American technology giant Google has announced a new tool called Game Builder. As the name suggests, it allows users to build, or create their games without any knowledge of coding. While first released in November last year; this is the first time the company has announced the confirmed the software in any manner. It has been introduced via a Google blog post on the 13th of June.
Game Builder
As mentioned above, Game Builder is a tool designed to create video games without coding. It is developed by Google’s in house Area 120 team which has been responsible for a few experimental projects in the past. When running for the first time, it asks the user what screen size they are aiming for the resulting game to run on. Then it offers an option to either start a new project, work on an existing one or try sample projects. These sample projects include a variety of options, like a first-person shooting game, a platformer title; or show a demo of the Game Builder card system for trying complex interactions inside a game.
The design inside Game Builder is reminiscent of Mojang’s Minecraft game due to the blocky nature of the graphics. To make a game, users will have to select a variety of cards to choose how the player interacts inside the game. The movements can also be selected by using real-time javascript functionality; which does not require compiling to save a command. Google claims the tool has thousands of 3D objects like animals and plants which can be placed inside the game. Game Builder is available for free on Valve’s Steam platform for both the Windows and MacOS platforms. While not for everyone, the Game Builder tool seems to be a great platform for people wanting to create their own game without wanting to learn complex coding.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 in ongoing in Los Angeles, California. After a massive Xbox press conference, the onus was on Sony to steal the spotlight. However, Sony did not announce 50 titles, instead, it had a rather short event and announced a few but, crucial titles for the Sony PlayStation. There were some follow-ups, some new titles but, no major announcements from the Japanese tech giant.
The Last of Us II
One of the most popular survival games, The Last Of Us gets a much-anticipated sequel. The Last Of Us II is gory, horrific, and spectacular. The gameplay trailer released by Sony showcases the advanced graphics that will surely grip any player. As was with the first one, we expect the Last of Us II to have a brilliant soundtrack as well.
Death Stranding
The 8-minute trailer of Death Stranding, developed by Kojima Productions has quite a few stars in it. In the trailer, you can see Norman Reedus, popular for his portrayal in The Walking Dead ripping off his toenail. The game is studded with stars like mads Mikkelsen who played Dr Hannibal Lecter in the famous TV series Hannibal. Guillermo Del Torro will also contribute his likeness to another character through facial and body scanning.
Marvels Spider-Man
We knew this announcement was coming and yet, there was a sense of excitement around it. After the roaring success of Avengers: Infinity War and the audience’s rekindled love for the friendly neighbourhood, the timing was perfect for the new Spider-Man game. The seven-minute-long trailer showcases the game’s most exciting aspect, web swinging. The trailer also shows some great actions scenes where the Spider-Man fights famous supervillains in the Marvel Universe. The game comes out in September which isn’t too far!
Resident Evil 2
In 2015, Capcom announced that it was remaking Resident Evil 2. Three years after that announcement, we finally have the first look at the gameplay of the new game. The game is already up for pre-order and goes on sale in January.
Control
https://youtu.be/euBPEYR1HSo
This is a very interesting game from Remedy. The creators are known for being the brains behind popular titles like Quantum Break and Alan Wake. The gameplay trailer has a few interesting time-control combats. The visuals are trippy and the concept is very cool.
Sony has announced a few interesting titles here. They’re not close to the quantity of Microfost’s but, the buzz around these titles will be great. Which title are you looking forward to?
Are you one of those gaming for life kinda fellas? If yes, then you must itching to get your hands at the best deals at Amazon Prime Day. Here’s help. We have curated a list of top 5 video games available at unbelievable prices, courtesy Amazon Prime Day of course.
