Posts tagged Games
How To Watch Major League Baseball Games Online
Apr 2nd
For baseball fans, it’s an exciting time of year. For those who prefer to stream games online, however, the anticipation can be tinged with a bit of frustration. That’s because baseball games are still easiest to find on traditional cable or satellite TV.
Fortunately for cord cutters, there are some options when it comes to tuning in online, some of them more, shall we say, up to legal snuff than others.
First and foremost, there’s MLB.tv. That’s the official subscription streaming service of Major League Baseball in the U.S. For $20 per month, fans can live stream games in high definition from their browser with DVR-style control. For $25 per month, they can get access from iOS devices, Apple TV, Roku, Playstation 3, XBox 360 and more than 300 other devices.
For fans fanatic enough to throw $130 a year at a multi-device subscription service, MLB.tv looks like the way the go. But there’s a catch — and it’s a big one.
Hey! I Paid $130 And Can’t Watch The Home Team?
Because cable companies and broadcast networks have a way of ruining things, MLB.tv only includes out-of-market games. That means that if I’m in Philadelphia, I can’t stream the Phillies game from any of the MLB apps, because Comcast SportsNet is paying big bucks for the exclusive rights to those games.
MLB, in turn, wants to preserve that relationship by ensuring high-as-can-be ratings. As is so often the case, this arrangement works beautifully for the sports league and service providers, but sucks for viewers.
One way to thwart this home team blackout is by using a VPN service like WiTopia, VyperVPN or StrongVPN to trick MLB into thinking you’re located elsewhere. It might technically be dishonest, but it is, so far as I can tell, perfectly legal.
A less legally straightforward option would be to tune into pirated streams from shady third party sites. Sites like firstrowsports.eu and vipbox.tv are neither the best designed or safest looking sites in the world, but for desperate fans who want to tune into games without paying, they certainly offer the goods. Sites that offer pirated streams typically do so via links to Flash-based video streams or require users to download a desktop app — at one’s own risk, of course.
Alternatively, some users prefer to use a Slingbox to remotely tune into games using their home’s pay television service or broadcast hookup.
Lead photo courtesy of Wikipedia
View full post on ReadWrite
How To Watch Baseball Games Online
Apr 2nd
For baseball fans, it’s an exciting time of year. For those who prefer to stream games online, however, the anticipation can be tinged with a bit of frustration. That’s because baseball games are still easiest to find on traditional cable or satellite TV.
Fortunately for cord cutters, there are some options when it comes to tuning in online, some of them more, shall we say, up to legal snuff than others.
First and foremost, there’s MLB.tv. That’s the official subscription streaming service of Major League Baseball in the U.S. For $20 per month, fans can live stream games in high definition from their browser with DVR-style control. For $25 per month, they can get access from iOS devices, Apple TV, Roku, Playstation 3, XBox 360 and more than 300 other devices.
For fans fanatic enough to throw $130 a year at a multi-device subscription service, MLB.tv looks like the way the go. But there’s a catch — and it’s a big one.
Hey! I Paid $130 And Can’t Watch The Home Team?
Because cable companies and broadcast networks have a way of ruining things, MLB.tv only includes out-of-market games. That means that if I’m in Philadelphia, I can’t stream the Phillies game from any of the MLB apps, because Comcast SportsNet is paying big bucks for the exclusive rights to those games.
MLB, in turn, wants to preserve that relationship by ensuring high-as-can-be ratings. As is so often the case, this arrangement works beautifully for the sports league and service providers, but sucks for viewers.
One way to thwart this home team blackout is by using a VPN service like WiTopia, VyperVPN or StrongVPN to trick MLB into thinking you’re located elsewhere. It might technically be dishonest, but it is, so far as I can tell, perfectly legal.
A less legally straightforward option would be to tune into pirated streams from shady third party sites. Sites like firstrowsports.eu and vipbox.tv are neither the best designed or safest looking sites in the world, but for desperate fans who want to tune into games without paying, they certainly offer the goods. Sites that offer pirated streams typically do so via links to Flash-based video streams or require users to download a desktop app — at one’s own risk, of course.
Alternatively, some users prefer to use a Slingbox to remotely tune into games using their home’s pay television service or broadcast hookup.
