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NPR visits This Spartan Life
I've you've never seen This Spartan Life before, it's a machinima talk show that takes place entirely in Halo 2. The show's host, Damian Lacedaemion (producer, writer and director Chris Burke), is a Spartan soldier who interviews guests and covers topics from politics to publishing and filmmaking all while inside the game, and usually on the Headlong map, their standing "set."On this weekend's episode of Studio 360, host Kurt Andersen suited up and interviewed Damian in the game for National Public Radio, and This Spartan Life has in turn published video of the segment on their site. What's pretty impressive to learn is that all of the hours of Halo 2 played online cumulatively add up to more then 10,000 years worth of Spartan living, all without any apparent evolution. We can only imagine the smell in Master Chief's armor by now.Listen to Studio 360's show here, and check out the video after the jump. If only the regular news was covered like this, more people might tune in.
Radio companies want the FCC to recall offending FM transmitters
It turns out that FM radio stations -- like NPR -- don't particularly like personal FM transmitters, such as the (pictured, blown-up) iTrip. While you're no doubt gasping for breath at this shocking revelation, we'll present the evidence. While certain countries have been hesitant to allow the use of FM transmitters, the use of such devices in the US has so far remained legal -- much to the chagrin of radio stations which "own" the frequencies that these devices broadcast on. Although the FCC has been investigating the issue of motorist's radio experiences being harmed by FM transmitters, specifically ones integrated into portable satellite radios from XM and Sirius, it seems that the radio companies still aren't satisfied -- to the point at which NPR has carried out its own investigation into the matter. Their findings were that 40% of the devices exceed FCC power limits, with a separate study showing that 75% of devices are too powerful. NPR's assessment that all offending transmitters should be recalled is a fair one, but their claim that "these modulators pose a significant threat" to public radio is a little dramatic. To us the solution seems pretty clear: if you are going to use an FM transmitter, make sure to choose a frequency that isn't occupied. You won't piss off other drivers (unless they're partial to a bit of static), and you'll get better sound quality. Everybody wins!**Except the companies that own the radio stations which you aren't listening to.
NPR interviews Steve Wozniak
Can this guy get around, or what? The Woz has been everywhere lately, from the Colbert Report to the It's Showtime event on a Segway, and he's on his way to the South Pole in a hydrogen Hummer. Now even NPR got their hands on the big W for an interview, waxing ecstatic about his life after Apple, and hopefully a bit more about his book than he got out on the Colbert Report. Check it out, though you'll need (*snicker*) Real Player or Windows Media support installed via Flip4Mac.Thanks phi
NPR talks "Games for Change" conference
NPR's Marketplace introduced the segment saying, "They're often accused of wasting your time or promoting violence but a conference in New York City this week wants games to be known for something more." The ongoing Games For Change conference is part of the larger Serious Games initiative, but is focused specifically on using games to encourage social change. NPR profiled three of the games on display at the conference, including: Peace Maker - "a one-player game in which the player can choose to take the role of either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President. The player must react to in-game events, from diplomatic negotiations to military attacks, and interact with eight other political leaders and social groups in order to establish a stable resolution to the conflict before his or her term in office ends." A Force More Powerful - "simulates nonviolent struggles to win freedom and secure human rights against dictators, occupiers, colonizers, and corrupt regimes, as well as campaigns for political and human rights for minorities and women. The game models real-world experience, allowing players to devise strategies, apply tactics and see the results." Darfur is Dying - MTV's "narrative-based simulation where the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threaten the survival of his or her refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of what it's like for the more than 2.5 million who have been internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan. A far cry from the hysteria-prone coverage the mainstream media typically adheres to and great exposure for a group of gamers working to not only foster social change, but to evolve the educational potential for video games. Follow coverage of the conference by monitoring the 06-G4C del.icio.us tag.
NPR starts a gaming podcast
National Public Radio in the U.S. has started a fortnightly podcast on the topic of video game culture called Press Start. Kyle Orland, the guy that runs VGMWatch, is one of the hosts of the show along with Ralph Cooper, an ex-NPR staffer and current stand-up comedian, and Robert Holt, NPR's server guy who also reviews games for All Things Considered. Their first show, which runs for a short but sweet 15 minutes, covers that time old topic "video games as art". Some choice quotes:Kyle - "You really need to know what art is before you can determine whether video games are art".Ralph - "I feel like a lot of video games, at least right now, they're not really trying to make statements".Rob - "When I was in Grand Theft Auto... I was driving through the city and listening to the radio and I drove over a hill and I saw... this huge moon rise over the horizon, I was just in it at that point. I just knew that this was not your normal game. Of course, I could have just been beating up hookers..."If you're up for some interesting and to-the-point video game culture commentary but want to skip on the usual "I like to hear the sound of my own voice" crap from the host(s), then make sure to add Press Start to your player of choice (iTunes link, My Yahoo! link, generic podcast RSS feed).
Sony exec insists PS3 date unknown
Ostensibly in response to yesterday's report that the PlayStation 3 would launch in both Japan and the US in September, Tetsuhiko Yasuda, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Asia, said, "We want to be completely prepared when we bring PlayStation 3 to the marketplace," continuing, "Our primary competition is not other companies but counterfeiters. We want to work with governments to stop this." Riiiight. We know counterfeiting is a serious problem, but we're pretty sure somebody at Sony has noticed the 360 breathing down their neck. We think. A reader tipped us off that the official PlayStation site, which lists the system's specs, still maintains the console will launch "in Spring 2006." Throw us a bone here Sony! [Thanks, The1 and ChronoZaga]
