will take place on September 16. While no reason is apparently given in the emails, one can only assume it is due to the fact that the television show was also canceled. As it stands, the game hasn't been officially commented on, on its Facebook page, since late July, and players have now simply been told that they will receive reduced prices on in-game items, should they wish to continue playing the game until its actual closing date, further proving that it is no longer being supported. If players are willing to jump into a new game, they'll also be given a free in-game item in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
While this isn't the first time we've seen a Facebook game come and go, Camelot: the Game has definitely jumped into the pile of shortest lived games. Should any other developments surrounding the game's closure arise, we'll make sure to let you know.
[Final Image Credit: Gamezebo]
Did you actively play Camelot: the Game on Facebook? If not, will you play the game long enough to qualify for your free Spartacus item? Let us know in the comments.
Wooga's newest Facebook game whisks players away to a Magic Land
How ... original, guys. Wooga, the Berlin, Germany-based creator of Diamond Dash and Monster World, has announced Magic Land, its brand new Facebook role-playing game (RPG). The game offers a mix of RPG-style adventuring and city (or kingdom) building a' la CityVille. Players will build their kingdom with various houses, farm land and decorations, and much like traditional city-builders the former must be supplied with food harvested from farm plots while decorations increase payouts for houses.
The real adventures come with the fact that King Artie's (your guide and lord of the realm, so to speak) children have been kidnapped by a giant green dragon. Eventually, it will be your mission to rescue them, though you must build your kingdom first and protect it from the slew of trolls and other beasts that threaten its people. Players can choose from a male or female adventurer, each equipped with a wooden sword, though the customization appears to stop there.
Of course, players can visit their friends' kingdoms and provide bonuses, though Wooga teases that some "never-before-seen social interaction" to the game in later updates. The game is available now in seven languages, and an HTML5 extension of the game--known as Magic Land - Island--will be released to smartphones. So far, Wooga certainly lives up to the "Magic Land" name, because as of right now the game loads and runs, well, magically.
Magic Land in action
Click here to play Magic Land on Facebook Now >
Have you tried this new game from Wooga yet? What do you think of the company's response to games like CityVille and Deep Realms? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The real adventures come with the fact that King Artie's (your guide and lord of the realm, so to speak) children have been kidnapped by a giant green dragon. Eventually, it will be your mission to rescue them, though you must build your kingdom first and protect it from the slew of trolls and other beasts that threaten its people. Players can choose from a male or female adventurer, each equipped with a wooden sword, though the customization appears to stop there.
Of course, players can visit their friends' kingdoms and provide bonuses, though Wooga teases that some "never-before-seen social interaction" to the game in later updates. The game is available now in seven languages, and an HTML5 extension of the game--known as Magic Land - Island--will be released to smartphones. So far, Wooga certainly lives up to the "Magic Land" name, because as of right now the game loads and runs, well, magically.
Magic Land in action
Click here to play Magic Land on Facebook Now >
Have you tried this new game from Wooga yet? What do you think of the company's response to games like CityVille and Deep Realms? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Adventure World rockets to over 9 million players, thanks to promotions
Adventure World Mafia Wars promo
And it did so in just under five days. According to Appdata, Zynga's newest release, Adventure World, has finally found its second wind, gaining over 8 million players in almost five days. If you remember, Zynga Boston's debut game sat stagnant at under 500,000 players for over a week after its release. This wild growth is likely thanks to one thing: cross promotions.
Zynga has finally taken advantage of (some of) its 267 million players to give Adventure World some much needed exposure. During its first week on Facebook, the game enjoyed little to no cross promotion between the company's existing games aside from banner ads and the like. But now, Adventure World can be found in games like Mafia Wars through special promotions.
In this particular case, Mafia Wars players have until Sept. 30 to reach Level 5 in Adventure World and receive a special item for their digital mafia don, an Ancient Hammer. While the item won't exactly wow veteran Mafia Wars players, it at least has value to collectors. Before that, we saw hints of Adventure World being advertised within FarmVille, which has yet to happen.
So, you can only imagine how far Adventure World would go if such involved promotions were featured in FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail and Empires & Allies. However, we were under the impression that this type of cross promotion was through with the release of RewardVille, Zynga's cross-game achievement system that rewards players for using all of its games daily.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the developer can't avoid such arguably invasive practices if it wants all of its games to succeed. And that could ultimately rekindle the ire of its players, many of which are already fed up with resurgent demands to enter new games for items within their favorite games. (Hence the creation of RewardVille.)
