There was a small bump in gaming news about how Battlefield 3 would not be made available through Steam. Of course, disgruntled gamers from all over the world cried foul on EA. It seemed like a simple bait to get people to choose EA’s Origin service which is a lot similar to Steam, sans the community. It made perfect sense as a typical corporate move to get people to use Origin and up their market share. Battlefield 3 seemed like the perfect bait for gamers.

Hours later, EA sends out a reply to the Battlefield 3 fan base telling them that they would have gladly put the game on Steam if not for Valve’s stringent requirements for using their proprietary service to deliver patches. In other words, EA could not deliver future patches and add ons if they went with Valve. To prove their point, Battlefield 3 is being made available on other digital download services.

Although Steam allows patching, Battlefield 3 aims to deliver patches from within the game itself and this presents the biggest hurdle for getting B3 into Steam. Gamers have taken both sides but as the forums and comment thread shows, more trust seems to be given to Steam as they’ve been more proactive in giving the gaming community great online deals. Some may go as far as saying that Steam IS PC gaming.

In fact, they know gaming so well that they’ve recently launched a beta service allowing all their users to trade in-game items. Huge FAQ here. As of now, included in the set are crafting items, raw materials and weapons for Team Fortress 2 and even trade games that you’ve purchased but have not yet added to your store. The best part? No region restrictions. That means you can trade games with friends who don’t have direct region access to certain titles.

What Steam is doing: making gaming more interesting by allowing you to trade items you’ve earned. They’re approaching other developers to include this feature in their games using Steam’s technology. From the looks of it, it seems that Steam has more to offer gamers than what the faulty Origin service has. It would seem like it should be EA that adapts to Valve’s “restrictions.”

Super Mario Bros., the classic video game from Nintendo first released in 1985 for the Nintendo entertainment system, follows the exploits of Mario and Luigi as they venture through the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Toadstool from Bowser.  Once the best selling video game of all-time until being surpassed by Wii Sports in 2009, Super Mario Bros. is more than just a video game, the game’s characters have also become features in the fashion world.

A collaboration between Converse and Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. for the game’s 25th anniversary means a union of Chuck Taylors and Princess Toadstool.

The partnership will bring the first two in a line of shoes to consumers in July 2011.  The grand design featured above will be made available in August 2011.

The first, more basic,  designs will show a repeating pattern of little Marios on a white or black background, while the other two designs will display scenes from the game itself, both the first and last levels.

At a price of $100 will you pick up a pair of the line of classic shoes featuring the most famous plumber of all-time?

Albotas

Leigh Nunan and I made a talking plush Turret from Portal. It can sense when you’re there, when you pick it up, and when you knock it over, and it responds appropriately.

For more information, visit

http://upnotnorth.net/projects/portal-turret-plushie/

Valve nailed it with Portal 2. GLaDOS, Atlas & Peabody, Cave Johnson, Wheatley and yes, the sing-song Turrets. This is a plush toy Turret with built in motion sensors that emotes our favorite lines when you pass in front of it, topple it or lift it off the ground. Please mass produce.

Video games can be difficult.  Some so much so that yours truly, after failing miserably, refuses to play certain titles ever again.  That said, many gamers are fortunate enough to have the gift of sight to help them traverse the various levels imagined by the creators of games. 

One man, Terry Garrett, blind since age 10, not only plays video games, but excels at playing certain titles using only the game’s sound.   In particular, Garrett is extremely good at playing Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee.

According to Wired,

“Garrett lost his sight in 1997 at age 10. That same year, his older brother brought home Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. Entranced by the game’s charming narrator, Abe — a Mudokon slave with his lips sewn shut — Garrett set out to make his way through Oddworld’s danger-filled settings.

Although he couldn’t see a single image on the computer screen, he could hear the sounds — footsteps, voices, music. At first he couldn’t figure out what all the noises meant. Frustrated, he tossed the game aside. But he came back again. And again.”

