Sarcasm
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DARPA helped make a sarcasm detector, because of course it did
Researchers from the University of Central Florida worked with DARPA to create a deep learning AI capable of understanding written sarcasm with a startling degree of accuracy.
Researchers are training computers to recognize sarcasm on Twitter
Twitter contains multitudes. On any given day you'll find earnest and passionate rumination, breaking news and analysis, silly hashtag games, horribly abusive idiots spewing hate and much, much more. Another constant across the platform is sarcastic reactions to all manner of events big and small. Indeed, when you're fully ensconced in the echo chamber that is Twitter, it can sometimes be hard to tell what's real and what's not. Fortunately, some researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have our backs: they're training computers to recognize sarcasm on Twitter, and they've had some solid success so far.
The Secret Service's proposed Twitter sarcasm detector is totally going to work
Governments are often eager to watch out for online threats, but it's sometimes tough to spot the real dangers when the internet is rife with sarcasm; just witness the confusion when someone jokingly threatens to blow up an airport. For the US Secret Service, spotting humor is important enough that it has posted a request for automated Twitter monitoring software that, among other things, detects "sarcasm and false positives." In theory, officials wouldn't have to read every poor attempt at comedy just to find the few tweets from those who mean real harm.
Valentine's Day around the virtual world
Do you hear the chirping of songbirds in love? Do you see the flirtacious glance that cute Orc is giving you from across the battlefiend? Do you smell the flowers of romance in bloom all around you? If so, man, you've got it bad. Fortunately for those suffering from VDAS -- Valentine's Day Addiction Syndrome -- plenty of MMOs are on hand to provide you with a temporary fix until you get proper medication and are carted away to a professional love care facility. It may not be the biggest of holidays in the virtual world, but when love arrives in February, it cannot be denied. And who knows for you single folk? The man, woman, or one-eyed Gnome of your dreams might just stumble over you on this fine day! Read on as we sum up some of the larger Valentine's events in MMOs today.
Behind the Mask: I lost my best friend to Gigabolt
Powers in Champions Online vary widely in the eyes of the playerbase. Some powers, like Mind Lock and Arcane Vitality, remain mostly unknown, while other powers, like Regeneration and Haymaker, take center stage. Sometimes this reputation is due to a present or former imbalance like Collective Will, and sometimes it's due to an unknown combination of factors, like Roomsweeper (probably because Might is the most played powerset in the game). And sometimes, like in the case of Gigabolt, it might just be something else. Powers are balanced in CO according to a variety of mathematical factors, such as activation time, range, energy cost, and damage dealt. But the devs also try to have their powers balanced around another factor: Fun. On a 1-10 scale, most powers in Champions hover around a 3-4 on the fun scale, with the standout powers pushing up to a 5-6 and possibly as high as 7 or even 8 for good synergies between several powers. When a power gets too fun, like the Incisive Wit advantage for Kinetic Darts, the devs make sure to issue a patch to fix the imbalance. Except for Gigabolt.
Your Shape determines your shape with a camera
Ubisoft has revealed a camera-based fitness game, coming this holiday season for the Wii. Your Shape comes with a custom USB camera that plugs right into your Wii, and will use the visual input to determine whether you're slim or sloppy, and then give you a trainer-based workout designed to send you in the right direction.It's a good thing Ubisoft is being so innovative here -- the Wii fitness market is virtually untapped so far. Could a game with a casual interface designed with the promise of a more healthier lifestyle actually sell? We'll have to wait and see -- the bundle is due out sometime this year.
New World of Warcraft stein features Lich King
Remember those World of Warcraft steins you thought were way too expensive and passed on buying? There's another one. Three Point Entertainment has released a new stein, this one featuring everyone's favorite bad guy, the Lich King himself, brandishing Frostmourne and leading an army of the Undead in the way he's apt to do. We have to admit, it does look cool and all, but at $90, we'll be drinking our ale from the usual sippy-cup, thanks.And just in case you happen to be burdened with too much money in this horrendous economy, you can get a "Legendary Collection" version for $175 that's signed by the artist, is limited to only 750 steins worldwide, and includes "premium hand painting throughout." No idea why you'd want your hands painted, but if you're really spending $175 on a World of Warcraft mug, you're already nuts.The new steins start shipping in late April and May. Considering all of the bailouts lately, your house will probably have regained its value enough for you to afford one of these, right? We say go for it.
