I am not certain if this is the first post-apocalyptic MMO to hit the field, but I believe that the post apocalyptic genre has the potential to be the most imaginative.  I can imagine that all the developers of Fallen Earth are scampering like crazy to make players a realistic landscape of what the world would look like after the buttons are pushed.

Then again, is that what happened in Fallen Earth?  According to the Press Release, a disease started in Asia that was nicknamed the Shiva Virus.  Thousands were dying, and, from out of nowhere, the release says: “then the nukes started going off”.  What?!  What is this, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy?  No, you can’t have an apocalypse without a sufficiently written backstory, Fallen Earth!

Or maybe you can, but whatever the case, don’t just start some backstory without completing it.  Perhaps the player will find out how the world ends in the course of the game.  I don’t really think that I have seen that in an MMO game before.  That could be interesting.

As it is, I have included a trailer that discusses some of the backstory and how “the last ember of civilization” assembled at Hoover Dam.  I’m guessing that every character starts out there, and I would imagine that the first stage of this game takes place around the Grand Canyon area.

Hopefully, the player can go to bombed-out areas nearby like Las Vegas, Reno, or maybe even Los Angeles!  I’m certain that you see the potential here of a virtual landscape that is just like the real world, but destroyed.  Then again, many “cities” that you see in MMO games are just giant boxes of buildings with minimal traffic.  At least I can understand the lack of traffic in this game.

As you can also see from the trailer, there are six different factions fighting: The Enforcers, the C.H.O.T.A.s (Child of the Apocalypse), the Vistas, the Techs, the Lightbearers, and the Travelers.  I wonder if these are the character classes?  Probably.

I have included another trailer of the game so you can see more of what Fallen Earth is about.  There was one that I couldn’t find that boasted: “Sick of ogres, elves, and pixies?  So are we.” Clearly, Fallen Earth is supposed to be sticking it to the World of Warcraft crowd.  The slogan about “bury your crystals” and “quit playing with your wand” is just way too innuendo for me.

Apparently, the game also says it is the “real deal” and “this isn’t your Daddy’s MMO”.  By the way, most MMO players don’t have daddies who play MMO games.  You really should be stealing that old “this is not your father’s Oldsmobile” slogan unless your father has actually used an old version of that product!

Anyway, feel free to venture over to the Fallen Earth website if you want to learn more information about the game itself.  This game has been under development for about four years, which is no surprise for an MMO, and I believe they might be ready for Beta soon.

Source

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Post tags: app, development, Fallen Earth, mac, MMO Games, MMORPG, sem, tech, video, Video Games, Web Stuff

Yeah, many of those pictures that you see from a hotel’s web site are taken to make the finest impression on a potential guest, and some of them are probably airbrushed. These are the pictures that end up on hotels.com and other online reservation sites, and the few paragraphs of description they give on the hotel or resort is too good to be true.

Don’t even get me started on the description of the amenities! Actually, I’m going to get started on them. I used to work at a hotel, and usually the amenities that we had were whatever was working when the guest was there.

Most travel sites that talk about the hotel would just say “pool” on their amenities description, and then you get there, and discover you shouldn’t have packed your swimsuit at all. Haven’t you ever stayed at a hotel that said it had a pool, and then you find out that the pool is outdoors and not available during certain seasons?

I would imagine that problems like this are what inspired the creators of Oyster Hotel Reviews to create a site devoted to hotels. This isn’t like the other sites where the basic information of the hotel is listed, and the “reviewers” just looked up the hotel website as their main source. At best, these sites talked to the people who work there, and filled in the gaps to make content. Sure, the best foot is put forward, but it isn’t always the foot that the guest gets.

No, writers on oyster.com have physically stayed at this hotel, and all their reporting is based on actual experience. Oyster.com reporters check in just like any other guest, and they don’t tell anyone in the hotel who they are working for, so they are treated as actual guests, not V.I.P.s.

The end result is an unbiased report of the hotel stay, complete with amenities, is actually like. A typical review starts with Pros and Cons, and then sections about the Service, the Location, the Rooms, the Features, the Cleanliness, and the Food. Then everything all adds up to the Bottom Line to tell the end-user how good their stay actually was.

In addition to the content, Oyster Hotel Reviews features lots of photos of the place that are taken by high resolution digital cameras, and are not airbrushed in any way. So while the hotel’s site has a perfect shot of the beach at sunset, Oyster Hotel Reviews has a shot of the beach on normal conditions.

The photo feature is just one tab on each Oyster Hotel Reviews entries. Another one is the map feature that will show directions to the hotel, but orange pinpoints for other hotels that Oyster Hotel Reviews has reviewed.

In short, I believe that Oyster Hotel Reviews is going to change the online travel industry. Considering that sites like Expedia, Cheaptickets, and Travelocity are a dime a dozen, Oyster Hotel Reviews has something that they don’t have: a chance to see what the hotel is actually like. It will decrease the amount of unpleasant surprises that arise on trips, which is what all travelers want.

Oyster.com

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Post tags: expedia, hotel stays, hotels, oyster hotel reviews, oyster.com, style, travel sites, vacation, vacation planning, vacation sites, Web Stuff

Last week Digg announced some important changes to the policies that govern what sorts of things third-party Digg application developers may do. The changes lift old restrictions on certain Digg app functionalities and present new options to developers, giving them the freedom and flexibility to create programs that interact with the social networking site in ways not possible before.

There are a few differences between the old Digg API and the new. First, developers no longer need to get permission from Digg to make applications that make use of the site’s content. Also, third-party developers may now charge for access to their apps and make use of ads. Essentially, third-party Digg application developers are now free to make applications on their own without oversight from Digg, while profiting from them, which means we can expect a lot more Digg apps competing for users’ interest in the near future.

Third-party developers now also have developer’s access to the Digg search engine, allowing them to make use of all the particular Digg search functions in their apps. Along with access to Digg’s search functions comes access to users’ favourites, allowing third party apps to make novel use of info about which stories are most popular among Digg users. Essentially, third party Digg application developers may now make use of the most crucial information about Digg stories, so we can expect plenty of applications in the future that give users new insight into the trends and popular topics of Digg.

Finally, third party Digg apps can now participate in Digg just like a normal user. Users may vote up , bury, comment on, and favourite stories through third party apps. Formerly third party apps could only watch the digging action from afar and were powerless to affect the Digg world.

The bottom line is that the new Digg API will allow for the creation of Digg applications that will give users a new level of interactivity with Digg stories. With unprecedented access to essentially all the information on Digg, it is easy to imagine that many apps will make full use of that info to glean as much of an understanding of the mysterious Digg popularity algorithm as possible, giving users the ability to understand and contribute to popular Digg stories more effectively than ever before. Applications like Sub Digger will no doubt benefit a great deal from the new API.

A couple questions arise about this change though. First, will this shift the balance between those users with a great deal of influence and the average Diggers? Digg has long had something of a problem with so-called “power users.” The idea is that some users have so many influential friends and such a tight grip on the pulse of the Digg community that the majority of their stories make it to the front page — the hallowed halls of Digg where continued success is guaranteed.

Sometimes this popularity is even detrimental to average users of Digg, who might post a story earlier than a power user, only to see that their own story has floundered while the power story has gained a truckload of diggs, due to the power user’s influence. For some it is a frustrating trend that runs counter to the communal, semi-democratic character of the social networking site.

It’s easy to imagine that these new developments to the Digg API could make the power users’ job even easier, further cementing their status as top Digg users. With applications that give novel, and possibly even better, access to and understanding of critical Digg information comes a better grip on control over Digg stories.

