What Were the Biggest Disappointments Of 2010?

So one of the best parts about Lost was formulating wild theories about what was going on on the Island. Was it a parallel reality? Unstuck in time? Purgatory? And the creators promised us that, by the end of the series, we'd know.

Well, they were right, but we wish they hadn't told us. The massive hit ABC show totally went off the rails in the last season, perpetrating all of its worst tendencies (New characters nobody cares about! Huge leaps in logic!) and adding one horrible new one.

The whole reason for everything was a magic cave like something out of Land Of The Lost. I can't even begin to express how shoddy the whole wrapup was.

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CES: Fable III Revealed for PC

Microsoft chose CES to unveil the PC edition of Fable III, the successful third entry in Lionhead's Xbox adventure trilogy. There were no specific announcements about Fable III for CES beyond having it in their booth. Microsoft just wanted to reveal the game and reassure PC gamers that Microsoft remains very active with Games for Windows.

Coming later this year -- Microsoft did not give out a firm release date -- Fable III for the PC will feature a fresh visual pass to take advantage of graphics cards and processors that now outstrip the Xbox 360. Certainly the version of Fable III I played today looked sharper than it did on Xbox 360, with crisper textures.

But what matters far more is how it plays. Thought you can customize your controls to your liking, the default settings used today were workable. The potions and spells once attached to the Xbox controller's d-pad have been mapped to the first four function buttons. To select between the three available weapons to heroes -- melee, ranged, magic attack -- you scroll the mouse wheel. Whether or not you launch a light or heavy attack depends on which mouse button to press: left or right. I really enjoyed this simple system as it dovetailed nicely with the streamlined combat, which is something I rather liked about Fable III on the 360.

What did throw me off, though, was movement. The combination of the mouse for "looking" and traditional WASD just felt clunky. During the first battle in Bowerstone, one of the earlier pivotal moments in Fable III that launches the second act, staging off against the king's thugs was a tug-of-war. I had no problems launching area effect lightning magic and finishing off villains with a sword flourish, but aiming? Erg. However, you can always plug in an Xbox 360 controller to play Fable III on the PC.

According to the Microsoft representative showing me Fable III, Lionhead is one of the best "listeners" in the industry. The developer heard many of the impressions and complaints leveled at Fable III (for example, I think that too many choices in Fable III lack consequence), but do not expect any radical gameplay changes in the PC edition. However, there could be some minor alterations or new content, which Microsoft will disclose later in the year.

Fable III for the PC -- and the Xbox 360 -- will also hook up to the newly announced Fable III: Coin Golf, a Windows Mobile game (exclusive to Windows Mobile handsets). In the penny-pushing mobile game, gold earned is transferred to your hero's coffers. If you've played Fable III on the 360, you know how this could be a big help in the final act.

Look for more on Fable III for Windows in the near future on IGN, including where and how it will be sold. Will Microsoft skip the Steam juggernaut and stick just to retail and Games for Windows Marketplace? And be sure to keep checking our CES coverage for the latest out of the world's biggest tech expo in Las Vegas.

IGN.com

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On Being a Video Game Programmer - The Perks and Pitfalls

What is it like to work as a video game programmer? It is considered by many game-playing children to be a dream job. Is it actually as good as it sounds? It certainly is an interesting life. However, as with anything else on this planet, there are both positive and negative sides to working as a video game programmer.

For the last 7 years I have worked as a video game programmer at three development studios: Activision/Treyarch, Visual Concepts and DiscoPixel. I have published titles for the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo consoles. This article is a summary of some of the perks and pitfalls that I have experienced through my work at these companies.

Perk #1 - Make Games!

This one is pretty obvious, but the biggest perk of working at a video game studio is that you will be MAKING games. You will be helping build the next great game that potentially millions of people will play and enjoy. There's an amazing satisfaction that stems from knowing that you helped make something big.

Perk #2 - Play Games!

