Tag: Android
Good Girls Gone Geek Episode 20
Humble Bundle for Android 3 Adds Four Games
We here at Word of the Nerd are huge fans of the Humble Bundle. It’s a great way to spotlight games from a variety of indie developers, as well as a terrific way for gamers to try out a wide array of games for whatever amount they feel like paying. If that wasn’t enough, a portion of the profits go to charities like Child’s Play!
The latest Humble Bundle is focused on Android Games, but don’t let that scare you off if you’re not an Android user. All games in this Humble Bundle are compatible with Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and they’re unlockable on Steam.
The games in this latest bundle are BIT.TRIP BEAT, Fieldrunners, SpaceChem, and Uplink. (Note that SpaceChem and Uplink are not available on Android phones, only tablets if you’re purchasing the Android version.) But we also recieved the news that if you choose to pay for the bundle higher than the average amount, currently $6.44, you’ll also get Spirits, as well as the newly added Anomaly: Warzone Earth, EDGE, Osmos, and World of Goo!
You’ve only got 6 days left to get this awesome bundle, so head over to Humble Bundle, and buy them for what you can afford. Remember to support indie developers and sick children!
E3 – How Smartphones Will Work with Console Gaming in 2013
Smartphone and tablet devices have really taken off in the past five years.
Going from near obscurity to mainstream way of life in a very short period of time. It is not uncommon to see a half-dozen people or more with their nose in a Smartphone where they used to be in a newspaper or book on the subway or bus.
Well it looks like the three big console publishers, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, have taken notice. This year at E3 each of them outlined how they plan on keeping players connected through Smartphones and Tablets, syncing them with the video game experience.
Nintendo’s Miiverse
This may be most significant for Nintendo, since they have traditionally been most resistant to incorporating Smartphones into their business strategy. For over a year, Nintendo has had to deal with investors demanding they adopt a Smartphone friendly business model and they have finally solidified their mobile strategy.
Two days before Nintendo’s E3 show, they announced some of the functionality of their new Wii U console launching later this year (You can read our breakdown of that announcement here). The most significant announcement was the new online social network called Miiverse, where players can leave passive messages, see what friends and strangers are playing, and exchange content.
During the pre-E3 presentation, Nintendo President Saturo Iwata confirmed that Miiverse will also be accessible though the Nintendo 3DS and as an app on Smartphone devices “sometime after the Wii U launches.” He did not go into detail on which kinds of Smartphones will support the software, but it is still significant. Everything about Miiverse, from the social media influences to Smartphone integration, are light years ahead of the traditionally modest Nintendo method of online support.
However, Nintendo was not the only one with plans for supporting Smartphone devices in the coming year. In fact, both Sony and Microsoft announced their own strategies for incorporating Smartphones and tablets.
Microsoft’s SmartGlass
Maybe the most ambitious strategy is Microsoft’s SmartGlass software being incorporated into the Xbox 360. The concept behind SmartGlass seems to be one part Wii U like functionality, one part mobile entertainment experience. SmartGlass is an application that will allow users to sync their Xbox 360 with Windows Mobile, Android and iOS devices, including Smartphones and tablets. Unlike Nintendo’s strategy, SmartGlass seems to be an experience enhancer. One of the basic examples of how their device synchronization would work was allowing players to transfer a video they were watching on a tablet device on the bus to their Xbox 360 when they get home to finish watching their show seamlessly on their big screen. More complex interactions include getting preliminary data on videos or games they are running on their Xbox 360 to a tablet or Smartphone device.
Essentially, what Microsoft did was announce tablet enhanced controls, like inputting plays on Madden using a tablet, the day before Nintendo got a chance to blow-out their Wii U console, featuring a similar enhancement. And on top of that, with SmartGlass players can take advantage of the technology using hardware they may already own, rather than having to buy a whole new console. Granted, the Wii U has the benefit of having their tablet and game pad integrated into a single controller, but it was a big step against the new console. Another interesting point was that SmartGlass will work with just about any Smart device, not just the Microsoft branded Windows Mobile. Already we know that Halo 4 and Madden 13 will support the software, but time will tell how much support it will get in future games.
