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Palantir iOS app listens to you play video games, offers tips on the second screen
Apps like Shazam and Zeebox can listen to songs and TV shows and identify what's playing or what you're watching, but until now the tech hasn't been used much for gaming. A companion application for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor could change that. The Palantir iOS app (named after the networked seeing stones from Lord of the Rings canon) uses the aforementioned audio-sync technology to deliver exclusive content and contextual info (like walkthroughs) by listening in while you play the game. That content is curated from Wikia, which hosts vast reserves of lore, guides and minutia for games and pop culture. Shadow of Mordor doesn't have a release date just yet, but the Palantir app also works on trailers. If you want to give it a go for yourself, we've embedded the debut gameplay video after the jump.
Wizardry Online adding tons of info to official wikia
If you've had questions about some of the nuts and bolts of the upcoming free-to-play fantasy game Wizardry Online, the incoming update to the official wikia might just give you some answers. From controls and settings to shops and dungeons, this update will offer more information on a variety of game mechanics and features. Did you know that you can pick up the body of a fallen player to be deposited at the Quopaty Temple once you travel back to town and pay a fee to increase the odds of revival once there? Or that you'll need entry permits to enter dungeons? Or that shopkeepers will identify items for adventurers? You will when you read through the details of this substantial wikia update! You can also learn more about Wizardry Online by checking out Massively's hands-on experience. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
Hyperspace Beacon: Don't be surprised if your website is mentioned here
The Hyperspace Beacon is your guide through the various twists, turns, and barrel-roles of the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is being produced by the super-duper developers at BioWare-EA. As we all wait anxiously for the open scroll of Star Wars: The Old Republic, more fansites are donning their Jedi robes and igniting their lightsabers. Some have have been around for a while now, and others are just getting off the ground, but all these holocrons of SWTOR lore are finding their true destiny in webspace. Some of these websites stand out as potential Jedi Masters, and I would like to take a moment to take note of them. A few months back, the first Hyperspace Beacon was launched. It recognized sites like Darth Hater and the Jedi Archive. Since then, more have proven to be beacons of light in the blackness of cyberspace. So, in an effort to keep the SWTOR community page up to date, I have explored the reaches hyperspace to find beacons of new hope. Set your navicomputer to follow me after the break. As Matt from TOROCast may say: Don't be surprised if your website is mentioned here.
Official Age of Conan database offers easy info
MMOs see updates quite frequently, and with games that have developers actively posting on forums an attentive community member can absorb plenty of useful information. However, not everyone is up to the task of tracking all news, dev posts and dev blogs on every little topic. This is where Age of Conan's "New Community Database" enters the picture. Handled by the community team at Funcom, the database will serve as an easily accessible source of pertinent game-related information about updates old, new, small and big. Everything from minor content stuff to full-on expansions, like Rise of the Godslayer. The website is still partially in beta as content is being added and knobs are being tweaked and dialed for maximum performance. So if in your venture for precious information you run aground due to a lack of content or technical issues, don't be all too surprised. Having an official wiki isn't a bad idea. With time and attention there's no doubt many a person will find the source of info highly useful. In fact, we've already discovered a great use for it right here, although that particular opinion is arguably of a subjective nature.
Wikia turns a profit, thanks in part to WoWWiki
Wikia has been doing a little bit of press lately -- they're the for-profit company that has spun off of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation that runs the huge Wikipedia website. Wikia has announced, as reported in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, that they've hit profit early. While they didn't expect to actually make any money running ads next to user-generated content until next year, they've actually made some money this year already. They credit the growth of all of their miniwiki sites, which has expanded greatly over the last year.So why are we reporting all of this here? You may have already guessed: one of their largest sites, if not the largest, is the World of Warcraft-related wiki, WoWWiki (which we definitely read and use here at WoW.com all the time). WoWWiki is mentioned in a few reports as having 70,000 pages (almost 1/3 more than the next-biggest site in the network, a cooking wiki). In fact, at least one reports credits WoWWiki, along with the Twilight-related wiki, for the growth entirely. We're not sure how much of a part they actually played in the new reported profits, but they are definitely growing, and are a terrific resource for those of us in the WoW community.
Where in the wiki is Mitra?
The fine folks over at AoCWiki have noticed that the Hyborean god Mitra has gone missing, and need our help to find him. The strange bit is: he's lost somewhere in the Wiki! So, to help recover him, readers are being solicited to go through the Wiki and follow a series of clues that will reveal the location of the missing god. Do it for the Hyboreans, whose prayers to Mitra have gone unanswered! Or, simply do it for these flash prizes: Five (5) Age of Conan Beta keys Five (5) Age of Conan 3-month pre-paid game cards And, of course, the respect and admiration of your peers. Unless, of course, you beat them to the win, in which case, watch for arrows in your back. The rules and full details of this contest are available on the referring page. This contest has begun, and continues until April 21st. Put on your sleuthing helmets, warriors, and help find Mitra! Personally, we think it's Crom's fault.
SXSW08: How gamers are adopting the wiki way
One of the many excellent sessions in the ScreenBurn track at SXSW Interactive this year, the "How Gamers Are Adopting the Wiki Way" panel featured George Pribul (lead admin of WoWWiki.com), April "CuppaJo" Burba (Community Manager for NCsoft's Tabula Rasa), Angelique Shelton (GM of Wikia Gaming at Wikia Inc), and Jake McKee (Principal at Ant's Eye View) talking about the symbiotic relationship between gamers and wikis. Interesting factoid: WoWWiki is now the second largest English-language wiki in the world behind Wikipedia. At 3 million unique users per month, a full half of English-speaking WoW players visit WoWWiki every month. Head on over to our MMO-besotted sister site Massively for the complete writeup.
Wikia launches do-it-yourself online game mag
How many times have you read a video game magazine or web site and thought, "I could write better than that." Oh yeah, tough guy? You think it's easy writing this stuff? Well, now is your chance to prove it.Launched Tuesday, Gaming.wikia is part of a group of "open-source magazines" that "allow people to blog, rate content and freely contribute news and information on topics they are passionate about," according to the press release. In other words, it's the collaborative power of Wikipedia mixed with the democratic organization of Digg.Or maybe not. When we loaded up the site, the top story of the moment was "Motorstorm is Awesome," which included the cogent commentary "I love racing games, but this is just FREAKING AWESOME!" Is this supposed to be an online magazine or a glorified message board?The problem with letting everyone contribute is that you have to let everyone contribute. Without a large, well-organized community to moderate out the crap, an open-source project like this can go from controlled chaos to just plain chaos rather quickly. If Gaming.wikia can attract this sort of self-policing community, more power to them. If not, there are plenty of satisfactory sources for game news out there already. Like the fine, closed-source site you're reading right now, for instance.[Via Game|Life]