Zynga looks like it's more dependent than ever on its swath of existing players, but the developer might want to cook up a more elegant solution of getting those players to play its new games. If not, Zynga might run the risk of losing its most powerful method of growth: the players it already has.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think players would up and leave if Zynga turned up the heat on its in-game cross promotions once again? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
And it did so in just under five days. According to Appdata, Zynga's newest release, Adventure World, has finally found its second wind, gaining over 8 million players in almost five days. If you remember, Zynga Boston's debut game sat stagnant at under 500,000 players for over a week after its release. This wild growth is likely thanks to one thing: cross promotions.
Zynga has finally taken advantage of (some of) its 267 million players to give Adventure World some much needed exposure. During its first week on Facebook, the game enjoyed little to no cross promotion between the company's existing games aside from banner ads and the like. But now, Adventure World can be found in games like Mafia Wars through special promotions.
In this particular case, Mafia Wars players have until Sept. 30 to reach Level 5 in Adventure World and receive a special item for their digital mafia don, an Ancient Hammer. While the item won't exactly wow veteran Mafia Wars players, it at least has value to collectors. Before that, we saw hints of Adventure World being advertised within FarmVille, which has yet to happen.
So, you can only imagine how far Adventure World would go if such involved promotions were featured in FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail and Empires & Allies. However, we were under the impression that this type of cross promotion was through with the release of RewardVille, Zynga's cross-game achievement system that rewards players for using all of its games daily.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the developer can't avoid such arguably invasive practices if it wants all of its games to succeed. And that could ultimately rekindle the ire of its players, many of which are already fed up with resurgent demands to enter new games for items within their favorite games. (Hence the creation of RewardVille.)
Zynga looks like it's more dependent than ever on its swath of existing players, but the developer might want to cook up a more elegant solution of getting those players to play its new games. If not, Zynga might run the risk of losing its most powerful method of growth: the players it already has.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think players would up and leave if Zynga turned up the heat on its in-game cross promotions once again? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
f8 Developers Conference: Facebook game shares move to the Ticker
Super Mario Facebook Share
You know those annoying pop-ups Facebook displays whenever you try to share something in FarmVille or what have you? Soon, those might be a thing of the past, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook boss announced the change in brief during the f8 Facebook Developers Conference, referring to a particularly hilarious Internet meme.
This change applies to Facebook apps across the board, but, of course, we're concerned with the games. According to Zuckerberg, sharing activity will be directly and automatically published to the News Feed or the Games Ticker, depending on what exactly it is you're sharing. And with that comes the privacy concerns.
Judging from Zuckerberg's brief mention of the change, this would cause apps to inform users upon installation exactly what activity they will automatically share. This information is extremely early, but we imagine that, if developers like Zynga were to implement this change, that players would have the be informed of those changes.
Later in the presentation, Zuckerberg mentioned that games will take even more advantage of the Games Ticker, which launched earlier this summer. The Facebook chief showed an instance in which a friend played the word "TEXT" against another in Words With Friends, which was displayed on the Games Ticker. He then proceeded to mouse over that Ticker notification, and it displayed a snapshot of the game board.
Words with Friends Share
Of course, you could then jump into the game and start a match with either player. In short, the day of the game-stopping share notification will soon be over. In its place, much of the viral sharing in Facebook games seems as if it will take place in the Games Ticker. It appears that these changes have already taken place in Words With Friends.
When these specific changes will take place has yet to be announced, though we imagine much of them will be up to the developers. And if FarmVille players' reactions to when Zynga made similar changes to its flagship game is any indication, we're opinons will be ... mixed. We'll keep you posted.
What do you think of Facebook doing away with the game share notifications, automating them and moving them into the Games Ticker? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
You know those annoying pop-ups Facebook displays whenever you try to share something in FarmVille or what have you? Soon, those might be a thing of the past, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook boss announced the change in brief during the f8 Facebook Developers Conference, referring to a particularly hilarious Internet meme.
This change applies to Facebook apps across the board, but, of course, we're concerned with the games. According to Zuckerberg, sharing activity will be directly and automatically published to the News Feed or the Games Ticker, depending on what exactly it is you're sharing. And with that comes the privacy concerns.
Judging from Zuckerberg's brief mention of the change, this would cause apps to inform users upon installation exactly what activity they will automatically share. This information is extremely early, but we imagine that, if developers like Zynga were to implement this change, that players would have the be informed of those changes.
Later in the presentation, Zuckerberg mentioned that games will take even more advantage of the Games Ticker, which launched earlier this summer. The Facebook chief showed an instance in which a friend played the word "TEXT" against another in Words With Friends, which was displayed on the Games Ticker. He then proceeded to mouse over that Ticker notification, and it displayed a snapshot of the game board.
Words with Friends Share
Of course, you could then jump into the game and start a match with either player. In short, the day of the game-stopping share notification will soon be over. In its place, much of the viral sharing in Facebook games seems as if it will take place in the Games Ticker. It appears that these changes have already taken place in Words With Friends.
