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Take a tour with us through IndieCade at E3
We're not very good at lying, so when we say "A Mother's Inferno was an absolutely terrifying indie game," we mean we played it alone, at night, on a big-screen TV, and we just about peed our pants no less than seven times. Seriously, we haven't slept soundly in weeks. Not all of the games at IndieCade's E3 exhibition were psychedelic horror fests; some of them were eccentric, rich platformers, such as Arcen Games' A Valley Without Wind. And a few were downright happy, such as Steve Swink's Scale. Check out a few of our stand-out IndieCade titles in a guided tour right up there.
Withings WiFi scale syncs weight with BodyMedia site, won't let you hide from the truth
Are you using a Withings WiFi Body Scale to monitor your weight-loss efforts? Are you also using a BodyMedia FIT Armband to track your activity and calories burned? Get ready for a body-stat explosion, because now you can pair the two devices to streamline all that info on your progress. Instead of manually entering your weight into the BodyMedia activity manager, just step on the Withings scale and it will be imported into your BodyMedia online dashboard via WiFi. That's all well and good, but it reminds us an awful lot of Fitbit, which sells a less-expensive body scale that integrates with the company's wearable fitness trackers. The full Withings / BodyMedia press release is after the break, but shouldn't you be out running or something?
PSA: Fitbit Aria WiFi scale available now for $130
It's been three months since Fitbit got into the WiFi scale game, but until now Withings has remained pretty much the only option for weight watchers who actually intend to buy one. Now, though, the Fitbit Aria is finally shipping and, just like Fitbit said it would, it costs $130. That's potentially not a bad deal, seeing as how it matches the $160 Withings scale in a few key areas: it tracks weight, BMI and body fat percentage, gives you the option of tweeting your poundage, and can recognize up to eight different users. Like Fitbit, too, it allows you to access your data through a website, or an iOS / Android app. Of course, the main thing the Aria has that Withings doesn't is a fitness monitor to go with it. The Aria is designed to work with the company's Fitbit trackers, which log physical activity, calories burned, stairs climbed and, if you're diligent about data entry, the various meals you've consumed. Since all that information lives online in an alphabet soup of healthiness, it might paint a more complete picture of how fit you are. Then again, you'd have to commit to wearing the Fitbit day in and day out. And, you know, pay $100 for it. Your call.
Pathfinder Online goes time-traveling in latest dev blog
According to the venerable Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, time is an illusion, and lunchtime doubly so. MMO time is perhaps even more illusory, and that's the exact topic of today's Pathfinder Online dev diary. It's always tricky deciding on the ratio of real-world to in-game time. On the one hand, if time moves too quickly, it can be immersion-breaking; on the other hand, if time moves too slowly, it can lend a sense of stagnance, especially if other gameplay mechanics rely on the day/night cycle (such as mobs that only come out at night). In light of this, Goblinworks has decided on a 4:1 game-to-earth-time ratio. This means that four in-game minutes will pass in the span of one real-world minute, one in-game day will pass in the span of six real-world hours, and so forth. This will also influence the rate of travel within the game. The team is operating under the assumption that the average human moves at three miles per hour. In-game hexes are about three-quarters of a mile from edge-to-edge, which means that it would take a real person about 15 minutes to traverse one hex. When you take into account the game's chronological dilation, though, the same journey will take an in-game character less than four minutes (assuming he can travel in a straight line), which the team says passes a basic "sanity test when considering the travel times required to cross the zones in other MMOs." The full dev blog is chock-full of even more information than we can cram into this article, including details on how different variables (such as mounts, magic, and difficult terrain) will affect travel time and the perceived scale of the world, so if you're in the mood to have your brain addled by MMO chronomancy, head on over and give it a read.
Fitbit's Aria WiFi scale tracks weight, BMI and body fat percentage (hands-on)
We might never know the untold number of people who bought Withings' WiFi scale for tweeting their daily weigh-ins, but it must have been an impressive enough figure, as Fitbit just announced something very similar. The Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale tracks weight, BMI and body fat percentage, only instead of sending those nuggets to Twitter, it all goes straight to Fitbit's own site. For people who have never bought any of the company's products, this website will understandably be a revelation, but in fact it's the same place where Fitbit Ultra owners go to see how many calories they've burned. Even if you're a newcomer, the website happens to be quite engaging, though we suspect you'll get the most out of it if you also have a Fitbit tracker to tally your hours spent on the Stairmaster. In any case, we got some hands-on time tonight (sorry, feet-on jokes are lame), and we've got hands-on shots below to prove it.
