Firewatch is a Beautiful Game

parislemon: theverge: This insanely frustrating web game...

parislemon:

theverge:

This insanely frustrating web game demonstrates how hard it is to land SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

We need an iPhone version pronto. It’s the new Flappy Bird.

This is awesome.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1LvSaHc

$3 Game for Free

I bet you didn't know about this one:

If you have the Apple Store App installed on your iPhone or iPad, you can get the game "Super Hexagon" for free, just by following a few steps.

9to5Toys:

Here’s how you can claim your free Super Hexagon download:

1. Install the Apple Store App for iOS
2. Open the Apple Store App on your iPhone
3. Tap on the ‘Stores’ button at the bottom of the screen
4. Swipe right twice on the image below the ‘One to One’ button
5. Tap the Super Hexagon image that says ‘Fast, action-packed fun.’
6. Tap the ‘Download now for free’ green button and follow the on-screen directions

The instructions will be different on iPad because of the slightly different UI, but the same basic principles apply.

It's really that easy, so what are you waiting for?

Let me know what you think of the game in the comments, and share this post if you think somebody else might like it.

Hearthstone is (finally!) available on Android

Source: http://toucharcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hearthstone.jpg

One of my favorite games on iPad is now available for Android powered tablets.

That's right, as of right now, you can download Hearthstone from the Google Play Store to your Android tablet. The game is free to play, and offers in-app purchases. Let the downloading ensue.

There is talk that the game may come out for phones (Android and iOS) as well, being that current phone hardware is more than up to the challenge. I'm personally curious as to how they plan on implementing the game on a phone screen. I'm also curious as to whether or not anyone would want to play the game on their phone.

If you haven't heard of Hearthstone, it's an electronic trading card game based loosely on the mechanics of Magic the Gathering. It's been simplified from Magic's physical card game roots, but it retains all of the fun play-ability and strategy of the inspiration.

The game has been available on PC for over a year now in beta form and full release, and has been on iPad for a little less than a year. One of my friends was in on the beta, and he actually got me hooked on the concept. It's really quite addicting.

It's sad that in 2014 we still see Android launches lag behind iOS launches, but hopefully Lollipop and Google's recent developer focused efforts can remedy this.

Console Wars

I checked out both the PS4 and the Xbox One this week, and I have to say that the result of my testing this far has been to skip this console generation.

Source: http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/341/d/2/
console_wars_cartoon_by_buddycomics-d6x0wmk.png

The Xbox One undeniably is packaged better. The controller also feels generally better, especially the feel of the triggers. The use of disposable batteries is a drag, though. Also, the Xbox One itself is big and bulky, even including a separate power adaptor. Ain't nobody got time for that. The Xbox One is the far more innovative console, in my opinion (at least initially). I think Kinect, and specifically voice control, could have been a game changing (pun intended) feature. Microsoft's idea of having the Xbox One be the entertainment device was also an innovative idea, even if it doesn't fit into my ecosystem. The user interface is cluttered, and not intuitive, though, and Kinect is no longer bundled with every console, nor did it ever work that easily to begin with. Even if Halo and Titanfall are awesome, the Xbox One isn't worth the price to me.

The PS4 is packaged poorly, but beautiful itself. Bundling the power adaptor into the console was a great move. The controller feels acceptable (good, even) and I like the built in rechargeable battery. Battery life is awful, though, and I can't help but think that the light bar should have been nixed in favor of better battery life (it is dimmable in settings, though, so whatever). The triggers on the controller don't feel that great, though, especially when compared to the triggers on the Xbox One (though, in testing, I didn't hate them). I loved the 3.5mm headphone jack on the controller as much as I thought I would. Navigating audio settings wasn't the most intuitive experience, but I managed. In general, the interface wasn't perfect, but it was much more intuitive and simple than that of the Xbox One. I didn't care for the circle, x, square, triangle button naming scheme, and I never have; I like my A, B, X, Y, but that's a small gripe, and I got used to it quickly. Sony lacks the history of online gaming community that Microsoft has, and they don't have that many exclusive titles that I'm interested in yet. But it's the better gaming console.

Graphics were good on both of the consoles. Granted, I was running them both on my 720p television, so they weren't working too hard, but there's that. I did experience minor graphics hiccoughs on the PS4, but I'm pretty sure that was due to the game I was given to test: Call of Duty Ghosts (not a good game). I tested FIFA 14 on the Xbox One, since that was the game I was given, and had no graphics issues.

I also didn't experience overheating issues on either console. I wasn't terribly worried about it on the Xbox One, since the thing is huge and like 80% fans, but I thought the built in power brick and compact design of the PS4 would be a problem. After a 4 hour online gaming session, however, I didn't notice significant heat.

