happen to misclick on Google maps, and the newly updated Route i was given was as follows:

- Walk 6 mins
- Train 25 mins
- Walk 3 mins
- Fly 8 mins (Bring your cape)
- Arrive @ Alcatraz

(Click to Zoom)

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Today’s article reflects on social games phenomenon Farmville!

Enjoy, Clik to zoom in:

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so many things want to get done “in the summer” , been lazy to squeeze time to blog D:

well .. recently had a small taste of success with Games..in a way i guess. made money from games, a first for me, and definitely not the last! If anything it’s more motivating and inspiring for me to continue pushing through these tough waters.

So i decided to give up completely on a video game i’ve been playing on-and-off-over-breaks for the past 2 years or so…gave up the game account, and sold these virtual game assets for real cash, in USD. It banked me a decent total $1700USD. It’s time to move on, time to get serious, i’m about to graduate and finally get my foot (someway or another) into the harsh and cruel & yet gratifying world of Game Development.

$1700 is nothing, it barely pays my rent and keeps me alive/feeds me for a month. But considering, it’s $1700 from one game alone, it shows me just how potent the game market is. People will do anything, and pay anything, for something they are this passionate about. This is the very reason and example why the very commonly used “Free-To-Play” model is used…hundreds and hundreds of MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), especially strong in the Asian market, all advertise as “free-to-play” games, but they all have their own in-game cash shops or Premium Item virtual stores, where players can purchase additional virtual goods for microtransactions, say $5 for a special character armor set, or virtual pet. It’s a very successful business model. These game companies earn in the Millions of monthly revenue (example would be Nexon). Of course, you first need a strong playable game, otherwise no one will even patronize your virtual game goods.

I still havn’t decided what i want to spend this money on, some thoughts include bribing my friends to work with me to develop my facebook game, buying a 55” tv, or a new computer..

Hey, i just sold my video game for $1700USD, of course i’m excited about it! lol… No, it’s not a collection of “10 old games that i don’t play anymore and i sold those”…. i sold, my game account, for one game.. and i’m very glad i did, it’s time to move on and get focused on the real world and my real passion, making games!

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that video, perked my curiosity instantly, and i spent the past straight 3 hours now just reading up more and more about this “3D Projection” technology, and it’s not that new, even though i only just saw my very first 3D Projection video. There’s been other “attempts”, or projects, in similiar fashion, but i think this recent Samsung is one of the best and strongest examples of the technology.

Yes, 3D Projection, as in watching 3D stuff in realtime, without the need for “3d glasses” …it simply works. After digging more into this tech, i noticed that the effect is the best/strongest when the environment is at its darkest. Like street lights should be turned off, surrounding buildings or malls should also have their lights all turned out so the area is as pitch dark as you can get.

i personally enjoyed how “the average person” is shown fully appreciating Technology..they gather around public areas and smile and laugh, having a good time with what this kind of advanced technology can bring them. It’s amazing.

Check out these collection of videos of 3D Projection Mapping..it will blow your mind.


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On the site of a thousand years of violent history, ACDC were pitted against Iron Man in a ground breaking architectural projection mapping project. The front facade of the Great Keep at Rochester Castle, was brought to life using the latest in 3D animation techniques. This onslaught of the senses, saw the castle confront it’s ultimate challenge. Warping, morphing, spewing and collapsing before the audiences eyes. Let there be rock!

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and then, race it.

Racing like the way of Mario-Kart style “battle races”, you get special bonuses during races to take down your friends and boost yourself into the lead. The race tracks themselves are equally whimsical, with random obstacles sprawled all around the environment, shifting bridges, big air jumps…andd after you’re done playing, dive head on into the game’s seemingly-equally-robust racetrack editor! Build the track of your dreams, then share it online with your friends and loved ones, and take them on in your very own “home turf”!

This might just turn out to the competitor of Mario Kart! Only time can tell, ModnationRacers releases May 25th, 2010, on the Playstation 3.

