Log on:
Powered by Elgg

Feed detail

November 28, 2011

Government supports Braben's Raspberry Pi

The UK government has given a ringing endorsement of Raspberry Pi, the low-cost computer that David Braben hopes will kickstart a new wave of interest in programming. In its response to the Next Gen skills review, the department of culture, media and sport writes: "The government recognises the potential developments such as the Raspberry Pi computer project have for stimulating and motivating children to understand basic computer science in schools."

The UK government has given a ringing endorsement of Raspberry Pi, the low-cost computer that David Braben hopes will kickstart a new wave of interest in programming.

In its response to the Next Gen skills review, the department of culture, media and sport writes: "The government recognises the potential developments such as the Raspberry Pi computer project have for stimulating and motivating children to understand basic computer science in schools.

read more


McNamara's next game: Whore Of The Orient

The next game from Brendan McNamara, former head of LA Noire developer Team Bondi, will be called Whore Of The Orient. Confirmation comes from Australia's Financial Review, which reveals that the rights to the game have been picked up by film producer George Miller.
http://www.afr.com/p/george_miller_new_script_q1wYu1EFjLM0cyZa4s97fI
Financial Review

The next game from Brendan McNamara, former head of LA Noire developer Team Bondi, will be called Whore Of The Orient.

Confirmation comes from Australia's Financial Review, which reveals that the rights to the game have been picked up by film producer George Miller.

read more


Opinion: Legal rights, consumer wrongs?

In the first of a new series, game lawyer Jas Purewal has a conversation with himself about gamers' legal rights. Neither side really wins.

Gamer Jas: So I bought this game off a digital distribution platform last week. I won't say which, except it's a bestseller at the moment and it's a FPS. It boasted amazing online co-op and multiplayer functionality. It didn't work. Or, rather, it worked really, really badly. I'd log on and get disconnected randomly, or other players would desync. Any kind of online play was a joke. AND it contains DRM that I didn't want. I demand a refund.

Lawyer Jas: You can't have one.

Gamer Jas: Wha--?

read more


Government backs call for computer science in schools

Ian Livingstone welcomes "very encouraging" pledge to ensure students are better prepared for careers in hi-tech industries.

The UK government has today backed calls for improved computer science provision in schools to better prepare students for careers in the digital creative industries.

0

read more


Modern Warfare 3 tops UK chart again

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week. Sales of Activision's shooter fell 41 per cent week on week, but retains top spot ahead of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, sales of which dropped 61 per cent. Modern Warfare 3 succeeds where predecessor Black Ops failed: this time last year it was denied the number one spot for a third week in a row by Gran Turismo 5.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week.

Sales of Activision's shooter fell 41 per cent week on week, but it retains top spot ahead of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, sales of which dropped 61 per cent. Modern Warfare 3 succeeds where predecessor Black Ops failed: this time last year it was denied the number one spot for a third week in a row by Gran Turismo 5.

read more


November 26, 2011

News round-up November 21 - 25

Broken promises, public spats and tumbling retail shares - a week in videogames.

Monday

0

read more


November 25, 2011

Little King's Story Vita confirmed for Europe

Konami has confirmed that it will release New Little King's Story for PlayStation Vita in Europe next year.

Konami has confirmed that it will release New Little King's Story for PlayStation Vita in Europe next year.

The game is a sequel to Marvelous Entertainment's 2009 Wii title Little King's Story, and casts players as the 14-year-old King Corobo, tasked with uniting his subjects and reclaiming his kingdom from the villainous Nightmare. No release date was announced.

 


OnLive launches Frag Feast promotion

Cloud gaming service OnLive is offering free five-day rentals of Homefront and Red Faction: Armageddon as part of its Frag Feast weekend. The company will also offer short-term discounts of games during the course of the weekend, with Just Cause 2 currently on sale for £3.50. New signups can buy their first game for £1, choosing from a catalogue that now includes Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row The Third and LA Noire.
http://www.onlive.co.uk/go/fragfeast
OnLive

Cloud gaming service OnLive is offering free five-day rentals of Homefront and Red Faction: Armageddon as part of its Frag Feast weekend.

The company will also run short-term promotions during the course of the weekend, with Just Cause 2 currently on sale for £3.50. New signups can buy their first game for £1, choosing from a catalogue that now includes Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row The Third and LA Noire.

read more


Gamer Camp: Nano open for applications

Birmingham City University has today begun accepting applications for its Gamer Camp: Nano course in February 2012. The month-long development course runs in a simulated studio environment and has been designed with input from the likes of Blitz Games, Codemasters and DJ Hero developer FreeStyle Games.
http://www.gamercamp.co.uk
Gamer Camp

Birmingham City University has today begun accepting applications for its Gamer Camp: Nano course in February 2012.

