Posted on
June 11th, 2012 by
David
With the rise of Zynga, a video game developer that has effectively utilized Facebook as a platform for social gaming, traditional video game companies seem to have a lot to worry about. After all, as Zynga’s market share grows, that company diminishes the market share of other video game companies. But Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is not sweating the completion; he has an ace in the hole. That ace is Gabrielle Toledano. Read more »
Posted on
June 6th, 2012 by
David
In the late 1980s, there was a popular game called Laser Tag. Despite the controversies about it at the time, Laser Tag was remarkably popular with young adults who enjoyed the technology and the physical activity the game required. As a precursor to paintball, Laser Tag was a safe way for young people to run around shooting one another for live-action play. Players had a laser sensor and a laser gun. The object of the game was to shoot your opponent three times (as registered by changing lights on their sensor each time they were “hit”) with the laser gun . . . before they shot you! Young people played Laser Tag in buildings, woods, and fields, both during the day and at night. Now, Metalcompass, Ltd. is updating Laser Tag with some new twists with their XAPPR Gun! Read more »
Posted on
March 1st, 2012 by
David
While virtual reality gaming is not quite available publicly for personal computers yet, the military has been making use of it for quite some time. In the Army, soldiers train both individually and as a unit using the virtual reality equipment. These specifically designed simulations mirror real-world situations that require soldiers to think on their feet and react as they would if the war game was real.
One problem so far has been that the in-game representations of the soldiers, called avatars, have not been realistic. Unlike in popular video games where the player has an avatar that usually has superhuman skills and amazing endurance, these soldiers need to train using a different type of avatar. That is why the Army has recently announced that they will be creating a custom avatar for every soldier.
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