Showing posts with label In The News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label In The News. Show all posts

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Always Online Xbox?

 
Imagine the surprise.  Not long after writing about Sim City's always online train wreck, this article on The Escapist catches my attention.  Could this be possible?  An always online console?

Now, before breaking out the torches in pitchforks: the information comes from an unconfirmed source.  Supposedly, it's someone who had access to the SDK for Durango (the next Xbox), with no other information but that.

The SDK makes a few stipulations for those who want to develop for Durango.  One, that the console will always be online.  Two, Kinect will be required. Three, all games must run from an installation on the hard drive.

The first requirement only hints at the possibility of an always online Xbox, it certainly does not confirm it.  Many are reading it that way, though, and it isn't ruled out either.  Only official word from Microsoft could put an end to the speculation.

Original Escapist Article

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

In The News: AI Designes an Entire Video Game


Procedural generation is nothing new in games.  Minecraft uses AI to generate the game world for the player to mess around in, and games such as Left 4 Dead use AI to place enemies.  Both of these systems follow certain parameters and work from there.  What if you could develop an entire game from scratch using this model?

Friday, March 2, 2012

In The News: New Smithsonian Exhibit to Feature Video Games


Are video games an art form?  Well, the Smithsonian seems to think so.  On March 16, the museum will open a new exhibit focusing on the growth of video games as an art form, where they’ve been, and where they are now.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

In The News: California Spends $1.8 Million Fighting Violent Games


As it turns out, going against the freedom of speech can have a pretty hefty price tag.  For those of you who are unaware, California put a law in place back in 2005 preventing the sale of "violent" video games to minors.  Since then, a legal battle has been raging over whether or not the law is constitutional from a First Amendment perspective.  After being rejected by a number of lower courts, the law came before the Supreme Court last year.  In the end, it was struck down by the highest court in the land.

Monday, February 20, 2012

In The News: Improve Your Eyesight by Shooting Foreigners


A recent article on The Escapist website offers some scientific evidence that video games may actually be good for your eyesight in certain situations.  Of course, this goes against much long-held wisdom that staring at a screen for hours on end is bad for your eyes.