Dance Controlled Live PA
Oculus Rift + Kinect – Audio visual instrument a001 from Ethno Tekh on Vimeo.
Flailing to create music. What more can I say?
XCOM – turn-based strategy
I’d have to say that X-COM is my favourite turn-based strategy game. Played the crap out of this game, even despite how difficult and time-consuming it was.
A few months ago, when I realized that the remake was released… AND in the classic turn-based tactical style, instead of the silly FPS version that was planned. Picked it up almost instantly (after approval from my partner, of course).
I’ll spare my long review of it, so just go play it. Go out and try XCOM: Enemy Unknown… right now.
Browsing the web, I found a few links to some solid strategy tips for those that are attempting to play the game on “Classic” difficulty.
http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread.php?206361-Classic-vs-Impossible-a-partial-stratagy-guide-%28In-progress-%29
http://iam.yellingontheinternet.com/2012/11/12/miscellaneous-xcom-tips/
Besides the links, there’s also this PCGamer video that does a great job. Chis talks about playing the game in Ironman mode where the game controls your single saved game. No retries. Consequences are permanent.
Spring Engine : Open Source RTS Game
Was inspired but some recorded matches of Spring RTS, an open source real-time strategy game, so I recorded a big match that I played versus an AI opponent. Wanna play? Well Spring is free, so go download it (or just grab it from the Ubuntu Software Centre).
I will be performing some screen captures on Linux in the future (video tutorials of a 3D animation package), so I wanted to find optimal methods for recording 3D at full HD (1080p).
Settings for recordMyDesktop on Ubuntu 12:10 using Gnome 3:
Video Quality 100
Frames Per Second 30
Encode on Fly: OFF
Zero Compression: ON
Quick Subsampling: OFF
Full shots at very frame: ON
Game was running at 10x speed, and I then doubled it again in my video editor, OpenShot (open source video editor).
DJ mix is by meshdiggity on SoundCloud.
*note: Remember to switch to HD 1080p! Make those little dots nice and crisp.
Youtube’s Got Variable Playback Speed?
You can play at normal, double, 1.5, 1/2 or 1/4 speed. No joke. Check this link and see if it works for you.
But now that I’ve shared the link, the feature isn’t there anymore. WTF? Ok, I’m doing a video screen capture while this is still up. This is a pretty cool feature and a VERY cool feature for those that like to dissect visual effects in film OR for all the animators who are studying animation. Dear Vimeo, take note.
*UPDATE*
The Speed option is back again. It’s probably because I was jumping between browsers. I don’t see it in Firefox, but I do see it in Chrome (Chromium). I really am digging this (obviously). It seems that it’s an HTML5 feature that you have to opt in to.
pid : stylized 2D platformer
Original game concept and fresh look. Can’t wait to give this game a whirl. [thx Zak]
Cut the Rope for Android
In anticipation for the launch of World of Goo for Android (2 more days!!!), I discovered another little clever little title called Cut the Rope.
Can gifts be purchased for Android, similar to the way Steam handles it? Me thinks this is inevitable, but they should hurry up!!
World of Goo on Android
A few days ago my roomate and I were talking about World of Goo. Last night, he booted up his Mac, while I tried to figure out how to get it running on Linux.
This morning I found that 2D Boy had my install files still available on their website (score!!). Within minutes, I was creating towers of goo using my Wacom tablet. Yes, this game is super tablet friendly under Mac and Windows. Though a little glitchy under Linux (probably due to the resolution change), it can be done with a Wacom.
Today I took a look at the 2D Boy blog and discovered that, in a few days, World of Goo will be available for Android! OOoooh boy. So for about $5 ($15 less than the current PC download price), I will have another time-waster on my Galaxy Tab? This game was born for touchscreen, and on November 28th, all shall be right in the world.
World of Goo was created during a rapid prototyping session at Carnegie Mellon. Details of this development cycle are here on Gamasutra.
Two Recent Turn-Based Strategy Releases
Despite the great time I have had playing Blipzkrieg, I’ve also invested some time (and $7) on another game.
Frozen Synapse was half-off on Steam this past weekend and I’ve been playing it quite a bit… in between renders. I am certainly digging it, as it feels like a combination of Rainbow Six’s planning stages, X-COM and Jagged Alliance. Games can be completed fairly quickly, unlike most turn-based strategy games, which is a big plus for casual gamers.
It’s also worth mentioning that they’ve demoed some Jagged Alliance Online footage on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Great game and I remember running into one of the developers while snowboarding in Vancouver
Voxels at Siggraph 2011
Real quick, I wanted to point out the many recent uses of voxels demonstrated at Siggraph. I can’t help it, but I get pretty excited every time I hear about voxels. Even the developer at Atomontage states that we need a voxel “revolution”, and I couldn’t agree more.
Apparently Blue Sky’s “Rio” used Voxels for terrain and the rendering of large crowds. I hope the talk is released soon so I can see the details, first hand.
I was made aware of a game engine called Atomontage, which uses voxels [thx Ruslan]. In the video below, you can see the potentials of (for example) truly destructible terrain, as the user unearths rocks from the sand or strips the plaster from the walls, revealing the bricks underneath.
SideFx’s release of Houdini 11.1 allows for the integration with Sony Imagework’s open source project, “Field3D“, a format for working with 3D voxel data.
Prep for Burning Man
I’m going and I have a ticket. Some travel details need to be worked out and I still have some equipment prep that needs to be planned and executed.
I’m still working on my SideFX Cook-Off challenge entry.
I also just purchased the new turn-based strategy, “Frozen Synapse”. Some would say this will kill my productivity… and they would be right. The point is to use my computer for something completely not work related between little successes.
Also looks like MEC has the Injinji toe-socks that I need to get before burning man. What else will fit my toed Vibram shoes?