Lead photo courtesy of Wikipedia
View full post on ReadWrite
How Mind-Controlled Games Work – And Why It’s Way, Way Bigger Than That
Jan 10th
While major hardware makers are busy squabbling over “4K” vs “Ultra HD”, the future is quietly creeping in around the edges. A future with implications in the real world – big ones. Really big ones. Think using crowd-sourced mind control to change the color of Niagara Falls and the CN Tower big. Crowd-funded and completely hackable – by definition the exact opposite of gadgets that today’s bloated, out-of-touch companies crank out – projects like the Muse headband are about to crash into technology as we know it with meteoric force.
Meet The Muse – And Your Brain Waves
Most people laud the Muse, crafted by InteraXon, as a “mind-controlled” game. But that sells it short – and then some. The device is a stylish, sturdy headband that measure the patterns of electrical activity in the brain – electrical signals are divided into “bands” based on their frequency.
“This Muse headband has four clinical-grade EEG sensors,” says Michael Apollo, InteraXon’s Director of Applied Mind Science. “What they do is measure the electrical signal and the signature of your brain. With that we know that through interpreting those signals, we can determine certain states that you’re in. We can determine when you’re in a focused, attentive state, or when you’re not. Or when you’re in an actively engaged mind, for example analyzing or maybe overanalyzing… and also looking at it at your level of relaxation too.”
The Muse measures two of the better understood frequency tiers: alpha waves (8–12 Hz), associated with relaxation and restfulness, and beta waves (12–30 Hz), which correlate with alert or attentive mental states. “This sensor [monitors] the pre-frontal cortex and your occipital region,” says Apollo. According to InteraXon, “brains of people in relaxed states create gentle, slow-moving alpha waves, while those engaged in intense concentration generate quick, jagged beta waves.”
The Muse and devices like it might seem like they’ve traveled here from the future, but EEG has actually been around as a scientific tool for studying brain activity in humans and animals for almost 100 years. Though simple, it remains clinically relevant for diagnosis in conditions like epilepsy and sleep disorders. But InteraXon wants to empower people to take the reins of these electrical peaks and troughs. In doing so, they can gently steer the brain through these quantifiable mental states, which for most are solely a subjective, qualitative experience – a feeling we have about ourselves.
Mind-On With Mind Control
I happened across InteraXon’s booth when its inflated dome full of blissed-out looking show-goers caught my eye. I was instantly intrigued. A few minutes into chatting up Michael Apollo, InteraXon’s Director of Applied Mind Science, it was evident that the Muse is anything but pseudoscience. The Muse, available widely for consumers in mid-2013 and retailing at a reasonable $175, is the marriage of electrical sensors in a wearable (even chic) package with some clever data visualizations – the “game” – cooked up by InteraXon’s excitable interdisciplinary team. The games and exercises will be packaged into the Muse’s companion app, which was responsive and fun, in our time with the prototype. The app will track all of the data the Muse collects and beam it to the cloud, making these patterns trackable over time.
The Muse booth was never short on fascinated onlookers, and I was happy to get a chance to hop in the billowy, oddly serene bubble pitched here at the back of the South Hall. Once inside, I was rigged up with a Muse headband, which wrapped comfortably around my forehead and tucked behind my ears. It required a bit of fidgeting, the Muse didn’t like my hair getting in the way of its conductance or my borderline freakishly small ears, but then we were off and running. Seated in a low-slung chair in what felt like a gamer lounge designed by Apple, I was handed an iPhone running the headset’s companion app and instructed to watch the TV screen in front of me.
Moving The Heaven And The Earth
In the first exercise, a sun an a moon appeared on opposite sides of the screen. My job was to merge them. And with no controller to speak of, that meant getting my brain to cooperate – easier said than done. The faster I could concentrate and arrive at an attentive, beta wave-rich state, the faster the sun and moon would overlap. I tried a few quick tricks to rein in my thoughts with little luck, like repeating a line from a poem I’d just read in my head over and over. The sun and moon didn’t budge, so I started counting every time one of the animated wavy lines between the two orbs hit a precise spot on the screen. The heavens moved, literally – seconds later, the sun and moon had overlapped into a virtual eclipse.
