Noob Shelter Podcast: Episode 15

NS-0015-2019-09-30-Final.mp3
SHOW INFORMATION:
  Show Notes for September 30, 2019
  Episode: 0015
  Show Title: Zynga Zanga
  Run Time: 1:08:26
Credits
  Executive Producers: None
  Hosted By: Matt Fugitive, John Rythone & Feyd2Black Mike
  Special Thanks to the following:
  End of Show Song: I've No More Fucks to Give - Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq
  End of Show Song: Holding out for a Healer - Sharm/Kruithne
  End of Show Song: Koopa Beach Theme - The OneUps
  Dave Jones: Freedom Controller
  Adam Curry: Sound Clips
  John Fletcher: Sound Clips
  Anchor.FM: Our MP3 and RSS hosts
  Please Donate To The Noob Shelter Podcast!!
Video Games:
  Bungie Will Release A New Non-Destiny Game By 2025
    Link to Article
    Source: GameSpot - Game News
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:42
    GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
    With Destiny 2's Shadowkeep expansion launching this week and years of content for the game already mapped out, it's clear the MMO shooter franchise is very much the backbone of Bungie's plans moving forward. However, it appears the studio's ambitions are not just limited to Destiny--Bungie is also looking to release at least one other IP in the next several years.
    In an interview with IGN, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons discussed the developer's plans to become one of the industry's "best entertainment companies" by 2025, and part of that vision involves not just continuing to redefine Destiny 2, but also establishing other franchises.
    "So, by 2025 we have a pretty specific path to make sure we transform Destiny and that we have other franchises within the marketplace," Parsons said. "We need to build our publishing group, but part of our vision is also to become a multi-franchise entertainment company."
    Parsons didn't share any details about Bungie's potential non-Destiny franchise(s), but the studio has planned to branch out from the MMO series for some time now. In 2018, Bungie received $100 million from Chinese internet giant NetEase, part of which would help it establish one or more separate internal teams beyond the one currently working on Destiny.
    In the meantime, Bungie continues to make big changes to Destiny. The studio recently released a free-to-play version of the game called New Light, while the aforementioned Shadowkeep expansion arrives tomorrow, October 1. Ahead of Shadowkeep's release, Destiny 2 has gone offline until the expansion launches at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. You can read more in our Destiny 2: Shadowkeep pre-order guide.
    Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com
  Shawn Layden, Head Of PlayStation's Game Studios, Departs
    Link to Article
    Source: Kotaku
    Tue, 01 Oct 2019 03:03
    Photo: Charley Gallay (Getty)Sony has announced that Shawn Layden, chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios and a mainstay of PlayStation's E3 press conferences, will be leaving the company. No reason was given for his departure, and a successor has not been named.
    Formerly president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (until Sony's regions were brought under one roof in 2018), Layden had been with Sony since 1987, serving in roles like vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan.
    When Sony consolidated its worldwide PlayStation divisions into a single unit in 2018, Layden was no longer president of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, and the company said he instead would ''concentrate his focus'' on leading Sony's game development studios.
  Death Stranding's Baby Will Communicate Through PlayStation 4's Controller
    Link to Article
    Source: Game Informer News
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:42
    Hideo Kojima revealed on Twitter that Death Stranding's baby will be right next to the player, at least it's voice will. The baby, called a BB in the game, will likely make all sorts of cute and not-so-cute sounds from the canister that protagonist Sam carries with him. Those sounds will be projected through the controller, if the player needs it as a setting.
    Kojima's Tweet makes it sound like this is a feature that is tied specifically to the special edition Death Stranding controller (pictured above) which comes with the PlayStation 4 bundle, but there's a chance it may work with every PlayStation 4 controller
    Death Stranding is just a month away now, releasing on November 8. If you pick up the game, will you have BB's voice come out of the controller?
  FIFA 20 comfortably the biggest physical video game launch of 2019 so far ' Eurogamer.net
    Link to Article
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:54
    FIFA 20 is, as expected, the best-selling video game in the UK.
    It's top of the all-formats physical chart after coming out in various stages last week.
    But that doesn't tell the whole sales story, of course. According to our friends at GamesIndustry.biz, physical launch sales are down seven per cent compared with those of FIFA 19.
    Digging into the detail, the PlayStation 4 version, which made up 61 per cent of the sales of FIFA 20 last week, sold less than the PS4 version of FIFA 19, but the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions saw a slight increase.
    The Xbox One version of FIFA 20 made up 38 per cent of the sales, with the Nintendo Switch "Legacy" edition just one per cent of the sales. The Switch version is essentially just a team roster update, and lacks many of the features included with the PS4 and Xbox One versions.
    It's also worth noting that the PC version of FIFA 20 doesn't register with Chart-Track as the company tracks physical sales only.
    The question is of course, were download sales of FIFA 20 significant enough to result in an increase in sales overall? EA doesn't reveal download numbers for Origin and Microsoft and Sony don't reveal download numbers for their digital stores, either, so it's impossible to tell.
    And sales aren't the be all and end all of a video game's success these days, either. EA will be looking at revenue from FIFA Ultimate Team, which brings in billions of dollars for the company.
    GamesIndustry.biz publish Chris Dring made the interesting point that FIFA 18 sold more physical in its first week than the entire UK market sold during FIFA 20's first week (816,985 games sold).
    There's a lot to unpack there, but chiefly, I think, it points to the ongoing and dramatic decline of physical video game sales in the UK, with downloads increasingly popular.
    It is also the case that the physical video game sales market in the UK has been in a pretty dire place for much of 2019, which is seen by many to have been a quiet year ahead of a next-generation console transition.
