DICE+ opens pre-orders, developer kits also available
We just checked out Game Technologies' DICE+ in the opening hours of GDC 2013, which should be available today for retail pre-order and as a developer kit package. The device is an electronic die with LED displays that developers can integrate with their games. The die can be used for its obvious application as a randomized generator of numbers 1-6, but it also has a built-in accelerometer and touch-senstive sides, which Game Technologies hopes other developers will explore.
Game developers can now order the $99 developer kit, which includes shipping worldwide, providing them with a die and software for incorporating the product into games (or building a game from the ground up using the device).
Game Technologies' DICE+ currently supports seven games, with a few more planned by the hardware developer's recent acquisition of a game developer.
From what we saw, the product is certainly still in its prototype phase and not ready for primetime. The device's anti-cheat system requires a two-second roll time which is way too long (that can be cut down). The die also is not particularly fond of soft surfaces, since it needs that initial impact to register the roll, something the team discovered last night when they were product testing in the hotel room.
The retail version is also available for pre-order for $39.99. The DICE+ is expected to launch this summer, with an official launch celebration at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany in August.
DICE+ specs:
accelerometer,
magnetic field sensor,
Bluetooth 2.1 and 4.0 (Low Energy),
independent touch-sensitive sides,
6 LEDs that can glow in any color,
a battery that gives you up to 20h of game play,
a standby of 6 months,
a microUSB for easy charging,
and yes, a thermometer.