In another game, my brainwaves powered an auditory feedback system. When I was chilled out, the beat slowed to a pleasant, peaceful set of sounds. If I let my attention wander – to the cameraman pointing his lens at me just outside the dome, for instance – a thudding drumbeat galloped into my ears. This exercise encouraged breath control, a major focus in the mindfulness and meditation practices that the Muse’s creators are clearly influenced by.
It’s Not A Game – It’s Data Visualization
These tasks are a game, in a way, but more so they’re an exercise. Rather than controlling the sun and moon or the drum beat with your thoughts, you’re actually controlling your thoughts themselves, which are in turn interpreted with the Muse’s sensory flourishes. The game is just a clever way to show you what your brain’s alpha and beta waves are up to, but it’s a fascinating representation of realtime bio-feedback – all streaming right out of your cortex over bluetooth.
The most striking thing about wearing the Muse is watching as your subjective, internal mental experience – the kind of thing you just feel in the basement of your brain – as it’s interpreted and articulated visually. Having this kind of quantified feedback makes you truly feel like the master of your own mind – and that was just from my 20 minutes with the headset on.
The Future Of The Future
So what’s the point? Well, it isn’t just to move the sun and moon together – though that’s a side-effect of the point. A device like the Muse is all about personal feedback and tracking. Attention, a traditionally hard to pin down construct in the neuroscience community, is also infamously tough for most of us to wrestle into submission. Our minds stray and suddenly we’ve wasted 10 minutes, eyes glazed over, clicking Like on Facebook.
The vast power of our own minds is leaking out through these kind of attentional holes that we can’t quite plug up or quantify. And in the digital era, humans might be even worse at actually relaxing than we are at paying full attention to things – and we’re already pretty bad at that. Pathological multitaskers, we can hardly sit still and direct our mind toward the kind of cognitive breaks that research proves not only boost productivity, but increase crucial skills like memory retention.
But EEG-powered monitors like the Muse aren’t just about gimmicky (but very cool) tricks like flying helicopters with our thoughts. Think of the applications. Therapists and mental health practitioners can measure their patients’ progress on quantifiable goals, all affordably. Depression and anxiety, the two most pervasive mental disorders today, are scientifically proven to yield to treatment that focuses on breaking bad cognitive habits, so-called negative “automatic thoughts”.
An affordable device developed by an interdisciplinary team has some distinct advantages, even for the medical community. “One thing is portability,” says Erica Dixon, member of American University’s Center for Behavioral Neuroscience lab. “Something that’s really cool about these things is that if you can get a laptop, a jump drive and a headband, you can take it anywhere. Think about Doctors Without Borders – if they can even do half of what a traditional medical device could do, that’s still really amazing.”
In the workplace, imagine working in efficient bursts when you know your brain is focused rather than spreading your attention in a thin layer over a whole eight-hour shift. And that’s just the start. Later this year, when developers get their hands on the Muse’s open development kit and the little wonder headband becomes commercially available, we hope to see all sorts of cool apps and hacks spring up.
Updating Your Brain’s Firmware
According to Apollo, the idea is that a device like the Muse will actually train us to make our brains more efficient when we’re not wearing the device by literally reprogramming the brain. “We’re using the most scientifically validated brain training protocols. We’ve run in-house studies – in the last one, within eight weeks we had people’s brains change in structure and function – they’re seeing the world through different eyes.” When the brain is the limit, the possibilities are truly endless. Welcome to the data of you – this is your quantified self.
Just put on your headband and look straight ahead.
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Do Violent Video Games Really Cause Violent Behavior?
Dec 31st
After the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT, some commentators and – notably – the National Rifle Association (NRA) remarked that video games played a role in a “culture of violence” and detachment that can ease the path to violent behavior. This, in turn, has given new life to the debate about the role of media violence – particularly, violent video games – on real-world aggression. It’s a serious topic, so ReadWrite thought it was important to to recap the latest on the discussion and see where scholarly studies and popular opinion fall.
Understanding The Numbers
We all know the guy who plays Call of Duty eight hours a day, then goes home to a world of puppies and rainbows. We’ve also heard of the kid who plays a game for an hour or two, then goes on a shooting spree. There are exceptions to any rule, and if we’re going to find real answers, we need to look at trends and averages, not statistical outliers.
