Games News for Games Heroes
Sweden to open first virtual embassy
STOCKHOLM - Sweden plans to be the first country to open an embassy in popular virtual world Second Life. “It will have answers to questions on all aspects of Sweden,” Olle Wastberg, general director of the Swedish Institute, an organization which promotes the country’s image abroad, said on Tuesday.
The embassy will be called House of Sweden and modeled on the country’s new embassy in Washington. It will open in a couple of weeks.
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world built and owned by its residents. It was created by Linden Lab and opened to the public in 2003. It says it now has more than 3 million inhabitants from around the globe.
There is no charge for a basic account but a one-time $9.95 fee is charged for additional basic account. Premium accounts start at $9.95 a month and allow you to own land on which you can build, entertain and live.
Reuters operates a virtual news bureau in Second Life.
www.msnbc.msn.com
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world built and owned by its residents. It was created by Linden Lab and opened to the public in 2003. It says it now has more than 3 million inhabitants from around the globe.
There is no charge for a basic account but a one-time $9.95 fee is charged for additional basic account. Premium accounts start at $9.95 a month and allow you to own land on which you can build, entertain and live.
Reuters operates a virtual news bureau in Second Life.
www.msnbc.msn.com
Labels: internet games
Second Life opens its source code
The virtual world of Second Life is going open source. Linden Lab, the company behind the game, said it is making the software blueprint of its PC program available to developers to modify for their personal use and to share with others. It's the same model that's used to build the Linux operating system and the Firefox Web browser.
Philip Rosedale, Linden Lab's co-founder and chief executive officer, said he hopes the developer community will help his relatively small staff — 50 programmers or so — fix bugs in the code and optimize the software for use on older computers. He also expects some cool tools to emerge.
"There are lots of handicapped people using Second Life. It's one of the really inspiring things about it," Rosedale said. "There are a lot of ways of connecting people to their computers, not just mice and keyboards but gaze detection and neuromuscular stuff" that Linden Lab doesn't have the manpower to address, but he hopes outside programmers will.
Someone also could "hook up an exercise bike and fly around Second Life while exercising," he said, or write a program for accessing the world from a smart phone.
"All that becomes extremely easy to do," said Rosedale, who will speak tomorrow at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Second Life users create avatars of themselves and move about the virtual world, chatting with others, buying land, building homes and businesses. It has its own currency that's tied to the U.S. dollar. Numerous real-world businesses, including Circuit City Stores Inc. and American Apparel Inc., are setting up shop in the virtual space.
The code will be available under the GNU Public License, a widely used agreement among open-source developers that allows them to legally modify and share software. Linden Lab will review and test some add-ons, modifications and bug fixes, and incorporate them into the official version of the viewer, which can be downloaded for free.
Monday's announcement doesn't cover all the software behind Second Life. The program that controls the underlying infrastructure will remain proprietary, though Rosedale said open-source "is absolutely our direction."
The shift toward open source isn't expected to hurt the company's business model, which relies on charging residents for their use of land — also known as server space on one of Linden Lab's computers.
Jessica Mintz
msnbc.msn.com
"There are lots of handicapped people using Second Life. It's one of the really inspiring things about it," Rosedale said. "There are a lot of ways of connecting people to their computers, not just mice and keyboards but gaze detection and neuromuscular stuff" that Linden Lab doesn't have the manpower to address, but he hopes outside programmers will.
Someone also could "hook up an exercise bike and fly around Second Life while exercising," he said, or write a program for accessing the world from a smart phone.
"All that becomes extremely easy to do," said Rosedale, who will speak tomorrow at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Second Life users create avatars of themselves and move about the virtual world, chatting with others, buying land, building homes and businesses. It has its own currency that's tied to the U.S. dollar. Numerous real-world businesses, including Circuit City Stores Inc. and American Apparel Inc., are setting up shop in the virtual space.
The code will be available under the GNU Public License, a widely used agreement among open-source developers that allows them to legally modify and share software. Linden Lab will review and test some add-ons, modifications and bug fixes, and incorporate them into the official version of the viewer, which can be downloaded for free.
Monday's announcement doesn't cover all the software behind Second Life. The program that controls the underlying infrastructure will remain proprietary, though Rosedale said open-source "is absolutely our direction."
The shift toward open source isn't expected to hurt the company's business model, which relies on charging residents for their use of land — also known as server space on one of Linden Lab's computers.
Jessica Mintz
msnbc.msn.com
Labels: internet games, News
Fool your eyes with two new casual games
Internet games challenge players to kick up observational skills. Perception is a funny thing. No matter how hard we look, sometimes we just can't see what's right in front of us.
