Thursday, March 25, 2010

Inverse graphic calculator

If you have a graphic calculator perhaps it turns out to be curious to you the web page Unturns Graphing Calculator, since it is capable of returning you the equations that you have to introduce to draw on the screen of the calculator the word that you want. Of course, it will be necessary to be doing very badly a little bit since the equations are quite long.

Route: Neatorama

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Portal gun in the real world

Another video that moves humorously elements videojueguiles to the real world. In this occasion the protagonist is the gun of the Portal.

Route: Dark Diamond

Saturday, March 20, 2010

The threat online

Since a pair of lines and a square happened to represent a table tennis match to give birth to PONG, it might be said that there were born the video games (although there is information of previous games, we will always consider the famous person PONG to be the maker of the commercial video games). I can explain little of PONG that you should not know: a two-dimensional game, in his beginning monochrome, for one or two players. Simpler impossible: no? So much that was not using microprocessor but circuits logic.

Then the sector specialized and soon we would meet games to color, sprites that would make us recognize figures on the screen, cartridges with aptitude to keep games, text that would allow us to put ourselves to the skin of the personage, graphs every day more spectacular, authentic sound-tracks … and the multiplayer online. The first in the PC, then in Dreamcast, PS2 and XBOX to end up by being something indispensable in any games system. To tell truth, the first games in network go back 1973 with the Empire, but they were not massively exploited until a few years ago.

The multiplayer in Internet has entered like an avalanche a lot of games of the current catalog of the seventh generation of games consoles, promising an experience of game impossible to obtain offline and like form of p rolongar the duration of the video games up to the infinite. But as the polygons finished with doing that some of us lack the pixels, the multiplayer online seems that it threatens to do the same with the local "piqués". Although, it seems that we will always have chance of staying to house of some companion and throwing a few games to the FIFA, unfortunately it seems that soon - in the rest of qualifications - to our companion we will have to do for the webcam. Some of them will think that this point of view is an exaggeration, but if we concentrate on a lot of games of careers (one of the excellent genres in the field of the multiplayer, considering his facility) we will see that the classic way of two or more players to divided screen has stopped existing.

The divided screen has lost bellows ironically in the epoch in which we enjoy of the best and bigger TV sets. Is this a phenomenon an answer to the demand of the players? Are we we, that we have forgotten the way to several offline and have provoked that the developers do not worry in creating games with the above mentioned characteristic? It seems that partly we are the users that we claim a good game service online, but to think is made a stranger that we have stopped playing in company at blow and for proper will. If, on having played with friends in person, we have a much more social experience and a proximity impossible to manage with some microphone! Then: Wherefore we are remaining without being able to compete face to face? Once again the Gentleman Money has the answer. At home we play with a console, a copy, a TV set and a control for every player who wants to take part. The payment of the game in line multiplies for the number of players who take part in the game. To begin a few careers between four can come to us to cost, as a whole, four times more online that offline, benefit that there will distribute the developers of games, of consoles, of TV sets and up to the Internet providers. I dress from this point of view, there is no reason to develop a classic multiplayer, leaving aside the games directed to least penetrated into Internet (parents, children). Although it is not possible to discard that up to a few years the whole family will be competing in the network.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Rotoscoping

Since Motion Capture of Virtua Fighter took the realism of authentic human movements in 3D to the video games, the fact of seeing a personage 2D animated by impeccable form already we should not surprise, and nevertheless, the sprites realized by means of the skill of the Rotoscoping still turn out to be impressive in spite of taking above the weight of two decades.

Time behind, the grafistas had to devise them so that his personages not only were well designed, but also they had an animation fluída. Every time the number of grafistas was major inside the same project in order to offer an aspect that was superior to that of the rest of throwings that existed on the market. In the world of the cartoon a skill existed, the rotoscoping, which was taking years being used in qualifications like Betty Boop, Snow White, or the very same Dragon's Lair, the last one already in video game, although in the fund it was only a mythical succession of fragments of cartoon that were happening from one to other on having pulsated (or not) the button in the just moment (or not so just …: ouch!). A man, Jordan Mechner, bet everything for this type of animation, creating an unforgettable game which name resounds every day with more force if it fits: Prince of Persia.

The title was possessing an exact difficulty, was providing many hours of entertainment, and his system of pitfalls, jumps, battles, jumps, mapping and more jumps was (and it continues it being) an authentic marvel, but what really did that they all were putting the eyes on the work of Mechner was his successful animation.

The skill was consisting of filming the stills with persons of meat and bone later to reproduce them as faithfully as possible by means of pixels drawing above. Normally a more or less advanced rotoscopio was used for it, although, on having applied it to the field of the video games, between presupposed shallows and that the final product was not a drawing but a sprite, we might say that the process was done rather to the beast, introducing the frames in a program of graphic design of those of the day before yesterday and tracing in pixels the figure, adapting it to the final size of the sprite treating that it was not occupying very much. So that we understand each other, it was an authentic Chinese work.