Not one to be defeated by the game, Garrett is now skilled enough to beat the game and has his sights (no pun intended) on beating another game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Garrett plays the Nintendo 64 title on his PC with an emulator and a controller for the Xbox 360.  Through intense study of the game which included listening to friends play and questioning them on aspects of the game, Garrett can make it to the Water Temple, almost halfway through the game, without any assistance.

How impressive do you find Garrett’s video game playing abilities?  Have you played either title Garrett enjoys?  If so, were you able to beat either?

Chess is fascinating game.  The pieces always look super neat, playing chess is difficult, and winning at chess is even more difficult than playing the game itself.

Perhaps I’m speaking for only myself concerning the difficulty of chess, but I’m certain many of you feel the same way and find checkers much easier to master.

Inspired by TeamTeamUSA’s replication of Josef Hartwig’s Model I chess set, created in 1924 at Bauhaus Weimar, Le Garage has created a version of the Bauhaus Model I 1922 Chess Set.  Moreover, they’ve also provided instructions so you too can create a similar set of your very own using a 3D printer.

How do you do it?  In short, once you’ve secured a 3D printer:

• Print all the pieces in white.
• When complete, do the same with black plastic or any other color of your choosing.
• After placing the pieces on a chess board in their proper place, you’re ready to begin playing!

Sounds quite simple, but there’s much more to the project than simply printing out the pieces.  The entire set of instructions can be found on the project’s page here once all of the piece’s files have been uploaded.

A pretty neat project and something I’m definitely going to try.

What about you?  Will you try to replicate the Bauhaus Model I 1922 Chess Set on your own?  Are you a chess player and if so, what tips can you offer those of us who struggle with the game’s complexity?

Boing Boing

The Legend of Zelda (Zelda) is one of the great video games of all-time with its mixture of action, adventure, and puzzle solving.  For many, their first exposure to Zelda was as a game played on The Nintendo Entertainment System.

For those unfamiliar with Zelda, the game centers on a character named Link, who’s often tasked with rescuing Princess Zelda from Ganon.  To say Zelda is fun, addictive, adored by countless console gamers and an all-around great game, is putting it midly.

The game is admired so much that one enterprising individual, Greg, has taken their love of Zelda and created his very own homemade Legend of Zelda min-arcade game.

How does it work?  According to the creator:

“Basically I modded a nes controller to arcade controls and build a mini arcade cab around a yobo nes. This thing is great! Its fun to play other nes games on arcade controls such as: zelda 1 and 2, donkey kong, punch out, metroid, megaman ect.”

So, there you have it.  Greg took a NES system, built his own Legend of Zelda mini-arcade game casing with the result being a super, small, arcade game that fits on any dresser, book case, or other place you’d think to store a miniature arcade game.

Are you a fan of the Zelda game franchise?  If you could have your very own mini-arcade game, which game would you opt for and why?

Geekologie

WIN: Chess, Algebra and Music
It’s a triple threat this week! Jonathan W. Stokes, blogger and man clearly gifted with superior intelligence and entirely too much time on his hands, used algebra to turn famous chess games into piano music, which he then turned into mp3s. It’s not often boardgames, mathematics and tunes get to have a hot threesome, so for that I tip my hat to Mr. Stokes.

FAIL: Microsoft Update
Monday’s Windows Phone 7 update designed, according to the Windows Team Blog, to “improve the software update process itself “, seems to have broken the phone. At least for some users, whose complaints Microsoft’s been fielding on their WindowsPhoneSupport Twitter account. The only recourse Microsoft is offering? Take it to a store. Why? Could it be because the update designed to improve the update process has screwed up the update process? And now unfortunate Windows Phone 7 users wait with great anticipation for the next update which will undeniably be intended to fix the previous update, but will only further &@#$ things up. Because that is The Microsoft Way.

