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Google's Area 120 brings quick web games to slow phones
Google is countering Facebook's Instant Games with its own bid to make web games more accessible. Its Area 120 experimental lab is introducing GameSnacks, HTML5-based casual games that are designed to load quickly and play well even on poor connections and basic smartphones. The combination of a lean initial web page, compressed media and just-in-time loading means you can start playing within just a few seconds, even on a phone with less than a 1Mbps connection (all too common in the world) and just 1GB of RAM.
'Moshi Monsters' is shutting down because it runs on Flash
Moshi Monsters, a once massively popular web game that let you raise colorful creatures and complete mini-games around Monstro City, is shutting down. As Ryan Brown spotted on Twitter, the Moshi Monsters site now has an "important notice" that states it will close at midday GMT (7am ET/4am PT) on December 13th. "Thank you for joining us on the first part of our monsterific journey and helping us make Moshi Monsters such a splat-tastic online experience," the announcement reads in classic Moshi-lingo fashion.
Google adds mouse lock to stable Chrome 22 for 3D shooter mavens
Google's fast-track approach to updating Chrome gives a different theme to each update: last time, it was all about visual acuity. For the just launched Chrome 22 stable version, the focus swings to gaming. Web apps can now lock in the mouse control for first-person shooters, simulations and other 3D content that needs the full attention of the pointer during play. Not keen on action games through the browser? There's still some fine-tuning in place for those who live on the cutting edge, including Windows 8 users and Retina MacBook Pro owners. The update may already be sitting on your computer if you're running Chrome; if not, you can get your gaming-friendly fix (and the security notes) through the source links.
Atari ports classic games to HTML5 for web and Windows 8, lets developers craft their own (video)
Atari is big on nostalgia this year, but it hasn't had much in the way of software to reflect the trip down memory lane beyond the existing mobile apps. Its remedy to that shortfall is full of 2012 buzzwords. The new Atari Arcade includes modern takes on eight classic Atari 2600 games, all built entirely with HTML5 and free to play. As fun as that promises to be, our interest is most piqued by the game library's open-ended nature; this isn't just an alternative to firing up a smartphone. A new Javascript kit lets developers not only build their own games but make money as they see fit, whether it's through ads or in-app purchases. Whether they're new or old, titles work in multiple contemporary browsers, although Microsoft would really, really like you to know that the games are ad-free and touch-optimized for both Windows 8 tablets as well as Internet Explorer 10. We'll try to remember that when we look to relive our Combat memories on a Surface.
Square Enix Coreonline offers top-tier games on the web for free -- if you feed the ad meter
It's not hard to see that offering high-quality games through the cloud has its pitfalls, not the least of which is getting customers to pay. Square Enix may have licked that last problem through its new Coreonline web gaming service. Players can still pony up for the full-priced games or even single levels if they want unfettered access, but the cleverness comes through Coreonline's parking meter approach to ad-supported free play: the more ads you watch and the longer they run, the longer you'll get to play without spending a single coin. As our colleagues at Joystiq found out, however, the current level of OS support is inconsistent. Windows gamers can use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer to start playing, but their Mac-owning friends have to lean on Chrome for some games and can't even consider running the marquee title, Hitman: Blood Money. Square Enix's library of eligible games will start expanding in October; while there's no guarantee the Final Fantasy series or many other dream games will make it to the roster, Coreonline's approach might just be viable enough to spare us a few raids on the bargain bins.
Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 now working on Linux through Google Chrome, more or less
A Holy Grail of Linux gaming has been an Unreal Engine 3 port. Getting one for the OS would unlock a world of games that has been the province of, well, just about any other mainstream platform. Thanks to Google preserving Flash on Linux through Chrome, that dream is alive in at least a rudimentary form. Experimenters at the Phoronix forums have found that Chrome 21 has support for the Stage 3D hardware acceleration needed to drive Epic Games' Flash conversion of UE3. Tell Chrome to enable support as well as ignore a graphics chip blacklist, and suddenly you're running Epic Citadel from your Linux install. When we say "running," however, we're taking a slight amount of poetic license. Performance isn't that hot, and certain configurations might not show the medieval architecture in all its glory. We've confirmed with Epic that it works, but it's still firm on the stance that there's no plans for official UE3 support on Linux "at this time." It's still promising enough that maybe, just maybe, gamers can embrace an open-source platform without having to give up the games they love.
Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook
Amazon is committing itself to gaming much more seriously than providing a storefront: it just launched its own game development house. The simply titled Amazon Game Studios is starting out gently by producing a Facebook hidden object game, Living Classics, that lets the socially inclined dig around through scenes from well-known literature -- what else would you expect from the Kindle's creator? While the free, me-too game isn't going to give Microsoft or Sony any frights just yet, the company has the ambition of making "innovative, fun and well-crafted" titles. Amazon is actively recruiting more help for the studio as we write, so we'd expect more grandiose work before too long.
