Category Archive

Technology

CES 2017: An Up Close Look At Microsoft’s Windows 10 VR Initiative

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

It has been a few months since we last heard from Microsoft’s Virtual Reality initiative set to launch later this year with the Windows 10 Creator’s Update. In the Fall the operating system developer promised to deliver several Virtual Reality focused improvements to Windows 10 – including a 3D version of paint, support for the company’s “mixed reality” and the implementation of Windows Holographic (which powers HoloLens) into the main branch of Windows 10. Now that the Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing technology focused site NeoWin got an up-close look at some of the consumer focused VR headsets

0

LiquidSky’s New Free Tier Offers Cutting Edge Gaming Performance To All

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Playing the latest AAA games like DOOM, Battlefield 1 and Tom Clancy’s The Division at high or ultra setting can be a daunting task even for some top-end rigs. Trying to play the latest games on PC at the best graphical fidelity while on a budget can be a literal give & take scenario – sacrificing some graphic options for others in order to maintain stability. Cloud gaming provider LiquidSky aims to make these sacrifices a thing of the past as they open up their platform to everyone as their product approached the end of beta at CES 2017. LiquidSky

0

Game Developers Choice Awards Nominees Unveiled

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

GDC Crowd
The Games Developer Conference (GDC) will once again play host to the industry’s retrospective on the past year with the annual Game Developer Choice Awards, with returning hosts Double Fine Productions’ Tim Schaefer overseeing this years’ accolades. With 14 different categories – including the brand new Best AR / VR Game category – there’s a good chance some of your favorite titles from the past year are in the running for at least one award. Large AAA surprises like Blizzard’s Overwatch, EA’s Battlefield 1 and Sony Computer Entertainment’s The Last Guardian share the spotlight with indie darlings like Firewatch, Inside,

0

Shift Controller To Offer Room Scale Like Experience Without Sensors

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Virtual Reality motion controllers can add to the immersion of an interactive experience but setting up various base-stations and sensors can be a daunting task for the less hardcore among us. The Shift cross-platform controller purports to offer a simpler solutions for VR physical presence with a set of motion controllers linked to a pair of sensor armbands worn on the upper arm. Produced by San Francisco based start-up Finch, the Shift is said to match the functionality of the much more expensive HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. How does Finch achieve  these results without the need for multiple sensors in

0

Microsoft Lowers The Barrier To Entry With $299 VR Headsets

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

At their New York technology showcase Microsoft announced that they will be supported VR in a huge way with the upcoming Windows 10 Creator’s Update (previously known as “Red Stone 2”) due to roll out sometime next spring. Not only will MS be bringing brand new Virtual Reality & 3D enabled versions of classic Windows applications but also partnering with popular hardware manufacturers to bring a new line of VR headsets to market. This new line of headsets will be manufactured by companies like HP, Acer, Lenovo, Asus and Dell during the first half of 2017. Best of, according to Microsoft, they

0

Interview: Clickteam’s Chris Carson About Their Upcoming Game Jam

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

I recently got the chance to interview Clickteam’s Chris Carson about the company’s upcoming “Weirder Stuff” game jam and month long contest. As I previously covered late last week the Weirder Stuff game jam + month long contest is aimed around providing developers and aspiring developers a chance to show off their creative talents using Clickteam’s range of “visual programming” techniques or as Chris so aptly put it when I interviewed him last March at GDC “programming for the rest of us”. Alongside showcasing some of the communities best creative minds Clickteam is also giving away some prizes for the

0

Long Time Blizzard Developer Chris Metzen Retires

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Long time Blizzard Entertainment developer & current Senior Vice President in charge of Story and Franchise Development, Chris Metzen has retired from the world renowned developer. Originally reported by the Business Journal and later confirmed via a lengthy good-bye message posted to the Blizzard official forums on Chris’ behalf by Community Manager Lylirra. If you’ve even dabbled in a Blizzard Entertainment title since the company’s formative years in the 1990s then you’ve experienced some of Metzen’s work. He got his start at the developer at the young age of 20, working on the D.C licensed fighter Justice League Task Force. Over the

0

PS4 Pro Announced at PlayStation Meeting

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Ellen McGrody

PS4 Pro announced, launches November 10th
Sony officially unveiled the much-rumored PS4 Pro at today’s PlayStation Meeting. The PS4 Neo improves performance and offers higher resolution graphics. A new, slimmer base model will accompany the PS4 Pro’s launch in November. Sony’s Mark Cerny demoed the console’s 4K graphics with games such as Horizon: Zero Dawn and Mass Effect Andromeda. Because the console features enhanced hardware, games will be able to employ higher resolutions and greater detail. In addition, HDR lighting is coming to all PS4 models via a software update. PS4 Pro will make its debut on November 10th for $399.

