The Netherlands are a hotbed of indie game development, which seems appropriate for such a brilliant and eccentric little nation. Two man Dutch indie developer Vlambeer have found themselves in the news more often than most companies of their size, thanks to two great games and a third on the way.
Foldit is definitely a niche game. The sole gameplay mechanic is attempting to fold complex proteins into smaller and more efficient shapes following the rules of molecular physics and biology. Points are awarded based on how small one can make the protein. Online leaderboards track players' relative progress and allows them to view and manipulate other players' completed designs. It's original, certainly, but no developer is going to ship a million units of a game about molecular-level prote...
For this week's review round-up, we bring you two games from opposite sides of the indie world. One is a free online hybrid shooter/platformer combining elements of Team Fortress 2 and Minecraft. The other involves driving jeeps around and shooting things as fast as possible. Both are great.
I'm a desert island pizza person, meaning, I pretty much never get sick of pizza. When it comes to other favorite cuisines, I operate in cycles - indulge often, grow tired of them, take a break and re-visit in time. But when it comes to pizza, I could eat it every night of the week. I typically practice enough self-control to override this desire, but luckily for me, I made a special concession this past week while creating this article.
If bourbon is a man's drink, what better flavor to infuse it with than bacon? The combination tastes just as delicious as it sounds—a smokey, salty aftertaste lingering after each sip of deep, rich bourbon.
Steam has been a game-changer in the PC indie game market over the last eight years, making smaller games available to millions of users at lower prices than ever before. And few times in those eight years have there been as much indie awesomeness on sale for as little money as this weekend.
Last week in New York, I saw the new show Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities at the Museum of Arts and Design, at Columbus Circle near the edge of Central Park, between Broadway and Eighth. Below is the museum’s description of the show:
Iceland Adventure Travel Are you an "adventure traveler?" That's right an adventurer traveler! Adventure tourism is becoming a popular travel niche all over the world for adventure seekers. These are people who don't necessarily want to sit on the beach with a cocktail with a tiny little umbrella in it, but rather experience the great outdoors through participating in activities.
Pressing the button on a video game controller quickly is like running the 100 meter dash. Both require dedication and a precise exercise regime. There is also an odd quality about both in which the range between the very best and complete neophyte is tiny. Sprinter Usain Bolt holds the record in the 100 meter run at 9.58 seconds, only three seconds faster than I ran in freshmen high school track. And yet there are thousands of sprinters from a hundred years of Olympic competition in between ...
Where We Go Wrong Nutritionally In our fifties we face numerous food challenges. We often choose to ignore them rather than face them head on. Here are the problems we face:
I was raised in the glory days of Japanese RPG's (JRPG's) on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were the biggest game franchises, and real gamers could debate their merits endlessly. We remained engaged in the stories of the games, even though the soldiers, princesses and schoolchildren all had spiky day-glo hair. We waded through hours of randomly triggered menu-based battles instead of playing Doom or baseball. And we loved every minute of it.
Do you remember when video games came on tiny chips in plastic cartridges? When the CD and 3D graphics just meant ugly games with long load times? Before epic cinematics, spoken dialog, or cordless controllers? Do you still have all of your old games and lament that the consoles, cords, and controllers required to play them have either been stolen by exes or broken while moving apartments?
By: Miguel Molina 11 February, 2011
So the Big Surprise News of today is that The King's Speech is Kicking Major Nomination Ass with twelve count-em 12 nominations, just brutalizing stuff like The Social Network (eight - nice try), The Fighter (seven - really? seven? that's the best you can do idiot movie?) and True Grit (ten - double figures is respectable... I guess...). How come that happened? I'll tell you. It's because North Americans freaking love rich British people.
Before last Sunday I hadn't been to a proper game store since I was in middle school. Over ten years ago. If you decide to stop reading right now because I obviously don't care enough about MTG to be writing this thing, I don't blame you. But I tell you, friends, as someone who has denied the utter awesomeness of their hobby for too long, that going to Emerald Knights in Burbank made me feel at home. I want to tell you about it and explain why I will be back many times in the future.
Review: Get Him to the Greek So much puke
Serious Eats' Burger Lab offers an extensive guide to making sliders at home. For those who have not sampled the beloved American classic, a slider is NOT just a mini hamburger. Nope, there's much more to it than that.
Apple just released iOS 12.5.1 (build number 16H22) for iPhone 5S, 6, and 6 Plus, as well as iPod touch 6th generation, in addition to iPadOS 12.5.1 for iPad Air, mini 2, and mini 3. The update fixes an issue in iOS 12.5 where Exposure Notifications could incorrectly display logging profile language.
Umbra, penumbra. Not exactly abracadabra, but if you've taken an astronomy class, you know exactly what the umbra and penumbra are. And any Earthling would agree that the umbra is the best place to be during a solar or lunar eclipse.