Priced at INR 1848, GTA 5 takes you to the massive open world of Los Santos. Enhanced with a brand new feature which lets you switch over to three different protagonists namely Michael, Franklin and Trevor makes for an engaging GTA style story line. The cinematic Hollywood spectacle of the city streets and the surrounding Blaine County experience will definitely call for a moral awakening for your actions in the compelling first-person mode with that almost IRL experience you’ve been looking for.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Metascore: 93
One new Uncharted adventure coming right up. It only gets better with 27% discount, an impressive hit in terms of its picturesque graphic world and intense combat of high stakes, furthering the Drake boys’ complex relationship as the mainspring of A Thief’s End escapade. Need a grappling rope to hang in there? You got it!
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Metascore: 92
Time to go on a hunt. The world of The Witcher 3 introduces us to the CD Projekt Red’s magnificent leap into the overwhelming quests for an ancient evil on a horseback. It chronicles the journey of our ageing mutant warrior Geralt to rescue Ciri and the absorbing tale of the quarry of humans led by the threat of the attack squad of Wild Hunt. And when we say it chronicles, we literally mean like a movie!
FIFA 17
Metascore: 85
The headline feature is the journey of a Premier League prospect, Alex Hunter who is looking to make his mark. Further enhancing the experience are the new football worlds, new characters with depth and emotional highs and lows of their journey. Promising an authentic soccer experience, at INR 2,499 it’s a score!
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Metascore: 81
Sequel to the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Black Ops 3 is set in the not-too-distant future. Focusing on the cool new combat powers, Black Ops 3 promises depth, crazy weapons, sci-fi oddities, violence, techno-fear and 75% discount.
Remastered games have become quite a huge deal in the recent years, especially with the release of games like of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us Remastered. It looks like 2015 will be another great year in terms of playing games from the long gone past as well.
So, what are the best remaster games arriving out this year that you could consider buying? Find out in our top five list below.
Resident Evil HD Remaster
Resident Evil HD Remaster is a game that is based on Resident Evil and Resident Evil Remake. HD Remaster adds whole new control options, widescreen support and improved HD graphics to the survival horror classic.
Resident Evil for the GameCube, or sometimes, also known as REmake, was produced solely for the GC and released in 2002. As the “REmake” word implies, it is a remake of the original 1996 Resident Evil game. Along with updated graphics, REmake features other innovative enhancements and a few adjustments. It still holds up rather well, delivering plentiful scares .
This game did not have the softest of launches, and its multiplayer was broken until a few weeks ago, but now, all is well with the adventures of series hero Master Chief. Halo has been a highlight of the Xbox consoles for a long time, and we think the Master Chief Collection shows us why.
For not only can you kill your own buddies online in glorious HD resolution, but Halo 3: ODST has been added to the set as well, making it a whole edition of the Halo series to date. Available exclusively on the Xbox One.
Grim Fandango Remastered
Due to licensing matters, the only way to play Grim Fandango was through unofficial emulators. Luckily, Sony was able to pull up with Tim Schafer an alliance to obtain the rights to produce a remaster version for the PlayStation 4, Vita and PC. Aside from the expected graphical improvements (including an optional full-screen mode), the classic title will also be getting a fully choreographed and orchestrated soundtrack. So, one of the best adventure games of all time will be getting even better. Available on iOS, PC, PS4, and PS Vita.
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
The Definitive Edition of Tomb Raider is a lot like Lara Croft’s best adventure from last year, only with enhanced visuals and new features. One new tomb lets you stretch your puzzle-solving brain muscle, and a variety of outfits give you more stylistic options and flexibility. Have you ever fancied Lara to dress like a 1930s explorer? Now is your chance! None of these additions are all that exciting, so if you have already played through Tomb Raider on an older console, there’s little incentive to jump in again. Now is a good time as any to get re-acquainted with the adventures of Lara Croft. Available on the PS4 and Xbox One.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
This set includes both Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2 and every bit of downloadable content that came with both games. There are excellent visuals, split-screen play and whimsical humour, ensuring there’s more than enough in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection to keep you busy until the impending Borderlands 3 announcement. Available on the PS4 and Xbox One.
