5 Things Video Games Do Better Than Any Other Forms of Art. Whoa, whoa -- video games are an art form now? Well, here's the thing: The first rule of art is "art is subjective," and the second rule of art is "ART IS SUBJECTIVE" (the third rule: "If this is your first day at art club, you have to art"), and thus the tiresome argument that video games aren't art is rather moot indeed. Oh, and video games are an output of drawings, writing, and music put together by skilled humans in a manner designed to entertain/enliven, so there's that, too. So with that out of the way, being on the verge of a new console generation feels like a good time to file something of a progress report on the art form in question (if only to desperately justify those 147 hours I poured into Saints Row: The Third).
So what the hell can games do that books and interpretive dance can't? #5. In a bad video game, you'll tend to refer to your onscreen character as "him" (or, rarely, "her") -- "Look at him fight that giant crab," etc. . #4. What makes a good painting? #3. Left 4 Dead 3. iPad mini is almost here: What you need to know | Digital Crave. Photo credit: 9to5Mac If you're experiencing a bit of déjà vu from the hype over a new Apple product, it's completely understandable.
After all, we just got through another iPhone launch, with an incredible amount of online buzz, industry speculation, insider info and leaked photos leading up to it. So here we go again. The rabid tech community has now turned its sights to what seems to be an imminent announcement by Apple for a smaller version of its best-selling iPad tablet. Dubbed by many as the iPad Mini, iPad Air or iPad mini (if Apple takes a page from its iPod touch, nano and shuffle line), this compact and less expensive ebook-reader-on-steroids would go up against the likes of Amazon's Kindle Fire HD, Google's Nexus 7, B&N Nook HD+ and the Kobo Vox.
While Apple hasn't commented on any of this, the following is a collection of the rumors swirling about the iPad's little brother, said to debut within a few weeks. What's the date? Photo credit: MacRumors iPad mini specs Leaked photos Cost. Fall Games Guide 2012 | Photo Gallery. The 10 hardest Xbox Achievements. They have no value in the real world (yet), but good luck telling that to the millions of gamers hopeless addicted to Microsoft's Xbox Achievements. Earning some of these digital tips of the cap can takes hours, if not days or weeks. Yet, for many, many gamers, they're an integral part of what makes the Xbox 360 such a great console. Admittedly, the thrill of seeing "Achievement Unlocked" and hearing that pleasing little chime after long hours of hunting down in-game items is often its own reward. Some Achievements, though, can test the mettle of even the most dedicated gamers, remaining just a pipe dream no matter how hard they try. "Seriously 3.0" (Gears of War 3) Kotaku calls this the toughest achievement on the Xbox 360, and they might be right.
First, you have to reach rank 100 and earn all of the game's Onyx medals (6,000 kills with each of the game's 5 weapons). "7 Day Survivor" (Dead Rising) "Bladder of Steel" (Rock Band 2) "Hard to the Core" (Dead Space 2) Yep. Happy 25th birthday, Street Fighter! (Credit: Capcom) The most famous fighter in video game history might be a little old, but it still packs a wallop. And lots of Hadoukens. The secret to its success? To Russ Frushtick, senior editor of video game site Polygon, it's all about balance.
"[The Street Fighter series] has stood the test of the time because it's both accessible and extremely strategic," he says. He's right about that. "It's a game that could take years to master," Frushtick adds. And indeed, it owes a great deal to its legions of fans. "The greatest legacy that Capcom has generated with the Street Fighter franchise is the company's unbelievable loyalty and availability to its fans," says Victor Lucas, host and executive producer of The Electric Playground. But it wasn't always such a big deal. Released in arcades in 1987, the original Street Fighter was only a marginal hit. Street Fighter II (Credit: Capcom) But it was also its own worst enemy. In 2009, however, it stormed back. Think you know Street Fighter? 17 big games you can play for free. The $60 video game isn't going away anytime soon, but that doesn't mean you have to shell out big money if you want to play a triple-A title these days.