Withings intros WiFi-connected baby scale so you can tell your friends oh, how they've grown (hands-on)
Withings put itself on the map with its WiFi-connected scale, and though it recently took a detour into blood pressure readings, it's now returning to what it does best: tallying the weight of sweet, vulnerable, crying humans. The Smart Baby Scale is exactly what it sounds like -- a scale designed specifically for infants and toddlers -- and like its predecessor, it organizes all its data in charts that you can read on a PC or iOS device. The scale comes with a baby basket for infants, which you can remove once your little bambino outgrows it. According to the company, the weighing area was specifically designed to be just large enough for babies, but small enough that grown-ups likely won't be able to weigh packages, watermelons and other heavyweight items that might break the scale. Look for it in the second quarter of this year for $179 -- a twenty-dollar premium over the adult version. Check our hands-on after the break. Mat Smith contributed to this report.
PlanetSide 2's scale dwarfs Battlefield, Call of Duty franchises
Does it strike anyone else as particularly fortuitous that Sony Online Entertainment chose the week of Battlefield 3's release to let a bit more PlanetSide 2 info slip through its tightly clenched marketing fist? Regardless of the timing, today's article in the new issue of PC Gamer will likely help the three-faction juggernaut gain some more momentum. SOE creative director Matt Higby is featured heavily in the PC Gamer piece, which intimates that PlanetSide 2's battles will dwarf those of the much-loved Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises. "You're going to be fighting in battles sometimes when it's 200 people fighting against 30 people," Higby explains. "Because there's only 30 people defending that base and then suddenly 200 people log in from the other group and go do it." This is a far cry from the 64-player limit on Battlefield 3's PC version, and PlanetSide 2 will also offer huge maps that measure eight square kilometers as well as weapon ranges up to a full kilometer. Oh, and did we mention the persistent gameplay elements? [Thanks to PlanetSide Universe for the tip!]
Brando's USB optical mouse doubles as a digital scale, for when you really need it
That shady character on the corner just sold you a plastic skull keychain with fiery orange eyes. He assured you it weighed 25 grams, but how do you know you're not being ripped off? Fortunately, Brando has come out with a USB optical mouse that has a built-in digital scale, designed, apparently, for this precise situation. Just lift up the cover, calibrate the reader and weigh away. Pencils, lint, small animals -- the list of measurable items is endless, as long as your goods don't exceed 500 grams. To get the good times rolling, hit the source link, where you can grab one for $22.
Withings WiFi Body Scale enters the living room on Panasonic VIERA Connect TVs
Have you recently considered a Withings WiFi Body Scale only to be dismayed by its inability to display your weight on your living room TV? Well, today's your lucky day (for some of you, at least), as the company has just announced that a Withings app is now available for Panasonic VIERA Connect-enabled TVs, which will let you access your complete Health Dashboard from the comfort of your couch, or recliner as the case may be. Full press release is after the break.
Evigroup debuts Windows-based SmartPaddle tablet
It hasn't been all that long since France's Evigroup upgraded its "Paddle" tablet the Paddle Pro, but it's now already back with another model: the SmartPaddle. This one packs the same Atom N450 processor as before, along with an 11.6-inch capacitive screen, 2GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, WiFI and 3G connectivity, and Windows 7 for an OS -- plus a Microsoft Arc keyboard, apparently. You'll also get the same head-tracking capabilities seen on the Paddle Pro, as well as a new 3D interface for Windows dubbed "Scale," which promises to make things a bit more tablet-friendly. Head on past the break for a video, and look for the tablet itself to set you back a hefty €1,290 (or about $1,820). [Thanks, WMax]
Road Tested: The Withings Scale, an Apple accessory you can stand on
In the Apple accessory ecosystem, there are thousands of different items for the Mac, iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Out of that huge world, I can think of only one accessory that you can actually stand on -- The Withings Connected Body Scale (US$159.00). I've had the pleasure of using one of these internet-connected scales for about a year now, and I find it to be a help in my daily battle between being a foodie and trying to maintain a decent weight. Although the Withings Scale can be used with any computer, I like to think of it as an Apple accessory, since I can use my Mac, iPhone, and iPad in various ways to check my diet progress. Withings provides a free iOS app (WiScale) that gives you password-protected access to your weight information, or you can visit the main Withings website to view the same data on your free account. The scale measures and calculates your weight, fat mass, and BMI (Body Mass Index), and then it transmits that information to the Withings servers via a Wi-Fi connection to your network. Within a very short amount of time, that information can either be accessed privately via a variety of methods or can be sent to the world via Facebook, Twitter, or a blog widget. %Gallery-102184%
BodyTrace rolls out GSM-enabled eScale
Sure, a WiFi-equipped scale may be good enough for most people -- since, you know, you're likely to keep your scale in your house -- but it looks like those not satisfied do now have another option in the form of BodyTrace's new GSM-enabled eScale. Of course, the big advantage here is ease of setup rather than portability, since you'll be able to automatically (and privately) upload your weight to the BodyTrace website without having to first mess with WiFi settings and whatnot. Somewhat surprisingly, the eScale is also actually cheaper than something like Withings' WiFi scale, with it running just $59.99 including a year of service -- or, alternatively, $9.99 a month with a $9.99 up-front setup fee (which also includes the scale).
