Reality
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Apple may have registered more 'Reality' trademarks for its upcoming AR headset
Apple may again be looking to nail down "Reality" trademarks ahead of the launch of its much-anticipated AR/VR headset.
Firefox makes it easier to send links between VR and desktop
Firefox is making it a little easier to bounce between VR and real life. In a new update for Reality, Firefox has introduced the ability to send videos and tabs straight to your VR headset from your phone or desktop, and vice versa -- you'll be able to send tabs straight to your phone or desktop to access as soon as you take your headset off.
Netflix signs Vine star Cameron Dallas for new reality show
While you might be aware of Vine, Twitter's six-second social video service, you might not be familiar with its most popular users. With 9.4 million followers and over two billion loops, Cameron Dallas is undoubtedly a Vine star, but he's joining the ever-increasing roster of internet-famous personalities making the jump to TV, having just signed a new reality show deal with Netflix.
World of Warcraft bikes take shape in episode 6 of Azeroth Choppers
Despite delays and distractions, Team Alliance and Team Horde are nearing the finish line with their World of Warcraft-themed bikes in the latest episode of Azeroth Choppers. Episode 6 doesn't show us the finished bikes just yet, but you can get a sense of what both vehicles will look like as the teams start putting the finishing touches on their bikes. The episode also looks behind the scenes at Blizzard, showing the process for converting these machines into in-game items. Of course, the premise for the show has involved a contest from the start, not just for the teams but for the players. Voting for which bike design should appear in the game will start on May 29th, and fans are advised to start voting early -- the close of the polls is on June 2nd, just enough time to film the conclusion. You can watch the full episode just past the break.
The Daily Grind: What zones feel 'real' to you?
Let's face it: Some MMO game zones seem as real as a set on the stage of a high school play. They check off all of the fantastic features that give art directors goosebumps, but when you're in those areas you can't quite shake the feeling that it's a façade put on for your benefit. Then there are those special places that check off all of the boxes on your own list instead, gelling together to create an environment that feels utterly believable. I encounter these places in Lord of the Rings Online quite often, especially when I go through terrain types that exist in the real world but are rarely seen in games. Maybe I'm strange to get a thrill out of a fog-shrouded swamp, but it's better than another lava zone. So what MMO zone feels real to you? What gets you all well and properly immersed? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WoW Moviewatch: Reality
I try to moderate how many clip machinima videos I post here. Yes, WoW is pretty awesomely beautiful, and the landscapes are so tasty I wish I could stick my tongue through the monitor and lick it. We all pretty much agree that WoW is pretty. While I'm always down with helping to encourage creativity and new videos, if I posted every landscape and clip video I receive, this column wouldn't have room for all the blood elf rap videos you kids like so much. Reality is basically a series of clips strung together with some background music. Our minds weren't blown away yet. You know what made the difference? This video is gorgeous. Maybe it's something about the original material's resolution or the well-chosen colors, or maybe I'm just seeing colors as super-vivid today. But this is just a gorgeous piece of eye candy. Take the time check it out; hopefully, you'll feel the same. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
AR goggles take crime scene technology to CSI: Miami level
Dutch researchers are looking to catapult crime scene investigation into the 21st century through the use of augmented reality (AR). The prototype system, designed by the Delft University of Technology, employs a pair of AR goggles, two head-mounted cameras and a portable laptop rig to allow investigators to build virtual crime scenes by tagging evidence and placing objects they are viewing. After mapping an area, additional law enforcement personnel can review the investigator's work and request additional information -- asking the CSI to define or place additional objects. Researchers hope that the 3D renders will be used as court-admissible evidence in the near future; the technology is set to be tried on a real Dutch crime scene later this year. We can see it now: Lieutenant Horatio Caine whips off his shades and tosses on a pair of (equally stylish) crime-fighting goggles... YEAAAAAAAAH!
