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MW3 avatar sales on Xbox Marketplace benefit Call of Duty Endowment
From Dec. 2 to Dec. 16, sales of all Modern Warfare 3 avatars from the Xbox Marketplace will benefit real-world soldiers returning from war via Activision's Call of Duty Endowment. Proceeds from avatar sales will go directly to help veterans transition from service to civilian life through the Endowment. Activision has released two new MW3 avatars for the event, the Special Ops Juggernaut and American Special Forces. Check out the online avatars that can help troops IRL on the Xbox Marketplace.
Free Avatar prop for Xbox 10th anniversary
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Xbox, Microsoft is giving away an "Xbox Anniversary Prop" for Avatar use. The box o' fun is a cube filled with confetti and fireworks. The prop will be available in all Xbox Live regions until Saturday, so go ahead and grab it. Major Nelson also posted an audio clip of the Original Xbox's dashboard transition sound. Internally, at Microsoft's Xbox division, this day is also celebrated as "Thank Gawd for the Halo Franchise Day."
New EVE video takes you behind the core technology curtain
Holy cow, would you believe that CCP has put out another positive press blurb? We know, it shocks us too, and the unfailingly chipper Icelandic development firm is winding down a week full of dev blog updates with a behind-the-scenes look at EVE Online's core technology team. Thankfully there's a video involved, as a text-based behind-the-scenes look would be almost as boring as a New Eden mining run. Also, flying-in-space fans, beware: There are some stretches of the clip that focus on full-body avatars and other "non-essential" gameplay elements. Aside from that, there are bits dealing with ship shadows, readability and usability issues with the star map, and some details on the new open source crash reporting system. Click past the cut for the full clip.
Neal Stephenson talks MMORPGs and virtual economies
"The virtual reality that we all talked about and that we all imagined 20 years ago didn't happen in the way that we predicted. It happened instead in the form of video games," says Neal Stephenson, nerd icon and noted author of Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. In a new interview at Forbes, Stephenson talks up his latest sci-fi opus, Reamde, and also offers his opinion on everything from the Metaverse to gamer stereotypes to players converting their in-game labor into real money. "It's undoubtedly happening right now on an informal level all over the place. A huge amount of money is changing hands, and the thing that prevents it from coming out into the open and working the way it's depicted in the novel is a number of legal and regulatory hang ups," Stephenson says. He also mentions his own gaming experiences as well as his new novel's tendency towards adventure in place of the brainiac speculative fiction he's famous for. Head to Forbes for the full report.
September XBL content update: Mercury Hg, RE on Games on Demand and more
Are you ready for round two with Las Plagas? Today marks the launch of Resident Evil 4 HD on Games on Demand, along with some other goodies. In addition to the HD remake update of Leon's rescue mission, Major Nelson has listed some Xbox Live Arcade games and next week's deals.%Gallery-129307%
Black Prophecy unveils Space Superstar contest
Feeling like a Black Prophecy superstar? The recently launched free-to-play space shooter is looking for a few good designers to take advantage of the game's character creation tools. The Space Superstar competition will feature three winners, one each in the categories of coolest, funniest, and most beautiful avatar. What do you get for your trouble? Immortality (or at least, the MMORPG version of it). Each category champ will have their character entered as the new preset in Black Prophecy's character creator. The contest kicked off yesterday and it runs through Wednesday, August 3rd, so what the frak are you waiting for?
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary trades avatar armor for pre-order
Master Chief isn't the best at planning ahead. Think about it: When have you not known the guy to land on a planet with just two guns and no secret pouch of ammo? The plan always seems to be some variation of "I'll find some grenades and a Wraith and I'll just figure something out." If you'd like to buck his example and be fully ready for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary with a pre-order, you'll be rewarded with the exclusive "Grunt Funeral" skull. Even if you're not huge on pre-orders, the idea of activating Grunt Funeral and seeing grunts exploding with the force of plasma grenades every time they're killed may be too much to resist. Perhaps more enticingly, pre-order customers will also be given Master Chief Avatar Armor, so even if they lack John 117's spontaneity they can still share his fashion sense.