When these specific changes will take place has yet to be announced, though we imagine much of them will be up to the developers. And if FarmVille players' reactions to when Zynga made similar changes to its flagship game is any indication, we're opinons will be ... mixed. We'll keep you posted.
What do you think of Facebook doing away with the game share notifications, automating them and moving them into the Games Ticker? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Have fun getting lost in Aliciafay03's farm maze
Don't let the look of this farm fool you. Because the first thing someone would notice about Aliciafay03's FarmVille farm is that she's got "FARM VILLE" spelled out in an outline of red, orange, and blue hay bales, which I know isn't a big whoop. Hay bales as a design element have gotten pretty stale in the landscaping community. Bales are good for spelling out visual shout-outs, portraits, and the occasional fun art (care for a whopper?), but there's rarely any impressive ones anymore. But look closer at Aliciafay03's farm, and you'll realize that it's an interactive maze.
Originally designed to be a cornfield maze, Aliciafay03 was eager to debut her farm for Zynga's official Farm of the Week contest, so she released her entry before the corn had a chance to grow. This is probably better, cause a cornfield would've obscured all the clever lettering. What we know about hay bales is that there's a cheat for players to harvest crops faster by trapping your FarmVille farming avatar in hay bales -- now here's where the interactive part comes in -- so if you click one end of this farm, your avatar can't go anywhere but to run through the maze!
Have you ever played in a real cornfield maze? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
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.
Originally designed to be a cornfield maze, Aliciafay03 was eager to debut her farm for Zynga's official Farm of the Week contest, so she released her entry before the corn had a chance to grow. This is probably better, cause a cornfield would've obscured all the clever lettering. What we know about hay bales is that there's a cheat for players to harvest crops faster by trapping your FarmVille farming avatar in hay bales -- now here's where the interactive part comes in -- so if you click one end of this farm, your avatar can't go anywhere but to run through the maze!
Have you ever played in a real cornfield maze? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
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.
Stadiums full of people become Angry Birds players with Uplause
Could the Angry Birds replace the proverbial demands of "Make Some Noise" at your next baseball game? Maybe not your next one, but soon you could be cheering to fling the irate winged beasts into their plump green enemies. Pocket Gamer reports that Uplause, a Finnish developer of crowd-based games, has rebuilt Angry Birds with its creator, Rovio, into a version controlled by noise.
The self-proclaimed "social game maker for big crowds" has created similar games for use in stadiums for ice hockey games, soccer matches and even music festivals. Over the past summer, Uplause worked with Rovio to create a version of Angry Birds that is controlled using noise as an input device. (Namely, cheering, clapping, stomping and perhaps even booing, we assume.)
"As in the original, there's about a four second period before firing," Uplause CEO Veli-Pekka Marin explained to Pocket Gamer. "For live events, we'd expect each gaming session to take a few minutes." But in that time, thousands of folks will play at the same time. If anything, it's terribly efficient.
While all we know about this seriously social version of Angry Birds is that noise generates power for the game's slingshot, Pocket Gamer guesses that aiming is done automatically. Rovio and Uplause will first test this massive version of Angry Birds at a Formula 1 race taking place in Singapore this weekend, and the company's CMO Peter Vesterbacka sounds excited for its imminent global expansion.
"Through social participation, our fans will get to interact with the Angry Birds in an entirely new way," Vesterbacka said to Pocket Gamer. "We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters." I think Vesterbacka is confusing "emotional connection" with "drunken, crowd-fueled stupor." Check out the video below to get an idea of how it might work. Who knows you might be doing the same thing at the next World Series.
What do you imagine a noise-controlled version of Angry Birds would be like? What other games come to mind when you think of this approach? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The self-proclaimed "social game maker for big crowds" has created similar games for use in stadiums for ice hockey games, soccer matches and even music festivals. Over the past summer, Uplause worked with Rovio to create a version of Angry Birds that is controlled using noise as an input device. (Namely, cheering, clapping, stomping and perhaps even booing, we assume.)
"As in the original, there's about a four second period before firing," Uplause CEO Veli-Pekka Marin explained to Pocket Gamer. "For live events, we'd expect each gaming session to take a few minutes." But in that time, thousands of folks will play at the same time. If anything, it's terribly efficient.
While all we know about this seriously social version of Angry Birds is that noise generates power for the game's slingshot, Pocket Gamer guesses that aiming is done automatically. Rovio and Uplause will first test this massive version of Angry Birds at a Formula 1 race taking place in Singapore this weekend, and the company's CMO Peter Vesterbacka sounds excited for its imminent global expansion.
"Through social participation, our fans will get to interact with the Angry Birds in an entirely new way," Vesterbacka said to Pocket Gamer. "We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters." I think Vesterbacka is confusing "emotional connection" with "drunken, crowd-fueled stupor." Check out the video below to get an idea of how it might work. Who knows you might be doing the same thing at the next World Series.
