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'Night in the Woods' brings cynical cats to PS4, PC in January
Adorable independent adventure game Night in the Woods has been in development for just shy of three years, following a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign in October 2013 that asked for $50,000 and ended up earning $209,000. In an update to that very same Kickstarter page on Wednesday, developers Alec Holowka, Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry announced that Night in the Woods will land on PC, Mac, Linux and PlayStation 4 on January 10th, 2017.
ICYMI: Channel your inner magician with IoT controllers
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: If you've gotten chicken juice on your smartphone one too many times while trying to whip up a masterpiece in the kitchen, you may be interested in a motion sensor that you can control with a wave of your hand. There's the practical option, or the adorable. Do you. Meanwhile, an MIT study aims to understand urban decay and will next automate the process of scoring city photos to help with urban planning. The parody video your shortcut-obsessed friend needs to see is here, while the Silicon Valley Fashion Show story is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
'City of the Shroud' is an RPG with a truly player-driven story
Adventure and role-playing games have always focused on telling stories, and that tradition has permeated into almost every other genre. Whether with linear plots or with branching, adaptive tales, developers are putting story everywhere. And just as the technology powering games is evolving, so too are the narratives within them. One game, however, is pushing forward into entirely new territory: City of the Shroud. Partially funded by a small-scale Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, City of the Shroud is being developed by Abyssal Arts, a small team strewn across the US and UK, with some assistance from Japan. It's a hard game to categorize. It's an RPG, yes, but it blends tactical elements from X-Com, The Banner Saga and Final Fantasy Tactics with a real-time combat system that borrows from classic fighting games.
The OmniWear Arc is a haptic neckband for serious gamers
There's a lot to keep track of in a game like Counter-Strike. You need to know your location, where your teammates are, your ammo supply and most importantly -- where your enemies are. With all these sights and sounds coming at you, it's easy to miss something, which is why OmniWear is looking to offload some of that cognitive load to another sense: touch. The Arc neckband, launching on Kickstarter today, vibrates to let you know where your opponents lurk, ensuring you don't miss a thing.
Kello trains your sleeping habits without using sensors
While there are already a handful of devices that claim to improve our sleep quality, one little startup from Hong Kong's Brinc IoT accelerator thinks that it can do a better job. Kello is a sleep trainer that comes in the form of an internet radio alarm slash Bluetooth speaker slash home automation hub, and unlike some of the competition, it doesn't use any bed sensor, clip-on device nor wearable to track the user's sleep activity. Instead, it's all about leveraging "simple, effective and scientifically proven techniques" from specialists to help us sleep faster, wake up better and ultimately change our lifestyle.
ICYMI: Family seamstresses will be replaced soon enough
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Robots have finally gotten around the 'needing human assistance' thing when it comes to sewing clothing. The Sewbo is one such option, which can stitch together clothing as long as the garment is first dipped in a stiffening solution that makes it feel like cardboard.
Lightseekers brings your video game into the real world
Action figures can look a little staid next to video games where your character can walk, talk and fire all manner of weaponry. But there's still something special about the tactile experience of holding a cool character in your hand, which is why we've seen game developers embrace the world of toys with products like Skylanders, Amiibo and LEGO Dimensions. But, while placing a figure on a base can unlock characters or entire worlds, the interaction between game and toy tends to end there. Lightseekers, launching today on Kickstarter, changes that dynamic by making its action figures a living (and almost breathing) part of its games.
Oregon authorities are investigating Kickstarter darling Coolest (updated)
When Coolest debuted on Kickstarter back in 2014, it set a funding record. The do-it-all cooler campaing took in $13 million for an outdoor beverage option with blender, Bluetooth speaker, USB charging and more. The company asked its backers for more money back in April, saying that the price it offered during the crowdfunding campaign was too low. What's more, some backers still haven't received their coolers despite the company selling them for a discounted price on Amazon, its own website and other retailers. The Coolest website says that if you hand over $400 for a cooler right now, it will ship in 48 hours.
GoTenna's new communicator crowd sources for a better signal
If you're a fan of exploring the great outdoors, especially in areas of devoid of cell service, you may have already sought out a GoTenna. These walkie-talkie-like enablers pair with your mobile device via Bluetooth so you can send messages and GPS data to others in the area using radio frequencies. Today the company is pushing the off-the-grid envelope even further with the introduction of GoTenna Mesh, along with a new premium subscription service and an SDK for developers to play with. The addition of mesh networking makes it one of the first devices of its kind, providing mobile (not fixed point), off-the-grid, long-range communication to users -- so long as there's a smattering of devices to help leverage its capabilities. This is also the first time GoTenna is launching its product internationally, utilizing available public radio spectrums in each area. Early birds can pick up a set starting at $129 on Kickstarter, but if you wait for the retail launch it'll run you $179 per pair.
Earthlings get a chance to own NASA's Golden Records
Back in the 70's, famed astronomer Carl Sagan and a team of scientists and artists put together a collection of golden phonograph records, which were sent to space aboard Voyager 1 and 2. They contain greetings in 55 languages, a plethora of animal sounds, traditional music from around the world, Mozart's and Bach's masterpieces, as well as Blind Willie Johnson and Chuck Berry tracks. Now, a Kickstarter campaign wants to give us lowly Earthlings a chance to own a copy of the Voyager Golden Records as a box set.