More and more big-name games are now offering free experiences. Even better, they're being made by some of the industry's top developers with the same cutting-edge graphics engines powering pricey releases. So long as you don't fall too far down the rabbit hole of microtransactions, you can have all sorts of fun without dropping a cent. Looking to waste time, but not money? Start here. Team Fortress 2 Team Fortress 2 Valve's terrific team-based first-person shooter originally came out five years ago, but the developer reinvents it so frequently that it still feels like a new game. League of Legends League of Legends Riot Games' popular multiplayer battle arena game has been around for a few years, but has seen a big upsurge in popularity in recent months. Ghost Recon Online Planetside 2. 7 Amazing Video Games We'll Never Get to Play. Video games face the same gargantuan hurdle as every other creative medium: To get your property made, you have to first filter it through a lot of people who hate ideas almost as much as they love money.
Before you can create something truly novel, it must first survive the veritable gauntlet of assholes that is upper management. That's why we end up getting a new Tomb Raider sequel every year, even though anybody could ask the fans one simple question and be instantly presented with literally decades of blockbuster concepts. That question is: What's your brilliant, perfect, tragically nonexistent game idea? I asked the question once before, and then spent the rest of the afternoon punching the wall in furious despair that I would never get to play those games. Now, I'm asking it again, because I have the memory of a goldfish and I like pain. #7. If I'm going to put other people's game ideas out there for potential mockery and almost certain theft, it's only fitting that I go first. 10 insanely tough games. Think you're good at games? Sure you do. Who doesn't?
The only thing gamers love more than playing is bragging about their skills. If you can brag about beating all 10 of these terrors, however, you're in a league of your own. It's one thing to be able to bust out a decent score at Bejeweled or dominate a Call of Duty match, but quite another to finish this set of video gaming's most challenging releases.
BattletoadsNES, 1991 At first glance, you could be forgiven for mistaking the stars of this NES hit for a certain other group of combative, anthropomorphic amphibians who were popular around the same time. Presumably developer Rare decided the best way to differentiate their game from its Teenage Mutant inspiration was to make it eye-poppingly, controller-throwingly, brain-meltingly difficult. QWOPPC/Flash, 2008 You probably think running is easy. Demon's SoulsPS3, 2009 ContraNES, 1987 The Oregon TrailVarious, 1974-1985 The HeistiOS, 2011 Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels Famicom, 1986 Why? Hottest Girls in Games. - StumbleUpon. This $2.8 million Leica is the world’s most expensive camera | Technology News Blog. Microsoft patents pressure-sensitive Xbox controller that can remember your hands - Video Games Reviews, Cheats.
Student reveals the origins of his real-life Portal turret. Making a working turret that tracks movement and shoots at its targets is challenging enough, but Penn State University student Kevin Swanson had an extra objective for his final Advanced Mechatronics project; it had to look like a turret from Portal, the popular puzzle game/shooter from Valve. “My professor, who is obsessed with Portal, told us as a semi-joke [that he'll] only allow it if the turret looks like the Portal turret,” Swanson told GamesBeat in an exclusive interview. “I just kind of ran with it from there.” The robot uses an IP webcam to track targets and fire bullets. “The idea started with us playing with one of those USB desk turrets, and we wanted to automate it with a camera for our final project,” said Swanson.
“It’s not done yet,” Swanson told us. You can see the robot in action and learn more about how it works from Kevin’s video, posted below. UPDATED: Kevin was kind enough to send us some pictures of the development of his incredible machine. [vb_gallery id=429686] SuperUber Creates Real-Life Interactive Experiences Through Gaming. Photo by Bryan Derballa. SuperUber is an interactive design and creative technology firm based in Brazil and New York. They have a penchant for creating social experiences that come to life in the form of smart and playful interactive installations. We brought their work Super Pong, a digital mash-up of foosball and the classic video game Pong, to last year’s New York event and it was such a hit, we commissioned a brand new artwork for San Francisco. We sat down with Russ Rive, one of the firm’s founders to discuss OctoCloud’s minimalist characteristics, as well as its nuances and interactivity.