The month-long development course runs in a simulated studio environment and has been designed with input from the likes of Blitz Games, Codemasters, and DJ Hero developer FreeStyle Games.

read more


Train2Game students develop game for feature film

A group of Train2Game students have won a competition to design a game for use in a feature film. Avenging Angels, a £5m project backed by the UK Film Council, features two videogames, one of which turns out to be "a source of dark force in the community." It is this game that the Train2Game students will design, and they were invited to BAFTA HQ for a discussion with the film's director and producer.

A group of Train2Game students have won a competition to design a game for use in a feature film.

Avenging Angels, a £5m project backed by the UK Film Council, features two videogames, one of which turns out to be "a source of dark force in the community." It is this game that the Train2Game students will design, and they were invited to BAFTA HQ for a discussion with the film's director and producer.

read more


Dear Esther due early next year

Dear Esther, the haunting adventure first developed as a Half-Life 2 mod at the University Of Portsmouth by Dan Pinchbeck, is now in beta ahead of a commercial release early next year.
http://dear-esther.com/?p=389
Dear Esther

Dear Esther, the haunting adventure first developed as a Half-Life 2 mod at the University Of Portsmouth by Dan Pinchbeck, is now in beta ahead of a commercial release early next year.

Pinchbeck's game was the subject of some controversy after he announced it would be released commercially through Steam, with the modding community believing it should be given away for free.

read more


David Braben on Raspberry Pi

Frontier Developments' head on fostering a new generation of game makers.

You can read our full feature on Raspberry Pi in our latest issue.

You can subscribe to Edge in print, on

read more


David Braben on Raspberry Pi

Frontier Developments' head on fostering a new generation of game makers.

You can read our full feature on Raspberry Pi in our latest issue.

You can subscribe to Edge in print, on

read more


Ubisoft: Ghost Recon Online is our DRM alternative

Ubisoft says Ghost Recon Online represents a shift in thinking in its strategy to combat piracy on PC after its use of DRM was roundly criticised. The publisher's upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, due next March, will only be released on consoles. Ghost Recon Online, a free-to-play shooter that is currently in closed beta, will be exclusive to PC.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/23/ghost-recon-online-being-free-to-play-is-a-counter-to-piracy-says-ubisoft-producer
PC Gamer

Ubisoft says Ghost Recon Online represents a shift in thinking in its strategy to combat piracy on PC after its use of DRM was roundly criticised.

The publisher's upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, due next March, will only be released on consoles. Ghost Recon Online, a free-to-play shooter that is currently in closed beta, will be exclusive to PC.

read more


The Friday Game: Minecraft 4k

Celebrate the release of a modern classic with this compact treat.

You've probably heard of Minecraft. You probably know that it's quite an achievement. It's a tiny, fiercely compacted Java game capable of spewing out procedurally-generated environments that are significantly larger than the Earth, and it's an indie success story that has made its creator, Markus "Notch" Persson, very, very rich.

read more


Defiant CEO insists Game Group will survive

Ian Shepherd, CEO of Game Group, the UK's largest specialist videogame retailer, has insisted the company will survive despite its lowered earnings forecasts and plummeting share price. Speaking to MCV, Shepherd said: "It is very easy to look at any retailer on the high street and write an apocalyptic headline. Our market share is high and growing. Game is very important to the overall health of the videogame industry."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-comes-out-fighting/087699
MCV

Ian Shepherd, CEO of Game Group, the UK's largest specialist videogame retailer, has insisted the company will survive despite its lowered earnings forecasts and plummeting share price.

Speaking to MCV, Shepherd said: "It is very easy to look at any retailer on the high street and write an apocalyptic headline. Our market share is high and growing. Game is very important to the overall health of the videogame industry."

read more


Indie Game Music Bundle launches

The trend for pay-what-you-want indie gaming promotions following the Humble Bundle's lead continues with the Indie Game Music Bundle, a collection of indie game soundtracks. On offer are DRM-free soundtracks from ten games including Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, Cobalt, and VVVVVV, with those paying $10 or more getting a further seven, including The Binding Of Isaac.
http://www.gamemusicbundle.com/
Indie Game Music Bundle

The trend for pay-what-you-want indie gaming promotions following the Humble Bundle's lead continues with the Indie Game Music Bundle, a collection of indie game soundtracks.

read more


TIGA launches £100k dev contest

UK trade association TIGA has launched a development competition that will give four winners £25,000 each to build a playable prototype. The TIGA Games Contest, funded by Abertay University's prototype fund and announced by creative industries minister Ed Vaizey earlier this week, is split into categories: games on the move, games in the home, and social gaming. The social category is further split into games in the home and games on the move.
https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/tiga-games-contest
TIGA

UK trade association TIGA has launched a development competition that will give four winners £25,000 each to build a playable prototype.

