For several months I’d been thinking about videogames that are available for older machines; specifically PIII’s at 700MHz (my mother’s machine). It’s amazing how difficult it is to find older videogames that might be suited for the not-quite-yet-outdated hardware. As it turned out, I had a couple of games that I’d purchased and never really played: American McGee’s Alice (image above) and Sacrifice. They fit the bill, so I took some time to give them another spin, and what I found was that they don’t look at all dated. Alice uses the now open source Quake III engine and is, imo, as engaging as HL2. Sacrifice didn’t appeal to me quite as much, but the visuals are still very compelling; and the gameplay – which took me a while to get into – was obviously given quite a bit of thought.

What makes me write about them now is something I wrote earlier regarding videophones and virtual worlds (reLink):

…the lesson seems to be that they care more about constant connectivity (even primitive texting) than about the kind of connectivity. Relative to surfing the net, virtual world interfaces are actually better in meeting those kinds of wants, meaning that even primitive worlds are sufficient so long as the connectivity and their buddies are there. Assuming Second Life ever gets an integrated browser up and running so that people can socially surf the net, things could change dramatically. Continue reading →

A couple of weeks ago I posted an entry (reLink) regarding Clay Shirky’s rant about the fuzzy numbers being thrown about by both the mainstream media and Linden Lab. While I wasn’t clear about it then, my feeling about his rant was – or should have been – evident in my focus on his example for why something like the “metaverse” will always be the great idea that never materializes (pun intended). It was good to have the hype called out at that level, but the manner and tone of the piece seemed all wrong to me.
Continue reading →

Check out the above interior design work for videogame development company Three Rings. I found that and other photos on the Because We Can blog (Link), which is maintained by the people who did the work. Cool stuff and worth checking out.

The other thing I found of interest while surfing through was a separate post on the BWC blog (Link) in which they mention using Blender, the open source 3D modeler, for some of their work (not a lot, but some). In particular, I was unaware that a sculpting plug-in ala ZBrush was in the works for Blender. Good to know.

via Raph Koster’s blog

{Image Copyright © Because We Can, LLC }

I recall last year that some people made predictions that 2006 would be the “Year of the Avatar”, and while I considered that a possibility, I wasn’t as comfortable with that prediction as I am with someone saying that 2007 will instead be the year; that 2006 laid the groundwork for mass adoption. The argument is simple: average people are becoming increasingly educated to the term and how it’s being applied, so it’s not a foreign concept to a much larger number of people. There have been magazine covers showing avatars (including the one I sometimes mention: Anshe Chung). In addition, there has been the growth in popularity of most virtual world platforms as broadband continues to penetrate the market. Habbo Hotel is doing well I hear. Second Life has certainly received a significant amount of press. And even regular videogame avatars are now seen as something more than mere game characters and more as extensions of our real life selves (recall the “WoW is the new golf” quote). All that in mind, it’s worth reading a story I caught last week, “Why is Japan crazed over Avatar?” (Link). Here’s one clip from early in the piece: Continue reading →

I’ve mentioned Revver previously (reLink) and how I like the business model that allows content creators/owners to get something for their effort, well I was browsing through the site yesterday and stumbled upon an indie label band that I thought I’d share. The Copenhagen-based outfit, HorrorPops, who are signed to the Epitaph-spawned Hellcat Records, wraps up a number of sounds – from Siouxsie Sioux vocals to Stray Cats rockabilly – in a retro-goth package that reminds me of my visits to B-Ware Video back when I lived in Cleveland.
Continue reading →