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Toys 'R' Us returns with 'STEAM' workshops and smaller stores
In time for the holidays, Toys "R" Us parent company Tru Kids is planning to open two permanent stores. This time around, the stores will include things like theaters for movies and video games, STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) workshops and a treehouse where kids can play. To pull it off, Tru Kids is partnering with tech retailer b8ta.
Snap selfies with Pikachu in Google Pixel's AR Playground
You don't have to wait until May 10th to see Pikachu come to life in new ways. Ahead of the long-awaited Pokémon movie, Google released Detective Pikachu, Charizard, Jigglypuff and Mr. Mime as Playmojis for the Pixel's Playground mode. As you can with Google's other Playmojis (previously called AR stickers), you can drop these characters into scenes around you and interact with them through the Pixel's cameras.
How to get a coding job at Google with an art degree
I wasn't really aware as a kid that game development was a career that I could have, especially from an artist's perspective." That's Ashley Pinnick, a 28-year-old artist and game developer living in San Francisco. Pinnick is a VR Technical Artist for Google, where she's working on Playground, the company's augmented reality app. But three years ago, she was an art school graduate and self-taught virtual reality developer with an uncertain future at her feet. "I was playing games and I knew that there was art there," Pinnick said. "I just didn't put two and two together."
Epic quickly nerfs the new 'Fortnite' SMG after complaints
The v5.10 Fortnite update that brought back our beloved Playground mode also added something else -- this new gun. Unfortunately, the "high capacity, fast firing Compact SMG" was just a little too overpowered, and many high-profile players quickly complained that it made the game a race to get the SMG so one could chew through their enemies (and their buildings, as the starting and max health of many materials dropped at the same time). While Epic has been up front about wanting to make the endgame more exciting and less focused on build-offs as it pushes for esports viability, this particular tweak may have gone too far. As a result, the company quickly lowered the accuracy, range and damage done by the new gun and existing SMGs. Check below for the (now-live) adjusted SMG values, and a few clips of the gun at work as it existed prior to the nerf.
'Fortnite' Playground mode returns on July 25th
Don't worry if you're still suffering from withdrawal symptoms while Epic retools Fortnite's Playground mode -- its return is just around the corner. The developer has confirmed that its sandbox-like option is coming back on July 25th, complete with the promised team selection options. You'll find more details in the notes for the upcoming 5.10 update.
'Fortnite' players are having too much fun with Playground mode
Fortnite's Playground mode might have been designed as a testing ground for newcomers, but that hasn't stopped players with irrepressible creative streaks from constructing things that are a little more niche. From Nintendo 64 monoliths and Mario Kart racing tracks to giant galleons, 8-bit Links and a gorgeous Loot Lake re-imagining, there's a plethora of inspiring content to behold.
‘Fortnite’ Playground mode can’t come fast enough
When Epic Games announced that Fortnite was getting a sandbox for novice players to feel their way into the game, I was overjoyed. Playground is a dummy version of the map where four players can just noodle around for an hour at a time. Resource limits are relaxed, too, so you can just learn how the game plays, test strategies and get some all-important practice.
A new 'Fable' game is reportedly in the works
A brand new Fable game is in the works, or so says a number of sources close to the rumored project. According to Eurogamer, UK developer Playground has been given the job of creating a new, big-budget revisit to the fantasy world of Albion, and while franchise owner Microsoft said in a statement that it does not comment on rumor or speculation, all signs seem to give the reports credibility. For a start, November 2017 saw Playground openly reveal its plans for its first ever non-racing game, described only as an open-world action RPG. Meanwhile, Xbox boss Shannon Loftis has made no secret of Microsoft's fondness for the franchise.
Android creator Andy Rubin is making a free dashcam
There's been a lot of speculation about what Android inventor and ex-Googler Andy Rubin has been up to with his startup, Playground Global. Is he making a phone? Well, no... but what he is doing could still grab your attention. Rubin tells Wired that his company is making a dashcam with a unique business model: you'll get the hardware for free, but you have to hand over the camera's data in return. It's not clear why Playground wants to make that bargain, although one possibility is that it'll create a visual map of streets around the world.