In addition to testing and improving your current game every day, you'll also be playing games made by other companies. There are few jobs out there where sitting down and playing a newly released console title is considered research. Companies definitely want you to stay on top of the technology and features of new games, and the only way to do this is by playing lots of games. At the companies I've worked at, I've never seen anyone get reprimanded for playing video games during the day.

Perk #3 - Independence

A great aspect of working as a video game programmer is the independence you are given. It is rare that you'll have a manager breathing down your neck or double checking everything you do. To get hired into a development studio you need to already have excellent programming skills, so you are given a lot of freedom to make many decisions yourself. You may be assigned a general task to complete, but how that actually should be done, as well as how long it should take, are often up to you.

Provided that you can get your work done, the companies I have worked for generally seemed to be very willing to let me work on my terms. When I was tired or bored or lazy I could go play a game or relax somewhere without anyone complaining. Happy employees with improved morale make better games.

Perk #4 - Fun Office Environment

Everybody that works at a video game studio has one thing in common: they love games. If they didn't love playing games they would never have been hired to make them. Because of this, the office setting often has fun or quirky things anywhere you look. Many people bring strange new objects to show off or play with during the day.

Most video game studios have lots of games and toys lying around to keep its employees entertained. A few things that I have come across at various studios: Arcades with free coin-op games, foosball tables, ping pong tables, razor scooters, board games, action figures, puzzles, daytime basketball games and giant stuffed animals.

Coming to the office still means you're going to work, but there's no reason why it can't also be fun.

Perk #5 - Free Soda + Snacks

This perk is maybe not important to everyone, but it's nice to know that you won't go hungry working at a video game studio. I've never met a video game company that hasn't offered free soda and snacks as part of the benefits of working there. I suppose being loaded up on caffeine and sugar helps boost productivity. During long days at the office, companies will typically provide free dinner as a thank-you for staying late. One company I worked for served fully catered meals from assorted restaurants every night for many weeks.

Pitfall #1 - Long Work Hours

Making video games is a lot of work. The amount of time needed to make the latest game seems to be growing exponentially. Development teams continue to get bigger and bigger every year, yet somehow the amount of work per person doesn't seem to get any smaller. Games are very complicated. Also, the nature of games is that they must be fun, which is not always so easy to accurately pencil into a schedule. A lot of experimentation is needed, especially with new game concepts.

Before a milestone and especially a few months before a game is released, the work day will be very intense. The work has a way of very quickly piling up. New features and old bugs suck away all of your time. Working long nights or weekends is not uncommon. Fortunately, employees generally care about the games that they are making, and their passion helps energize them through these occasional long shifts.

The stress can get overwhelming, too. At one company I had a giant stack of bug reports waiting for me on my chair when I came into the office. I would work all day, scrambling to fix the bugs as quickly as possible, working on full blast all day and night. I'd go home for a couple hours of sleep, but when I'd return to work there would be a new, even larger stack of bug reports waiting for me.

Typically after a project has shipped there will be a period of downtime where the employees can get a chance to relax and recover. The work load will suddenly significantly reduce. One company gave bonus vacation time after a project shipped, and another put employees "on call" for about a month, in which they only had to come to the office if there was some kind of problem. It's nice to know that your long work hours do not go unnoticed.

Pitfall #2 -Choosing What to Work On

Working on your own video games in your free time is a lot of fun. You get to choose exactly what game and tasks you want to work on, focusing only on the fun stuff. Anything boring can be safely ignored since the only audience is you. Unfortunately, this is not the case for large video game studios. There are many tasks to be completed, some of which are not too glamorous. Fixing console manufacturer standards violations or building data tools is not very exciting, but it still needs to be done by someone in order to ship the final product.

These tasks typically are given to people who are just starting out in the video game industry, perhaps as a rite of passage, but probably just because nobody else wants to do them.

In addition to the possibility of working on less glamorous tasks, you could be assigned a project that you are not fully interested in. Typically the company will let you work projects that interest you, but this is not always possible. A particular project could be falling behind schedule and it needs a few more employees to fix some bugs or add some new features. Or, the project you are interested in already has enough workers.