Lynx augmented reality stunt drops scantly clad angels on terrestrial travelers (video)
It isn't exactly a spring chicken, nor is it particularly new to the advertising game -- Best Buy utilized the stuff back in 2009 to push electronics -- but a new ad campaign from manly body spray purveyor Lynx (Axe in the US) is making augmented reality nearly unavoidable. Created by BBH, a global ad agency, the video below shows travelers at London's Victoria train station staring up at a giant screen to find themselves greeted by a skimpily attired fallen angel. The stunt, launched on March 6, drew a lot of attention from passersby, and in more than one instance elicited some pretty, well, bold behavior. Up until now, augmented reality has mostly been a play thing of the geek set -- even previous advertisements enlisting such tactics required a decent amount of work from the audience -- but if these fallen angels are any sign, we could all be traversing a more unreal world very soon. [Thanks, Ben]
World Science Festival kicks off June 2nd in NYC
If you're in the New York City area during the upcoming week, you really might want to think about trying to score yourself some tix to the World Science Festival. We've never been ourselves, and we have to say that our interest -- based on the description of the events -- is seriously piqued. The Festival was started Brian Greene (the physicist, not the guy from 90210) and his wife, and will run from June 2nd to the 6th. It will kick off with a gala event featuring Stephen Hawking, and will host a wide variety of talks over the week, covering topics like the science of sound, the science of Star Trek, and whether or not it's possible that we're all holograms. We're hoping to try to hit at least one of these events ourselves (though we do have a busy week ahead), but we suggest you check out the source link for full details yourself.
Samsung Reality really real for Verizon, comes Thursday for $80
Is it seriously time for the Rogue to be replaced already? Not necessarily, because the rumored Reality for Verizon is now official for a launch later this week -- and it lacks some of the older model's visual pop. To be specific, the landscape QWERTY slider features a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen LCD, a marked downgrade from the Rogue's 3.1-inch WVGA AMOLED, though the two basically go toe-to-toe with the camera (3.2 megapixels versus 3) and -- naturally -- both offer TouchWiz user experiences. Look for the Reality to hit on the 22nd of the month for $79.99 on contract after rebate in your choice of "Piano Black" or "City Red" (we would've liked "Reality Red," but maybe that's why we're bloggers and not marketers).
Verizon's HTC Incredible coming April 25? (update: 29th in Best Buys?)
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/Verizon_s_HTC_Incredible_coming_April_25'; So there's a rather interesting thread going down over in Phandroid's forums that suggests we'll finally see a launch of the hotly-anticipated HTC Incredible for Verizon later this month -- the 25th, to be exact. That makes sense and we can totally believe it -- particularly considering that it's a Sunday, Verizon's traditional launch day -- and it's further corroborated by a corporate email sent around to Verizon employees today implying that "new devices [are] launching really soon." There's a lot of interpretation you could do here; we don't know what "Code Name: 6" on the rocket-propelled cardboard box means, for example, but it's pretty safe to argue that the Incredible will factor prominently into this campaign. About time, right? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: There's a new slide from Best Buy Mobile up on Android and Me alleging a 29th release date for the Incredible, so we can imagine two scenarios here: either it's coming the 29th everywhere, or Verizon will have it on the 25th and Best Buy on the 29th. We're also seeing a 25th date for the LG Cosmos (and the 5600PP, whatever the heck that is) and a 22nd date for the Samsung Reality -- both presumably Best Buy Mobile dates, not Verizon direct. Exciting times, indeed! Thanks, Drew!
Breakfast Topic: Too powerful
I like Nibuca's little writeup recently from her blog asking what happens when we become just too powerful to care? Just like her, I've played a full, months-and-months, session of D&D before, and by the time your characters start to flirt with level 20 (the maximum level in that system), you're so powerful that the story barely makes sense any more -- you're crossing planes of existence, unweaving and re-weaving the fabric of reality, and taking down gods, more or less. Once you've vanquished evil from the earth four or five times, yet another threat doesn't bother you so much. And to a certain extent, that's exactly what's happening with World of Warcraft -- when the game first started, the devs casually threw out there that it would take 40 level 80s to take Arthas down, which was of course a guess based on what raiding was at the time. But nowadays, we're all level 80, you only need five people to go after Arthas, and very soon, even someone like Deathwing will seem conquerable. In the next expansion, we already know that we're going to transverse some planes of existence, and when you're a being that can do that, why bother fighting frost wyrms? Just escape their reality and/or will them out of yours.