The TIGA Games Contest, funded by Abertay University's prototype fund and announced by creative industries minister Ed Vaizey earlier this week, is split into categories: games on the move, games in the home, and social gaming. The social category is further split into games in the home and games on the move.

read more


TIGA launches £100k dev contest

UK trade association TIGA has launched a development competition that will give four winners £25,000 each to build a playable prototype. The TIGA Games Contest, funded by Abertay University's prototype fund and announced by creative industries minister Ed Vaizey earlier this week, is split into categories: games on the move, games in the home, and social gaming. The social category is further split into games in the home and games on the move.
https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/tiga-games-contest
TIGA

UK trade association TIGA has launched a development competition that will give four winners £25,000 each to build a playable prototype.

The TIGA Games Contest, funded by Abertay University's prototype fund and announced by creative industries minister Ed Vaizey earlier this week, is split into categories: games on the move, games in the home, and social gaming. The social category is further split into games in the home and games on the move.

read more


November 24, 2011

Google Chrome to add gamepad support

Google's Chrome browser will soon have greatly enhanced gaming capabilities, with plug-and-play support for gamepads on the way. The news was revealed by Google developer advocate Paul Kinlan during a talk earler today at Develop Liverpool. Due in the first quarter of next year, the update will also see Chrome support cameras and microphones without the need for plug-ins, with Kinlan hinting at the possibilities for augmented reality games and player tracking.

EDIT: Our original story suggested that Google is working on an OnLive-like cloud gaming service - this is not the case. It is working on technology that could support such a service, but not the service itself.

Google's Chrome browser will soon have greatly enhanced gaming capabilities, with plug-and-play support for gamepads on the way.

read more


Saints Row The Third review

Plenty of personality, but whether you'd want to spend any time with it is another matter entirely.

You can find the full version of this review in our latest issue.

You can subscribe to Edge in print, on

read more


The ethics of game addiction

QWOP maker Bennett Foddy on why addiction in games isn’t necessarily bad, and why Tiny Tower is one of his most hated games.

Bennett Foddy detailed the mechanics of addiction as it relates to game design to the audience at Develop Liverpool today. “For game developers, addictiveness is a design goal,” he said, before admitting that an addictive game isn’t necessarily bad. “But not everyone addicted to videogames is enjoying themselves, and lives can go awry,” he warned.

0

read more


Microsoft acquires video search firm VideoSurf

Microsoft has spent a reported $100 million on Israeli start-up VideoSurf, saying its video search technology will "augment the Xbox 360 ecosystem." VideoSurf's technology can "see" individual frames inside videos, with facial and audio recognition, which Microsoft intends to use to further beef up discoverability on Xbox Live. The Xbox 360 dashboard update, due on December 6, can be fully controlled by voice, with Bing integration allowing users to search for games, music and video content from a variety of providers.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/23/with-its-100m-acquisition-of-videosurf-microsofts-video-search-now-has-big-potential/
TechCrunch

Microsoft has spent a reported $100 million on Israeli start-up VideoSurf, saying its video search technology will "augment the Xbox 360 ecosystem."

read more


Region Specific: Paris

The French capital’s developers want the world.

You can read about all of our visits to the world's key development scenes by visiting our Region Specific topic page.

Overview
The city of lights is home to a group of developers who plan to take the ‘French touch’ to the rest of the world.

read more


Yogscast "disappointed" by Notch Minecon claims

The trio behind YouTube sensation Yogscast have said in a statement that they are "disappointed" by allegations made about their conduct at last weekend's Minecon event by Markus "Notch" Persson, head of Minecraft developer Mojang. Earlier this week Persson said he would not be working again with the Yogscast team, slamming them in a series of tweets for acting "like total spoiled divas nonstop" and concluding: "They're an isolated island of egos."
http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/mnau9/yogscast_response_to_notchs_twitterings/
Reddit

The trio behind YouTube sensation Yogscast have said in a statement that they are "disappointed" by allegations made about their conduct at last weekend's Minecon event by Markus "Notch" Persson, head of Minecraft developer Mojang.

read more


<< Back Next >>