penguins
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Swimming like a penguin is a different kind of virtual reality
This week in "People Looking Awkward in VR tech" features me in a headset and giant, fluffy, penguin wings. Part of a VR showcase touching on the potential applications of what everyone's talking about, this is an elaborate penguin robot controller. A penguin bot, located miles away, floating in an aquarium tank, will flap its fins when you do, so once you get the rhythm down, you can swim like a penguin. (And make a robot do the same -- if connectivity holds.)
Take a break and watch penguins dance with the new Vita
If you can't spare 15 seconds to watch some technicolored penguins dance around with the new Vita-2000, you need to seriously think about the direction your life has gone in. Look at their little beaky faces.
Double, double your excitement (and XP) with Aion's winter festival
You know what's annoying? When people break out Christmas songs after the holidays. I mean, who wants to hear cheerful songs about winter when we can just wallow in the atmosphere of grey slush and sub-zero days in peace? Stupid cheer, get out of here! We want to drink deeply of the well of seasonal affective disorder! You know what's not annoying? When developers recognize how dull the first couple months of the year are, holiday-wise, and invent their own cause for celebration! Aion is breaking out all the stops with this year's Atreian Winter Festival, and that includes insatiably cheerful penguins and scantily clad avatars. For the next three weekends (starting today), players will enjoy double XP and drops in Aion from Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST until Monday at the same time. There's also an "adorable" -- their words -- Daru fur costume that you can purchase in the game store for $10 and flaunt to all your friends at the lodge after a long day on the slopes.
The Daily Grind: What race would you add to Free Realms?
Humans and Pixies -- or faeries if you like -- of both genders are currently available in SOE's upcoming Free Realms. Some of us have already jokingly suggested what we'd want in future races, but it seemed like a reasonable enough question to ask those interested in playing the game what they would want to see.Certainly there are all sorts of other things that could be added to Free Realms, most of them being new jobs. And while those are without a doubt coming, we'll leave that topic for another day and another grind.So what's it gonna be dear Massively readers? More fantasy ala Dwarves and Elves, or would you rather race karts, raise pets, cook food and fight Robgoblins (yes, that is what they're called) as a robotic penguin person? Speaking of Robgoblins, there's always playing as baddies like them or trolls and such, too!So many choices.
One Shots: Love in the frozen north
This One Shots has got love, happiness and penguins - it's the feel-good screenshot of the year! No, I'm not talking about a still image from Happy Feet; it's today's World of Warcraft One Shots sent in to us by Johanis. Admittedly, I've been sitting on this one for a little while, just for Valentine's day. Wondering why? Read the note that came along with it: Here's a shot sent in by Johanis taken while he was visiting areas around Moa'ki Harbor in Northrend of Wrath of the Lich King. I've flown by these two penguins several times and the two are always together. They do not wander around and stare out at the ice cold waters. Could they be in love? I often stop by now that I can fly in Northrend and visit them. They often look around and stretch their necks but they will not move away from each other. It's very sweet! See? Had to keep that for today.Have you found something adorably cute in your favorite MMO? Perhaps you've noticed a couple of NPCs who never stray far from each other, too. Whatever your reason, we want your screenshots! Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the game they're from. %Gallery-9798%
TGS 08: Let's write an article about Let's Tap
If you've ever drummed your fingers on a table, whether in a physical display of impatience (where is that waiter?) or an attempt to capture an elusive beat, you'll probably be able to understand where Let's Tap is coming from. Specifically, it's coming from Sonic creator Yuji Naka's post-Sega studio, Prope, and hopes to win gamers (and their moms) over through sheer simplicity. Let's Face It: games don't get much simpler than tapping on a cardboard box.Evaluated as a typical Wii game, Let's Tap does little to distance itself from the cavalcade of effervescent minigames swarming the system. But as an experiment in using the Wiimote differently -- that is, to not use it at all -- it certainly warrants further attention. As it requires the Wii controller to be placed on a flat surface, face down and buttons obscured, Let's Tap is a game we can see ourselves introducing to those wracked by a morbid fear of buttons and flailing.%Gallery-33341%
Let's Tap, Sonic creator Naka's 'penguin' game, coming Dec. 2008
