Abstinence Avatar Game Teaches Kids How to Avoid Sex, ‘Winning’ Is Really Losing
Now, this is exactly what we've been yearning for: a video game that teaches us how to be abstinent. With avatars. Because real gamers usually have dates galore, right? Researchers at the University of Central Florida have created just such a game, in the hopes of encouraging kids to avoid kissing and making out and stuff. "Players" must wear a motion-capture suit, equipped with special infrared receptors, which control the movement of his or her avatar on the screen. To "succeed" at the game means completely avoiding sexual advances from the opposite sex. Researchers will begin testing the game on targeted after-school students, and are hoping to have it ready to roll by Spring 2011. Oh, and it only cost $434,000 worth of taxpayer money to create.
In an interview with FOX News' Orlando affiliate, professor and research leader Anne Norris said the game would provide Florida's hormonal with "a place to practice where there aren't any social consequences." (Witness the bizarre mating, or non-mating, dance after the jump.) Since the morality is weaved into a video game platform, Norris believes teens will find it easier to pick up valuable social skills. "A boy similar in age might approach the person playing the game and ask her to make out or there might be some sexual innuendo," Norris explained. Wow. That sounds like a really tough situation. Or, as most of the world would call it, "the best day of your teenage life." [From: FOXOrlando, via: Joystiq and The Awl]
Continue reading Abstinence Avatar Game Teaches Kids How to Avoid Sex, 'Winning' Is Really Losing
Filed under: Video Games, Back to School
Abstinence Avatar Game Teaches Kids How to Avoid Sex, 'Winning' Is Really Losing originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tap ‘Left’ to Play Classic ‘Snake’ Game on YouTube
'Snake,' the classic game installed on many early cell phones and, most memorably, the TI-83+ calculator, has made a jump to a new platform: YouTube. The recently discovered Easter Egg lets you play 'Snake' on a paused or buffering video by simply tapping (or holding) left. Just load up your favorite video on YouTube.com (the trick doesn't work on embedded video) to try it out. Details are slim on the required settings; some claim you need to press up and left at the same time, some say the video has to be in the 'Gaming' category, and some even suggest that the video can be fully loaded. Regardless, most of our attempts were successful, and YouTube has successfully found a way to be an even bigger time-suck. [From: Engadget and Kotaku]
Filed under: Video Games, Google, Web
Tap 'Left' to Play Classic 'Snake' Game on YouTube originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tap ‘Left’ to Play Classic ‘Snake’ Game on YouTube
'Snake,' the classic game installed on many early cell phones and, most memorably, the TI-83+ calculator, has made a jump to a new platform: YouTube. The recently discovered Easter Egg lets you play 'Snake' on a paused or buffering video by simply tapping (or holding) left. Just load up your favorite video on YouTube.com (the trick doesn't work on embedded video) to try it out. Details are slim on the required settings; some claim you need to press up and left at the same time, some say the video has to be in the 'Gaming' category, and some even suggest that the video can be fully loaded. Regardless, most of our attempts were successful, and YouTube has successfully found a way to be an even bigger time-suck. [From: Engadget and Kotaku]
Filed under: Video Games, Google, Web
Tap 'Left' to Play Classic 'Snake' Game on YouTube originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Cow Clicker: The Facebook Anti-Game
Whether you love or hate 'FarmVille' and its Facebook-game brethren, you can't deny their reach or their influence on how we play today. Enter video game designer and critic Ian Bogost and his new Facebook app 'Cow Clicker,' a meta-game that pares down social networking lifestyle entertainments to the root of their essential mechanics. According to Bogost, "You get a cow. You can click on it. In six hours, you can click it again. Clicking earns you clicks." And, besides your standard, never-ending newsfeed options, that's just about it.
We played it for exactly 20 seconds. Cute! But, if it's "partly a satire," as Bogost says, it still seems a little too earnest. We'd much prefer a game that consisted of a square: you can look at that square for a given amount of time each day, and return again the next to look at the square some more. Your friends will be informed that you've been looking at a square. And then this happens. [From: Kotaku]
Filed under: Video Games, Web, Social Networking
Cow Clicker: The Facebook Anti-Game originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11′ Game Sales Coming in Over Par
Not only is Tiger Woods struggling on the golf course (he hasn't won a major tournament this year), but he's struggling in the video game market, too. According to The New York Times, 'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11,' which was released in June, experienced a 32-percent drop in first-month sales compared to last year's version of the game. (In case you've been living under a rock for the last year, it should be noted that Tiger's public image took quite the hit when news broke that he cheated on his wife, Elin.) But Electronic Arts, which develops the line of PGA games, says that's not why Tiger's sales aren't up to par. Jeff Brown, an EA spokesman, told the Times that he blamed a slowdown in the number of Wii consoles being sold, and he also said last year's game sold more because it was bundled with Nintendo's console.
