In the shortest keynote I’ve ever seen, Bruce Sterling sums up what’s up with augmented reality (AR). This is from the Augmented World Expo which ran earlier this month.
Via bOing.
June 12th, 2013 by Adam
Bruce Sterling in 10 Minutes Summarizes State of AR
June 12th, 2013 by Adam
A Quick Look at the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is at the most basic level TCP/IP on everything. If that still doesn’t help don’t worry – basically, IoT is the idea that common objects which don’t already have a connection to the web will have one soon. This is already being seen in shoes that track runners to the (currently a gimmick) fridges connected to the web.
In the past couple of years the IoT has really taken off and more companies are getting into the space. Over at TechCrunch (which popularized a lot of web2.0 stuff) has a great image and article on the current IoT space.
The concept of the Internet of Things is not new (the term itself was coined in 1999), but it is now in the process of becoming a reality thanks to the confluence of several key factors.
First, while still challenging, it is easier and cheaper than ever to produce hardware – some components are open sourced (e.g. Arduino microcontrollers); 3D printing helps with rapid prototyping; specialized providers like Dragon Innovation and PCH can handle key parts of the production process, and emerging marketplaces such as Grand St. help with distribution. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo considerably de-risk the early phase of creating hardware by establishing market demand and providing financing.
May 28th, 2013 by Adam
Wero is Looking for Interns
Over at Wero Creative we’re looking for a couple people who are looking to get some experience in video games. All positions are art-based and can be done remotely (anywhere in the world!); also, they are all part time. We need capable environment and character artists with 3D experience and one 2D artist who is interested in comic books.
Check out the descriptions here.
May 27th, 2013 by Adam
Deeper into the Realm of Fashion + Games
I’m still looking at fashion and games (previously) and have gained even more apperciation for the art of fashion and the concepts around style.
Without further ado, here’s a hodgepodge of fashion and games stuff:
Console to Closet is a website that catalogs the blending of fashion and video games into stylish and wearable outfits. Pictured is the outfit inspired by Legion from Mass Effect.
There are some fashion elements in video games that make no sense whatsoever like female body armour. Recently, there was a post on TOR.com on the ridiculous design of protective breast plating in games (and other media). Here’s a snippet from the piece which is worth a read.
But that’s not all! Let’s say you even fall onto your boob-conscious armor. The divet separating each breast will dig into your chest, doing you injury. It might even break your breastbone. With a strong enough blow to the chest, it could fracture your sternum entirely, destroying your heart and lungs, instantly killing you. It is literally a death trap—you are wearing armor that acts as a perpetual spear directed at some of your most vulnerable body parts. It’s just not smart.
Back to the physical world, we see change there too. With new fabrics being created one can use clothing as a controller interface for digital games with Woven.
The Perfect Suit is a one hour BBC documentary thing into what makes a suit good (or bad).
Ozwald Boateng – Why Style Matters
Not really related to games, but just so you know: yes you can judge a woman by her shoes, it took a scientific study to prove it.
The Flea’s site helped me quite a bit in this process.
May 13th, 2013 by Adam
Visualizing Pathfinding Algorithms
Pathfinding is used in games to construct how AIs (and/or non-player characters) navigate the environment. At it’s core it is to emulate wayfinding. When working on a board game it’s easy to see and modify how characters and whatnot move around the board. In video games it can be hard to figure out exactly why a character is moving in a particular way.
For non-programemrs understanding the algorithms at work behind the scenes can be difficult. At GitHub there is a PathFinding visualization project which allows you to play with different algorithms.
May 2nd, 2013 by Adam
