Daily Bits

Games

Xbox Kinect Opens Arms to Hackers

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kinect
Hackers may not be the proper word to use, but there is no doubt that hackers are clapping their hands with glee with the recent announcement from Microsoft. The software giant recently announced that it is going to open up the playing field by releasing a software development kit sometime in spring. This will allow software developers to play around with the Kinect on a deeper level than the average user.

According to Microsoft, “The intent of releasing a “starter kit” for application developers is to make it easier for academic research and enthusiast communities to create even richer experiences using Kinect technology.” Furthermore, with the release of the software development kit, people will be able to access “deep Kinect system capabilities such as audio, system APIs, and direct control of the sensor”.

At first, the software development kit will be targeted at amateurs only. Those who want to jump into the fray for commercial purposes will have to wait a little longer for the commercial release. Just how long – there is no word as of yet.

Personally, I will never be able to take advantage of this software development kit as I have no idea what to do with it, but I am sure there are enough “hackers” out there who cannot wait to try and see what they can do with the Kinect.

If Microsoft can be believed, the Kinect is the fastest selling gadget of all time. It really is not that surprising as it really upped the ante after the Wii revolutionized the way we play our games, is it?

Via The Telegraph

FarmVille for Dummies

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FarmVille for DummiesIt is no joke – there is a new book in the Dummies series, and it is titled Farmville for Dummies. Now I don’t know about you, but I think some of the books in this series are quite useful.  They make things easier for the average person who may not be as savvy as others.  But what about if the topic is NOT hard to begin with?

That’s exactly what I thought when I heard about FarmVille for Dummies.  If you think about it, FarmVille is one of the easiest games that you can play out there.  It practically guides you every step of the way, and if you have a question, you can simply ask your friends who are probably as addicted to it as you are!

So why the need for the book?  Is there really a market for FarmVille dummies out there?  Perhaps.  This is the argument from the perspective of co-author Kyle Orland:

Sure, FarmVille isn’t a particularly difficult game—it practically holds your hand in telling you how to play, and there’s a limited amount of strategy to playing…Some of the sections of the game—especially the farmer’s market and some aspects of animal tending—require multiple, time-lapsed steps to complete successfully, and the game only gives one screen of text-heavy explanation for how to go about them.

I guess that there will be some people who will appreciate all the tips and tricks put together in one handy reference.  Then again, if you have to go through that hassle to be a success in FarmVille, I guess dummy is the appropriate word.  Or am I being too harsh?

The book is available on Amazon on a pre-order basis.

Angry Birds Rio Trailer

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angrybirds
That little game that pitted irate birds against green pigs has reached such proportions that everyone around the world knows about it by now. Angry Birds, the game, has converted many a self-proclaimed non-gamer into chronic casual gamers. From the iPhone to the iPad, you will see people swiping and cursing just to get those irritating viridescent hogs out of the way. And, I bet you know just how tough those pigs can be!

There have been several versions of the game, but now, the birds and the pigs are coming to the big screen! In a few months, we can all queue up at the theater to see Angry Birds Rio the movie. The plot – if it can be called that – is ridiculous, I think. Still, the game itself is so ridiculous that it is good, isn’t it? So anyway, the birds are shipped off to Rio for a “vacation”. READ: They are caged and kidnapped. Of course, the protagonists escape from their cages, and that’s when they discover hundreds of other captive birds.

Angry Birds Rio will also be released as a game to complete your avian experience. Here’s the newly released trailer to get your adrenaline going.

Oh, and if you are impatient and cannot wait till March, you can get the Valentine’s Day edition in a week or so. Of course, it goes without saying that this version will have lots of pink in it. 🙂

Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition

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So you think you’re the best Guitar Hero player ever born? Think again! You’ve seen all those YouTube videos about little kids kicking the butt of everyone else – never mind that we are twice or three times his age. If you want some “light reading” that is all about gaming, then Guinness has the perfect thing for you – the 2011 Gamer’s Edition. Just to give you an idea, here is an interview with the record holder for the highest scoring female Guitar Hero player. Hats off to you, Annie Leung.

It’s not all about “serious” records, though. In case you have ever wondered about all that swearing in video games, you can read up on that in this edition. Other pieces of trivia that you can start memorizing (to use as pick up lines, conversation starters, or whatever):

  • The oldest gamer included in the book is John Bates of Onalaska, Wisconsin.  He is 85 years old, a former high school principal, and is a certified Wii Bowling addict.  His feat?  He has the highest number of perfect games on Wii Sports Bowling: 2,850.
  • Mitsugu Kikai from Tokyo is only 25 years old and has 5,400 items of Super Mario-related memorabilia.  Does anyone out there have more? Let Guinness know!
  • Angry Birds is the Top Paid-For Apple App Store Game.  But then again, we already know that, don’t we?

Find out how to get your hands on the book from the Guinness web site.  If anything, it will be a good way to pass the time when you don’t have anything else to do.

A Whole New World of (Biotic) Games

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Just the other day, I had the chance to play World of Goo for the first time. Yes, I know that’s a really old game, but some of us have to work. 😉

Anyhow, the experience was a strange one as I didn’t immediately get the concept. Little blobs of black goo (sometimes white) bouncing around just didn’t tickle my fancy, so I didn’t really end up playing it for long. For those of you who are interested in this kind of gameplay – the weirder the better – then you will like these new “biotic” games.

A team in Stanford University led by Ingmar Riedel-Kruse have come up with a bunch of biotic games based on – surprise – biological processes. The main player is paramecia. Quick bio review: paramecium is a kind of unicellular ciliate protozoa. It moves – just like a caterpillar – because of the cilia covering it all over. Now do you see where this can go?

So the scientists had a lot of free time in their hands and decided to have some fun. The games they created are:
‘Enlightenment’, ‘Ciliaball’, ‘PAC-mecium’, ‘Microbash’, ‘Biotic Pinball’, ‘POND PONG’, ‘PolymerRace’, and ‘The Prisoner’s Smellemma’. I cannot even begin to imagine how these games will work, but here is a video that will aid your imagination in case you are in the same boat as I am.

Fancy a biotic game of Pac-Man or soccer? Maybe Ingmar and his team will play nice and let you have a go at their games. I think I will stick to my “traditional” games.

FRACT Beta: Get Your Abstract Fix

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FRACT
Video games a pound a penny these days, with everyone and their mom creating their own video games. The big studios have the budget to churn out one game after another, and there are many gamers who will not hesitate to buy their creations. There are some people, however, who prefer the indie games every now and then. If you belong to the latter group, then here is a new game that you might want to try out.

Developed by Richard E. Flanagan, the game is called FRACT, and it is in its beta stage. FRACT is a first-person puzzle game which is sure to make your head spin – figuratively for some and literally for others. The premise is quite simple: the player enters an abstract world, the foundation of which are sounds and structures inspired by electronic music. The objective of the game is for the player to figure out the puzzles by “resurrecting and reviving the long forgotten machinery of the musical world”.

The game is actually a project that Flanagan worked on for his Post Undergrad in Game Design at Universite de Montreal. Being still in the beta stage, the game is not quite complete, but is already playable. Yes, there are bugs in the game, and he can use the help of players in finding them.

There are versions for Mac and PC, both of which are free to download. Here’s a preview of the game.

FRACT – Indie Adventure Game from Richard Flanagan on Vimeo.

Oh, and if you need more reason to give FRACT a try, it has been selected as one of the 2011 Independent Games Festival student showcase winners.