We're glad EA cleared that up for us. Turns out, the game just isn't riding the console's coattails this year. Here we were, thinking gamers actually had a moral conscience. Maybe they just realized Tiger just isn't all that interesting unless he's winning golf tournaments. [From: The New York Times]
Filed under: Video Games
'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11' Game Sales Coming in Over Par originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
eBay User Sells Original NES for $50k, but Buyer Reneges (Seller Drops to $35k)
As far we understand it, an object goes through five rough stages in its lengthy lifetime. First, it's shiny and new, sitting on a store shelf. Then, it's just junk. A little later, it's vintage, then antique, and -- finally -- an invaluable link to another time. Typically, it seems, it takes quite a while to get from Stage 1 to Stage 5. (We're hoping that rusted-out '83 Mustang in our yard will be fondly remembered any day now.) After hearing about an original NES fetching a cool 50 grand on eBay, though, we had to reconsider that timeline; apparently where gamers are concerned, it's quite a bit shorter. Actually, a lot dang shorter.
Apparently, though, whoever had decided to shell out the $50,000 in order to grab the Nintendo bundle (and to alleviate user ronald3868's financial problems) couldn't cash the check his or her mouth had written. Accordingly, Ronald has re-listed the bundle -- which includes a console, four controllers, 42 games, 'Game Genie,' a gun controller, and more -- for a mere $35,000. While that's bad news for Ronald, it's good news for us; we feel significantly less crazy. [From: Geekosystem and eBay - ronald3868]
Filed under: Video Games, eBay
eBay User Sells Original NES for $50k, but Buyer Reneges (Seller Drops to $35k) originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Kmart Wants Your Game Reviews, Stumbles on that Viral Marketing Thing
To begin with, yes, Kmart stores still exist in some places [Ed. Note: Actually, part of the same building as the Switched office's in New York, to be exact], even though we can't remember the last time we shopped at one. So, in an effort to maintain relevant, the retail store is petitioning gamers for help. According to the MyKmart blog, Kmart will tape your video game reviews to display cases in the stores, because nothing says "in the know" like 'Call of Duty' fanboy-ism. Supposedly, this little experiment will help Kmart foster an online community of like-minded gamers and also aid clueless shoppers.
Now, there are some rules for aspiring critics. First, Kmart only wants "helpful and constructive" reviews. Secondly, said reviews should be "unique and well-written" (good luck with that). And finally, these reviews should be written with "non-gamers" in mind and should focus on newly released or "evergreen" titles. Of course, Kmart reserves the right to alter "spelling, grammar, slang or punctuation so it's more store-friendly."
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Filed under: Video Games
Kmart Wants Your Game Reviews, Stumbles on that Viral Marketing Thing originally appeared on Switched on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
P0nd Ends the Games as Art Debate, We Have Decreed
For those who have been waiting for a game to come along to put the games-as-art debate to rest, wait no longer. 'P0nd' has arrived. The game has created quite a frenzy of excitement over the past few days (so much so, the game's overloaded website has been temporarily taken down), and with good reason. Very rarely has a game been able to convey so much meaning so elegantly.
Players control a man as he walks along a wooded path towards a pond, using the space bar to inhale and exhale bright orbs of glowing light. As players progress along their idyllic jaunt, the world comes alive with various creatures, evoking the simple wonders of the natural world. Once players have arrived at the pond, the game truly takes off, and it's worth every gamer's time to play for long enough to see what happens. We won't spoil it for anyone, but we will say it is one of the most powerful, moving moments we've witnessed in a game.
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Filed under: Video Games
P0nd Ends the Games as Art Debate, We Have Decreed originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Miyamoto: Nintendo’s Next Wii Won’t Be 3D [3D]
Nintendo went all in on motion control, and now the rest of the industry is following their lead. But according to Mario mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto, the company doesn't think it's quite time for them to jump into the third dimension. More
Boston Globe Sends Readers on Mobile SCVNGR Hunt
No longer content to just sit in the background and feed its readers their daily news, the Boston Globe has launched a new mobile scavenger hunt that sends its readers around the city. The 'Boston Globe Trek' uses SCVNGR, a location-based game system that's similar to Foursquare or Gowalla, to challenge users to solve riddles, snap photos of landmarks, and scan unique QR codes.
After downloading the iPhone or Android SCVNGR app, users can choose from six different 'Trek' challenges: romance, movies, sports, tech, photography and news box. (We know which one we'd pick.) Players then hit Bean Town to earn points and badges by answering trivia, solving puzzles, and, yes, checking in at different places along the trek. As Boston.com reports, the high-scorers in this interactive scavenger hunt will win prizes ranging from Red Sox tickets to iTunes gift cards.
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Filed under: Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking
Boston Globe Sends Readers on Mobile SCVNGR Hunt originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.