WIN: French Kissing
Ever wanted to control your video game with one of the least graceful and most accident-prone acts of intimacy in the arsenal of human contact? Probably not. But now you can, regardless. Developer Hye Yeon Nam has created a video game controller that’s powered by French kissing. I’d make a joke about no geek ever being able to take the the Kiss Controller for a test drive, but it’s already been done to death. Yawn. Next.

WIN: Amazon Prime
Amazon announced plans to stream videos free to its Amazon Prime users, a paid service that offers shoppers free 2-day shipping on all qualifying products and, now, movies and TV on demand. Of course, Amazon has been offering on demand video for a long time now, so it’s really not much of a revelation. It is, however, a volley at Netflix, since Amazon’s Prime pricing works out to less per month than Netflix charges for its streaming-only subscription plan. The selection may not compare as yet, with Netflix offering the larger of the two, but we’re talking about Amazon, here. How long can it take for them to fire off another shot?

FAIL: 911 Calls
Specifically, 911 calls via Verizon. It’s been revealed that a staggering 10,000 calls to 911 were dropped in the Washington suburbs during the massive blizzard late last month. As you’d expect, the Federal Communications Commission is pretty darn upset. The FCC is asking Verizon investigate the issue out of fear that the problem may be more widespread than just that one area, and could happen on a large scale again. It’s not the first time 911 calls have been fouled during a blizzard (filed under New York City). Will the Snowpocalypse force carriers and responding agencies alike to review how they handle things when that abhorrent white stuff starts to fall?

Are you a gambler?  Slot machines, while popular with many, and fun with all of their lights, sounds and colors, are generally something to steer clear of given their low success rate.

If drinks, those of the adult variety interest you as much as money-paying slot machines, BarBot may be just the device you’d like to own.

BarBot combines alcohol and gambling to create a hyper-addictive home addition.   Users of BarBot, in lieu of paying out money, rewards “winners” with a cocktail.

Winning a hacking competition known as “Take on the Machine,” sponsored by Vimby and Scion, BarBot began it’s life as an old slot machine purchased from Craigslist.  The creators, NYC Resistor, decorated the machine with a Fear and Loathing theme (appropriate), reprogrammed it to create beverages, all at a cost of cost $3000 and 320 hours.

When users arrive at a winning combination, the BarBot’s computer transmits the ingredients and proportions to a controller which creates the drink.  The BarBot’s LED display reveals to the winner what’s been created, complete with lines from Fear and Loathing.

BarBot’s three wheels only stop when traditional cocktail types are combined, easing fears that one may receive a superbly horrid drink.

What do you think of BarBot?  Is it an item you’d like to own for your home, or would you like to purchase a fleet of the devices, renting them to party people everywhere, making them the envy of all who attend?

Popular Science

Angry Birds.  Regardless of  the platform one chooses to play the game on, it’s addictive, fun, and as the number of downloads prove, immensely popular.

Angry Birds has spawned creative individuals to create breakfast based on the game, a branded board game, and so much more.

One individual has taken his love for the game to a wonderful new level, an Angry Birds birthday cake.  Not only that, the cake can also be played!

The cake above took a whopping 10 hours to create!

This super sweet is an:

“Interactive Angry Birds cake, playable with a real slingshot and, of course, made of chocolate, icing and so forth. It’s a cake made for a boy named Ben. It took 10 hours to make, and only 2 minutes to destroy.”

As you can see from the video, not only does the cake look delicious, but more so than that, looks like a tremendous amount of fun!  What a wonderful way to celebrate the birthday of one’s child!

Are you an Angry Birds player and fan?  What device(s) do you play the game on? Have you ever had an idea for an Angry Birds-themed item that you’ve actually created, or hope to create?  If so, we’d love to hear what it is in the comments!

electricpig

Pac-Man is one of, if not the, most well-known arcade game of all-time.  Created by Namco and distributed in the U.S. by Midway, the game was released in 1980.   31 years ago, yes 31.

When the game was released, it was turning point for arcade games, spawning not only merchandise related to the game, but also an animated TV show and spin-offs, such as Ms. Pac-Man.

