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Why it's OK to suck at games
Clive Thompson over at Wired wants us to know that thrills can be experienced in defeat when it comes to certain video games. A study conducted by psychologists over in Helsinki (the same place where they produce that hair restoration formula) shows that gamers experience a measure of joy even when failing to complete an objective in a particular game. While playing Super Monkey Ball 2's bowling mini game, test subjects hooked up to biosensors elicited "positively valenced high-arousal" after rolling gutter balls. In other words, watching a trapped monkey plummet to his death is cool. Thompson validated these results by playing the game himself and experiencing the same loser high.Is it a sign of good game design when positive feedback mechanisms accompany all possible outcomes, or do these studies simply underscore our ability to laugh at ourselves in the midst of failure? The article also mentions Burnout Revenge and GTA as examples of games that provide pleasure even when you're failing to accomplish your goal. What other games succeed in this way?
Forget Wiimotes, we need beer controllers
Wired News' Lore Sjöberg considers the popularity of novelty controllers like the Guitar Hero axe and Nintendo's revolutionary console controller ("and its myriad attachments") and follows it to its logical conclusion: we need a beer controller! Well, he doesn't arrive right at beer controller. His argument evolves from action-figure controller ("Remember when you'd take two action figures and 'make them fight'"?) to brick controller ("It would be great to have a game where you take down enemies by heaving an actual brick at them. I guess it would have to be a foam brick ...") to a roadie controller ("And the controller for all this exciting work in the world of sweaty entertainment? Your trusty Leatherman, of course.") ultimately arriving at the delicious, refreshing beer controller, of which Sjöberg pines, "The controller could have a light that goes off when you're supposed to drink, a tilt sensor to make sure you're drinking, and a motion sensor to call 911 when you drop it due to the onset of alcohol poisoning."Then, and only then, would we buy the whole gaming addiction thing. Make it happen, Nintendo.[Via Boing Boing]
Clive Thompson on episodic gaming (he's in love with Alyx too)
Wired's Clive Thompson does the "episodic games are cool" thing and rounds all the usual bases: 24 and Lost are the television paradigms; episodic games are great for busy adults; Alyx is worthy of your adoration of geek lust. He writes, "There's an intimacy to episodic stories, and it's all the more intensified in a game because you literally go through hell with these folks. After Half-Life 2 and Episode One, I was pretty much in love with Alyx, one of the spunkiest and best-acted virtual characters I've ever seen."Hear hear! While Alyx played a pivotal role in HL2, she's playing alongside you in Episode One. Valve calls it "single-player co-op" and, like the paradigm of co-op multiplayer, Alyx feels like a buddy you're running through the game with. Like the lives of your favorite soap stars (or Jack Bauer, whatever) Alyx will be as important as the serialized story or the additional gameplay in convincing gamers to return for each consecutive HL2 episode. Now if they could only start getting these things out the door monthly ... weekly ... daily ...[Via collision detection]
iPizzle and other dubious iPod slang
iPods are, inarguably, a large part of our zeitgeist. It is not shocking, therefore, to find out that a whole vocabulary of slang has sprung up around everyone's favorite MP3 player/lifestyle accessory. Leander Kahney, reporting for Wired, shares with us some of the more memorable iPod vernacular including iPizzle (what the cool kids are calling iPods), podestrian, and iPlode.Not surprisingly, since I am totally not cool, I have never heard any of these phrases. Anyone out there have their own 'Pod slang? Lay it on us in the comments, brother.
Chinese workers reportedly toil in "iPod City"
In much the same way that we'd rather not think about how the Big Macs we eat were produced, we also often ignore the manner in which our favorite gadgets are manufactured, because it's not as fun listening to tunes when you consider that the person who put together your DAP could be living like an indentured servant. And according to a recent report by the UK's Daily Mail entitled "iPod City," indentured servitude might not be a bad description of the working conditions inside the city-size Chinese factories that assemble the iPod nano and Shuffle, where the employees reportedly make about $50-a-month and live in crowded dormitories as thanks for working 15-hour days. It should be noted that even though the Mail story is supposedly based on first-hand reporting, their claim of 200,000 workers at one plant has been called into question, and at least one other factory owned by the same manufacturer has been certified by the International Labor Organization as free of human rights violations. While Apple certainly isn't the only device maker to outsource labor overseas, Wired points out that the company's tacit support of possibly-questionable working conditions is all the more ironic in the wake of its Think Different campaign, which featured the socially-conscious Gandhi and Caesar Chavez, among others. Unfortunately, our own lust for the latest and greatest products only helps fuel the vicious cycle that forces companies to drive down wages and seek the cheapest possible labor, so until we find a way to break our gadget addiction, we'll all be complicit in these practices to some degree.Read- MacWorld summary of Daily Mail story [Thanks, Marc P.]Read- Wired analysis [Via Slashdot]
$40 XBL Vision camera & UNO bundle detailed by MS source along with prices & dates for other 360 accessories
Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.