See how much fun playing with a digital slingshot can be in our behind-the-scenes video above. Photo by Bryan Derballa. Photo by Jason Henry. Five things to know about ‘Diablo III’ Diablo III (Blizzard) Releasing for the PC and Mac on May 15, Diablo III is just around the corner. Passionate fans have been waiting years for this -- it's been over a decade since Diablo II first stormed shelves -- and with midnight sale launch events occurring all over the country on Monday, there are going to be millions of red-eyed gamers dragging themselves to work Tuesday morning.
Those who don't phone in sick, that is. But why the fervor? What makes this particular action/role-playing romp such a big deal? Here are five reasons: 1. Almost 16 years ago, a considerably smaller Blizzard Entertainment (before its merger with Activision to become the world's largest game publisher) launched a new game called Diablo. That didn't stop Blizzard, however, who launched Diablo alongside Battle.net, a player-matching system allowing Diablo gamers to jump in and out of games to meet, trade, and co-operatively battle demonic forces together. 2.
If you build it, they don't always come. 3. 4. 5. Trap the Tiger. One Per Cent: Next Xbox could have a biometric controller. Jacob Aron, technology reporter (Image: US Patent Office) The controller for the next Xbox might be able to take biometric readings of your hand, according to a recent Microsoft patent. It describes a device that strongly resembles the current Xbox 360 controller, but also comes equipped with pressure sensors capable of identifying individuals or even reading their emotions. Gamers could login to their console simply by picking up the controller, thanks to a pressure-sensitive surface that reads the size of their hand and the strength of their grip then creates an identifying "pressure profile signature". That means you could pass the controller to a friend and the console will realise that a new user has taken over. Microsoft's Kinect sensor can already sign in users based on their body shape, but this new controller would let non-Kinect owners do the same.
(Image: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images) The pressure-sensitive surface could also have an impact on the actual games. Magnum Pleasure Hunt. Three tech gadgets you might be tempted to buy, but shouldn't. By Rick Broida, CNET You know the old saying: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For example, yesterday I received a PR pitch from Jabra, which is offering a $15 Amazon MP3 credit when you buy the Jabra Clipper Bluetooth stereo headset -- in your choice of four colors -- for $59.99.
Here's the funny part: there's a fifth color, black, that sells for $39.99 -- right there on the same Amazon product page. I'm no math whiz, but that plus $15 works out to less than $59.99. This got me to thinking about other "deals" that aren't. Though it's easy to be tempted by huge price cuts and/or new technologies, some products are losers at any price. I've rounded up three I recommend avoiding.1. I love wireless speakers. But AirPlay speakers? Those are among the reasons I'm sticking with Bluetooth speakers instead. For more on the subject, check out Matthew Moskovciak's "Why iPhone speakers are ditching AirPlay for Bluetooth. " 2. Chromebooks were a sucky idea from the get-go. 3. Transforming a Nintendo 64 into a Handheld Console.
His name was Marauder Shields. BioShock Infinite Delayed to 2013. BioShock Infinite has been delayed to 2013. Despite a prior announcement that the game would hit stores on October 16th of this year, director Ken Levine has now revealed a new release date of February 26, 2013. In a letter released today, Levine says the team at Irrational has “come to realize that some specific tweaks and improvements will make Infinite into something even more extraordinary” and that the delay will give the development team "the time they need.” According to Levine, the original BioShock saw a similar delay shortly before its initial release date.
“I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter,” Levine wrote. “We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. You'll have to wait a bit longer to be terrified by these guys. - StumbleUpon. Thinking Machine 4. Thinking Machine 4 explores the invisible, elusive nature of thought. Play chess against a transparent intelligence, its evolving thought process visible on the board before you. The artwork is an artificial intelligence program, ready to play chess with the viewer. If the viewer confronts the program, the computer's thought process is sketched on screen as it plays. A map is created from the traces of literally thousands of possible futures as the program tries to decide its best move.
Play the game. Image Gallery View a range of still images taken from Thinking Machine 4. About the work More information about the project and answers to common questions. Credits Created by Martin Wattenberg, with Marek Walczak. About the artists Martin Wattenberg's work centers on the theme of making the invisible visible.
Marek Walczak is an artist and architect who is interested in how people participate in physical and virtual spaces.