David, brother of Jordan Mechner
Prince of Persia – MS TWO

It is no wonder that other big creators were concentrating on this system to do his games. It is the case of Eric Chahi and his understudy Another World in 1991, science fiction game that although it changes into exposition (and naturally subject-matter) with regard to Prince of Persia, yes that there respects not only the rotoscoping even more refined thanks to his graphic symbol based in vectors, but also the displacement system for screens, and not scroll as it would have been the normal thing. The game is provided with the second part, Heart of the Alien (exclusive for Mega-CD), and with a remake done in HD by his 15th anniversary.

AnotherWorld

The official front of Another World was painted to the oil by the proper Chahi

Another World – Commodore Amiga

Heart of the Alien – SEGA Mega-CD

Another World High Resolution Collector's Edition – PC

Games that continued the same stela, with major or minor quality and success, there are many, but it would result from mortal sin (of that they put you up to a carpet to enter the hell the big door) not to mention one especially of between all of them: Flashback – The Quest for Identity of Paul Cuisset, in 1992.


Flashback – SEGA MegaDrive

His principal characteristics were his magnificent history and his spectacular graphic aspect, which left the too high strip of wood for later games with these esthetics, especially bearing in mind that the polygons and Motion Capture were beginning pushing towards the following technology only a few months later.

He would practise with pleasure the seppuku on me in full center of a crowded public square if I was daring to forget the famous demo (demo or die!!) that Spaceballs did for Friend 500, State of the Art, who would mark a clear difference with most of the previous ones and would inspire many of the later ones. In that epoch (December, 1992), a powerful graphic demonstration as this one turned out to be so impressive that it even finished on the screens of some discotheques.


State of the Art – Commodore Amiga

The rotoscoping kept on using to draw static personages of realistic court in games like Hotel Dusk – Room 215, but the animation system for action games plataformera would remain finally obsolete in favor of other systems and, especially, other genres.

Like that is that as they say when the kings die: "the rotoscoping has died; long life to the rotoscoping“.

Watch The Simpsons S21E14 Postcards from the Wedge now

Steambirds

Steambirds is a game in flash of strategy in which we will have to direct our planes against the units of the enemy across a system based on shifts. In every mission our effectiveness will be rewarded with stars, essential to be unblocking the successive levels. With the keys WASD we will be able to move the game map and with the mouse we will direct our tactics.

Route: Indie Games

Thursday, March 18, 2010

I compete: A pet for Pixfans

From the Pixfans opening it even does a pair of days, we were using a child dragoncito of the outstanding figure Bubble Booble with the colors changed to adorn the page. The truth is that we keep on liking like pet, but regrettably it belongs to Mr. Taito and it was already time for we to have the proper one. To settle this disadvantage we present the controversial PixGirl born of the pen of Terrato. But this decision has generated both critical prints and denials, as well as interesting proposals. One of them was the possibility of organizing a drawing / design contest so that the whole world who wanted could take part creating a pet for the page.

Jorge, founder of the Spanish group of deviantArt Spain is Different, has contacted me and it is ready to begin a cable and also it is going to give an account premium of 1 year in deviantArt to the creator of the logo or winning drawing.


Norms of the contest

  • The term to present the creation will finish on March 31 (I hope that this way it could have him time for any that one that wants to take part).
  • The creation must be own. There is not allowed the use of drawings or images created for third
  • A participant can present all the creations that he considers to be opportune.
  • The pets will have to do a wink or reference to the dinosaur of Bubble Booble as homage.
  • The election of the winner will determine the administration of Pixfans. In case we doubt or do not come to a consensus perhaps we will realize some voting.
  • The author transfers the rights of his work to Pixfans.com. We have a license Creative Commons and we will always use the work under this license.
How to take part?

Since very easy, simply it will be necessary to order the creation to one of the following emails:

These emails belong to Jorge and to Victor respectively, managers of the group Spain is Different. They are who will be in charge of being raising the creations to the gallery of images that they have arranged for the achievement of the contest.

Does this suppose the "premature" PixGirl death?

No. It is possible that PixGirl does not go out chosen like official pet, nevertheless many like this personage so we will keep on using his image when we consider it to be opportune.

I make use also of this article to congratulate Squarkyng and Shadowbug on the images that have connected in the comments of the presentation of PixGirl and that I reproduce next. Thank you!

Author: Squarkyng

Author: Squarkyng

Author: Shadowbug

Author: Shadowbug

Author: Shadowbug

The modern video games and the difficulty

Many things have changed since I started with this of the video games two more decades behind. Pixels of the size of warble flies have opened ways to movie graphs, games that it was necessary to spend of a pull have given place to the kingdom of the checkpoints and kept every three minutes, what earlier there were vulgar tunes compete today with the best sound-tracks, of playing screen divided with a friend we have happened to fight in network with hundreds of players, of seeing our games in TV as wide as long to do it on flat screens, or use managers who instead of three buttons have more than fingers our hands … many things have changed, and perhaps also let's be able to refer that what earlier there were almost always arduous tests, in which our reflexes and skill were taken to his limit if we wanted to go forward, today there are very often ways of roses, in which little more we have to do than to look at what it spends touching the buttons for that they ask us.