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]
Steve Jobs wins the Steve Jobs award
Wired magazine announced their RAVE award winners yesterday, and not only did his Steveness win one (this would be his second) but the Wired editors decided that he deserved a category unto himself. The Steve Jobs award recognizes ' sustained excellence and creative genius.'Here's hoping I win one next year.[via Infinite Loop]
Joystiq Video: Wired Spore Event, featuring Will Wright and Robin Williams [update 3]
Last night, Randall Bennett and I had the good fortune to attend a special Wired event featuring Will Wright showing off his next masterpiece, Spore, with a wonderful guest appearance by Robin Williams. We managed to get footage of the entire event and we even scored interviews with both Wright and Williams. Thanks to everyone over at Wired for inviting us! In the interest of getting this to you as soon as possible, we've uploaded the full 40 minute, 420MB file, which you can access via this link: [link]. Please right-click and save the file locally before viewing. It's 480x360 3ivx wrapped in Quicktime and should play nicely on your video-capable iPod, should you own one. If you feel like waiting a bit and think that 420MBs is ginormous, then give us about an hour and we'll update this post with some separate chapter-sized versions of the video. Enjoy!Get the video[Huge] Get the full enchilada[Cutdown1] Get the first 10 minutes (Will Wright introducing character creation) [Cutdown2] Get the next 10. [Cutdown3] Get the following 10. [Cutdown4] Get the final 10. Update: Someone was kind enough to make a torrent: [link].
PS3 pad loses DualShock name and vibration but picks up Wii-esque motion detection and wireless connectivity
In a shocking turn of events, the PS3 controller has gone from banamerang to wireless DualShock 3, except without the DualShock name and vibration.If you take a good look at the back of the new control pad (see the close-up above), you'll notice that the DualShock 2 brand name imprinted on the old controller has now been supplanted by a row of LED lights to show which input has been set, either wirelessly or via the wired USB recharge port. Sony's now the only name in-line for PS3 controllers either on the pad or in the press releases (see "the new PS3 controller").
HDTV on BitTorrent: Soderbergh's next film
Everyone's favorite day-and-date releasing director, Steven Soderbergh recently spoke at the Tribeca Film Festival and had some sharp words for Hollywood's current distribution model as noted in Wired. What they didn't mention was that his next project, a short film for a DVD monthly, will be distributed via BitTorrent. Is he going to be able to redesign Hollywood from scratch one torrent at a time? We don't know but we'll keep our uTorrent client at the ready just in case.[Via digg]
Jobs to spend more time at Apple
Steve Jobs told shareholders this week that, in light of Disney's acquisition of Pixar, he would actually be spending more time at Apple, in part because he'll be relinquishing his CEO position at Pixar in a couple of weeks once the merger finishes. Many have been speculating that Mr. Jobs would be spending more time at Disney, but he publicly responded "that couldn't be further from the truth... It'll require less of my time than Pixar did."This should be good news for anyone concerned about Mr. Jobs' continued involvement with Apple.[via Wired]
Wired posts Apple fan art gallery
Leander Kahney, author of the successful Cult of Mac book, has posted an interesting gallery of Apple fan art at Wired. While I think I recognize some of these images from browsing the Cult of Mac book at the local bookstore, this gallery is an interesting look into just how far Apple's loyal following are willing to go to show their love for the Mac.While I'm glad to see posts like this, I have to wonder: where are the Cult of Windows books and art galleries?
Wired tours the Apple GUI
Since Apple is turning the ripe old age of 30 (a year older than yours truly, I might add) many folks in the Mac community has become nostalgic for the Mac world that was. The blog over at Wired has set up a gallery of screen shots from Macs through the ages.It is like jumping in the way back machine and getting to use obsolete technology.If you want to see more of these user interfaces you should check out the GUIGuide Book (which at the moment seems to have been brought down by Digg or Slashdot. It is worth bookmarking though).[via Digg]
Porn in HD: The IPTV killer app?