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Really interesting game to explore and pick up on the rapidly expanding “Free to Play MMORPG” Trend..!

Might as well check it out! Visit the site and take in the vibrant art world

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Little Big Planet 2 has a planned release for the Fall this year!

Seems to be offering a much more robust Game Builder for players to mess around with, opening up even more opportunities for modding and level creation. Different camera angles, more awesome lighting effects, “smarter” objects? o:

I think games like LBP are genius. You build a game, advertise it as a game where “you create your game, the way you want it, anything and anyway you like it!”

“Don’t only get to play the game, you also get to build your own levels and also download and play other players’ creations!” “You guys have made over 2 million custom games and worlds! Much moreee than we could have imagined!”

It’s genius!

Why work to build “DLC” to keep a game alive? Make your consumers do your work for you! Take “Modern Warfare 2″ for example…they push out like.. DLC Map Packs “+5 additional levels” every few months..

with custom game builders like Little Big Planet, you are pretty much getting 5000 “additional levels” every few months, and the work is done by your consumers, not by you!

haha, awesome x] Build something and have the world continue the work for you..hehehe..advertise it as a “build and share your creations“..

Sure, those “user created worlds” are free to download and share, so there’s no fee and can’t be labeled as “DLC”. But then, i’m pretty sure there will mean increased and continued sale of the game software itself, which probably makes up for the “free add-ons”. The game also features other purchasable stuff, like custom avatars for your in-game character, which you do pay for.

Little Big Planet 2 Debut Trailer:

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Singapore’s quality of life is “just amazing. Everything is super-efficient — especially the public transport system which is very organized and very cheap, the food is incredible, and there’s just so much energy in the air.”

- Claude Langlais,
Ubisoft Singapore

Haha, really? x) I guess you don’t realize these kinda stuff growing up there all your life, ’til you’re away from it and you start reminiscing it

Singapore is starting to show up more often on the map for game development, i’m really looking forward to see how much it grows there and what it grows into over the next 5 or 7 years. I myself was lucky enough to have had a chance to visit and speak to LucasArts Singapore back in 2008…as well as EA Singapore where i had a short chat with the VP-of-something x]

Other new game studios that had popped up in Singapore include Ubisoft and TakeTwo Interactive.

Full writeup at Gamasutra - http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/28461/A_Global_Move_Worth_It.php

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Yep, Limbo is an Indie Game too, developed for the Xbox Live Arcade platform only (unfortunately). I believe the game has won awards for it’s just-gorgeous art style…minimal yet still so powerful in conveying emotion in the viewer. Almost every part of the game, you can pause and it becomes a work of art, like a gallery showing.

The project began with 1 person’s basic sketches, which he made into a video (animatic), that captured the hearts of millions in an instant. Developers and publishers alike then opened up opportunities to develop it into what it is today. After 6 years of development, we have this beautiful piece of a game to appreciate.

This is just the reason why i have grown such a love for indie games. The art direction is usually what most Indiegames seem to focus on as a result of having limited resources/small man-power. Minimal, yet brilliant, simplistic nature of the games.

It drives home the fact that you don’t always necessarily need to make the next “Call of Duty Moden Warfare” or “Crysis” or “Unreal Gears of War” to win the hearts of gamers around the world.

http://www.limbogame.org/

Check out the videos!

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3D Dot Game Heroes, developed by Silicon Studios, coming out in a couple weeks (May 11, 2010) for the PS3 exclusively, features the “pixelated retro look” from the old days of gaming on our crappy low-resolution screens… picture the days of the GameBoy and it’s green & black lcd display.

now modernize that by throwing it into the realm of three-dimensions, and you get this gorgeous of a game. The soundtrack keeps in step with the retro vibe, an energetic loop-ish “MIDI” music, mixed in with some orchestra to bring it to the modern era.

some nitpickers already comparing it to Zelda games…but hey, it plays well and has one of the most distinct visuals in years of gaming.

check out more of the game! it’s beautiful.

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