Earlier this month, GameCyte offered a psychological examination of in-game achievements. We spoke to respected researchers from within the field, who helped us explore the reasons why gamers are so drawn to shiny trophies and higher Gamerscores. Those reasons were many, but regardless of your particular reason of choice, the fact is that more and [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A savvy reader over at Joystiq spotted a new announcement from Microsoft this morning: The New Xbox Experience, which will transform your console “through the magic of software,” is nearly upon us. Sneakily included in a new ad in the Xbox 360’s dashboard, which invites gamers to enter Rock Band 2’s “Rock the World” sweepstakes, [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, September 23, 2008
You hear me? It’s goin’ down. We’re going to show that little so-and-so a thing or two. Oh, wait — Microsoft beat us to it, and will be taking Xbox LIVE down personally. For only 24 hours, mind you. In a quick warning email from MS, we’ve been asked to pass along the word that [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Game achievements have come to affect our favorite pastime on many levels. Achievements are being added to a growing list of game genres, and their rise is leading to raging debates on both industry and enthusiast fronts: What in-game objectives ought to merit achievements? How can games best be designed with achievements in mind? What further rewards can be tied to achievements to enhance their effective use in games? How much worth do game achievements truly have? In order to better approach these and other questions, GameCyte consulted a professor of psychology and a game designer, whose research into defining player types and motivations in modern gaming may help us all understand why achievements have become such a massive phenomenon.
Continue reading...Thursday, September 4, 2008
Harmonix and MTV Games have confirmed which songs Rock Band players will be able to export from the original disc into Rock Band 2 as DLC. Until now, the companies have merely promised that we would be able to export “most of” the original disc library, and that much appears to be true; players will [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, July 30, 2008
GameCyte reviews the most explosive geometry-themed game there is, and thoroughly enjoys the mathematical massacre.
Continue reading...Monday, July 28, 2008
The wait(s) are nearly over! Microsoft has confirmed dates for five Xbox Live Arcade titles this morning, including two of the most eagerly anticipated titles that gamers have been waiting patiently for. Or, perhaps posting angrily in forums about. Some of you aren’t quite so patient. Well, to make it up to you, Microsoft is [...]
Continue reading...Friday, July 25, 2008
You might have heard GFW LIVE subscribers have been freed from financial bondage, but did you know that Microsoft is offering that freedom retroactively? Perhaps you knew that the updated GFW service sports a new UI — but have you seen it? While we wait for our own opportunity to interview Microsoft’s Kevin Unangst about the [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, July 22, 2008
This just in: Games for Windows — LIVE is now free. Cross-platform multiplayer? Free. Matchmaking? Free. Voice chat? Free. Friends list? You betcha. And there’s more GFW functionality on the way.
Continue reading...Tuesday, July 22, 2008
We’ve known about Microsoft’s XNA and the Creators Club for a while now: Microsoft previewed the XNA suite of development tools and middleware back in 2006, and the game studio tools were released at the end of 2007. Today, however, at Microsoft’s Gamefest 2008 conference, the company detailed what it is now calling “Xbox Live [...]
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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