At last, Sega has finally revealed Let's Tap for Wii, Sonic creator Yuji Naka's game teased as, "World first, the game that even penguins can play." How exactly a penguin does play it is still not explicitly stated, although our marine biologist friends tell us that penguins are prone to waddle, so this inverted Wii remote laying on the ground may indicate that we will be, erm, tapping on our remote somehow.As for the game itself, the available screenshots vary greatly and provide no basis for interpretation. There is a countdown on the official website that expires in seven days. What we do know, according to the info box in the lower right corner: the genre is "tap action," it supports one to four (to infinity) players and will release this December for 5,040 yen (approx. US $48).%Gallery-33341%
Penguin noncombat pets appear in the beta
Well, folks, it looks like we're definitely getting our wish. After incessant begging, peevish requests, heart-rending pleas, and no small amount of outright nagging on the part of...actually, I think everyone in the game has asked for this at one point or another, but never mind. People in the beta have started getting penguin pets!A much earlier data-mined image gave us a glimpse of what we could only assume were penguin noncombat pets, but reader Alassiel has written in to confirm that two of her characters in the beta have now received them in the mail. You can see Alassiel's screenshots of her Death Knight getting hers here and here. Elizabeth Wachowski and Zach Yonzon braved a constantly-crashing beta server to get more information and pictures for us. It looks like the pet, named "Chilly," is currently being mailed to players in the beta as a gift for switching to a Blizzard account. And yes, it is pretty much the cutest thing ever, which I suspect is an effort to compensate for Northrend being a continent full of animated corpses. As Alassiel's gotten them on at least two characters so far, I assume it's being sent to all active toons on a Blizzard account. We're not sure if that's going to remain the only way to get Chilly, but if you're in the beta and have a Blizzard account (or want to switch to one -- it's free), don't forget to check your mailbox!
Disgaea's the limit: Prinny-starring platformer dated for Japan
Look, we honestly don't care what you think about the Disgaea franchise and its peculiar, thoroughly unhinged take on role playing. All we know is that if the description of its upcoming spin-off -- a side-scrolling platformer starring a tenacious, twirling penguin who, by the way, occasionally pilots an enormous tank -- doesn't do anything for you, then we'd like to ask you to leave. Leave the internet.The internet is also where you'll find the game's official website, along with word that Prinny: Is It Okay If I Am The Main Character? is due to arrive on Japanese PSPs on November 20th. If you have a "friend" with a Japanese PlayStation Store account, you'll also want to check out the demo as of September 29th.
New pets from the Wrath beta
Our favorite Hunter (although BRK comes close), Mania, has had some help from the Wrath beta, and has now updated the great Petopia with all the new pets seen in Northrend so far. No penguins yet, but there are some great new bears in there, and some awesome wolves (is it just me, or are wolves underrated as pets?). Unfortunately, there are no new families up yet, but Mania says updates are coming, and of course Wrath is still in beta anyway.She's also got a Beta pet FAQ up, with everything you'd ever want to know about being a Hunter in the beta, from pet talents to "exotic pets" (the real ones, not the ones BRK dreamed up for us).It's going to be an exciting time to be a Hunter in Northrend. Pet versatility makes Hunters one of the most interesting classes in the game, and it looks like Blizzard is set to open it up wide in the expansion.
Definitely penguin pets!
Who doesn't love penguins? Well, definitely not us over here at WoW Insider. During one Insider show, we clamored for penguins to be the special pet to be included in the Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition. We know they haven't even announced a Collector's Edition yet, but since they've released one for most of their games -- they did it for both World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade -- there's a good chance they'll be announcing one soon.At any rate, fans of birds in tuxedos should rejoice. Tipster Josh led us to a collation of images (um, caveat clickor, as they say in Latin) that were apparently data-mined from the Wrath of the Lich King Alpha client. In it, we saw some blue dragonkin presumably from the Nexus using the same models with slightly different armor (ho-hum); some Undead versions of the Nerubians (Stratholme, anyone?) and the oversized Vrykul (interesting...); first looks at the Alliance and Horde siege machines (I want TOYS!); and -- you guessed it -- penguin pets (wahoo!). We have no idea how players will be able to get them, or even if they're obtainable as pets, but the spark of hope for pet lovers everywhere remains aflicker!
