Joystiq

Boston Festival of Indie Games announces lineup

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:20:00 EST

The Boston Festival of Indie Games has revealed the 36 games that will be showcased at the event this Saturday, September 22. Featured games - with developers in tow - include Fire Hose Games' Go Home Dinosaurs, Owlchemy Labs' Jack Lumber and many, many others.

The event is free and open to the public. It'll be held at the MIT campus at the EG&G Education Center (building 34) and Compton Laboratories (building 26). Find the full list of game attached below.

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Boston Festival of Indie Games announces lineup originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boston Festival of Indie Games starts on Sept. 22

David Hinkle — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:30:00 EST

A new show centered around the indie scene is set to kick off in Boston on September 22. The Boston Festival of Indie Games is taking submissions right now, gathering aspiring developers looking to show off their wares on the MIT campus this fall.

Organized by MIT Game Lab and Boston Indies at the MIT Campus, the Boston Festival of Indie Games is open to the public and, aside from giving indie developers a soapbox to stand on, will present a digital art exhibit, film screenings, a 12-hour game jam session, guest speaker presentations and a special area to showcase games made within the MIT Game Lab. Some of the names to already sign on and judge submissions are Harmonix Senior Designer Tim Stellmach, Fire Hose Games Creative Director Eitan Glinert, Zynga Boston Creative Director Paul Neurath, and Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab US Executive Director Philip Tan.

Awards will be given during the show based on public voting once cleared by the panel above. Those interested in submitting their digital game for showcase will have to pay a $10 fee if they are a student, or a $15 fee if they are a professional, by no later than August 10. If you're making something that doesn't fall into the digital category, you can submit it free of charge. Good luck!

Boston Festival of Indie Games starts on Sept. 22 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boston Festival of Indie Games coming from MIT Game Lab and Boston Indies this Sept.

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EST

On September 22, MIT Game Lab and Boston Indies will host the Boston Festival of Indie Games, on site at MIT. The day-long event will encompass all manner of homegrown gaming projects, from traditional video games, to board games, "live action games" and "interactive fiction." The festival will also include a 12-hour game jam, film screenings, a digital art exhibit and guest speakers. Naturally, games developed by the MIT Game Lab will also be showcased.

Developers interested in having their wares on display at the festival can submit their games here once registration has opened, which should happen "soon." A $15 submission fee is required unless you're a student, in which case you can toss your hat in the ring for $10.

The event itself, however, is free and open to the public.

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Boston Festival of Indie Games coming from MIT Game Lab and Boston Indies this Sept. originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT students hack electric grid, play Tetris on the side of a damn building

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:45:00 EST

What would it be like to play Tetris on an entire damn building? Students using MIT's department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science building found out just that last Friday. See what they hacked just below in our gallery, and a new video just above.

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MIT students hack electric grid, play Tetris on the side of a damn building originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect Hacks: Doodle Synthesizer

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST

Clearly tired of waiting for Lionhead to put its Milo wizardry to good use, Kinect hacker "roboczar" created an application that turns a plain ol' piece of printer paper into a synthesizer by recognizing shapes drawn on the page as sound buttons. The Kinect sensor scans the object (paper, in this case) and virtualizes it into a musical instrument. What happens next, however, is where things get really magical.

Roboczar uses the application -- one he wrote at MIT, applied in tandem with other open-source code -- to play a dedication to our favorite L.A. cop, Axel Foley. Bravo, sir! Head past the break and get your boogie on.

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Kinect Hacks: Doodle Synthesizer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect enables robot to become aware of its surroundings -- oh, and detect humans

Andrew Yoon — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:00:00 EST

Robots are adorable. And sometimes, you just want to gift them the ability to see and learn more about their human creators. That's exactly what MIT's Philipp Robbel has done with a hacked Kinect sensor and an iRobot Create Robot.

