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The best games of 2016
The year is nearly over, and I don't think I'm alone in saying that I'm ready to leave behind the dark, twisted fantasy that is 2016. No matter your political persuasion, social status or country of residence, you'll have felt disquieted by events at some point this year. The sheer scale of 2016's failings allows for such blanket statements. Natural disasters, mass shootings and political events have left me buffeted by wave after wave of anxiety. Because of this never-ending cycle of unease, video games have been more important to me this year. Of course, they're always a form of escapism, but in 2016 they've had to function as a kind of digital cocoon. Gaming has been a place to retreat. A moment of respite. Whether passing the minutes on a mindless clicker or puzzle game, losing myself for hours in grand strategies and sport sims or taking a long weekend to head out on a fantastic adventure, gaming has helped me. A lot. Perhaps that's why I've been reacting to game delays with all the composure of a YouTube commenter. And, God, the delays have come thick and fast.
Google Express delivery expands along the East Coast
East coast residents now have a new way to shop online. Google announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its Google Express online delivery service to a dozen states throughout the Northeast. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are all now within Google Express' delivery range.
'Virginia' comes to PS4, Xbox One and Steam on September 22nd
Virginia, the long-awaited "first person interactive drama from" indie game studio Variable State will hit consoles and desktops on September 22nd. The game, which draws its inspiration from 90s supernatural thrillers like Twin Peaks and The X-Files, tells the story of FBI agent Anne Tarver working to solve a missing person investigation in Kingdom, Virginia -- a small town hiding a big secret.
DraftKings and FanDuel are legal in Virginia
Virginia's General Assembly recently sent the Fantasy Sports Act to governor Terry McAuliffe, and now that he's signed, it is the first state with daily fantasy law on the books. Highlights of the bill include a $50,000 registration fee for companies like DraftKings and FanDuel and age restrictions on players (you must be 18, much like gambling). Oh, and in a nod to the mess that put the industry in the spotlight: employees and their relatives can't play in any contests. What's more, site operators need to keep player and operational funds separate in addition to keeping data secure.
Virginia teen gets 11 years for ISIS support on Twitter
17-year-old Ali Shukri Amin from Virginia will spend the next 11 years and 4 months in a federal penitentiary for his role in running the powerful pro-ISIS Twitter account, @Amreekiwitness. This account collected and disseminated ISIS propaganda to more than 4,000 followers and shared instructions for using Bitcoin to secretly fund the terrorist organization. Amin also admitted to helping one of the account's followers to travel to Syria and join the group. That follower has since been arrested and is facing federal prosecution as well on a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism charge.
The most dangerous voting machines in America are retired
After more than a decade of use and dozens of reported security problems, the Virginia Board of Elections voted to decommission the last of the 3,000 WINVote touchscreen voting machines being used in the state. The machines have experienced issues including crashes and shutdowns, votes being eliminated for no reason, an unsecured WiFi network and unpatched software. And yet, despite persistent reports of problems over the past decade, and similar voting systems being banned from Pennsylvania in 2007 and Mississippi in 2013, Virginia only began examining the flaws in the system after Governor Terry McAuliffe experienced issues first-hand while attempting to use one last November.
Rural pop-up hospital gets America's first drone delivery
The first FAA-ok'd parcel delivery by drone took place in rural Virginia on Friday at Wise County, Virginia's annual Remote Area Hospital. The RAH pops up every summer in Wise, which is deep in Appalachia, as a makeshift field hospital that treats hundreds of uninsured area residents for free. This year, the event's organizers, Remote Area Medical, sought to explore the roles of emerging technology in humanitarian crises and, to that end, had Australian startup Flirtey drop off 10 pounds of supplies.
Amazon hopes to mend its image by backing a giant solar farm
Amazon has a reputation problem. While fellow tech giants like Apple and Yahoo are considered champions of clean energy, Greenpeace and other advocacy groups regularly knock Amazon for running its servers on dirty power (like coal) and saying little about its renewable energy plans. The company is about to burnish its image in a big way, however -- it just announced that it will support the construction of an 80MW solar farm in Virginia, the largest ever in the state. The eco-friendly plant will supply Amazon Web Services data centers (both present and future) on top of the local grid, so your favorite app or website might run on pollution-free computing when the farm is ready around October 2016.