It’s also important to remember that even if there is a link between violent games and aggressive behavior, that does not imply causality. Violent criminals may well choose violent games, but tens of millions of gamers play those games every week, and the vast majority are law-abiding, normal citizens.
At the same time, it might be shortsighted to ignore such links. According to a recent publication by Iowa State University professor Dr. Craig Anderson, “Correlational studies are routinely used in modern science to test theories that are inherently causal. Whole scientific fields are based on correlational data (e.g., astronomy). Well conducted correlational studies provide opportunities for theory falsification. They allow examination of serious acts of aggression that would be unethical to study in experimental contexts. They allow for statistical controls of plausible alternative explanations.” In other words, short of placing a subject in a dangerous situation, correlation is often the best evidence available, and it can be useful debunking other theories.
The State Of Research
At the moment, studies are all over the map, largely because just about every study of video game violence uses different definitions of the terms. The Legend of Zelda, Grand Theft Auto and Missile Command are all violent games in their own ways, but they’re not at all similar. Likewise, throwing a fake roundhouse kick at your buddy, checking a box describing “elevated feelings of aggression,” and setting fire to a building are all extremely different violent expressions. Unfortunately, current studies span both spectrums, so anyone with a vested interest can easily find a study to support their position. Worse, this makes meaningnful meta-analysis across multiple studies is effectively impossible. 80% of studies agreeing with a certain position doesn’t mean much if half of those studies were poorly structured and the other half were measuring something completely different.
5 Emerging Truths
With that said, there seem to be five theories gaining traction. Each has its naysayers, of course, but they have real data to back them up:
1. At-Risk Populations Are Vulnerable To Violent Stimuli
One popular theory holds that some people are more vulnerable to the effects of gaming violence than others. This resonates with our gut instincts, and provides a happy, reasonable-sounding middle ground for both sides. In the Review of General Psychology, Drs. Patrick and Charlotte Markey outline the three most predictive traits for vulnerability:
- high neuroticism
- low agreeableness
- low conscientiousness
This doesn’t mean that games cause violent behavior. It suggests that violent games are among the many influences that can be linked to violent behaviors. We’ve seen copycat murders modeled after television newscasts, Mark David Chapman’s obsession with The Catcher in the Rye, and thousands of years of killings based on stories from holy works. Violence and rebellion in media have always been lightning rods for the mentally ill, and video games are a popular medium for the young male demographic most likely to commit violent acts.
The upshot? Young people who are emotionally upset, detached or combative, and impulsive should probably not be exposed to violent games. Unfortunately, that describes a fair portion of teenagers, so use discretion applying the rule to your own kids.
2. Video Game violence Is Not A Significant Danger To The General Population
Even the most damning studies don’t claim that video games will create violent monsters of your children. They can’t. If that were true, we’d have blood running in the streets. For the majority of “normal” gamers, the worst claims seem to be short-term aggression without substantial consequence, and a general lessening of communication and empathy skills – but again, without specific consequences attached.
The majority of research on the subject seems to indicate a fairly tenuous link between in-game and real-world violence. For example, two studies conducted by Texas A&M and the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, respectively, found no conclusive evidence. “Structural equation modeling suggested that family violence and innate aggression as predictors of violent crime were a better fit to the data than was exposure to video game violence.”
In other words, a predisposition to violence or a violent homelife is very likely a predictor of future violent behavior, while video games are not.
3. Fantasy Violence Is Less Dangerous
Killing Falatacot Raiders won’t make you murder humans, though we’re not sure about Hitman. Some people have pointed to studies showing that even E-rated games can lead to imitation (e.g., children punching or kicking) for a period following play, but it appears that transference of aggression from aliens, orcs, or Pokemon to humans is minimal, at worst.
4. Violent Games Do Increase Simulation
Just like watching action movies or sprinting down a street, violent video games (and other competitive or action games) increase stimulation and adrenaline production, which can produce short-term disruptions and enhanced moods. Some studies claim short-term affects can last long enough to disrupt sleep when played before bedtime, while others saw certain effects lingering up to 24 hours. At the very least, the “amp up” factor is real – it’s kind of the point. For parents of children who may be particularly affected by such things (e.g., those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD), this can be a concern.
