US renews five-year gaming education grant for Becker College

To maintain its interest in gaming education, the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration renewed a five-year grant this week with Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Becker College is the home of MassDigi, an academic program that focuses on the entrepreneurial side of game development, including a 12-week summer program where attendees take a concept to a market ready title. The Economic Development Administration’s grant is for the amount of $583,000.

This announcement actually renews a five-year grant MassDiGi received in 2011. In a press release announcing the news, MassDigi says the funds will be used “to promote entrepreneurship, academic cooperation and economic development across the state’s video and digital games ecosystem.” The school also hosts an annual Game Challenge pitch competition where aspiring developers can show off their games and refine ideas ahead of a proper launch.

Via: Gamasutra

Source: Massachusetts Digital Games Institute

The more you play ‘Hello Neighbor,’ the smarter its villain gets

In an upcoming horror PC game called Hello Neighbor, you play a character with voyeuristic tendencies. You’re obsessed with sneaking into your suspicious next-door neighbor’s house to see what secrets he’s hiding in his basement, sort of like Tom Hanks in the ’80s film The ‘Burbs. What makes the thriller game fun to play, though, is that your secretive, shady neighbor AI will go after you if he sees you snooping. He even learns from the way you play, taking every mistake you make into account to get better and better at catching you.

He’ll install CCTV cameras if you once snuck in from his front door, for instance, and memorize the shortcuts you’d taken while running from him in the past. It’s as if you’re actually repeatedly sneaking into the house of a real person, who’s getting real tired of your antics. You win once you reach your neighbor’s basement and reveal his secret despite all the traps he laid out.

The game’s website explains:

“The Neighbor gathers all the information about the player’s actions, decisions, movements etc. Having analyzed it, he comes up with counter-actions, traps and a unique tactics against the player. The more one plays, the more experienced the Neighbor becomes.”

Hello Neighbor will be available in summer 2017 for Windows PCs, but you can sign up now for the alpha testing right here.

Via: Kotaku

Source: Steam

Logitech’s newest webcam is for the livestreamers

With eSports shaping up to be a half-a-billion dollar industry this year, now would be a good time to step up your livestreaming game if you’re hoping to get noticed among the packs of Twitch streamers and YouTubers. Enter Logitech’s latest webcam: the C922 Pro Stream, designed specifically for gamers with 1080p streaming at 30 frames per second and dynamic background replacement to make your face streams really pop.

The C922 is Logitech’s first webcam since the introduction of the HD Pro C920 way back in 2012. While the earlier iteration quickly became the gold standard for professional streamers and video bloggers, the latest version builds on that success with a new 60 fps setting at 720p to keep the stream in sync with gaming’s fast framerates. (Although it’s a step down in resolution.) Logitech also worked directly with XSplit to tune the C922 specifically for its game broadcasting software.

Rounding out the features, the C922 also boasts sharp autofocus and automatic low light correction to compensate for the flashing lights of your computer screen. For audio, the C922 packs two omnidirectional, noise-cancelling microphones. As for that background replacement function, Logitech says the camera uses “intelligent shape recognition” to separate the subject from the background without the need for a green screen – meaning you can place yourself in front of your game stream or at least just block out the view of your gaming den behind you.

The C922 Pro Stream is available on Logitech.com for $99. There’s also a Best Buy exclusive version that comes with a tripod and three-month license to XSplit, or a C922x variation available on Amazon that skips the tripod in favor of a six-month XSplit license.

Source: Logitech Blog

Roam the Valve HQ reception in VR and find the cake already

When the folks at Valve aren’t fiddling with Steam, updating popular first-party franchises or working on wacky projects, they like to have a little fun. Or, at least the team working on Valve’s Destinations VR title does. Destinations is a casual, multiplayer experience for exploring community-created worlds and playing simple games with friends. And now, as of the title’s most recent update, anyone with a Vive or Rift can feel what it’s like to venture inside the hallowed ground that is Valve HQ.

Alright, so it’s only a virtual representation of the Valve lobby and adjoining halls, but Gabe Newell himself welcomes you. Fancy that! Also, the level of detail goes as far as branded mousepads and other decor that nods to Valve’s various games. When you’re bored of spinning the iconic red ring rising from the reception floor, the latest Destinations update also includes a new “Arcade Toss” experience, public lobbies and updated tutorials. If you leave Valve HQ in a hurry, though, who knows what easter eggs you might miss out on. Cake, perhaps?

Via: UploadVR

Source: Steam

‘Game Fnatic’ unveils the realities of being an eSports pro

Fnatic is a big name in professional League of Legends lore. Just four teams have claimed victory in the World Championship since the circuit began in 2011, and Fnatic was the first team to ever lift up the Summoner’s Cup. Since then, Fnatic has proven itself to be a top-tier League of Legends organization, attracting talent and fans from around the globe. Its current roster includes superstars Martin “Rekkles” Larsson, Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten and Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim, all of whom have competed in World Championship tournaments.

But now, Fnatic is looking in an unlikely place for its next eSports star. In Game Fnatic, a 10-part video series, Engadget goes behind the scenes as four amateur and semi-pro players battle it out for a single spot on Fnatic’s League of Legends roster.

Each player brings a different set of skills and a unique personality to the Fnatic training house, where they’re put through strict practicing regimes with Fnatic staff watching their every move. It takes more than great reflexes and raw talent to be a true League of Legends star — these four candidates have to also prove that they’re able to play well with others and keep up with professional-level workloads.

Game Fnatic debuts on Engadget on October 6th, featuring interviews with current and former Fnatic team members, a glimpse at the organization’s eSports philosophies and, of course, plenty of League of Legends. Don’t miss the dreams, drama and Dravens.

Time-bending shooter ‘Quantum Break’ arrives on Steam

Quantum Break is a strange video game. Not for its time-bending story, or the way it combines a live-action TV show (although both are pretty interesting) but how Microsoft and developer Remedy have decided to release it. The game started as an Xbox One exclusive before branching out onto Windows 10. Now, it’s also available on Steam, giving even more players the chance to adventure as Jack Joyce. In addition, there’s also the Timeless Collector’s Edition, a physical package that includes five game discs, a ‘Making Of’ Blu-ray and book, the soundtrack and two posters.

It begs the question: Could other Microsoft exclusives make the jump to Steam? Xbox head Phil Spencer has hinted at it. “I look at Valve as an important [independent software vendor] for us on Windows. They are a critical part of gaming’s success on Windows,” he said in June. “I don’t think Valve’s hurt by not having our first-party games in their store right now. They’re doing incredibly well. We will ship games on Steam again.”

The trade-off, of course, would be control. Microsoft has a broader mission to drive Xbox One sales and increase Windows 10 adoption. Pushing all of its games through Steam would, effectively, kill one of its biggest incentives — exclusive software. (Microsoft’s “Play Anywhere” scheme could lure them back in, however.) Regular Steam distribution would also give Valve a not-to-be-sniffed-at-cut of its digital sales. Ultimately, however, PC players just want better access to video games. If Halo 5 followed Quantum Break’s lead, many would be pretty darn happy.

Source: Remedy Games