I think that the passion of the employees working at a video game studio is crucial to the success of that game. If you are not excited about what you're working on, it will show up in the game you're creating. To avoid any misunderstandings or letdowns, before deciding to work at a particular company, it's important to find out what game you will be working on in addition to what tasks you will be assigned.

Pitfall #3 -Pay Not as Good (Maybe?)

I've heard from a few people that the pay working as a video game programmer is not as good as the pay working at more conventional companies. Business database programmers, for example, could be earning more money. This could be true. However, choosing your profession is not just about the pay. You spend a large percentage of your life at your job. Money is not everything. Choosing something that you enjoy is important, too.

I thought the pay at the companies I have worked at was very reasonable. There is also a large potential upside from royalty checks coming from a game that sells well, which has sometimes turned out to be significant. You will definitely not be living as a pauper if you get a programmer job at a video game company.

Conclusion

I hope that this article has been helpful towards learning a little bit about working as a video game programmer. As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to this profession. If what you have read sounds good to you, I hope you find that dream job making the next great bestselling game.

About The Author

Tom Bak is a professional software developer with over ten years of programming experience on diverse projects, including seven years of video game experience with numerous published console game titles. He is currently working on a free charity word puzzle and a free word game.

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Dragon Age II Signature Ed. Character Revealed

Electronic Arts (EA) announced the Signature Edition of Dragon Age II back in October, which will include an extra playable character and missions. But until now we didn't have any details on this mysterious stranger. Today EA revealed the character to be an archer named Sebastian Vael. Sebastian will be starring in "The Exiled Prince," a three-mission storyline that will be downloadable at launch on March 8.

In "The Exiled Prince," Sebastian is out to avenge the murder of his family. He is now the only surviving heir and must turn to violence, even though he was sworn into the priesthood as a child. Beyond this story, Sebastian can also be utilized as a follower throughout Dragon Age II.

As previously announced, the Dragon Age II Signature Edition will also include a code to download the game's soundtrack and exclusive weapons. Gamers who pre-order Dragon Age II before January will receive a free upgrade to the Signature Edition. Miss the pre-order deadline and you can download "The Exiled Prince" for $7 after launch.

Or, you could get the Signature Edition for free just by listening to Game Scoop! today. Game Scoop! is IGN's most popular podcast, delivering all the week's gaming news with wit and wisdom every Friday. We're getting two copies of the Dragon Age Signature Edition for each platform (360, PS3, and PC). Listen to Game Scoop! today to find out how to win yours.

IGN.com

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How Do I Become a Video Game Tester? - Becoming a Video Game Tester

It's possible for you to become a video game tester. You can't just become a video game tester just like that. There are some things you need to know, have and do in order to become a game tester.

What are the things you need to know?

There is a reason why game manufactures assign jobs to interested video game testers. Your responsibility as a video game tester is to discover bugs in any game you are given to test. If you aren't experienced in playing video games, I tell you, you are not qualified for this job. Tell me; are you able to detect bugs in a video game? What is these bug you are talking about? Bugs are errors made why designing video games. As a human being, we have this spirit in us that tells us that this thing should be this way, that way or the other way round. If you are the type that has been playing games since you were a kid, I believe you would be able to detect bugs. Your job as a video game tester is just to detect bugs, write it in a report and your assignment is through, the next step is to submit to the report to the company, and then wait for your pay check. I tell you, detecting bugs is not so easy but you can do it. What you need is a short course on how this job is done and with it, you would conquer.

The short course I am talking about will guide you to successfully pass your first test. If you are able to impress the person that gave you the games to test at first, you've got a contract to continue to test and test games until you don't want to test anymore.

Furthermore, the compensation for testing games is encouraging. Won't you be okay with $40 to $150 per hours times the total number of hours you spend testing a particular game? There is no way you won't be okay with that salary. The video game industry is a multi-billion dollars industry, it even makes more revenue that the film industry.

