I first saw a video of the Emotiv EPOC while sitting in a crowded conference room in the middle of Defcon 15. The early versions of the headset looked like a cross between some kind of alien squid and a neon shower cap. The purpose of the device, however, made up for its strange appearance: this odd little headset purportedly read your thoughts, emotions, and facial expressions, allowing its wearer the most direct link to a computer yet.
Read More »

Second Life, World of Warcraft, and EverQuest II. These three games have proven that providing a place for people to live out their fantasy lives can be a lucrative business model. While many other developers have tried the MMO business model, few have succeeded.

Avatar Reality, a startup from Hawaii, is looking to change that. Their late 2008 release Blue Mars will provide players with a graphically rich MMO experience. Blue Mars is set over a hundred years in the future on a terraformed Mars where players will live and work to buy virtual land and objects to populate it with.
Read More »

Many have said that art imitates life, so it would seem that games follow the same trend. The Guitar Hero Series has capitalized on this, pulling the fan raging experience of rock stardom out of classic rock bands like taffy and brought the stage diving experience to the gaming masses. Most, though not all, gamers will agree that there is little correlation between your skill in Guitar Hero and actual guitar playing. Some even seem to find it infuriating when gamers enjoy Guitar Hero or similar games, claiming they would better spend their time learning to play the guitar. If you fall into this crowd of the musically inclined, or even if you don’t, Guitar Rising might be the game for you.
Read More »