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February 28, 2008

"Lost: Via Domus" Game Ships



If you are into transmedia storytelling, and especially if you are a Lost fan, check out the Lost: Via Domus game (PC, Xbox360) that Amazon began shipping yesterday (mine is on its way). You will be playing a new character -- a photographer with amnesia -- in an environment that is true to the TV series and that has been vetted by the show's creators. There isn't much shooting involved, but you will get to solve a lot of puzzles and explore a lot of places that has remained off the TV screen, including some hidden nooks inside the stations. Many of the original voices were recorded for the game, including Ben's, but unfortunately not Sawyer's.

Original post: http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2008/02/lost-via-dominus-game-ships.html

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February 27, 2008

More On IBM and Serious Games Fit For Business
Via: IBM Press Room - Made in IBM Labs: IBM 3-D Data Centers Show Virtual Worlds Fit for Business

A Big Blue project allows IT managers to monitor a three-dimensional, real-time view of their computing resources, even if they are spread across the globe.

Rather than build a virtual world for online gaming or to give users an alternative reality, Big Blue made a virtual world where IT executives can examine and manipulate hardware running in their very real data centers. The IBM project -- called 3-D Data Center -- gives IT shops a 3-dimensional, real-time virtual view of their data centre resources, even if they are spread across the globe.

Continue reading "More On IBM and Serious Games Fit For Business" »

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IBM-Emotiv Partnership: Connecting Brains To Games

Via: Business Wire - Emotiv and IBM Intend to Work Together on Use of Neuro-Technologies

Emotiv Systems, the pioneer in brain computer interface (BCI) technology, has unveiled the Emotiv EPOC™ (a neuroheadset that allows players to control gameplay with their thoughts, expressions and emotions) in its final consumer form, during a live interactive demonstration at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Continue reading "IBM-Emotiv Partnership: Connecting Brains To Games" »

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February 26, 2008

EA-Land: Virtual Worlds and Web Widgets
Electronic Arts is opening up its The Sims Online game to free membership, renaming it into EA-Land, and introducing a number of changes, the following one being the most interesting:

Continue reading "EA-Land: Virtual Worlds and Web Widgets" »

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GDC08: Serious Games Leveraging On 25-Year Beta
Via: GDC 2008 - Serious Games Summit Sessions
and Serious Games Source + AusGamers.com Debriefing

Serious Games Summit Session - Microsoft ESP: Taking FLIGHT SIMULATOR from Game to Serious Game

Speaker(s): Shawn Firminger (ACES Studio - Microsoft Game Studios)

Microsoft's presence at this year's Serious Games Summit was felt in the form of its recently unveiled Microsoft ESP: a platform for the creation of visual simulations (see also Microsoft Shaping The Serious Games Movement Into A Multi-Billion Dollar Market , $9 Bi: Microsoft's Conservative Estimate For The Serious Games Market , Serious Games Market Enroll Major Players and Microsoft ESP Leveling The Serious Games Market Playing Field).

Continue reading "GDC08: Serious Games Leveraging On 25-Year Beta" »

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Serious Games Creating Entertaining Branding Experiences

Serious Games For Brand Play



At CES 2008, Reactrix demonstrated how users could stand in front of a Samsung LCD and interact with several games and information sites using the movement of their limbs

Via: Reactrix - Advertising Is No Longer A Spectator Sport

In malls, theaters and other spaces, Reactrix creates highly entertaining branding displays that respond to the physical movements of the audience.

Continue reading "Serious Games Creating Entertaining Branding Experiences" »

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February 21, 2008

Launched: ICED! Serious Games To Develop Empathy For Immigrants

Serious Games to walk a mile in immigrants shoes




Via: Breakthrough - Building Human Rights Culture

and Global Kids - ICED! Game release on GK island

Following my prior post ICED! Update: Serious Games To Develop Empathy For Immigrants, the NY-based nonprofit Breakthrough released on February 18th the Serious Game ICED: I Can End Deportation, which is also a play on the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department.

Continue reading "Launched: ICED! Serious Games To Develop Empathy For Immigrants" »

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February 19, 2008

GDC08 Starts: Two Focused Summits Are Serious Games Related

Expanded Summits Broaden Serious Games Coverage


Courtesy Of GDC

Today starts the Game Developers Conference, the major industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of interactive entertainment.

Since the Game Developers Conference has grown to be rather large, individual summits serve to fit the needs of specific markets, and these two-day sessions allow a more intimate environment within the larger scope of GDC.

Continue reading "GDC08 Starts: Two Focused Summits Are Serious Games Related" »

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February 18, 2008

GDC08: Serious Games As Passively Multiplayer Online Games

Serious Games challenging us to play a better future


Via: Passively Multiplayer Online Gaming (PMOG)

Passively Multiplayer Online Games! We're already playing them; especially as we increasingly hang out with other people on the internets. And as the internets move into our pockets, our cities, our cars and our social lives!