Salary of a video game tester

The pay is okay compared to other testing jobs. You are paid with regards to the number of hours you spend testing games. The pay ranges from $10 to $150 per hour, which means that the more hours you spend testing video games, the more money you are going to earn.

Where to find a video game testing job

After you are familiar with what video game testing is all about, the next step is to apply for a video game testing job. This is another difficult stage of a video game testing career. It would be easy if you have the connections and know how to make them, but if you don't, it won't be so easy like eating hamburger and coke. All hope is not lost because I am going to offer you a guide on how to find one. How am I going to do that? It's possible to see a video game testing ads on the newspaper, classified sites and game magazines. Find these stuffs, both old and recent ones, and check if you can see any openings. If you see one, use their contact information like email, phone no or website to locate them and enquire if there is any opening for a video game tester.

Think of any game manufacturing company. Let's say, Microsoft Xbox, Sony, Nintendo and the rest of others. They normally post openings for video game testers in their website. I recommend you browse through their websites. Who knows? You might be lucky to find one. Apply for it with sufficient reasons why you are going to make a good testing job. Video game companies accept ages from 15 and above. There's no special degree to get a video game testing job but if you've got one in a video game related field, it will be an advantage. If after trying all these and you are able to get one, I recommend you try out some websites that have the listings for game companies that are hiring. One of them is gametestingground. They have a database of video game companies looking for video game testers with their contact info, how to apply and make sure you get the job.

GameTestingGround is a site that contains step-by-step guides on how you can learn the works of a video game tester and they also have listings of video game testing openings around the States. Visit them today and begin your video game tester career. Check it out at http://gamertestinggroundreview.blogspot.com/

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How To Become a Video Game Tester - A Few Very Powerful Tips

Being a professional video game tester is a dream job. Most gamers would love the chance to be able to play great video games and get paid for it. Unfortunately though, most gamers think that paid video game testing is too far out of reach and will remain a dream forever. Well luckily, it's not a "dream" and anybody can be a paid video game tester with the right amount of experience and guidance.

The following tips should help you get started with a career in professional video game testing.

Tip 1: Don't Wait For Jobs to Find You, Get Out There and Find Them.

Video game tester jobs are not going to fall from the sky, so you can't expect to find them with a few glances at the Sunday newspaper. Therefore, instead of just sitting around and waiting, be proactive and actually chase those high paying testing jobs.

Make a beeline straight toward the game developers and present your case, no matter how poor or excellent it might be. Let them know who you are, what you do (game tester), and why you would make a great addition to their team/project.

It's important to remember that developers aren't going to hire you on the spot; so, don't let rejection get you down. They have lots of video game testers applying for projects and jobs, which means they can literally be as picky as they want to be. With that being said, be as confident as you can and be sure to let them know of all your gaming accomplishments and deeds. They should know about what games you play frequently, what consoles you own, what communities you are apart of, and any websites/blogs you own or help operate. No matter what the gaming accomplishment, big or small, it will help with landing you a job.

Tip 2: Don't Think "Hobby with Pay", Think "Career With Benefits!"

You have to keep in mind that developers pay video game testers as part of a job. They are not paying testers to merely enjoy video games at their own expense. Therefore, when you land a testing job, don't simply play it to have fun; play it like you are earning a paycheck. Does that mean you can't have any fun? No; it simply means you shouldn't make "fun" your top priority while testing video games.

If you take each and every testing job seriously and give it your all, you should have a much more successful game testing career.

Tip 3: Know What To Expect

The biggest part of being a professional video game tester is knowing the golden rule; which is "You are paid to test games, not to play them." There may be a fine line between the two, but any real game tester will tell you that the difference is definitely there.

The subtle difference between testing and playing is, well, work. A game tester will have to do actual work, such as filing reports & filling out questionnaires; as opposed to a regular game player, who will just relax and play the game at a leisurely pace. Admittedly, the work isn't back breaking, but it is work nonetheless.