The irreverent Britishness of Warhammer Online
This blogger, being a Brit himself, is wondering whether Warhammer Online won't be the most significant (and successful) British cultural export since Monty Python. Yes, it's made by EA Mythic, but there's no denying that Britishness saturates it through and through. Hardly surprising, given that the original Warhammer wargames and roleplaying games were a product of the British gaming scene. But how is that fish-and-chips lovely-cuppa-tea flavor different from what gamers are used to? The most obvious point of contact is humor: like the aforementioned Python, the humor is unmistakeably British. All the same elements are there. For example, snotty high-class attitudes and the mockery thereof. The satirical portrayal of some of the Elves, both High and Dark, isn't a million miles from Python's Upper Class Twit of the Year, and the snide cut-glass voices of the Dark lot (and their interactions with the greenies) recall Blackadder. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Are tanks the most drama prone?
My tanking corps rocks. They really do. I'm quite happy to be their officer representative. We all play our role as the meat shield very well, rarely do we miss a shield block in our rotation or forget to pop a health stone as healers make transitions in and out of the demon realm in Kalecgos. What is interesting about any tanking corps I've been apart of is the inevitable drama that comes up.Since I've been in a few different guilds with a few different tanking corps and this drama always seems to happen and happen the same way, I have to ask: are tanks the most drama prone?It's best to define what drama actually is. Drama is any whining and moaning from anyone about things out of their control. If they complain about things in their control, well, then they just fail miserably and probably should spend some time outside to recenter themselves. For instance, a tank complaining loudly that his healer always is the first to get constructs in Gorefiend and demanding that they get a soulstone before the fight even starts, is drama. A tank complaining that they need healers X, Y, and Z, in the raid or else they won't do anything but auto-attack Illidan, is drama.A tank complaining that they deserve extra guild repair money for their expensive plate armor, is drama. And since the tank is special, they also need their own rank to let everyone know this (but it's also practical because only they should be able to withdraw 300g a night in repair money).
Gnomes or Dwarves: Which would be better to attach to a bottle rocket?
I don't know if it's just the kid in me that likes to blow things up, but I always find myself aiming to make a few explosions happen around this time of year. As I've grown older and understood more about physics, chemistry, etc., I've come to make the explosions even larger. For instance, putting a bunch of fireworks in a barrel, lightening them all on fire at the same time, and then funneling the explosion towards the ground usually has a humorous result. Humorous might be a few missing fingers, but they can be reattached. And really, who needs their middle finger for anything good? This year I'm going to try to attach things to bottle rockets, perhaps 10 to 20 all tied together in a bundle. My goal is to see how high I can make things go up in the air. It's going to be a grand ol' time. And after all, what better way to celebrate the birth of America than to blow your own little part of it up? All this talk about blowing things up has got me thinking though, which race would fit better on a rocket, and which would fly farther? Gnomes or Dwarves? Let's look at the strengths and weaknesses of both. %Poll-16438%
Totally awesome E3 games that everyone missed
Lore Sjöberg of Wired took a look at the games from his imagination this year's E3 that no-one wanted to play. In his own words, all these games contained the best mini game of all "not standing in line." So did he find any gems in his mind at E3? Here's a selection of what he imagined saw: Sandbox -- playing off the popularity of open-ended GTA style games comes Sandbox, a game that's 100% true to its genre. Sandbox exposes children to the delights of a real life sandbox, sans the real life sand. The developers told Sjöberg that they'd like to include a shovel and bucket in the final game, "but that may not be a realistic goal." Mission: Marketplace -- this game progresses the demand for downloadable content and episodic games to its climax. Mission: Marketplace's innovation is that it requires players to purchase all the content separately -- alternatively you can just plunk down $200 and watch the credits roll. We can't wait for this one. That's not all: he also discovered Pac-Man Boulevard, a game that demonstrates the continued advantages of sequels over original franchises and Casual Game: The Game, a game so casual that engaging your brain (or even possessing one) reduces your overall enjoyment. We're like, totally hyped about these completely revolutionary games, so get your arse over to Wired and read all about 'em.[Image credit: art.com]