0

Why Sony Releasing 3 New Products At The PlayStation Meeting Makes Sense

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sony’s PlayStation Meeting is scheduled for just two and a half weeks from now, the world will finally know what Sony’s R&D department have been quietly working on for the past few years and get a fresh look at the upcoming PlayStation VR as well as the confirmed PlayStation NEO. Not only has the PlayStation Slim’s final production design been leaked but rumors are suggesting that Sony may unveil a mysterious third product. Here is why that makes a lot more sense than you think. PlayStation 4 Slim Confirmed In The Wild Prior to the PlayStation NEO’s official confirmation fans

0

Powerhouse GeForce 10 GPUs Headline New Line of AORUS Laptops

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

We’ve written quite a bit about the desktop iterations of Nvidia’s next-generation GeForce 10 line of graphics cards but now the first laptops with the mobile versions of these GPUs are about to hit the market. Laptop manufacturer AORUS has announced their brand new slim line of gaming laptops aimed directly at players who are looking for the cutting edge in terms of performance power combined with features that give the new AORUS line a distinctly high-end feel like RBG backlit keyboards that include per key lighting and impressive 120hz screens. The AORUS 17.3 inch X7 DT provides owners with desktop grade

0

Insert Coins T’s teams up with Pokemon for a new line of shirts

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

If you don’t know about Insert Coin tshirts, where the heck have you been? They are one of the few companies out there that can make licensed game t-shirts, and look good doing it. They feature shirts from Assiasins Creed, Border Lands, Life is Strange, and many others. their shirts have muted designs and are not obviously gaming related, so you can wear them out to events with no fear of being singled out. You said Pokemon? Yup, with the success of PO:GO everyone wants in on the fad, so Insert Coin is  doing a collaboration which brings together Pokémon’s twenty-year heritage

0

Resources For New Pokemon Go Players In Canada

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Great news for the thousands of Pokemon trainers here in Canada who have side-loaded Pokemon Go on to their device in order to catch’em all – you no longer have to fear the ban hammer as Pokemon Go has been officially launched in Canada. It is no wonder that some estimates pegged Canada as having a 6% side-load rate. Niantic Labs & Nintendo made the announcement this morning on the official Pokemon Go twitter account, here is the tweet that kicked things off: #PokemonGO is now available on Android and iOS devices in Canada. pic.twitter.com/GJodIPSqza — Pokémon GO News (@PokemonGoNews) July 17, 2016 Within

0

The Definitive Guide To Mastering OSVR – Open Source Virtual Reality

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Virtual Reality has been available to consumers on PC after years in development. While the system requirements can be a little daunting, new mainstream video cards like the Radeon RX480 and upcoming Geforce 1060 are helping to ease the pain on both owner’s wallets and their system’s power supplies. When it comes to the choice of headsets potential VR early adaptors have quite a few options – there are the rather expense HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift, probably the two biggest names in Head Mounted Displays, but other alternatives also exist. You can get a comparable experience out of mid-tier

0

Sony Clarifies Stance On PSVR Game Compatibility: Not All Games Will Work With Dualshock 4

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Excited PlayStation fans have been wondering for a while whether or not PSVR titles will indeed be fully playable with the DualShock 4. After issuing a statement earlier this week that all PSVR games would support play through a ds4 controller, Sony has amended their statement. Now they say that some games will require the PlayStation Move controller while the majority are fully playable with the Dualshock Controller. Here is the newly revised statement: “Nearly all PlayStation VR titles will support DualShock 4 controllers, and several games will deliver an enhanced experience that further immerses gamers with the use of

0

Nintendo announces Mini Collector’s Edition NES

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Its what you always wanted right? Ok, maybe not. But its a good start. After the success of Pokemon Go it seems Nintendo have decided that cashing in on nostalgia will be their business strategy. I am not at all surprised to see Nintendo announce something like this. Its a good time for retro. 30 retro games, in a nice tiny package, just in time for holiday! Its a good time to be a Nintendo shareholder. Ok so what is it already Its an NES, but tiny, and with an HDMI port. Its going to be ready packed with 30

0

Get the latest articles and news from BrokenJoysticks and a selection of excellent articles from other sources.

Simply fill out the form below and you’ll be on your way to getting our upcoming newsletter.