Evigroup Paddle shows up in manufacturer-provided picture gallery
Man, we've been talking about the JooJoo so much lately, you must be sick to death of that thing. Just to balance things out, here's a look at the first functional production units of Evigroup's Paddle tablet. Running on a good old fashioned Atom CPU, this promises Windows 7's limitless functionality (and battery strain) plus an extra-special 3D interface called Scale. It's curious, therefore, not to see a single screenshot featuring said UI. We're treated to vanilla Windows 7 throughout, suggesting that maybe somebody woke up to the fact that the processor inside this machine wasn't exactly designed for heavy lifting and the Scale idea was mercifully shelved. Either way, this 10-incher doesn't look all that shabby at all and the gallery at the source is well worth a quick perusal. We've got one more pic of this upstanding French gentleman after the break.
GDC 2010: Ngmoco's Neil Young on how freemium will change the App Store world
On the third day of GDC 2010, Ngmoco's Neil Young took the stage in one of the largest rooms at the conference to talk about what his company had "unlearned" in its time in the App Store. Ngmoco has become a large and polarizing figure in the world of App Store development -- after starting out with a big investment from the iFund, it's moved quickly to become one of the biggest iPhone-only developers, and after starting out with a few premium titles like the very successful Rolando, have recently made waves with its "freemium" business model. Young talked about the company's history so far, and went in-depth on Ngmoco's plan for ruling the App Store and why he believes it's the "most significant shift and opportunity for [game developers] since the birth of this business." We've summarized Young's long address in this post. It was pretty incredible -- not only did Young lay out his idea of a clear plan for building and developing a large portfolio of very profitable App Store titles "at scale" (the company plans to release twenty new freemium products on the iPhone in the near future, as well as six titles on the iPad), but he made it very clear that he fervently believes that freemium and the model he's structured is the future of the video game business.
EviGroup's Paddle is the more advanced, more expensive Pad (video)
Remember the eviGroup Pad, the 10-inch tablet with 3G and a creepy looking AI slave built-in? We won't blame you if you forgot it, but maybe its more advanced cousin will be more memorable. If anything its name will be: Paddle. It's the same basic design as the Pad, a 10-inch keyboard-free tablet with netbook internals, but this one gets a swankier LED-backlit multitouch display along with SSD storage -- though a paltry 32GB max on flash is hardly an upgrade over the 320GB you can get on platters. Also new is an optional WiFi antenna to boost range and a new layer over Windows 7 called Scale that looks a little like being trapped on the inside of a paddlewheel of content (video below). How much would you pay for such decidedly evolutionary steps? For eviGroup's sake hopefully your number is somewhere around €699 ($945), because that's the MSRP when it starts shipping this summer -- a rather steep increase over the (already pricey) €500 Pad.
Video conveys scale of EVE Online ships
One of the common gripes we seem to hear about EVE Online is that some gamers can't get used to the idea of a ship being their avatar. In truth, whatever ship you're flying isn't really intended to be your avatar. You're the pilot floating in a fluid-filled capsule within, your mind interfaced with the vessel you're flying and supported by a (generally doomed) crew. The whole capsuleer thing is a major aspect of the game's lore; when you pilot your ship, it's supposed to be an extension of your body and senses in many respects. Maybe that's a bit of a roleplay leap of faith but it seems to work for most players. Still, the fact remains that any time you're seeing a ship in the game you're not seeing an actual human avatar anywhere in or around it. (At least not until Incarna brings avatars into EVE Online.) This means that a sense of the enormity of these ships is, unfortunately, lost. That is, until now. Our friend hi7ch from the Biomassed blog pointed us in the direction of some video footage captured in Garry's Mod, showing the scale of various EVE ships in relation to the sizes of people and high rises. Even the tiniest frigates in the game are actually quite large, as YouTube user TakeBackTheWorld shows us. If you'd like to check this out we've got a video embed for you after the jump.
Rihanna kitchen scale features iPod dock, Heavy D's scale plays vinyl
If you haven't yet invested in an iPod dock for the kitchen, the kids at ADE (a German company that manufactures cooking equipment for commercial and home use) have something right up your alley. The Rihanna kitchen scale features an iPod dock, an LCD display, and a 2 watt speaker that sits demurely beneath glass weighing area. This bad boy will handle up to 11 pounds (graduated in .04 ounce steps). Look for it soon-ish for around $105. And no, it has nothing to do with the popular recording artist of the same name.
Switched On: Where the Withings are
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