Virginia opens up 70 miles of highway for driverless car testing
Google and other companies developing self-driving vehicles now have another state to consider for public road testing: Virginia. It has earmarked 70 miles of highway in the northern part of the state -- now called the "Virginia Automated Corridors" -- for the project, which will be overseen by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Any car slated for testing in the Mother of States must first undergo an initial trial on the institute's smart roads before they're unleashed in public. VTTI director Myra Blanco told Richmond Times-Dispatch that the state will make the process easier for interested parties compared to other states. But if the car does pass the trial, it will still have to be manned by a driver during the actual tests, just in case the vehicle's system malfunctions.
X-Files, Twin Peaks inspire 'Virginia' from ex-EA, GTA devs
Game industry veterans Jonathan Burroughs and Terry Kenny have formed independent studio Variable State, and are currently working on an interactive drama called Virginia. Inspired by 90s TV shows such as The X-Files, Twin Peaks and The Outer Limits, Virginia follows an FBI agent as she hunts down a missing boy. "Virginia is a first person interactive drama," Variable State writes. "It is the story of a recently graduated FBI agent and her partner as they seek to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young boy. In the birthplace of America, nothing is quite what it seems." Burroughs, a writer and designer, has worked at DeepMind Technologies, Relentless Software, Rare and EA, contributing on House of the Dead: Overkill and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. Kenny is an animator and artist who hails from DeepMind Technologies, Headstrong Games, Frontier Developments and Rockstar Games, with credits on House of the Dead: Overkill and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Virginia is due out for PC in 2015. The game's art pieces are simple and intriguing, while the first screenshot shows a crude 3D design that looks like a mix of Jazzpunk and Nintendo's Miis. [Images: Variable State]
Dish and nTelos start testing fixed LTE broadband in rural Virginia (video)
The test run supplies 2.5GHz wireless internet access to a handful of homes near Afton and Waynesboro, with speeds hovering at a respectable 20Mbps to 50Mbps.
nTelos starts selling iPhone without contract, Apple's prepaid sphere grows a little larger
Virginia's nTelos was part of a big regional carrier push for the iPhone in April. At the time, though, the only real option at the carrier was to spring for one of the company's full-fledged smartphone plans, usually on-contract -- not a bad value at $80, but a tougher case to make when there's Cricket and Virgin Mobile iPhones available with a cheaper rate. As of today, nTelos is offering a much sweeter deal for the commitment-phobic. If the $550-plus full price of an iPhone 4 or 4S stays palatable, the option is now open to go prepaid at $55 a month for unlimited voice, messaging and data with nTelos' FRAWG Nationwide Unlimited Everything plan. You'll still want to reside in the state for nTelos to truly make sense, but if you regularly cheer the Hokies with pride, going the Apple route just got a lot more flexible. [Thanks, Garrett]
iPhone 4S to launch with select regional carriers April 20th
Been hankering after an iPhone 4S, but just can't tear yourself away from that great local network? Well, if you live in a select handful of locations, you might just be in luck, as it seems Apple has been working with some of these smaller operators to give them a piece of the pie. The lucky carriers we've heard about so far include nTelos in Virginia, Alaskan Communications, GCI (Alaska), MTA (Alaska), Appalachian Wireless (Kentucky), and Cellcom (Wisconsin). The golden date for all the above is April 20th, and deals of course will vary. Hit the source and coverage links below or PRs after the break for the deets, and let us know if your local network's been spotted putting up the iPhone bunting too.[Thanks everyone who sent this in]
LightSquared to cut staff by 45 percent as troubles grow
Yet another bit of bad news to add to the pile for LightSquared -- the company announced this week that it will be cutting back on its employment numbers by 45 percent. The cost cutting move comes a day after word got out that it had defaulted on a hefty $56.25 million payment. According to reports, the Virginia-based company, which currently employs some 330 people, is apparently not looking into bankruptcy, in spite of its mounting troubles.
