Category Archives: Online Games

Nintendo fights for its survival

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Great news for all Nintendo fans! The Japanese gaming giant has taken the decision of releasing the new Wii U by the end of this year. It may come as a surprise to many of you but the stats released by the company earlier this month show a stark drop in its quarterly profits which, as per some of the news reports, is one of the reasons for an early release of Wii U. Nintendo already holds the honour of revolutionising the gaming world with its state of the art technology. Xbox 360, along with many of its accessories, gave Sony’s much popular PS3 a run for its money.

According to several rumours, an early release of Wii U came in context with the ever dropping profits of the company. The release of new consoles is closely linked with the company’s policy to give a boost to its sales. Nintendo’s decision, not surprisingly, has come in the same context where perplexed by the future of consoles, the company is dealing with the fear of gaming consoles becoming a thing of the past. Amongst many its competitors, Nintendo finds itself in direct competition with all the smartphones and tablets, which have grown to become the latest craze.

To fight off the charm that is held by tablets, Nintendo’s new Wii U console is rumoured to feature a hand held controller which is akin to tablets, with a built-in screen. The company which, according to stats, expects a total annual loss of $575 million has decided to go into the battle of its survival with all of its big guns. Although the news regarding its Wii U is only expected to be released at sometime in May this year but according to rumours, Wii U will be twice as powerful as its predecessor. Whatever the future might hold for Nintendo’s Wii U, one thing is for sure that online gaming has kind of erased the need of gaming consoles.

Now games are not considered as pass time activity

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With the expanse of internet, everything is going online. From quite some time now, different universities have started distant learning programs, which helped masses largely as people are able to obtain diplomas, graduation and masters’ degrees in almost all subjects. Games designing and development was, however, one domain, which gained no online learning exposure.

There are many universities, which are offering traditional BSc degrees in games development and designing but none of it as part of their distant learning programme. Keeping the increasing trend of games in mind, now universities are offering online BSc (Hons) degrees. This bold step will further enhance the games development and a new era of games will soon be started.

Even though many people are sceptical about the future of online degree in games development, however, the fact is that your portfolio matters the most and if you are able to come up with impressive samples then you will be the adequate job candidate regardless of your degree. If you think that you are an extreme gamer and want to take your talent, expertise and imagination beyond the game play then online games development degree could be quite beneficial for you.

In recent few years, games sector has grown at a fast pace and its monetary value has also increased in a dramatic way. Gaming sector is now considered one of the biggest job producing industries, which is why an online degree in games development has presented itself as a worthy option for distant learners.

Enrolling for an Online Degree

First, you will need to find a university, which offers accredited online degree in games designing and development. Accreditation ensures that the university meets proper standards and is recognized. If you are taking an online course for the first time, then you should familiarize yourself with how it works. Different programs conduct their studies and classes in their own way. Some offer synchronous classes while others have asynchronous learning opportunities. All you have to do is to choose what is best for you.

As a distant learner, it is important to have self-discipline and determination so that you are able to submit assignments on time. In order to achieve that, you can dedicate a separate area for your study and schedule a particular time to study regularly.

Course Outline

The online degree in games development and designing is meant for students who want to be programme games as well as are able to work outside the gaming industry. Keeping this point in view, the course merges the technical aspects of game programming and artificial intelligence with organizational and project management principles with quality assurance. Other topics related to games such as creative designs, character animation, level design and storytelling are also covered as part of the programme.

The duration of the degree is three years. Roughly, the degree comprises of Game Design, Game Development, Mobile Computing, Software Development and Software Engineering. During first year, the focus is on game play, which includes the study of character creation, narrative, issues related to hardware, games genres, business and social context of games development. In sophomore year, the focus is shifted on 2D games programming and mobile communication.

In final year, 3D-games programming techniques and work with games engines are taught to students.  Additionally the learners also have to choose some extra specialization courses and then after final project, the online degree will be completed.

The online degree offers an equal learning opportunity for all. Learners who were unable to attend regular varsities would now be able to take this course, just like many other programmes.

Is there any need of violence in video games?

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The ingredient of violence is like always on the rise in games. Most of the games that have been marked as blockbuster releases are usually associated with violence in one form or the other. The debate to adding violence in video games is a never-ending one. However, a new twist has recently been added to the playing of violent video games.

