The Popular Science Web site features a very cool article/slideshow that surveys the current progress of videogame hardware and software. The author discusses ten aspects of game design — such as processing power, water rendering, A.I., and destructable objects — and gives an overall description of where they stand today and where they are heading.
From the article:
Ask a programmer about fire, and talk inevitably turns to hardware—a sure sign that a programmer’s up against something hard. Currently, fire tends to be brief and explosive. Raging infernos are too hard to program. “We just don’t have the processing power to really do its physics accurately,” says Game Creator’s Lee Bamber.
Link to article.
Be sure to read part one!
“Sam! Help me, Sam!” If you get that movie reference, then you win one free Internet. The Kiyomori Samurai Robot has a human-like stride, with stretchy knees, 39 joints, and a flexible hip — “so it doesn’t stagger like Tom Cruise just off a horse.” It participated in Shinto prayers for the “safety and progress of future robot industries.” Continued…
I decided to go to Wired Magazine’s NextFest on a whim. I can get in for free as a journalist, and I figured there might be a couple of gaming-related items to see.
Welcome to the future! Funny, the future looks just like E3. And the spaceport from Starship Troopers. Continued…
In the war between the hi-def formats (Blu-ray supported by Sony and HD DVD supported by Microsoft), HD DVD has served Blu-ray a potentially fatal blow. Canadian electronics manufacturer Venturer is making available the first hi-def disc player for under $200. Continued…
The San Jose Mercury News (bugmenot) reports that of the three seventh-gen gaming consoles, the Nintendo Wii has the smallest carbon footprint.
That is to say, it uses the least energy. This isn’t surprising — the Wii crunches the fewest polygons, so it’s cooler, which means less energy is required to power fans (or in the case of the Xbox 360, less power to melt the motherboard to slag). Continued…
Where the hell are the games for Apple’s iPhone? It’s got a nice clear screen and a touch interface much like the Nintendo DS (except you can use your finger); and it connects to the Tubes. So why can’t I play Animal Crossing on it?
Continued…