The questionnaires are the easier part of game testing, as all the video game tester has to do is answer some general questions about the game and give his/her honest opinion. The reports, on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to do. These reports need to be filed on every bug/glitch that the tester comes across, and they have to be remarkably accurate. In each report, the video game tester has to describe what happened, where it happened, and how it happened. With this detailed information in hand, the developers & programmers will then fix the problem and find out why it happened in the first place. Every video game goes through this basic cycle, which is precisely why video game testers are so vital to the gaming industry.

As you can see, there really isn't all that much work involved with video game testing, but that doesn't mean it isn't a serious profession.

Tip 4: Build up a Network of Reliable Contacts.

Networking is a crucial part of professional video game testing. Although it is quite possible to have a prosperous career without a reliable network, having one just makes things easier.

A network of contacts can actually help your career in many different ways. The biggest thing it can do is give you heads up about new job openings and testing assignments that have been announced. Also, some of your contacts can even act as valuable references when applying for testing jobs. And, as if those two things weren't enough, your network can give you the inside scoop about what's going on behind closed doors.

Much like a video game tester job, a reliable network is not going to just jump out at you. Therefore, you will have to build it up all on your own. The best way to do that is by getting to know the industry and the people who work in it. Anyone that spends time around video games (professionally, of course) can be included in your network; game testers, developers, programmers, concept artists, art designers, graphics designers, technical support specialists, audio specialists, etc. Basically, if they know video games and work with video games, you want them in your network.

Tip 5: Don't Give Up. Keep Trying!

The unfortunate fact is that you are not going to land a video game tester job whenever you want one. As a matter of fact, it may be weeks or even months before you land your first testing job. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have what it takes; it just means you have to keep trying & giving it your best. Not many newcomers start off at the top of their game, which means you likely won't either. Hence, just give it time. After a few months and a few jobs, you should be able to get your footing and begin advancing in your career as a professional video game tester.

Do You Think You Are Ready For a Career as a Video Game Tester? Are You Prepared To Make Up To $120 an Hour Testing Video Games? If You Are, Click Here To Find Out How To Get Started With Your Very Own Game Testing Career.

To Get More Information on Video Game Testing & a Free "Quick Start" Game Tester E-book, Visit This Website... www.GameTestingParadise.com

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Children And Video Games

Strict study patterns, high competition in sports, and pressure from friends, parents, and teachers are some issues that can cause children to be under immense stress and mental exhaustion. One of the most popular ways for children to relieve mental stress is video gaming. Children may however get so addicted to video games that it may change their mental state and lifestyle.

Some of the most popular video games played by children are Counter-Strike, Halo, Warcraft, Playstation, Xbox, classics, and other arcade games. The most common video games played by children incorporate the aspects of violence. Violence in video games may have some of the most adverse effects on the mental state of children. Violence leads to the increase in belligerent thoughts, resulting in the probability that a gentle or ambiguous irritation may be interpreted in a hostile manner. Violent video games also result in a general arousal of physical and mental states like heart rate and brain interpretation rates. Children tend to develop different behavioral patterns and tendencies that may reflect the type of games to which they were exposed. They may tend to directly imitate some violent behavior they have recently been exposed to leading to real life physical fights that may cause serious injuries. There have been recent real life killings at schools and public places and the cause of such brutal killing has been concluded as the increased exposure to violent video games. It has been proved that children's exposure to violent video games is potentially more hazardous than the exposure to violent television and movies.

Video games also prove to be beneficial in many ways for children. Video games require a lot of observation and reaction at the same time. Almost all video games are played with hands. In game scenarios call for quick responses from players allowing children to improve hand and eye coordination and observation skills. Most video games require concentration to be successfully mastered. Video games facilitate the improvement of concentration skills. Some video games encompass concepts of education and knowledge. Parents have started allowing children to play video games, which have educational knowledge on different topics. Some games also generate effective decision-making skills and intuitive and imaginative thinking in the minds of children. Video games increase decision-making speeds and help to make right judgments based on previous experiences.

Video Games provides detailed information on Video Games, Video Game Rentals, Video Game Cheats, Online Video Games and more. Video Games is affiliated with Video Poker Software.

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