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'90s web portal Lycos returns to sell its patents
Long before Google and eons ahead of Bing, Lycos was the Internet's search engine. In fact, the company was one of the first to implement spidered web indexing. And while Lycos hasn't made many headlines lately, the company still maintains an impressive portfolio of technology patents. Its patents are wide-ranging enough that Google already got into trouble over old Lycos tech back in 2012 before winning its case on an appeal last year. On Wednesday, the company announced that it will be offering a selection of that collection for sale as Lycos prepares to roll out a number of physical products in the coming weeks.
'Lego Dimensions' will include 'Portal', Doctor Who and Homer Simpson
If the combined might of Batman and Gandalf wasn't enough to intrigue you, how about throwing in a Timelord (with a Scottish accent)? More details of the Skylanders-baiting Lego Dimensions game have been gleaned from a building instruction sheet for its Back To The Future set, with a catalog of level packs (read: figures and accessories) we're going to see alongside the game itself. As well as Doctor Who, expect to see a Portal 2 pack, as well as Jurassic World, The Simpsons and Scooby-Doo. You can also expect multiple figures from Lego's own brick-based franchises like Ninjago as well more characters from Lord of the Rings -- these will be part of "fun packs", likely to cost less than the aforementioned full-blown level add-ons. And if it sounds like a lot, remember: we haven't even seen the DC comics sets yet.
'Portal' turning into a game of hyperdimensional pinball
Developer Valve legendarily has a hard time counting to "3" but that doesn't mean getting your hands on some new Portal action is too far out of reach. It just might not be in a place you'd expect. The long-running Zen Pinball series is taking a Newell-blessed trip to the test chambers with the "Aperture Science Heuristic Portal Pinball Device" table. As you might expect, there are plenty of nods to the series, with GLaDOS passive aggressively taunting while Chell jumps through the eponymous ingresses and co-op robots ATLAS and P-Body handling multi-ball duties. It's $2.99 for consoles, Mac and PC and $1.99 on mobile come May 25th.
First-person puzzler Magnetic: Cage Closed is like Portal, cubed
Guru Games isn't afraid of having their recently-announced game, Magnetic: Cage Closed compared to Portal. In fact, that's where it started: a school project designed as an homage to both Valve's famous, meme-producing first-person puzzler and lesser-known horror/suspense film, Cube. Magnetic takes place in an alternate history version of the 1960s, where inmates sentenced to death can be sold for scientific testing. Such is your fate, as you are a prisoner charged with testing the D27 Magnetic Propulsion Device – or, in simpler terms, a magnet gun.
Magnetic: Cage Closed entering dark portal in March
Swedish developer Guru Games announced a new first-person puzzle game this week, Magnetic: Cage Closed. Slated to launch in March for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Magnetic imprisons players in a dark labyrinth with a magnet gun, solving environmental puzzles to progress through the industrial facility. The game's announcement trailer gives strong Portal vibes, showing multiple wall and floor switches being activated with the toss of a heavy metal cube. Magnetic: Cage Closed will launch at $14.95 with a special edition slated to cost $19.95. It will be published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment and will be playable at PAX South this weekend. Guru Games' other project in development is the Oculus Rift-supporting, first-person horror game Medusa's Labyrinth. The developer canceled its Kickstarter project for the game in November after it came to a "standstill." It drummed up 55,805 SEK ($6,824) in support, far short of Guru Games' 2,500,000 SEK ($350,000 USD) goal. Guru Games discussed its failed crowdfunding campaign in a blog, acknowledging that it wanted to time the campaign with the Scandinavian launch of Kickstarter despite spending two weeks "creating a prototype, a card house of a game," before putting "it out there for all to see." [Image: Guru Games]
The 8-bit Time Machine takes game music back to 1985
Modern game soundtracks are nice thanks to their full orchestras and high-definition sound, and chiptune music can be a fun trip down Nostalgia Lane. While it may seem like you'd have to choose one or the other, you can have your audio-flavored cake and eat it too thanks to "The 8-bit Time Machine," a 10-track album from Italian film composer Giovanni Rotondo that seeks to give listeners 8-bit versions of modern game soundtracks, albeit with a few modern tweaks. Featuring 8-bit interpretations of themes from the likes of Destiny, Super Mario Galaxy, Battlefield 1942, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Watch Dogs as well as two original tracks, the album is currently gathering backers on crowdfunding site indiegogo. As of writing, the campaign has $1,033 raised of its $1,000 goal, with a $1,500 stretch goal to add four tracks. Rotondo is planning to release the album via iTunes, Google Play, Amazon mp3, Pandora and Spotify in January 2015. [Image: Giovanni Rotondo]
Engadget Daily: The Tesla D, Netflix teams up with Adam Sandler, and more!
