Internet Archive: Flash Animations Live Forever at the Internet Archive. “Great news for everyone concerned about the Flash end of life planned for end of 2020: The Internet Archive is now emulating Flash animations, games and toys in our software collection.”
games
USA Today: Video games break out to record-setting levels as a perfect stay-at-home pastime amid coronavirus pandemic
USA Today: Video games break out to record-setting levels as a perfect stay-at-home pastime amid coronavirus pandemic. “Since earlier this spring with the onset of stay-at-home orders meant to stem the spread of COVID-19, more Americans have pressed play on video games. For some, games are an entertaining way to pass the time not spent on other pursuits. Others use them to stay connected with friends they used to see in person – and to bond with family members.”
Partnership for the Future of Learning: Fund Education Instead Game
Partnership for the Future of Learning: Fund Education Instead Game. “It’s time to tell a new story about education funding in the U.S. And we’re excited to share that story in the form of an interactive shopping cart game called Fund Education Instead (#FundEdInstead). The Partnership for the Future of Learning—with immense support from National Education Policy Center, Root + All, and Voqal—created the game to emphasize where the focus of our elected officials should be when it comes to education.”
Washington Post: I invented the Rubik’s Cube. It can teach us about facing problems like covid.
Washington Post: I invented the Rubik’s Cube. It can teach us about facing problems like covid.. “The Cube contains more than 43 quintillion possible combinations, but only one is the starting, or solved, position. The sheer scope can make you feel paralyzed. Anyone who has ever received a new Cube finds it a perfectly ordered object with each side a single color. But it doesn’t take much — one turn, then another — to transform that tranquil landscape into a chaotic, multicolored jumble. Making matters worse, trying to see the puzzle in its entirety is hopeless, and yet you need to know what is going on with all the sides to solve it. Order can’t just be imposed, and the more we try to force it, the less likely we are to succeed. A scrambled Cube can elicit frustration, anger, anxiety and the sinking feeling of being lost. In this way, 2020 makes us all feel a bit like we’re trapped in a diabolical Rubik’s Cube.”
Bing Blogs: Esports livestreams, news, and more – all in one place
Bing Blogs: Esports livestreams, news, and more – all in one place. “We are proud to announce the launch of the MSN Esports Hub, a one-stop destination for information related to top esports titles! The data is powered in part by a combination of Microsoft Bing web-scale aggregation and cutting-edge machine learning courtesy of Microsoft Research.”
MIT Technology Review: AOC’s Among Us livestream hints at Twitch’s political power
MIT Technology Review: AOC’s Among Us livestream hints at Twitch’s political power. “Just before 9 p.m. on October 20, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went on Twitch to play the hottest game in America: Among Us. ‘Hi, everyone! This is crazy!’ she began, urging viewers to make a plan for how they will vote with I Will Vote, an outreach program funded by the Democratic National Committee. After a few technical difficulties, Ocasio-Cortez spent three and a half hours playing the game with popular Twitch streamers as well as fellow Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.”
AL .com: Alabama lawsuit hits Apple, Google over gambling games
AL .com: Alabama lawsuit hits Apple, Google over gambling games. “Two federal lawsuits filed Wednesday seek refunds for Alabama residents who downloaded games from app stores the plaintiffs say are illegal gambling under state law. The potential class action lawsuits were filed against tech giants Apple and Google by two Shelby County residents who purchased the app-based games and paid money for more playing time.”
TechRadar: Gamers are fixing Microsoft Flight Simulator with Google Maps
TechRadar: Gamers are fixing Microsoft Flight Simulator with Google Maps. “Over on the official Flight Simulator forums, the difference in photogrammetry quality (the art of extracting 3D information from photographs) between Bing and Google has been highlighted, and visual comparisons between the two are noticeably apparent.”
New York Times: Everyone’s Playing Among Us
New York Times: Everyone’s Playing Among Us. “Among Us is a multiplayer game where between four and 10 players are dropped onto an alien spaceship. Each player is designated a private role as a ‘crewmate’ or ‘impostor.’ Crewmates must run around the ship and try to complete a set of tasks while trying to root out and avoid getting killed by the one or several impostors.”
Arizona State University: XR@ASU creates new immersive learning experiences
Arizona State University: XR@ASU creates new immersive learning experiences. “XR@ASU came together through the Immersive Learning through Extended Reality work stream from the Learning Futures Collaboratory, which also included the Embodied Games Lab at ASU, the Meteor Studio at ASU and individuals from EdPlus and UTO. With six immersive experiences already on display, and more on the way, XR@ASU has already begun shaping a new way of learning.”
Phys .org: Game ‘pre-bunks’ COVID-19 conspiracies as part of UK’s fight against fake news
Phys .org: Game ‘pre-bunks’ COVID-19 conspiracies as part of UK’s fight against fake news. “A new online game that puts players in the shoes of a purveyor of fake pandemic news is the latest tactic in efforts to tackle the deluge of coronavirus misinformation costing lives across the world. The Go Viral! game has been developed by the University of Cambridge’s Social Decision-Making Lab in collaboration with the UK Cabinet Office and media collective DROG.”
GameDataCrunch: new website that collects and contextualizes data about games (Game World Observer)
Game World Observer: GameDataCrunch: new website that collects and contextualizes data about games. “The data is pulled from Steam and a number of sites that track and interpret the public data about games. While these specialized sites typically focus on a particular kind of data, GameDataCrunch combines all the relevant metrics and puts them into context enabling users to make informed business and design decisions. The stats are updated every 24 hours.”
KnowTechie: The best video game livestreaming platforms, ranked
KnowTechie: The best video game livestreaming platforms, ranked. “Once upon a time, video games and livestreaming were two separate ideas. Then, over time, they merged together to bring you a unique virtual experience. The success of sites like Twitch has shown that people enjoy watching other people play video games. In recent years, the streaming industry has expanded at an astounding rate. It’s an interesting time for game streaming services, however, as even big players like the Microsoft-owned Mixer has fallen to the wayside in the past year.”
Engadget: ‘FarmVille’ is shutting down for good on December 31st
Engadget: ‘FarmVille’ is shutting down for good on December 31st. “If you don’t remember, FarmVille was a farming simulator that let friends work together as neighbors — and post all about it on their Facebook timelines. As Eurogamer notes, it was the most-played game on Facebook for years. But with Adobe planning to stop distributing and updating Flash Player for web browsers, the FarmVille developers have decided to sunset the game.”
Lifehacker: How to Find Android 11’s Secret Hidden Cat Game
Lifehacker: How to Find Android 11’s Secret Hidden Cat Game. “Yes, Android usually comes with some kind of quirky Easter Egg. Do you really think Google, famed creator of the ‘Doodle,’ the dinosaur game, and all sorts of other little oddities, would really pass up the chance to be silly in its mobile operating system? Pfft.”