But of course this might work both ways. Average users will also have access to many of these apps, giving them the same competitive Digg advantage that the power users have, evening out any benefits gained. New third party apps might even give the average users, who formerly didn’t have much at their disposal to help them with getting digged up, a new tool to compete with power users.

It’s hard to say exactly what will happen, although I’m inclined to say that any advantages given will likely benefit the power users more than the average users. They are called power users after all, and are more likely to take full advantage of whatever is available to make Digging easier, while the average user is more likely to continue using plain old Digg as a simple pass-time, not worrying themselves with the complexities of the Digg hierarchy. But perhaps these new apps will make it easier for the average user to become a power user, giving them access to all the information and tricks that were formerly exclusive to power users. Only time will tell.

But the other obvious question is: will this make Digg profitable? This seems to be a conscious move on Digg’s part to open up the site to a wider market, essentially making a small industry in which developers can focus on making money off of Digg applications. This is reminiscent of the iPhone third-party app model, in which developers can make money for themselves while simultaneously increasing the desirability of the iPhone among consumers.

The short answer to the question of profitability, unfortunately, is “no.” The difference between Digg and the iPhone is that the iPhone costs money. Third party app development encourages people to buy the iPhone, whereas third party development for Digg will only encourage more people to use Digg for free more often. At best, third party developers will make money off these apps, but until Digg figures out a money-making strategy, which has eluded them until now, it will remain unprofitable.

But in the long term the answer is a bit more optimistic. Digg’s choice to make these changes to its API seem to mirror the strategy of the social networking powerhouse Twitter. Twitter has long allowed development of all kinds of third party applications, letting users make use of Twitter however they feel with whatever app they feel, not just through the Twitter site. Third-party Twitter apps are so integrated into the service that the “submitted through X application” signifier is tagged onto every post, allowing users to see what third party app was used to make a tweet. (I can’t believe I just wrote the word “tweet.” Forgive me.)

Essentially, third party development has allowed the outside world to improve upon Twitter, making it all the more popular. Mind you, Twitter has yet to make any serious money either, but building massive popularity and a cottage industry around third party Twitter apps can’t be a bad place to start when trying to become profitable. It would seem Digg is trying to do the same, which in the long run may pay off.

In the end, this is probably a smart move on Digg’s part. By making Digg more accessible, improvable and open, it is attracting not just more users who will make use of third party apps, but a whole slew of developers who will now be dedicated to working on the networking service while making some money of their own. Essentially, Digg will hopefully be able to build another whole community besides the one that already exists, out of application designers and marketers.

And if it all works out, we can finally see the website that brings us important news — like caterpillars who need a haircut — become profitable.

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Post tags: api, app, applications, apps, blog, Design Stuff, development, digg, profit, program, sem, style, sub digger, third party, Web Stuff

It would appear that our televisions have gone from analog to digital stations just fine. Okay, “just fine” is a little too broad of a generalization; after all, there was a record number of calls (317,000) to the FCC last Friday on this subject.

However, the FCC was prepared, and they had 4,000 operators on hand to answer what they knew was going to be a rush of calls. Many of these calls were handled by “re-scanning” the converter boxes. The www.dtv.gov website had a record number of hits.

Of course, there were some who failed to get a signal on the day of transition. If you were one of them, all I can say is: you were warned. I mean, I saw one of those emergency messages every day for the past year telling me to switch, or else. If you were still going off analog signals before the switch, and didn’t listen to the myriad warnings, then you deserve whatever fate you made for yourself, really.

Fortunately, I have cable, so I was covered. However, I am now questioning cable. You see, I have discovered that about 80 percent of my television watching is now done online. The other 20 percent is just channel surfing, when I am too tired to focus on anything in particular.

I think a lot of viewers have the same viewing habits as I do. After all, why should I watch television based on some sort of schedule that I don’t want to follow? Instead, I want to watch the programs that I want to watch when I want to watch them. Not only that, I don’t want to go through all the trouble of setting a VCR, or even learn how to set a DVR.

No, I want to go online, and find the shows that I want to watch. In fact, that is how I have watched all kind of shows that I normally would have missed for the past year. I have discovered a whole crop of shows that I never would have even tried if not for watching television online.

I still can’t believe that major networks still have not picked up on the fact that more people are watching online than scheduled television broadcasts. Isn’t the problem with the writers, back when that strike thing was going on?

This new viewer mentality is probably why Syabas has created the Popcorn C-200, “an Internet settop box that streams digital content from the Internet or its internal hard drive to the television set and stereo”. The C-200 is supposed to be the new version of Popcorn Hour A-110, and is capable of accepting video content from sites like YouTube, Vuze, Revision 3, CNET TV, Veoh, Blip.tv, NBC, CBS, CNN, and BBC. It is also possible to accept image content from Flickr, Pikeo, and Picasa.

The Popcorn C-200 is not the first device that allows you to watch ditigal video content, and it will not be the last. Something tells me that as the prices of cable and internet rise, people may have to choose one or the other.

So perhaps we are looking at an age where the next television transition will not be to digital, but to the Internet. So, unless you have a high-speed Internet connection, you might not be able to get TV. Of course, that would assume that all major networks as well as the cable networks, all go completely online.

Source1 and Source2

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Post tags: app, internet, Internet on TV, microsoft, pc, Popcorn Hour C-200, program, style, Syabas, video, Web Stuff

Last week, when I reported that Turbine was allowing people to play Dungeons and Dragons Online for free, I only briefly mentioned the negative press that Role-Playing Games received in the early eighties and late nineties.

As a kid who used to play D&D and other role playing games, I heard stories of people who committed suicide when their Player Characters had died, and I didn’t really give it much thought. However, when many Christian groups began to equate the game as some portal into Satanism, I often wondered if they were talking about the same Dungeons and Dragons game.

I remember reading one Christian pamphlet that was supposed to be an expose on RPGs, but some of the information in it was just plain wrong. I mean, it said that the He-man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. I’m sure there are a lot of geeks out there now who are thinking: “oh come on! Do your research.”

I’m sure the person who wrote that pamphlet just didn’t get their facts straight. There was a Dungeons and Dragons cartoon that ran for about two seasons. They probably just heard that there was a Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, and just simply assumed that the He-man cartoon was it. It’s an honest mistake, but it shows how much conservative groups never actually researched, much less played the RPGs that they criticized.

There must have been some sort of anti-D&D bandwagon that was happening, and those who never played the game were creating a boycott for those who played the game. In the same manner, gamers who heard the argument against RPGs could not accept the facts as given any more than I did.

The alienation of RPG gaming eventually led to a very strong gamer counter-culture which is no doubt the “target audience” of most MMO and other RPG video games of today. Still, there seems to be a strong pervasive stereotype that says that gamers are guys who still live in their mother’s basements, and are completely incapable of living in any reality that is real.

For this reason, gaming continues to have a negative slant in today’s media. There is yet to be a movie based on a video game that has been a huge success, and most video games portrayed in movies tend to be negative. That is, you always see the geek characters playing them while the cooler characters apparently have better things to do.

Another negative portrayal is due out this Fall that is simply called Gamer. It takes place in a future world where gamers can somehow play other people, like puppets, apparently. Their puppets are actual prisoners put in violent scenarios, and the public just sits back and watches. Think of it a better version of The Running Man, but it has Gerard Butler instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Yes, Gamer confirms all of our fears about video games taking over the world, turning into a hellish place. Once again, the video game industry gets another bad spotlight since The Ultimate Gamer. Could someone make a film that put video games in a positive light?  Something that isn’t like The Wizard, which was some huge ad for Nintendo.  You know, video games do inspire people once in a while.  Every thought about doing a film about that, Hollywood? 