Need a little more Adam Sandler in your life? Lucky for you, Netflix just landed four exclusive films with the comedy star. But that's not all we have on deck -- read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Is this wrist-worn smartphone on Indiegogo a hoax or a fever dream?
One downside of Indiegogo's lax attitude to projects is that there's no requirement for a prototype or any proof that the device being pitched could even exist. In fact, the site is so laissez-faire, that a creator could probably promise a hoverboard powered by unicorn tears, and the only limit to its success would be human credulity. In unrelated news, Arubixs has taken to Indiegogo to ask for $300,000 of funding for Portal, a flexible, bendable smartphone that can be worn on your forearm like Leela's Wristlojackimator - with a watch strap holding it in place at either end.
Engadget Daily: the future of Xbox One, a graveyard of Boeing 747s and more!
Today, we investigate the future of the Xbox One, visit a graveyard of the world's most prolific jumbo jets, round up our favorite laptops for school and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
You can carry a privacy-minded wireless hotspot in your pocket
Devices like the Safeplug can deter companies and governments from snooping on your devices at home, but they're not much good when you're on the road. That's where the PORTAL (Personal Onion Router To Assure Liberty) project comes into play. Load the customized firmware on to certain travel hotspots (some TP-Link models and their clones) and you can maintain strong privacy anywhere you have internet access, without using special software; think of it as an anti-surveillance tool in your pocket. It not only puts you on the Tor anonymity network that spies hate so much, but supports connection masking add-ons that prevent your Tor data from being blocked. You can visit China without worrying that you'll have to use an insecure, heavily censored connection just to get online.
Rise and shine, Half-Life 2, on Nvidia Shield
Half-Life 2 crowbarred itself into Portal's launch party on Nvidia Shield, and both games are out now for the Android-based console. Nvidia, who handled the ports, confirmed to Joystiq the Android versions are currently only available on Shield. According to Nvidia, the Shield ports of Valve's revered shooter and puzzler offer "the full PC versions natively on Android." While the company's $200 system can stream PC games, the two Valve adventures are downloaded to the device and played locally. Half-Life 2 and Portal are available via Google Play, each priced $10. [Image: Nvidia]
Portal warps to Nvidia Shield next week
Valve's Portal will debut for the Android-powered Nvidia Shield portable console next week, an Nvidia representative told Joystiq. Priced at $9.99, the portable Portal will launch via Google Play on May 12. The game supports multiple Android devices, but is optimized for Nvidia's hardware and control configuration. Players also have the option of streaming gameplay from the console to a connected Windows PC. [Image: Valve]
Far Cry 2's Clint Hocking, Portal's Kim Swift join Amazon Game Studios
Portal Co-Creator Kim Swift and Far Cry 2 Lead Designer Clint Hocking have joined Amazon Game Studios. Hocking made the switch in February, according to his LinkedIn profile, following his departure from Valve near the end of 2013. Swift was previously creative director of Airight Games, which launched Soul Fjord exclusively on Ouya in January. Likewise, her profile on LinkedIn now notes her new position at Amazon as Senior Designer. The news follows Amazon's announcement of its Fire TV media streaming device, which is is on sale today for $99. The Fire TV's controller can be purchased separately for $40, and while games on the Android-based machine can support third-party Bluetooth controllers, gaming was deemed a "bonus" feature of the device. Amazon founded the in-house development studio in August 2012 and purchased Killer Instinct developer Double Helix in February. [Image: Clint Hocking]
Portal to find a companion in Android-based handheld, Nvidia Shield [Update]
Popular first-person puzzle-shooter Portal is coming to Nvidia's Android-based handheld system, Shield. Nvidia is handling the adaptation, said to be a full port of the PC version of the game, with the blessing of Valve. The Nvidia Shield launched in late July 2013 and our review of the system deemed it an "expensive novelty." Nvidia upped the system's PC streaming functions to 1080p and added button-mapping options in December. While it is unclear whether Portal will make its way to the Google Play store for use on more Android devices, all signs point to its exclusivity on the Nvidia Shield. We've contacted Nvidia to clarify that point, and will update as we learn more. Update: Nvidia informed Joystiq that Portal is a "native Android game," and will be sold on the Google Play store for use on other Android devices. [Image: Valve]
Portal comes to NVIDIA's Shield as an exclusive Android port (updated)
You won't have to stick to a PC or TV to play Valve's iconic games in the future. The developer is teaming up with NVIDIA to bring the original Portal to the Shield handheld -- in other words, Portal is coming to Android. The two haven't said just when the space-defying puzzle title will be available on the Shield, although it unfortunately sounds like other Android devices may be out of luck. We've reached out to see if there's a possibility of a wider release. Still, it's good to see Valve dip its toes in the mobile gaming waters, unlike certain companies. And hey -- it'll be as good an excuse as any to get reacquainted with your Companion Cube. Update: An NVIDIA spokesperson says that the company isn't discussing "additional devices and/or device requirements at this time."