5. Content Ratings Matter
People on both sides of the issue agree that content ratings are important. Even absent a long-term impact on violent behavior, graphic scenes of violence, nudity and other adult situations can impact developing minds. Video game access should be restricted like access to any other type of media.
The Easy Answer
Anyone who wants the government to step in and make the call on what to do about video game violence will be sorely disappointed. There simply isn’t enough evidence linking video games and violence to even start that discussion, particularly when films and images of far more graphic violence are readily accessible.
The answer to the problem seems to be the same as the answer to concerns about TV rotting your kid’s brain in the 1960s: personal responsibility. If you’re a parent, pay attention to the ratings, research the content of games online before you buy them, and above all, know your child’s sensitivities and limitations. If you’re in doubt about the effect of a game or other piece of media, say no.
That won’t end the debate, of course. Truly troubled teens often don’t have the parental supervision they need to limit their gaming or other media consumption. But it’s unclear exactly what the right strategy would be to deal with that issue.
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Top 10 Games For iPhone & Android In 2012
Dec 26th
Games are perhaps the most important category of mobile apps. Good games sell smartphones and tablets, keep grownups entertained and small children quiet. Dominating the app-store charts, a good game can make mobile developers millions of dollars, or at least keep them in business to take a stab another stab at greatness.
Another positive factor for mobile games in 2012 is that most major independent and major game studios now release games on both iOS and Android – and sometimes other platforms as well. This means smartphone users can get the best games no matter which leading mobile platform they use.
Apple and Google have shared their leading iOS and Android games for 2012. ReadWrite’s Top 10 highlights some of those choices, along with a few picks of our own:
10. Angry Birds Star Wars
Angry Birds Star Wars is perhaps the best entry yet in the Angry Birds franchise. Especially if you like Star Wars. Rovio’s latest hit brings Luke, Leia, Han Solo, X-Wings, the Millenium Falcon and even the Death Star to Angry Birds in a fascinating mix of space-based physics and fun new features. Ever wanted to use a lightsaber to on one of those pesky piggies? Now is your chance.
9. Triple Town
Mobile games have grown increasingly sophisticated, to the point where games that used to live only on consoles like the Xbox and Playstation are now rendered beautifully on your smartphone. But some of the best mobile games exist purely for smartphones, designed for the casual gamer looking to kill some time waiting for the train. The surprisingly addictive Triple Town is that kind of game. This puzzle game gives you a plot of land where you combine items like trees and bushes to create houses until you have built the best town possible before the angry bears clog up your map. Triple Town is deceptively simple and tons of fun.
8. Naught
Naught is one of the most artistic and dynamic games to hit mobile devices since Contre Jour captivated users in 2011. This shadowy game uses gravity to explore an underground world full of levels that twist and turn to the point where you can never quite figure out what is up and what is down. Naught also employs the gyroscope on your mobile device to allow you to control your character by manipulating your device to let gravity pull you further down the rabbit hole.
7. SHADOWGUN: Deadzone
Some of the best games of the personal computer era were first-person shooters. Games like Doom featured original point-of-view of the action and extreme violence. In the mobile era, first-person shooters are becoming more sophisticated, easier to control, employ better graphics and… remain incredibly violent. SHADOWGUN: Deadzone is one of the best in this category for 2012. It is interesting and fun, a little cheesy and in your face. Put it all together and it’s one of the best free games you will find on a mobile device.
6. Waking Mars
Apple chose Waking Mars as its runner up for Game of the Year in 2012. It might have won best game from Apple if it was exclusive to iOS, but this dynamic game can also be found on Android. Life has been discovered in caves on the planet Mars: Your job is to help bring the sleeping planet back to life, spelunking around Martian caves on Mars on your jetpack, trying to survive and help the Red Planet realize its potential to support life.
5. Walking Dead: The Game
Free - iOS
Choose you own adventure meets the world of comic books meets zombies meets your iPad. Walking Dead: The Game is based on Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead comics and is not your classic shoot-the-zombie-hordes type of video game. Walking Dead is a psychological mindtwist told in comic book form where you attempt to save a woman named Clementine from the zombie apocalypse in five gripping episodes. The app itself is free to download, but you have to buy new episodes through in-app purchases. (Note, game trailer contains adult language. )
4. The Bard’s Tale
Wenches, ale and gold… but this is not your classic hero-based role playing game. The anti-hero Bard takes the easy route in this irreverent RPG on iOS and Android. Lyrical and witty, The Bard’s Tale is the best game of its category in 2012. Save the world? Or search for coin and cleavage? You can probably guess what the Bard is going to choose.