Source

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Post tags: app, Dungeons and Dragons, Gamer, Gamer movie, gamers, Gerard Butler, internet, microsoft, nintendo, rpg, sem, style, video, Video Games

In a recent interview I conducted with him, he sums it up as, “an extremely limited (environment)… the only social networking options were Prodigy/Compuserve,  a handful of local Bulletin Boards and the the same 35 active users.” His small band of hacking renegades (which are life-long friends today) instructed him how to call overseas and obtain Internet access by sneaking through local university and business systems.

He would then hack into telephone systems that would allow access by dialing out without being traced. According to Brett, it “really wasn’t that devious,” as his group was the same kind of crowd that today “you would find on FriendFeed or Digg.” When the first ISP emerged in 1994, his hacking days waned as he “finally had unlimited, bulletproof access to the ‘Net,’” where he found it “far more interesting to connect versus crack.” However he looks back on these early days fondly as it motivated him to become a resourceful out-of-the-box thinker who could forge a path into the future without the need of a guidebook.

Brett studied Sociology in college where he was able to reflect on some of the anthropological underpinnings of online social demographics. Metaphorically similar to a Margaret Mead uncovering tribes in Samoa or New Guinea, Brett observed and researched the collective consciousness of various online tribes. He proposed that “online social interaction mirrors real life (with parallels to) castes, circles, cliques and socio-economic groups.” And as a social marketer, he now feels that to communicate to each group and target them properly, one needs to analyze their social structures and online habitats.

When asked why institutions of higher learning haven’t embraced social media as an academic discipline, he feels that “universities are kind of reactionary in that they (will only) offer programs and classes after a job market emerges.” Since social media jobs are presently just beginning to take on a prominent role in corporations and organizations, it will take a while for universities to catch up.

Today Brett Borders is an independent “Web Traffic Developer.” Even though Borders’ blog is titled “Social Media Rockstar” he doesn’t view himself as rock star, nor Internet Famous. Similar to Liz Strauss titling her blog, “Successful Blog” and Hugh Hefner labeling his pop culture mag “Playboy,” his blog title is more about the content versus a moniker for himself as the originator.

According to Brett, ” I think with the exception of a small handful of established, elite social media people, pretty much everyone out there is ‘faking it till they make it.’ I wake up, explore, learn, make mistakes, improve and re-define myself on a daily basis. I try to be confident, but also completely honest about what I know about and what I don’t – and careful not to mislead or make false promises to people.”

However, Brett is also cognizant that online detractors can be more powerful than your actual followers. Non-fans (what Brett terms “your shadow”) are usually much more diligent about blocking the spread of your message than the average acquaintance is dedicated in spreading it for you. Here’s a visual interpretation of Brett’s perspective on this topic.

To become Internet Famous, according to Brett is to be an initiator, not a follower. For example, when social media first came on to the scene, those that became the most successful in blogging and developing apps were those that pushed the envelope, by using new tools and searching out new terrain to maneuver. Brett feels the ones that faltered in this regard were the less aggressive breed who settled for “aggregating or recycling” the work accomplished by the front runners.

Brett refers to some of these social media followers as “online snake oil salesmen” who are motivated by money. These are the folks that aren’t “at all shy about claiming they know stuff that they don’t or making promises they can’t deliver. There’s a boom of interest in social media and SEO – and there are only a few barriers to entry (all you need is a website and business card), so some less-than-scrupulous types of people are trying to cash in on it.”

“The truth is that you have to give something (time, energy, attention or $$$) before you can really expect to get anything in return,” notes Brett. Something he calls “Digital Karma,” where those that are serious about online marketing and invest their time strategically and ask for recommendations are the ones to reap the benefits. “Those who are looking for ‘quick fixes’ and too-good-to-be-true promises can easily get burned or disappointed.”

Narcissism is sometimes an unattractive by-product of Internet Fame “There’s something very hypnotic about watching someone with an over-blown self image get all excited about themselves (which is why sites like TweetingTooHard.com are funny),” notes Brett. “There’s also “bad boy” and “bad girl” rockstar types in social media who are outspoken, hostile and inevitably create drama wherever they go. Many people unconsciously placate them (to avoid getting on their “bad list”) and follow them to see what kind of exciting trouble they’re gonna stir up next.”

In retrospect having lived through the Web 2.0 explosion, Brett reflects that “today social media is definitely over-hyped. “Yes, it is very powerful. Yes, it changes they way business is done. Yes, it empowers people to make choices they never had before – and it changes the world in some ways. But people are still people – and we like to waste a lot of time and use social media to mindlessly distract and entertain ourselves.”

He also believes that social media marketing is not a great fit for many types of products and services. He affirms that companies could “definitely get more ROI with traditional advertising or other online marketing methods like SEO or PPC.”

Currently Brett is working for an automotive publisher that focuses on hybrid and electric car technology. He’s building buzz and connections around content that raise people’s awareness of next generation transportation options. In the past he’s worked for international e-commerce companies, product manufacturers, and local tech start-ups in Boulder, Colorado.

In closing, I think Brett Borders’ Internet fame came about as result of his invested time and energy in this field and that his advice is based on years of trial and error. While he feels that a lot of folks are just not cut out for this business (”it’s demanding, time-intensive, volatile, and requires much more creativity than people are able to give to it”), I think Brett Border is one of those experts that has sized up the social media landscape realistically and knows how to make it do his bidding.

If you’re looking for a social media coach to help you wade through those Web 2.0 waters, I would suggest you contact Brett Borders for the job. He may be just that Social Media Rockstar his blog refers to.

For other stories on the Internet Famous, check out my previous interviews with Nick Thune, Marina Orlova, Julia Allison and Alejandro Reyes… and stay tuned for more stories of the the Internet Famous in the weeks to come.

© roncallari for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alejandro Reyes, app, blog, Brett Borders, Compuserve, digg, Digital Karma, FriendFeed, hacker, Hugh Hefner, internet, Julia Allison, Liz Strauss, Margaret Mead, Marina Orlova, Nick Thune, pc, Playboy, PPC, Prodigy, program, Ron Callari, seo, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Rockstar, Successful Blog, tech, TweetingTooHard.com, web 2.0, Web Stuff

During the early 2000’s, netbooks originally emerged as low cost laptops with a heavy emphasis on web browsing and wireless internet – it was initially aimed at needy children in developing countries. It came bundled with an adequate enough OS to run the most basic of software (email, word processor, the odd mp3 player, etc) the focus was to keep the computer connected to the Internet so that the information the child received was always up to date.

However, word spread of the low cost laptop (netbooks usually range as low as $100 – $400). This option made especially perfect sense for traveling business people, however, the pre-installed OS (commonly Windows XP home edition) was sub par and forced the user to use either processor intensive, bulky, and outdated software which could reduce precious battery time, or search for time consuming workarounds to meet their needs.

That is what JoliCloud is trying to change. Designed for netbooks and using the best of what Open source software and open web technologies have to offer – JoliCloud is an Internet Operating System aimed at being a clutter-free, simple, yet slick solution to the current netbook operating systems out there. Using parts of the Ubuntu and Debian Operating systems (which are both Linux based) JoliCloud intends to blur the lines between web application and locally installed software. For example, Facebook, Twitter and Gmail (which are web applications) will look the same as Skype, VLCplayer, OpenOffice Writer (which are locally installed software applications).

With cloud computing becoming a reality with every forthcoming day – JoliCloud’s developer, Tarik Amin, foresees a future where applications designed for powerful processors will be a thing of the past. He sees everything being processed on web servers and all the user really needs is a basic computer with an internet connection of some sort (in netbooks case its 3G and wireless).

