A new
Dead Space-related domain is online, as
superannuation has sniffed out the registration for
deadspacesabotage.com. As of now, there is no indication of what Electronic Arts has planned for this.
Also from
superannuation is a
trademark registration for
Empire related to mobile and social gaming. This TM belongs to S. Carter Enterprises, the company owned by serial entrepreneur Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.
UPI.com reports that new laws that take effect in China today restricting how games are presented to children, and requiring the use of real names by online players. Here's word:
As of Sunday, video games likely to appeal to children are supposed to be free of content encouraging law-breaking and anti-social behavior, Xinhua, the official government news agency, reported. Game designers are also supposed to limit the time children can spend on games, although the regulation does not specify what an acceptable period of time would be or what game companies must do to comply.
Another regulation requires players to register under their real names.
Tower defense game
Immortal Defense is now
is now available as one of those pick your own price deals, though there is a minimum price of $1.75 to cover fees so they don't end up taking a loss on this. Interestingly, this is an experiment in making such a price structure permanent, as word is: "Note that this is not a sale and not time-limited, it is a test of using this model as a permanent price. We can always switch back some time in the future if it doesn't work as well, but we do like this model and hope that it can work as the standard price for indie games, as it has with Jason Rohrer's Sleep is Death."
The
Chris Taylor's Kings and Castles - Video Blog Episode #25 has the latest on the real-time strategy game in the works at Gas Powered Games. Today we are offered a look at map creation, meet a couple of team members, look at a couple of characters, and get to participate in the interruption of a meeting.
Here's the list of the ten bestselling titles on
Steam for the week, as reported by Valve:
- Just Cause 2
- Worms Reloaded
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Counter-Strike: Source
- APB All Points Bulletin
- Team Fortress 2
- SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition
It's a very sad day for me today, as my dad died yesterday afternoon. This came very shortly after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, though it's quite apparent that he must have been sick for quite some time, as by the time it was identified, it was already an extremely advanced case. This is in part because he was very averse to doctors and hospitals, and clearly avoided seeking any sort of diagnosis or treatment until things got to this point, but considering what a horrible disease this is, he did not end up suffering as badly as many do, and for that we are thankful (the fact is that even when it's caught early, the long-term prognosis for lung cancer patients is pretty grim anyway). With apologies in advance, I'm going risk sounding preachy to take this as an opportunity to suggest that those of you who smoke cigarettes look at my dad's example and consider quitting. He quit himself about 10 years ago, but that was after smoking for decades, and while lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, according to the
Wikipedia almost 90% of lung cancer deaths across the developed world are caused by smoking, so this is widely avoidable. Take that as you will, but if even one person could take a lesson from my dad's situation to avoid a similar fate, it would mean that some good could come from all of this.
Anyway this was the family emergency I mentioned early last week, and it may cause a further disruptions, as it sounds likely that the funeral will be during the week. I am expecting things to settle down to "normal" by next weekend.
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