    Meanwhile, here's this week's top 10 (Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age ended up charting at 11, Code Vein 13, and The Surge 2 came in at 35).
    FIFA 20The Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningBorderlands 3Gears 5Crash Team Racing Nitro-FueledThe Division 2Sea of ThievesMario Kart 8 DeluxeMinecraft: Xbox EditionForza Horizon 3
  Bruce Campbell Confirms He's Voicing Ash In New Evil Dead Video Game
    Link to Article
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:57
    Who doesn't love Bruce Campbell? Maybe all of my co-workers who didn't know who he was when I said I was going to see him? Okay, probably them. But you, the nerd reading this, adores the man, as you very well should! After stealing our hearts as Ash in the Evil Dead films (and TV show, if you're into that sorta thing), he also broke our hearts when, after cancellation of said TV show, Bruce said he was retiring from playing the handless bonehead.
    However, last night in Milwaukee, after a screening of Evil Dead II, I got to ask the horror hero a question during the Q&A: Are you voicing Ash on that previously-announced, non-VR Evil Dead video game, since portraying Ash isn't the same as playing Ash? To my surprise, he confirmed that he's going to be voicing ''every single syllable that comes out of Ash's mouth.'' Cue the room exploding.
    Mr. Campbell also offered up some smaller details about the still-in-the-works game, saying that it's ''PC based'' and that we'll see it ''certainly within a year.'' He genuinely seems excited about the product and being able to voice Ash, too, as he told me he ''needs to protect that idiot.'' He then riffed a bit on players who search the same area for too long, and how he'll get to yell ''there's nothing there!'' in-game to those folks.
    It should be noted that looking back at our previous coverage of the game, Bruce had said that it was also coming to consoles, so perhaps there's been some sort of change along the way. Or maybe the actor's just confused?
    Whatever the case, I'm pretty excited to step into the role of Ash myself. The previous games based on Sam Raimi's ambitious series have been fairly consistent in quality, and that quality was sub-optimal. It's fun hearing Ash might pop up in a Mortal Kombat or whatever, but to play the man himself on his own turf would be the absolute best. Telling a deadite to ''swallow this'' while shoving that sawn-off in their demonic gullet sounds like a hell of a Friday night to me.
    As always, we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we hear more about this new Evil Dead game, but in the meantime, if you ever have the chance to see Bruce Campbell live, go for it. He's effortlessly charming, barbed, but not mean, and sincere. He really is the embodiment of ''groovy.''
    ';
  Zynga Hack Reveals Personal Information Of 200 Million Accounts
    Link to Article
    Source: GameSpot - Game News
    Tue, 01 Oct 2019 03:03
    Mobile giant Zynga has acknowledged a data breach by "outside hackers" that has reportedly resulted in the personal information of 200 million accounts becoming exposed.
    In a statement, Zynga said cyber attacks are "one of the unfortunate realities of doing business today." The FarmVille and Words With Friends studio said it recently became aware that "certain player account information" might have been "illegally" obtained by hackers.
    The San Francisco-based company said it launched an investigation "immediately" and brought on outside forensic teams to help. Additionally, Zynga said it has been in contact with law enforcement officials regarding the breach.
    Zynga said it believes no financial information was obtained in the hack, though some "account information" was exposed. The company said it already launched security campaigns on behalf of accounts that might have been compromised, and right now seems like a good time to change your Zynga password if you have an account there.
    "The security of our player data is extremely important to us. We have worked hard to address this matter and remain committed to supporting our community," Zynga said.
    The company added that Facebook, iOS, and Android passwords were likely not exposed in this breach because Zynga does not collect these passwords in the first place.
    According to Hacker News, a hacker from Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the Zynga breach, which specifically targeted Words With Friends and Draw Something. As part of the breach, the hacker reportedly gained access to more than 218 million user accounts. Players names, email addresses, login IDs, passwords, phone numbers, and more information might have been accessed in the breach.
    Check out this Zynga support page to find out how to change your password.
    Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com
Digital Litigation:
  Switch Lite pulled into Joy-Con drifting lawsuit
    Link to Article
    Source: CNET Gaming
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:43
    The Switch Lite might have drifting problems.
    Scott Stein/CNET The Nintendo Switch Lite is now part of a lawsuit over defective controllers on Nintendo's newest consoles. This legal action comes just a little over a week since the release of the portable console.
    Law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith amended its class-action lawsuit against Nintendo on Friday to include the Switch Lite. The complaint, originally filed in July, alleges that Nintendo marketed and sold the Switch and Joy-Con controllers despite being "aware of the defect through online consumer complaints." Drifting is the named given to when analog sticks on the controller don't return to center properly, thus creating a constant input in a particular direction.
    Since its release on Sept. 20, there have been few Switch Lite owners who've shared videos of issues with the portable console's controllers. In particular, the videos show a problem with the left analog stick. However, the problem doesn't appear to be widespread.
    Nintendo began addressing the drifting problem not long after the lawsuit was filed. The Japanese company offered to fix Joy-Cons for free without a proof of purchase.
    Nintendo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
  Duke Nukem 3D composer sues Gearbox and Valve for copyright infringement
    Link to Article
    Source: VideoGamer.com - All Updates
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:44
    The composer of Duke Nukem 3D has sued Gearbox Software, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford, and Valve for copyright infringement (via PCGamer).
    Robert 'Bobby' Prince, the composer of Doom, Doom 2, Wolfenstein 3D and Duke Nukem 3D, claims that his music was included in Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour without his expressed permission. Consequently, Prince asked that Gearbox remove the music from the game, but it declined to do so. Prince also received no compensation for his work used in the Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour.
