Sunday, March 30, 2008
Rumour: Grand Theft Auto IV Achievements Leaked
12:00PM Michael McWhertor | The full list of Xbox 360 Achievements for Grand Theft Auto IV may have been leaked, with two separate sources posting a list of fifty supposed Gamerscore-building accomplishments. The list includes some expected Achievements for things like hidden packages, stunt jumps, mission completions and mini-games, but some of the alleged feats are interesting and unique. There are potential plot-spoiling details included within, so beware when making the jump. More »
Prototype’s Multiplayer Gets Cut
11:00AM Michael McWhertor | Sierra’s Prototype, once planned to featured online co-op multiplayer, will simply be a single-player affair, according to Radical’s Tim Bennison. He tells Team Xbox that the Prototype team decided it wouldn’t “be able to pull it off with the same level of quality and polish that we’re aiming for with the original single player story”. You’re going to be going it solo, sadly, but perhaps your friends will get some enjoyment out of pointing at the screen, commanding you to punch that guy or punch that other guy. More »
Get Prey For $US 4.95 This Weekend
10:00AM Maggie Greene | Get it while it’s hot: Steam is offering Prey for $US 4.95, this weekend only: Here’s a deal you can sink your teeth into: this weekend only, pick up the acclaimed first person shooter Prey for just $US 4.95. More »
Pleo’s Designers On Game Design and the Future
9:00AM Maggie Greene | OK, so Pleo, Ugobe’s robotic baby dinosaur, isn’t exactly a game, but Leigh Alexander did take him for a week-long spin, and has interviewed Ugobe’s chief technology officer, John Sosoke, on Pleo’s design, NPCs, and its future as … a little game platform? The NPC connection is more immediately apparent: More »
Blizzard Versus Glider: The Motions
8:00AM Maggie Greene | Last year, Blizzard decided to go after Glider (the botting program that lets you skip past the grind and get to the good stuff); Michael Donnelly, the guy behind Glider (who has apparently made nearly $US 2.8 million off of it) is fighting back, and now both sides have filed motions arguing their case. The summary judgment briefs and analysis have been making the rounds the past week or so: Blizzard claims that Glider infringes on the EULA of WoW by copying portions of code and is pissing of WoW players (as well as gobbling up resources), while Glider is saying that grinding to level 70 is boooooring and they’re just helping players get to the fun bits. Both sides are seeking to be declared victorious without having to go through a protracted legal battle. We’ll see what happens and who comes out on top. Terra Nova has mirrors of the summary judgment motions, as well as a quick little wrap-up; Rock, Paper, Shotgun gets to the nitty gritty and also has a poll (question: ‘Should Blizzard crush Glider?’ options: ‘Aye! Bots = cheating,’ ‘Nay! Grinding = misery,’ ‘Ayenay! Blizzard should provide a levelling service themselves’ – thus far, ‘Aye!’ is winning), and PlayNoEvil has some analysis up from a security standpoint. Blizzard v WoW Glider: Interesting, no? [Terra Nova]; Democracy Inaction: Blizzard vs Bots [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]; World of Warcraft Warden vs. Glider – Which is the Lesser Evil? Who owns my computer? {PlayNoEvil] More »
Second Life and ESL Instruction
7:00AM Maggie Greene | A while back, we mentioned a journal article on using MMOs to aid second language acquisition. Now Forbes has a piece discussing the same issue, only with Second Life. The author spoke with several teachers about their approaches to using SL to educate: More »
The Video Game Name Generator Competition
6:00AM Maggie Greene | The Video Game Name Generator is always good for some fun, but what’s even better is the game design competition run by the Independent Gaming Source: entrants had three weeks to come up with a game based on a generated title. The contest garnered 48 playable entries, including such scintillating titles as “Time Shark II: Medieval Shark Strike Force,” “Shameful Pachinko Romance,” “Post-Apocalyptic Unicorn Uprising,” “Emo Harvest on The Oregon Trail” and my favourite, “Super Mario vs. Programming in China.” More »
Wii Getting A SingStar-Killer?
5:00AM Luke Plunkett | Perhaps. Depends on how much you love SingStar for scoring, and how much you love it just for singing. Hudson have announced the first details for their upcoming Wii title Joysound, which sounds equal parts online oddity and money-printing machine. A karaoke game available via WiiWare (but also available as a boxed disc with mic, if you don’t already have a USB microphone), users will “download the Joysound program from a server that’s being exclusively set up for it”, and rather than pay for individual songs will ask users for subscriptions. Due for release in the Summer in Japan, they’re hoping to have 20,000 songs available at launch, with 1000 more added every month. WiiWare Karaoke Detailed [IGN] More »
Tetris Shelves: Modular Furniture Never Looked So Good
4:30AM Maggie Greene | We mentioned one form of Tetris shelves from New York’s Brave Space Design a few years ago; but there are several options you may have missed if you saw these beauties way back when. While the regular open work shelves don’t have a price listed (’Contact us for a quote!’ is rarely a good sign for your wallet), you can get the colourful “flat” set for a mere $US 1500 per 10 blocks or the lovely bamboo version for $US 2000 per 10 blocks. Despite the expense and the fact that Tetris-inspired bookshelves would clash horribly with my decor, I think my books would look fabulous nestled in these creative, if pricey, shelving units. Tetrad Shelving [Brave Space Design] More »