Big Fish Games, a top casual game developer, knows this better than anyone. It has a reputation for creating high-quality downloadable computer games that force players to kick up their visual and observational skills. And the company's two latest releases definitely uphold these high standards.
Last month, Big Fish released "Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst," the third installment in its much-lauded "Mystery Case Files" franchise, a series of visual puzzlers that have gone on to become best sellers. Big Fish also released "Travelogue 360: Paris," a game that puts a new twist on the company's renowned perception puzzles.
And while the flashy new gaming consoles (Wii and PS3) and their flashy new titles have been stealing the spotlight for the last month or so, both of Big Fish Games' new titles can be played by anyone with a computer, an Internet connection and a bit of spare time.
The thrust of the "Mystery Case Files" game play sounds simple: Players must look at an image on their computer screen and try to find a list of objects within that image before the time runs out. But as with all casual games, the seemingly simplest of tasks is significantly more difficult than it appears on the surface.
In "Ravenhearst," players assume the role of a master detective charged with unlocking the hundred-year-old mystery that surrounds Ravenhearst Manor. To do that, you'll have to search 32 rooms, scouring each one for a list of cleverly hidden items. In the kitchen, for example, you'll look for a door knocker, a woman's sandal and a candle snuffer, among other objects. In the garden you'll hunt for a skull, a spade and a cane.
It's a bit like playing an advanced game of "Where's Waldo." The items are all right there in the beautifully rendered illustration on your screen…right in front of your very eyes…but these visual teasers are designed so smartly, the objects you seek seem to be camouflaged to the point of invisibility.
You might sit there hunting for an hourglass or a pistol or a camera for minutes on end only to discover later that you've been looking right at these items from the very beginning without realizing it. The folks at Big Fish designed their game images so that the objects on your list blend in with the hundreds of other curios and knick-knacks that also clutter the picture.
Meanwhile, your list may call for you to find the soldier hidden in the picture, but it's up to you to realize that it's actually a nutcracker dressed like a soldier that you're looking for. The visual trickery is so simple, but you'll find yourself pleasantly stumped time and time again.
At various points throughout the game, you'll have to piece together missing diary pages that slowly reveal the house's history and help you unlock a mystery surrounding a young woman's visit there in 1894. And in a brand new tweak to the "Mystery Case Files" series, you'll also have to figure your way through several shrewdly designed chain-reaction-style puzzles in order to get into the manor's locked rooms.
You're still after hidden items in Big Fish's other release, "Travelogue 360: Paris." But this time, the pictures you must search through are 360-degree panoramic photographs of famous places around Paris.
Given a list of souvenirs to find, you'll have to spin all the way around, look all the way up at the sky and down at your feet to find the objects you need before your time runs out. The game is designed to make you feel as though you're standing right in the middle of the city's most famous locations — the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees, Saint Sulpice Church. At the Eiffel Tower, you'll hunt for a ballerina, an easel and a bulldozer. At the Bois de Vincennes, you'll search for a rubber duck, a chandelier and a hobby horse.
Though both games offer high production values with excellent sound design and music to set the mood, "Ravenhearst" is the more appealing (not to mention addicting) of the two. The new multi-part puzzles are an engrossing addition to the playing style and "Ravenhearst" offers at least the threads of a story to keep players interested. The immersive nature of "Travelogue 360's" panoramic photos is a great idea and a fun way to take a quick trip over seas, but the game feels like it lacks the depth and variety of its sibling.
Of course, the nice thing about both games is, you can test them out before you decide whether you want to buy them. Download free trial versions at www.bigfishgames.com. The full version of each costs $19.95.
Winda Benedetti
msnbc.msn.com
Last month, Big Fish released "Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst," the third installment in its much-lauded "Mystery Case Files" franchise, a series of visual puzzlers that have gone on to become best sellers. Big Fish also released "Travelogue 360: Paris," a game that puts a new twist on the company's renowned perception puzzles.
And while the flashy new gaming consoles (Wii and PS3) and their flashy new titles have been stealing the spotlight for the last month or so, both of Big Fish Games' new titles can be played by anyone with a computer, an Internet connection and a bit of spare time.
The thrust of the "Mystery Case Files" game play sounds simple: Players must look at an image on their computer screen and try to find a list of objects within that image before the time runs out. But as with all casual games, the seemingly simplest of tasks is significantly more difficult than it appears on the surface.
In "Ravenhearst," players assume the role of a master detective charged with unlocking the hundred-year-old mystery that surrounds Ravenhearst Manor. To do that, you'll have to search 32 rooms, scouring each one for a list of cleverly hidden items. In the kitchen, for example, you'll look for a door knocker, a woman's sandal and a candle snuffer, among other objects. In the garden you'll hunt for a skull, a spade and a cane.
