ExperienceLab

Updates from Hell...

It's Thursday night and I want to shoot some people. There I've said it, although its only by playing MAG Sony's new uber online shooter. However I can't and do you know why? Because Sony has decided to punish me because of where I live.

Now Sony is not normally known to decide who can and can't play their games dependent on where they live but I'm being punished as I only live close enough to a telephone exchange to get a 1MB broadband connection.

Gaming on the Go!

PlayableGames recently conducted research on how developers and publishers can design better mobile games that can be used where they are intended, on the move.

We used a range of the current best selling mobile devices and went walkabout, using them in a whole range of different locations, where and when the mood struck us. The key things we learn't were that tailoring a mobile game for short, snappy sessions was essential as we often snatched a few minutes when waiting for a bus or train and needed to quickly shut down the game as our transport arrived.

Our findings, which are available from the PlayableGames research page, cover a range of different aspects that are useful to consider when designing a mobile game including, touch screen and audio issues, the various control mechanisms, lighting, and what to do if your gaming device is a phone as well.

MiFi impossible

A new trend for mobile broadband has been the appearance of mobile WiFi routers or 'MiFi's' allowing the user to setup their own WiFI hub quickly for internet access via 3G. As many of our jobs here at ExperienceLab mean that we need to be out and about we decided that one of these MiFi's would be a useful addition to our technology arsenal.

Operation Flashpoint : a flash in the pan?

Looks like I'm in for a bit of a walk...

Last weekend as I was browsing my local games shop I came across a copy of Operation Flashpoint : Dragon rising. Now I've never played any of the previous titles in the series before, so I bought a copy for my 360.

The case promised that the game would put you as close to war as you would ever want to get, and now that I've played it I can certainly agree with them. However if I was going to get close to war in my decidedly un-military trained self then it would help if I had a bit of assistance, especially as I'm placed in charge of three other men.

The first mission of the game placed me directly onto a very nicely rendered landscape with my 'squad', having been told to take out a target on the map. I spent a few seconds moving myself around, seeing what the world had to offer and then was ready for what they had to throw at me. Now the game is pretty realistic, too realistic some might argue especially as I spent the next 20 minutes walking to a target some distance away only to be killed at my first encounter with the enemy.

Is there a connection?

We've all seen the news that big stores are driving small high street retailers out of business, and I've often thought that high street retailers are an important part of a towns’ financial well-being.

However after visiting my local small electrical retailer I think I might have an idea why so many of them are going out of business. Picture the scene, I'm on my merry way home from one of those dastardly out of town electrical stores after a bit of a shopping spree when I realise that I've forgotten to buy a small but essential audio connector. Never mind I think, I'll pop into my local electrical retailer and pick one up; I've heard that they can do with my business.