Continue reading Kinect enables robot to become aware of its surroundings -- oh, and detect humans

Kinect enables robot to become aware of its surroundings -- oh, and detect humans originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT tech makes gesture controls cheaper, more colorful

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:45:00 EST

Sit down, Natal. Move over, Move. MIT researchers have unveiled a new breakthrough in gesture control technology: Multi-colored spandex gloves. Created by researchers Robert Wang and Jovan Popović, the gloves require nothing more than a standard webcam and special software and contain no electronic components whatsoever. The software simply recognizes various colors and shapes printed on the gloves and translates the image into an accurate 3D representation of the hand.

Rather than translate the hand position data on the fly, the software actually identifies the image it sees and checks it against a database of hand position images. Upon finding a match in the database, the program displays the corresponding 3D image. The only apparent downside is that the program requires several hundred megabytes of memory to run, though Wang notes that the amount of standard computer RAM is continually increasing, with most current computers including 4GB.

Wang cites video games as one of the most obvious applications for the technology, which would allow gamers to easily manipulate objects within a game world. Of course, every console maker has its own motion control solution, at least in the offing, but the gloves have an advantage: They should cost "about a dollar" to manufacture. The only thing the technology seems to be lacking is a punchy marketing name ... Cue Joystiq Publishing to the rescue: "The Amazing Technicolor Dreamgloves!"

Give us a call, MIT, and we'll get these babies off the ground. The rest of you can see the gloves in action after the break.

[Via GamePolitics]

Continue reading MIT tech makes gesture controls cheaper, more colorful

MIT tech makes gesture controls cheaper, more colorful originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 May 2010 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab hosting huge game marathon for Haiti

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST

We've seen a ton of gaming marathons attempt to raise money for charitable causes, but we've never seen anything quite so ambitious as this: Boston's Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab is hosting the "Complete Game-Completion Marathon" from February 26 - 28, in which 11 teams will attempt to beat a wide variety of video games, ranging from the original Final Fantasy to NHL 10. Video of their efforts will be streamed online, where viewers can donate money to Haiti's earthquake relief efforts through Partners in Health.

You can find a full list of the games being played and their anticipated completion times after the jump. We wish all participants the best of luck -- especially the team that's trying to beat Mass Effect 1 and 2 in 25 hours. That's just madness!

[Via GamePolitics]

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Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab hosting huge game marathon for Haiti originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT BiG: Levine talks life before BioShock

Christopher Grant — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:30:00 EST

We're here at the MIT Business in Gaming conference this afternoon to watch Ken Levine - who holds the title trifecta of "co-founder, "president" and "Creative Director" at 2K Boston (née Irrational) - take the hotseat in a Q&A format (that, for some reason, is being billed as a "keynote"). No bother - given an opportunity to hear the BioShock developer discuss the current state of the industry (not to mention regaling us backstage with amusing yarns about Strauss Zelnick's protein-centric diet), we took our spot in the front row, laptops at the ready.

After an introduction by one of the show's sponsors (get off the stage, bub!) the Q&A was handed over to MIT graduate student Dennis Fu, who peppered Levine with a series of questions inspired by the day's panel topics: digital distribution; in-game advertising; MMO business models; and serious games. Fu stepped right into the deep end, asking Levine "What can you tell us about BioShock 2?" As he's said before, he's keeping himself intentionally in the dark so that he can play it "as a fan." "We're sort of keeping ourselves at a distance," he explained.

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MIT BiG: Levine talks life before BioShock originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 May 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ken Levine keynoting first MIT 'Business in Gaming' conference

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:15:00 EST

Focusing on riveting hot-button issues like "digital distribution, marketing, and in-game advertising," the MIT Sloan School of Management is kicking off its first ever "Business in Gaming " Conference (BiG) with BioShock magnate Ken Levine as inaugural keynote speaker.

We'll be there, Big Daddy statues and permanent markers in tow, and when we're not ogling KennyL we'll likely check out the panel featuring ex-Boston Red Soxer Curt Schilling of 38 Studios speaking about MMO business models. Hey, maybe he'll talk about that game his company's been making for three years! Code-named Copernicus? No? You don't remember that one? Yeah, neither do we.