As it is a known fact that in the days of recession, the crime rate around the world surges. The recent statistics however show a decline in the crime rate over the last two years. There has been a talk relating reduction in crime to playing violent video games. The idea has been supported by the notion that violent video games have been able to channel the frustration in the youth and other to be criminals. As the new video games not only involve the players into themselves but also have a lot of fire power to gust out the aggression. This may make things easier for the violent game video makers, which usually face a lot of public criticism for the ever-increasing violence in their newer released versions.

The flip side of the coin is the struggles that concerned circles of society are making to ensure that violent games are not sold to minors. In U.S, California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attempted to stop the sale of the violent video games to minors by signing a law back in 2005. The attempt had been unsuccessful because of the opposition met by the case from the video game industry. The law was abolished as an infringement on the law of free speech. It was also argued then that a rating system based on the violence of the games and some other key characteristics was already put in place so there was no need to put additional measures on that.

The decision of the court was appealed against but the court retained the original decision of the first court. At last the state has gone to the Supreme Court which has decided a hearing of the case in spite of already made court decisions. The video game markers are sceptical about the hearing as they fear that the decision might turn against them because they think that if court had been satisfied by already made decisions it wouldn’t have asked for another hearing.

Universities now offering full time Bsc degrees in games development

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The development of games in the new world of science and technology has brought games to a new level. Now well established Universities in UK, USA and several other countries are offering full time B.Sc (Hons) degree in Computer games development. If you are a savvy gamer and have the talent and imagination to learn about their development then this dynamic degree could be quite beneficial. The computer and other platform games sector is one of the fastest growing sectors. Its monetary value and scale has surged too far that now it becomes the need of the hour to have qualified specialists of gaming software.

The BSc degree in computer games development aims the students who want to be gaming programmers but also need sufficient grounding to work outside the games industry. That’s why the course adopts software engineering to games development and combines the technical aspects of games programming and artificial intelligence with project management principles, organizational management and quality assurance. Other topics related to games such as creative designs, animation and storytelling are also covered as part of the program.

The course is roughly compromised of 5 computing programme themes such as Game Design, Mobile Computing, Game Development, Software Engineering and Software Development.  The degree comprise of 3 years of duration time divided in three parts. In 1st year the course mainly focuses on games and game play. The content also include the study of character creation, games genres, narrative, issues related to hardware, social and business context of games development. In the 2nd year, the course starts its focus on 2D games programming and mobile communication studies. It also includes project management and software engineering.

In third and final year, the students are taught 3D games programming techniques and work with games engines. Students will additionally have to choose two more courses such as Software Systems Development, Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Software Applications and Architectures, etc. In nutshell, it can be stated that this new level of gamming could make the games more enhanced and sophisticated then ever.

Spotlight on the updated versions of online games for 2011

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Online game players always remain in search of finding new and updated versions of different online games and it is our privilege that we get a chance to review the new versions of these games for 2011. These online games are fun to look at, exclusively interesting to play and much to report about them. Today the online games which we are going to review are massive in appearance and multiplayer games. Let’s start with two of them.

City of Heroes:

City of Heroes is a massive multiplayer game that is in operation since seven years. The developers are enjoying this long term success by continuously adding new contents into it and updating the older version. Its developers unveiled several challenging tasks in it this time to make this game more interesting and attractive for new players as well. The game is updated by step wise challenges in form of “weekly strike target” and developers have added animal body parts in it so that players can enjoy the thrill by being tiger men or bird-headed men. Players will be able to explore high level areas such as the Behavioral Adjustment Facility with multi players ranging from 12 to 24. The game is celebrating its consecutive seventh year of success.

Prius Online:

Another wonderful, free to play with massive multi player game named as Prius online will be available soon for all. This game is formerly known as Anima online and was launched in 2009. It is celebrating its success continuously from two years because it has achieved this status by every time giving something interesting to players. This online game can be distinguished from other online games easily because it is quite colorful and focused on a story and centered around characters rather than other commonly available action games. The main character of this game is a cute girl named Anima along with a massive giant pet having great combat powers. Anima is a sweet character that will join you in the beginning of game and stay along. Anima is not designed with any super combat abilities but the character can do several things on your behalf like gathering crafting resources and picking the loots while you busy in battling with monsters. You will be able to get this game in May 2011.