What do you imagine a noise-controlled version of Angry Birds would be like? What other games come to mind when you think of this approach? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Bravo gifts turtle with instant cable TV fame and a Facebook game
Andy Cohen Watch What Happens Live turtle mascot eating
Just when we thought we've seen everything, US cable TV network Bravo is launching a Facebook game where you get to dress up their latest celebrity -- she's a turtle. I don't mean she's reclusive or anything. I mean that literally: She is a turtle, but she's not just any turtle. This is a turtle that caught the eye of Bravo's Executive Vice President of Original Programming, also known as Andy Cohen, and host of Bravo TV's Watch What Happens: Live.
The turle has been selected as the show's new mascot and will make her first appearance on Sept. 25. Her Facebook game will be called "Turtle Time", named after a TV episode of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York, where one of the drunk stars made a toast at "Fat Turtle", a bar and dance club in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The Facebook game's objective is to design the turtle's tank and dress her up each week. There will be options to gift decorations to friends in the game, or to use Facebook Credits to buy special items. Results will be posted online, voting will commence, winners will be chosen and live versions of these designs will then be used on the show. Finally, when the season ends in December, Cohen will choose a past winner to fly to New York for a live taping and chance to meet the turtle.
What does the turtle have to say about all this? Here's a quote from Bravo's cheeky press release:
"Ever since I landed on the shores of Sag Harbor, I have been searching for my big break in show biz. When Andy Cohen came walking down those golden sands, I knew my dreams were coming true," Divulged Yet-To-Be-Named Turtle. "I can't wait to move into the Bravo Clubhouse and to be dressed in the latest fashions."
Oh, and before anyone runs to the nearest phone to alert PETA, Bravo has contacted the American Humane Association for an animal safety monitor who'll oversee the tapings according to the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals In Filmed Media. There's no word if there's someone to monitor the turtle's dignity, but I think that's irretrievable at this point.
[Hat-tip: The Hollywood Reporter]
Is this cruel and/or unusual treatment of animals? Or just some harmless and wacky fun? Have you lost your faith in humanity yet? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Just when we thought we've seen everything, US cable TV network Bravo is launching a Facebook game where you get to dress up their latest celebrity -- she's a turtle. I don't mean she's reclusive or anything. I mean that literally: She is a turtle, but she's not just any turtle. This is a turtle that caught the eye of Bravo's Executive Vice President of Original Programming, also known as Andy Cohen, and host of Bravo TV's Watch What Happens: Live.
The turle has been selected as the show's new mascot and will make her first appearance on Sept. 25. Her Facebook game will be called "Turtle Time", named after a TV episode of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York, where one of the drunk stars made a toast at "Fat Turtle", a bar and dance club in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The Facebook game's objective is to design the turtle's tank and dress her up each week. There will be options to gift decorations to friends in the game, or to use Facebook Credits to buy special items. Results will be posted online, voting will commence, winners will be chosen and live versions of these designs will then be used on the show. Finally, when the season ends in December, Cohen will choose a past winner to fly to New York for a live taping and chance to meet the turtle.
What does the turtle have to say about all this? Here's a quote from Bravo's cheeky press release:
"Ever since I landed on the shores of Sag Harbor, I have been searching for my big break in show biz. When Andy Cohen came walking down those golden sands, I knew my dreams were coming true," Divulged Yet-To-Be-Named Turtle. "I can't wait to move into the Bravo Clubhouse and to be dressed in the latest fashions."
Oh, and before anyone runs to the nearest phone to alert PETA, Bravo has contacted the American Humane Association for an animal safety monitor who'll oversee the tapings according to the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals In Filmed Media. There's no word if there's someone to monitor the turtle's dignity, but I think that's irretrievable at this point.
[Hat-tip: The Hollywood Reporter]
Is this cruel and/or unusual treatment of animals? Or just some harmless and wacky fun? Have you lost your faith in humanity yet? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
3 Blokes launches strategic assault on Facebook with Galactic Allies
Galactic Allies on Facebook
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
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
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
whatword what word game of the dayHalf match-3, half word game, WHATword? is an addictive word-making challenge. Line up letters to form words and knock them off the screen. But be careful because as soon as you clear a word, new balls will drop in to fill the gap. Line up various words, make an extra-long word, or use a special bonus letter; and you'll get heaps extra points. To advance to the next level, complete all the WHATwords!
See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!
Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:
* When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
* When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.
Click here to play WHATword?!
How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?
See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!
Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:
* When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
* When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.
Click here to play WHATword?!
How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?
Game of the Day: WHATword?
whatword what word game of the dayHalf match-3, half word game, WHATword? is an addictive word-making challenge. Line up letters to form words and knock them off the screen. But be careful because as soon as you clear a word, new balls will drop in to fill the gap. Line up various words, make an extra-long word, or use a special bonus letter; and you'll get heaps extra points. To advance to the next level, complete all the WHATwords!
