Nerfing http://nerfing.com Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 What can games do with cognitive flow? http://nerfing.com/mmo/what-can-games-do-with-cognitive-flow/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/what-can-games-do-with-cognitive-flow/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166987/ “You sit down, ready to get in a few minutes of gaming. Hours pass… You ask yourself: Where did the time go?” writes Sean Baron, Microsoft Studios user experience researcher, in a new feature on cognitive flow in games. “In the 1970s a psychologist named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi experimentally evaluated Flow. He found that a person’s skill and the difficulty of a task interact to result in different cognitive and emotional states,” writes Baron. “When skill …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/what-can-games-do-with-cognitive-flow/feed/ 0 Microsoft: Xbox Live Arcade door is open to indies, big devs http://nerfing.com/mmo/microsoft-xbox-live-arcade-door-is-open-to-indies-big-devs/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/microsoft-xbox-live-arcade-door-is-open-to-indies-big-devs/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/165809/ There have been legitimate questions raised in the past about whether Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade was past its prime, and if indie developers were moving away from Microsoft’s digital platform, onto supposedly greener pastures like Valve’s Steam and mobile app stores. But Microsoft still wants “a really nice, eclectic mix” of games from both indies and big companies on XBLA, according to Michael Wolf, who works in marketing for XBLA at Microsoft Studios. “It’s more …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/microsoft-xbox-live-arcade-door-is-open-to-indies-big-devs/feed/ 0 In-Depth: Light pre-pass renderer on iPhone http://nerfing.com/mmo/in-depth-light-pre-pass-renderer-on-iphone/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/in-depth-light-pre-pass-renderer-on-iphone/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166839/ [In this reprinted #altdevblogaday in-depth piece, game programmer Simon Yeung shares his experiments getting a light pre-pass renderer to run on an iPhone 4S at 30 frames per second with 30 dynamic lights.] Introduction About a month ago, I bought an iPhone 4S, so I wrote some code on my new toy. Although this device does not support multiple render target (MRT), it does support rendering to a floating point render target (only available on …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/in-depth-light-pre-pass-renderer-on-iphone/feed/ 0 Microsoft donates Xbox 360 products to aid, educate children http://nerfing.com/mmo/microsoft-donates-xbox-360-products-to-aid-educate-children/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/microsoft-donates-xbox-360-products-to-aid-educate-children/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166896/ Newsbrief: Microsoft has chosen to donate a number of Xbox 360 consoles and products to the humanitarian group Right to Play, which aims to improve children’s lives by teaching them about societal issues via sports and technology. Using the Xbox 360 and the Kinect hardware, Right to Play will host a number of events for children in underprivileged areas in the UK in an effort to teach them to lead healthy, sustainable lives. In addition, …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/microsoft-donates-xbox-360-products-to-aid-educate-children/feed/ 0 Disney reveals Epic Mickey 2, a co-op musical http://nerfing.com/mmo/disney-reveals-epic-mickey-2-a-co-op-musical/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/disney-reveals-epic-mickey-2-a-co-op-musical/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166856/ Disney and the Warren Spector-led studio Junction Point have revealed that they are working on a sequel to the 2010 platformer Epic Mickey. Unlike the original Wii-exclusive title, however, this new game will debut across all three major consoles, and in an unusual twist, will even serve as a full-fledged musical. The game, titled Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Two, will add voiceovers and co-op to the series, and will feature songs written by …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/disney-reveals-epic-mickey-2-a-co-op-musical/feed/ 0 Quantic Dream using Autodesk’s sculpting, animation tools for upcoming game http://nerfing.com/mmo/quantic-dream-using-autodesks-sculpting-animation-tools-for-upcoming-game/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/quantic-dream-using-autodesks-sculpting-animation-tools-for-upcoming-game/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166892/ Newsbreif: Quantic Dream, the Paris-based studio behind Heavy Rain, has chosen to use Autodesk’s digital sculpting software and animation middleware to power the visuals in its upcoming, but unannounced game. The studio says that Autodesk’s Mudflow sculpting tool will speed up the studio’s workflow, as the software provides direct interoperability with Maya. The HumanIK software, meanwhile, will allow Quantic Dream to produce more realistic animations and therefore, more convincing in-game characters. Earlier this month, Quantic …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/quantic-dream-using-autodesks-sculpting-animation-tools-for-upcoming-game/feed/ 0 Top-Grossing Android games: Draw Something topples Tap Fish http://nerfing.com/mmo/top-grossing-android-games-draw-something-topples-tap-fish/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/top-grossing-android-games-draw-something-topples-tap-fish/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166952/ Every week, Gamasutra rounds up the top-grossing Android gaming applications, as current that day at Google Play. This week’s U.S. revenue charts see Tap Fish and Draw Something leading today’s rankings, as Airport City and Stardom also report top earnings. These charts allow end users to see who is making the most money on Google Play that day. It differs significantly from the Top Paid Games chart, which is ranked by sales, and therefore is …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/top-grossing-android-games-draw-something-topples-tap-fish/feed/ 0 Gamasutra member blogs: From Japanese games to ME3′s ending http://nerfing.com/mmo/gamasutra-member-blogs-from-japanese-games-to-me3s-ending/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/gamasutra-member-blogs-from-japanese-games-to-me3s-ending/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/163445/ [In highlights from Gamasutra's Member Blogs, our bloggers write about diverse topics, such as black hat game design, Japanese games targeting Western audiences, an open letter to BioWare on Mass Effect 3's ending.] Member Blogs can be maintained by any registered Gamasutra user, while invitation-only Expert Blogs — also highlighted weekly — are written by selected development professionals. We hope that our blog sections can provide useful and interesting viewpoints on our industry. For more …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/gamasutra-member-blogs-from-japanese-games-to-me3s-ending/feed/ 0 Top-Grossing iOS Games: Galaxy Empire reports fast sales http://nerfing.com/mmo/top-grossing-ios-games-galaxy-empire-reports-fast-sales/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/top-grossing-ios-games-galaxy-empire-reports-fast-sales/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166951/ Every week, Gamasutra rounds up the top-grossing iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad applications, as current that day in the iTunes App Store. This week’s U.S. revenue charts see Draw Something and Galaxy Empire earning top iPhone sales, while Slotomania HD and Sky Gamblers emerge as big sellers on the iPad. These charts allow end users to see who is making the most money on the App Store that day. It differs significantly from the Top …

]]> http://nerfing.com/mmo/top-grossing-ios-games-galaxy-empire-reports-fast-sales/feed/ 0 German studio Spellbound Entertainment hit with financial trouble http://nerfing.com/mmo/german-studio-spellbound-entertainment-hit-with-financial-trouble/ http://nerfing.com/mmo/german-studio-spellbound-entertainment-hit-with-financial-trouble/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000 posterbot http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/166970/ German development house Spellbound Entertainment, which has worked on titles such as Arcania: Gothic 4 and Giana Sisters DS, is having trouble paying its debts, and has recently filed for insolvency. These financial troubles arose when a pending investment round fell through in its final stages, leaving the company unable to pay off many of its expenses. An auditor has already evaluated the company’s situation, and said that since Spellbound has a good reputation with …

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