3. Horn
Only Zynga would have the audacity to charge $6.99 for a mobile game on iOS and Android. Yet Zynga pulled off something very cool in Horn, a third-person point-of-view adventure game where you are a blacksmith’s apprentice who wakes to find his village full of monsters. Turns out, those monsters are the blacksmith’s fellow townspeople, transformed by some weird curse. Battle your way through with your decidedly odd sidekick in a game that is both an epic adventure and role-playing-game (RPG), all in one.
2. Ingress
Free (Invite Only) - Android
One of the most intriguing games to hit any mobile devices this year, Ingress is still only in invite-only mode but. When reviewing Ingress, I thought that the game, from Google’s Niantic Labs, had the potential to truly define what a mobile game could be. It employs augmented/alternate reality, location and social features through a unique massive-multiplayer setting: the real world. Hack portals, control Exotic Matter, battle for the Enlightenment or the Resistance. Ingress can be mildly addictive (and somewhat dangerous) once you get your hands on an invite.
1. The Room
$1.99 - iOS
Apple’s App Store editors crowned The Room as Game of the Year for 2012. And deservedly so. The Room is beautiful, simple, easy to control and complex, all at the same time. This puzzle game deserves to top any best apps of the year list. The Room is one of those apps that will long be imitated by aspiring game developers.
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Apple’s App Store Is Getting Punked By A Mysterious Maker Of Crude Games, And We Don’t Know How They’re Doing It
Dec 13th
There’s something weird going on in Apple’s App Store.
Last week, I called attention to Dental Surgery, an unbelievably bizarre iPad app, which had somehow risen to become one of the most popular free apps in the store. Within hours, it was gone. This week, a new app called Nose Surgery found its way in the top ten, apparently from the same developer using a different name. What’s the deal?
To its credit, Nose Surgery is considerably more playable and less spammy-looking than Dental Surgery was. The latter was apparently yanked by Apple due to trademark infringement because, as one diligent ReadWrite commenter pointed out, the game borrowed names and likenesses from a show on Nick at Nite. Nose Surgery doesn’t appear to steal anyone’s intellectual property, but it’s still pretty weird.
Like Dental Surgery and other games produced by this developer (who goes by various names in the App Store), Nose Surgery is very crudely designed with cheap-looking graphics and simplistic, often odd gameplay. And like Dental Surgery, Nose Surgery is loaded with negative, one-star reviews from users, most of whom are baffled by the game.
What’s most striking about these games is not just that they’re crappy and sort of strange. It’s that they’ve managed to occupy the App Store’s list of top ten free apps, a coveted achievement that most app developers only dream of. It’s an honor currently shared with the likes of YouTube, Angry Birds, Skype and Google Earth. Sure, there are plenty of games toward the top of the charts, some of which are pretty banal, but nothing quite as crummy or bizarre as these surgery simulation apps.
When I first came across Dental Surgery, I thought, “Oh, Gawker or some tech blog clearly wrote about how bizarre this is. That’s why it’s the third most popular free app for iPad.” That wasn’t the case. In fact, other than my story last week, none of these crude, weird games have gotten any press coverage. Something else is up.
Gaming The App Store For Fun and Profit
One way or another, these guys are gaming the system. Not unlike Web search engines, app store rankings can be influenced using everything from white hat optimization techniques to sketchy paid services that artificially inflate downloads and positive reviews. That’s nothing new. In fact, it’s been going on long and aggressively enough that Apple had to explicitly decry the practice earlier this year, threatening to the revoke developer program memberships of anybody caught doing it.
With the launch of iOS 6, Apple introduced a number of new measures designed to thwart spammers and make these ranking manipulation techniques less effective. The names of in-app purchases, for example, now weigh less in App Store searches, eliminating a common source of spammy tactics. Apple has also decreased the value of an app’s total number of downloads, making it less fruitful to utilize third party schemes that try to drive rankings by driving bogus installs.
