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Zuckerberg says Facebook didn't influence the election
If you controlled a media publishing platform that connected to millions of people, it'd make you a pretty powerful individual. Not so, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who has come out against the notion that Facebook helped win it for Trump. TechCrunch reports that the CEO was challenged about his social network's laissez-faire policy towards stopping the flood of fake, bubble-reinforcing propaganda. He thinks that the notion that the torrent of fabricated stories "influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea."
Has the free-to-play bubble burst?
Richard Bartle isn't alone in thinking the free-to-play bubble is soon to burst. Talking at this week's Develop Conference in Brighton, UK, three mobile game designers with an expertise in free-to-play discussed the negative direction that F2P titles are headed and why that may be coming to an end. "I would rather have 10,000 people who play my game for two years, than a million people who only play for a short time," Matthew Wiggins of mobile studio Jiggery Pokery states. The discussion, as reported by Gamasutra, focused on the unsavory practices of quick in-and-out publishers who were only out to make gobs of cash as quickly as possible. But one industry vet thinks that the F2P bubble has burst. "I think we're moving away from the aggressive initial monetization," CSR Racing studio boss Jason Avent says. "Those people who love your game are happy to pay for it. It's getting people into that longer game... We need to move away from exploiting a small number of people, and instead work to make lots of people stick around."
EVE Evolved: Grid-Fu and bending space
In last week's article, I described how EVE Online maintains the illusion of full-scale solar systems by dynamically creating small pockets of high-detail space called grids. It's within these discrete bubbles that everything we do in space takes place, from mining asteroids to running missions or shooting at other players. The system is designed to split up space into manageable chunks to reduce server load while still maintaining persistent 3-D space that appears to span the entire scale of a solar system. Grids have been in EVE since it was first created, but over the years people have noticed a few odd things about how the system works. Flying about 250km-400km away from a stargate causes your ship to disappear from that grid and pop into a newly created adjacent one, for example, but this doesn't always happen. Bizarre occurrences such as abnormally shaped grids and ships mysteriously disappearing and re-appearing on the same grid were always thought to be freak accidents or unintended bugs until an interesting document emerged in 2009. Titled Grid-Fu: A Practical Manual, the 18-page PDF described the process of bending and manipulating space for a tactical advantage. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the various ways that players have manipulated space to their advantage.
Colloidal Display uses soap bubbles, ultrasonic waves to form a projection screen (hands-on video)
If you've ever been to an amusement park, you may have noticed ride designers using some non-traditional platforms as projection screens -- the most common example being a steady stream of artificial fog. Projecting onto transparent substances is a different story, however, which made this latest technique a bit baffling to say the least. Colloidal Display, developed by Yoichi Ochiai, Alexis Oyama and Keisuke Toyoshima, uses bubbles as an incredibly thin projection "screen," regulating the substance's properties, such as reflectance, using ultrasonic sound waves from a nearby speaker. The bubble liquid is made from a mixture of sugar, glycerin, soap, surfactant, water and milk, which the designers say is not easily popped. Still, during their SIGGRAPH demo, a motor dunked the wands in the solution and replaced the bubble every few seconds. A standard projector directed at the bubble creates an image, which appears to be floating in the air. And, because the bubbles are transparent, they can be stacked to simulate a 3D image. You can also use the same display to project completely different images that fade in and out of view depending on your angle relative to the bubble. There is a tremendous amount of distortion, however, because the screen used is a liquid that remains in a fluid state. Because of the requirement to constantly refresh the bubbles, and the unstable nature of the screen itself, the project, which is merely a proof of concept, wouldn't be implemented without significant modification. Ultimately, the designers hope to create a film that offers similar transparent properties but with a more solid, permanent composition. For now, you can sneak a peek of the first iteration in our hands-on video after the break.%Gallery-162176%
University of Tokyo builds a soap bubble 3D screen, guarantees your display stays squeaky clean (video)
There are waterfall screens, but what if you'd like your display to be a little more... pristine? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a display that hits soap bubbles with ultrasonic sound to change the surface. At a minimum, it can change how light glances off the soap film to produce the image. It gets truly creative when taking advantage of the soap's properties: a single screen is enough to alter the texture of a 2D image, and multiple screens in tandem can create what amounts to a slightly sticky hologram. As the soap is made out of sturdy colloids rather than the easily-burst mixture we all knew as kids, users won't have to worry about an overly touch-happy colleague popping a business presentation. There's a video preview of the technology after the jump; we're promised a closer look at the technology during the SIGGRAPH expo in August, but we don't yet know how many years it will take to find sudsy screens in the wild.
