Vox ex Machina » Nelson Williams

Five Reasons to Play TERA

Nelson Williams — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:53:42 +0000

Need another Korean import MMORPG in your life? TERA is coming to the States in May, and looks to be one to watch. Here’s something of a preview of the game featuring five reasons why you might want to give TERA a try. Ten Ton Hammer has the story.

Military Robot Runs on Xbox Controller

Nelson Williams — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:45:05 +0000

It’s called the Warrior, and it’s a creation of iRobot, the same happy campers who build those cute little Roomba things. The Warrior isn’t designed to fight, rather, it’s a first-in scout made to perform dangerous tasks for soldiers like breaking into a room or clearing heavy debris. Dangerous tasks require precision control, and what better way to get that control than by using something most soldiers are already familiar with — an Xbox controller. Techland has the story.

Double Fine Productions Abandons Publishers Entirely, Raises One Million Dollars

Nelson Williams — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:15:26 +0000

The eternally troubled Double Fine Productions, run by maniac creator Tim Schafer, had a problem. Publishers. When you produce strange, quirky games full of personality like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, it’s hard to make it through the project without the publisher coming around and suggesting the game be remade into something more… mainstream. Because, of course, every game should be Modern Warfare. So Double Fine tried something new, going to the fans. Their goal was to raise $400,000 over a month for a new game. They got $1,000,000 in a day. Digital Trends has the story.

Skyrim High-Res Texture Pack and Creation Kit

Nelson Williams — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:12:30 +0000

It has begun! Bethesda finally released a high-resolution texture pack for their massive success of a wonderful mess, Skyrim. This texture pack is designed to improve the game to proper computer standards, up from the trash resolution it released at because consoles. Also, something about a Skyrim Creation Kit? I wonder what people would want with direct access to every tool and function in the game? Linking to Kotaku because of the great typo in the third paragraph. Kotaku has the story.

Possible Zynga Insider Unloads Dirty Laundry

Nelson Williams — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:59:23 +0000

Zynga is one of the most powerful video game developers, with a fully armed and operational Facebook behind them. However, the company has been besieged of late with accusations of stealing games, low employee morale, and generally being an early 80s game company in a post 2000s world. Now, someone claiming to be a former employee has come forward with more juicy red meat for the beast. GameInformer has the story.

It Must Be Wednesday. Oklahoma Bill Against Violent Video Games

Nelson Williams — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:38:51 +0000

This time, instead of trying to ban video games, a recent bill introduced to the Oklahoma legislature would seek to simply tax the games out of stores. It’s a novel approach, but also likely doomed on 1st Amendment grounds what with all forms of speech being equal and such. Tom’s Guide has the story.

BitTorrent Site BTjunkie Shuts Down

Nelson Williams — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:15:16 +0000

Another casualty in the IP wars, the bittorrent megasite BTjunkie has announced that it’s shutting down. The cited reasons involved a fear of copyright enforcement of the type that hit MegaUpload, that is, a small army descending on the founder’s house, breaking in, and pointing guns at him and his. Perhaps a little excessive for enforcement of a civil suit. BTjunkie was not involved in any legal action when they announced their resignation. TorrentFreak has the story.

Distraction Dodger Video Game Teaches Driving Skills

Nelson Williams — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:06:37 +0000

Yet another video game used to teach real-life skills, Distraction Dodger is a video game designed to remind drivers to keep their eyes on the road. In the game, players take on the character of a pizza delivery humanoid, who takes phone calls, runs social media, and uses a GPS system while on the road. They forgot shaving and applying makeup. The important thing is that this is just one more example of video games using their powers for good outside the entertainment niche. CBS Minnesota has the story.

The Internet Reviews Soul Calibur V

Nelson Williams — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:06:06 +0000

Soul Calibur V is the latest in Namco Bandai’s long-running fighter franchise. Like the previous version, Soul Calibur V has built itself around accessibility, being just as easy and interesting for a beginner as a fighting game pro. To test this theory, I found a review from the darkest pits furthest from the light of gaming. Here’s a review of Soul Calibur V. Hollywood Chicago has the story.

Harmonix Boss Major Contributor to Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC

Nelson Williams — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:55:18 +0000

Alex Rigopulos from Harmonix has recently been revealed as the major contributor to Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.” His contribution came out to $9,600 of the human dollars, which is fair price for helping to fund the most incredible act of satire ever. Incidentally, that’s roughly what it would take to buy the entirety of the Rock Band DLC song catalog. IndustryGamers has the story.