    The lawsuit was filed to U.S. District Court Eastern District of Tennessee, and within the document, it states that the music composed by Prince in Duke Nukem 3D were under an agreement with developer Apogee. Prince had submitted the copyrights for the music, and it explains that, 'Apogee had a limited right to use Mr. Prince's music in Duke Nukem 3D in exchange for a royalty equal to $1 per unit sold.'
    Gearbox Software acquired a few of the rights to the Duke Nukem games from Apogee in 2010. 'The electronic files for the music within Duke Nukem 3D World Tour include text specifically stating that Mr Prince owns the copyright to the music and has reserved all rights to the music's use,' the lawsuit reads. 'Yet Gearbox incorporated the music into the game without ever contacting Mr Prince and without clearing the rights expressly mentioned in the electronic files.'
    Prince contacted Randy Pitchford, Gearbox's president, about the dilemma. 'Before Mr. Prince contacted Mr. Pitchford, no one from Gearbox had attempted to contact Mr. Prince regarding the use of his music,' the document states. Prince explained to Pitchford that if his music was to be used in Duke Nukem 3D World Tour, the company would be required to send Prince royalties. Pitchford allegedly said that he would 'do right' by the composer and the situation would be 'taken care of.' Prince claims that this never came to pass.
    'Despite receiving a direct order to ''do right'' by Mr. Prince, Gearbox proceeded to distribute infringing copies of Duke Nukem 3D World Tour without obtaining a license and without compensating Mr. Prince,' the statement follows. Prince also claims he reached out to Valve to cease distribution of the infringing content. 'Valve ignored a takedown notice, thus waiving any immunity under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and continued distributing infringing copies of the music despite knowing that Mr Prince owned the copyrights in the music,' the lawsuit explicates.
    It is stated that Gearbox Software, Gearbox Publishing, Randy Pitchford, and Valve have been given 21 days to respond to the summons.
  Judge Rules That Twitch's Contract With Banned Streamer Includes 'Unconscionable' Language
    Link to Article
    Source: Kotaku
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 17:57
    IN REFERENCE TO CS-GO STREAMER WHO OWNED STAKE IN CS-GO GAMBLING SITE (circa 2016)
    The legal saga between Twitch and the banned Counter-Strike: Global Offensive streamer James ''PhantomL0rd'' Varga continues. The judge's latest ruling is a potential mark in the ''win'' column for Varga, as well as other Twitch streamers who might have grievances with Twitch in the future.
    The trouble started back in 2016, when Varga was banned from Twitch after he streamed himself using CS:GO gambling sites. According to an expos(C) by journalist Richard Lewis, Varga allegedly had a financial stake in one of these sites. Two years later, Varga sued Twitch for lost income and damages incurred from what he now claims was a wrongful ban. Twitch responded with a counter-suit against Varga that asserted the streamer had violated multiple Twitch policies.
    Varga was suing for lost income, and while the legal system has yet to determine whether his ban was actually wrongful and that he should therefore be repaid, his lawsuit has revealed some unusual fine print in the contract he signed with Twitch. Apparently, Varga's contract stated that he wouldn't be allowed to receive anything more than $50,000 from a suit against Twitch.
    The judge's full ruling, first reported by Dexerto and also obtained by Kotaku, deemed that this $50,000 cap was ''overly harsh and unreasonably and unfairly one-sided'... There is no reason to limit Varga to $50,000 when he might well be entitled to a much, much higher sum.''
    The judge continued, ''From a practical point of view, which I think is an essential consideration, limiting recovery to $50,000 virtually kills off the odds of a suit against Twitch at all. The agreement doesn't appear to have an attorney fees clause, and few'--if any'--lawyers would take on a contingency case against Twitch for some reasonable percentage of $50,000. The cap is unconscionable.''
    Varga admitted in court that he hadn't actually read the contract before first signing it in 2012, nor did he read it when he signed a re-upped version of it two years later. He claimed he didn't know ''if that's what needed to be done.'' According to the judge's summary: ''Varga, who spent virtually all his waking hours on computers, and was familiar with a variety of programs, did not know he could scroll through the agreement. He had time, both in 2012 and 2014, to do so, and if he had, he would have seen [the relevant section]. He simply chose not to do so.''
    If Varga had read the contract, the judge theorized that the streamer could have tried to push back against it before signing. Nonetheless, the judge ultimately ruled that the language in the contact was ''unconscionable,'' meaning the court can ignore this clause when deciding how much money (if any) to award Varga. One mark in Varga's favor was the ''significant difference'' between him and Twitch ''in their legal sophistication. Varga in 2014 was 26 years old living with his parents, and he had little to no legal experience.'' In contrast, Twitch had paid a legal team to draft their end of the bargain, putting the platform at a clear advantage.
    Although Varga's case is not particularly sympathetic, since most people just associate him with the CS:GO gambling streams that led to his ban, his case has nonetheless revealed one way that Twitch had been unfair in its contract. Varga may or may not win his overall suit for lost income, but if he does, he'll now be able to ask for more than $50,000. (According to the ruling, Varga's income ''averaged over $5,000 per month and appeared to cluster around $10,000 per month,'' so multiple years of lost income would have exceeded the cap.) The case will proceed, but regardless of its outcome, this ruling could potentially help other streamers who have a similar clause in their contract and who may bring a suit against Twitch in the future. Most important of all, it's a reminder to read anything you sign.
WHY?!?!