Already examples of this are evident, as GoogleDocs and Zoho are online office suites that don’t even use your hard disk to store data, it is stored on the service providers severs.

The world is slowly turning into a forever connected state. It’s not uncommon to hear about someone leaving their laptop switched on overnight to download the latest 100 MB office presentation to view it the next morning. Sure it doesn’t happen everyday – but it is happening…and JoliCloud intends to be the first OS to catch and surf this new wave.

© MoiN for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, Design Stuff, internet, jolicloud, linux, microsoft, netbook, operating system, os, software, style, tech, Web Stuff

As the name Implies, UIzard is a user interface wizard. What does that mean?

In its simplest form, you could call it a WYSIWYG HTML editor – but that doesn’t do it justice! Not only does it make it easy for the non-coder to make classy website front ends, but it also allows you to connect with databases, make complex layouts and time lines, even full blown application suites (whiteboards, word processors, online spreadsheets, presentation tools, and many others!) All of this is available at the click of a few buttons. In short, it frees you up. Now you can concentrate on how the website should look and feel to the user, rather than the stuff going on behind the scenes.

For example, do you need to place a Google map to your office in the about us page? Just choose the Google maps option from the tool box, click and enter the necessary information, place it where you’d like on the page, and you’re done!  Try coding that in less than 1 min!

Or how about taking all the RSS feeds of your favorite online web comics and mashing them up into one mega RSS feed with your comments on each strip and showing them on your page? Sounds complex, but it’s just a few clicks away!

The best part is – all of this is within your browser! You don’t need to purchase and/or download expensive web development software like Dreamweaver. There is also no need to learn or write any HTML coding at all, and since everything is done via your browser, you don’t have to worry about your online application working on different operating systems or your users having to install something just to run your webapp! (All modern O/S have a web browser of some sort!)

Created by Korean developer Ryu Sungtae, UIzard was made using Yahoo’s User Interface Library (YUI) which is a Javascript based library for creating interactive web applications. Although UIzard is currently in a beta state, the framework is open source and has a growing and active community by continually contributing new features and options and keeping it up to date.

Official Website: Uizard

© MoiN for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, development, internet, microsoft, software, style, UIzard, Web Stuff, WYSIWYG HTML editor, YUI

Sorry, that came off a bit rude. I was just trying to segue.

Left 4 Dead was one of last year’s most popular multiplayer games, pitting four survivors against the zombie horde in a post-apocalyptic world. With its wide popularity one would think that the announcement of a new and improved sequel would have fans excited, and without a doubt many are. But many fans are also downright rabid at the proposal of a new L4D. Rabid like the lifeless zombie hordes that yearn for brain matter.

I’m sorry, I did it again. Very unbecoming of me. I didn’t mean for things to get out of hand like that.

So what’s the deal? Why are the fans upset by the release of more of one of their favourite games?

Well, the fans are only angry because they love. They love L4D, and they want more of it. For free. The situation is not simple, but the problem seems to have its roots in a promise Valve made around the release of the first L4D. Valve claimed that they would consistently release free downloadable content for L4D, expanding the world with new levels and so on, in much the same way they’ve been doing for Team Fortress 2. Valve have made one free content update so far, adding a survival mode and some versus campaigns, but other than that the only new content fans have received news of is the not-so-free sequel. Cue boycott. Also cue shrill tenor note as decomposed hands burst through wall.

So what are the terms of this gaming resistance-movement? Lucky for us, the ravenous horde of almost 30,000 boycotters currently have something of a manifesto on the Steam forums, which explains their position.

So what do the disgruntled fans have to say? First, they make two acknowledgments: they recognize that Valve must make money, and that “Judgment cannot be passed on the quality of Left 4 Dead 2 until its release,” which is to say that the fans don’t really know if L4D2 will be worth what it costs until they actually get a chance to play it. Fair enough, you army of hungry zombie-gamers.

Now on to the good stuff: the accusations! The L4D2 boycott also plans to hold Valve to its promise of free downloadable content. The question of whether or not Valve has a duty to release free DLC depends on what the game was explicitly advertised to include and what the reasonable buyer would expect to get from it, and it’s hard to say whether Valve’s announcement of free DLC, which came after the release of the game, is part of those considerations. But it is safe to say that, whether or not Valve is required to release free DLC, it would be admirable of them to follow up on their plans and would leave a good impression on the mobs of bloodthirsty, groaning fans, whose arms are outstretched, reaching for more gaaaaaaames.

Is this whole fans as zombies metaphor getting old? I don’t care.

So far so good. But the L4D boycott makes another claim: that the release of L4D2 will split the online communities of L4D, making the online experience less enjoyable, and as such, Valve should not release L4D2 as a new game.

This is where things start to get messy, like the aftermath of a zombie ah forget it. You get the point.

First of all, if this is in fact a genuine concern, then the release of any sequel will result in community splitting. Stating that Valve should not release a sequel to a game, because doing so will reduce the quality of the online experience of its predecessor, is unreasonable, because it implies that game developers should not ever release sequels to online games. If reducing the quality of online play is something developers should not do, and releasing a sequel does as much, then developers shouldn’t be allowed to release sequels. This contradicts the boycott’s first acknowledgment that “Valve is a company with financial needs and cannot be expected to survive without the release of new games.” It’s also just clearly a bizarre claim.

This also doesn’t take into account the fact that the release of games from other companies can very well reduce the quality of online play by splitting communities. World of Warcraft split the communities of countless MMORPGs that came before it, lowering the quality of play for people who paid for an online experience with other games, but no developers were expected to somehow uphold the integrity of a gaming community, outside of making a place where a community can develop.

The fact is that the existence of an online community is not the responsibility of the developer of a game. Valve had a responsibility to make a playable multiplayer game with an interface that enabled players to connect –that is, they had a responsibility to facilitate a place for a community to develop– but no responsibility to somehow hold together a group of people. This is simply out of the control of a game developer, since things like the release of competing games, player interest, and many other outside factors will affect a community. A community is made up of people with the ability to make their own choices of what they will play, so it would be unreasonable to claim that Valve has a responsibility to hold such a thing together.

The boycott also claims that “The announced content of Left 4 Dead 2 does not warrant a stand-alone, full-priced sequel and should instead become updates (free or otherwise) for Left 4 Dead.” This is in direct contradiction with their acknowledgment that judgment cannot be passed on L4D2 until it is released. The simple fact of the matter is that no one knows yet whether L4D2 is a warranted sequel. We have seen a few screenshots and a trailer, but until people play it and reviews are released, the boycott cannot reasonably claim that L4D2 does not warrant a stand-alone release, especially when they themselves say that the value of L4D2 is as of yet unknown. The demand that L4D2 should be released as DLC is undermined by the fact that they simply don’t know what L4D2 will be like.

Finally, the boycott claims that L4D2 will make its predecessor obsolete. Again, this claim contradicts the earlier claims that judgment should not be passed on L4D2 and that L4D2 does not warrant a stand-alone sequel.

Again, the supporters of the boycott simply don’t know the quality of L4D2, and so can’t make claims about whether it will make the precursor obsolete. Further, if L4D2 is not warranted as a sequel to the first game –that is to say, if it is so similar to the first game that it should be included in the first game– it cannot make it obsolete; the sequel would have to be better than the first game to make it obsolete. Essentially, the boycott claims that L4D2 will be of such close quality to the first game that it shouldn’t even be a sequel, but also that it will be such a good quality sequel that it will make the first game obsolete. The boycott can’t have it both ways, but that is what they demand.

Just like a brainless zombie horde would.

Dammit, I did it again. Really, this is embarrassing.