Ken Levine keynoting first MIT 'Business in Gaming' conference originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT catches Brawl fever with newest 'hack'

Scott Jon Siegel — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Hacks, Nintendo Wii, Fighting

The students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are once again showing off their gamer cred with an on-campus prank (or "hack," as those princely nerds like to call it). This time, it's in honor of the release of Smash Bros. Brawl, a modest little Wii title that you may or may not have heard of. The "hackers" hung items and symbols from the game in Lobby 7 of their campus on launch day, including a Pokéball, crate, and Mario's cap.

We have to admit that we're a bit disappointed with the simplicity of this gaming prank. Hanging little trinkets is nothing compared to arming and helmeting a statue to resemble Master Chief. While we appreciate the thought, this prank would seem tame at a community college, much less one of the most competitive schools in America. Of course, we're willing to forgive and forget, if MIT's student body can manage to come up with something a little better. You raised the bar yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. Now here's your chance to meet it.

MIT catches Brawl fever with newest 'hack' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The best thing you'll see today: John P. Harvard goes Halo

Justin McElroy — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Hacks, Microsoft Xbox 360

As you may already know, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a long history of pranking (or hacks, as they call them) both on their own campus and at other schools. Though there have been some real winners over the years, this new one, captured today by MIT newspaper The Tech, really takes the cake.

To mark the Halo 3 release, MIT students gifted the John P. Harvard statue in Harvard Yard with a Spartan helmet (with "Master Chief in Training" written on the back) and an assault rifle. All we can say is "Wow." We may not be able to talk to MIT students very long at parties without getting sleepy, but when it comes to pranks, it's clear that we all speak the same language: Nerd.

[Thanks, Brad]

The best thing you'll see today: John P. Harvard goes Halo originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scratch teaches game programming, commenting etiquette

Kyle Orland — Thu, 17 May 2007 09:59:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, PC

We here at Joystiq are big proponents of teaching via video games. That's why we were happy to stumble across Scratch, a super simple programming language created by researchers at MIT. Using an incredibly intuitive drag-and-drop interface, Scratch gives you all the tools you need to make simple interactive Java applets, complete with graphics and sound, without any advanced programming knowledge.

How easy is it? To find out, we put together the simple program shown above. It took about an hour, and that's without even reading the FAQ or watching the handy instructional movies. In fact, the biggest time expenditure was coming up with comments that would actually be useful and helpful to our readers. Like we said, we're big proponents of teaching via video games.

[Via The Tech Savvy Educator]

Scratch teaches game programming, commenting etiquette originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 May 2007 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Henry Jenkins has a blog (and a new book)

Christopher Grant — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:15:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

Erudite academic and advocate for all things gaming, MIT Professor Henry Jenkins has started a blog titled "Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins." Now you can finally trash all those unofficial Henry Jenkins fansites from your RSS feed, cause this one's official. With only a couple gaming posts -- like this one on games as branded entertainment -- there's still plenty for the interested nerd to uncover and look forward to.

But the blog isn't supposed to be all about games, it's about his new book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. We could try to condense what Prof. Jenkins is gonna be writing on his blog, but we'd only be doing a disservice to you, reader. So we'll just tease you into it: "Reduced to its most core elements, this book is about the relationship between three concepts - media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence ...."

Henry Jenkins has a blog (and a new book) originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT prof. Henry Jenkins talks gaming, look at him go

Christopher Grant — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:28:00 EST

Filed under: Culture

GameSetWatch launches their new interview column with a bang, featuring a lengthy chat with Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies program and Full Professor of Literature at MIT ... oh yeah, and an influential advocate of gaming.

They cover divergent topics from his background in video games, to alternative reality games (ARGs), casual games, and that old staple, games as art, of which he says, "It doesn't matter whether there are games in the Museum of Modern Art. It does matter whether the best game designers are given enough room to push the limits of games as a medium ..."

You'd all be wise to read the (admittedly long but proportionally edifying) interview and get a crash course in where gaming stands in the bespectacled eyes of one of gaming's greatest and most visible proponents ... all for a lot less than a degree from MIT.

[Via Kotaku]

MIT prof. Henry Jenkins talks gaming, look at him go originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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