Sony’s just been granted an interesting new patent:
The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce “sensory experiences” such as smells, sounds and images.
Some games, however, I don’t think you want to smell.
Goodbye Mapquest. Goodbye randmcnally.com.
Hello, again, Google. I’ve been a fan of Google’s maps and driving directions since I discovered the service a few months ago. Typical Google, the maps are a blend of simplicity and style. And unlike the other online map services, Google’s actually recognizes my home address, which was a cow pasture two years ago.
And yesterday, the Google map service distanced itself from the competition by introducing satellite pictures to accompany its maps. The traditional method is still available, but now you also have the option of viewing locations as satellite images or aerial high-resolution digital photos. Driving directions can be integrated into the images, too.
Coolgle. Let the privacy discussion begin!
Now this sounds cool:
The first advertisement appeared in USA Today a week ago, right on schedule.
People from around the world had stayed up all night waiting for it, talking in chat rooms and online forums. It had to be a clue, they thought. Everything before it had been a clue.
“LOST. The Cube,” read the ad, posted at the top of the paper’s “Notices” section. “Reward Offered. Not only an object of great significance to the city but also a technological wonder.”
Until this morning, I had not heard of the new medium referred to “alternate-reality gaming.” The CNET article calls the medium “an obsession-inspiring genre that blends real-life treasure hunting, interactive storytelling, video games and online community . . . .” An “ARG” is apparently an “intensely complicated series of puzzles involving coded Web sites, real-world clues like the newspaper advertisements, phone calls in the middle of the night from game characters and more.”
The ad referred to above is in reality (!) a clue in the new ARG known alternatively (appropriately enough) as Perplex City, Project Syzygy, or The Cube. One of the early puzzles reveals a clue pointing to the website www.perplexcity.com, which currently shows a letter from someone (or thing) named Sente, a citizen of Perplex City. There’s more at www.projectsyzygy.com.
This idea epitomizes, literally, the notion of thinking-outside-the-box: it expands role-playing games into the real world and the real world into role-playing games. I’ve never seen the movie, but it reminds me of the trailer of The Game, starring Michael Douglas. Or maybe it’s more like The DaVinci Code meets How to Host a Murder. (More on The DaVinci Code when I’ve finished reading the book.)
I haven’t had much time to read many of them, but there appear to be several primers for beginners and others who are jumping into the game late. Read through this, for some really crazy stuff. Alas, I’m afraid I won’t have time to participate, but I love the idea.
Now this sounds cool:
The first advertisement appeared in USA Today a week ago, right on schedule.
People from around the world had stayed up all night waiting for it, talking in chat rooms and online forums. It had to be a clue, they thought. Everything before it had been a clue.
“LOST. The Cube,” read the ad, posted at the top of the paper’s “Notices” section. “Reward Offered. Not only an object of great significance to the city but also a technological wonder.”
Until this morning, I had not heard of the new medium referred to “alternate-reality gaming.” The CNET article calls the medium “an obsession-inspiring genre that blends real-life treasure hunting, interactive storytelling, video games and online community . . . .” An “ARG” is apparently an “intensely complicated series of puzzles involving coded Web sites, real-world clues like the newspaper advertisements, phone calls in the middle of the night from game characters and more.”
The ad referred to above is in reality (!) a clue in the new ARG known alternatively (appropriately enough) as Perplex City, Project Syzygy, or The Cube. One of the early puzzles reveals a clue pointing to the website www.perplexcity.com, which currently shows a letter from someone (or thing) named Sente, a citizen of Perplex City. There’s more at www.projectsyzygy.com.
This idea epitomizes, literally, the notion of thinking-outside-the-box: it expands role-playing games into the real world and the real world into role-playing games. I’ve never seen the movie, but it reminds me of the trailer of The Game, starring Michael Douglas. Or maybe it’s more like The DaVinci Code meets How to Host a Murder. (More on The DaVinci Code when I’ve finished reading the book.)
I haven’t had much time to read many of them, but there appear to be several primers for beginners and others who are jumping into the game late. Read through this, for some really crazy stuff. Alas, I’m afraid I won’t have time to participate, but I love the idea.
