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Tamagotchi coming back as an iOS app
Truth be told, I was just a little too old to land in the middle of the Tamagotchi craze: My childhood was more full of Trapper Keepers and Game Boys than the famous Japanese virtual pets. But of course I saw them all over the place back in the '90s, as did everyone, really. And now the original toy is returning on iOS, as an upcoming app called Tamagotchi l.i.f.e. Now, there already is an official Tamagotchi app on the App Store, but it's more of a remake, with newer graphics and a little more social spin. This new app is designed to look more like the old version, presumably, playing a little bit more off of the now-retro vibe of the old craze. It's supposed to be on the App Store soon, so we'll keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, as you might imagine, there's no shortage of virtual pets apps on the App Store, including the very Tamagotchi-like Pet Monster, and even a virtual puppy. But Tamagotchi is the original creature you could kill by not feeding it enough -- hopefully Namco Bandai nails the feel of the old toy with this new app. [via AppAdvice]
The Daily Grind: Are dynamic events another MMO fad?
Move over, MMO story: dynamic events are this season's buzz word. Popularized by earlier MMOs like Warhammer Online and RIFT, dynamic events have become such an integral part of modern MMO design that brand-new Guild Wars 2 employs them as its central content conceit. Skip dynamic events in GW2 and you're going to have a rough time leveling (or surviving the ridicule of the commentariat, who consider dynamic events to be far superior to mundane, quest-like renown hearts). Even MMOFPS titles like Firefall are adopting the mechanic for their PvE fans. But is this actually the type of content we want to see from our MMOs, whatever their flavor? Never mind whether they're actually dynamic -- do you actually think they make for fun, desirable content? Or are we just so sick of themepark-style questing and leveling that we're willing to accept anything in its stead, even if that "anything" might be a fad akin to MMO story? What do you think -- are dynamic events all that and a bag of chips? 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!
Go edging and win free games, your name in Edge, coming soon to MAS
You may remember Edge, the iOS game that picked up a little bit of controversy for a disagreement over the name's trademark. That disagreement has been settled, and the title is now coming out on Steam on August 11, and the Mac App Store a few days after that. To celebrate, Mobiegame and fellow developer Two Tribes are holding an "edging" contest with a very nice prize. Winners will receive each company's entire game catalog, including Edge, Toki Tori, the popular 2D RTS Swords and Soldiers and plenty more. Plus, the winner will get their name included in the Steam release of Edge. You'll be immortalized in the title forever. To enter, you need to take a video of yourself "edging," which is an activity similar to the recent fad of "planking," where you try to hang on to any overhead edge for as long as possible. You can watch the contest announcement video for some goofy examples of how to (and how not to) do it. Seems simple enough to me. Videos have to be submitted by August 15, so get edging right away. Good luck to everyone who enters!
The Daily Grind: Is phasing the new instancing?
Yesterday our very own Marc Nottke devoted his column, MMOGology, to the new technology of phasing and the effects it can have on gameplay.For those of you who are out of the loop, phasing is the new technology that World of Warcraft (and Lord of the Rings Online, to some extent) makes use of to change the world as the player completes quests and progresses in the storyline. For example, doing quests to retake a piece of the world map from the monsters might actually lead to a new base camp being set up by NPCs instead of just completing the quests and having no change occur in the world.But phasing has its own problems, as Marc has shown. Sometimes you may enter a phased state only to find that the event contained within it was started by another player, or you may find your epic storyline moment ruined by an inconsiderate person.So, with all of this in mind regarding phasing, here's the question: "Is phasing the new instancing?" Certainly it won't replace instancing completely, but should we put phasing into the category of "great leaps in game design" or should we stick it somewhere in "fads that will die in 2 years?"
Wii Warm Up: How do you define a gaming fad?
Despite the fact that it sells like gangbusters week after week, wherever it can be found (except New Zealand), some people still like to argue that the Wii is just a fad. Other people (like the analysts at DFC) believe that the Wii "has the chance to be one of the best selling systems of all-time."If you visit this site you most likely enjoy playing the Wii, but where do you weigh in on this fad business? Do you think that the Wii's sales will eventually plummet? Or do you believe that the Wii might even overtake the PS2 at some point? Maybe you fall somewhere in between?It's time to bring out your inner analyst and let us know where you stand on the issue.Note: Stop -- Hammer time.
Internet fad inspires laughable "hands free" kit
The image on the left is a fairly typical example of the casual joke emails that I get from friends and clueless Engadget interns: a momentarily entertaining picture, in this case of a dude using an elastic band as a makeshift hands free kit (incidentally, it's also the third result on Google Images for "hands free kit"). With this in perspective, you'll understand the overwhelming compulsion I had to slap myself in the forehead when I saw that someone is trying to flog an elastic band hands free kit -- complete with an example shot identical to the joke image -- onto unsuspecting punters. I hope, nay, pray it's some sort of joke, although the amount of effort that appears to have gone into the design of the packaging forces me to suspect otherwise.[Via Slashphone]
Grow a Chi Pet in your Dashboard
Ah, the little plant/potter geegaw known as the Chia Pet. I don't know what meteor the plant came from, but aren't those planters cute? Relive the cuteness with Chi Pet (not affiliated with the Chia Pets of Joseph Enterprises) in your Dashboard. This little widget provides a couple of days of fun as you click the droplet to "grow" your pet's fur. Neglect the pet, and the plant dies. Nobody said life was easy, even for a bunch of pixels. To be honest, the growth cycle isn't that great.[From CoolOSXapps]
