Kill Screen Magazine's Blog, page 468

These freaky robots haven't replaced the common cat just yet, but are getting closer

Pet ownership isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. There’s the wear-and-tear on the carpet, the vet visits, the untimely messes. But looking at the alternatives, such as hovering robotic Slinkies, maybe your shedding cat isn’t so bad. That doesn’t mean that these Cthulhu-esque robots created by the design and architecture firm Minimaforms don’t need a little love. (Watch the video for more horrifying details.) To the contrary, they like being petted by you.

In fact they like attention so much that “they will ‘perform’ to stimulate engagement between the potential participants,” their creators told Wired. These gentle giants are programmed to display an array of emotions, ranging from curious to disinterested to angry, in resposne to what you do. So play nice! I'd really hate to see one of these things in a bad mood.

High Scores 2013: 5-1

In which we finish what we started. 

How the small team behind The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter outdid Crysis in photorealism

The amazing thing about The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter is how nature looks more gorgeous in it than in whatever gorgeous game you have in mind: Far Cry 3, Crysis, Skyrim, Battlefield. So you might be surprised to learn that it was made by a small and unknown independent team. How’d they do it? 

Well, in an article on Indie Statik today, it was revealed that they’re calling the technique photogrammetric, which is a no-nonsense approach to photorealistic graphics. What this means is that instead of crafting thousands of tiny polygons in the shape of a tree, they instead take photographs of a real tree from multiple angles and sort of glue them together in a computer world where you can play. The idea is: why approximate reality when you can have the real thing? 

You can’t argue with the results, either. Just look at this thing! Our trusty design intern Eric says the technique is similar to an old visual effect known as stereoscopy, which has its origins in the 19th century, and uses a stuttering effect to create multi-angled photographs, such as these of Japan in antiquity.

If this technique is as good as it seems to be, it could mean big things. The best scenario is that cheaply made graphics that are readily available would stall the arms races in pursuit of better graphics, and developers could invest more money in things like artificial intelligence and ambitious narrative. But then I’m reminded of Resolutiongate and the coming Ultra HD. We live in contentious times. 

The E.T. excavation documentary is Xbox's answer to the Netflix original

Earlier this year, we learned of one man’s bonkers plan to shoot a documentary as he excavates a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where it’s said millions of copies of E.T. are buried. Today we found out that this film will be original content for Xbox.

There has been original television content on consoles before, but nothing this huge. With this multimedia endeavor, Microsoft is taking a page from Netflix, who has added a slew of original shows to their streaming service, including House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and Arrested Development. 

The E.T. documentary should be a quality pick-up for Xbox, as the story is one of the biggest in games. If you haven’t heard, here’s the quickie version: Atari spent way too much on the E.T. license. They flooded the market with the tape, resulting in hundreds of thousands of disappointed kids on Christmas morning. Then, the bottom fell out of the videogame market, culminating in the crash of ’83, and everyone pointed their finger at E.T. Untold numbers of unsold copies were supposably buried in the desert; thus, the documentary. 

When I interviewed Howard Scott Warshaw last year, who was the lone developer of what many consider the worst game in all history, he told me how he spent years after the E.T. fallout questioning his direction in life, eventually filming a documentary on bondage. “I like documentaries when there's a secret truth, or something that's really misunderstood or unknown,” he explained to me. From the sound of things, the E.T. excavation film will certainly meet his expectations.

Not so fast, Bryant Gumbel. Esports are cooler than you think.

We here at Kill Screen believe that two teams of intensely skilled gold farmers going at it is a wholly worthwhile activity. But the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily see it that way. When guests on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel recently entertained the question of whether esports count as a real sport, the predictable outcome was astonishment, knee-slapping, and a round of laughter. And also this affirmation: “That it’s not a sport, it’s a game.”

In the clip below, you can see the problem. One is that no one has a clue about what actually goes on in an esports match. This isn’t totally the pundits’ fault. As we’ve talked about before, esports have a visibility problem. It’s much harder to understand the finer mechanics of DOTA 2 than it is to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of, say, tennis. We all know its really difficult to crush a yellow ball at 90 m.p.h. with pinpoint precision, but it’s harder to be impressed when the skills of the players involve strategy and keystrokes that aren’t readily apparent. 

The other problem is cultural. Esports are still seen as a “nerd” thing, to quote the clip. This is just an outdated and unfair bias which will diminish with time, as the vast majority of people I know who play games like DOTA are very cool and ambitious men and women. Admittedly it could be that I just know cool men and women, but the last time I checked sports have nothing to do with the coolness factor. Case in point: synchronized swimming. Esports are so much cooler than synchronized swimming.

Nightmare: Malaria makes us wonder if games for change are actually getting good

Nightmare: Malaria is a game with a good cause, namely fighting malaria in Africa. But hold up, Mr. Cynical-pants. Before you dismiss it outright on the grounds that it’s fighting the good fight, I have to say it looks like a compelling experience in its on right—sort of like Limbo with sinister mosquitos instead of that amazing Hitchcockian spider scene.  

In the past what we’ve generally cared about with games with positive social messages was the message itself. These games stood out because they subverted bullying, spoke out on illegal immigration, or promoted recycling cans. The game itself, whether good or bad, but mostly bad, was an afterthought. 

But here recently, we’ve seen a spate of proactive games that are awesome—Cart Life and Papers, Please being the first that come to mind. It seems we are entering the second phase of play for a good cause, where games that make a statement are just as concerned with entertaining us as they are with persuading us. This is a good for everybody, social activists, devs, us people who love games, because having a solid game underneath ultimately makes a better point for the cause it supports. Unless that cause is that the drone business is good for jobs, in which case we're all screwed. 

Maybe the guy who founded Zynga isn’t so bad after all

The other day I questioned what good could come from President Obama inviting the founder of Zynga to the Oval Office for a chat about national security. I think the sentiment was something to the effect of: what the eff? 

Well, it turns out Mark Pincus of Zynga made a bold and populist contribution at the meeting. CNN reports that he asked the President that Edward Snowden should be pardoned. Snowden, of course, is the NSA employee who leaked information that the government was involved in massive snooping. Naturally, the President shot him down, presumably because he makes social games. But perhaps this is a moment to stop and re-assess the company that makes adorably banal town and country sims. Maybe there’s a tiny bit of good nestled in their metrics schemes designed to hook us all. 

On second thought, nah!

(image via Politico)

High Scores 2013: 15-6

The second part of a trilogy is always the best, right? 

We knew it. The Galaga spaceship is gender-neutral

Namco High is the stateside dating sim that lets you loan your letterman jacket and class ring to many forgotten characters from the Namco vault. Yep, it’s nuts. But then the question arises of sexual orientation. Is the ship from Galaga a dude, a gal, or agendered? 

The thought alone is kind of silly, as is hooking up with the drum from Taiko Drum Master, which you can also do in the game, but the guys at What Pumpkin Studios are up to something clever. We received an email from them today explaining how “the game was developed with the protagonist to be agendered. Players can ascribe any gender they choose, and by virtue of that choice, any relationship in the game could be categorized in any way.” 

This gesture to include everyone, regardless of sexuality, is intentional and a step in the right direction. But as is pointed out in this PBS Game/Show episode, the gay option is simply that, a gay option. While it makes sense in the context of a dating game to allow for a variety of romantic interests, sooner or later games are going to need to catch up with film and television and feature prominent gay characters, you know, sometimes. Until then, we can only idly speculate about Mr. Driller.

Wearable sculptures here to make you look dangerous, cyborg-y

Kinesis by Daniel Widrig are 3D-printed pieces that exaggerate parts of the body.