I do not say that this problem is inherent in all the current games, not much less, and there are numerous the examples that rub the impossible thing, especially in the most difficult game ways, but I believe that there is no doubt that the tendencies have changed, and with it we have lost some sensations that were resulting from the most intense thing and that, in his measured joust, were making the games better.

And the fact is that I am getting tired of coming at the end of a game without having lost not even only one life, or rather, without having had the sensation of having had a challenge to the height. The adrenaline of moments as this chief of unusual difficulty whom we have almost defeated, but that if it touches us once again sends us again at the beginning of the phase … makes us vibrate, does that our heart beats more quickly, that we get up of the couch to concentrate to the maximum or that we seize the control with more force. And these sensations do that ancient games they come especially to my head, of the epoch of the 8 and 16 bits, and when I feel them in a current game, I usually give the impression of which it is something special, which was already taking a time without feeling, when earlier it was almost the bread of every day.

I do not want with it to affirm that the today games are worse for having with this enough typical assiduity, not much less, in fact any of my favorite games like Okami or Zelda: The Wind Waker I ended them without losing only one life, without it preventing from looking like to me real masterpieces, but in my opinion both had gone out much benefited of a major level of difficulty, which might have made even more frenetic some of the big moments that both offer.

Super Mario Galaxy is different very good example. It is a question of an excellent game, of a real marvel, but I long for those sensations of Mario of the NES, in whom our reflexes were finishing exhausted of having to work with so many intensity. It is true that some of the secondary searches yes that they are difficult, but to see the end of the adventure is a walk, and this is one of few defects that it would put to the game in question.

Perhaps the times have changed, and what has happened in knowing like “chance public” is now the principal sustenance of the industry, and as search is said to us easier experiences, already well to have everything masticadito and that it is necessary only to swallow it … and those of the old school we feel sometimes as if we had lost something. We can be playing half a gas, eating some cochair in the middle of the game, speaking with the one whom we have nearby … because it is not necessary to have scarcely concentration, and to little that we have anything of idea of what we do the result it is going to be, more or less, the same one.

Yes, we can strain for adding more points, doing the best bent ones or obtaining this certain trophy that needs a workmanship without equal … but it is not the same motivation of having to overcome any challenge to be able to go forward, of fighting for our virtual life, of surviving before an almost impossible situation. Also it is possible to be said to me that for that the difficulty levels are … it is true, but by half. For the margin of a tare derived from the pride that prevents me from choosing the "easy" way in any video game, I like to decide in favor my first game of the "normal" way, and then if I already love the game I will decide for repeating at a major difficulty level. But the fact is that the level of "normal" difficulty of some today games would be between the "easy one" or “very easily” of most of the ancient games, and if we get stuck it will be more for getting lost in an enormous mapping or for not solving a certain puzzle, instead of doing it for not being it sufficiently skillful.

Do you remember the typical chief who was changing skill, and who was making us lose almost always some life whenever it was showing us his new movement?, we were learning of our errors, were playing without scarcely blinking, and when finally we were managing to break it were feeling a big satisfaction. The games in which more I have felt something like that lately are especially games in 2D, and with a classic touch, although also some current works have transmitted similar sensations to me.

I am not also a supporter of passing of the streak. I am remembering for example Super Ghouls'n Ghosts, a game that extracted me of pivot hole in due time because, if it was already not coming in spite of the fact that to have to be three hours to the maximum to come to close to the end, still superficially you finish the penultimate level and they send you back at first. That should already be punished like crime, so, obviously, the suitable thing is that the things are in his measured joust. But that nobody says to me that challenges cannot be obtained motivantes without need to upset the player. And if the casuals come, since how in Bayonetta, with a macroeasy way that practically is played only.

Another topic is that of the checkpoints and the others. I love Half Life 2, for example, but it seems pathetic to me that you could do two accurate shots, keep, avoid an enemy, keep, go out and die, load, die again, load, to kill the third one, to keep, to kill two more, to keep, that the following one kills you, to load, and this way during the whole adventure. Reducing the difficulty, but having to survive more time before being able to keep, it becomes possible to have the much more close player, who values more his life, because knowing that if you die you are going to appear in the same place in which you were two seconds earlier, it seems impossible to obtain real tension to me.

Finally, this is not a criticism of any game in particular, one of these apocalyptic opinions that so little I do not even like of that the video games go away to the carajo. Nothing of that, there is alone the shape of a reflection that arises in my mind when I feel satisfied for having overcome certain challenges that have the just difficulty, or disappointed on having come at the end of a game that has not demanded anything of effort from me. This is not common to all the current games, since the exceptions are great; and neither I want games of those who do after one throws himself of the hair for his difficulty … simply I believe that about some cases it is convenient to remember certain things that were enjoyed the games of earlier, and that with the suitable dose can make a today game better.