See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!
Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:
* When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
* When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.
Click here to play WHATword?!
How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?
See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!
Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:
* When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
* When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.
Click here to play WHATword?!
How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?
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 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
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
FarmVille Pic of the Day: AlexisSkrull's petting zoo
A few days ago, I featured a massive FarmVille zoo. However, plenty of folks complained that it was just too crowded and busy. While it was a super detailed zoo, the jumbled appearance diminished its aesthetic appeal. Today's featured zoo farm resolves many of the issues present in the old farm, by attempting a simpler approach to the FarmVille zoo.
Today's featured farm, created by AlexisSkrull, is in many ways quite humble. For instance, it doesn't even fill the whole farm plot and there are no fancy complex illusions to be found. However, the simplicity of the fenced in pens full of animals is charming. It reminds me of the early days of FarmVille and FrontierVille, when all I had was a few animals, crops, and some decorations that I was forced to buy in order to complete goals.
Of course, in reality this farm is far more detailed than my boring starter farm. There are unique habitats and exhibitions built for various animals. So make sure to look closely at the images below to get the full effect of AlexisSkrull's farm.
Click the images to make them larger.
farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm
farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm
What do you think of AlexisSkrull's zoo farm? Which zoo farm do you prefer?
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!
Today's featured farm, created by AlexisSkrull, is in many ways quite humble. For instance, it doesn't even fill the whole farm plot and there are no fancy complex illusions to be found. However, the simplicity of the fenced in pens full of animals is charming. It reminds me of the early days of FarmVille and FrontierVille, when all I had was a few animals, crops, and some decorations that I was forced to buy in order to complete goals.
Of course, in reality this farm is far more detailed than my boring starter farm. There are unique habitats and exhibitions built for various animals. So make sure to look closely at the images below to get the full effect of AlexisSkrull's farm.
Click the images to make them larger.
farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm
farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm farmville featured alexisskrull zoo farm
What do you think of AlexisSkrull's zoo farm? Which zoo farm do you prefer?
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!
Google+ opens its doors to all, but (hopefully) mostly social gamers
The proverbial veil has been lifted, everyone. Google+ is finally open to the public, meaning anyone can join Google's social network regardless of whether they've been invited through a friend. More importantly, this means the service, which soft-launched back in August to a controlled amount of users through invites, is open to even more social gamers than before.
Granted, there are only 16 games so far on Google+ Games. But surely the company hopes, that with an influx of potential players, that developers will become even more interested in Google as a social gaming destination. However, there are several arguably basic social features that aren't yet a part of the Google+ developer API, or application programming interface.
Namely, the posts that players can push through to the Games Stream from a Google+ game are not interactive. This means that the viral nature of social gaming is severely hindered on the network--players cannot directly help one another through the Games Stream like the can through the Facebook News Feed. This essentially thwarts what is popularly believed to give social games their name.
At the moment, players can only post general updates such as, "I scored 5 bajillion points in Bejeweled Blitz!" However, Rovio played somewhat of a smarter game with Angry Birds on Google+ Games, and introduced a friend gate to most of its content, meaning players have to add so many friends to access new levels. Luckily, Google has already stated that it's working to introduce more robust features over time.
Regardless, omissions like this serve as proof that Google+ Games, while impressive in its scope, ambition and support, is still a nascent gaming platform when put up against competitors like Facebook. With this news, perhaps the race Google+ is running has changed track to whether Google+ Games can keep up with the demands and needs of its players, rather than its competitors.
[Via Inside Social Games]
Have you tried out Google+ Games yet? Do you think, after what you experienced, that Google has a chance at competing in the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Granted, there are only 16 games so far on Google+ Games. But surely the company hopes, that with an influx of potential players, that developers will become even more interested in Google as a social gaming destination. However, there are several arguably basic social features that aren't yet a part of the Google+ developer API, or application programming interface.
Namely, the posts that players can push through to the Games Stream from a Google+ game are not interactive. This means that the viral nature of social gaming is severely hindered on the network--players cannot directly help one another through the Games Stream like the can through the Facebook News Feed. This essentially thwarts what is popularly believed to give social games their name.
At the moment, players can only post general updates such as, "I scored 5 bajillion points in Bejeweled Blitz!" However, Rovio played somewhat of a smarter game with Angry Birds on Google+ Games, and introduced a friend gate to most of its content, meaning players have to add so many friends to access new levels. Luckily, Google has already stated that it's working to introduce more robust features over time.
Regardless, omissions like this serve as proof that Google+ Games, while impressive in its scope, ambition and support, is still a nascent gaming platform when put up against competitors like Facebook. With this news, perhaps the race Google+ is running has changed track to whether Google+ Games can keep up with the demands and needs of its players, rather than its competitors.