Anyway, the supporters of the boycott are angry, but they’re also being unreasonable. They demand free DLC from Valve, which is fair enough, but go too far in demanding that Valve essentially never release a sequel to L4D. The only promise Valve made was to release free DLC for the first game, and as long as they do that they are free to make sequels as well. There is room for both, and the claim that Valve has a duty to not release a sequel to their game because they claimed free DLC would be available for it is quite a leap. It simply doesn’t follow that because Valve promised free DLC that a sequel is unfair or unwarranted.

In the end, the boycotters are free to boycott, and Valve is free to make a sequel and release free DLC for L4D. The result will be either that L4D2 is great and is worth buying, or it will not be worth buying and all the L4D1 players who boycotted it will be able to continue playing their favourite game with free updates. Everybody wins!

Except for those who have been consumed by the throngs of ruthless zombies.

© AshP for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: l4d, l4d2, Left 4 Dead, left 4 dead 2, pc, style, valve, xbox, xbox 360

Turbine has recently announced that their latest version of Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO): Eberron Unlimited, is going to be free-to-play version of the popular Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game.

This is a closed beta test for now, and this free version of Eberron Unlimited has some limits. The level cap has been raised to a level of 20, and if the player wants more, they will have to go to VIP status. There are also limitations on specific races, classes, auctions, and mail capabilities. Also, if a player goes to the city of Stormreach, a player will have blocked access unless you whip out the credit card.

You want help playing your free version? The only help you will receive is automated only unless you pay. All players can use the DDO store to pay for upgrades.

I had a hard time believing in Dungeons and Dragons Online when it first came out. I guess it seems natural that one of the best-selling Role-Playing Games (RPGs) online, but I think the real question is: why in the world did it take so long for them to release it online. Why wasn’t it the first MMORPG?

In other words, why is it that World of Warcraft and other online fantasy games are dominating the market? I suppose that it is truly a sign of the times that online gaming RPGs have taken over the traditional pencil, paper, and dice role-playing.

Does anyone think that it is odd that Dungeons and Dragons is offering its game for free? Or that they must use this demonic babe from the image to get customers? I think that definitely shows how much people are playing the original RPG.

Or it shows how much times have changed. I suppose we can’t have the “good old days” of playing RPGs with the Dungeonmaster, paper, and dice and the camaraderie of meeting in a group. Of course, if a group of gamers really wanted to meet together and play D&D old school, there is nothing preventing them. However, if meeting online is simipler, and keeping a computer data record is easier than paper, then one might ask “why bother meeting”?

Perhaps this is what killed the old eighties video arcades. I mean, if you can play a video game at home, sitting down, that has better graphics, and doesn’t require a diet of quarters, then why bother getting up and going anywhere? The pragmatism doesn’t exactly promote social skills, though.

However, as D&D has gone online for free, I couldn’t help but wonder if this era of traditional RPGs is coming to an end without us even knowing it. I can’t help but think of a keynote speech by Wil Wheaton two years ago at the Penny Arcade Expo. The actor who played Wesley Crusher reminisced about his time at the arcade, and how that era has somehow been lost.

Gaming is changing, and we are losing the D&D era. Oddly enough, the conservatives in the eighties that were speaking out against Dungeons and Dragons didn’t bring it down. I suppose you could call D&D a victim of its own success, as its role-playing business model was imitated, and then changed.

Of course, it has not been perfected, and I can imagine that gaming is about to go into new levels.

© Tech-Marky for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, DDO, Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons online, Eberron Unlimited, internet, microsoft, style, Turbine, video

In a recent interview I conducted with Alejandro Reyes, he confessed that Internet fame was not something he sought out, but was more about something he “knew he could leverage.” He believes in social marketing and feels that this platform gives him latitude to “entertain and inspire people,” something he is very passionate about.

Alejandro credits the birth of his daughter as one of the initial triggering events that created a buzz about about his persona and its impact on the Internet. On April 24, 2008, utilizing Ustream as a media tool to communicate, Alejandro conducted a broadcast to brag online about the birth of his daughter to his wife’s family who resided in another state. While transmitting the live stream titled “Social Media’s First Baby,” he decided to tweet it out to his Twitter followers at the same time, and in one of the first simulcasted communiques combining streaming video with tweeting, he was pleasantly surprised when he received 60+ tweets from his modest (at the time) fan base.

It was at this moment, he began to understand the power of the Internet and the connection he could make in people’s lives. Today, simulcasts of this nature are conducted regularly by celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and P.Diddy when they want to broadcast to their fan base. And consequently Ustream has since integrated Twitter into their chatrooms.

This intimate entree’ into people’s lives ‘positioned’ Alejandro as someone who was willing to share personal stories with total strangers. In the Web 2.0 environment we all reside, here was a guy who was willing not only to be upfront and personal, but also one who was transparent in a very honest and forthright manner. Dissimilar to the self-promoting “online celebs” or “snake oil” netizens that abound online, Alejandro displayed substance and delivered advice that was consequential. He found his soap box, and as an online town crier, the Internet community was willing to listen.

After this event, Alejandro indicates that things really began to ramp up. While the live Ustream involving the birth of his daughter gave him a jump start, it’s what Alejandro was able to do with the buzz thereafter that was critical. He cautiously warns others that this is where many often drop the ball: “A lot of people miss the boat. They do something that creates a buzz, and then they don’t capitalize on it. When you secure momentum, you gotta keep it or it will die quickly and get lost in all the Internet ‘noise’” that continually competes for our everyday attention.

It was at this tipping point, that Alejandro changed up the game. Differing from others that often rely on the status quo, he decided to transform the way people saw “entrepreneurship” by making it a fun thing to manage. And while he continues to offer human interest life examples (e.g dancing with his daughter) he balances these vignettes with inspirational success training. In this way, he works collaboratively with his audience. He collaborates with them in creating his personal brand… the “successfool” brand…a process he calls “collaborate or die.”

Collaboration is the key. Without involving his audience, Alejandro would not be the success he is today. For him ‘branding’ is really all about listening to your followers and building your persona around one’s passion. To further illustrate his point, Alejandro cites an analogy that underscores brand management: “your brand is like a ‘jetliner’ and your passion is the ‘jet fuel’ that jettisons that brand forward. “You and your brand can only go as far as your fuel and passion will last.” He sees a direct correlation with this and the  age-old tried and true philosophy that if “you love what you are doing, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.”

Today, Alejandro conducts a Successfool.tv Ustream broadcast every Wednesday night at 6pm Pacific time.  The focus of the show is to motivate, inspire, and entertain entrepreneurs through live skype interviews, success tips and tools of the week, and accompanied by some weekly rants. While  monetizing Successfool.com is a goal, for Alejandro, it’s more important  to “build a  brand that people trust, love, and know that they’re not going to get some cheezeball marketing pitch every week with tons of advertisements.” Presently his website receives 10-15K hits per month, according to Compete.com.

As a result of the success of Successfool.com, he’s created a coaching program, hosted a conference, and launched a local marketing company that is quickly generating a ton of buzz in the Sacramento market area.  Alejandro’s Social Marketing Rock Star Webinar series provides an 8-week video training course that helps users learn how to use social media marketing as a tool and how it can boost one’s website traffic.

The series teaches people how to develop a long lasting Internet business by building their brand online through Social Media.  The webinar modules include, Branding, Blogging and Advanced Blogging Strategies, Social Networking with a focus on Twitter and Facebook, Video/Live Streaming, Podcasting, Web 2.0 Properties and How to use Social Media to become a local hero. Since its success in ‘08, a new Social Marketing Rock Star series will launch again this July.

