Posts Tagged ‘Apple’
Internet Summit RTP 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 2:19 pm 1 Comment | Post a CommentHow can you hate a conference headlined by Go Daddy and Playboy with the keynote panel moderated by a lady with the purple hair?! But it really wasn’t as early 90s ‘boys will be boys’ as all that. I recall back in the real, early 90s at the annual CED (Council for Entrepreneurial Development) Software Conference that most of the all-male attendees worried if the only way forward, meaning to make any money, was to obey the Microsoft juggernaut. Clearly not, because Google came along. And now there is concern of what Facebook really knows and do you have to love Apple to get cool technology?! Certainly not, which is why we get together to learn from and to measure one another.
I found this Conference to be interesting for many reasons that reflect the development and potential of our community, both technical and entrepreneurial. In addition to the reliable supporters from the area such as SAS and IBM, there were a range of marketing and advertising sorts; familiar service providers; smaller entities that grew up such as iContact and Bronto. The teams of those seeking to continue to shape the Internet as an advertising channel outnumbered those who seek to perpetuate the Internet as a disruptive force to the way that things are presently done. At the conference, the present class of disrupters were those who understand mobile devices and the new realm of of apps that run on them. Read more…
Epic releases trailer for mobile hack-and-slash title
Monday, November 8, 2010, 9:08 am No Comments | Post a CommentMobile gamers looking for a little more action from their handheld devices might want to spare a minute.
The trailer for Cary-based Epic Games’ Infinity Blade hit the Web last week featuring axe-wielding giants, massive castles and fast-paced swordplay. The 3-D fantasy title, which combines hack-and-slash action and RPG elements, will be available this holiday season for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
The company and its Salt Lake City-based developer ChAIR haven’t released pricing or the official release date, but if the title’s introduction at September’s Apple event is any indication, it’s likely received the golden seal of approval from Cupertino.
Gamers got their first taste of Infinity Blade with the release of Epic Citadel, a free app that served as a tech demo for the then-codenamed “Project Sword.” In mid-September, Epic Vice President Mark Rein said the 3-D walkthrough hit 1 million downloads shortly after its Sept. 1 release.
Epic is certainly throwing the gauntlet down with its first mobile gaming entry. The graphics are pretty impressive by next-generation console standards, so I’m excited to get my hands on the touchscreen and try it out.
Epic technology goes mobile
Thursday, September 9, 2010, 12:03 pm 2 Comments | Post a Comment
Don’t have an iPad or iPhone? Check out this walkthrough from melfassyfihry.
When Triangle-based Epic Games makes announcements, they apparently don’t pull any punches.
Epic President Mike Capps took the stage after an introduction from Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Apple’s Sept. 1 press conference to announce Epic’s first foray into mobile gaming — Project Sword.
The currently codenamed title doesn’t come out until this holiday season, but Epic already released a free technology demonstration through the iTunes store called Epic Citadel. The demo allows users to walk through an environment rendered with the company’s Unreal Engine. And it’s this component, not the “all-new action role-playing adventure game” itself, that has already turned some heads in the gaming world.
Epic has plenty of experience with next-generation video game hits. It sold almost 12 million units in its Gears of War series worldwide, and its Unreal Engine powers critically acclaimed best sellers like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mass Effect 2.
But there’s a big difference between creating amazing graphics on a mobile device and a console intended to run high-performance games. The Xbox 360, for example, has a CPU three times more powerful than that of the iPad.
Nonetheless, the tech demo wowed some critiques so far.
Jerry Holkins, co-creator of Penny Arcade webcomic and the PAX gaming convention, raved about the graphics power.
“We’ve run it on everything it will run on here at the office, and it is very nearly horrifying in its fidelity and expressive power, from the iPhone 3G up.”
John Funk, at the Durham-based Escapist Magazine, said he “certainly never thought I’d see graphics like that on a mobile game.”
In an interview with the gaming blog Gamasutra, Capps points out one big benefit with the iPhone and iPad devices is memory. And that can help when rendering complex lighting and textures.
“You’ve got 16 gigs of flash memory, which is way better, faster memory than what most people have generally on a home PC. So that stuff works really well. It’s the big environments that get really complicated on the rendering tools for iPhone. But yeah, we’ve got some tricks for it.”
The tech demo looks pretty sharp, but as with any title, the true value will involve gameplay as much as the art.
What do you think of Epic Citadel? Does it represent any advances for mobile gaming?