New EVE Online trailer highlights the player behind the space ship
Hot on the heels of today's announcement that EVE Online will soon be making its way to Japanese gamers, CCP released a new trailer for the Incarna expansion. Rather than focusing only on in-game action, the new trailer entitled "I was there" tells the tale of a memorable battle from the perspective of a player. Although the dialogue is pretty corny, the story and feeling behind it are things any player involved in gang or fleet warfare can identify with. We all carry stories of the epic fights we've turned around in our favour, and we all like to remember that we were there. The trailer highlights the very real rush of fleet warfare, the real bonds we form with the players behind the ships and the communities we build and defend together. That sense of community is even extended outward into the real world, as attendees at the annual Fanfest or any one of several unofficial EVE meet-ups find out every year. At the 2011 EVE Fanfest in March, CCP and EVE players in attendance raised $11,000 US for charity Get Well Gamers. Notable items sold included the official CCP Banhammer from the GM department, as seen in the company's absolutely not safe for work music video HTFU, and a tour of the CCP offices led by CEO Hilmar Pétursson. CCP Soundwave's impromptu art print auction raised a massive $1,500, bringing total donations up to the $11,000 mark. The money was delivered to Get Well Gamers this week and will go to help buy gaming systems for sick children to play during their stays in hospital. Skip past the cut to watch the new Incarna trailer, embedded in HD.
Microsoft shows off new Games Hub for Windows Phone 7 Mango
The official Windows Phone blog has posted a walkthrough of the new Games Hub feature in the upcoming Mango release of Windows Phone 7. As you can imagine, it borrows quite heavily from the popular features of the console Xbox Live, including a new "Recent" games browser, more ways to connect with Xbox Live friends right from the phone and new comparison views between accounts, similar to what's found on Xbox.com. Additionally, Avatars are now fully 3D -- you can even shake your phone on the Avatar screen to make yours sick, and Avatars will "act out" certain emoticons that show up in messages from friends. Mango is a free firmware update for all Windows Phone 7 users, and is slated to arrive sometime in this fall.
Windows Phone 7 'Mango' update adds greater Avatar interaction
An update for Windows Phone 7 is currently in the works dubbed 'Mango' which brings more features and functionality to Windows Phone 7 devices -- stuff like Office and Facebook Chat, and, uh, Minesweeper? MS Paint? Look, we're really not that into the whole phone thing, but one thing about this YouTube video of the alleged update has caught our eye: Avatar interaction. Sure, we've seen Avatar accosting before on our phone, but the 'Mango' update looks to implement even more ways for your Avatar to act out -- specifically, the emotions of anger, stop poking me and leave me the hell alone. Hit the jump to see it all in action for yourself. The Xbox integration stuff starts around the 2:56 mark -- we'd just make sure you mute the video before hitting that play button, though. The music throughout is pretty annoying.
NZXT stops being so sensitive with $40 Avatar S gaming mouse
It seems that the people at NZXT love gamers almost as much as they hate vowels. The company today took the wraps off of the Avatar S, a replacement for the already discontinued Avatar gaming mouse. The new model doesn't quite match the 2,600DPI of its predecessor -- instead it's got a 1,600 DPI laser sensor with three sensitivity settings: 1,600DPI, 800DPI, and 400DPI. The finned peripheral's five buttons are configurable, as is the LED lighting scheme and X-Y sensitivity -- customization that can be saved to the device's 16Kb of onboard memory. The mouse has a polling rate of 1000Hz and does tracking at 30 inches / second, and those little Teflon feet should help you move the thing around a bit more easily. The mouse comes in both black and white will run you $39.99 when it launches at the end June -- $20 cheaper than its predecessor's launch price, or $10 per fin. Press release after the break.