[Via Inside Social Games]
Have you tried out Google+ Games yet? Do you think, after what you experienced, that Google has a chance at competing in the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Mobile social game taps into 700K player base for children's charity
Parallel Kingdom 700,000K players
What do you do when you're a well-respected mobile game with 700K players worldwide? You design a virtual soup can helmet and sell it to your players for charity! At least, that's what Per Blue's Parallel Kingdom is doing (with Playmob) for the SOS Children relief in North Kenya.
SOS Children's Villages is an independently operated, international organization that's been saving kids since 1949. Currently, funds are needed for emergency food and medical aid due to a severe drought in the area. Soup Can Helmets cost 550 Food each (the virtual currency of Parallel Kingdom), which is the equivalent of $5.50 USD and enough to feed three children. Since the helmet is priced with Food, it's possible for you to not spend any real money on the helmet for it to still count. (In fact, for those of you who haven't liked the game's Facebook page yet, there's a free 100 Food offer that you can use towards a helmet purchase.)
According to Per Blue, this charity drive is at its halfway point with only a week left to go. So far, 550 Soup Can Helmets have been sold, which means 1,650 children have been cared for. If you play the game, you can buy the Soup Can Helmet in the PK Swag section of your local Trade Post until September 29.
Parallel Kingdom Donate Food
If you're new to the game and feeling adventurous, then after the tutorial stage, click on the Food tab on the bottom of your game screen to reach the Get Food menu. You'll see the Donate Food option, but it's really just a notice for the charity drive. Instead, you need to go to Travel, click on a Trade Hub (the one in Madison, WI is one of the two biggest ones), and locate your Local Trade Post, which should be a white building with a red roof buried under a dozen other players who are represented as little heads. Finally, you need to be at Level 2 to be allowed to purchase the helmet. (If you get lost, fire up the in-game chat. Special thanks goes to MisMoon, MoldyBanana, and ZeroGr@vity for their help.)
Parallel Kingdom Trade Post
Parallel Kingdom is best described as FourSquare meets a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game). It surpassed a half million players in June, was voted 2009 Best Augmented Reality App Second Place (first place went to XMG Studio Inc.'s Pandemica) and 2009 Best MMO Game Third Place (beaten by ngmoco's Eliminate Pro, with Miraphonic's Epic Pet Wars in first place). Although Parallel Kingdom is not a true Facebook game (its Facebook game app simply links you to register on the website), it does possess Facebook Connect and can be played on your PC with a web browser.
Would you try out a game just to donate to charity? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
What do you do when you're a well-respected mobile game with 700K players worldwide? You design a virtual soup can helmet and sell it to your players for charity! At least, that's what Per Blue's Parallel Kingdom is doing (with Playmob) for the SOS Children relief in North Kenya.
SOS Children's Villages is an independently operated, international organization that's been saving kids since 1949. Currently, funds are needed for emergency food and medical aid due to a severe drought in the area. Soup Can Helmets cost 550 Food each (the virtual currency of Parallel Kingdom), which is the equivalent of $5.50 USD and enough to feed three children. Since the helmet is priced with Food, it's possible for you to not spend any real money on the helmet for it to still count. (In fact, for those of you who haven't liked the game's Facebook page yet, there's a free 100 Food offer that you can use towards a helmet purchase.)
According to Per Blue, this charity drive is at its halfway point with only a week left to go. So far, 550 Soup Can Helmets have been sold, which means 1,650 children have been cared for. If you play the game, you can buy the Soup Can Helmet in the PK Swag section of your local Trade Post until September 29.
Parallel Kingdom Donate Food
If you're new to the game and feeling adventurous, then after the tutorial stage, click on the Food tab on the bottom of your game screen to reach the Get Food menu. You'll see the Donate Food option, but it's really just a notice for the charity drive. Instead, you need to go to Travel, click on a Trade Hub (the one in Madison, WI is one of the two biggest ones), and locate your Local Trade Post, which should be a white building with a red roof buried under a dozen other players who are represented as little heads. Finally, you need to be at Level 2 to be allowed to purchase the helmet. (If you get lost, fire up the in-game chat. Special thanks goes to MisMoon, MoldyBanana, and ZeroGr@vity for their help.)
Parallel Kingdom Trade Post
Parallel Kingdom is best described as FourSquare meets a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game). It surpassed a half million players in June, was voted 2009 Best Augmented Reality App Second Place (first place went to XMG Studio Inc.'s Pandemica) and 2009 Best MMO Game Third Place (beaten by ngmoco's Eliminate Pro, with Miraphonic's Epic Pet Wars in first place). Although Parallel Kingdom is not a true Facebook game (its Facebook game app simply links you to register on the website), it does possess Facebook Connect and can be played on your PC with a web browser.