Over the past 30 years, video games have become an integral part of our lives and culture. Video game companies have become multi-millionaire giants. The gaming industry has grown to a gigantic extent. Today we see not only see teenagers spending a great deal of time on gaming, but also adults too are immersed in this new culture.
The first recorded game was invented in 1947. A ‘Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device’ was patented by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann on 25th January that year. This device consisted of an analog device that allowed users to control a dot on the screen to guide the missile to targets drawn to the screen. This device opened the gateway to the evolution of Video games.
Let us look at how Gaming Graphics have evolved with time, below:
Text Based Games
Guilded Youth
The earliest games were all text based and used texts instead of bitmap or vector graphics. These games were easy to program and required minimum power, unlike graphic games. These types of games were very popular during the 1970-1990 period. The most popular was Multi-User Dungeons. Here, players read the description of rooms, objects, other players and actions performed in the virtual world. Interaction meant typing commands with each other that resemble a natural language.
Vector Graphic Games
Project Morpheus
These games used points, lines and curves to represent images in computer graphics. So, instead of drawing images as pixels, vector graphic display used electronic beams to draw the images. Most of the earlier arcade games used this graphic. Many games gave very detailed static items in full-colour layouts, while moving objects were drawn using a vector beam.
Companies like Atari and Sega used this type of graphic for their games. Some of the games that are based on Vector Graphics are Space Wars, Star Trek, Space Fury, etc.
Full Motion Video Games
Jurassic Park: The Game
This type of graphics required programmers to upload pre-recorded video files to display action in the game. In today’s time, Full Motion Videos are used to present information during cut scenes. This type of graphic makes the game look ‘more movie like’. Games that are based on Full Motion Video are also known as interactive movies. Some games based on this are Jurassic Park: The Game, The Walking Dead (series), Game Of Thrones, etc.
2D Games
2D games are two dimensioned games. This graphic allows users to create a vast game world without any hassle as compared to 3D games. 2D games are broadly divided into three categories:
Top-Down Perspective
Grand Theft Auto
More commonly known as the Bird-view, this perspective uses a camera angle that shows the players and the corresponding area from above. Most of our childhood games were played in this particular viewpoint. Some of the famous games included in this list are SimCity, GTA, Pokemon, Railroad Tycoon, etc.
Side Scroll Perspective
Heroes of Rock
Here, the view is sideways where the playable character moves from left to right generally. This type of graphics uses scrolling computer display technology. Sometimes, the screen moves only towards the left or right, and in some games, the screen moves in both ways according to the position of the character. In some games, the screen continuously keeps on moving in one direction, while the character attempts to avoid obstacles and collect things along with catching up with the screen. Some examples would be Duke Nukem, Aladdin, Lion King, etc.
2.5D or ¾ Perspective or Pseudo 3D
IMO Sonic 4
As the name suggests, these terms are used to describe techniques that are used to create fake 3D graphics. These techniques are used to create an illusion of 3D without actually creating it. Some games have the character and environment rendered in 3D, but most of its levels are not as free-roaming as a real 3D platform. It means that the character only moves in two dimensions, either up and down or left and right.
3D Games
3D graphics are graphics that use three dimensions of the geometric data. After the invention of 3D accelerated graphics units (NVIDIA, etc.), video games expanded, way above the level of 2D. 3D games are divided into three categories:
Fixed 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Here, while the game characters are rendered in 3D and in real time, the foreground remains static. The background tends to stay in 2D. Many of the early 3D games were based on these type of graphics. Examples are Alone in the Dark series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, etc.
First Person Perspective
Halo
This refers to the perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. These games are avatar based, where the controlling player would see the gaming environment as through the avatar’s own eyes. This kind of graphics applies in most shooting and racing games. Some examples would be Counter-Strike, Halo (series), Call of Duty, Need for Speed, etc.