I decided to make a quick banner for my RC plane. It was basically free, but you might need to get a few materials if you don't have them. My plane is a Hobbyzone Champ, which is a hardy but tiny plane, weighing only 1.3 ounces with the battery. My how-to is modeled after this, which is intended for the Super Cub. It is the bigger version of the Champ, weighing a total of 25.2 ounces, which is more than 18 times the weight of Champ. As you can see, I was faced with a problem. How was I going ...
Update: New Trailer (7/9/10) In July of 2008, Fawaz Al-Matrouk, director of "To Rest In Peace", brought me on to shoot his USC graduate thesis film. Two years, 3 cameras, and over 15,000 miles later, the film is in its last week of post, having completed our final color correction at Light Iron Digital in Culver City yesterday.
How to Get Rid of Crabs Knowing how to get rid of crabs is very simple. The crabs talked about here are not the ones you find in the sea, but they are the crabs people get from sex. The technical name for these troublesome creatures is pubic lice. Below, you will see how to get rid of them.
I have an absolutely wonderful time making projects and writing articles for all of you mad scientists! Today, I will bring you behind the scenes for a look at the workbench, tools, and software that make the Mad Science World possible.
Minecraft is unique among computer games in that some users have created such breathtaking works of beauty and ingenuity that it challenges the very idea that Minecraft is even a game at all, but suggests that it is instead a tool for artistic expression much like Photoshop.
Hey everybody, here is my entry for the medieval building contest. I don't actually care if I win, it was just fun to think about.
"Boho" hair is natural and free-flowing and doesn't take a lot of time or tools. Often this look is a result of sleeping or a day at the beach. Here we show you how to achieve that look without doing either! Part
Ever wonder how all of those tiny chips and components can fit inside your laptop or smartphone? If you tried to squeeze them in there yourself, your laptop would quickly become too heavy for your lap, and your mobile phone would need wheels to stay mobile.
Fans of Doctor Who know that the sonic screwdriver is the ultimate tool. It can unlock doors, turn on lights, detect life forms, solder wires, and sabotage weapons.
There are a few ways to make trapdoors, but out of all of them, this one is my favorite. It's fast, completely hidden, and both opens and closes. This particular trapdoor can be used for a variety of purposes, such as hiding your valuable possessions, having a secret entrance to an underground lair, or maybe even taking care of obnoxious cows. What you'll need to make it are 12 sticky pistons, 8 redstone repeaters, 32 redstone, the switch of your choice, and whatever blocks you want to use to...
I think it's fair to say that every maker yearns for a 3D printer. You can replace circuit board connectors, fix your glasses, create ski grips, and make whole machines out of printed plastic parts—even a 3D printer. But without a 3D printer on hand, you can always resort to Sugru.
Nikola Tesla In my opinion, one of the most neglected inventors of all time. The names Edison and Marconi come to mind as familiar, but Tesla? Most think of a car. Few know that Tesla is responsible for alternating current, florescent lights, radar, remote control, generators that preform efficiently, the spark plug, and many others. The U.S Supreme Court declared in 1943 that Tesla, not Marconi, was the true inventor of the radio.
Like a great acting performance, making a really good game is all about choices. While creating or playing a game, those involved have to constantly make small choices that will affect the outcome, either positively or negatively. And the only thing worse than choosing wrongly is not choosing at all. Too many games, especially today, stick to what they're supposed to do from the get-go and avoid making difficult, small, meaningful choices to differentiate themselves and make their performance...
I love my laptop. It goes wherever I go. Unfortunately, that means that it also gets pretty grubby after a while. The screen gets dusty. The frame gets smudgy. The spaces between the keys fill up with crumbs of questionable origins. And my desktop? That thing is a dust bunny magnet.
Roses, the world’s favorite flowers, are great garden performers that, if well cared for, will live for many years and produce thousands of exquisite blooms.
Here are some charts I made to help you master crafting recipe levels. Don't forget to note the rewards at the bottom of each chart!
I like to grow vegetables all year round, and I couldn't afford the big gas bulbs, or the power to run them. The big gas bulbs:
Holiday dinners can be the same every year, but many are starting to switch it up, making new traditions and getting a new dining experience for everyone at the table. It’s not unusual to see sweet potatoes on an Easter dinner menu or lamb at Thanksgiving dinner.
Creating any object you want is as simple as point and click if you have a 3D printer at home. If you don't have one handy, there are a few companies that offer printing services online. But to help services realize your design in extruded plastic, you have to make a 3D computer model for the printing machine. For beginners, the free Google SketchUp application is the best choice of software. Using only a few tool bar buttons and a scroll wheel computer mouse, you can model literally any obje...
Making your own circuit boards can be a daunting challenge. You have to design a schematic, test it on a breadboard, design the board layout, and then after all of that, you still have to print and etch a board!
It's Monday, and once again it's time to highlight some of the community submissions posted to the Math Craft corkboard. In addition, I thought we'd take a look at having fun with the geometrical properties of polygons and circles by using one of the best circles I know, the penny.