Would you try out a game just to donate to charity? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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
FarmVille: Free Crab Shack with any Farm Cash purchase
While the "free-gift-with-purchase" feature in FarmVille has continued to grow, giving users a way to stock up on extra animals that they may have missed in their original releases in the game, until recently, that's all the feature has been: a way to earn animals. Now, though, we're starting to see trees and even buildings come into the mix.
For example, the latest offering is the Crab Shack, which was originally released during the New England event way back in July of 2010, and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. Interestingly, this is one building that cost coins during its previous releases in the game, but if (for whatever reason) you never picked one up, here's a chance to earn one for as little as $1. For that price, remember you'll also earn 4 Farm Cash.
The reason this building is so significant is that it basically screams to be added to the Lighthouse Cove farm, which all players were given access to earlier this week. And since we can't (as of this writing) pull items out of storage from our others farms into the Lighthouse Cove, this is as close as you're going to get to having any of this theme on your land for the foreseeable future.
As usual, this free Crab Shack offer will only be around for a limited time, so make sure to login to your farm sooner, rather than later, if you want to take advantage of this deal.
Will you purchase a Farm Cash bundle as part of this free-gift-with-purchase giveaway? Would you pay Farm Cash to access your "other farm" storage in the Lighthouse Cove? Sound off in the comments.
For example, the latest offering is the Crab Shack, which was originally released during the New England event way back in July of 2010, and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. Interestingly, this is one building that cost coins during its previous releases in the game, but if (for whatever reason) you never picked one up, here's a chance to earn one for as little as $1. For that price, remember you'll also earn 4 Farm Cash.
The reason this building is so significant is that it basically screams to be added to the Lighthouse Cove farm, which all players were given access to earlier this week. And since we can't (as of this writing) pull items out of storage from our others farms into the Lighthouse Cove, this is as close as you're going to get to having any of this theme on your land for the foreseeable future.
As usual, this free Crab Shack offer will only be around for a limited time, so make sure to login to your farm sooner, rather than later, if you want to take advantage of this deal.
Will you purchase a Farm Cash bundle as part of this free-gift-with-purchase giveaway? Would you pay Farm Cash to access your "other farm" storage in the Lighthouse Cove? Sound off in the comments.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Playfish founder: We have redefined social games with The Sims Social
The Sims Social is just an arm's reach from being the number one game on Facebook, so this kind of logic is expected. In an interview with MCV, Playfish founder and co-GM Kristian Segerstrale said, "In bringing one of EA's most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games."
While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.
Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.
"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.
The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)
Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.
Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.
"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.
The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)
Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Empires & Allies Battle Blitz launches global PvP (and special prizes)
Finally, Zynga's answer to the growing legion of hardcore strategy games on Facebook, Empires & Allies, puts on the brass knuckles, so to speak. The developer has released Battle Blitz to the game, a feature that essentially allows you to invade (or be invaded by) any opposing Empire in the game. In other words, E&A finally has its own global PvP (player vs player) mode.
The feature appears on your tool bar to the bottom right of the screen with an icon that looks like two heads butting each other. Click on it to open the Battle Blitz menu. This replaces your Neighbor Bar for the time being with portraits of players that may or (most likely) may not be your Facebook friends. However, you must fight these players in succession--more on that later.
Once you click on the player, you will be taken to their Empire. Then, it's clobbering time as per usual. Click on a site to invade, and proceed to bring it to the ground. Once you successfully invade an opposing Empire, the Prize Machine will appear. Successfully invading Empires through Battle Blitz earns you Tokens to use in this feature for rewards like resources.
E&A Prize Machine
The reason you must invade Battle Blitz players in succession is that the higher you climb on the Battle Blitz ladder, the better your rewards will be from the Prize Machine. And just like normal invasions between friends, players can easily opt out of Battle Blitz by using your Immunity Tower or click on the white flag icon found to the left of the Battle Blitz bar. But look, this is war--why would you want to do that? What are you ... chicken?
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you participated in the Battle Blitz feature yet--what do you think? Is this the feature you've been waiting for in E&A, or what else do you think the game needs? Sound off in the comments. 30 Comments
The feature appears on your tool bar to the bottom right of the screen with an icon that looks like two heads butting each other. Click on it to open the Battle Blitz menu. This replaces your Neighbor Bar for the time being with portraits of players that may or (most likely) may not be your Facebook friends. However, you must fight these players in succession--more on that later.
Once you click on the player, you will be taken to their Empire. Then, it's clobbering time as per usual. Click on a site to invade, and proceed to bring it to the ground. Once you successfully invade an opposing Empire, the Prize Machine will appear. Successfully invading Empires through Battle Blitz earns you Tokens to use in this feature for rewards like resources.