The Lawbringer: Avatar rights as expectations
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? Last week, I introduced the concept that the denizens of a virtual world may have gained, over time, the right to rights within that virtual world. Raph Koster, the lead developer of Ultima Online, explored the idea over 10 years ago when the MMO genre was in its developmental infancy. These rights synced up with a world where there was a distinction between free-to-play MUDs and for-pay subscription worlds in the U.S. and European markets. Today, the MMO has transformed into a new beast from the close-knit communities of MUDs and the relatively forgiving user base of EverQuest and Ultima Online. The people who made WoW are the contemporaries of Raph Koster and children of the MMO genre that EverQuest cemented as important. How then, in over 10 years, has Koster's declaration of the rights of avatars held up to the incredible growth of the industry and Blizzard's own impressive growth? The short answer: The code of conduct you follow in World of Warcraft is pretty lenient, all things considered. The long answer: Well, there's always a long answer.
EVE Evolved: Incarna and the captain's quarters
When we first heard about Incarna, it was as "Walking in Stations" back in 2006. At the 2006 EVE Online Fanfest, details of the ambitious project were released to excited fans, which was followed by a lengthy devblog from CCP t0rfifrans on what would be involved. The sheer scope of Walking in Stations seemed immense, but in-engine screenshots of what came to be known as "Ambulation Man" created a sense that a lot of work had already been done on it. Over the years following that announcement, we saw snippets of information and work-in-progress screenshots from various prototypes. Players saw those prototypes as the current state of the feature in development, and it became reasonable to expect a release in the near future. Miscommunication In reality, CCP's insistence on doing the feature right has caused several prototypes to be completely scrapped. Walking in Stations became Ambulation, and we were shown a full work-in-progress demo of a character walking around in a bar and playing a minigame. That prototype was similarly scrapped, being reborn as Incarna at the 2009 Fanfest. In developing each of these prototypes, CCP quickly discovered that the underlying technology to do it the way the team wanted to simply didn't exist. In this opinion piece, I look at the summer expansion's planned captain's quarters event and what it could mean for EVE Online.
EVE Online Fanfest 2011 roundup: Day 2
It's day two of CCP's enormous party at the top of the world, and Massively is right here to find out what the future holds for EVE Online. In yesterday's day 1 roundup, we covered a fantastic presentation on Incursion by CCP Soundwave, an enlightening question-and-answer session with EVE's Council of Stellar Management, and the hilarious (but absolutely not work-safe) alliance leader panel. Today has been similarly packed with activity. We've seen some great presentations on what's to come in the summer expansion, and the keynote speech discussed some very exciting developments due to hit EVE in the near future. Highlights of today included a video of Incarna's "captain's quarters" that we'll be getting as part of the summer expansion, details of massive server upgrades heading to Tranquility, and details of some awesome quality-of-life changes coming soon thanks to Team Best Friends Forever. There was so much awesome information to share that we unfortunately had to miss the chessboxing match to get it out in a timely manner. We missed Icelandic game developers punching each other in the face to write this up, so I hope you find it interesting! Read on for a roundup of what happened today at the EVE Fanfest, along with detailed explanations of a few personal highlights from today's festivities and what we can expect to come later.
TEROOS robotic avatar gives your long-distance girlfriend a tiny, googly-eyed face (video)
Do you pine for animatronic eyes and robots that whisper sweet nothings in your ear? Well, geeks with distant girlfriends rejoice, because TEROOS, the shoulder-mounted, remotely-controlled telepresence avatar has arrived. Created by researchers from Keio University in Japan, the little bot has a camera and mic so far away friends can see and hear what you do, while a directional speaker keeps your conversations private. Communication's courtesy of Skype, while some custom code lets users control the device's six-axis articulating head. It's not an independent system, however, as it relies upon a smartphone to relay commands from a PC to the avatar through Bluetooth. Users can also change the bot's facial expressions thanks to a couple of googly eyes and mechanical eyelids, though it doesn't have quite the emotional range of other androids from the land of the rising sun. Intrigued? Check the vid after the break.