Sony’s Playstation Mobile
Finally, Sony made a new announcement for a new brand of Playstation certified Android phones called Playstation Mobile. Like last year’s Xperia Play Smartphone, Playstation Mobile will be a new line of THC Android devices that will be able to access the Playstation Store and play games developed using the Playstation Mobile Development Kit. It is hard to say how Playstation Mobile will be received, since the Xperia Play was met with a fairly lukewarm reception. How it integrates into the existing Playstation Network account may be key. Forcing players to purchase special Android hardware, rather than having Playstation Mobile integrate into a wider variety of Android devices, may hold Playstation Mobile back.
It was made clear at E3 2012 that into 2013 players can expect to see video games moving into a mobile environment aside from simply playing games on mobile and dedicated gaming handhelds. The Wii U and Xbox 360 social experience will be going beyond the living room and Sony’s Playstation Mobile will expand into more devices than just the Playstation 3 and PS Vita. In 2013 this may become just as important to gaming as functions like Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.
Two Viral Videos for Prometheus Released
Capitalizing on the success of viral videos, the marketing department at Twentieth Century Fox who are behind the new Ridley Scott film Prometheus have released two videos that they expect will make their way around the internet. The two videos set up the film quite nicely and definitely make me want to see it even more than an awesome IMAX trailer that was attached to The Hunger Games.
In Weyland TED Talk 2023, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) follows a timeline of technological advancements. Beginning with Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods, and following the trajectory that takes civilization to the year 2023, Weyland outlines the way technology has evolved over the course of human history. By 2023, technology has advanced to the creation of cybernetic individuals. To Weyland, only one conclusion can be drawn from this. Humans are now the gods.
Happy Birthday David features the cybernetic individuals that Weyland referenced in his TED Talk. The beginning of the video asks “What is it about robots that make them so robotic?” Effectively a commercial for Weyland Industries, Happy Birthday David introduces the world to David, portrayed by Michael Fassbender. In the video, David explains his capabilities to understand human emotion and says that “war, poverty, cruelty, and unnecessary violence” make him sad. He is unable to feel emotion, but is capable of understanding it. David explains that he can do almost anything that can possibly be asked of him, and because he is incapable of feeling human emotion, he is able to perform tasks that human workers may feel are unethical. Take a look at the video, if nothing more than it is an amazing example of Fassbender’s acting chops.
We get a glimpse of the origins of life when Prometheus premieres on June 8, 2012. What do you think of these new videos?
Check out more posts like this from Natasha at her home on the web Kentucky Geek Girl.
Nerd up!
Word of the Nerd Announcement – We’re on Pulse!
Hey Word of the Nerd readers! Have we got news for you!
Tap your way to the app store and install Pulse, a free news reader for iPad, iPhone, Android and Windows phone devices. Pulse pulls content from the best (and your favorite) news sources and displays them on your device in an appealing, elegant and easy-to-digest format. It’s fast, too. And did we mention it was free?
We’ve partnered with Pulse to include Word of the Nerd across their apps and we’ll be including a mixture of our best content. Download the app now to read Word of the Nerd articles and other news sources on iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone!
I actually use Pulse, and love the app. It is intuitive and makes it easy to see all the headlines of the day in plenty of areas of interest. If you want to add Word of the Nerd to your Pulse feed, you’ll need to use the search function within the app to include us. We are very excited to be a part of this application. Now it’s even easier to nerd up on the go!
Facebook Buys Instagram for 1 Billion!
Hey Nerdites! Less than a week after Instagram finally made it to my Android phone, my Twitter and Facebook just blew up with the announcement that it is being purchased by Facebook. The photo altering/sharing service has been an Apple favorite for years and last week make its way to Android phones, with an update this morning that provided Android tablet support. That being said, this news trumps all of that. The number being floated about is 1 Billion dollars for the social media powerhouse to buy the camera app company, but details are still unknown. As for now this is what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg had to say on his Facebook page:
I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.
For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.
We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.
That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.
We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.
These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.
This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.
We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.
