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Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2 billion
You probably didn't expect your week to start this way: Microsoft has acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. The company plans to integrate the career-oriented social network into many of its apps and services, including Office, Skype and Cortana. You'd get the details of the person you're meeting for a business deal, for example, or get help from an expert when you're working on an Office 365 project. Microsoft is vowing to maintain LinkedIn's overall independence, including the role of CEO Jeff Weiner, and hopes to close the deal sometime in 2016.
WildStar's newest video takes aim at... well, aiming
There's an element of fire-and-forget in a large number of MMOs, a sense that all of the hard work of targeting is done for you by the game. You click on your target, you activate your ability, and that's all the thought you need to put into aiming. But WildStar is looking to change that, as outlined in the newest Dev Speak video. Aiming your abilities correctly is a big part of playing the game, and failing to do so means missing your target about all of the time. Lead class designer Hugh Shelton and lead combat systems designer Chris Lynch took the time to talk a little more about the particulars of aiming with several media outlets because this is something that takes a large amount of consideration. So head past the cut not only for the video, but also for more valuable details on the art of making abilities go where you want.
Storyboard: For me, it was Tuesday
I want to tell you a love story. It's not a happy one. It's about Daniel and Rachel. Rachel loves Daniel. She didn't expect to fall for him, but she did. The problem is that Daniel doesn't love Rachel back. More than that, he can't even conceptualize feeling for Rachel what she feels for him. She acquiesces, acts as a friend, listens to Daniel talk about his true love Samantha. She watches Daniel date Olivia. She gets attacked by Olivia for her affection. She pays attention to the fact that Daniel still talks about Samantha when she's been gone for a year, even though Daniel doesn't mention Rachel at all if she's not around. This is not a happy dynamic for Rachel, but it is certainly dramatic. The problem is that Rachel and Daniel are characters, and Daniel's player is making a point of being aloof and dismissive toward Rachel because that's the whole point. So how do you ignore Rachel without making Rachel's player feel left out of roleplaying?
Star Wars: The Old Republic sets the stage for Makeb
The war between the Empire and the Republic in Star Wars: The Old Republic has been two-sided thus far. Sure, there have been some minor incursions by other powers, but it's fundamentally been a conflict between those two sides. Makeb in Rise of the Hutt Cartel represents a major departure from that dynamic, and the latest development blog focuses on the changing face of the galactic conflict. And it's more complex than just the addition of the Hutts. The Hutts certainly play a major role, of course, but part of the reason for their presence is that the ongoing war makes open conflict seem more appealing to groups like the Hutt Cartel. Meanwhile, the Republic is finally in a position where it's not on the back foot compared to the Empire, meaning that the people in charge have to balance fighting the Hutts and maintaining the advantage. And amidst all of that, there's the planet Makeb itself, which is in the throes of severe ecological disaster. There's a lot going on in the expansion planet, enough to turn what seems like a two-sided conflict into a multi-faceted melee.
Dynamics' credit card-based computing platform makes what little money you have more secure (video)
Some folks are trying to replace your credit card with your cellphone, while Dynamics, Inc. is among those trying to make credit cards better. And you know what? We seldom get excited by such things, but this video from the CES New York press preview has us seriously itching to upgrade our plastic. Card 2.0 is the computing platform powering the new Citi cards that re-write the magnetic strip depending on whether you want to spend you cash or your rewards points. The technology fits snugly in your credit card, is waterproof, has a battery life upwards of four years, allows multiple accounts on a single card, and even can be used to require a PIN before displaying the card number. This is some pretty awesome stuff indeed -- but don't take our word for it! Get a peep yourself in the video after the break. [Thanks, Dave]
Redemption credit card puts points toward purchases, is destined to frustrate
Look up. That credit card right there is a brilliant concept that'll likely cause quite a few headaches in practice. Dynamics, which makes its ends by coming up with new ways to get the general populace into more debt, has just made public its Redemption payment device -- a newfangled card with a few LEDs, selectors and the ability to let users put their earned points toward any given purchase. The idea goes a little something like this: you roll up to the Old Navy checkout counter, remember that you have 4,300 points logged, and decide that you'd like to cash 'em in towards the purchase of your new threads. You tap the "Request Rewards" side of your card, swipe it and watch as your points balance and total monies owed dwindles. Currently, Citi is trialing these with a small group of consumers, with a larger US trial expected to get going next month. There's no mention of how the LEDs stay lit (or how the battery stays charged), nor any indication of how long these selector buttons will hold up over time. We also have no idea how you'll be able to easily check your point balance or split payments between points and dollars, but hey, at least there's a beautiful opportunity here for an accompanying mobile app. %Gallery-104451%
Scattered Shots: How do you make sense of all the beta hunter changes?
