LNC3 - Slashdot User

Can We Create Fun Games Automatically? 198

Posted by Soulskill on Thursday January 15, 2009 @06:50AM from the sounds-much-easier,-i-like-it dept.

togelius writes "What makes games fun? Some (e.g. Raph Koster) claim that fun is learning — fun games are those which are easy to learn, but hard to master, with a long and smooth learning curve. I think we can create fun game rules automatically through measuring their learnability. In a recent experiment, we do this using evolutionary computation, and create some simple Pacman-like new games completely without human intervention! Perhaps this has a future in game design? The academic paper (PDF) is available as well."

Comment Re:How often are we going to hear it? (Score 1) 417

by LNC3 on Wednesday December 24, 2008 @04:12PM (#26225701) Attached to: Is the Gaming PC Dead?

This is another reason for the success of WoW in my opinion... no matter how crappy your machine is it will run, unlike a lot of other MMOs. WoW runs at the same framerate on my laptop and desktop, and the only difference is a tiny bit more eye candy and slightly faster load times on the desktop. My laptop cost $850 in September 2008. If I cared to play a source game on my laptop, I could, and get a totally okay FPS in it too, which is a selling point. Crysis is a tech demo that comes with a free (mediocre) game.

Boss By Day, Gamer By Night 51

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday December 24, 2008 @01:21AM from the how-to-excel-at-bejeweled dept.

Ant writes "Computerworld queried seven executives at some of today's top tech firms to learn how they started gaming, what they play now, and how their virtual skills translate to the real world of the office. Alan Cohen, vice president of enterprise solutions at Cisco Systems, had this to say: 'Now, increasingly, games are Internet 2.0 encounters. They're all about how well you work together with others any time, any place, with players from around the world. Rock Band 2, World of Warcraft, even Guitar Hero promote the shared experience and are all about how together we can do more, be more, compete better than we can by going it alone. That's right in line with how the corporate environment is evolving: You can play (or work) anytime you want, and you have to compete and collaborate on a global basis in order to succeed.'"

World of Warcraft, the Restaurant 73

Posted by samzenpus on Friday December 12, 2008 @05:31PM from the who's-gonna-tank-the-appetizers dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes "China's online gaming themed service industry appears to be booming, riding China's fascination with online gaming all the way to the top is a Chinese restaurateur with his World of Warcraft inspired eatery." I would recommend the Critter Bites and the Haunted Herring, but would warn against the Carrion Surprise.

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