Yahoo has an article taking a closer look at Ageia’s PhysX addon card that allows game developers to add powerful, and realistic physics to their games. With graphics reaching a plateau in quality, industry analysts believe that physics in games will be the next big thing to grow in leaps and bounds. Ageia is banking on that with their new physics chip, PhysX.
Buildings will blow up spectacularly, football tackles will become more bone-crunching, and cloth will flutter and crumple, lending a dramatic flair to online role-playing games.
Analysts say Ageia could rewrite the rules of the game for an industry whose $10 billion in annual U.S. sales of hardware and software outstrips Hollywood’s box office take.
I personally think it will work out for Ageia, especially if they manage to lower the cost (currently at $300.) Physics in games as they are today have elicited a feel of wonder and glee, and to make it more realistic and powerful, I forsee a crop of games that immerses us gamers even more than ever before.
Valve has made available quarter-scale Headcrab plushie toys, our favorite lovable, cute alien that zombifies everyone. The legs can hook onto objects and made to pose, or set to pounce on unsuspecting puny humans. The toy will set you back $25.
Gamespot has a preview of the ambitious real-time strategy game from Gas Powered Games, Supreme Commander. The sheer scope of this game is mind-boggling, and should be different from most other RTS games, especially since it comes from Chris Taylor of Total Annihiliation fame. This preview covers the different factions, gameplay mechanics, and the theater of war.
We had a chance recently to visit Gas Powered Games’ offices in Redmond, Washington, to get an early look at Supreme Commander. And from what we saw, this is a game that takes some of the core concepts of Total Annihilation and applies them on an unprecedented, awesome scale.
An awesome gameplay video of Prey in action is available at GameTrailers (NWS for language.)
Not long ago, a Rise of Legends demo was released and it got some pretty negative attention. Now there’s a new demo that has all the latest code from the final release, so it should be less buggy and play better. Mirrors for the download can be found at FilePlanet, Microsoft, and WorthPlaying.
Here is something new, a screensaver that is a game, called The Endless Forest. I have no idea what to categorize the game as. It has you playing a male deer, a stag, roaming through a peaceful forest with other people who are playing the game online. You can only communicate with each other through sounds and body language. The download weighs in at 51MB.
Here’s what the creators have to say about their game:
We don’t really hate computer games. We spend lots of time with many of them. There’s many things we like about games. But sadly there’s also many things that we don’t like. Interactive media, and especially real-time 3D technologies, have so much more to offer than the childish games that form the bulk of the offer today. The Endless Forest is an attempt for us to try and do something with these technologies that does not need to inherit all those things that we don’t like in games.
So if you’re an avid gamer, there’s a big chance that The Endless Forest is not for you. It is not designed to offer any challenges that need to be overcome, or points that can be scored. It’s is much more freeform than that. It’s probably a little bit like a nice painting. You can stare at it for hours a keep discovering new things. And best of all, you can be part of the picture and new things can appear at any time.
Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa wants to slap a 5% tax on videogames. The result would raise $65 million every two years and be designated for building new schools and upgrading schools in poor conditions.
“You have all these kids buying video games, and sometimes they are good, some are bad and that’s not my call,” Hinojosa said. “But I think that we can generate (money) to put toward the schools they go to.”
I have a better idea. Why don’t we tax politicans who get tax exemption and special benefits, and receive huge payments for sitting around thinking up hare-brained ideas such as these. I bet you could raise even more money to build and repair schools that way. If a bill such as this did pass, and videogames had a tax on it, I guarantee you you’d see piracy rise.
Gamespot has a review of the recently opened-to-the-public massively multiplayer online racing game, Auto Assault. They mirror my opinion when I posted my impressions of the late beta before it was opened to the public. Namely that the game has potential, but is marred by bugs, lack of a death penalty, and boring quest designs.
On the surface, Auto Assault seems like an entirely different type of massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Instead of running around with swords or laser pistols, you’re a postapocalyptic car, armed to the teeth and armored for protection from all sorts of mutants, scavengers, rogue militiamen, and so on. As you get deeper into it, though, Auto Assault reveals itself as a pretty standard MMORPG. Like most games in the genre, it’s addictive. And the tweaks and the setting itself help make it feel different. But it also has a series of problems that really hold it back.
A quite popular mod for Half-Life 2 is called Hidden: Source, which pits humans against a lone alien who can walk on walls and the ceiling, move very fast, and see in the dark. It’s a pretty exhilirating game, and has been gaining a steady following as new beta releases come out. Beta 3 is expected to go up today at 3 p.m. EST/7 p.m. GMT and it adds new weapons, new vision modes, shader effects, new skills, and fixes many major and minor bugs.
It looks like May is going to be a busy month for gaming, as another game has gone gold, this time Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, the real-time strategy game from Big Huge Games.
As the second installment of the “Rise of Nations” franchise, “Rise of Legends” also extends the gaming experience using a 3-D engine with dynamic lighting, deformable terrain, destructible buildings, ground-rattling earthquakes and massive armies locked in enormous strategic battles. “Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends” combines cutting-edge, industry-leading technology with awe-inspiring art design to create environments unlike anything ever seen.
IGN talks with Eric Johnson of Valve about their upcoming first-person shooter, Half-Life 2: Episode One. Talk goes over City 17, the relationship with G-man, Alyx as your buddy, and more.
IGNPC: We’ve seen some screenshots with different types of creatures and the Episode One trailer mentioned stalkers a bit. What are these guys? Can we expect to see new enemy types in most of the episodes in the future?
Erik Johnson: Stalkers are the result of how the Combine dealt with the residents of City 17 that resisted them. Each Episode will be introducing you to more of the Combine.
Sierra has released a new patch for F.E.A.R. (22MB), version 1.04 that supports the updated SDK and allows the game to be more moddable.
If you’re hankering for a MMORPG but don’t want to pay a monthly subscription fee, you may want to check out The Best Free MMORPG List, which constantly updates and lists a bunch of games you can play for free. Each game has a description and screenshot.
Yesterday we reported the unveiling of EA Spouse, the lady who uncovered a brutal policy at Electronic Arts of overworking their programmers developing games without pay. Now Gamasutra has word that a class-action lawsuit about the incident was won by the programmers and EA have to pay a $14.9 million settlement. Mere pocket change for the giant, but hopefully it’ll work out for everyone.
According to the new settlement, some of the entry level programmers will be reclassified as hourly workers, making them eligible for overtime pay. In return, they will be allowed a one time grant of restricted company stock, but will no longer receive stock options or bonuses.
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