  Honda partners with Reddit for retro racing video game | Fox Business
    Link to Article
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:55
    Automaker Honda is partnering with the website Reddit to launch a retro-style racing game on the social media platform.
    ''Honda Circuit'' debuted Friday on Reddit. The release was timed to coincide with Honda's visit to TwitchCon, the convention for video game streamers who use Amazon's Twitch and their fans. The event runs Friday through Sunday.
    The game, which was developed with Mod Op, can be accessed through promoted posts on Reddit. In a news release, the companies said ''Honda Circuit'' will be targeted at Reddit's ''highly engaged audience of gamers.''
    Honda and Reddit are debuting a Reddit-exclusive racing game today, which marks the first time Reddit has partnered with an automaker to launch a game in the Reddit platform. (Credit: Honda/Reddit)
    ''We're thrilled to continue our partnership with Honda through the launch of this game,'' Joe Leavitt, Reddit's Los Angeles director of brand partnerships said in the release. ''It's always exciting to see our partners bring value to Reddit communities with fun and engaging ad experiences.''
    Players can pick from three different Honda Civic race models, including the Civic Type R, Civic Hatchback and Civic Sedan. There are four tracks, and a new one will debut each week as the game runs through October.
    While the game is nostalgic in style, it also takes advantage of being on social media. It features a 10-position leaderboard that will be refreshed with each new track release.
    The e-sports group Team Liquid will also be streaming ''Honda Circuit'' on Twitch once a week while the game is live.
    Phil Hruska, manager of media strategy at American Honda, said the company is excited for gaming fans to try out ''Honda Circuit.''
    ''It's important for Honda to connect with the online gaming community on a more genuine, deeper level, and 'Honda Circuit' is a super unique way to immerse fans into our world, behind the wheel of a Honda Civic '' a millennial and Gen Z favorite,'' Hruska said.
    A new "Honda Circuit" track will debut each week in October. (Credit: Honda/Reddit)
    CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
  Scientists Want You to Play a Video Game to Help Them Understand Nuclear War - VICE
    Link to Article
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:57
    The world lives in fear of an all-out nuclear war, but we don't know much about how one might go down. The only wartime use of nuclear weapons happened more than 70 years ago, and technology has changed dramatically since then. What can we do to learn about, and prepare for, how world leaders might react to a nuke in a world with cyberwar, artificial intelligence, and advanced surveillance?
    What if we played a video game to find out?
    This approach is unconventional, but not unprecedented. During the Cold War, military and political leaders played hundreds of games to predict how a nuclear war might play out. With that in mind, the Project on Nuclear Gaming (PoNG)'--helmed by a team of researchers from the University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory'--created an online multiplayer strategy game called SIGNAL, or Strategic Interaction Game between Nuclear Armed Lands.
    SIGNAL is part video game, part experiment, and part data collection tool. The hope is that, by observing people playing the game and collecting the data it generates, PoNG can learn about human decision-making during nuclear conflicts. They'd love for you to play a few rounds and see how you fare.
    SIGNAL is fascinating, but flawed. It's attempt to study something terrible'--nuclear war'--in a controlled environment. I didn't have a good time playing the game, but PoNG didn't design it as a commercial product. But it also felt like the in-game consequences of nuclear war were low, and the games so short that I had to wonder: Is a game really a viable medium for learning about something as important and complicated as nuclear war?
    ''The promise of experimental wargaming is that it offers an additional tool in the toolkit for scholars to consider questions that can't be answered using 'real-world' data,'' the researchers of PoNG told me in an email. ''The data collected may serve to generate theory for further study.''
    SIGNAL began life as a board game, but the PoNG team concluded its use was limited, though they still use the analog version to gather data. One of the problems with the board game was that the participant pool was limited. PoNG offered the game up at conferences and got a certain kind of player, what it calls its ''elite'' pool'--government functionaries, politicians, military leadership, and defense journalists.
    This kind of narrow participant group is a historical problem with war games. RAND'--a Pentagon-backed think tank'--ran the bulk of the Cold War-era wargames, and felt that data generated by wargames only mattered if elites played the games.
    Putting people from all walks of life in charge of nukes was important to PoNG. They wanted as broad a data pool as possible, and so they decided to make SIGNAL an online multiplayer game that anyone can join from home.
    '' SIGNAL offers the opportunity to examine whether and how players from different backgrounds and with different political-military experiences might play the game differently,'' PoNG told me. ''We collect demographic data on players, including their level of knowledge on nuclear issues, and our pool includes a number of players with extensive knowledge of nuclear weapons, weapon effects, military strategy, and diplomacy.''
    Can a game really mirror nuclear war?
    SIGNAL plays like a browser-based, multiplayer game of Civilization distilled down to a few quick rounds. It takes place on a world map made of hexes, everyone can see what everyone else is doing. Players take control of one of three fictional and nameless countries abutting each other. The goal is to score points by expanding your country's infrastructure, gathering resources, and defending yourself from assault.
    The game introduces some wrinkles to keep things interesting. Occasionally, for example, one player may spawn without nuclear abilities in order to act as a potential neutral ally. There's also a chat window so everyone can talk openly with each other, or negotiate in private messages.
    Each round begins with five minutes of ''signalling.'' The ''signalling'' phase of the game is the most crucial, the player has markers they can put on the board to show that they're interested in a hex. They don't have to explain what they're going to do on that hex'--they may build a farm, they may deploy troops, or even launch a nuke'--just mark that they might to do something there; or, a player may do nothing at all.