A petition for penguins in WotLK
As you may have heard, there is a serious issue awaiting us in the next expansion. Blizzard has kept us in the dark for a while, but after careful consideration, we at WoW Insider believe it's time to throw our considerable weight (we are, after all, one of the top 50 most influential blogs in the world, with all of the benefits and perks contained therein) behind what the players have asked for, time and time and time again.Yes, we're making our stance official: there definitely need to, in some way, shape or form, be penguins in Northrend. Not only would it obviously win us the Linux vote, but consider the facts: penguins are birds, they don't fly, and penguins lay eggs. Of course, there is one problem: Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are only found in Antarctic regions, which means there aren't any in the Northern parts of the world (which, in Azeroth, is right where the aptly named Northrend is). But then again, this is a world where dragons can turn into women and people can shoot fire out of their fingertips -- surely, Blizzard can stretch the science just so we can have some cute little formally-dressed birds up there.So while petitions are banned on the forums, we here at WoW Insider know the power that you, our readers, carry, and we want you to add your voice to ours. Sign the comments section below if you agree: when the Alliance and the Horde hit the shores of Northrend, we of course want to see Arthas, and we'd like to have Death Knights, and we want a floating Dalaran and Tuskarr (yes, with a bukkit quest) and Forsaken architecture. But everyone who leaves a comment on this post, Blizzard, wants, almost more than all of that other stuff, just one thing in Northrend: penguins.We want penguins. /signed.
March of the Penguin United case
We've featured these Penguin United cases twice before now, but they seemed to sell out shortly afterwards both times, so we're putting them up here for you again. Just to refresh your memory, the charmingly branded pouch has four transparent vinyl pages that can store up to 24 Nintendo DS carts, much more than your usual game storage solutions. Plus, its cuteness level is OVER NINE THOUSAND!Gear of Game has the cases listed at $10.99 each -- you'll want to pick them up quick before they run out of stock again. Put on a fancy tux and waddle past the break for more photos of the Penguin United game card collection pouch. See also: Pants, revisited
Forum post of the day: Penguins as the next playable race!
You heard me right. Penguins. And, really, how could you possibly resist rolling a penguin if you had the option? They're adorable and always so smartly dressed. Forum poster Eldrick gives us a rundown of why penguins would work in the World of Warcraft... Classified as "Humanoid"?: They stand on two feet, which is more than the Naga can do. Wear gear?: They manage fine with tuxedos; chainmail isn't much more of a stretch from there. Wield Weapons?: Okay, no thumbs could be trouble. Ride the flying creatures: I've seen Moonkin do it. Pretty much the same build. Lore: Penguins have played a prominant role as generic critters since Warcraft 3. Several WC:3 and WC:3 TFT Easter Eggs involve Penguins, including a Penguin King which offers Arthas tribute (signs of a highly organized Monarchy), as well as a mysterious clockerwerk penguin figurine which the Centaur worship in the Rexxar campaign. It is possible that the figurine was crafted by intelligent penguins and ended up washing onto Kalimdor's shores. Location: Northrend is remote enough that an entire civilization of sentient Penguins could still be hidden away from the other races. Eldrick has really thought this thing through. All that's left is for Blizzard to figure out is racial abilities (+10 frost resistance is a given) and class options (penguin hunter ftw!).
RIM exec picks up hockey club
What's a surefire sign that your company has survived scandal, moving on to become one of the predominant players in wireless communications, enterprise messaging, and hot phones with trackballs? Your CEO buys a sports franchise, that's what. In what can only be described as a proudly Canadian thing to do, Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM CEO Jim Balsillie recently scooped up the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins for a cool $175 million from previous owner Mario Lemieux and pals. Though Balsillie and the NHL sound committed to keeping the team in Pittsburgh, it seems fitting that Hamilton, Ontario -- not too far from RIM's Waterloo -- is in search of an NHL franchise itself. We'll try not to get too wrapped up in the conspiracy theories, though; Balsillie's folks back at the RIM camp make enough on-topic news without us branching into the wide world of sports.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Penguinbot makes the perfect driving companion
It's always more fun driving with a buddy than cruising around alone, but since we lack what are referred to as "social skills," there aren't that many folks willing to ride shotgun in our car or hop on the handlebars of our Segway. Enter the robotic driving companion from Pioneer, a little penguin-shaped bot being shown off at CEATEC that perches on your dashboard and seems to act as a blinking, chirping second set of eyes on the road (or a backseat driver, if you will). Unfortunately -- due to garbled machine translation -- it's nearly impossible for us to discern all the features offered by this device, but we think that its embedded camera and image recognition software allow it to remind you when the light has changed, alert you if you're swerving ("Officer, I swear I'm not drunk -- see, my robot penguin hasn't chirped at me once"), or give you a heads-up when you pass a "point of interest" (such as a ferris wheel, helpfully suggests the Impress write-up). No word yet on pricing or availability for this lively road trip partner, nor is it clear whether sporting one qualifies you for the carpool lane. Keep reading to check out the unnamed bot "in action" (i.e. sitting motionless in front of a driving simulator), and then hit the read link for a few more snaps and short video...