Alejandro’s life journey revolves around his ongoing quest to determine “what success really is?”  As we all know, success means different things to different people. When asked if he feels successful and whether he has reached his goals, Alejandro admits to only just getting started…and that his life long dream is to enter the entertainment field. Whether “that’s hosting a TV or radio show, that’s yet to be determined,” states Alejandro.  So if Oprah, Ellen or Conan are reading this…you might want to give this “successfool” a call. He is in a passionate over-drive mode to take his social marketing rock star fame to another level.

Alejandro Reyes is one “successfool” that doesn’t fool around with success!

P.S: If you are thinking about contacting Alejandro on Twitter, you might want to congratulate him on the upcoming birth of his 2nd baby...Social Baby #2!

For other stories on the Internet Famous, check out my previous interviews with Nick Thune, Marina Orlova and Julia Allison… and stay tuned for more stories of the the Internet Famous in the weeks to come.

© roncallari for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alejandro Reyes, Ashton Kutcher, blog, collaborate or die, Conan, Design Stuff, Ellen, facebook, internet, Internet Famous, Julia Allison, Marina Orlova, Nick Thune, Oprah, P. Diddy, pc, program, Ron Callari, sem, Social Marketing Rock Star Webinar, Social Media Marketing, Social Media's First Baby, successfool, successfool.tv, twitter, Ustream, video, Web Stuff

With iGoogle Showcase anyone can take a look at the widgets and plugins that barely likeable celebrities like Al Gore, Demi Moore, Ashton “The Kutch” Kutcher, Martha Stewart, Ryan Seacreast, and others use on their Google homepages.

Mind you, “use” should be taken very lightly here.

At first I wasn’t sure what the purpose of showcase was. Then later on I figured something out: I still had no idea know what the point of iGoogle Showcase was. To be honest as of this exact moment I cannot clearly discern any sort of useful purpose for Showcase.

The thing is, there isn’t any obvious use for Showcase. Unlike some of Google’s other neat apps, like Gmail and Google Docs and SketchUp, which are all immediately useful in some ways, Showcase doesn’t provide us with any sort of tools or devices that make things possible. It doesn’t even provide something as vague as an e-solution.

Let me explain. Each Showcase page is ostensibly the “personal” page of a celebrity, implying that the widgets on it were chosen by a celebrity. That these pages are “personal” also implies that celebrities make use of them regularly, but that seems unlikely, given how they look like they were designed by a soulless robot programmed to mechanically coordinate PR initiatives.

Are we really supposed to believe that Kevin Rose has a Digg widget on his homepage, even though he owns the freaking website, or that Ryan Seacrest looks up American Idol updates, even though he is literally the first person on the planet to know when someone is voted off? That would be like Wyclef Jean looking for updates about the new album that he himself is writing.

Oh wait, that is already on his iGoogle page.

So are these actually the personal pages of celebrities? Of course not. The fact of the matter is that Showcase doesn’t have any point because it is just marketing. Each page is a thin veil of celebrity publicity, crafted to reinforce a consistent public image while covering some pretty clumsy marketing. Andy Roddick is a tennis player, so his page has a tennis ball. Rachel Ray’s page has a word scramble, because absolutely all stay-at-home moms in the universe like little daily newspaper puzzles. Al Gore’s page has Jon Stewart quotes because the hip, young, liberal demographic is into that.

The only page that looks like it wasn’t pieced together by an army of assistants is The Kutch’s. I mock the guy, but his page is a messy jumble of stuff that real people would actually use, like sports scores and dumb youtube cartoons, instead of a Punk’d widget and a picture of a trucker hat. But other than the Kutchster’s, every page is so generically representative of the public’s view of these celebrities that you can’t help but feel an advertising firm thought it all up while Keith Urban or whoever played golf on the moon while rolling in million dollar bills in a suit made of even more million dollar bills.

So iGoogle Showcase is basically just a cross-promotional marketing tool. That’s fine, and marketing has it’s place. Maybe someone will find a widget they like from the page of their favourite celebrity, or discover some news about someone they’re interested in. But let’s not pretend that these are actually the homepages these celebrities customized and use every day. The sites are such flimsy, cookie-cutter representations of the celebrities’ public images that insisting they are personal is only contrived and artificial.

So why even talk about Showcase if it’s so shallow and pointless? I will make a feeble attempt at answering this question. It seems to me that iGoogle Showcase is representative of a larger trend in which technology is suddenly very cool. Some might even call it “hip” if they are so inclined.

I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point tech and tech-culture went from being simply a useful thing for some and a geeky obsession for others, to the prime way for celebrities and public figures to garner some cred with fans. Between The Kutchinator running a competition with CNN to see who could reach a million twitter followers first, and news sites and blogs all over the web obsessing over whether or not Obama is a Mac user, you can’t seem to avoid the new-found trendiness of technology.

Even late night, normally a safe haven where fads and trends are mocked mercilessly, has gotten in on the act. If you can manage to stomach an entire episode of the Jimmy Fallon show you will be exposed to an incredible amount of shameless pandering to the technology crowd, and even Conan O’Brien, who I distinctly remember mispronouncing “modem” during an old episode, has a skit about twitter every night.

Some of this new focus on technology is obviously very good. Obama’s change.gov site, with its technological agenda, is leap years ahead of the technologically ignorant stone-age that was the last administration.

But I imagine not everyone will see it this way. It’s probably safe to say that many people out there hold a personal attachment to the nerd culture of technology, and many of those people understandably feel as if Hollywood is merely cashing in on their beloved sub-culture. Like someone who suddenly sees their favourite band go mainstream and finds that the music that meant so much to them on a personal level is now being eaten up by everyone in the world, geeks the world over feel violated by the commodification and abuse of their geek and tech culture by celebrities who are merely using it to get a bit more publicity.

The angst of geeks who are caught up in the new Hollywood obsession with their world was summed up pretty nicely in the response to the I Am a Geek video, released last month. Wil Wheaton, star of Star Trek TNG and famous hardcore nerd, was involved with the video and said of it that it seemed like a “promotional opportunity for celebrities who don’t know a damn thing about our geek culture,” which sums up nicely how most geeks feel about the new found celebrity status of geekiness.

In short, the sorts of celebrities that are featured on the iGoogle Showcase are the exact ones that nerds are shaking their fists at right now, damning them for invading their castle and abusing their culture.

I tend to look at it a bit differently though: being a geek is suddenly cool. Not just cool among an ever-growing population of geeks, but cool among people with a lot of sway, geeky or not. Further, geekiness is not just cool, but influential. Geekiness has become powerful.

I guess that “The Bible” thing was right; the geek shall indeed inherit the Earth.

(I apologize profoundly for that joke. Please don’t melt my computer with your nerd powers.)

© AshP for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Al Gore, app, Ashton Kutcher, blog, Demi Moore, Design Stuff, google, igoogle, igoogle showcase, internet, kutch diddy, kutchorama, mac, plugin, program, ryan seacrest, showcase, style, tech, the kutch, video, Web Stuff, wil wheaton

E3, the biggest gaming convention in the world, has recently had its annual meeting at the Convention Center in L.A.. The gaming companies love to make their big announcements at this time, and here is a list of what they have been holding out on the gaming crowd.

Xbox 360 News

• The open-world action game Crackdown will have a sequel, appropriately named Crackdown 2. Like its predecessor, it is only available for the Xbox 360.
• Mass Effect 2 will be out in early 2010 for the PC and Xbox 360.
• Accept no substitutions, the one and only Jack Black will star in Brutal Legend. Jack is a roadie in this game, who must battle demons for some reason. It is available for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and will also star Lemmy Kilmeister and Ozzy Osbourne.
• Put out an APB on APB, a game available for the PC and Xbox 360 where the gamer plays a gang member.
• One of the bigger announcements was Project Natal, Microsoft’s answer to the Wiimote. This is a camera and microphone that mounts on the television that can sense motion, three-dimensional movement, and sound. This controller that requires nothing but the user was introduced by none other than Steven Spielberg.