I do not want impossible challenges, do not want labyrinths of which it could not go out, moments in which to touch fifteen followed buttons or puzzles that lead to my neurons to asking for a salary increase … only I ask the video games to make me vibrate, to feel the tension on having been on the point of losing a virtual life, or my heart to beat torn open on having overcome a real challenge, of those that make you lift the handle and feel proud. To feel as if it was touching buttons in a movie I already do not take a control, and the big adventures, the big achievements, they were those that were obtained overcoming big adversities …

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Speedster

It is enough to dedicate a few brief minutes to the laudable Speedster that saw the light in PlayStation for Psygnosis courteousness somewhere near the year 1.997 to realize the resemblances that remembered Trash Rally hoards with regard to for a long time, one of the more advisable qualifications of conduction of the extensive catalog of Neo Geo.

Not in vain, that longed game of air perspective was the conversion of the recreational one that thanks to his excellent jugabilidad captivated thousands of followers in the whole world, although his finished graph not desmerecía by no means. In fact his evaluation stayed untouchable during long years until the arrival of the consoles of 32 bits they gave a nut return to the genre.

Recapturing the title that occupies us, that is not different that Speedster, good one might say that it is the most similar thing that could turn in the Sony gray compared to Trash Rally, turning for proper right into a program that was deferring with rest of games commercialized in PlayStation, and he supposed in turn a breath of fresh air inside a genre that was dominated at that time by the prestigious saga of Ridge Racer.

For all those that do not know the title, it is a question of a game that drinks straight from the philosophy of the arcades that at present are relatively in numerical inferiority opposite to a big quantity of pretenders of all kinds, but that at that time there were the reigning keynote.

To big features the elements that define the development of the program are an air perspective that is possible to change as much as one wants, be already in height or distance, the use of the crowded check points, classification for some other circuits previous victory and a few limited continuations.

As for the graphic paragraph it refers, what here waits for you in each of eight available circuits is a complex world in perfect 3D that makes a show of a quantity of details seldom seen in a title of these characteristics. Also, there turns out to be meritorious the inclusion of diverse ways of vision, where it is necessary to emphasize one in wide screen and other in high resolution.

As for the different vehicles, without going so far as to have the grade of detail that if they were shining in other consecrated conduction programs, they enjoy of a movement and realism worthy of mention, and enclosed the developers have provided them with a behavior differentiated during the course of the careers, although the latter note is not specified at the moment of his election. These details joined a system of slightly permissive game, which almost might be labeled of demanding, increase of exponential form his possibilities of diversion.

So that you do to yourselves an approximate idea of the rigorous of his development, to rise with the long-awaited victory it will be necessary to avoid as far as possible to incur any minimal error, a conduct that, saying is of step, it seems not to affect in excess to the rest of opponents, who will not hesitate to bother to the user whenever the occasion appears propitiates, going so far as to give the vague impression of which the pitfalls are to the agenda. But precisely in this tone it takes root departs from his delight, since thanks to the trickery of the rivals, to an every time minor extreme time and to a competent way for two players enraged where they are, the paragraph jugable of Speedster, without going so far as to surprise, all that with enough attractions as for posicionarse with a notable high place. It does not turn out to be so intense perhaps like other famous conduction arcades, but his exact difficulty level will raise the just problems to you as to encourage you to keep on playing during long weeks.

A title finally that supposed a happiness motive for the lovers of the speed, with a very worn out design and a really obtained mechanics, consolidating it like a clear alternative opposite to some other games of the epoch. And the fact is that without being one of the maximum exponents of the genre, the sufficiently well designed was and was enjoying excessive originality as to do the delights of the most demanding users.

SUMMING UP

Graphically it is necessary to stand out obtained finished of the different circuits provided with a level of detail that they extoll to the program in his set, although the design of the cars limits itself to being correct. The movements on screen are hit and his visualization options help to improve the progress of the careers.

As for sonorous paragraph, it fulfills his assignment with certain mastery, since it is provided in his favor with all melodies luck sugar plantation owners of the most varied styles who adapt themselves from the best possible form to the game, although it is just to make to notice that some of them sin of repetitive. For fortune the kindness of prompt Dolby Surround will make you spend for high this small lack, although sadly it is not possible to say the same about the sound of the engines, which does not stop being convincing.

Where if Speedster stands out it is in the paragraph jugable, that without being a prodigy of the skill it can presume of a mechanics and difficulty that takes a fancy irresistibly. And the followers to the genre should not allow proving the form for two simultaneous players, which counts with the same graphic quality and speed that the individual game, prolonging even more if the life of the program fits and assuring a few piqués the less memorable.

In synthesis, Psygnosis desmarcó with an advisable variant of the genre adapting it to the needs of PlayStation. At visual level the title is a delight, and his calibrated difficulty, raised but without going so far as to lose hope in any moment, together with his a lot of possibilities of diversion, multiplied in turn by the forceful modifications at the time of each of the vehicles to pilot, they give as turned out a different, fresh, original game and over everything very advisable one.

If they had filed some mistakes minor and improved the design of the cars possibly we would be speaking about one of the big games of the stage of 32 bits, which nowadays rarely is mentioned.

Needless to say that several games will be necessary to get accustomed to his peculiar mechanics, since in the first capture of contact it neither will turn out to be so attractive nor will wake up the interest that probably is deserved.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Michigan: report from hell

Who does not wait with avidity for the second part of the More Hero? As the waiting in Occident seems that it will be long I propose to them to resort to an ancient title of Grasshopper, real intercontinental defeat, but that at least was translated quickly in his moment.