PMOG looks to explore and explain this exciting world. For now they're drawing the connections between games and activities that point the way to our passively entertaining future!

Continue reading "GDC08: Serious Games As Passively Multiplayer Online Games" »

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February 14, 2008

MMOGCharts updated

Hurray! See them here.

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February 11, 2008

Mixed Reality: Serious Games For Creative Leaps In Learning

Serious Games melting reality and imagination


Via: University Of Central Florida - Institute For Simulation & Training

The Media Convergence Laboratory (MCL) is a partnership between the Institute for Simulation and Training, the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the Digital Media Department at UCF.

Continue reading "Mixed Reality: Serious Games For Creative Leaps In Learning" »

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February 6, 2008

Game Consoles In Distributed Computing Project


"More than one million PlayStation 3 owners are taking part in Folding@home, the distributed computing project run by Stanford University." The research helps finding cure for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many cancers.

Continue reading "Game Consoles In Distributed Computing Project" »

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February 5, 2008

GTA-Styled ARG-Looking Campaign in Belgium


Image source: Pietel on Flickr

Adverblog points at an ongoing campaign in Belgium that is remarkably similar to the last year's commercial by Coke about a thug turned do-gooder in a Grand Theft Auto - like city. If this is an ARG, than it's the very beginning of it, since the site doesn't offer any clues yet.

Original post: http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2008/02/gta-styled-arg-looking-campaign-in.html

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February 4, 2008

How to Homebrew Wii Games: 73 Tips, Tutorials and Resources
by: Amy S. Quinn (guest blogger)

Certainly you've heard that fully integrated Wii homebrews are in the near future, but did you know that developers are already homebrewing for the Wii? Through the Internet Channel, you can play Flash and Javascript games, and yes, even make your own. So if you've spent all your money on a bidding war to get the Wii and you're out of cash for games, follow this guide to some of the best Wii homebrew resources out there.

Continue reading "How to Homebrew Wii Games: 73 Tips, Tutorials and Resources" »

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February 3, 2008

ForgeFX: Serious Games In Real-Time 3D Environments
Via: ForgeFX - Interactive 3D Simulations
ForgeFX is an interactive 3D simulation and visualization company based in San Francisco.

They provide software development services for clients looking to create both online and offline interactive content. Their clients compete in the education, training, and entertainment industries.

ForgeFX creates realistic interactive simulations that give their target audience the ability to learn effectively while reducing physical and financial risks.

Continue reading "ForgeFX: Serious Games In Real-Time 3D Environments" »

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Finding The Right Serious Games Solutions For Corporate Training
ia: TrainingPort Strategies

TrainingPort has one primary purpose - to help organizations find the right solutions for utilizing simulations and games for learning within their current and future environments.

Most organizations have existing courses, programs and legacy systems which they would like to "convert" to a delivery system that is more in tune with the next generation's methods, ideas and learning styles...

Continue reading "Finding The Right Serious Games Solutions For Corporate Training" »

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Serious Games Showcase & Challenge 2008
Via: Serious Games Showcase & Challenge 2008 - The Official Website Of The Third Annual I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge

The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) promotes cooperation among the Armed Services, Industry, Academia and various Government agencies in pursuit of improved training and education programs, identification of common training issues and development of multiservice programs.

Continue reading "Serious Games Showcase & Challenge 2008" »

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Unity: Making Serious Games That Play Like Modern Games

Bringing great technology to Serious Game developers

Via: Unity - Intelligent games with great technology

Unity is a multiplatform game development tool, designed from the start to ease creation.

Unity brings great technology to Serious Game developers. You can focus on the learning experience, and let Unity do the heavy lifting.

According to their site, "it's time get Serious Games rid of the bad image that using dated technology has given them. It's time to make Serious Games that play like modern games."

Continue reading "Unity: Making Serious Games That Play Like Modern Games" »

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Stats from Live In-Theater Games
Brand Experience Lab shares some results from the in-theater games they did for MSNBC (The Newsbreaker) in the US and for Volvo in the UK (video below).

Continue reading "Stats from Live In-Theater Games" »

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Advergames for iPhone
Not too many of those. Actually, just one.



DrPepper's Matchcaps is simple re-skin of Bejeweled. Not horribly imaginative, but this press release says it's the first advergame for iPhone (it came out in November 2007). So far, it seems to be the only one.

Continue reading "Advergames for iPhone" »

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February 2, 2008

Lack of updates
As you might've noticed, during the past two weeks, the blog was rather moody (both the front end and the back end). The regular posting schedule will return starting on Monday, stay tuned :)

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