EVE Evolved: Returning EVE to the Crucible
When EVE Online launched in 2003, it was a barren game without many of the comforts we enjoy today. The user interface was abysmally worse than today's (if you can imagine such a thing), players with cruisers were top dog, and practically the only activities were mining or blowing up miners. The culmination of years of hard work by a small indie studio, EVE Online sold almost entirely on its future potential. When I was introduced to the game by an excited friend in early 2004 during the Castor expansion, he encouraged me to get in on the ground floor because he believed the game was going to be huge. Years later, I find myself introducing the game to thousands of readers on the same premise. EVE's continual success over the years transformed a fresh-faced CCP Games into a multinational game development giant. And yet, for all that growth and all the updates to EVE over the years, the fact that the game sells largely on future potential is still firmly embedded in both players and developers. Players subscribe not only because they like the game but because they want to support development to reach EVE's true potential. Two years with very little iteration on existing features sent the message that developers weren't trying to reach that potential, but it seems that trend is soon to be completely reversed. With the newly announced Crucible expansion, CCP will be adding countless small features, graphical updates and iterations that put EVE firmly back on the path to reaching its full potential. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at CCP's plans to return EVE to the crucible and reforge it into something awesome. Those waiting for the third part of my look at the new player experience can catch that in next week's column, as Kajatta is enjoying his final week in EVE before delivering his verdict.
The Daily Grind: Are we witnessing the bursting of a gaming bubble?
The last few weeks have cast a dark shadow over the MMO gaming industry. At a time when MMOs release seemingly every other day and big blockbusters are just over the horizon, MMO companies are canceling titles, shelving games, cutting back, changing models, and laying off staff. CCP Games dropped employees and slowed its development pace; NCsoft and GamersFirst followed suit, though with assurances that their games would proceed as usual. In the last few days alone, we saw Gameforge let go both developers and titles, TurnOut halt development on Earth Eternal, and both LEGO Universe and Troy Online announce impending shutdowns. What do you think? Are we dealing with a "gaming bubble" on the verge of bursting? Did MMOs become too popular too fast, such that the industry is now bloated and unsustainable? Is a culling of the MMO herd a necessary evil to improve the overall quality of MMOs? Or is this flurry of layoffs and closures merely a coincidence, a temporary downsizing due to end soon? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Analysts consider dance genre 'bubble,' Ubisoft says more 'The Experience' games possible
Ubisoft's Just Dance and its successful clones like Michael Jackson: The Experience, along with Harmonix's Dance Central, have established the dance genre as a viable market for milking. Now the industry must play the delicate game of sucking the marrow dry without creating a zombie. Gamasutra hit up go-to industry analysts Michael Pachter and Jesse Divnich for their takes on the sustainability of the genre. Both analysts essentially characterized dance games as part of a bubble that is largely unaffected by critical reception (UK hit Zumba Fitness has a 43 on Metacritic). "In short, yes, the dance category is a bubble," said Divnich, "much like most things in entertainment." That doesn't mean that the bubble is about to burst -- or that the bottle of suds is close to empty. At least, Ubisoft is planning to keep on dipping in. The publisher's Tony Key teased that Michael Jackson: The Experience is "just the first 'The Experience' brand." He added that there's no reason why "another artist can't make a great dance game under 'The Experience brand,'" but didn't pitch any bright ideas. The Smurfs, anyone?
Spiritual Guidance: A first look at patch 4.1 for priests
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. Dawn Moore covers healing for discipline and holy priests, while her archenemy Fox Van Allen dabbles in shadow while knocking back "naptime potions." Dawn also writes for LearnToRaid.com and produces the Circle of Healing Podcast. Earlier this week Blizzard surprised the masses by releasing an early sneak peek at patch 4.1 on the PTR. Though the patch features no major raid content, it has made some tiny changes to the priest class that could have some big impacts! Among the patch changes for priests are a nerf to Power Word: Shield, a buff to Divine Aegis, a possibly nerf to Dispel Magic, and a new animation for Holy Word: Sanctuary which I've included a video of after the break.
EVE Evolved: Ratting, part 2: Flying safe!