Sony seeks participants for PSN reality show, 'The Tester'
Sony has announced an open casting call for a new reality series, created specifically for PlayStation Network, dubbed "The Tester." Participants will run a gauntlet of elimination challenges, with the aim of outshining their fellow competitors in the fields of "mental prowess, dexterity and video game knowledge." The winner will, of course, receive "every gamer's dream job" and become "The Tester," who is a tester of PlayStation games.Those looking to put this wacky and mildly voyeuristic job interview on their resumes are encouraged to submit their details and a short video to Sony's official website. To be considered, you must be older than 21, a resident of the United States and have an unflappable desire to tell someone that they need to tighten up the graphics on level three. The series, which will eventually comprise eight HD episodes, will debut this winter on PSN -- at an unannounced price. How's that for reality?
MTV True Life looking for gamer addicts
"Have video games totally taken over your life? Is your game play increasingly getting out of control? Have your friends or family confronted you about your gaming habit? How about your marriage or personal relationships – are they being affected? Is it difficult to balance work and gaming time? Do you sometimes skip doing homework or household responsibilities to play? Have you played video games as a way of escaping your problems? Has your game playing habit become so encompassing that you may need to go to rehab to kick it? If you can identify with any of the above, MTV wants to hear from you." -- Actual MTV casting call, in verbatim.While we agree video game addiction can be a problem, especially if it gets in the way of your social life, we doubt appearing on a MTV reality program is the best solution for shaking the habit. If you don't want your 15 minutes of fame, consider taking the Joystiq Two-Step Plan to Stop Playing Games™. Step one: buy Terminator Salvation. Step two: Play it. You'll learn to hate games in minutes! Pretty soon, you'll want to go outside and make friends -- all without the embarrassment of being on the same network as Tila Tequila. You can thank us later.[Via Siliconera]
Survivor starts first HD season September 18
Mark your calendars, the 17th season of Survivor makes its HD debut September 18. The entire fall debut schedule for the 2008-09 CBS lineup is available at TV Squad or in the embedded video after the break, but considering there's just one top rated show that we've waited years to watch (or not watch, considering the glut of reality TV) we'll focus on this one for a moment. Apparently this season's caught the bug of production problems already, although none seem to have anything to do with Sony's slick XDCAM production system that promises real time human drama, backstabbing and tribal council votes in 1080i.[Via TV Squad]
Echochrome - the new Brain Age?
Kylie Prymus is the first columnist for PS Fanboy. A Ph.D candidate in philosophy, Kylie specializes in the sociology of technology. Through this new weekly column, Kylie will explore the impact of PlayStation on thought and culture.Any gamer who has spent a significant amount of uninterrupted time staring through a 2D screen into a 3D game world understands the strange perceptual shift that takes place when returning to the truly 3-dimensional space of the real world. There is a disorienting effect, a sense of unreality, in coming back to a place where perspective changes are achieved not by the subtle movements of an analog stick, but by actually shifting the head which houses your ocular apparatus. I first experienced this 10 years ago after a marathon session of The Ocarina of Time, giving my not-yet-21 self a taste of the post-college-party vertigo to come. A similar effect can be achieved by long stretches of reading, focusing on a purely 2D plane for hours and then trying to adjust to the vividness of reality. Games also have a deeper effect on our perception of the world, one which far too much press has declared detrimental to gamers and society at large. Our actions in the game world can and do affect our real-world thoughts. Who can claim not to have had at least a small desire to put the pedal to the floor after playing Gran Turismo, especially when one of the licensed songs comes on the radio? How often do you think about the alternate routes through the grocery store a Portal gun would make possible? Beyond being whimsical fantasies divulged only in conversation with individuals at or above yourself on the gamer-nerd scale, some games can actually change the way you think in a positive direction. The intellect enhancing possibility of games has been exploited most successfully by Nintendo with their DS selling Brain Age series (despite a recent Wired article claiming it has no such benefit). Echochrome may well be Sony's answer to the Dendrite Stimulation genre. There's just one problem: what exactly does it make you smarter at?