Best of the Rest: Earnest's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Forza Horizon 2 Don't let the checkered flags and supercars speeding from point to point fool you, Forza Horizon 2 is not a racing game. It's a driving game; a game that's equally entertaining whether you're speeding from point A to point B in a pack of supercars, or languidly navigating a scenic highway on the Italian coast. Say what you will about the game's less-than-realistic physics modeling (the polite term is "arcade-style"), but developer Playground Games absolutely understands what makes cars cool. Driving endless laps around a tarmac track might work for NASCAR, but vehicular works of art like the Lamborghini Aventador need equally picturesque surroundings. Southern Europe works nicely, but the impressive bit is that Playground Games managed to capture all the aesthetic highlights of the region in a relatively small space tuned explicitly for racing. It's a good thing the setting works so well, because once you've arrived it's hard to leave. Not just because the driving mechanics feel so right, and not because the game's leveling system is fiendishly moreish, but because the virtual world is stocked with a truly vast number of races and events. 120 levels in, I've seen maybe 20 percent of what the game has on tap. At this rate, Forza Horizon 2 isn't just one of the best games I played in 2014, it's probably going to be one of the best games I play in 2015 too.
Enter the tech-powered playground of the future
There are playmats where you build the roads in seconds, a ballpit where the balls are as big as you, and a drawing-board where your doodles come to life. This is Team Lab's "Theme Park of the Future" .. but it isn't really a theme park. It's an attempt to bring projection mapping, motion gestures into contact with fundamental playtime activities -- and even expand on kids' creativity. You just need a handful of projectors, some giant walls, and a scanner or two.
Hybrid Play clips turn playground toys into videogame controllers
A group of developers thought it would be fun to merge playground activities with mobile gaming -- so they did. They've created a system called Hybrid Play that lets kids (or adults, no judgment here) control games on their phones with see-saws, swing sets and other playground toys. To transform these outdoor playsets into big controllers, kids will have to clip the Hybrid Play sensor (above) onto their slides and merry-go-rounds. This sensor (which is dust- impact- and water-resistant) is powered by an Arduino microcontoller and equipped with accelerometers, gyroscopes, infrared and Bluetooth. It transforms real-life movements into signals sent to your phone, which the app then converts into virtual action. By the way, the system's iOS and Android apps will come loaded with a selection of games to choose from, but everyone can make their own, as it's an open-source project.
The Crew coming to Xbox 360
Open world racer The Crew was already scheduled to hit PCs, the PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One on November 11th. Now we can add one more platform to that launch date, as Ubisoft has said via press release that the game is also heading to the Xbox 360. The 360 version is being developed by Asobo Studio with assistance from Ivory Tower, Ubisoft Reflections, and Ubisoft Shanghai. Have a look at the game's new "Playground" trailer after the break.
Seen@GDC: Playground games
Die Gute Fabrik lead designer Douglas Wilson is comfortable asking people to make fools of themselves, as he demonstrated during his panel at GDC on Friday, "Three Folk Games To Inspire Radical New Video Games." Wilson emphasized the impact that physical, playground games can have on modern video game development, bringing players together outside of the screen. They certainly influenced Wilson's convention-famous motion game, Johann Sebastian Joust.Wilson asked for volunteers from the audience to step on stage and play three games that influenced Joust: Standoff, Listelanse and the Danish Clapping Game. See a handful of eager audience members hitting themselves and dueling with wooden spoons in the gallery below, and read more about each game after the break.%Gallery-184408%
T-Mobile brings the Playground and Urban Zone to its TV app
We know you can't help but let your kids smear their sticky fingers all over your G-Slate and Galaxy S II. To make matters worse (but for a good entertainment cause), T-Mobile's TV app is on the receiving end of a fresh set of channel bundles -- one of which is packed with cartoons. Playground TV and Urban Zone will each be priced at $4.99 per month (or $5.99 if you want to go the HD route), bringing shows like Go Diego Go, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Fat Albert, as well as BET and Crackle TV. To go along with the new video content, T-Mo's also outing a revamped Android widget, which fills you in on program info, breaking news and tips and tricks. Now that you know, it's up to you whether you'll let your kiddos know or not. What's it gonna be?