Last week I discussed the basics of the "ratting" profession in EVE Online, from picking a good system to three popular ratting strategies. If you're planning to hunt NPCs in nullsec, of course, you'll need to get there first. Pilots who aren't in an alliance with secure access to nullsec will have to run the gauntlet from empire space to their chosen ratting system. The entry points into EVE's nullsec regions are often camped during peak hours and you can expect to run into roaming gangs. Things get a little easier once you're at your destination, but you can still expect to see the occasional pilot or gang passing through the system. Your ability to get into nullsec safely and your efficiency at ratting will be determined largely by the ship you're using and how it's set up. For someone who's never been to nullsec before, setting up a ship for the task and heading into the void can be a daunting task. In this article, I look at selecting the appropriate ship for ratting, some popular ship setups and important safety tips that will help keep your ship safe in hostile territory.
Patch 3.3.3 PTR: Priests
If you read the patch notes for the latest public test realm build, you might have noticed there is an odd change being applied to priests of the bubbling nature. Renewed Hope: now has a 60-second duration, up from 20 seconds, but a 20-second cooldown. Seems a bit strange, doesn't it? Is it a buff, a nerf? What would be the point of adding a cooldown to an ability that has a duration exceeding the cooldown? Well, after kicking the Blizzard downloader all night and day, I've finally tested it for myself and as it currently functions on PTR it appears to have no negative impact on discipline priests. That said, I do not believe it is currently working entirely as Blizzard intends it to. For more information on what I observed, hit the jump.
EVE Evolved: Five interesting combat tactics
Although EVE Online's combat isn't twitch-based, the outcome is often swayed by strong tactical and strategic influences. Whether you're running missions, battling Sleeper AI in a wormhole site or engaging other players in PvP, chances are you've pulled off a few fancy tactical maneuvers. Over the years, we learn these little tricks and teach them to each other. From mundane ways to avoid damage from NPCs to the cat and mouse games we play with other players, tactical maneuvers are a big part of EVE's gameplay. In this short article, I look at a few of the tips and tactics players use to gain an edge in combat. Angular velocity: If you've ever used a turret-based ship and found yourself missing enemies a lot, there are a few tricks you can do to even the score. Open the overview settings menu and under "column" select "Angular Velocity". This shows the transverse velocity of enemy ships relative to your own in radians per second, which is the same measurement your turret tracking score uses. By checking the show-info pane on your guns, you can look up the maximum tracking speed of your guns. Ships with an angular velocity greater than your turret's tracking speed will be practically impossible to hit so having this information on-hand means you can avoid picking targets that will just waste your time and ammo. Another useful trick to do is to match your course and speed as closely as you can with an enemy ship rather than just approaching it. This will decrease their angular velocity relative to your ship, allowing you to hit some fast ships you otherwise wouldn't be able to. Skip past the cut for four more interesting tactics and tips. Do you have a particularly useful tip or a clever tactical maneuver you use a lot? Leave a comment and let us know what it is.
EVE Evolved: Five interesting combat tactics, part 2
By warping from one stargate to another at a distance or using the align feature, you can anchor a bubble at the second stargate which is in line with the first gate. Anyone warping from the first stargate to the second will be caught in the trap. A neat trick is that you don't even need to put the bubble on the correct side of the stargate.
Analysis: Mobile games aren't worth $5.4 billion
Jeremy Laws at Cabana Mobile has an interesting little analysis up about mobile gaming that claims it may not be as big as it's cracked up to be. Laws says there's no way the mobile gaming market can hold up $5.4 billion, as was reported earlier this year by Juniper Research. Laws looks at the top 10 companies releasing mobile games (at retail -- that will become important in a minute), and claims that even if those companies make up 70% of total mobile games, the total amount of mobile game sales only comes up near $1.7 billion, far short of the Juniper number.So where's the discrepancy? It's almost certain to lie in the App Store, where Juniper says growth more than made up for the dropoff of sales in other areas, like Java-based games. Laws does list companies like EA Mobile and Gameloft, whose games are selling on the App Store, but almost all of Laws' companies are old-school mobile developers, who created games for mobile phones before the App Store was ever open for business. Plus, his "retail" mention might mean the App Store isn't included in his calculations at all -- can you call the App Store "retail"? In fact, if any mobile games marketplace is going to make up over $3 billion in the mobile games market, it's got to be the App Store, right?So this means a couple of different things: one, the App Store very well could be remaking the face of mobile gaming, to the point where old-school numbers are just plain insufficient to compare to modern App Store sales. Second, if there is a bubble, it'll likely be in the App Store: another recent report says that if you spend more than $40k on a 99 cent game, you're losing money. Laws may be underestimating the long tail of the App Store -- certainly no single developer has pulled in billions, but there are a lot of developers out there. Still, at the same time, $5.4 billion does seem high. And if games companies are convinced there's gold in the App Store hills, that's where the bubble will eventually burst.