E&A Prize Machine
The reason you must invade Battle Blitz players in succession is that the higher you climb on the Battle Blitz ladder, the better your rewards will be from the Prize Machine. And just like normal invasions between friends, players can easily opt out of Battle Blitz by using your Immunity Tower or click on the white flag icon found to the left of the Battle Blitz bar. But look, this is war--why would you want to do that? What are you ... chicken?
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you participated in the Battle Blitz feature yet--what do you think? Is this the feature you've been waiting for in E&A, or what else do you think the game needs? Sound off in the comments. 30 Comments
FarmVille Livestock Pen Animals re-released to fill your habitats
If you're looking for a slew of new (ok, re-released) animals to fill your new Livestock Pen in FarmVille, you'll want to check out the game's store within the next five days, as you can choose from a selection of re-released pigs, sheep and goats for a limited time. Here's the full lineup of re-released animals, along with their prices for your reference.
Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.
Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm? Sound off in the comments.
Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.
Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Livestock Mystery Crate: What's inside?
As part of Zynga's attempt to make people care about the Livestock Pen in FarmVille, which, admittedly is a little hard (don't we already have dedicated storage buildings for both pigs and sheep?), it has released a Livestock Mystery Crate in the game's store containing six animals that can be stored inside your new pen. Now, the Livestock Pen can also store animals like goats or llamas, but unfortunately, only two items of these six re-released animals isn't some form of Pig or Sheep. Here's a full list so you see what I mean:
Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram
Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.
Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside? Let us know in the comments.
Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram
Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.
Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside? Let us know in the comments.
FarmVille: New Craftshop recipes use Lighthouse Cove crops
If you thought your Lighthouse Cove crops in FarmVille were only going to be good for completing goals or earning new mastery signs, think again. Zynga has released a series of new Craftshop recipes using these new crops which will see you combining "old" crops with these new bushels. Here's a complete rundown of the new crops so you know exactly what to grow (and what to stock up on) should you wish to craft any of these items in bulk.
Bright Yellow Tractor: 4 Clam, 10 Tarragon and 6 Elderberry Bushels
Mechanic Scarecrow: 3 Hay Bushels, 3 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Wheat Bushels
Sheep Topiary: 4 Tarragon Bushels, 2 Wool Bundles and 5 Green Tea Bushels
Apple Red Seeder: 4 Seafood, 10 Dill and 6 Onion Bushels
Bonsai: 3 Kennebec Potato, 2 Cherry and 4 Basil Bushels
Tree House: 4 Lady Slipper Bushels, 2 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Chandler Blueberry Bushels
Apple Red Harvester: 4 Lobster, 10 Daylily and 6 Basil Bushels
Post Office: 10 Cove Cranberry Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Cauliflower Bushels
Evergreen Train: 10 Red Clover Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Hay Bushels
Keep in mind, farmers, that if you're new to crafting these items, you won't be able to craft many of them until you earn mastery stars by crafting other things. Luckily, ones like the Bright Yellow Tractor and Sheep Topiary recipes are open by default, so at least you can earn some mastery stars while completing these new recipes. Also, keep track of how long each of these recipes take to complete, as some of them aren't exactly fast (the Harvester, for instance).
We'll make sure to let you know if additional Craftshop recipes are released in the future, along with what you'll take to actually craft them. Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of these new Craftshop recipes? Which items would you like to have more of on your farm? Sound off in the comments.
Bright Yellow Tractor: 4 Clam, 10 Tarragon and 6 Elderberry Bushels
Mechanic Scarecrow: 3 Hay Bushels, 3 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Wheat Bushels
Sheep Topiary: 4 Tarragon Bushels, 2 Wool Bundles and 5 Green Tea Bushels
Apple Red Seeder: 4 Seafood, 10 Dill and 6 Onion Bushels
Bonsai: 3 Kennebec Potato, 2 Cherry and 4 Basil Bushels
Tree House: 4 Lady Slipper Bushels, 2 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Chandler Blueberry Bushels
Apple Red Harvester: 4 Lobster, 10 Daylily and 6 Basil Bushels
Post Office: 10 Cove Cranberry Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Cauliflower Bushels
Evergreen Train: 10 Red Clover Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Hay Bushels
Keep in mind, farmers, that if you're new to crafting these items, you won't be able to craft many of them until you earn mastery stars by crafting other things. Luckily, ones like the Bright Yellow Tractor and Sheep Topiary recipes are open by default, so at least you can earn some mastery stars while completing these new recipes. Also, keep track of how long each of these recipes take to complete, as some of them aren't exactly fast (the Harvester, for instance).
We'll make sure to let you know if additional Craftshop recipes are released in the future, along with what you'll take to actually craft them. Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of these new Craftshop recipes? Which items would you like to have more of on your farm? Sound off in the comments.
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