    ''Signalling'' takes five minutes and happens in real time. During this time, players can negotiate with each other; money, resources, and territory can change hands. You could, for example, drop a signal flag on an opponent's city, and then claim in the chat that you're going to nuke that space unless the opponent pays a ransom. After five minutes, players take turns executing actions on the hexes that they've marked. Each of these action phases only lasts 45 seconds and there's pressure to play well or lose big.
    Purely in terms of game mechanics, the built-in consequences of using nuclear weapons are low. According to PoNG, that's part of the point of the game. ''Players control a good deal of the costs of military action, including nuclear use,'' they said. In effect, players create the costs of nuclear actions in the game.
    ''We have...seen players make all sorts of agreements concerning nuclear use from 'no first use' policies to, in [the board game], disarmament as players discard their nuclear capabilities altogether," the PoNG team said.
    PoNG pointed out that, in the real world, nuclear taboos and treaties are only as good as long as they're agreed upon by all parties. For decades, Russia and the United States had a treaty against intermediate-range ballistic missiles. As of August 2, that treaty is dead. Another Obama-era treaty may be next on the chopping block. ''After a lot of debate, the team agreed that for this version of the game, an attempt to manufacture either deterrence or normative costs would have been artificial and biased the experiment,'' PoNG said.
    Wargaming has a long tradition among the American military. Large portions of America's Cold War nuclear strategy and Vietnam plans were gamed out in huge simulations. Outside of a military context, epidemiologists once used a World of Warcraft bug to study the spread of disease. But there are limits to what you can learn from a game.
    The PoNG was quick to point out the World of Warcraft study worked so well because the epidemiologists had plenty of real-world examples to compare it to. ''For questions concerning nuclear weapons use, researchers face the fortunate but difficult problem of having little by way of empirical data to draw on,'' PoNG said.
    SIGNAL is an admittedly imperfect attempt to fill in the data gaps of nuclear war research. But there are other, more practical, problems with the game. For starters, SIGNAL is remarkably complicated for a game that takes roughly 20 minutes to play from start to finish. The user interface is clunky, non-reactive, and buggy. It launches in Firefox just fine, but often crashes in Chrome. And that's before I even tried to get into a game.
    Yet another practical problem is that, as an academic research tool, not many people are playing SIGNAL. The few times I did manage to get a game together with random folks, players would often drop out halfway through the game. The only full games I experienced happened when I convinced friends to log on. ''It is important to bear in mind that this is an academic study and not a commercial game,'' the PoNG said.
    Despite the low player count from the user side, PoNG said that more than 400 games of SIGNAL have been played. ''At the time of writing (early August), we have conducted over 400 games and the data pool continues to grow,'' they said. ''As far as we're aware, our team'--with just the games played thus far'--has the largest dataset of wargames designed for academic inquiry by a considerable margin.''
    In the real world, we've gotten close to nuclear war but haven't seen a wartime detonation since 1945. The consequences were so extreme that we've restrained ourselves since then. Those consequences aren't built into SIGNAL, which bugged me despite the PoNG team's intention for players to create their own consequences. This lack of consequence'--either on an emotional level driven by a narrative or a mechanical level driven by in-game consequences'--points to one of the fundamental issues with using games (whether of the analog or digital varieties) as a research tool.
    ''Wargaming has a long history in trying to help people figure out what could happen. The tricky part is, of course, that a game isn't reality'--not in the slightest,'' Alex Wellerstein, a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and creator of Nukeamp (a tool that lets users see the effects of nuclear detonations), said. ''Even in situations where the game's choice of dynamics to model are ones that correspond with reality (which is arguably rarely the case), the fact that the player knows it is a game means that you aren't going to get realistic outcomes.''
    According to Wellerstein, the fact that the people playing war games for research wouldn't have a relevant stake in real-world decisions can limit their explanatory potential. On the other hand, institutional review boards are likely to view simulations that make an average person believe that they're actually launching a nuke would be unethical.
    PoNG isn't blind to this problem. ''It's worth noting that this is a challenge for all wargames or models of conflict that include human decision making'--the costs in the model are typically nowhere near what they would be in an actual conflict,'' The alternatives aren't much better, however. "Do survey experiments, for example, do a better job of engaging an [military commanders] than an experimental wargame? Do formal models?'' the team asked.
    Wellerstein still sees opportunities for games to teach and enlighten. ''''Video games are another type of media, one whose active-learning potential is probably higher than the others,'' he said ''Certainly I've seen people talk about the impact of the Fallout series on their understanding nuclear outcomes.''
    Wellerstein even runs his own game-like simulations when teaching nuclear issues. Wellerstein simulates the negotiations around the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. The students form a kind of model United Nations, each representing real country, and they can make their own choices including spying.
    PoNG believes that SIGNAL has value, despite its issues. No game is perfect and no game designed to collect data about nuclear war can ever replicate the real thing. ''But we cannot simply say that the problem is too hard to study," the PoNG team said. "Moreover, it is too important not to study. So we're moving forward with our work while trying to be ever mindful of its many limitations.''
  Maybe Don't Put The Goose In Smash?
    Link to Article
    Source: Kotaku
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:46
    I've seen a lot of people asking over the past week for the Goose from Untitled Goose Game to be put in Smash Bros. I don't know if that's a very good idea.
    I mean, I admire the passion! But you're not thinking this through, for a number of reasons:
    1) Pump your brakes. The internet can jump so hard and fast on things that it can squeeze all the joy out of them. Let the Goose breathe a little! The Goose is good and fun, but Untitled Goose Game is also a multiplatform release that's been out for a week.
    Waluigi would like a word about both those points.