It turns out that this time we will be all the game behind a camera to be able to film the reportages in living and live of the television network Zaka TV, leader in his time zone when it has to present on screen strange events that happen in the city of Chicago. The city has been wrapped by a thick fog and a few infernal monsters walk doing ugly things between the honorable citizens.

Our roll consisite in following during all the time the steps of the correspondents who should touch us in shift that with his typical hysteria they will try to report to the public what is happening. Occasionally we can escape round there and find tracks that make advance a bit the reportage or to entertain us focusing the bottom or the breasts of the chronicler. In fact: the premise of the game is based on our 'moral' attitude at the time of filming the events!

If in our 'viewfinder' we see that her a giant mutant is still to throw himself the aunt of the microphone: what do we do? do we keep on transmitting in conference to gain us the Pulitzer or cut to save the pelt? do we leave that it falls down to the apartment to see if we can see the panties to him and him make all the Homeros Simpsons of the world happy or stretch the hand to avoid the malrato?

This way extravagant is the general exposition of this adventure, where as insist his creators in the opening, our attitude will be unleashing the history. For example, in a given moment we will have to untie pulpy miss who is moored to a pool table with a lamp on the verge of him falling down above. All this passes in turn in a residence for elders, infested with pestilentes creatures and bogeys in the closets. Zero coherence, but in certain point it turns out to be entertaining because really you are going to have to walk yourselves carefully if quereís that the assigned chronicler you lasts for a few notes. The girls do not have her easy and as soon as we are careless end horrible and irremediably died.

We "are" 'helped' in the task by the cocoon of Brisco, the sonidista, which goes and comes with his pompous boomer doing the impossible thing to intervene in our way and to prevent from being able to make something minimally interesting. And speaking about movements ours limit themselves to being able to displace us when there appears before us the opportunity - always with vision in the first person - to stoop a bit to be able to do more interesting captures of the mini-skirts of our companions, especially of one that calls – it sounds low of Seinfield - Paula Orton. The rest limits itself to having to give to right hand and left hand with the camera the hombreo to extract the potatoes of the fire.

It is necessary to indicate also that with the exception of a few moments you should fix at least we can allow filming since our camera is all the time lit and at most one allows us to do a zoom of some event or object that we have opposite to our nostril. If it is necessary to kill the villains she will be the correspondent the one that clutches the firearms while we look between yawns and automatic sequences. The dialogues usually become ridiculous and unbearable giving place to eternal ‘dead times’ where we ask loudly something to happen. In favor there is the inclusion of the invited model Yinling (who in Japan exists really!), although, to tell truth, at least not even abusing the lewd side of the game it reaches to support this idea of the lobster Gouichi Suda (Killer 7) that will have painted him so good that night with five sake bottles above.

The attack of the lepidopterous zombies

The last movie of the virtual world is of fear and it has all the ingredients to terrify us: zombies, infected, three evil ones manipulating machines to achieve his intentions, a widespread virus on a global scale and, the worst thing of everything, who is possible that one of the victims it is you who are.

When in May, 2009 Defence Intelligence (company of Canadian safety) called Butterfly announced the detection of a massive botnet in Internet, the whole device was started to eliminate this network that supposed a threat for servants, companies and particular users of Internet: the MWG (Butterfly Working Group). This project was formed by proper Defence Intelligence, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Bulging Security and experts in safety of diverse countries. The target was to annul the influence of the botnet and to identify those that were after her only known up to this moment by his pseudonymic ones (Netkairo, Jonyloleante and Ostiator) and that were shaping the group Días De Pesadilla (DDP Team). After 8 months of intense work, finally, during an intervention, they listed the approximate number of computers infected by the malware that were shaping the said network and the astonishment it was capital: Butterfly was counting with more than 12 million zombies along the whole planet that they were already particular users or companies, what was turning it into one of the biggest botnets of the history. To infect a team was relatively easy since simply the installation of a program was necessary malware in the computer to be enslaved and this could come across networks P2P, devices USB, linkage MSN and, finally, any method across which it was possible to introduce information in the system. Once infected, the user could keep on working with normality without noticing anything while behind his hardware and software could be utilizándo for any self-interest intention.

Pantallazo of random information to give him cache memory to my article.

In short, M ariposa was a gigantic beast of more than 12 million ip's controlled by only one user who could have them at his{your} pleasure. This slaves' immense mesh was divide in several subnetworks to be able to control them in a more effective way and be able to carry the pertinent operations out with major simplicity. These could be spam (appearance of pop-ups, alterations in the results of the engines of search), I steal of information (numbers of credit cards, passwords), attack servants (DDos) as well as any another illegal activity that was capable of being realized. But if something demonstrates the character exclusively lucratively of all his movements, it is the fact that the creators of the network were renting it for fragments to other delinquents in exchange for an economic sum so that these realized their own misconducts.

