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Salem lead mulls solutions for sub-par combat
Are you a fan of indie fantasy sandbox Salem? Do you like walls of text that give your mousewheel a serious workout? You might enjoy today's Salem update, then, as Mortal Moments project lead John Carver has a lot to say. And why not? It's been nearly six months since the last such dev blast. Carver writes with affection of Salem's refusal to "cater to the masses" and its similar disdain for "polygon counts over content." Combat, though, isn't quite where the devs would like it. Carver says that combat is "by far the dumbest thing we do," and that despite the intentional learning curve, some sort of "upper level strategy is missing." While Carver doesn't outline specific remedies, he says that the first step is to expand Salem's available combat moves. [Thanks Chrysillis!]
Salem releases first major content patch under new management
The colonial perma-death MMO Salem has faced some publisher problems over the last year or so, but indie dev Mortal Moments has swooped in to take over the ambitious project recently. Project Lead John Carver made a formal introduction when the transfer was finalized, but what's even more interesting is the 51-page forum thread that answers many of our burning questions about the game's future. Carver touches on some important points that could get Salem back on MMO gamers' radars: "Some could argue that it has had its day. Some could say that the people have spoken and that the game itself is over, finished, destroyed. But is it? Salem offers the promise of witches and paranoia but currently delivers neither. Salem tantalizes us with the prospects of creatures in the darkness and all that is the unknown in Colonial America, yet we have only argopelters. Salem entices us with the wealth of possibilities afforded by Animal Husbandry, Alchemy, Wagons and Ships, none of which are in the game yet." If these staple features were finally added to the game by this new developer, would potential players give it another shot? Would you? Salem has just released its first major content update under Mortal Moments, and the studio aims to stay true to the game's original plan (no pay-to-win, no PvE servers, etc). [Thanks for the tip, Chrysillis!]
Dissect seven minutes of Dead Space 3 gameplay
They say misery loves company, so it's only fitting that the most miserable person we know (Isaac Clarke just can't seem to escape them Necromorphs!) now has a partner in Dead Space 3. John Carver is now the Riggs to Clarke's Murtaugh – we hope a mutated Gary Busey ends up being the final boss in Dead Space 3!But we're getting off-track. The above video features over seven minutes of gameplay and – oh, you're not even reading this, are you? You've been watching it for a few minutes now already? Okay then, carry on.%Gallery-157336%
Iowa school replaces workbooks with MacBooks
The school district in Van Meter, Iowa has ditched their workbooks and replaced them with MacBooks in a four-year digital learning experiment. John Carver, Superintendent of the Van Meter school district in Iowa, has taken a bold move into the realm of digital learning. In the 2009-2010 school year, the district handed out laptops to all its seventh to twelfth grade students. The school district signed a four-year lease agreement with Apple to provide the students with MacBook laptops. The program costs about US$149,000 per year and is funded by the district's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) tax. It hopes to have the funds to extend this program to K-12 students by the 2012-2013 school year. Unlike other schools that plop computers on a student's desk and walk away, Carver did away with traditional paper-based learning and actively used the laptops in a new digital curriculum. The response towards the program has been enthusiastic. School board member John Seefeld was "amazed at students' attentiveness, how engaged they were and how they seemed to be learning better under the new format." Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass took a tour of the program and remarked that "after two years of exploring the capacity of the devices, the kids and teachers are learning and evolving in their own knowledge of how powerful new technology can be." Well done, Van Meter School District! May the program bring continued success.