    Untitled Goose Game: The Kotaku ReviewThe way Untitled Goose Game's goose moves, I think, is what makes it so endearing. Its self-assured '...
    Read more Read 2) Is Smash really the best game for the Goose? The Goose's strengths are that it is a sneaky, scheming, malevolent force. Smash is a hectic, explosive, fast-paced exercise in shit-talking and fast reflexes. I don't know how much of what makes the Goose so good and fun would translate well to Smash.
    3) If you must ask the internet for the Goose to appear in Nintendo games, maybe Mario Kart or Mario Party are more appropriate? This may slightly undermine my above point, since they are both games that deviate from Goose Game's core design, but they are also games for petty assholes, and the Goose is an asshole first and foremost.
    4) You're not thinking big enough! Asking for the Goose to appear in Smash is a reflex action, understandably born of a desire to see more Goose x Nintendo interaction, but we live in an age where Nintendo is letting Western developers get wild with its own IP (see Cadence of Hyrule).
    I don't want to see the Goose in Smash. I've constructed this entire post as an excuse to say I want the opposite. I want developers House House to be handed the keys to a Nintendo world/character and given the chance to work their magic with it.
    Here's my unsolicited pitch: Imagine the hijinx of Untitled Goose Game...but it's Waluigi, who now has the Mushroom Kingdom equivalent of a YouTube channel, and he's lurking around pranking Mario and Luigi and Peach and Toad and everyone else, ruining their days, wrecking their shit.
    Imagine his goofy big legs trying to sneak through Luigi's house, putting a bucket of water over a doorframe then rubbing his hands with glee as he saunters out the back door. Imagine hiding in the bushes as Toad walks past, carefully balancing a tray of birthday cupcakes, and at the perfect moment pressing a button not to HONK, but to WAAAAAAAAAAAAA. The cupcakes go flying, Toad shrieks, then cries, Waluigi jogs off twirling his mustache, laughing his ass off.
    It would be the best. And everyone could stop asking for Walugi to be put in Smash because they'd realize that, like the Goose, he doesn't need to be. He'd have his own place to shine.
Movie Shlock:
  Spider-Man returns to Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige to produce third movie - CNET
    Link to Article
    Fri, 27 Sep 2019 15:55
    Spidey is returning to the MCU after all.
    Marvel Relax webheads, Marvel superproducer Kevin Feige will return to produce another Spider-Man movie after all, CNET sister site Comicbook.com reported Friday. The deal follows weeks of negotiations over the wallcrawler's Marvel Cinematic Universe future.
    Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures agreed to make one more Spidey movie together to finish the character's story in the MCU, in the wake of cliffhanger postcredits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home .
    Now playing: Watch this: Spider-Man: Far From Home director talks postcredit scene...
    2:17
    There was concern that Far From Home would be Peter Parker's MCU swansong -- Sony owns the cinematic rights to the character and its deal with the Disney-owned Marvel Studios allowed the wallcrawler to appear in the MCU.
    That deal expired with Far From Home, and the Sony-Marvel relationship was apparently severed after Disney sought a greater cut of box office revenue from future Spider-Man films. Far From Home made $1 billion at the box office , becoming Sony's highest-grossing movie of all time.
  Jurassic World 3: Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill back together again - CNET
    Link to Article
    Thu, 26 Sep 2019 16:38
    It will be fun to see Dern, Goldblum and Neill on the big screen with dinosaurs again in Jurassic World.
    Universal Pictures Jurassic Park movie fans have something to roar excitedly about like a T-rex. All three original Jurassic Park main cast members Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum will return for the first time together in Jurassic World 3.
    Director Colin Trevorrow revealed the news at a special screening of Jurassic World in Hollywood Tuesday night. Dern confirmed her participation in Jurassic World 3 (as well as the return of Neill and Goldblum) at the same screening, according to Deadline.
    On Wednesday, Goldblum posted his excitement to Instagram about returning to the Jurassic film franchise again as Dr. Malcolm.
    "Happy as a clam-asaurus to be reunited with my brilliant co-stars from the original Jurassic Park Laura Dern and Sam Neill for the next installment of Jurassic World," Goldblum wrote.
    Trevorrow told the audience the three actors were not only reprising their original roles, but that they would all have major roles and not merely cameos in Jurassic World 3, according to Mashable.
    Universal Pictures didn't respond to a request for comment.
    Dern, Neill and Goldblum first appeared together in the 1993 hit Jurassic Park that started the popular dinosaur movie franchise.
    Goldblum reprised his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm in 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and again in 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom . Dern reprised her role as Dr. Ellie Sattler and Neill reprised his role as Dr. Alan Grant role in 2001's Jurassic Park III. But this will be the first time all three actors will be in the same Jurassic movie together since the original film.
    Steven Spielberg and Trevorrow will serve as executive producers on Jurassic World 3, with Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley producing. Emily Carmichael (Pacific Rim Uprising ) wrote the Jurassic World 3 screenplay with Trevorrow.
    Trevorrow recently released his short film Battle at Big Rock , which continues the story one year after Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The film gives fans a look at the humans who are just trying to survive the unexpected and deadly dinosaur invasion on their own turf.
    The surprising casting decision to bring back Dern, Neill and Goldblum is huge for fans who grew up watching the first film in 1993. The nostalgic nature of the news wasn't lost on fans who took to social media with a velociraptor-like frenzy.
    Even a celebrity fan -- actress Reese Witherspoon -- chimed in on Twitter with the tweet, "I love every Jurassic World movie but now THIS?!? Laura Dern, Sam Neill, '...Jeff Goldblum'(C) are back! Can I buy tix now?"