Now, it's not that our ears perk up every time someone mentions adult entertainment in high definition, oh wait, yeah they do. That said, Wired recently had an interesting piece on a company that is delivering streaming HD over your high speed internet link (it'll still take about two hours to download a movie at high def resolutions).The most interesting part of the article (yeah right) focuses on how such systems bypass the whole Blu-ray/HD-DVD squabble in getting content directly to your HDTV with no middleman. The imediasee platform they are using is intended for use with PC's and compatible set top boxes, and their content is already formatted for viewing on televisions. If digital delivery takes off, it may not matter what DVD format content providers choose, only how much hard drive space do you have.
Inside the game: La Fuga
"I just fought my way up a wind tunnel, scrambled through a ventilation duct, clambered across 40 yards of rope netting, rolled under a fence, and burrowed through a mass of grapefruit-sized plastic spheres. Now I'm facing two doors. One leads to freedom. The other to a room with something nasty in it, possibly involving torture."The author of this piece isn't playing a console or PC game--he's playing Negoné's La Fuga ('The Escape') for real. Based in Madrid, the game combines an obstacle course, puzzles and interactive storytelling to break the fourth wall, creating a real-world game that realises many video game concepts.It sounds exciting and inventive; if Spain is too far away, then the game will be coming to Manhattan next year. However, immersive gaming may prove too specialised--sometimes we like to be in the comfort of our own living rooms, knowing that ingame bruises are only temporary, with the ability to pause it all and have a cup of tea when we feel like it.[Via /.]
Ueda: ICO isn't a video game
In this interview with Wired, Fumito Ueda (the creative mind behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus) talks about the difference between ICO and "conventional" video games. It seems Ueda has tried to distance the product from the negative connotations of the term "video games"; whether that was successfully accomplished rests in the opinions of those who view games negatively.The interview also talks about some of the design decisions behind Shadow of the Colossus--it's an interesting insight into Ueda's creative processes. Update: Warning, the article contains spoilers for Shadow of the Colossus.
WoW: The Text Adventure
This Wired column takes a sideways look at WoW, re-imagining it in the form of a text adventure. It's an excellent parody of some of the gameplay mechanics we've come to know and love, but I find it interesting for other reasons too.Having managed to log over ten days of play in a MUD character in the past (my WoW habit now puts that to shame), I wonder if the addictiveness of text-based multiplayer gameplay is often underestimated by those who joined the game when graphics were the de facto standard. After all, a great deal of the social interaction in WoW is done via text, even in this age of emotes and stunning visuals--that addictive social factor was a huge part of what kept me playing the MUD, and what keeps me playing WoW.
The Jar Jar effect: "games do sci-fi best"
Clive Thompson has an essay up at Wired called, "Forget Film, Games Do Sci-Fi Best." Thompson's argument is that LucasArts' Star Wars games are better realized works of science fiction than Lucas' Star Wars prequels, a not altogether controversial claim. Thompson writes, "In the last 20 years, Lucas' vision has arguably been far better expressed in video games than in movies."Citing games like Rogue Squadron, Knights of the Old Republic, and Battlefront, he identifies the similarities that allow gaming to do sci-fi best: "Part of the fun of watching a sci-fi movie is mentally inhabiting a new world and imagining what it feels like to be inside. But now there's a medium that actually puts you in."Thompson is quick to temper his claims, saying, "Even the best 'narrative' games can't replicate the emotional undertow of a good film," though his basic point remains valid: that Lucas, specifically, is being outdone by his games. Fellow sci-fi movie maker James Cameron plans on creating an MMO that introduces players to the universe before the film comes out, so you can mentally visit somewhere you've already been.
Sex sells in Second Life
The boundary between virtual reality and the real world never ceases to bewilder, and this Wired article marvels at the amount of cold, hard cash changing hands in Second Life. Several Residents have given up their day jobs to work exclusively in this MMO, and it's a tidy earner for many others.Especially appropriate for this time of year, the Sex & Games blog points out that a large proportion of the objects being sold in SL are sexual in nature. An in-world gift would certainly be a novel approach to Valentine's Day.