So who’s the developer behind Nose Surgery and Dental Surgery? It’s hard to tell. Apple lists the developer as Florene Mitchell (it used to be Maura Thompson), and the “App Support” button links to a MyLife.com profile for Ms. Mitchell who appears to be a 78-year-old woman from Wilson, North Carolina.
It’s theoretically possible that people are downloading Nose Surgery out of some morbid curiosity. Maybe there’s some contingent of iPad-toting cosmetic surgeons-in-training who love slicing up nostrils on a touch screen, as a fun form of pseudo-educational preparation. I highly doubt it, though. Getting an app into the top ten is no small feat to accomplish once, let alone twice.
Something is definitely up.
Have you noticed anything fishy in the iOS App Store lately? Let us know in the comments.
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Israeli Defense Force Responds To Criticism Of Games On Its War Blog
Nov 16th
The Israeli Defense Force spokespeople behind the IDF Blog, the @IDFSpokesperson Twitter feed, and the rest of the Operation Pillar of Defense social media campaign were quick and forthcoming in response to my inquiries about the light-hearted game that took over the gravely serious blog yesterday. I included some of the IDF comments in yesterday’s story but I want to look more closely at the rest of their messages.
The IDF spokesperson who responded to me explained that “[t]he game ‘IDF Ranks’ was conceived and launched four months ago … as part of our efforts to create a interactive community to encourage social interaction generated by the IDF social networks online.” Basically, it gives you badges and ranks for actively using and sharing the stuff on the blog. Not very fun, but not a big deal.
“The IDF blog itself was launched in 2009 and is not a ‘war blog,’ but rather a site meant to encourage transparency and provide breaking news regarding events in the area,” the IDF says.
Surely that was the original intent, but that changed on Thursday when it became a live blog for an ongoing attack. And again, just to be clear to critics, I did not find that practice inherently problematic. I found it interesting and mostly successful.
“During Operation Pillar of Defense we provide our readers with news updates and operational information regarding IDF actions. In other times, though, the blog has hosted varying content, from reports about routine activities to more lighthearted personal stories. It is this content that ‘IDF Ranks’ was meant to promote.”
Yes, I’m sure it was, but the IDF turned the game off at the outset of Operation Pillar of Defense, and then it turned the game back on. When asked why this happened, the IDF offered this explanation:
“Over the past two days the blog has experienced technical difficulties due to high traffic, and ‘IDF Ranks’ was temporarily taken down to make necessary adjustments to our systems.”
I was on top of the live-blog story very early, and I never saw a trace of any game components until 36 hours or so after the campaign began. It’s plausible that the IDF took it down for traffic reasons at a very low level of traffic, but, if I may editorialize just a little, I’m suspicious of the answer.
I followed up to ask why the game was turned back on and got this response.
“We turned it on because it is an integral part of the blog and has been for four months. After the site was briefly down because of the spike in traffic, we isolated it as a potential factor and, once we rectified the technical difficulties, brought it back up again.”
If you say so. Whether this is the entire explanation or not, we can certainly conclude that running a fun game on a live blog about serious military action wasn’t troubling to the decision-makers at the IDF.
This is the meat of the IDF’s explanation:
“In no way is ‘IDF Ranks’ meant to gamify Operation Pillar of Defense or any military actions during the operation. We embarked on the operation for serious reasons – Israeli civilians have been the target of rocket fire for over a decade – and we continue to see it with the utmost seriousness.”
I take that response very seriously. But I’m genuinely surprised that the decision to turn IDF Ranks back on did not strike anyone as unserious. As I’ve tried repeatedly to make clear, I thought the initial social media campaign was quite seriously executed. It was well done. It captivated the media and steered the conversation. Then the game knocked it off the rails.
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1991 News Report on Video Games Shows Not Much Has Changed
Nov 16th
A 1991 news report about parents angry over Super Nintendo shows little has changed in 20 years.
For one thing, the video, recently unearthed by Reddit, shows that many parents have always been confused and upset by the popular electronic medium. They’re still worried about their kids playing too much today.
Parents also still complain about the high costs of consoles and games. Back in 1991, a Super Nintendo cost $200, which according to various inflation measuring websites, amounts to $400 today. Pretty pricey. While it’s true the relative price of video game consoles has gone down – a Nintendo Wii is now less than $100, Microsoft’s Xbox costs $200 and Sony’s PS3 for $300 - journalists are still debating whether or not they cost too much.