All the World's a Stage: Ten Commandments of Roleplaying
All the World's a Stage is a source for roleplaying ideas, commentary, and discussions. It is published every Sunday evening.WoW Insider is not Mount Sinai, and I am certainly not the Burning Bush, but there is a need for a clear, concise list of "do's and don'ts" which new and experienced roleplayers can refer to in times of need. I therefore submit the following commandments as a guide and a reference to roleplayers throughout the World of Warcraft.Obviously the list of essential rules I lay out here will be different from a list you might make, but hopefully the basic ideas remain the same. In addition, being as I am hardly a prophet of the Almighty, I reserve the right to edit these commandments over time as times change and new insights emerge.1. Thou shalt not play God.You only have control over the actions of your own character. When roleplaying with others, you must never ever use an emote or action which denies others the right to choose their own actions in response to yours. For example: "Moosis glares with white hot anger at Faro" is acceptable; "Moosis glares so intensely that Faro's face melts" is not. Whether or not two people's characters are fighting with each other, their act of roleplaying itself is essentially cooperative -- even in a battle of emotes, both players must work together to tell the story in an interesting way, neither one presuming what the other will do.
Rumor: EA bringing stars of "The Hills" to video game
If you recognize the above pictured pair as reality TV stars (and not just goobers at a Halloween party), then you should stop reading this post right now and just go read US Magazine or something. If you don't recognize them, we'll explain that Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, stars of MTV's The Hills, let slip recently that they're collaborating with EA on a video game version of their, like, totally drama-filled lives.Not many details were spilled on what Pratt called the "top-secret" game, but he did mention to US Magazine that the game would let players work against the popular pair if they want to. "You can even torture me," Pratt said in a quote sure to excite reality-TV-haters everywhere.Pratt expects the game to come out in two versions -- "the adult version and the one for minors" -- around Christmas 2009. And really, if you can't trust reality TV stars for your video game release dates, who can you trust?
Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites debuts tonight, still not in HD
Tonight is the season premiere of the 16th edition of Survivor on CBS, and yet again, its not ready for HDTV. We've gone so far as getting in-car NASCAR cameras in HD, but reality shows continue to lag behind. According to an interview with host Jeff Probst, CBS brass are still concerned about the cost, and that he's not in a big hurry to see himself in HD. C'mon CBS, if ESPN can put cameras in anything with wheels, surely you can trot a production crew out to the South Pacific or where ever, and bring some waterproof HD makeup for Jeff.
RP Spotlight: Impermanent death
Mystic Chicanery's Nibuca says she isn't really a roleplayer, but nonetheless has made an interesting observation with big implications for roleplayers. "If Azeroth were real," she asks, "what would be the cultural implications of an impermanent death?"We all know that death is a one-way journey in reality: death's permanence affects everything we do in this world -- all our laws, customs, and moral values. Yet in Azeroth it is not so: the main consequence of dying is a tedious and expensive "corpse run" for your ghost to retrieve your body. If this sort of impermanent death were a reality on Earth as it is in Azeroth, then everything about our world would be changed. As Nibuca points out, people would take risks with their lives much more lightly, execution would no longer be the ultimate punishment, and doctors might sometimes find it easier to let their patients die and then resurrect them, rather than deal with the mess of curing their sicknesses.Roleplayers have to be somewhat careful not to let impermanent death and other such necessities of computer gaming become realities from their characters' point of view. After all, if the rules of Azerothian reality were the same as the rules we have in the game -- where death never lasts and good gear is the ultimate goal -- then there is really nothing of importance at stake for any of the characters in the Warcraft stories, least of all yours. That kind of world would effectively be just a game, whether it was real for its inhabitants or not. Can you imagine how real life would be different if death were impermanent like it is in the game? Would such game-world realities enhance our own real world, or reduce it to trivial meaninglessness?