Third Person Perspective
Lost: Via Domus
This refers to a type of graphical perspective that is rendered a distance away from the playable character. This allows the player to see the full body of the character and is the most common type of graphic used in action and adventure games. One of the few difficulties related to the graphic is the awkward jerking of the camera when the character stands against a wall. The three types of camera view in this graphic are:
Fixed Camera System
Resident Evil
The camera positions are fixed during the creation of the game.
Tracking Camera System
Max Payne
The camera only follows the character.
Interactive Camera System
Resident Evil
The cameras are under the command of the user, that is; it can be adjusted according to the need of the controlling player.
Some famous examples of Third Person Perspective games would be Batman (series), Max Payne (series), Assassin’s Creed (series), etc.
Electronic Arts and Crytek announced the highly anticipated sequel of the Crysis franchise earlier last week, and the companies have now released the first Crysis 3 teaser. The new version has a new defined engine that will have more intense graphics and a better standard for the usual questions “Will it play Crysis 3?”.
Crysis 3 is a thrilling mix of sandbox gameplay, advanced combat and hi-tech human and alien weaponry that shooter fans will love, Leveraging the latest CryENGINE technology, we’re able to deliver seven unique themes that offer stunning and visually loaded gameplay experiences. We cannot wait until people get their hands on the game.”
Minecraft is the largest played online game since forever. But, it has been running in Alpha and Beta builds from the beginning, up until now anyway. Minecraft designer and founder announced on Minecon 2011 that the game is finally out of beta and is available to download already. The first complete build is aptly termed Minecraft 1.0.
Computer games have come a long way since the days of Pacman and Mario. In today’s day, all the cool 3D graphics that you see are made up of polygons. Polygons are nothing but flat images that are joined together to create an object in 3D. The higher the number of polygons, the greater the viewing detail.
Game developers have been trying very hard for a number of years to increase the polygon count in the games they make. However, computers face a problem when it comes to increased polygon counts. The higher the number of polygons, the greater processing power it takes to render all those polygons. Its because of this limitation that you will find games that have superb detail on one side of an object, while the other side is just a plain texturized image. Putting a cap on the number of polygons leads to a lot of compromises: You want a super detailed character? No problem, but then your world will look bland.
An Australian company called Euclideon has developed a game engine that does away with polygons and instead replaces them with point clouds that are made up of individual ‘atoms’. So doesn’t increasing the number of objects on screen slow down everything? Well you’d think so but the company says that it has made it work and your computer will make it work too. The company has developed a 1 sq km island using their game engine and each speck of dirt on that island is made up of millions of these ‘atoms’ per cubic inch.
The plus side to this is that the graphics are amazing. Simply put, polygons just cant cope with the kind of quality that the Euclideon ‘atoms’ can create. The curves that are generated with the ‘atoms’ are amazingly smooth and the level of detail is through the roof. You can quite literally see each individual grain of sand. In the next few years, computer games are going to make a huge leap forward in terms of graphics and we’re very exited about this technology and can’t wait for the company to deliver this game engine into the hands of game developers. Watch the video below for a demo of the engine in action:
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f a report from market hardware news watch website Digitimes reports that, Sony’s manufacturing partners will begin building the Playstation 4 by the end of this year for a launch schedule of quarter 2 2012. There are no specific details , but most rumors talk about a kinect type motion sensing technology to replace the current generation PS3 Move.
Sony has always held in strong opinion that physical controls are essential for gaming. Dropping that claim would be very convenient for the company and possibly beneficial. Foxconn and Pegatron, the two manufacturing firms charged with assembling Sony’s PlayStation 3, will build the new console according to DigiTimes’ sources. Also mentioned in the report, shipment volume for 2012 is set at 20 million.
With the Wii U and the next Xbox coming next year, if was only expected that the third giant upgrade their flagship console.
According to a source close to BGR, Microsoft intends to unveil its next-generation Xbox console at E3 2012 next summer. The rumored console has been in development since 2006 and has been carefully kept under wraps. Earlier it was speculated that the next revision will be called XBOX 720, But that really seems unlikely.