Despite having the well identified Butterfly structure and knowing all his movements, the trailing of the persons producing it was turning out to be practically impossible because the connection was realized from a VPN and this was erasing any track of the direction IP that it was using. This was like that until December 23, 2009, date in which the MWG managed to be done momentarily under control of the botnet by means of a movement organized to world scale being provided, between others, with the help of the FBI and the Spanish Civil Guard. Happened this, Netkairo, leader of the group DDP, tried anyway possibly to control the network again but, in a moment of nervousness and tension, he forgot to get connected across one of the VPN. This error annulled the obstacles that were reinforcing him facing the location on the part of the MWG and then the track was clear and definite. They were already provided with his IP and it was only a question of time that was identified from the records of his local provider of Internet. Nevertheless, in revenge for credit trying to steal the control of the network from him, an attack DDos was thrown from big part of the computers controlled by Netkairo towards Defence Intelligence that there blocked an important provider of access to Internet leaving without service for several hours many clients, Canadian university and administrative centers.
Structure of an attack DDoS

Architecture of an attack DDoS

Anyhow, from here there was known the real place from which it was occurring and, hence, his identity. The detention on the part of the authorities does not make be waited. On February 3 the Civil Guard carried this movement out and seized computer material that took to the detention of others two members of the group, Jonyloleante and Ostiator. Two information to be highlighted, is that none of three arrested were professional and at least they had designed the botnet, if not that had bought it on the black market and that in Spain take into account approximately 200.000 infected computers. This fact wakes up many doubts. Have I been infected by the malware? Is it my ordering report of Butterfly? Will they have my bank and/or personal information? Panda Security has given the answer to this announcing that it has given samples of the bots all the companies of antivirus so that they add them to his database and, after a new update, they could be capable of identifying them and of erasing them.

Next this so nice lad will do a summary of everything to us and will comment to us on some additional detail. Please, an applause for Luis Corrons of Panda Security.

Lexicon
  • Malware: It is a program of computer that infiltrates into the system without the proprietary user knowing it with the principal intention of damaging it. If the malware serves to gain access to the control of the above mentioned computer, this one takes the name of zombie.
  • Zombie: There is called this way a computer that has been infected by a malware program and is handled by an external user.
  • Bot: It is a software installed in a zombie that serves to execute routine tasks.
  • Botnet: It is a word composed for bot and net (“network“ in English) and it is used it refers to a heap of computers zombies that they execute bots that they are connected between themselves forming a private network.
  • VPN: There are the initials for “virtual private network”. It is a technology that allows a network deprived of local origin to spread across Internet and to have the possibility of being connected from remote teams and, physically, out of the above mentioned network.
  • DDoS: Again more initials. In this case they mean “distributed attack of refusal of service”. This attack is realized saturating a certain servant by means of the massive mailing of requests that block the available band and this way to provoke the inaccessibility this service.
  • Spam: Spread information of a viral and repeated way announcing any type of article or intention by means of massive mails bombing, posts in forums or bots. It usually distribute by means of general deliveries electronic facilitated by pages webs specializing in compiling these without knowledge or assent on the part of the owner.
  • IP: The only number of identification in Internet. Every computer connected to the network obtains an IP that can be a favorite (always the same one) or dynamics (it changes with every new access). The companies that give connection services to Internet have the IP assigned to every user striped so that it could be identified in case of need.
Sources

Monday, March 15, 2010

Brilliant trailer in Mafia Castilian 2

All those that we enjoy the original Mafia we wait with avidity for this new delivery and trailers like this one do not do any more that to lengthen the waiting. The truth is that what is seen has a marvelous face, even the dubbing seems that it is not going to disappoint, and this in the times that they already cover is the whole achievement.

Route: The Illustrious Pixel

Sunday, March 14, 2010

To infinity, and beyond!

From the hand of the artist 3D of orígen Brazilian Raoni Nery comes to us this fabulous illustration of affectionate Buzz Lightyear characterized in the style of the marines of Starcraft, who turned out to be his inspiration for this big work of art. Also we could have seen his versions "untooned" of Mario, Homer, Jessica Rabbit …

Sonic in a car is so exciting as …

That Sonic, a personage who receives his name of being able to run at supersonic speeds, gets into a car that probably will have a lower enough maximum speed it is something that can seem a little contradictory. But good, that does what he wants, that in motorcar it will get tired less. The case is that there are the people who considers to be slightly exciting the idea of seeing this personage in a car, as it is going to do in Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing, and between them the boys of 2P Start, who always extract a smile to me with his vignettes, and who have looked for other things equally of exciting …

Superman flying in economy class

Neo sailing along the network

The child of The Sixth Sense in the Pleased Mansion of Disneyland

- I see dead persons …
- Already, you and the whole world, boy …

Route: 2P Start

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Internet phenomena

With the Internet arrival there are great the changes that have been happening in our everyday life, from communicating us with hundreds of persons across chats and social networks up to gaining access to multimedia content (music, videos, text …) of immediate form. But the Internet power goes moreover there and thanks to the big network we see to be born and to grow in a little time phenomena that turn into sources of million visits, there are the so called "memes".

Going deep a little more into the meaning of the word meme in Internet, this one can understand herself like a creation, already there are videos, photographic assemblies, songs … that thanks to the mouth to mouth become popular and turn into real fashions overnight. Likewise, as soon as the this meme was created it is possible to endure like a virus as it multiplies his diffusion and can change or modify his content thanks to the participation of the users.