CEPro reviews a Tweeter concept store
Our friends at CEPro got a chance to stroll through the newly-designed Tweeter concept store in Dedham, MA with their camera, and it sounds like they came away impressed. After reading their impressions, we want to check out one of these stores as well -- it looks like the kind of playground we could while away some summer hours in. The store design emphasizes careful setup and consumer education rather than the sheer number of stock units on display. As we all know, the effort of forming a short list of items to audition can be totally undone by lackluster demo environment, which is all too common in the big box stores that dominate the retail channel. By integrating the gear into home-like settings and liberally sprinkling the "Try Me" buttons around for automated demos, consumers can get a better feel for how the gear they're considering will fit in with their home, which we're guessing isn't dominated by flood lamps, aisle shelving, industrial carpeting and 30-foot ceilings.[Image courtesy CEPro]
Tweeter jump-starts operations with new stores and concepts
Tweeter stores (now formally known as Tweeter Opco) has had a rough go of things over the past year, but is hoping that a little experimentation in April will help get things moving in the right direction. First up, a new store that features a "Playground" design will be opening in Chicago's Lincoln Park. We pretty much think of any store with aisles of gadgets as a playground, but these stores feature home-like "vignette" settings that demonstrate how the gear will fit into your lifestyle. Tweeter will also be testing a totally new store concept at a remodeled Boston location. No details were given about what changes are involved, but the company's CEO says "It's quite a step forward." If it's better than a "playground," we can only imagine it's an "amusement park" at the minimum, and we're hoping for "mind-blowing dreamscape." We're all for some more competition, and we're guessing the new concept will be aimed at a more upscale market than typical "big box" stores. And besides, we're always looking for new places to haunt.
Joystiq hands-on: EA Playground (DS)
EA Playground for the DS follows the general theme of the Wii game. Players compete in nine games to become the king of the schoolyard. While up to four players can battle on a local network, every competitor is forced to buy a copy of the game. I recently sampled all of the activities; a few stood out, but I anticipate that playing them mostly against AI opponents would grow boring over time.If you've got three other friends with a DS and copy of the game, EA Playground might be fun. Younger gamers might also like it. The rest of us? The longevity is questionable.%Gallery-7589%
Joystiq hands-on: EA Playground (Wii)
When announced, we were concerned that EA Playground would be another mini-game fiesta for the Wii. While it won't be a Rayman-like game with dozens of scenarios, it comes off like Wii Sports in a schoolyard.After about a half-hour of hands-on time with the game, I have high expectations that nearly all of the playground-based sports will be entertaining. Some will even be excellent, although the family-friendly simplicity occasionally makes them boring.%Gallery-3900%
In DS-land, playground comes to you
EA likes to swim against the tide. In the era of exer-gaming, they're making a game that's all about sitting on your ass while pretending you're at the playground for a fun-time experience. Obviously, it will sell ten million copies -- after all, it's on the DS, and we all know what that means: profit.Admittedly, EA Playground is a My Street-Wii Sports mashup, and since it's aimed at younger gamers, it's an easy target. The bold, bright visuals and odd character models don't do much for us, but maybe that's okay -- it's not for us. But a mini-game collection with a casual stab at story-telling doesn't sound nearly as engaging as most DS fare, and we can blow into the microphone in a million different ways if we are so inclined. We'll keep an eye on this one, but at first glance, we're not terribly impressed, and we like games largely aimed at younger players.[Via Joystiq]