The thing is, playing both of these games, I never felt like I got much more out of it than I would playing the games on mobile. FIFA 14 is a mobile game. And Call of Duty Ghosts might as well have been Shadowgun: Deadzone for all I cared (generic realistic multiplayer first person shooter). The controller and the big screen are the main differentiators, and Android can use both of those easily (iOS can use controllers, but using a big screen can take some tweaking).

Regardless of all of this, I'm skipping this console generation. At least until Microsoft releases an Xbox One slim. Why you ask? Because neither console (and let's be honest, the Wii U doesn't count as a console in this generation) has everything I'm looking for. The PS4 is a better console, but the Xbox One has the better games for me. For you, things may be different. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Best two out of three?

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
6/67/Rock-paper-scissors.svg

According to a study described in an article on arstechnica, Scientists have found a strategy for winning at rock paper scissors.

No, this isn't a strategy of playing slightly slower than your opponent in order to read their choice first or an algorithm or anything. This study simply shows a collective, built in probability system that humans share.

Essentially, if you win a round, you are likely to use the same choice again in the next round. If you lose, you are more likely to switch. Chances are, your switch will be to whatever beats what your opponent just played. This means that if you win, you should actually switch to what beats the thing that beats what you just played, so as to counter the loser's second play. Read the linked-to article; they describe it much better.

I think it's a really cool insight into the human psyche, honestly, and I thought I'd share it with you.

Also, I'm going to actually win some ro-sham-bo now.

Ooo-yah? What's that? How and why the kickstarter hot-shot needs to reach out to non-geeks.

Ooo-yah? What’s that?

Just threw this post up onto Medium after seeing that Target now carries the Ouya console. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Microsoft Dis-Kinects: thoughts on Microsoft’s recent console changes

http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/kinect_josh.jpg

MG Siegler writes on tumblr in reaction to this article from wired.com:

“Chris Kohler on the news that Microsoft will soon begin selling a $399 version of the Xbox One without the Kinect:”

‘Price is the problem, as others have learned recently. Getting Xbox One’s price in line with PlayStation 4′s was paramount, and matching Sony in terms of online video streaming features was as well since that is also an extra cost associated with Xbox ownership. Microsoft having to suck it up again and roll back a feature to get the price down illustrates that this was really its only feasible move. (Getting rid of an unpopular peripheral has got to hurt a lot less than Sony having to ditch backward compatibility to get PlayStation 3′s price to a palatable level.)’

“I’m not sold that price is the only problem here. As I’ve said from the outset, this latest generation of consoles sound like mediocre upgrades at best. They’re not Wii U-level disasters, but they’re just too “meh” to compete in a world that is increasingly mobile.”

“Further, I think Microsoft just created a quagmire for developers who were told time and time again that all Xbox One’s would ship with the Kinect. With the change, who in their right mind would create a game that takes full advantage of the device? And that, in turn, will ensure the device itself is not a success.”

I think there’s definitely something to say for making this “Xbox S” (see what I did there?) upgrade more palatable to previous console owners by making the buy-in price less steep, but I’m not sure how much of this price drop has to do with mobile gaming.

Honestly, the people that will buy a console or are thinking about it want to do so because of “hardcore” games like Titanfall, which mobile just isn’t capable of yet. Will decreasing the cost attract some mobile gamers? Probably. But I don’t see that as the goal. I see the reason being that Microsoft has realized that non-gamers are probably skipping this generation of consoles, and thus they are trying to compete with Sony’s more gaming focused machine.

As for dropping the Xbox live requirement for use of Netflix and other video apps, I see this as Microsoft actually trying to live up to its ideal of being your entertainment center, not just your gaming console. Especially in 2014, I’m not going to buy a really expensive box that I then have to pay $60 a month to use a movie streaming service I already pay for. That’s absurd. But, I may buy this box if it’s a free way to access the services I pay for and also allows me to play games.

Let's play Titanfall on (3) 46" Monitors : COD & BF4 Alternative

Maybe it would be different if I was actually sitting in the chair, but I don't feel like the surround screen gaming would be my thing. I feel like I would personally prefer having just one monitor to deal with. That being said, I think being in the Titan looks pretty cool on this three monitor set-up.

Titanfall might be the game that makes me get a console this generation. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but from the gameplay I've seen, I am very interested. There are other reasons why the Xbox One is cool, yes, but the thing really putting it above the PS4 in my mind right now is Titanfall.

In any case, check out this video of 3 monitor gameplay of Titanfall beta on PC.