Next we will do a brief revision to some of these Internet phenomena that have remained already recorded in the memory of all.


Keyboard Cat (Cat pianist)

At this point it is difficult that nobody knows this orange cat that decked with a blue T-shirt delights insiders and outsiders with a recital of digital keyboard. Although the recording of the performance of the cat was done by his proprietor, a North American humorist, in the 80s, it is not even it does relatively little when Keyboard cat turns into a masses phenomenon. The motive over which the feline jumps to the reputation has origin in an assembly of an Internet user who decides to realize an explosive combination in which it mixes the fall not comical at all of a minúsválido for a few escalators with the performance of the pussy-cat. From this moment Keyboard cat has appeared in hundreds of videos with the by-name of “play him off” putting sound-track to falls, blows, accidents and different physical damages.

Top or Nerae: Gunbuster!

Other of these games difficult of achieving, that they made us move sky and ground to find it and later leave it in the negligence …

For those otakus of the old wave we have one good and bad news: the good one is in 2005 a Gunbuster game left in Japan for the Play 2, the amazing saga of six ovas of science fiction, minusas in mesh and robotos of training, directed by a juvenile Hideaki Anno and produced by the studies Gainax when they did not have a five-peseta coin, it does already añares, in the pre-evangelical epoch.

The bad one is that the game is average a disgust. Or, if you are a real DieBuster it you goes to molar a little but but you go to putear badly to several generations of heirs of Mr. Bandai.

Of action the personages are extracted by few polygons, the caritas and the movements are re-stiff, and never it does honor to the graphic capacities of the dear console. In our case, it does not help very much either all the dialogues to be in japo and continues being out still seen the series one and thousand times like every real fan of the adventures it spread temporary foreigners of Noriko Takaya and his friends.

The game basically develops in way history, means that we are going to have to re-live from the beginning through the adventures of our aunt pilots since it brings in to secondary cadetas Okinawa until it goes on the incredible journey that will take it on returning to the Earth: neither more nor less than 12.000 years later!

As they all will remember – and if they do not remember it they run to obtain the dvd - the first chapter of the series passes in the Earth in a training camp species for niñacas talented. Here we will have to meet the new partners, face the witches who are going to do the impossible life to us, do a little of physical exercise and learn to handle the units of training RX 7 (some you stuff all fat persons and round ones).

The fact is that Noriko dreams of turning into combat pilot to be able to avenge the death of his father, Admiral Yuzo Takaya who was emboscado by a force of strange spatial creatures in his misi

Crazy cereals proposals on games

In Kotaku they have organized a contest so that the readership was putting to the test his dexterity with the Photoshop and his aptitude to design graceful ways of selling cereals. The result has been a fistful of designs of boxes in humor key and with references to diverse video games, next you have some of those who more thank you have done to me.

And you all can see them in Kotaku.

Friday, March 12, 2010

PixGirl, our new pet

It punctures on the image to extend it.

For Terrato courteousness: finally we have a proper pet for the page! His name is PixGirl - his name occurred to me in an originality boasting, although I am opened for suggestions - and it comes to substitute this dinosaur of mauve and yellow color that was accompanying us from the beginning of the times.

If you like the drawing, you will find many other on the page of deviantArt of Terrato.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Video games and ideology: The case of Molleindustria

Since we saw in a previous article, the video games take part of a social, economic context and concrete politician. His declarations depend necessary on the determinants imposed by these variables and, in turn, they have an impact (crescent) in the contexts of production and reception that they them surround. And nevertheless his institutional recognition, his real respect like autonomous "cultural industry", has just been born.

For it it is not strange that the video game keeps on being, to eyes of an important part of the society, any more "game" than “culture“. And here it is where minusvalora, one incurs the simplification of a phenomenon more complex than it seems, and some somewhat extreme attitudes are generated. It is habitual, and for it I will not go deep any more into this question, the disqualification of the contents of the video games in the mass media and in the high instances of the politics of any countries. But the video game, in fact, goes beyond the simple prejudice on the playful experience; sometimes it constitutes a really powerful ideological weapon.

The video games designed to transmit a message of strong ideological content are named persuasive games. And the principal skill of construction of the ideological message, “procedural rhetoric”.

Influencing the user: The “procedural rhetoric”

Since we know the rhetoric it is the art of persuading or, as it establishes in a more sophisticated way the Spanish Royal Academy of the Language, “good Art to say, of giving to the written or spoken language enough efficacy to delight, to persuade or to upset.”. Therefore, an orator will use the verb, the word, to influence on an auditorium in the same way that the writer, with the use of the word, will be able to do the same with his reader.

The concept of “procedural rhetoric” (Bogost, 2007) takes the same premise, but it must be understood as regards the intrinsic nature of the video game; independently of his possible narrative, esthetic character. the video game is a ruled procedures system, that is to say, a program with laws of the game. Therefore, the “procedural rhetoric” is the art of persuading a user from the design of the laws of the game.

