Nacimota.com » gaming

New Theme and E3

Nacimota — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:14:29 +0000

Okay so despite my promises of content two months ago I haven’t really posted anything. WordPress 3.0 came out very recently which gave me yet another excuse to update this site. The new default theme is fittingly titled “twenty ten” and takes advantages of a number of new features in the WordPress API like custom menus and featured images for posts. It seems a lot more flexible and customizable than earlier WordPress themes. They’ve also improved WordPress in a number of other ways which have little effect on me personally, such as making it possible to manage multiple WordPress sites using the same admin interface.

In other news, E3 just passed and unfortunately, there wasn’t much to look at this year. The centrepiece of the expo, Microsoft Kinect (formerly known by its working name, Project Natal), was revealed via interpretive dance performed by Cirque du Soleil (I wish I was joking). ~~The Sony EyeToy~~ Microsoft Kinect promises to revolutionize the console gaming experience. Personally, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

On the other hand, Valve showed off Portal 2 at E3 and my god, it is beautiful. Pushing aside the new features they’ve added to Portal’s already innovative gameplay, there appear to have been some drastic changes to Source’s lighting engine. The videos show off some complex and rather beautiful dynamic lighting which look completely unlike what the current release of the source engine is capable of. Portal 2 is due for release in 2011. I’ll leave you with IGN’s Portal 2 walkthrough videos from E3.

Australian gamers left for dead by the Classification Review Board

Nacimota — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:32:15 +0000

The Australian federal government’s Classification Review Board announced today that Valve Software’s Left 4 Dead 2 will not be awarded an MA 15+ rating, which the game requires in order to be legally sold in Australia.

The board originally refused classification for Left 4 Dead 2 last month, which forced Valve to appeal the decision and quickly throw together a less graphic version of the game in order to meet the November release date. The three-person panel, which voted unanimously to refuse classification to Left 4 Dead 2, explained their reasoning in a press release made available today on the board’s website.

The computer game [Left 4 Dead 2] contains a level of violence which is high in impact, prolonged, repeated frequently and realistic within the context of the game.

In addition, it was the Review Board’s opinion that there was insufficient delineation between the depiction of general zombie figures and the human figures, as opposed to the clearly fictional ‘infected’ characters. This was a major consideration of the Review Board in determining the impact of this game on minors.

The decision has reignited the debate concerning Australia’s lack of an R 18+ rating for video games. Video game classification in Australia remains the strictest of all classified media due to its lack of an R 18+ rating. Valve plans to submit a modified version of the game to the board for review.

Upcoming Content

Nacimota — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:10:06 +0000

I have some stuff I’m planning to publish within the next few days, starting with an introduction to C#, one of my favourite programming languages. I’m also planning of writing up some walkthroughs for Valve Hammer Editor, which is part of the Source SDK.

Speaking of games, I’ve heard whispers of a rumour that Blizzard is planning to roll out the Starcraft 2 beta within the next month or two, but I take that with a grain of salt. Should we be selected to participate, I’ll chronicle the experience in its own post. You can opt-in for the beta by creating an account at Battle.net and changing your profile settings.

Stick around, more stuff coming soon.