The SproutsIO smart microgarden nurtures your inner botanist
I'm not good at remembering to water my one houseplant. I know I'm not alone -- the phrase "black thumb" exists for a reason. And if some of us can't even manage something as basic as adding a little H2O regularly, asking those same people to worry about humidity or soil pH for our flora is right out. Unfortunately, that means a lot of us don't get to enjoy the benefits of growing our own herbs or vegetables at home. The SproutsIO connected planter, now on Kickstarter, aims to solve that by not just reminding you to water your plant, but creating an entire support system aimed at your individual wants and needs about what to grow.
Watch what it takes to build a 350HP combat robot right here
Our dreams of watching giant robots battle it out in front of us have almost come true. The folks behind the MegaBots Kickstarter have released the first trailer for their upcoming web series that follows the trials and tribulations of building a 10-ton, 350HP combat robot. The team hired an Emmy-nominated video team to capture all the gory details, and it sounds like the main event -- a hand-to-hand battle against Japan's Kuratas robot -- will be the season finale.
New 'Shovel Knight' expansion haunts the chapel next spring
One of the best throwback games in recent memory is definitely Shovel Knight from developer Yacht Club Games. Last September (it's been that long?), the team dropped the free "Plague of Shadows" expansion for all platforms. This year, we have word of when the next add-on will release. "Specter of Torment" will come out sometime next spring, according to a tweet from Yacht Club. Not much else is known at the moment, but the team did offer a huge update back in June all about new protagonist Specter Knight -- wall climb! Dash slash!
Make your own batarangs with the Wazer desktop water jet cutter
You're probably familiar with laser cutters, if only because of indelible images like Sean Connery strapped to a table as a red beam slowly makes its way toward his crotch. But in practical use, the fire hazard and intense power draw can keep reliable laser cutting out of the hands of most non-supervillains. The same can also be said for water jet cutting, which uses a focused stream of water to slice things up. It's extremely effective and relatively safer -- for starters, there's no chance of setting the thing you're cutting aflame. Unfortunately, it's also pretty big and expensive. That is, until today, with the launch of the Wazer desktop water jet cutter. It's small but still powerful enough to cut through a Rolex, and it hits Kickstarter today for a (relatively) affordable $3,599. Now, both makers and wannabe supervillains alike can enjoy the benefits of waterjet cutting from the convenience of their garages.
High-profile Kickstarter games see delays, port cancellations
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, was crowdfunded to the tune of $5.5 million last year, with an ETA of March 2017. It promises to be a spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, but this week, project lead Koji Igarashi (known colloquially as IGA) personally announced via Kickstarter that the game will now be pushed back to "the first half of 2018." The delay, IGA says, is because the game is currently at risk of not "meeting [his] quality standards." To that end, he's adding additional developers to the team, who will hopefully be able to put the project back on track. He also offered his apologies to anyone affected by the delay.
De La Soul releases crowdfunded 'and the Anonymous Nobody' album
Like many Kickstarter projects, the new De La Soul album took a lot longer to arrive than promised, but now it's here. Originally scheduled for release in September 2015, the group's new project carefully avoids the sample clearance hell that has kept their previous work offline. This time, the samples come from jam sessions they recorded with LA-area musicians, keeping the rights in-house. The 17-track and the Anonymous Nobody album features collaborations with Pete Rock, 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg, Damon Albarn (of Gorillaz), Little Dragon, Estelle and a number of other well-known artists.
The Pongbot makes beer pong actually challenging
If you ever went to a party in college, chances are you've played beer pong. You throw a ball into a cup filled with beer, and a successful shot means your opponent has to take a drink. It's a way to make drinking a bit more social and competitive. It's also not something you do past a certain age -- maybe because of the frat house association, but also because it's not that hard. It's not supposed to be, given that the point is to get drunk. The Pongbot, a $40 device hitting Kickstarter today, shakes things up by making those beer-filled tumblers a moving target. You might not get drunk as fast, but you'll definitely feel the high of increased competition.
Kickstarter introduces the Prototype Gallery for creators
Kickstarter will soon allow creators with projects seeking funding to add photos and videos of their creations in a Prototype Gallery on their project page.
ICYMI: Neck pillows that work and self-driving everything
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Ford Motor Company joined the self-driving car race, taking on Uber, which just bought autonomous truck company Otto. We're just excited to see the self-driving vehicles of the future, though those two had better hurry up, since Easymile is already testing actual transport around a large city now. Two Kickstarter projects for actually useful neck pillows are trending. We are fans of the FaceCradle but the nodpod may be just as useful to you. You might also be interested in this video of a dog dressed as Pac-Man, going after all the balloons. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Arcano Systems' chiptune synth offers 80s video game nostalgia
Here at Engadget, we have quite an affinity for all things that remind us of what it was like to play video games in the 80s. That includes musical instruments and gear that are capable of reproducing those iconic chiptune sounds we all know and love. Arcano Systems is no stranger to those tones and the company has taken to Kickstarter to fund yet another of its creations. The company has a knack for creating the 8-bit chiptune synths, including last year's NES Chiptune Synthesizer. This time around, it created the Obscura 8-bit Chiptune Synth 2: a MIDI synthesizer that emulates the sounds of games from Nintendo NES, Famicom and Commodore 64.