micro-machines
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Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will
When I started the Hyperspace Beacon, I didn't want every article to be a stoic look into the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Sometimes we need to kick back and have a little fun with the product that we love. We kind of earned it, right? Within the first couple months of articles, I examined the worst parts of the Star Wars games and movies and what is it that we hope to never see in TOR. That is when I wrote We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will. I speculated on not just what we didn't want to see in the game but how it would implemented. This week, I visit WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW again and ask about merchandising. There have been some horrific ideas that came out of the Star Wars franchise, and I don't just mean the changes in the Blue-Ray release. I shared a couple of these on Google+ this weekend. The Princess Leia Pizza Pringles has to be the worst. I didn't believe it myself until I saw the photographic evidence. We know that if SWTOR is hugely successful, Lucasfilm will certainly use that as an opportunity to capitalize on the game. Follow after the break for my leap into the world of TOR-vertizing. (OK, not everything works with TOR dropped in front of it.)
Pac-Man, Micro Machines, Air Hockey created in LittleBigPlanet 2 beta
We have no earthly way of knowing who YouTube user TheFinalBurst is, but we're pretty sure the mystery creator's series of videos from the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta could serve as more effective marketing for the game than any ad campaign Sony could put together. Over the past week, TheFinalBurst's managed to create some mind-bogglingly intricate games using LBP 2's tool set -- games like Pac-Man, Micro Machines, an air hockey mini-game and even a first-person shooter, which we're still trying to wrap our heads around. Check out a few of our favorite selections after the jump, or visit TheFinalBurst's YouTube page to check out all of this homebrew designer's brilliant creations. Those beta invites can't arrive soon enough. Update: A few of our commenters have pointed out that TheFinalBurst wasn't the author of all of the levels posted in his YouTube channel. We apologize to the original creators for not giving credit where credit was due.
CMU researchers control microbots with mini magnets
Pardon the alliteration, but we're excited about the proposition here. For years -- millenniums, even -- scientists have been trying to figure out how to manipulate minuscule devices with magnets, and at long last, we've got a breakthrough in the field. Metin Sitti, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, is credited with creating a new control technique that could allow microscopic machines to "one day deliver drugs directly to a sickly cell or a tumor." Essentially, the diminutive bots glide across a glass surface covered with a grid of metal electrodes, and you're just a click away (it's the Read link, just so you know) from seeing a live demonstration on how they can be used to "anchor one or more microbots while allowing others to continue to move freely around the surface." Good times.
Racing in your pocket: Pocket Racers
Konami really loves the PSP. Even more than terrorists. A few days ago, they announced the not-so-imaginatively named Pocket Racers, which places you in Micro Machines-sized racers speeding through real-world environments. It's like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids... but with cars! Well, that was a lame analogy, but at least the screens they've released look pretty damn sharp.[Via PSP World]