I feel like this is all for today. We will update you soon with more interesting games, more updated versions and more fun-to-play games soon.

Top 3 games you can play online for free

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Online games are one of the great ways to pass leisure time. But the reason behind its immense popularity is the huge variety of available online games which meets the needs of every gamer. Besides, these games are also free and easy to play by just a click of mouse. With no doubt that there are many popular online games but the best and top 3 online games these days are Soldiers, Carbon Theft Auto and FarmVille.

FarmVille is an exciting farming game available on the largest social networking portal Facebook. Currently it has over 62 million active users. In this game the player starts with an empty land provided with farm coins. Through the game the player have to plough the farm for harvesting and when the farm is ready to reap then the items are sold and the player gets farm cash. Gradually the level of the game increases with the land for harvesting. As the game goes on the player gets more options like buying livestock, trees, plants, bushes, etc. As it is a social networking game so it also has options to invite other friends to become neighbors, send gifts and decorations.

“Soldiers” is a real-time strategy game of military combats and war. It is a very simple game with short levels and military strategy. The game gets interesting and difficult as the level enhances. In the game Soldiers, you will play the role of company commander and will control your unit as well as your own player and will execute attacks while surviving from fires from the other end. In it you will firefight with the group of rogues and terrorists.

The next popular game is “Carbon Theft Auto” in which you will play the role of best car thief in the country. Your ultimate aim is to steal the cars and become the richest and the best person of the world while the city cops are on your tail and watching your every movement. Carbon Theft Auto is an interesting game in which you feel like you are a thief and police is chasing you.

Video Game Drop shipping Business

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Video games sales are improving with the improvement in the over economic situation of the world. Drop shipping has been a great business to do all over the world. Have you ever thought of combining the lucrative business of drop shipping with the profitability of video games? With newer and visually more appealing video games coming out each day, it is not hard to imagine the demand for old as well as new video games.

Let’s look at what we would require to become a successful entrepreneur in video gaming business using the drop shipping channel to our advantage.

First video games business can be effectively managed by people who sleep, eat, and drink video games. Someone who just doesn’t know about the video games shouldn’t experiment with his money and feelings.

You should have a fair idea of what your local customers want. You might be thinking that with advent of technology you should go global immediately. We won’t recommend you to take that risk for your video game business. You should start small and local before going for something really big. Search through the market segment available and see the demand for the local video games. This will let you know where to put all your money. For example you might be living somewhere, where people don’t like a certain type of console and have preference for some other console. You would definitely like to buy and sell video games for that particular console. This is the demand side of the business. The more you research, the better you know about your customer. This is a must exercise for survival, success, and profitability.

Next we are going to talk about the demand side. You would have to locate the local wholesalers which can provide you with the games you are looking for. Exceptionally important is the amount and variety of stock that wholesaler is keeping. Wholesalers with low levels of inventory can be very bad for your business. They have low profits because of lower sales volume and thus charge more margins. You can also get yourself into trouble if your customer is demanding something that the wholesaler isn’t able to provide in time.

Once you choose a wholesale distributor, be clear to straighten out the details in advance. The details might include type of video games you would buy. The price competitiveness shouldn’t be compromised at all. Titles should be original and the delivery time should have a maximum number of days in which a video will be delivered.

Again, start with small investment and gradually pour in more investment with increased learning. Best of luck for your video game drop shipping business.

Kinect or Project Natal for Xbox 360

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The long talked about Project Natal for Xbox 360 is unusual and exotic in its appeal for the audience. The device is an add-on to the Xbox 360 and eliminates the need of having a controlling device to play games. The controller-free platform unveiled will be commercially available in the market around November 2010. User interfaces have changed many shapes in the past and each time they have added to the quality of game play offered. This new interface is called the natural user interface in which a user can interact with the console through spoken commands, objects, images or posing gestures. No official word has been out on the price of this gamers dream machine however the retailers are known to be booking an advanced order for $150. The device is designed to be placed under the video displaying unit. It is loaded with advanced technology features like facial recognition, voice recognition and sensitivity to capture three dimensional motions. The device doesn’t need special empty room for proper working and its built-in features are able to detect the settings automatically like furniture placed in the room.