Sales pitches claiming “Better pictures, sound and adventures” are still being used today; Activision is touting its latest blockbuster Call of Duty: Black Ops II, released Monday, as having the “best graphics [of] any other game.” Seems like we hear that for every game, every year, right?
Last but not least, journalists still don’t know jack about video games. The 1991 news report said, “Video games are hotter than ever this season!” And the media seems to report the same thing every year – starting well before 1991.
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3 Best Fun-Loving Fall Games: WoW: Mists of Pandaria, Borderlands 2, Tokyo Jungle
Oct 23rd
Summer is over, and new video games are springing forth at long last. But in an industry happy to rake in cash with some tried-and-trite formulas, “new” doesn’t exactly translate into “fun” or “worth sixty bucks.”
Whether you’re a hard-core gamer or just a homebody looking for a hobby more engaging than Court TV, a truly great game can be an immersive way to sneak in a little play in the cooler months. Ditch uninspired sequels and games Gorilla-glued to genre conventions with this starter set of new fall titles that stay true to the good, (mostly) clean fun that gaming is all about.
An Unhinged-Yet-Refined Shooter: Borderlands 2
On paper, nothing about Borderlands 2 should be noteworthy. It’s a first-person shooter, and a sequel at that. But like its predecessor, Borderlands 2 embraces the addictive playability of its genre, opting to focus on fun rather than dressing things up with an overdone, overwrought war-zone setting.
The result is a game that doesn’t take itself one bit seriously — and that’s refreshing. Borderlands 2 is about killing lots (and lots) of things, and stockpiling lots and lots guns. Simple as that.
The sequel smooths out the rough patches of its predecessor and mixes in an array of open-world environments to explore, all populated by a cast of hilariously deranged locals, of course. With genuinely funny dialogue and a cartoony cel-shaded look that’s a refreshing departure from the genre’s penchant for drab hyperrealism, Borderlands 2 is as addictive as it is earnest.
The Best Open-World RPG — WoW: Mists of Pandaria
If you’ve never waded into World of Warcraft, the advent of a new expansion pack is the perfect time to dive in. The huge open-world online role-playing game has 10 million subscribers for a reason, and Mists of Pandaria improves on its successful formula — no small feat for a game that’s been around since 2004.
Mists of Pandaria is the most playful expansion to the game to date, adding a playable race of epicurean pandas (this race has its origins in an April Fool’s joke), a pokemon-esque game within a game, and a brand new class of martial-arts masters. There’s never a dull moment in WoW — it doesn’t hurt that developer Blizzard religiously irons out the kinks in weekly updates — and Mists of Pandaria is just another excellent entry point to a game truly worthy of its immense hype.
Surviving The Apocalypse As A Beagle: Tokyo Jungle
Tokyo Jungle’s premise is absolutely ridiculous, and that’s half the charm of a game that you might be powerless to resist. An absurd departure from the zombie-crowded genre of survival gaming, Tokyo Jungle sets you loose in a post-apocalyptic version of the Japanese metropolis. But rather than roaming as some scrappy, gun-toting human you’re playing a critter … or rather, as a lot of critters.
You’ll be everything from a golden retriever to a velociraptor while fighting to stay alive in a dinosaur-eat-dog world. Naturally, it’s easier said than done, requiring some fun strategizing to make the most of the beast you inhabit.
The game isn’t perfect but it’s an enjoyable, challenging gaming holiday from yet another zombie slog.
These games thrive on not taking themselves too seriously.
Have another fun, irreverent fall game? Let me know in the comments and maybe we’ll take it for a spin.
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[Video] 3 Great Tastes That Taste Great Together: Video Games + Football + Marching Band
Oct 8th
It’s beautiful and rare when the worlds of computer games, band geekdom and college football can all get along.
The Ohio State marching band peformed a fairly amazing tribute to computer games between halves on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, including an eye-popping rendition of Epona (Legend of Zelda) galloping across the field. Other games referenced include Space Invaders, Pokemon, Tetris, Mario Bros., Halo and Pacman.
Oh, yeah. There was a game, too. The Buckeyes kicked the snot out of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 63-38.
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