Leaked 'Windows Gaming eXperience' vid shows cross-platform plans
A leaked internal Microsoft video allegedly provides some hints as to what the company's Windows Gaming eXperience (WGX) team is attempting to do. The video, dug up by ZDnet, showcases what appears to be several concepts that could cross between Windows, Xbox and mobile platforms. The video is PC-focused, but features Microsoft's Avatars moving around screens using Kinect functionality, while interacting with social games and media, along with the Avatar Marketplace. A now-removed LinkedIn job posting reportedly described the function of the WGX Team as creating a "new world-class gaming platform" to define "the next generation of Windows and Web gaming to 300 million potential customers." According to ZDnet, the video was dated May 2010 -- in this world of corporate ADD and division restructuring, take nothing of what you see in the clip as the gospel of Windows future according to Microsoft. Just remember how that whole Kinect object scanning video turned out, or didn't turn out ...
Beyond Good & Evil HD arrives on PSN this May
After getting the special House Party promotion treatment on XBLA, Ubisoft is taking a Pey'j from Microsoft's book and working with Sony to promote the forthcoming release of Beyond Good & Evil HD on PSN. In addition to the game itself, all PSN members "who pick up the game within the first two weeks" will snag two free avatars (of Jade or Pey'j, seen above) for their PSN cards. Of course, knowing when those two weeks will be, exactly, could be an issue -- Ubisoft has only given the game a "May" launch window. We'll let you know if we hear something more specific, but for now there's a new trailer embedded after the break.
'Unleash' your Xbox Avatar with wall graphics and figures
Admit it, you like your Xbox Live Avatar. It's like an action figure version of yourself. But what if you could have a real-life action figure of your Avatar? Wouldn't that be awesome? If you want to indulge your more narcissistic tendencies, Microsoft has some new options to "unleash" your Avatar: Decorate your home with you -- get a custom wall print to make your Avatar larger than life; or have your Avatar stand proudly next to your GI Joe collection by ordering a miniature figurine; or even have your Avatar etched onto the back of a Zune media player. Before you unleash, check your wallet. A "jumbo" wall print will set you back $150, while a 16GB Zune with Avatar etching costs $170. In comparison, the $60 asking price for a figurine doesn't sound so bad. [Thanks Ben F!]
Microsoft shows off prototype avatar that will haunt your dreams
Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie wants to show you the haunting bridge his team has built over the uncanny valley. Employing Kinect hardware and custom PC software, the research team at Microsoft has created an unnervingly realistic new avatar that can handle text-to-speech when combined with a script and can recognize the words in any order. "This is a way to create a synthetic model of people that will be acceptable to them when they would look at them on a television or in an Avatar Kinect kind of scenario," Mundie told USA Today in a video interview. "There's no reason that we couldn't do that in real time by feeding the information that we get from a Kinect sensor, including its audio input and its 3D modeling, spacial representation, and couple that to the body and the gesture recognition in order to create a full body avatar, that has photo realistic features and full facial animation," he added. This impressive (if not somewhat terrifying) demo is still very much in the prototype phase, however, and Mundie said it would be "some time before we see it show up in products." We're just hoping those first "products" aren't T-1000s.
EVE Evolved: Making a better avatar
Since the game's release in 2003, EVE Online's character creation has served a very limited role in the game. Customisation was limited to a head and pair of shoulders, and the final output was nothing but a small passport photo to go next to our names in chat and our posts on the official forums. Despite this, our avatars have always had a big impact on the way we formed communities and interacted with each other. On the rare occasion that the portrait image server went down, the forums turned from a discussion amongst acquaintances into a sea of faceless and emotionally anonymous posters. There's a lot of personality in those little icons, and they produce an instant recognisability that a name on its own just doesn't accomplish. I'm a firm believer in the idea that seeing the icons next to someone's name in the in-game chat channels helps to form closer associations between players. After seven years of EVE, however, those portraits were beginning to look a little outdated. With the Incursion expansion, we finally got our hands on a new, powerful, full-body character creator. Characters can be created in minute detail by manually deforming areas of the face and body, not just by dragging slider bars. The resulting avatar is still currently used to create a portrait, but when the Incarna expansion hits, each avatar will be walking around inside stations in all its full-bodied glory. In this week's EVE Evolved, I give a run-down of the new character creation process and share a few personal tips I've picked up on making a better-looking character.