Big Fish Unlimited lets gamers resume play on mobile, PC and TV, stay distracted at all times (update: HTML5 explained)
The perpetual crisis of casual gaming is that need for just one... more... turn. After all, those 29 levels of progress aren't coming with you to the office, are they? Big Fish Games wants to ease our consciences (or at least our egos) with Big Fish Unlimited. By using HTML5 to constantly save progress, the cloud service remembers exactly where a player was and ports it to the next device: it's possible to hop from a Android tablet, to a Roku box, to a Windows PC's browser without having to replay anything. The nature of the streaming games themselves won't give OnLive players second thoughts, but their lighter footprint won't demand as much from an internet connection, either. Most of the intended audience will appreciate the price -- the now active service costs $8 a month for access to more than 100 games from the full catalog, and free play is on tap for 20 of the games as long as you can endure periodic ads. Whether or not coworkers can endure another round of your hidden object games is another matter. Update: We've since talked to the company directly, and it turns out that the HTML5 is more for the cross-platform support; it's the server that tracks progress whenever you quit a given app.
Angry Birds Heikki: because F1 and fort-breaking games are like peanut butter and chocolate
We've seen Angry Birds go into strange places both figurative and literal, but Formula 1 racing? That's a less natural mix than a peanut butter cup. As a way of backing race driver and fellow Finland native Heikki Kovalainen, Rovio has crafted Angry Birds Heikki, a free web game themed all around its namesake's escapades during the F1 race year. The gameplay changes are more cosmetic than functional, although that leaderboard matters a little more in spirit than it might otherwise. Perhaps the biggest draw is simply that your gameplay schedule is intrinsically linked to Heikki's: new sections only unlock as the real-world races get near, so you'll have an incentive to keep coming back until the Sao Paulo race determines the F1 championship on November 21st. Let's just hope that there aren't too many road hogs spoiling either Heikki's fun or our own. [Thanks, Rodrigo]
Old Sierra games coming to iPad as unofficial web apps
Sierra's old-school adventure games of the '80s bring back many memories of days where finding cheats and walk-throughs were hard to come by, and a binder of scribbled clues sat by my tiny monitor. Many of those same games have been ported to the web, and we're likely to see them made especially for the iPad soon. Martin Kool of sarien.net has made a hobby of porting many of Sierra's older adventure games to the web, and now he wants to make those same games work especially well on the iPad. Kool plans to make each title on its own landing page, where visitors can create web app icons on their iOS devices to each page, essentially giving them access to a full-blown, free Sierra game. Another cool aspect to these ported games is that Kool has added a multiplayer aspect to them. You could be walking around the Kingdom of Daventry and see another player completing the quests along with you! So far Sierra's parent company, Activision, has not submitted a cease and desist letter, but he won't fight them if it comes to that. Kool does not plan to make any money off his ports, and they will remain ad-free. [via Touch Arcade]
Xbox.com makeover to add browser-based Avatar Editor, multiplayer web games
A "massive" redesign of Xbox.com will launch tomorrow, Major Nelson has announced. Beginning at 5AM ET on October 20, Xbox.com and the Xbox Forums will go offline for "a short period of time" to integrate the update. Once live again, the site will be all tidy and clean (pictured; more images here) and introduce several browser-based activities. Notably, a full Avatar Editor will be added to Xbox.com, allowing users to create, edit and start all over with their Avatars, as well as try on Avatar Marketplace items before purchasing them -- take note: "It just looked so fresh on the mannequin" will no longer be a valid excuse for spending 4 bucks on a Flashy Suit. The Major also teases the new ability to "play web games with your Xbox Live friends on the web or on Windows Phone 7" (but do we get Achievements for that?). The update will also improve messaging functionality on the site and provide access to Xbox Live usage data for family accounts -- you know, to track your kids' hours. We don't have to remind you how critical it is for the little ones to keep up with their Modern Warfare 2 regimen to ensure a strong start in Black Ops competition this November -- gotta keep those K/D ratios up! The 12-year-old might have trouble juggling multiplayer and school work, sure, but it's not like the fourth grader has that much homework getting in the way of a real shot to go pro one day.
Xbox.com getting a major overhaul: browser-based avatar editor, WP7-connected web games
Well, it looks like the Xbox 360 dashboard isn't the only thing getting an overhaul this fall -- Microsoft's Major Nelson has just announced that Xbox.com will be getting a "massive facelift" tomorrow. The changes are more than just visual, however, and include a few new features that more tightly integrate the site with the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7. That includes a new browser-based avatar editor and, most interestingly, some web games that you'll be able to play with your Xbox Live friends on the web or on Windows Phone 7 -- no word if they'll earn you achievements. Otherwise, you can expect a streamlined view of messages, friend and game requests, some new family reports that will let you see how your family is using Xbox Live, and some improved browsing and searching options for the Marketplace. It's still not clear exactly when it'll go live, but the site will be down for a short period starting at 5:00AM ET tomorrow to prepare for the changes -- in the meantime, you can get a peek at what's in store in the gallery below. %Gallery-105408%
Google's Da Vinci Code: two weeks in
The Da Vinci Code web-based game from Google is on its fifteenth day of twenty-four, and we've had time to figure out quite what the game is all about. It's effectively a serialised puzzle game, with daily challenges which increase in difficulty as time wears on. What's more interesting is the sheer weight of Google's cross-promotion. For example, a link to the game appears on standard search results, and the game itself plugs into Google's personalised homepage service. While the logic-based puzzles are straightforward, follow-on questions require some searching, promoting Google's more obscure services such as SMS translation.With the entire Google machine behind it, this game could become very popular indeed -- this seems like a lightweight experiment to test the model, but we wouldn't be surprised if more 'casual' games come out of Google in future.
