Homer solves math problem

Activision Blizzard studio King has shared a bizarre "diversity space tool" meant to help its studios design more diverse characters by using... math. In a blog post published on May 12, the studio lauds the tool as "a leap forward for inclusion in gaming" that was created alongside the MIT Game Lab for use in character development. The post uses characters from the Overwatch universe as examples, plotting them on the graph based on elements like gender, body type, physical ability, cognitive ability, sexuality, and more. The tool is apparently meant to be used as a frame of reference for future character development. "Once it establishes a baseline for typical character traits … it can then weigh new character designs against it to measure their diversity," the blog reads. "During this process, the tool can also uncover unconscious bias, such as why certain traits are seen as 'male' vs. 'female,' or why characters from certain ethnic backgrounds are given similar … [Read more...] about Activision Blizzard hopes it can solve diversity problems with math

Apex Legends senior character designer Devan McGuire's recent comments about potentially ending the tradition of introducing a new playable character to the battle royale with each new season has caused a huge stir among the game's fanbase, and many players seem convinced this move would be a terrible idea. At first, I was one of them. The negative knee-jerk reaction to my favorite game reducing how often it gets this type of significant new content was swift and intense. However, after mulling it over, I started to consider all the problems that slowing down character debuts could solve. (The key word here being "could.") With proper implementation, increasing the customary three-month gap between legend debuts might be exactly what this game needs. While McGuire has stated that Apex is more about movement and gunplay than individual characters' abilities, there's no denying that the "new legend every season" method generates serious hype, with fans spending the weeks leading up … [Read more...] about It’s Good That Apex Legends May Not Get A New Legend Every Season

This month, I tried to upgrade my home theater setup with an LG C1 OLED television and an HDMI 2.1 receiver. Tried . In doing so, I discovered what a nightmare HDMI 2.1's definition of "compatibility" is. When HDMI arrived on the scene almost 20 years ago, it seemed like a godsend: Instead of having to plug in five cables to get a 480p image with stereo audio, you could just plug in one cable. It was universal, had a directional configuration to make sure you couldn't plug it in upside down, and it just worked. Two decades later, though, HDMI is alive and well but has somehow become needlessly confusing. Instead of a simple spec with complex cables, we're now saddled with one simple cable and a truly baffling set of specs. Listen ye to my cautionary tale and beware the dark woods of HDMI. What is HDMI 2.1? HDMI 2.1 is the latest version of the High-Definition Multimedia Interface connector first unveiled in 2002. The initial HDMI 2.1 spec represented a big jump forward for the … [Read more...] about HDMI Used To Simplify Our Home Theaters, Now It’s Adding Confusion

Everything was Uncharted. You’ll have seen the jokes, no doubt – the ones that pointed out how many games at E3 2012 seemed to be based on an external interpretation of the Naughty Dog design document. That show brought a host of linear games built on tightly scripted spectacle, sacrificing player agency for the whims of a stubborn author. The complaint was aimed at other developers, at an industry in thrall to the cookie cutter, but it stung Naughty Dog by extension as well. Many of those games have since turned out to be nothing like Uncharted. At December’s PlayStation Experience (PSX) event, filmed live in Vegas and streamed around the world, Naughty Dog suggested Uncharted 4 wasn’t, in the E3 2012 pejorative sense of the term, very Uncharted either. Over the course of a day inside the Santa Monica studio, we are shown the proof of it. Within half an hour, game director Bruce Straley has summed it up perfectly. “There’s no one golden path,” he tells us. “It’s not just as simple as … [Read more...] about Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – the story behind the biggest game of the year

Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded passion project Megalopolis has landed an all-star cast. Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, and Laurence Fishburne have all signed on for the upcoming movie. Fishburne will be reuniting with Coppola on the film for the first time since Apocalypse Now , which was his first major on-screen role. The new casting news comes after Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac reportedly pulled out of the project after being eyed for the lead. The movie, which is more than 20 years in the making, is independently financed and features Coppola’s own script. The ambitious movie has been estimated to cost just under $100 million and the legendary director has been fundraising for the project. The movie’s logline teases: "The fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius, and conflicted love." Another synopsis, per Collider , describes it focusing on … [Read more...] about Adam Driver joins all-star cast of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis