Indie game festival follows last summer’s debut with move to bigger premises; speakers revealed.
UK indie games celebration World Of Love is to make its return on January 28 in London.
Following the success of last summer’s event which was hosted at broadcaster Channel 4’s headquarters, the Winter World Of Love sees the event move to the rather more spacious Conway Hall.
Transfer of 37 staff to Bigpoint prompted by unexpected financial problems; promises legal action.
Planet Moon Studios, the developer of Giants: Citizen Kabuto and Smarty Pants, is taking legal action against firms that were funding its current project.
The news follows yesterday’s announcement that 37 Planet Moon development staff had been acquired by MMOG operator Bigpoint, but had not bought the company or its IP.
Argues ‘App Store’ is a generic term that competitors should be allowed to use; quotes Steve Jobs as proof.
Microsoft is challenging Apple’s bid to trademark the phrase ‘App Store’, arguing that it is a generic term.
What would it take to begin to explore what an electronic circuit is with very young children? What if all you had was a piece of paper, a paintbrush, a battery and a jar of ink…not any old jar of ink but one that ‘can create custom electronic circuitry on the skin as well as any surface where water-based paints would be appropriate. Bare can be applied with a brush, stamp or spray and is easily removed with soap and water.’
At the Learning Without Frontiers Conference this week I met with the people from Bare Conductive and was introduced to this very interesting resource. Their table and layout was strange because there was no digital tech, no games , no screens – all I saw were pieces of white paper with ink drawings on them scattered on a desk. When I asked them what they were showing they told me that they had an ink that could conduct electricity. I said, “Show me.” This is what I saw:
As you can see the battery at one end of the drawing is sending a current to the bulb at the other, all via the ink on the paper!
I really was astonished at this ingenious idea and at what appears to be an apparently simple technology. Immediate ideas began to spring to mind about its potential use in schools in relation to expolring circuits, especially when using a 2p piece was used as a resistor simply by sliding it up and down the line of ink, but there must also be teachers from the CDT and Art and Design domains who could no doubt look at ways in which this material can be incorporated in to pupils work.
As yet this ink is not available to buy but we have registered an interest with the people at @bareconductive to see if we can have get our hands on this material so that we can try it in schools. Anyone interested in having a look?
Indie darling Limbo leads pack with seven nominations for GDC-hosted awards show.
Organisers of the 11th Game Developers Choice Awards have announced the finalists in 10 different categories ahead of the award ceremony next month.
Leading the charge is Limbo, Playdead Studios’ debut which was released last July on Xbox Live Arcade. It is the most-nominated game, shortlisted in seven of 10 categories.
Firm says it will not release a dedicated portable console; throws weight behind Windows Phone 7.
Microsoft has no plans to release a dedicated gaming handheld, saying that its forays into portable gaming begin and end with Windows Phone 7.
Uh-oh! AnEmSha has crash landed on Earth on her way home! Can you help her gather all the parts of her spaceship from different environments around the world, avoid the dangers that lurk in the forests and oceans of the Earth and keep her energy up by eating the right sort of food? If you are up for the challenge, then this Scratch game is for you. AnEmSha is the product of three pupils from Shapinsay Primary School in Orkney.
The second part of our look at the effect that games' portrayal of war has on players' perception of it.
You can read part one of this feature, here.
Twisted Pixel describes Capcom Mobile iOS game MaXplosion as “complete theft”.
Indie developer Twisted Pixel has accused Capcom of what it describes as “complete theft” of its XBLA hit ‘Splosion Man.
Lima Sky seeking to force other developers to remove mention of ‘doodle’ from their apps.
Lima Sky, developer of iOS game Doodle Jump, is telling developers of other apps bearing the name ‘doodle’ that they are in violation of its trademark.
GeoHot and hacking group fail0verflow accused of copyright infringement and computer fraud.
Sony has fired its first shot in response to the hackers that breached the PlayStation 3’s security measures by taking legal action against those it alleges are responsible.
How are the compromises in military shooters affecting our perception of war?
MMOG operator snaps up 37 technical staff from Smarty Pants developer.
MMOG operator Bigpoint has announced that it has recruited 37 members of staff from Planet Moon Studios.
The acquisition means Bigpoint’s San Francisco studio now numbers almost 100 staff. Bigpoint – which recently announced its userbase had passed the 150 million mark - says the team has already been integrated and are working on several titles.
Email newsletter from Japanese support team allegedly reveals games will be region protected.
Games for Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS handheld are to ship with region protection, according to reports.
A poster on gaming forum NeoGaf claims to have sight of an email newsletter from Nintendo Japan’s support team confirming that games will only work on a 3DS purchased in the same region.
Whose job is it to ensure that when you buy a graphics card, you get what you’re paying for? The same people whose job it is to ensure that when a developer spends money supporting that graphics card, it stands to get it back. Responsible for the chief ‘enabler’ in today’s PC gaming, the GPU, companies like AMD and Nvidia are the platform holders, expected to support game makers as much as any Microsoft or Sony.
Free download allows checking of friends list, trophies, latest news; released elsewhere in due course.
The PlayStation Official App has been released this afternoon to UK and some EU users. It is available through the App Store and Android Marketplace now.
The app, a free download, allows users to log in to their PlayStation Network account and view trophies and the online status of those on their friends list.
GamersFirst outlines complex signup procedure for troubled MMOG’s free-to-play reboot.
GamersFirst has opened registrations for the closed beta phase of MMOG reboot APB Reloaded.
A highlight from our community-written blogs, featuring motion and forgetfulness.
With the furore surrounding Kinect's release, and Move gathering pace, Wii Motion Plus appears to have taken a back seat. But Alex Walker wonders if Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus has been drowned out by the nose all together.
Nintendo president to give fourth keynote to GDC audience in San Francisco next month.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is one of the keynote speakers at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2011 next month.
Event organisers have revealed that Iwata will speak on the subject “Video Games Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future”, chiming nicely with this being GDC’s 25th year.
Ray Maguire tells game-focused education conference of the need to involve games in UK learning.
Sony’s UK boss Ray Maguire has urged the government, learning providers and the private sector to incorporate games into the national curriculum, according to GI.biz.
Firm to launch microtransaction-funded Viva! Mall on Facebook this week.
Japanese publisher Konami has announced its first full foray into social gaming with the Facebook launch of Viva! Mall later this week.
While Konami already has a limited presence on Facebook – it released a version of Frogger on the social networking site in 2008, and console tie-in Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow Friend Challenge last October – this is its first fully-featured social game.
Do new benchmarks, new APIs and a new wave of game engines signal a new era for PC graphics?
You can read part one of this feature, here.
Capcom announces iOS port of 2008 console/PC release; due later this month for $6.99.
Capcom is porting Devil May Cry 4 to iOS devices. Dubbed Devil May Cry 4: Refrain, it is due to hit the App Store later this month.
Intel paying sum over five years to offset uneven patent deal; all ongoing lawsuits dropped.
Rivals Nvidia and Intel have signed a patent deal that sees all existing legal cases between the two dropped, with Intel paying Nvidia $1.5 billion.
As a result of the deal, Intel will have full access to all of Nvidia’s patents, though Nvidia only has limited access to Intel’s. To compensate for this, Intel will pay Nvidia $1.5 billion over the next five years.
The King of Kong is dead. Long live the King of Kong.
New York plastic surgeon Dr Hank Chien has set a new Donkey Kong world record, reclaiming the honour from King Of Kong star Steve Wiebe.
Chien first won the title last March, setting a new record score of 1,061,700, but his score was beaten by veteran high score champion Billy Mitchell’s tally of 1,062,800. Wiebe then broke Mitchell’s record in September with 1,064,500.