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The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar is serious business
Science fiction. It's a genre all about man's eternal struggle against space aliens, cyborgs, and people with British accents in very large flagships. Or, you know, about things larger than humanity, about exploring the unknown, and about the sense of wonder at exploring strange new frontiers of a world similar to our own but unfamiliar at the same time. It's a chance for us to step beyond the boundaries of our own world and into the great beyond just a few paces at a time. But it's mostly the cyborgs and flagships. That stuff is really cool to watch. WildStar is a science fiction game. But it takes more than a few cues from a show that also had the audacity to lend a lot of the wild west to a deep space setting. It's hard not to pick up on the Firefly vibe from the previews, after all. But it's been very illuminating to see what the designers have to say about influences and the direction they want to take the game's storytelling because it's very different from other science fiction games on the market right now.
The Daily Grind: When's the last time an MMO made you laugh?
Laughing is not just good for the soul, it's great for your physical health. Seriously. That's why I'm always open to the possibility of an MMO making me laugh in a non-ironic, non-derisive way. For example, the other day I was running a dungeon in The Secret World when a skeezy succubus at the end drolled, "So sorry... but your princess is in another castle." That was good for a surprised guffaw. I'm also often amused by quest text, especially when it's a little crazy or unexpected. I'm also a fan of black humor if done right. If it's really good or catches me off my guard, I'll find myself laughing out loud and scaring my family just a little bit. So what about you? When's the last time an MMO made you laugh? 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!
Amidio's Laugh Synth makes you cry -- with laughter?
Amidio is known for their mobile music creation apps for iOS devices. They've brought us fully featured apps like the recent Songineer, Seline HD and Touch DJ. But the focus of their newest app, Laugh Synth, is a little more, well... light-hearted. Laugh Synth does what it says on the tin, it synthesizes laughs. As detailed on Amidio's YouTube page, Laugh Synth "...takes a sample of a laugh as an input, then divides it into phases and intelligently loops the most notable part, enriching it with the pitch modifications, subtle vowel alterations and crazy effects." I couldn't have said it better myself! With 25 built-in laugh samples (some of them quite ominous), including Dracula and T-Rex, simply drag your finger around the input panel to mold, manipulate and morph the laugh samples. Take it even further with delay, chorus, bitcrush and reverb effects. And when you eventually stop laughing from all of that, sample some of your own laughs and share them with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Honestly, Laugh Synth will either have you chuckling away or (more likely) crying in desperation. But don't take my word for it, check out the video below and get the app for a laughable $US0.99 from the iOS App Store.
Drama Mamas: When the game is no laughing matter
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced WoW players and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com. Text communication is a touchy creature. The simplest of situations can spiral out of control in the space of a single chat pane, when players blunder along without considering the disparity between the words they've actually typed versus the message they intended to communicate. We all know how easily humor (and especially sarcasm) can fall flat on the internet. Emotes and the oh-so-snappy "LOL" seem especially prone to offending others who aren't on the same wavelength. Disaster strikes when players stop reading and start reading into what others say. This week, we'll help several players who find themselves caught up in a web of pride, honor and misrepresented intentions -- all over a loot situation that would have been simple to resolve with clear communication. Dear Drama Mamas, As a priestess who is devoted to the Light, I follow a flock where I make sure that everyone is happy and content. A few moons ago, I had gone on an adventure with several of the flock to the Halls of Stone, where we faced off against the Titan's creations and helped Brann Bronzebeard find out about the mystery of the dwarves. When we had finally retaken the Forge of Wills, we had found a weapon in possession of Sjonnir the Ironshaper, The Fleshshaper. Oh, what joy our rogue companion felt when we had finally gotten the weapon for him. Alas, that joy was suddenly shattered, as the other priest of our troupe had rolled his need dice accidentally. Our companion rogue burst into a fury like Ragnaros the Firelord, spewing out his frustration upon our dear priest, who had simply laughed off the whole affair.
Researchers craft laughter measurement system to gauge aH
We're pretty certain this isn't the first time researchers have dove in and tried to accurately gauge laughter, but it just might be the most thorough. Gurus at Kansai University have reportedly crafted a machine that can "scientifically measure the quantity of a person's laughter, as well as distinguish between the real and the fake." Apparently, the idea here is to gather such information and use it to "conduct more detailed research into the physiological effects of laughter on the immune system," and it's collected by a series of electrode sensors that monitor "bioelectricity generated by certain muscles that flex when you chuckle." Best of all, they've actually created a unit of measure to quantify their findings (aH), which certainly removes any doubt that all of this is just some elaborate joke.[Via PinkTentacle, image courtesy of TravellersPoint]
Baka RoboCup competition pits robotic comedians against each other
Although RoboCup 2007 provided a number of thrills, there's certainly more trash talking going on than chuckling during the heated competitions. Thankfully, a new contest reportedly rigged up by entertainment giant Yoshimoto Kogyo will look to give the comedians in the mechanical crowd a chance to compete, too. After judges whittle down the entries, the Baka RoboCup will apparently give eight robotic comedians the chance to make an audience laugh this November, with the winner (er, winner's creator) taking home a modest ¥500,000 ($4,433) grand prize. Of course, there's a number of stipulations involved in exactly what kind of creature can be entered, but if you think your homegrown bot has got what it takes, be sure and hit the read link for all the fine print.[Via PinkTentacle]