Portal board game coming to enrich your aperture in Q4 2014
A Polygon report on the Portal board game by Valve and Cryptozoic claims that the Valve-licensed adaptation should hit shelves sometime late this year. The game is still in development and thus lacks a final title, but for now it's being called "Portal: Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game," which honestly isn't too bad. Really rolls off the tongue. Valve, we may not be experienced board game designers or publishers or ... you, but you can totally trust us on that one. Gameplay in P:UCAG (seriously, super smooth, even in acronym form) is mostly competitive: Two to four players place Aperture test subjects into various testing environments, trying to kill off either their opponents' pawns or their own. The only time players cooperate is when they're teaming up to defeat another, more powerful player. Hey, if Chell and GLaDOS can put their differences aside long enough to work together, surely board game players won't have to resort to pumping the game room full of deadly neurotoxin, right? ... Right? [Image: Cryptozoic]
Creators of Portal: Survive! turn to Kickstarter for Portal webseries
Colin and Connor McGuire, the brotherly duo behind the superb Portal: Survive! fan film are back in the Aperture Science testing labs, cooking up a new Portal-based live-action webseries. Revolutionary advances in the field of science don't come cheap though, so the brothers are asking for $15,000 on Kickstarter to get the series, dubbed Secrets of Aperture, off the ground. Worried the fundraising efforts will get shut down quicker than an Aperture scientist's lungs when filled with deadly neurotoxin? Don't be - Valve's video policy encourages such use of their properties. Secrets of Aperture will have five episodes at minimum funding, though stretch goals add more content. At $20,000, the McGuire brothers will add a series of vlogs, hosted by characters from the Portal universe. Every additional $15,000 beyond that will result in another episode in the series, up to a total of eight. The series will be free to view when it goes live, but backers get access to special behind-the-scenes featurettes and a DVD version that will only be available via the Kickstarter campaign. Serious Portal enthusiasts can chip in $3,000 to get a full-size replica portal gun or companion cube prop. No cake though. You know why. [Image: Colin and Connor McGuire]
Japanese Walking Dead, Witcher publisher Cyber Front dissolves
Cyber Front, the Japanese publisher of Telltale's The Walking Dead, Valve's Portal series and CD Projekt's The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has been dissolved by parent company Kaga Electronics. According to a Gamasutra translation of a statement posted by the company on its website, Cyber Front was subject to a change in management in March of this year. Since that time, the company struggled to rebuild, and on December 19, the decision was made to close shop. Cyber Front recently also published Lab Zero's Skullgirls, which has had a string of bad luck lately, though it will be re-emerging on XBLA and the PSN in January as Skullgirls Encore.
Arcane Brilliance: Fun and frivolity for mages
Every other week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. Stacey Landry is the resident mage here, bender of space and time, conjurer of delicious confectioneries and expert at dressing well while setting things on fire. I know that some of you who read this column may not be full-time mages. Some of you may have mage alts. Some of you are warlocks - actually an alarming number of you are warlocks, I think that you secretly like us. That's okay, you could always make a mage and be eight billion times more awesome. We'll wait. That's not what I'm here to talk about today, though. I know that sometimes as a DPS player it can become easy to get caught up in numbers. Best in slot gear, logs, damage done - all of that. I'm not saying that doing damage isn't fun. It is ridiculous, enemy annihilating fun. But there's more to life as a mage than that. In the spirit of the holidays, I'd like to discuss some of those more lighthearted things. They should apply to long time mages and dabblers alike, unless otherwise noted.
Live-action Portal fan film explores the birth of GLaDOS
GLaDOS is widely considered one of gaming's finest antagonists, but like all malevolent robots she too was once a child - A brutal, sadistic child with no sympathy for terrified scientists. That's the basic premise behind Portal: Survive!, a new live-action fan film which explores the violent early moments of GLaDOS. Despite being an amateur production, Portal: Survive! proves surprisingly well-crafted. Colin and Connor McGuire, the duo behind the short, claim that the total budget for their project was less than $500. The claustrophic interiors you see in the vignette are almost certainly a compromise made for monetary reasons, but the film's creators did an excellent job of making these limitations work toward the short's advantage. Instead of feeling cheap, these small sets lend an appropriate level of tension to the rise of GLaDOS.