It's a bit like playing an advanced game of "Where's Waldo." The items are all right there in the beautifully rendered illustration on your screen…right in front of your very eyes…but these visual teasers are designed so smartly, the objects you seek seem to be camouflaged to the point of invisibility.
You might sit there hunting for an hourglass or a pistol or a camera for minutes on end only to discover later that you've been looking right at these items from the very beginning without realizing it. The folks at Big Fish designed their game images so that the objects on your list blend in with the hundreds of other curios and knick-knacks that also clutter the picture.
Meanwhile, your list may call for you to find the soldier hidden in the picture, but it's up to you to realize that it's actually a nutcracker dressed like a soldier that you're looking for. The visual trickery is so simple, but you'll find yourself pleasantly stumped time and time again.
At various points throughout the game, you'll have to piece together missing diary pages that slowly reveal the house's history and help you unlock a mystery surrounding a young woman's visit there in 1894. And in a brand new tweak to the "Mystery Case Files" series, you'll also have to figure your way through several shrewdly designed chain-reaction-style puzzles in order to get into the manor's locked rooms.
You're still after hidden items in Big Fish's other release, "Travelogue 360: Paris." But this time, the pictures you must search through are 360-degree panoramic photographs of famous places around Paris.
Given a list of souvenirs to find, you'll have to spin all the way around, look all the way up at the sky and down at your feet to find the objects you need before your time runs out. The game is designed to make you feel as though you're standing right in the middle of the city's most famous locations — the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees, Saint Sulpice Church. At the Eiffel Tower, you'll hunt for a ballerina, an easel and a bulldozer. At the Bois de Vincennes, you'll search for a rubber duck, a chandelier and a hobby horse.
Though both games offer high production values with excellent sound design and music to set the mood, "Ravenhearst" is the more appealing (not to mention addicting) of the two. The new multi-part puzzles are an engrossing addition to the playing style and "Ravenhearst" offers at least the threads of a story to keep players interested. The immersive nature of "Travelogue 360's" panoramic photos is a great idea and a fun way to take a quick trip over seas, but the game feels like it lacks the depth and variety of its sibling.
Of course, the nice thing about both games is, you can test them out before you decide whether you want to buy them. Download free trial versions at www.bigfishgames.com. The full version of each costs $19.95.
Winda Benedetti
msnbc.msn.com
Labels: internet games
Online gaming titles coming to Wii
The Nintendo Wii's launch has been a smash success, with stores all over North America continuing to sell out every time they receive new stock. However, the launch of the Wii's online service has been somewhat less stellar, with few titles available to take advantage of multiplayer action. Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime promises that is all about to change.
Speaking on Spike TV's Game Head television program, the amiable Fils-Aime mentioned that the first round of multiplayer-enabled Wii titles would be coming out in the second quarter of 2007.
Japanese Wii gamers have already sampled a taste of online goodness with the launch title Pokemon Battle Revolution, but North American Wii owners are still waiting for titles to properly utilize the Wii's online connection. Many games still in development for the Wii are designed around playing with people who are physically present: a recent preview of a new anime-themed golf game for the Wii on Electric Playground revealed that the developers had not included online multiplayer modes.
Fils-Aime also indicated that new multiplayer channels were on their way for the Wii's online service, but declined to give any details about what new features might be enabled on them. The Wii's "always-online" feature, which maintains background downloads and other Internet connections even when in sleep mode, could potentially enable all sorts of interesting online community features, but Nintendo has been reticent to give out any details.
The new online-enabled titles and Wii channels are expected to launch around March or April of next year.
Jeremy Reimer
arstechnica.com
Japanese Wii gamers have already sampled a taste of online goodness with the launch title Pokemon Battle Revolution, but North American Wii owners are still waiting for titles to properly utilize the Wii's online connection. Many games still in development for the Wii are designed around playing with people who are physically present: a recent preview of a new anime-themed golf game for the Wii on Electric Playground revealed that the developers had not included online multiplayer modes.
Fils-Aime also indicated that new multiplayer channels were on their way for the Wii's online service, but declined to give any details about what new features might be enabled on them. The Wii's "always-online" feature, which maintains background downloads and other Internet connections even when in sleep mode, could potentially enable all sorts of interesting online community features, but Nintendo has been reticent to give out any details.
The new online-enabled titles and Wii channels are expected to launch around March or April of next year.
Jeremy Reimer
arstechnica.com
Labels: internet games, nintendo wii
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