The MMO launch subscriber bubble
It feels like a new MMO is being released every month these days and the market for persistent online games is certainly expanding. At the head of this market is a set of games commonly referred to "triple A" titles. These are popular games from big name studios or games using popular intellectual properties. New games that are considered "triple A" have a unique ability to build unparalleled levels of anticipation and hype around themselves prior to release. In order to draw in as many players as possible, an obscene amount of cash is often spent on advertising to hype these games up for release. But is this appropriate and cost-effective or does it show a fundamental misunderstanding of of the MMO market?In this article, we look at what can go wrong with over-hyped MMO launches and what happens when the subscriber bubble bursts.
Tracking the iPhone hype generator
Fortune's Apple 2.0 got a nice little graph up of just where and when the iPhone's hype machine went into overdrive. There's no question it was a gigantic brand last year, but what's interesting is just how manufactured and "by design" each of those spikes are. B on the chart above is the actual iPhone launch, and E and F are the 3G debut and store launch. Fortune relates point A to the Cisco lawsuit against Apple over the "iPhone" name, but let's be real: that was just part of the story of the gigantic iPhone reveal (which took place one day before, not two). So the real story here isn't necessarily that Apple masterfully created a smartphone that revolutionized the industry and made tons of money doing it, but that they coordinated a hype machine that marched to their tune whenever they wanted. The red line above, as you can see, is Palm, and while there are a few spikes along that line (probably interest in various new products and releases), there's nothing like the excitement and hype that shoots up around a big Apple event. The iPhone is a feat of engineering in itself, but the hype machine behind it is pretty well-built, too.
Bubble Level: surprisingly useful
With my girlfriend in the process of refurbishing her kitchen, I found myself in need of (and without) a carpenter's level yesterday afternoon. But then I remembered Bubble Level, an application for the iPhone and iPod touch. A penny short of a dollar later, I had myself a working, surprisingly accurate level right in my iPod touch. Bubble Level allows you to calibrate it (for example, with an actual bubble level) so its measurements are accurate enough to use for household chores and hobbies. (Professionals may still need the precision that a traditional liquid bubble level provides.) Bonus: it tracks how level the device is in two dimensions: laying your iPod or iPhone on a table allows the bubble to travel toward the center circle on the interface. Bubble Level is 99 cents, and available in the App Store now. You can also check out A Level, a similar app that's expected to support calibration in the next release (it's from Posimotion, winners of TUAW's Most Risque iPhone App Name award).
Matsuura: third-party troubles limited mostly to non-games
A couple of weeks ago, Parappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura commented on the "DS software bubble," saying that it was increasingly difficult for third parties to sell games on the DS. He discussed the issue a bit more in a talk with GamesIndustry.biz, clarifying that he doesn't necessarily think it's a system-wide issue. In fact, it's relegated mostly to the genre in which the most saturation has taken place: the non-game. "...maybe at the end of 2006 to 2007 many titles - sequels - lost [money]. Very few titles are getting much better. This means, especially for the Brain Training titles or non-gaming content, it is getting difficult right now."So those of you who were livid at the Major Minor's Majestic March director for saying something not entirely positive about something Nintendo-related can calm down now. He is saying something that a lot of DS gamers already know: there are too many knockoff training games.
iPhone display "bubbles" causing toil and trouble?
Jockeys riding the Apple discussion forums are claiming that their iPhone displays are afflicted with tiny "bubbles." Apparently, the manufacturing issue is recognized by Apple who will replace the phone, no questions asked. So tell us dear readers, bubbles or no bubbles, what's your experience?[Via Textually]
Wii popularity bubble about to burst?
Japanese business paper The Nikkei recently published a piece titled Software Houses Miscalculate Audience, Demand For Wii, wherein author Tomoyuki Kawai cites that many inside sources are not looking to the Wii with such a favorable eye any longer. The big worry is that all of this success the Wii has had has only benefited Nintendo and them alone, with many third-party developers jumping on board only to be left with titles on their hands that failed to sell. It's these development studios that are supposedly not profiting compared to their previous year earnings, the result being a lack of support for the console and no desire to commit to it in the future.The piece goes on to say that a lot of the Wiis picked up by consumers have only started to gather dust (it's unconfirmed if this is the same report we've posted about here earlier).