It is clear that we can persuade with certain esthetics (for example, modifying the enemies in some video games of First Person Shooter), but as it aims that Bogost the real persuasive potential of the video game finally takes root in how we design the interaction.



The global impact of the procedural rhetoric: Convergence mediática and collective intelligence

Let's imagine for a moment that we have the intention of creating a persuasive video game (we believe in a cause, we are of an ONG.). Previously, our production means were limited (our computer, the friend who could programme or draw.), in the same way that the distribution capacities (the diskette or like much, the CD). The technology has revolutionized completely the aptitude to create and to distribute this type of contents.

Today, the called “convergence mediática” (Jenkins, 2008??) it facilitates the distribution of any speech, he is already accepted or not for the domineering or hegemonic thought. On the other hand the “collective intelligence” (Levy.), that is to say, the Internet aptitude to unite different partial forms of knowledge to generate everything integrated one has allowed the teams creation amateur international with common persuasive targets.



Molleindustria: Critical speech and persuasive video game

According to its own web, “Molleindustria is an Italian team of artists, designers and programmers that it takes as an object to initiate a serious debate on the social and political consequences of the video games. (…) We decide to begin with games in line in order to avoid the channels of general distribution and to overcome our absence of means. (.) we hope to give a starting point for a new generation of developers of critical games.”. We will see next some of his most attractive projects from the optics of the “procedural rhetoric” and the “esthetic rhetoric“:

EVERY DAY THE SAME DREAM

“ A short and existential game on the alienation and the rejection to the work. Or if you prefer it, a musical video game ”. This way explicit and ironic is the comment that Every day the same dream accompanies.

A hyperrealistic mechanics (an interactive mímesis with our world, if it is preferred) gets together with scale esthetics of gray, a wide screen with the only direction and pronounced iconographic repetition (and, in consonance, the soundtrack). We get up of the bed, we are going to work and … we return to the bed. The capitalism led to the vital paroxysm.

I play Flash: Every day the same dream

MCDONALD'S THE VIDEO GAME AND OILIGARCHY

McDonald's The Video Game notable moralist displaces the genre of “pretenders of fiction” of his habitual focus towards a dimension. To direct the famous company of fast food is already, of for himself, the whole intentions declaration. That the clown looks like killer or that the initial screen of the game shows a salver flooded in blood there are esthetic concisions of the critical speech. But undoubtedly the real discursive construction appears in the laws of the game.

We have to direct the multinational from the cultivation of wheat and care of cows up to his sale to the public. It seems easy, but soon we discover that it turns out to be practically impossible to win (or, at least to be supported economically) if it is not across slightly ethical “attitudes”; to adulterate the genes of the wheat or the cows, to press psychologically the workpeople or to realize maniqueas márqueting campaigns are a part of the repertoire available for the player.

I play Flash: McDonald's The Video Game

We find another similar case with Oiligarchy. Here, the management moves to a multinational of the oil where the corruption (with genius staged with the pets career) and the solution to “thorny problems” (murder of African tribes or Arab populations) they will assure the success of the business to politicians. The esthetics assure a clear narrative anchoring; we exploit the oil from Washington, direct the secret operations from Washington and give the orders of extermination of entire tribes, again, from Washington.

I play Flash: Oiligarchy

OPERATION: PEDOPRIEST

The pederasty is an atrocious crime. And more atrocious it proves when it is carried out from confidence positions, from the development of the infantile innocence. In case of Operation: Pedopriest we direct the Vatican and his silence politics before the attitude of true religious. The bar of time, the duration of the game, is “attention mediática”. We use eunuchs who will serve to us to intimidate those parents who, seen the violation of his children, try to communicate to the authorities the small but habitual slip-ups of the priests of the game. All this visionado, clearly, for the God's Eye. The priests pederasts turn out to be represented like kind curved grandpas and our intimidation acts enjoy an expressive grandiloquence; the word of the Gentleman.

I play Flash: Operation: Pedopriest

THE FREE CULTURE GAME

It turns out to be strange to find deeply ideological abstract video games. Part of an essential logic; the representation of the world of reference, that one that the designer tries to criticize, turns out to be more complicated. In this case, the “world of the ideas” finds a good adequacy in this format (although it tends to certain anthropomorphic esthetics).

Here we must direct the ideas to the users located in the area of “free exchange” and prevent this "pacman" called "Market" from consuming them and making them disappear.

I play Flash: The Free Culture Game


To finish.

This article was not trying to be not much less exhaustive but give a vision general practitioner on the phenomenon of the persuasive video game. In any, if the reader feels interest to continue its own investigation, I recommend to him a visit to the web of Ian Bogost as well as to prove the game Raid Gaza!, an interesting criticism (with a devastating final moral incluída) on the conflict Arab - Israeli.


Bibliography

  • Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games. The expressive power of videogames. Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Jenkins, Henry (2008). Convergence Culture: The culture of the convergence of the mass media. Barcelona: Paidós.
  • Lévy, Pierre (2004).Inteligencia collective. Resource in line: http://www.udenar.edu.co/virtual/inteligenciaColectiva.pdf [Consulted on March 2, 2010]
References