gaming - 5/13 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

Khronos Announces OpenGL ES 3.0 Spec - Get Ready For Faster, Better-Looking, More Desktop-Like Games

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Apps/Games, News

Speaking at SIGGRAPH 2012, a yearly computer graphics convention featuring some of the most prominent names in the business, Khronos unveiled updates for several key OpenGL properties including the specs for Open GL ES 3.0. OpenGL ES is the primary graphics API for mobile device platforms, including Android and iOS. As you would expect, the updates are rather technical, but here's an overview of what we can expect in the future.

Much Better Texture Compression

Perhaps the biggest noticeable change in this iteration is that texture compression has been improved, and the spec now has required support for the ETC texture compression format.

Jul

Ouya Partners With Square Enix, Final Fantasy III Will Be Among The Platform's Launch Titles

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

Ouya just can't stay out of the headlines, can it? After recently announcing that the TV-centric Android gaming system would come with built-in OnLive support, the company is back to say that it's partnering with Square Enix to bring Final Fantasy III to your TV. If you live in Japan, this might be old news, but it marks the first time anywhere else that the game will be available via a television-based console.

Ouya says that not only will FFIII be on the platform at launch, but it will be updated for high-res gameplay and there will even be a free demo for users who aren't quite sold on the idea.

Jul

Ouya Announces OnLive Support, Shows Off The Latest Revision Of Its Controller, Continues To Be Awesome

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

When we first heard about Ouya, we were excited. We were also hesitant. While a dedicated console for $99 with its own controller, a Tegra 3 processor, and Android games optimized for the big screen (not to mention free versions or demos of all available games) sounded brilliant, there was the question of longevity. How could this thing continue to hold up once Tegra 3 processors weren't the norm? Well, here's one answer to that question: OnLive support is now going to be built in. If I could whistle via text, I would do so presently.

What this means for gaming is that, even when that Tegra 3 processor gets old and dusty, you'll still be able to use your Ouya console to stream HD games from OnLive's cloud servers directly to your console.

Jul

[Update: Goal Surpassed!] OUYA Lands On Kickstarter: Say Hello To The Gaming Console Of The Future

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

We've seen some pretty cool projects show up on Kickstarter: Capta, Pebble, Chameleon, Vavo... and plenty more. Last night, though, one of the coolest projects I've ever seen made its way to the crowd-funded site: OUYA. You may or may not already be familiar with that name, so a little explanation may be in order.

Update: OUYA broke through the $1m barrier in less than 24 hours. I see big things for the future of this startup - keep the donations coming!

First off, OUYA is an open source, Android-powered video game console. That in itself got my attention, but if you really want to see how awesome OUYA is, watch this:

Proposed Specs:

Tegra 3 quad-core processor
1GB RAM
8GB Storage
HDMI out with 1080p support
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
One USB 2.0 port
Wireless Controller
Android 4.0.x

This project makes perfect sense to me; with the increase in quality games (and more specifically, games designed for the Tegra 3 chipset), something like this is absolutely brilliant.

Jun

Alpha Colony: A Tribute To M.U.L.E. Is A Great Example Of Increasing Kickstarter Abuse - And The Blurry Line It Sits Upon

Posted by David Ruddock in Apps/Games, Editorials, Games, Off-Topic

Last Updated: June 21st, 2012

Update: I've refined a few of my points in this article to focus less on the whole "how much it costs to make a video game" angle, because I'm not exactly an expert on project funding. I think the point I'm trying to illustrate about Kickstarter as a whole is now clearer, and articulated in a more generally-applicable manner.

Note: This piece is of tangential relation to Android (and it grew more tangential as I wrote it), but the game in question is a joint Kickstarter venture promising an Android game, M.U.L.E. Returns, as well as a multi-platform title, Alpha Colony: A Tribute To M.U.L.E.

Jun

Temple Run: Brave Puts The Red-Haired Heroine From Pixar's Latest In Imangi's Gauntlet

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

In recent months, we've hardly seen a game more hyped than Imangi's Temple Run. Couple that with the inherent excitement any time Pixar decides to release something, and it's hard not to get a little excited. Temple Run: Brave, despite it's entirely unimaginative name, places Princess Meridia as the centerpiece of this running game that seems to involve little-to-no temples.

The game doesn't have any illusions about what it is. It's Temple Run, but with Pixar characters. The added ability to fire arrows at bonus targets is a nice addition, though. Also, the visuals are excellent, inspired by the movie and Scotland itself.

Jun

Android Gets Its Very Own Official Xbox LIVE App From Microsoft- In Other News, Pigs Now Fly

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Well, this sure came out of left field. Microsoft has released an official Xbox LIVE app for Android! The app can be used to view and modify your 3D Xbox avatar, track your achievements, connect with Xbox LIVE friends, and even get news and information from the Xbox Spotlight feeds. Color us surprised at how fully featured this app is.

The app has a distinctly Metro UI feel to it, which is unsurprising as Redmond has been keen to slather the vector-based UI on all of its properties these days, but the theme definitely clashes with Android. Functionally, however, it's very robust.

Jun

Sony And HTC Are Partnering To Bring PlayStation Certification To HTC Devices

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in HTC, News, Sony

Back in February, we heard that HTC might be getting PlayStation Certification on some of its phones. Today at E3, Sony announced that it will be opening up the PlayStation Mobile program, which was previously known as PlayStation Suite, to HTC. This means, among other things, that HTC phones that receive PS Certification will be able to play the host of classic PlayStation games available. Additionally, HTC devices will also have access to the third-party apps and games developed using the SDK.

It's hard to say whether this is bigger news for HTC or Sony. On the one hand, having not-quite-but-kind-of exclusive access to PlayStation games gives HTC a competitive edge over Samsung and Motorola and the other Android manufacturers.

Jun

Nyko Introduces Gaming Controllers For Android Tablets To Be Released This Fall

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

Nyko, best known for making the slightly less solid and slightly less expensive console controllers you buy to save money, is getting into the Android game. Literally. Working with mobile gaming force of nature, NVIDIA, the peripherals company aims to bring "physical and familiar controls" to tablet games that run on NVIDIA processors, including, but more importantly not limited to, the Tegra 3.

^{The PlayPad in a variety of colors (left), and the PlayPad Pro (right).}

Beginning in Fall 2012, the company will begin selling two different controllers. The PlayPad will be the smaller of the two and feature a collapsible tablet stand and carrying case, making your tablet every bit as portable of a gaming rig as a Virtual Boy.

May

PowerA Introduces The 'Moga' Bluetooth Controller For Android, Coming This Holiday Season

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

Gaming on Android has come a long way since the early days - we're even starting to see console-quality games show up for certain devices. However, there is one major shortcoming: touch controls, for the most part, are complete crap. They're a little more manageable on a device like a tablet, but they're downright unusable on a smartphone.

The solution? A controller. This is becoming a more and more widely adopted feature, thanks to things like the Zeemote. Additionally, the Tegra 3 processor's kernel offers USB controller support baked-in.

Now, PowerA, a company known for creating gaming accessories, is trying its hand at a new Bluetooth controller for Android.