Nintendo Wii News

• Red Steel 2 is due out for the Wii, and will make full use of the MotionPlus.
• For the first time, Super Mario Brothers will be available to play on the Wii. A sequel to Super Mario Galaxy is also coming.
• WiiFit Plus and Wii Sports Resort are two sequels that encourage Wii gamers to be more active.
• Dead Space Extraction is a prequel to the popular science-fiction M-rated game. This one appears to be available only for the Wii and is due out September 29^th.

Nintendo DS News

• Nintendo DS users will have a unique gaming experience with Women’s Murder Club: Game of Passion. This is based on James Patterson’s novels, and I believe this had a series, didn’t it?
• Other new DS titles include Kingdom Hearts, Mario and Luigi: Bower’s Inside Story (Fall 2009), and Golden Sun DS (2010).

Sony PS3 News

• God of War 3 is slated to hit the PS3 very soon.
• PS3 titles to be released will be Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Assassin’s Creed 2. Believe it or not, Final Fantasy XIV is under development, exclusively for the PS3.
• PS3 is also developing a motion-sensitive controller similar to the Project Natal from Microsoft.

Sony PSP News

• PSP Go has finally been made official. The Go is smaller, has a slide-up screen, and no UMD drive.
• PSP games to be released include racing game Gran Turismo and a few others. For example, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker should be available for PSP in 2010.

Multiple Platform News

• Tony Hawk made a personal appearance for Tony Hawk Ride, which Zmogo has already reported on in a previous article.
• In case you haven’t heard, Beatles Rock Band will be released on 09.09.09.
• Lost Planet 2 will soon be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
• While we are on the subject of those three platforms and sequels, Dead Rising 2 will also be available soon.

© Tech-Marky for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: APB, app, Beatles Rock Band, Brutal Legend, Crackdown 2, Dead Rising 2, dead space extraction, development, Gear, Golden Sun, Gran Turismo, internet, Kingdom Hearts, Lost Planet 2, Mario and Luigi, Mass Effect 2, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, microsoft, nintendo, pc, Project Natal, ps3, PSP Go, red steel 2, sony, style, Super Mario Brothers Wii, Tony Hawk Ride, video, Wii Sports Resort, WiiFit Plus, Womens Murder Club, xbox, xbox 360

With Activision’s announcement of the upcoming release of DJ Hero, featuring Jay-Z and Eminem, it looks like we are finally reaching the conceptual limits of the real-instrument-as-a-toy rhythm game, which is an exciting prospect for people who take joy in witnessing events of almost pure absurdity.

Even for those of us who love games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, there’s always been something just a little bit ridiculous about playing a fake guitar along to real songs. While the common internet troll’s cry of “get a real instrument” has always been an aggressive, narrow-minded view that ignores the fact that rhythm games are fun, there is perhaps a nugget of truth in their vitriol: learning to play songs on a real instrument is also fun, and everyone will think you’re cool if you can bust out a John Mayer song or some junk at a party. No one will think you’re cool if you bring your special edition Slash Guitar Hero controller to your friend’s get-together and start to fake-wail.

So with Guitar Hero we have replicas of instruments that can be used to simulate playing music. Kind of weird, but reasonable enough. DJ Hero on the other hand takes that dull point of weirdness off in the distance and makes it into a full-blown, retina-melting supernova. No longer will rhythm game players be using a replica of an instrument, but rather will be using a replica of a device used to play already-recorded music in the first place.

Let me elaborate. Want to play a song on guitar? You learn how to play a guitar. The mechanics of this are difficult, and so making a game that allows even the musically illiterate to simulate playing guitar is significant.

Want to play a song on a turntable? You put a record on the turntable and it plays the music.

I can’t stress this enough. In order to play a song with a turntable, all you have to learn to do is turn on the turntable. By playing DJ Hero, we are simulating the act of playing music on a record player. This is truly absurd, and also fantastic. As such, I predict that it is only a short matter of time before we start to see the most ridiculous of all instruments become the subject of rhythm games. What bizarre new depths will Activision bring us to with future instrument peripherals? The answers may surprise and disgust you!

So join me as we look at The Future of “Hero” Games!

Piano Hero

Appeal: The piano is a widely popular instrument used in everything from classical to jazz to pop, and as such the Piano Hero game is sure to be a success. But unlike guitars, which require strumming, and drums, which require hitting things, pianos only require that the player push a bunch of buttons. As far as I can tell, this is exactly how a normal videogame controller is used, which doesn’t exactly make a piano game controller sound too appealing. So, Piano Hero is going to need something to differentiate it from both normal videogame controllers and other rhythm game controllers.

How will Activision do this? That is a great question, fine reader, and I’ve got an answer coming straight at your question-hole right now: more buttons.

The standard guitar controller only has a wimpy five buttons, making it at best a dull abstraction of an actual guitar, and most drum controllers don’t even have cymbals or a high hat. The Piano Hero controller on the other hand will include a button for every key on the piano. Actually, scratch that. Piano Hero will just include an actual piano with the game.

That’s right, Piano Hero will be the first game with the balls, guts, and other anatomical stuff to push the rhythm game to its logical conclusion by going ahead and forcing the player to just learn how to play piano in order to play the game.

Too difficult? How about too awesome!? What could be a more immersive gaming experience than playing a game about playing piano with an actual piano? Nothing, that’s what. Well, except actually playing piano, I guess. Anyways, the goal of Rock Band is to make you feel like you’re a guitar player for once in your pathetic life, which is fun, so Piano Hero will maximize that fun by just making every Piano Hero player an actual piano player!

Okay, fine. Chruch ladies sometimes play more than just the piano

Even better, the programmers won’t have to fuss around with scaling every song down to an abstract level, because there will only be one difficulty setting: actual song.

Audience: Kids whose parents forced them to take piano lessons. Church ladies.

Tracks: I know we said that classical music and jazz are popular, but let’s face it, nobody who listens to that stuff would lower themselves to being anywhere within a 100 foot radius of a videogame. So, it looks like it’s going to be all Elton John, all the time.

Theremin Hero

Appeal: The theremin is a bizarre instrument that is played by not touching anything. This truly unique form of playing is the sole reason for  this unusual instrument’s esoteric appeal, since it sounds about as beautiful as an air-raid siren.

Unfortunately, this is a game, so it has to have buttons to press. As such, players will press a series of buttons on a normal videogame controller to manipulate a set of virtual on-screen hands, which will then move around within an actual 3D representation of a theremin. This a truly incredible advance that gives all the fun of playing a theremin while still being able to touch something!

But we couldn’t just stop there, oh no. The truly groundbreaking feature of this game is that it will require you to hold the controller in a theremin while you press buttons to manipulate the virtual theremin, giving the game an unparalleled true-to-life feel!

Audience: People who read Boingboing and like stuff that is weird for the sake of being weird, even though it is actually kind of awful.

Tracks: The sign-off tone of your local cable TV station.

Oh wait, this just in: the theremin has already been used by some nerd to play Rock Band. Ignore everything I just said.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bongo Hero

Appeal: Bongo Hero will be the first Hero game to allow you to tap into the exciting and visceral world of being that one guy on stage that doesn’t have a microphoned instrument, because why did we let him in the band again?

Oh DK, you shiftless hippie, what have you done with yourself?