Is the tauren above about to cut off his own head -- or lunge forward to attack? Perhaps he's just feeling confused about upcoming changes to hunters? Would you, too, like to know just what's going to happen to your class? Well, you can rest easy now, because Scattered Shots has all the answers to your most urgent questions.The short answer is: You don't; at the moment there is no making sense of all the Wrath hunter changes. We find ourselves at the mid-point of Blizzard's mysterious scheme for hunters, right in-between significant changes already in-progress and vague changes which they've promised or the future. We remain uncertain about which ones are going to make it live, which will be changed again, and which will be removed or added later on. Any analysis we do right now (and indeed much of the analysis we've already done) may or may not be completely out of date in a matter of days or weeks, and if your head hurts from all the ups and downs of turbulent beta-zone theorycrafting, rest assured that Scattered Shots feels your pain.The long answer is: Even though the jigsaw puzzle isn't complete, it's still a pretty neat picture to look at. Today isn't the day for point-for-point talent analyses plus spreadsheets of sting/shot-damage coefficients -- what a headache that would be. No, today is an opportunity to stand back and look at how all this is beginning to fit together, to see how the path our class is trekking through the wilderness of beta-testing ambiguity solves some of our long-standing problems, gives us more of what makes hunters great, and leaves us with several crucial questions mysteriously unanswered.What follows, ladies and gentauren, are the X-files of hunter beta mysteries, a fuzzy look through the crystal ball into the future of our class, the thrilling buildup to the surprising twist that comes just before the epic climax of the Hunter Saga season finale and leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat, biting on the tip of your fingernails, and gasping for air in the thrall of cliffhanger suspense.
Speed kills
EVE Online has evolved into a game where being fast and agile allows you to choose your fights, dictate range and thus control the course of the battle, disengage whenever you choose, and often move so quickly that you're largely unassailable. However, the era of the nano craze will soon be coming to a close, according to EVE Online developer CCP Nozh. His latest dev blog addresses the insane velocities achievable, even by previously lumbering battleships, with combinations of speed modules, rigs, pirate implants and performance-boosting drugs. (For those less familiar with EVE or its more deviant aspects, you can in fact use and sell drugs in the game.) CCP Nozh outlined the dev team's design goals in stemming the speed crisis:
Are we learning the wrong lessons from WoW?
Gamasutra has published a soapbox piece examining what WoW is teaching us about gameplay, and asking whether it's teaching us the right things.The main points include the much debated "Time over Skill" mindset imbued in the endgame, the push away from self-reliance to group play, and the "You're either with us or against us" guild mentality. Finally, the extensive Terms of Use Agreement and its use in disciplining players is also brought up.Not all of the lessons learned here are bad--there are real-life echoes of all of these points, and learning to invest substantial amounts of time in a task as well as how to effectively work in a group could be considered positive aspects of WoW. However, these four points are all fairly offputting to casual players, especially when those casual players reach the endgame.Having played solo for most of 60 levels, suddenly a player learns that they're not going to be able to take part in much of the remaining content without a guild or group. They're competing for places in guilds or raids with those who have invested much more time, and thus have better gear. Bored, they turn to exploring the game world, and suddenly get banned for being in a place they shouldn't have found. Harsh lessons indeed.Obviously, the "hardcore vs casual" debate has more to it than this; but in terms of the lessons taught by WoW, it seems there are two sides--one for those with lots of time and a popular guild, another for everyone else.