With Kinect already doing better than expected, It makes sense for the Gaming department at Redmond to improve the hardware in the XBOX to bring on the next generation of Consoles which will be ready to handle next-gen Gaming.
Sony PlayStation games have begun appearing in Google’s Android Market. Five title’s became available in the Market on Thursday, including Syphon Filter, MediEvil and Cool Boarders 2. Currently available titles are listed for $6.38 each. More are on their way and should be added to the list of ever-growing Apps on the Android Marketplace.
Sony Ericsson’s Xperia PLAY will be the first PlayStation Certified Android smartphone that will be capable of playing original PlayStation games downloaded through the Android Market.
Sony today announced the NEXT GENERATION PS PORTABLE (NGP) Specs include
quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor
5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution
dual analog sticks (not nubs as on the current generation)
3G, WiFi, GPS
rear-mounted touchpad
the same accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing as in the Move
electronic compass
cameras front and back
The new console’s UI will be called LiveArea, which has a bunch of vertically navigable home screens and built-in social networking through PlayStation Network. You can jump between games and the LiveArea without losing your progress and comment on your buddies’ great feats of mobile gaming.
Sony trotted out Hideo Kojima to show off a cutscene from MGS 4 rendered in real time on the NGP. It was pulled directly from the PS3 version of the game and ran at 20fps.
Check out the Press Release
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES ITS NEXT GENERATION PORTABLE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
Ultimate Portable Entertainment System Makes Its Debut This Year,
Further Expanding the PlayStation® Business in the Portable Gaming Market
Tokyo, January 27, 2011– Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced its next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP), which delivers the ultimate portable entertainment experience. NGP will make its debut at the end of the year 2011.
NGP is designed to offer unparalleled interactive entertainment that is only possible on PlayStation®. This new system offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context, made possible by leveraging SCE’s experience from both PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®3 (PS3®) entertainment systems.
Deep and immersive gaming is at the core of PlayStation’s DNA, and NGP is the latest embodiment of this vision. By having both Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity, together with various applications, NGP will enable infinite possibilities for users to “encounter,” “connect,” “discover,” “share” and “play” with friends wherever they are. Within the device are a range of features that provide a genuinely cutting-edge, next generation ultimate portable entertainment experience.
?Stunning OLED and Revolutionary User Interface
NGP incorporates a beautiful multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display. A high-performance CPU / GPU combined with OLED enables rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system, for both games and other digital entertainment content. The new system also incorporates a unique multi-touch pad on the rear, and together with the front touch display, NGP offers new game play allowing users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” moves of the fingers.
?Super Oval Design and Dual Analog Sticks
While succeeding the basic design philosophy of PSP, NGP adopts the Super Oval Design form factor, created to fit comfortably in users’ hands. For the first time, a portable entertainment system will feature two analog sticks, which enable a wider range of game genres to be brought into the portable experience.
?LiveArea™
Every game title for NGP will be provided with a space called “LiveArea™” where users can share the fun and excitement with other players. Users will have access to the latest information of games provided from SCE and 3rd party developers and publishers through PlayStation®Network. Additionally, NGP users will be able to view an “Activity” log that is constantly updated with accomplishments from users who are playing the same game, which in turn can trigger active real-time communication among users.
?Near
SCE will also provide location-based services on NGP as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called “Near,” developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.
?New Game Medium
NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles. Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games.
NGP will also come equipped with two cameras on its front and rear, as well as three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass, all of which are designed to enable users to enjoy the world of entertainment that is linked with real life experiences.
PlayStation®Suite (PS Suite), announced today, will also closely coordinate with NGP. The newly developed and released game content for Android™ based portable devices can also be enjoyed on NGP. As a result, users will have access to not only the most leading-edge content, but also some of the more casual experiences that typify the mobile market place.
SCE will vigorously promote NGP towards the launch as the next generation portable entertainment platform and deploy various measures to further expand the portable gaming market.
