Gamertell

While many video games including FIFA or Madden already address the average couch quarterback or striker, Canadian Bent 360 has designed a game aimed at people who are actually at a sports event.

CrowdWave is a system that allows people at a sports arena to participate in a video game by moving their body. The system is composed of a series of cameras and motion sensors that analyze the movements and position of bodies in a crowd. This way the crowd can point their bodies in the right direction and manipulate objects in a game.

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The Mass Effect series is one of the games mixing science with story in a fun way. In this case, the game introduces the concept of dark matter into its core mechanics. Dark matter is a concept theorized by many physicists as an explanation for the constant and increasing expansion of the universe, but Mass Effect puts it to a different and probably more interesting use.

The game introduces the concept of “biotics,” beings (human or otherwise) that can control dark energy and use it to move objects and affect their surroundings. This ability endows biotics with Jedi-like abilities making them fearsome fighters. This same energy allows for faster-than-light travel and other technological wonders that populate the game. This phenomenon, called “mass effect” in the game world, is what gives the series its name.  All this is explained throughout the game giving players access to this subject in a more entertaining way.

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A long time ago board games were all the rage.

People used to sit around a table and spend hours throwing the dice, spinning wheels and flipping cards while moving the little pieces around a board. With the appearance of video games, for many people the focus changed from a table to the TV and now several of those board games are a thing of the past (or ironically turned into video games).

Now, thanks to a couple of Canadian researchers, board games may be making a come back.

Roel Vertegaal and Eric Akaoka, of Queen’s University, are developing a way to make interactive board games in a whole new way. By using a projector and a motion tracking camera they can create interactive playing cards that react to motion and their position in relation to other cards. An image is projected on the cards and the camera tracks their motion so when they are in the right position, like next to another card, the images on both cards interact.

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I have wondered many times what makes someone a better gamer than the rest. I thought it was basically down to good reflexes and practice but, according to a recent study, it might all be in your head.

The study, published by the Cerebral Cortex Journal, was conducted in the US by the University of Illinois, the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scientists from these universities found a relation between the size and development of a certain part of the brain and a person’s ability to perform at video games.

There is a general relation between brain size and intelligence in the animal kingdom so, the larger the animal, the smarter it is.  There are notable exceptions as in the case of humans, though. Even though a whale’s brain is bigger than ours, humans are thought to be smarter because the part of the brain that controls cognitive abilities is proportionally larger. In a similar fashion, a person’s ability at certain tasks can be identified from the size of the regions in the brain responsible for those tasks.

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It seems that the situation in Australia concerning video games ratings isn’t getting better any time soon as the debate will be dragged along again by the South Australian Attorney General, Michael Atkinson.

We previously reported that the Australian government was soliciting public opinions concerning an R18 rating for video games. The government released a paper with arguments for and against the new ratings system so people would be informed before casting their vote. This seemed to be a fair and objective method for consulting the Australian population about an issue that affects them but, now, the whole thing will be moot thanks to Michael Atkinson.

Atkinson said that the public consultation isn’t fair and the anticipated overwhelming vote in favor will be biased because only gamers will vote. Additionally, Atkinson said that because he has received death threats and abusive emails he won’t change his posture on the subject…

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Microsoft has been in talks with Disney about incorporating some kind of subscription-based channel offering programming from ESPN into the Xbox Live service. This is far from a done deal but the partnership could allow Microsoft to broadcast ESPN shows and also include some kind of interactive games.

This would indicate that cable networks are seriously thinking about jumping on the console bandwagon. After all, there are tens of millions of possible subscribers - counting Xbox and PS3 owners, who already have the hardware connected in their living rooms - so that would be a lucrative business for everyone involved.

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Alienware has been known for offering high end gaming PCs with awesome looks and performance. At CES 2010 the company unveiled its latest incursion into the portable gaming market, the M11x.

Small and lightweight notebooks have been increasing in popularity lately due to portability and low price. These notebooks often sacrifice power for size but that’s not the case with the M11x. It comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and an Nvidia GeForce GT 335M GPU. These would take a toll on a notebooks battery life but the M11x also comes equipped with Intel’s integrated graphics so that users can change on the fly for less graphics intensive applications. Battery life is said to be around 3 hours when gaming and it goes up to 6 hours for regular use.

The M11x is only 11-inches and it comes with a 720p HD display with a resolution of 1336 x 768. It is only 4 pounds and also has the trademark Alienware looks, with an awesome backlit keyboard.

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If you ever thought that $60 was a lot of money to spend on a video game, then forget about that brand new virtual space station.

The winner of an auction for the Crystal Palace Space Station just dropped US$330,000 for his virtual piece of heaven.

Planet Calypso, created by First Planet Company, is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) where players pay for goods and services with real cash. The game world employs a currency called Project Entropia Dollars (PED) that has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. Every $10 PED are equal to US$1 so every transaction has actual real-world value.

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Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3 has just won an award for depicting vegetarians and vegans in a positive light.

The award, called a Proggy, is granted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and this year The Sims 3 took the honors in the Most Animal-Friendly Game of 2009 category.

In the game, players can choose to create a vegetarian character and adopt a meat-free lifestyle. Vegetarian characters in the game have a selection of foods according to their needs. They can even enjoy snacks like tofu hot dogs or different types of salads.

If by some mistake or someone else’s mischief a vegetarian character eats meat, it will get sick. If they stick to their diets, vegetarian characters age more slowly and live longer lives.

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A boy from New York (US) and his Xbox Live account helped in capturing a burglar that had participated in almost 200 robberies. The man, called Jeremiah Gilliam, had broken into cars and homes and stolen all kinds of electronic equipment including GPS devices, video game consoles and computers.

The boy’s Xbox 360 had been stolen earlier and while playing using someone else’s console, he noticed that his Xbox Live tag was being used at that moment. He and his parents called the police and they were able to track the IP address being used to a home in the Bronx.

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