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Mind-controlled prosthetic arm moving to market in Europe
Germany-based Otto Bock Healthcare has announced that its prototype prosthetic arm which can be controlled by thought is ready to hit the market. The device has been in testing on Christian Kandlbauer -- who doesn't have any arms and has a conventional prosthetic on his right side -- for the past four years. He's the first person in Europe to have a thought-controlled prosthesis installed, but the research is complete and the finished product should soon be available to the public. The arm makes use of targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR), which uses nerves that controlled the lost arm to control the prosthesis. The nerves are transplanted to the chest in a six-hour operation and enable the prosthetic control. The full details of the arm's operation and controls have yet to be unveiled, but hit up the source link for more information.
Fake severed limbs are totally hot right now
Occasionally, the gaming industry gets hooked on the most bizarre marketing trends, such as ARGs, and laughably unbelievable product enthusiasts. However, even with our usually spot-on industry clairvoyance, we didn't see this one coming -- for the second time in a month, a developer used fake severed limbs to attract attention to their ultraviolent title. Sega, promoting MadWorld, recently scattered monotone severed arms (all holding copies of the game) across London. Man, Londonites have got to be getting sick of these shenanigans.We hope this trend comes to a grinding halt before other companies can hop on the bandwagon. The thought of a major metropolitan city whose desensitized residents shrug nonchalantly when they notice human gristle littering their streets makes us a tad uncomfortable.[Thanks, Tagg.]
Customization and community power in latest Ask Cryptic
Character customization seems to be the big focus in the newest Ask Cryptic for Champions Online. Questions about multi-limbed heroes (not at launch) and different stances to give your character (big yes!) receive the more strikingly straight-forward answers. It wouldn't be a big leap of logic to imagine that four-armed characters will eventually be possible, with the revealing of Grond (pictured above) last Halloween. We also learn that Cryptic is planning for plenty of wings and tails from the get-go, which should please a lot of players.However, the most interesting question asks Cryptic whether or not any of these community questions have actually changed their minds concerning design decisions. The response is fairly frank, with lead designer Randy "Arkayne" Mosiondz saying that fan response has definitely shifted the way that the team was implementing certain things. He goes on to point out that there haven't been any complete re-designs of systems, though. It's not surprising that Cryptic's listening to their community, as they've always been a rather smart developer in that way.