    LAURA DERN AND JEFF GOLDBLUM ARE COMING BACK TO REPRISE THEIR ROLES FOR JURASSIC WORLD 3!!!!!!!!!!!!! ðŸ­ðŸ–¤ðŸ­ðŸðŸ½ðŸ­ðŸ–¤ðŸ­ðŸðŸ½ðŸ­ðŸ–¤ðŸ­ðŸðŸ½ðŸ­ðŸ–¤ðŸ–¤ðŸ–¤ðŸ­ðŸðŸ½ðŸ­ðŸðŸ½ðŸ­ðŸ–¤ðŸ–¤
    '-- ''¨Francis Dominic''¨ (@frncissdominc) September 25, 2019 Laura Dern returning for Jurassic World 3 is what the world needs right now
    '-- Ifan ðŸ´ó §ó ó ·ó ¬ó "ó (@ifantweets) September 25, 2019Jurassic World 3 opens in theaters on June 11, 2021 in the US, and June 21, 2021 in the UK.
    Originally published on Sept. 25 at 8:58 a.m. PT. Update, 7:18 p.m. PT: Adds Jeff Goldblum Instagram post.
  New El Camino Clip Just Confirmed Another Breaking Bad Returnee
    Link to Article
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:59
    Netflix's El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is meant to bring back at least 10 characters from the AMC show. Obviously Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman is the main character. The very first promo showed Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) refusing to rat out his buddy Jesse. After that, it was confirmed that their boy Badger (Matt L. Jones) would also return for the movie. Jonathan Banks pulled a classic Mike Ehrmantraut move by revealing his own appearance in the movie -- spoilers be damned. So that's three supporting characters confirmed for Jesse's movie, and now we have a fourth: Old Joe.
    Old Joe's appearance was teased in the El Camino trailer that aired during the 2019 Emmy Awards. But this time we don't just see a glimpse of the junkyard, we hear a phone conversation between Old Joe and, presumably, Jesse Pinkman. Watch the clip:
    Yep, El Camino will "Go for Joe" in the upcoming Breaking Bad movie. As Joe notes in the video, everyone knows who Jesse Pinkman is at this point, since the clip also shows Jesse on TV as a wanted man after the Breaking Bad finale.
    Old Joe owns the Rocker Salvage junkyard and he's helped out Walter White and Jesse Pinkman a few times. He first showed up in Season 3 and saved them from Hank and he also returned in Season 5.
    Why is Old Joe back now? The title of the movie is El Camino because Jesse sped away in Todd's (Jesse Plemons) El Camino in the Breaking Bad finale. Will Jesse try to junk the El Camino since it's recognizable and get a new ride? If so, why would the movie be called El Camino? That'd be like killing off a main character shortly into the movie. Maybe Old Joe tells him no way. We don't have long to wait to find out, since the movie hits Netflix on October 11. Joe was never a main character, but it's still good to see him back.
    Breaking Bad maestro Vince Gilligan wrote and directed El Camino, which is going to get a limited release in theaters as well as playing on Netflix before eventually arriving on the home network of AMC. Gilligan admitted to THR -- which also included the note about the movie including at least 10 Breaking Bad characters -- that El Camino isn't going to play well for people who aren't caught up on the TV show.
    If, after 12 years, you haven't watched Breaking Bad, you're probably not going to start now. If you do, I hope that this movie would still be engaging on some level, but there's no doubt in my mind that you won't get as much enjoyment out of it. We don't slow down to explain things to a non-Breaking Bad audience. I thought early on in the writing of the script, 'Maybe there's a way to have my cake and eat it too. Maybe there's a way to explain things to the audience.' If there was a way to do that, it eluded me.
    No, don't bother. The Downton Abbey movie opened to #1 at the box office last weekend by giving the loyal TV fans exactly what they wanted. Rick Grimes' Walking Dead movie is also heading to theaters. I do think we have a trend on our hands. This might be the best time to point out that I'm unsatisfied with how Northern Exposure ended and I would like the cast to reunite for a wrap-up movie. Thank you for your consideration.
    The thing about Breaking Bad is that almost no one was unsatisfied with that ending. Reunions, reboots, continuations, or movies often end up in the conversation if the story was left unfinished or if the showrunners wanted something more and the network said no. That's not the case here.
    Vince Gilligan explained to THR why he even decided to tell the rest of Jesse Pinkman's story in a movie instead of just letting us imagine where he drove off to:
    But I started thinking to myself, 'What happened to Jesse?' You see him driving away. And to my mind, he went off to a happy ending. But as the years progressed, I thought, 'What did that ending '-- let's just call it an ending, neither happy, nor sad '-- what did it look like?'
    Aaron Paul admitted he had his own doubts.
    I'm like everybody else on the planet '-- I think Vince and the rest of the writers really nailed the landing with the ending of Breaking Bad, and why mess with that? But it's Vince we're talking about. I would follow Vince into a fire. That's how much I trust the man. I would do anything that he asked me to.
    Ultimately, Aaron Paul said he thinks fans will be happy with the Breaking Bad movie. And since he loved the finale as much as fans, that does go a long way. Sure, he has to promote the movie, but we all trust Vince Gilligan at this point. The man wouldn't risk his own great reputation for nothing.
    El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie will release on Netflix and in select theaters on Friday, October 11. AMC has yet to reveal when it will air on the network.
  "Joker" film prompting safety concerns, adding security measures in LA, across nation | abc7.com
    Link to Article
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 17:03
    HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Theaters across the country are taking extra security precautions before the psychological thriller "Joker" hits the big screen Thursday.