In contrast with most instrument peripherals, the Bongo Hero controller will only include one button: a bongo. But this game will make revolutionary use of that one button. Rather than encourage players to go along with the song, Bongo Hero will reward players for a-rhythmically smacking the bongo controller while bobbing up and down and swaying around with their eyes closed, just like a real bongo player!

On second thought, this has no appeal at all.

Audience: Smelly hippies who always show up to the show incredibly stoned then bang on their authentic African bongos that they got in Capetown during their “humanitarian aid work-term,” where they were really just trying to pick up girls who wear hemp and have dreadlocks.

Tracks: Whatever music is being played where more than one person wearing a Che Guevera t-shirt can be found.

Katzenklavier Hero

Appeal: It’s a freaking organ made out of cats. The end.

Audience: Renaissance-era ADD patients, dog-lovers, the deaf.

Tracks: Jingle Cats.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hero-Game Hero

Appeal: Do you suck at rhythm games? Of course you do! Your hands have been permanently locked into wretched, clenched claws from carpal tunnel-inducing videogame playing and masturbation. As such you are never able to join in on the fun of a boisterous game of Rock Band, and are instead forced to sit back and make a feeble attempt at drinking a beer with your horribly disfigured appendages.

But have no fear, because Hero-Game Hero is here! (Oh.)  With Hero-Game Hero, players will get to experience all the exhilaration and thrill of playing a set, without the need for any of that physical proficiency stuff!

This kid is probably better than me, even when he is chewing on the controller

The gameplay mechanics are simple: just choose the difficulty you want to play the song at, then enter the skill level at which you want the song to be played. Want to experience the excitement of completing Through the Fire and the Flames on expert difficulty? Simply set your playing skill to little kid phenom and watch the points roll in! Want to suck really bad at Bark at the Moon? Just set the song’s difficulty to expert and your playing skill to toddler chewing on the controller and experience the agony and tears of defeat.

The game will even include a selection of playing strategies to highlight the tactical aspects of Hero-Game playing. Strategies will include: know the song before you played it in the game so you don’t screw up until you get to the bridge that no one cares about, try to get overdrive to go off by tilting the guitar as violently as possible multiple times only to have it not respond, making you scream at your TV when you fail, and hit the right notes at the right time instead of the wrong ones.

The ultimate goal is to become the best Hero-Game player ever, giving you the skills and talent to beat any individual rhythm game ever created!

Audience: People who like the idea of rhythm games but not rhythm, people with no hands, fans of meta-irony.

Tracks: Every song ever made! (Due to licensing fees, the game will cost 849 million dollars.)

© AshP for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, dj hero, eminem, guitar hero, internet, jay-z, mac, pc, playstation, program, ps3, rock band, video, Web Stuff, xbox, xbox 360

“What the BLEEP Do We Know,” a movie first released in 2004 went on to become one of the most successful documentaries of all time. Now distributed in over 30 countries, it has stunned audiences with its revolutionary mind-jarring blend of quantum physics and evolutionary thought. While widely popular and panned at the same time, this film is not a journey for closed minded, limited thinkers, or faint-of-mind folks. This is a mystical journey that leaves you curiously rooted in an upside-down-world of invisible unknowns that challenge every belief you’ve ever held sacred. I post it here, because in searching for answers to web 4.0 in our future, sometimes you need to take a trip down the rabbit hole, before you settle down to some more concrete realities.

In 2006, Jeff Moriarty, a Community Manager for Intel was bold enough to suggest that Web 4.0 was an “impending state at which all information converges into a great ball of benevolent self-aware light, and solves every problem from world peace to why Lost stunk last season.” However Jeff also had a small part on the “X-Files” so you might not be so inclined to agree with his epiphany.

On the Brave New World front, Nova Spivack is a technology visionary and entrepreneur with nearly two decades of experience in pioneering ventures. In 1994, he co-founded EarthWeb , one of the first Internet companies, where he helped key cultural institutions and businesses develop their first large-scale Web presences, including the New York Stock Exchange, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, BMG Music Club, Sony, AT&T and US West.

As a futurist and publisher of Twine, Spivack has been contemplating the past, present and future of the Web for quite some time. His timeline of technology from our prehistoric desktop era to our synchronistic future is depicted here.

As you can see, according to Spivak’s predictions we are currently at the tail end of Web 2.0, just starting to lay the groundwork for Web 3.0 or semantic technology which arrives in 2010 (start your stop watches). Web 4.0 or WebOS will be like middleware, where the Web will start functioning like an operating system,or what he calls, “the Intelligent Web.” Nova says he isn’t sure about exact dates or technologies on the top end of the map, but in his view each phase runs in approximate ten-year blocks.

E-Learning Queen is a company that focuses on real-world e-learning issues and emerging technologies. Susan Smith Nash, the founder who goes by the title “Queen’s Assistant” believes that Web 4.0 will include a array of sensors that will gather information from one’s environment to create a deep profile of our behaviors and activities.

Raymond Kurzweil is an inventor and futurist. He has been a pioneer in the fields of optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments. predicts that by 2029, the WebOS will be parallel to the human brain. By that time, according to Kurzweil, “intelligent machines will combine the subtle and supple skills that humans now excel in (essentially our powers of pattern recognition) with ways in which machines are already superior, such as remembering trillions of facts accurately, searching quickly through vast databases, and downloading skills and knowledge.”

So are we approaching a moment in time when the Internet will actually transform into a “Learning Web,” where the Web is actually learning by itself, unprompted by humans? Seth Godin, popular speaker at Google and TED conferences and the man who popularized the topic of permission marketing believes Web 4.0 or Web4 (as he calls it) is all about “serendipity and the network taking initiative.”

Some of the future examples he conjures up sheds light on the potential innovation Web4 will be able to add to our lives…

• As a project manager, my computer knows my flow chart and dependencies for what we’re working on. And so      does the computer of every person on the project, inside my team and out. As soon as something goes wrong (or right) the entire chart updates.

• I’m late for a dinner. My GPS phone knows this (because it has my calendar, my location, and the traffic status). So, it tells me, and then it alerts the people who are waiting for me.

• I visit a blog for the first time. My browser knows what sort of stories I am interested in and shows me highlights of the new blog based on that history.

• I can invest in stocks as part of a team, a team that gains strength as it grows in size.

• My PDA knows I’m going to a convention. Based on my email logs, it recommends who I ought to see while I’m there–because my friends have opted in to our network and we’re in sync.

As Godin sees it, Web4 is “coming from the edges (we see all sorts of tribal activities popping up in blogs, communities, rankings) as opposed to from the center. Web 2.0 happened in largely the same way…and it’s
entirely possible that Web4 will get here before the semantic web even though Web 3 makes it work a lot better.”

Well, there you have it, sports fans… some of the greatest thinkers of our day all looking into their crystal balls for answers to our digital futures. However, before leaving you, one additional theory did surface that I thought worthy of note. “Gnardonkeys” who describe themselves as “two funny guys from San Diego who naively think Twitter can make them famous” offer some gnarly insights into Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 and why we can’t afford to let Web 4.0 happen…

So which ever fork in the road you decide to take…happy travels down the Rabbit Hole or the Brave New World!

© roncallari for zMogo Tech Stuff, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, blog, E-Learning Queen, Earth Web, Gnardonkeys, intel, Intelligent Web, internet, Jeff Moriarty, Learning Web, mac, Nova Spivack, optical character recognition, quantum physics, Raymond Kurzweil, Ron Callari, sem, Seth Godin, sony, speech recognition, Susan Smith Nash, tech, TED conferences, Twine, twitter, Web 1.0, web 2.0, Web 3.0, Web 4.0, Web Stuff, Web4, WebOS, What the BLEEP Do We Know, X-Files