Why was Pac-Man so popular, remaining so to this day (yours truly played the game at an arcade last week)? Pac-Man was unique when released, as it was one of the first games which garnered mass appeal for both males and females.

One man, Toronto’s Jonathan Guberman, has taken Pac-Man back in time, creating Pac Machina, something he describes as:

“physicalization of a classic videogame: I’m building a playable, mechanical Pac-Man cabinet, called “Pac Machina” (subscribe to my RSS feed if you want to follow my progress!). Of course, essential to a Pac-Man game is Pac-Man himself, and Pac-Man isn’t Pac-Man if he doesn’t chomp. I needed a mechanism for that and it had to be as simple as possible (i.e. no servos or stepper motors). So, after some trial, error, and trigonometry, I built a clockwork Pac-Man.”

On his site Guberman describes the process of creating Pac Machina, with step-by-step images and the video below displaying how the game works.

Unfortunately he says that he may make one, and only one, of these machines, so if you want the one he creates, or a kit for creating your own, you may want to contact him as soon as possible.

Are you a Pac-Man fan?  Do you prefer the original Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man or another derivative of the game?

The Pactuator: a clockwork Pac-Man from Jonathan M. Guberman on Vimeo.

The ‘History of Gaming’ video was made by “Game Design” students from Munich. It is a very simple video but pretty geek and retro considering they actually use working consoles, even the TV gets updated when updating the console.

You can see the following games in the video:

• Tennis for Two, Oscilloscope, 1958
• Pacman, Arcade, 1980
• Donkey Kong, NES, 1986
• Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, 1991
• Street Fighter II. SNES, 1991
• Super Mario 64, Nintendo 64, 1996
• Final Fantasy VII, Sony Playstation, 1997
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursiut 2, Sony Playstation 2, 2002
• Ecco the Dolphin, Sega Dreamcast, 2000
• Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo Game Cube, 2001
• Wii Sports Golf, Nintendo Wii, 2006
• God of War III, Sony Playstation 3, 2010
• Rock Band, XBox 360, 2008

A noticeable absence is the Atari console, a pity the didn’t include it as it is one of the most memorable consoles till today.

From these games I have only played Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive. It was one of the first video games I ever played. The only console I ever owned was the NES, I only owned a couple of games, Mario Bros. with the Olympic set and Duck Hunt, Duck Tales, Top Gun and a memorable one, Bump ‘n Jump.

All games and consoles I have played I did at friends, Playstation 1 and 2, XBOX, Nintendo 64, Game Cube and once a Wii. Now the most close I come to playing video games is on my iPhone; Angry Birds, Fishing Kings and Tony Hawk.

Angry Birds is a tremendously fun game.  Those with an iPhone, iPad, Android device, or Mac, are no doubt aware of its addictive nature.  Thanks to Mattel, the wildly popular game seeks to make the jump from electronic devices to a board game, allowing one to play the game with physical birds, pigs and other pieces that make up Angry Birds scenery.

The iOS versions of Angry Birds have either topped or been near the top of the App Store’s “Paid Apps” charts for what seems like eons now.  Currently, the iPhone version holds the top spot, the iPad version is in second place, and in the newly launched Mac App Store, Angry Birds comes in at number one.

The numbers don’t lie.  The game is extremely enjoyable and extremely addictive.

Now comes word that Rovio, creators of Angry Birds, has partnered with Mattel to create a $15 game, arriving in May 2011, which lets fans play Angry Birds in real life.

To play the game, one selects a card and constructs the structure pictured on the card.  Opponents use the catapult from the game to shoot plastic birds at your structure with points awarded for knocking your structure down.

The game, as the video below indicates, looks as fun as the electronic version.  Moreover, it is a more social way of playing Angry Birds.  Now friends and family can all take part in the joy that is Angry Birds in a pleasing bird-firing, block-busting, manner.

Are you an Angry Birds player and fan?  What device(s) do you play the game on and will you purchase the Mattel game when it launches?