Rapid response:
I only recently started using Instagram, but I already know that I love it. I am not a fan of monopolies and you can’t help but feel that Facebook is becoming the Walmart of the internet. I am curious to see if the number really is 1 billion. That seems like a lot for Facebook to pay for basically a photo sharing service, but then again maybe all it is really paying for is the brand. What makes me sad is that I liked that Instagram was separate allowing me to post to Twitter if I wanted, or to leave it in Instagramland. Having it connected to Facebook only further ties me to the juggernaut, unless I give up the app. Zuckerberg has wanted Instagram for a long time and I am not surprised he did not give up. Everyone has a price and until we hear otherwise I guess Instagram’s was 1 billion. For the record my price would be significantly lower.
Does this ruin your favorite app or only marry it to your favorite social media network? Let us know about what you think!
Judge Dredd Vs Zombies Coming To Andriod Devices
News has come in that Rebellion Developments, the parent company of 2000 AD is unleashing its smash hit Judge Dredd vs. Zombies iOS game upon Android devices worldwide! There’s an epidemic of awesomeness coming your way!
This comes after the success of game on Apple’s iPad and iPhone, as well as calls from Judge Dredd fans across the world, wanting to see their hero on devices using the Android operating system.
Rebellion has started work on bringing the over-the-top futuristic undead mayhem to Android devices, so you can hope to see this awesomely addictive Dredd game some time in the near future…
Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion commented by saying,
“Judge Dredd vs. Zombies has been a runaway hit on the iPad and iPhone and we’ve been delighted with the response from both Dredd fans and casual gamers. We’ve had a lot of calls for the game on other platforms, particularly Android, so we’ve decided to adapt it. It’s a very addictive game and one that we’re very pleased to now be able to bring to millions of other devices around the world.”
Chris Kingsley, CTO of Rebellion, added:
“By having Judge Dredd vs. Zombies as an iOS title first it gave us the chance to develop and upgrade the game before taking it out to other platforms. As we branch out into the mobile gaming market, we’re learning a lot about what makes a great game. We’re now in a much better position to take those lessons and deliver a fantastic title to Android.”
For those of you who haven’t come across this game on apple products, here’s some information on the title…
The game is set in the dystopian sci-fi nightmare of Mega-City One. You play as Judge Dredd, fending off invading zombies. The game uses a simple, “single-stick” control system, and players can shoot-up zombies and earn credits to unlock weapons as well as upgrade their equipment.
It plays kind of like super smash TV (c’mon you remember super smash TV right? On the SNES?) but with Dredd thrown into the mix. I really like it and it takes up a lot of my time playing it!
There was a massive update released in February which incorporated a new arena game mode with leader boards, as well as new weapons upgrades and ‘Psi Division’ support in which psychic Judges predict future crimes so that players can earn extra credits. (As I was writing this I remembered I had a future crime pending in the Psi division!)
I love the new features in the game and the free credit option really helps when it comes to slaying the undead!
A release date has yet to be announced for the Android version of the game, but I’m sure Rebellion will get the game out as soon as possible. Until then, you’ll just have to wait, creeps!
Stay nerdy!
Dark Horse Day and Date Disaster
Hello Nerdites! Last week Dark Horse announced that they would be going day and date digital starting with the December 14th releases. For me this is very exciting news. If you listen to the Nerd and I’s podcasts then you know that I buy almost exclusively digital these days. My tablet has changed my life allowing me access to more books at my finger tips than ever before. Dark Horse is particularly interesting as they have decided to distribute exclusively through their apps. Marvel started with their own app on iOS but has partnered with comiXology on their Android app; DC is fully committed to distributing through comiXology. There is still a chance that Dark Horse will follow Marvel’s lead (they have yet to release an Android version of their app), but for the time being, they are committed to their own app. Either way digital may never take over comics like it has other print mediums, but it is certainly part of the game plan, and I for one am on board.
Dark Horse values our retail partners and is grateful for the twenty-five years of business we’ve done together. We have considered the retail community in all of our digital decisions and look at direct-market shops as crucial to our continued success. With that in mind, Dark Horse will make every effort to keep our comics retailers strong in a changing market.