Verizon Wireless promos $20 plan for the data reluctant
For those of you living close to our nation's circle of political puissance, Verizon's got a promotional offer that'll help you feel like one of the data-dependent elite. Available starting today and running through September 30th, existing voice subscribers in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia can begin their trek towards an always-connected lifestyle by tacking on 300MB of data for $20 per month. The deal's intended for cost-conscious customers who haven't yet learned "the many benefits of... a smartphone," and is open to any of the operator's 3G or 4G LTE handsets. Be sure to hit the break to find out more in the presser below, but we warn you -- internet addiction is a slippery, costly slope.
Virginia pilot program halves electricity bill for charging EVs overnight
Regardless of whether the internal combustion engine gets snuffed out this century, EV chargers aren't going to replace gas pumps at the rate they're presently rolling out, so it's quite likely new Leaf and Prius PHEV owners will need to charge at home. How might that affect one's electricity bill? It'll probably go up, but a Virginia utility says that a full tank of juice might not cost all that much. Dominion Virginia Power is volunteering to cut its rates by more than half for off-peak charging as part of a proposed pilot program, whereby 750 lucky EV owners will get enough electricity for a 40-mile commute for just 35 cents so long as they charge overnight. The utility's not talking kilowatt-hours here, but it says it typically gets $0.86 for the same amount. The deal requires the installation of a specially-approved charging station, but Virginia's looking at a second scheme too -- if those 750 agree to pay a flexible off-peak rate of between $0.33 and $0.41 per 40-mile dose, they can power the rest of their house using the budget volts as well. PR after the break.
Verizon down in Virginia
If you're in the great state (or Commonwealth, if you will) of Virginia, then you're probably not reading this on a Verizon device or a computer tethered to a Verizon device right now -- because the network's down. Big Red doesn't have an estimate on when it'll be back up and running, but crews are said to be actively working on the issue, so with any luck, your nightmarish thrust into the deep, dark pre-industrial world of landline communication won't be a very long one. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
The Game Archaeologist and the Quest for Camelot: A talk with Mark Jacobs
Life is full of serendipitous moments. For example, the other day I found the Holy Grail at a garage sale while looking through a box of half-broken Transformers. Who would have thought? If only the Knights Templar took a few Saturdays off from their epic quest to do a bit of bargain shopping. Consider also that this month we've been reminiscing about Dark Age of Camelot in this column -- looking at the history, the devs, and the players -- and then, out of nowhere (well, technically Virginia) one of the key figures of this title returned from a year-long sabbatical. Mark Jacobs, who was let go from EA last June, recently popped back up on his personal blog to talk about everything under the sun. Hey -- isn't DAoC under the sun? Why yes, yes it is. So I threw on my hiking boots, strapped a machete to my thigh, hired a Sherpa, and then composed a quick message to see if Mr. Jacobs would be willing to be interviewed by the eccentric media. He agreed, as long as we stuck to the topic at hand and didn't veer into his plans for world domination. Whoops... I've said too much. Hit the jump before I get into hot water. My Sherpa hates hot water.
MAGfest game & music festival rings in the new year
Do you live smack in the middle of Virginia and thirst for a gaming event to kick off the second decade of the 21st century (we're almost at flying cars, people!)? MAGfest seeks to fulfill that desire with it's annual video game festival. The show's organizers pledge to entertain you with everything from a 10,000-square-foot game room to a 24-hour "JamSpace" room (we assume that's different from a JellySpace room). Tickets are $40 for the weekend (Jan. 1–4) and pre-registration has already begun, which includes admission to each evening's gaming themed concerts, including a New Year's Eve party.
First 'white space' network hits Claudville, Virginia
Well, this one's been years in the making (literally), but it looks like the very first white space network using those newly freed up broadcast TV channels has now been lit up in Claudville, Virginia (population 916), which should just be the first of plenty more rural communities to come. As you might expect, the network was no small undertaking even considering the size of the town, and involved an "experimental license" from the FCC, network infrastructure from Spectrum Bridge, and a slew of equipment that Dell, Microsoft and the TDF Foundation contributed to the local school and computer center. No word on anything like actual speeds just yet, but we're guessing the Claudville residents will be plenty pleased regardless, as they've been stuck with nothing more than dial-up or expensive satellite internet until now.
