Crimson Crux

“War. War never changes.”

Remember the classic PC role-playing games Fallout 1 and 2? That iconic phrase comes from the introduction cutscenes of both games. If you didn’t know already, the next installment in the venerable franchise is being developed by Bethesda, and I can’t frigging wait to see the new face of one of my all-time favorite games.

From a recent CVG article:

[Bethesda's] Pete Hines has been speaking about the sequel in an interview with Gamasutra and, while beans weren’t exactly spilled, we were interested to hear that Bethesda is “already several years into the project.”…Hines explained that the developer won’t do the grand reveal until there’s something there to really get our teeth into.

Make no mistake about it — when Fallout 3 launches, I’ll be losing half my waking hours again.

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I count Blizzard Entertainment as one of my favorite game publishers. I’ve spent countless of hours playing the games of their three main franchises — Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft — not to mention poring over hundreds of pages of fan fiction and game manuals.

That is why when Blizzard announced that they were having the 1st Annual Blizzard Art Contest, I was thrilled — not because I wanted to join (me? an artist? mwehehe), but because I couldn’t wait to see the winning works.

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I’ve just opened Hardwar Crux, a mini fansite for the 1998 PC space simulation game, Hardwar. Chances are you haven’t heard of this game, and that’s because in my opinion Hardwar is one of the most unheralded game titles in history. But make no mistake about it — it’s one of the best.

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The best manifestation of the computing power of video game chips? Interesting, especially to hardcore console gamers, I suppose.

According to ACM TechNews:

IBM has won a contract from the Department of Energy to develop a peta-scale supercomputer powered by 16,000 Cell chips. The system, due to be completed in 2008, will cost a projected $110 million. The selection of the Cell chip, which originally was jointly designed with Sony and Toshiba for video games and animation, is an indication of how the computer industry is increasingly shaped by technologies that were initially developed for home and consumer uses.

Hmm…the Cell processor. Does PlayStation 3 ring a bell? Read the full New York Times article (registration required, but free).

That’s a parody of an old boxing video game, the name of which I can’t remember. Image borrowed from a DoTa All-Stars Forumer’s signature, though I can’t find that special dude now. (Just spent a futile hour scouring the forums for the right guy.) Anyway, no copyright infringment intended — just having fun!

I love lists. Especially those listing the best something, the worst something, the greatest something. And if those somethings are related to gaming, then I have no option but to be thrilled to death.

Game Revolution has released one such list — The 50 Worst Video Game Names of All Time — and it’s definitely a good read. Evokes those gaming memories whilst triggering a round of chuckles every now and then. My favorite names in the (In)famous Fifty: Tech Romancer, Sticky Balls, Tongue of the Fatman, Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, and Totally Rad.

I think the PC game Divine Divinity takes the cake, but Game Revolution’s Numero Uno is still a great choice. Check out who’s the topnotcher!

That gamer is no other than yours truly. I’m several days removed from my five-day vacation in Kalibo, Aklan (my clan’s home province), and I’m still savoring the experience. That experience includes, lo and behold, a foray into the sumptuously addicting DotA. And just when I thought I would be leaving all tech- and game-related stuff in the metro!

For the uninitiated, DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is a free mod for the game Warcraft III. In the Philippines, it has become an addiction, rivaling the famous MMORPGs around. Having evolved into this generation’s Counter-Strike (remember it?), you can even consider DotA as a “sub-game” of Warcraft III — packs of gamers troop to Net cafes not to play “Warcraft”, but rather “DotA”. (more…)

“Multiplayer games may be the best kind of training.”

This is the gist of a Wired Magazine article written by John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas, interestingly titled You Play World of Warcraft? You’re Hired!.

So who says gaming’s only for dorks and awkward bums? Vast experience in the world’s biggest MMORPG (see related article at WoW Gold Source) helped this guy land a lucrative job at Yahoo!:

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It’s gaming news and opinions galore again as the 15th Carnival of Gamers gets underway at Kim Pallister’s blog. Yours truly is one of the carnival’s participants (just search for “Crimson Crux”); I chipped in the Greatest Gaming Engine Ever? entry from this blog.

See you at the carnival!

…the Tactical Language Training Program, which is used by the US Military to train its soldiers in understanding international nonverbal language, i.e. body english.

According to the article at Wired News:

The player is asked to interact with other characters using speech and gestures, while a speech-recognition system records and evaluates the responses. Accurate responses allow the soldier to build a rapport with other characters and advance to the next level.

A civilian version might be possibly released, which might make the game the answer to Grand Theft Auto’s debauchery (snicker snicker).