According to the latest available information, Kinect can accommodate up to six people simultaneously involved in the game play. The displaying unit enables a wide viewing angle both horizontally as well as vertically. The new controller-free styled gaming device Kinect is said to have a lot of games specially developed for it. Earlier rumors suggested that with the launch of Project Natal Microsoft would also introduce a new gaming console for its Xbox 360 series, though this news had been dismissed by Microsoft. Microsoft cleared it to all the audience that the new device (which is Kinect now known) would be compatible with all the Xbox360 versions. Wii has already been the market leader in providing physical fitness games and Microsoft is entering the market with the aim of gaining some of that market share as well. The wait though unavoidable seems too long for Xbox fans.

Civilization V – Game Preview

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Civilization is a turn-based strategic video game with a continuing chain of sequels for its different installments. The game has been built around the same philosophy, it is well known for. The player has to start building a civilization from scratch (pre-historic set of circumstances) to bring it into a modern era on the given game map. The process involves intelligent use of the resources with smart maneuvering of diplomacy, proactive research and appropriate use of the given military might.

The game’s first discussable upgrade has been the introduction of newer game engine on Lua scripting. The maps have also been changed to hexagonal shape from the boring squarer ones. The game is said to support some 18 civilizations such as American, Arabian, Chinese, Persian, Indian, and a whole lot more. The game is anticipated to be available as a DLC as well and so far Babylonia in Nebuchadnezzar II has been offered as a bonus civilization in the Digital Deluxe Edition. It is important to note that each of these 18 civilizations has different set of characteristics. Each one has its own chosen leader to lead the civilization. Every one of these has either one or two of their unique unit’s superiority in one or two aspects over other civilizations. For example, the American civilization will be lead by George Washington. It will have B17 bomber and Minutemen (earlier used in fighting by real America against colonial resistances) as two of its core military strengths though they haven’t been assigned any particularly architectural uniqueness. The unique ability given to the American civilization is the famous manifest destiny from the American past.

The game is also featured with AI. Four of the games levels will be controllable through AI that are; Tactical, Operational, Strategic, and Grand Strategic. The leaders leading the AI effort will have different sets of personalities. Each will have some strengths and weaknesses that would have a slight variation with each new game.

A newer twist has been added to win the game. You will have to complete the Utopia project to claim victory. To reach the Utopia project, you will have to complete a number of six social policy trees to start the project.

The final release date of the game has not yet been confirmed, albeit 2K Games is determined to release the game in September 2010. Current version of the game is for Windows platform, although some are anticipating a Mac OS release as well.

Creating online gaming site for earning

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Online games have been the rage of the gamers for quite sometime. Millions of online gaming sites are built to provide gaming facilities to the interested gamers. People from all around the world visit different gaming sites to play different games of their interest. Gaming sites are a fun way to pass time. These gaming sites either purchase the rights to games that they want their visitors to play or they just develop these games in house.

Making a game playing website is an excellent way to earn money online. Often people get frightened because they think that making games is impossible for any novice and it is next to impossible for them to successfully run an online gaming site. The greatest hurdle is the development of games. This hurdle however has been successfully overcome by technology. Technologically advanced software has been specially designed for people to help them overcome the difficulties they had in developing games. Earlier versions of game making software were very difficult to learn and posed challenging to individuals with no programming background. Easy to use software is now available with drag and drop facilities. Just few clicks of the mouse and you can create a lot of games in a lot lesser time. There have been different genres of games available for playing. To start with the development process you should look towards games that are easier to develop for you and you can easily translate those developed games into excellent game playing experience for the players. Games that are of no interest to players and don’t make any enjoyable game play, are highly discouraged to be developed. People only want to spend time with those games which they think as enjoyable.

At the start, try to include a variety of games. When you are starting an online gaming website, you can also get some very interesting games developed by the developers themselves. This will help you gain audience in the beginning. Don’t ask for the money at the launch of your website. Let the people get addicted and then start charging them money. Online gaming sites earn in two main ways. First is charging for the game play or game download, & secondly the advertisements that they get. It is even better to give away most of your games free and only charge for those ones which have cost you very heavily.