    Several national theater chains are increasing security and banning masks or face paint for audience members. The Los Angeles Police Department will ramp up visibility at local theaters.
    The dark film is the latest psychological thriller in the Batman series and tells the origin story of the villain. Joaquin Phoenix said they were particular about the Joker's maniacal laugh.
    "In the script when it described his laugh, it said, 'it's almost painful,' and I thought that was a really interesting way of approaching this iconic laugh," Phoenix said.
    However, some argue the delicate portrayal of a mass murderer will inspire real violence. In 2012, James Holmes killed 12 people and injured dozens more when he opened fire during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at a movie theater in Aurora, CO. That theater will not show "Joker."
    Fans who plan to see the film said the concern is understandable, but they don't believe it will incite violence.
    "I really don't think it's that dark. It's just a movie," said Ronaldo Sotelo.
    "I don't think it'll incite violence. Things happen. Who knows why things happen, but I think people should be able to have their fun. If people want to wear masks, why not?" asked George Delatorres.
    During Saturday night's premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre, Warner Brothers will not be allowing reporters on the red carpet. This is not the first time a studio has banned questions on the carpet to keep the focus on the movie.
    Director Todd Phillips said the film is not for all ages.
    "We wrote it and pitched it and conceived of it as a stripped down R-rated character study of one of the great villains of all time. This movie is not for 11 or 12-year-olds," said Phillips.
    "Joker" opens in theaters across the country on Oct. 4.
    Copyright (C) 2019 KABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Quick Shots:
  Destiny 2 Going Down For Maintenance Until Shadowkeep Starts
    Link to Article
    Source: GameSpot - Game News
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:42
    GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
    The release of Destiny 2's new Shadowkeep expansion is imminent. In preparation for the release, Bungie is taking down the game and its predecessor entirely for server maintenance to rollout the update that will usher in Shadowkeep.
    Bungie tweeted a note regarding the outage, saying that both Destiny and Destiny 2 servers will be offline starting at 9:45 AM PT until October 1 at 10 AM PT. At that point update 2.6.0.1 will become available and both Shadowkeep and the free-to-play New Light version will be available.
    Today (09/30) at 9:45 AM PDT, Destiny 1 and 2 will be brought offline to undergo maintenance for D2 Update 2.6.0.1. Players will be unable to log in until 10/01 at 10 AM PDT when Update 2.6.0.1 becomes available.More info: https://t.co/Ocy0lFdnE0
    '-- Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) September 30, 2019Destiny 2 Server Maintenance Start Time9:45 AM PT 12:45 PM PT5:45 PM BST2:45 AM AET (October 1)What Time Does Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Come Out?October 1 @ 10 AM PTOctober 1 @ 1 PM ETOctober 1 @ 6 PM BSTOctober 2 @ 3 AM AET (October 2)That timeline gives you just a little more time to prepare for Shadowkeep by trashing and consolidating items that will be changed by the new expansion, like multiple copies of weapons mods. If you miss the boat on doing that prep work, don't worry too much. Shadowkeep is going to introduce a number of enhancements so you'll catch up with new and better loot quickly enough.
    The new expansion will nerf some of the best current weapons, but it will also ease the grind for getting high-level rewards. You can also look forward to tougher Nightfall missions that will offer better loot. If you're brand new to Destiny 2 completely, the New Light version introduces it as a F2P game with loads of content available for free.
    For more details on Shadowkeep, check out our pre-order guide.
    Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com
  Xbox One Gets Google Assistant Support
    Link to Article
    Source: GameSpot - Game News
    Mon, 30 Sep 2019 17:58
    GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
    Microsoft has added another option for your Xbox One digital assistant, expanding to include Google Assistant. The public beta is only available in English language, and it will expand more broadly later this fall.
    Instructions for how to join the beta are available in the official announcement. It involves joining the Google Group with the account you plan to use, and then adding your Xbox One with your Google Home app for mobile devices. Once it's set up, you can use the assistant to perform actions like starting a game or app, turning on or off your Xbox, adjust the volume, or take a screenshot. The instructions also note that the default name for your console is "Xbox" but you can change the name in case you have multiple consoles in one house.
    The Google Assistant support follows Xbox Skill support for Alex and Microsoft's own Cortana. Aside from being a convenience feature, Microsoft promotes voice support as an accessibility feature. The company has been promoting its accessibility recently, most notably with the creation of its adaptive controller.
    Microsoft recently debuted new hardware bundles, including Forza Horizon 4 bundles and an upcoming one to accompany the Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order release.
    Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com
  Minecraft Dungeons Closed Beta Sign-Ups Now Open
    Link to Article
    Source: GameSpot - Game News
    Tue, 01 Oct 2019 03:04
    GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
    Minecraft Dungeons takes the cute blocky aesthetic of the building game and makes a loot-driven dungeon crawler out of it. The game is set to launch next spring, but in the meantime, you can sign up to take part in a closed beta.
    The sign-up form states you must be 18 years old and have a free Microsoft account. It doesn't give any specifics about when the closed beta would begin, but with launch coming within the next half-year or so you probably won't have to wait too long.
    Mojang announced the closed beta at MineCon, as well as debuting a story trailer for the game. Like all great epic quests, this is a story driven by its villain, so that's what this trailer focuses on. An outcast Illager travels the world, rejected by society, until he stumbles upon a square-shaped artifact of great power and then he grows corrupt and mad with power. You know, that old story.
    This is the first we've seen of Minecraft Dungeons since Microsoft announced it at E3. That brief look showed a glimpse at how equipment and food will work, and teased 4-player online co-op.
    Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com