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Food app Ritual is sharing users' precise workplace information
Ritual is a "social ordering" app that allows users to place an order for a meal and have it ready for pickup at a local restaurant. That's not new, but what Ritual allows is for other users to add their own food orders, or "piggyback", onto the order already in place. That way one person can head to the restaurant and bring back all the office's orders at once. Sounds fine, right? Well, there's a huge problem with all this, as Twitter user Caitlin Tran (@caitlinsays_) pointed out. People can join any company on Ritual without any sort of verification and see which floor people work on. And the default settings of the app have users sharing the address of their office and the floor on which they work, as well as sending push alerts about where they're heading to pick up a meal.
Joystiq impressions: Prototype (360/PC/PS3)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Hands_on_impressions_with_Prototype_360_PC_PS3'; After a recent demo of Sierra's Prototype, I came away feeling a little less excited for the title than when I started. I'm still anticipating its Fall, 2008 360/PC/PS3 release, assuming it ships on time. I think it could be an exciting third-person action/mystery. But I'm uncertain about if it will become a cohesive experience by then; I saw well-executed elements but I'm not sure if they will combine.And admittedly, Prototype's open-world scope is much too big to take in from a single demonstration. The fast, physical action and control look better than other games, with the player able to change fighting techniques and attacks at any moment. Developer Radical Entertainment didn't spill too much about the story, only repeating that you play an amnesiac with the ability to morph into other peoples' identities.I hope that plot can connect to the action. I think it could, especially because the character gains the memories and abilities of the identities he steals. And while the anti-hero is becoming a cliche, Radical stressed that you're not trying to save Manhattan from its plague of monsters. You're out for yourself, and the story is supposed to explain why.%Gallery-5779%
Ritual not done with SIN just yet
When developer Ritual was acquired by casual games producer MumboJumbo, we figured that SIN Episodes had gone the way of the Mexican landfill. It turns out that it may just be taking a seat next to Duke Nukem on the bench of the infinitely postponed. Fielding questions from fansite Ritualistic, Ritual co-founder Richard "Levelord" Gray reveals that while the initial episode performed decently at retail (150,000 units in sales), it wasn't enough to fully fund a second. Development on the follow-up episode was already underway but came to a halt as the well ran dry.Gray goes on to say that Ritual is still interested in returning to SIN at some point in time and that perhaps MumboJumbo's casual outlook will play a part in it.
Ritual acquired by MumboJumbo, absolved from SiN
It was announced today that Ritual Entertainment has been acquired by purveyor of casual games, MumboJumbo. The latter company describes the move as "consistent with our strategy to bring high-quality casual game content to the major platforms," citing Ritual's multi-platform development experience as a key advantage in creating a "major industry powerhouse." Interestingly, Ron Dimant started up MumboJumbo only after departing his CEO position at Ritual Entertainment in 2001.GameDaily BIZ delves into some of the repercussions of the purchase, the most obvious of which is Ritual's shift to creating casual and seemingly SiN-free titles. "If there's an opportunity to have them do something on the SiN episodes, we would look at that, but that will not be the focus of the company," explains Mark Cottam, CEO of MumboJumbo. "The combined companies will focus exclusively on casual, unless opportunities present themselves that we think are strategic from a business standpoint." Considering the muted reaction generated by the first (and apparently final) installment of SiN Episodes, continuing the franchise would likely not be considered "strategic" in the slightest. [Thanks Serban.]
SiN preloading on Steam; retail drops 5/9
The first installment of SiN Episodes, Emergence, is now available for pre-loading now on Valve's digital distribution network, Steam. Though the official May 9th release date is still over a month away, you'll be able to save 10% off of the $19.95 purchase price, and get instant access to the original SiN via Steam for a grand total of $17.95. Don't have broadband and/or think Steam is the debil's bidness? Similar to their arrangement to distribute Valve's Half-Life 2, EA will be handling the retail distribution of SiN Episodes: Emergence. Both the retail version and the downloadable version will be available on May 9th.If you're nervous about the episodic playing length and the gameplay-to-hard-earned-money ratio, you'll have to wait to read the reviews ... then again, you'll miss out on the discount and the freebie. Sneaky buggers.[Thanks to everyone that tipped us off]
SiN Episodes: Emergence goes to beta
The first installment of Ritual Entertainment's SiN Episodes has officially gone to beta, meaning the rumored March release date may be accurate. In a blog entry, lead designer Shawn Ketcherside says, "It’s official. We’re Beta. This is a very exciting time. As of Monday, we’ve shifted entirely to bug fixing and preparing to launch this thing."He also offers a nice point of view on episodic gaming: "Society is moving towards a “customized for me” sort of paradigm. Look at the popularity of iTunes, or the growing movement for a la carte cable channel selection. In more gaming relevant terms, you’ve got the phenomenal success of Steam, Xbox Live, and of course, the heavy weight precursor of customized games – Mods."With Valve's recent announcement of Half-Life 2: Episode One/Aftermath and Episode Two/AfterAftermath, the market is about to get a crash course in episodic gaming and--if gamers accept the episodic distribution model--the implications for the gaming industry could be enormous.
