Limited Access: Australia's Censorship Scheme Could Reduce Network Performance by an Average of 30%
July 3, 2009
For more than a year, the online rights group Electronic Frontiers Australia, has been battling their government's "clean feed" initiative, which would force Australian ISP providers to filter Internet content, with the stated aim of protecting children from harmful content and online abuse. Recent confirmation that the initiative will also target web-based games, online gaming sites and possibly virtual worlds as well, has sparked a firestorm in the Australian gaming community.
While gamers have cause to be concerned over the proposed expansion of the filter to cover online games, it's unlikely the scheme will be effective enough to prevent gamers from circumventing the filter. However, a fact sheet posted by EFA at its "No Clean Feed" site illustrates how government's plan could affect access to online games and websites in general, not just those blacklisted by the Australian Media Communications Authority, which will oversee the filter.
The site links to a June 2008 AMCA report which found that filtering technology used in trials of the system ended up reducing network performance, on average, by 30%.
Even in passive mode — with filtering turned off — the mere presence of the products tested reduced network performance by as much as 25%, with most falling in the %5-%10 range.
When filtering was activated, performance, naturally, degraded even further. Two of the six products tested dragged network performance down more than 75%, while three others throttled speeds by almost 30%. Results for the one product praised by the AMCA for imposing little or no performance hit on networks seem dubious, since it appeared to perform better with filtering on than when it was switched off.
Further, the wild swings in performance between passive and active modes suggest that most of the products tested could have a significant impact on network stability. And while the filters did reasonably well at preventing blacklisted traffic from entering the network, the government's report provides no figures for false-positive rates — that is, how much traffic was blocked that shouldn't have been.
A quick glance at the scope of the protocols covered by the test products is chilling. In addition to filtering both encrypted and unencrypted web traffic, four of the six products have the ability to rate limit or completely block instant messages, and five of the six can do the same for peer-to-peer traffic. Although the AMCA only tested web filtering, if such products are deployed, throttling or even censoring IMs and file sharing would be available to the government at the flip of a switch.
Given that the filtering system proposed by the AMCA is compulsory — citizens would have no way to opt out of the network-level blocking — the results of the AMCA's own study are alarming to say the least. They suggest that, censorship aside, access to all web-based content could be dramatically affected by the plan.
My Life as a Game Journalist: Russians and Wizards and Troopers, Oh..Well, You Get the Idea
July 2, 2009
By John Gaudiosi
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – This past week provided an interesting mix of games. On Thursday night I was in San Francisco at the Russian Consulate up in Nob Hill with publisher 1C Company. The very next day I was in Bally’s Las Vegas surrounded by elves and wizards (literally) as Sony Online Entertainment celebrated the 10th Anniversary of EverQuest. While videogames were the central theme of both events, the diversity paints a pretty good picture of both the global scope and diverse breadth of games that are out there.
For the past three years, Russia’s largest game publisher and developer holds a big bash in San Francisco featuring its latest games. I’ve never attended one of these events because it usually conflicted with other activities in the game world. But this year, I checked out the games – especially since I did not see any of them at E3.
The interesting thing about the Russian Consulate is that it’s officially Russian soil the moment you step inside the gate – just like an Embassy. There was strict security inside the huge mansion, including members of the KGB. I’ve never been to Russia, so this was the closest I’ve ever come to that country. The Russian chef made a buffet of various cuisine from Moscow, so the event did give the 100 or so attendees a chance to sample the local food. And there was plenty of Russian vodka and other drinks at the open bar. There were also hired models wearing skin-tight yellow and red 1C body suits and the trademark Russian fur hat. The ambience was really nice and there was plenty of room to maneuver through the game kiosks.
Since the centerpiece of this event were the upcoming games from 1C, the evening kicked off with brief presentations that ran through upcoming titles like Captain Blood, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, . Death to Spies: Moment of Truth, and King’s Bounty: Armored Princess. Traditionally, the Russian gaming market has been PC-centric, but with Microsoft and Sony both selling their next generation consoles in Russia now, 1C is beginning to add more console titles to their release schedule. In addition, they’re partnering with U.S. companies like Aspyr and 505 Publishing to bring more of their games to North America.
Gears of War 3: This Time With Feeling
July 2, 2009
Last night I was watching the latest episdode of Dennis Leary's "Rescue Me," in which a cancer-stricken firefighter who lies unconscious, recovering from a nephrectomy, has an anesthetic song-and-dance dream about the joys of being a vegetable.
It's a great bit, an almost perfect translation of Mel Brooks' "Springtime for Hitler," but for the healthcare set, complete with a chorus of leggy dolls kick-turning in absurd headdresses while the tails-and-coat protagonist sings longingly of becoming "cucumbent."
Part of why the musical number worked so well is that it was completely unexpected. Its colorful parody of Busby Berkley excess and crush-note nod to the vibrant goofiness of the Marx Brothers, Brooks and Woody Allen was a complete departure from the grim, bordering on cynical, post-911 world the show normally inhabits. In short, it all seemed so very much "too Jewish", a total reversal for an Irish dramedy whose humor usually centers on the alcoholism, guilt and blue-collar frustrations of New York City firefighters. (Ok, well we share the guilt part.)
All of this made me realize something I want — I'm an American after all — a musical videogame. I'm not talking about a rhythm masher like Guitar Hero or a karaoke fantasy like Singstar, or even the splendidly storied Parappa the Rappa. And what I definitely do not want is a videogame version of "Grease."
What I want is a third-person shooter like a Resident Evil or Gears of War, where after an intense sequence slaying zombies or cutting down mammoth insects, instead of a silent reunion with my caramel-skinned sidekick or a grunt of satisfaction from my chainsaw-bayonetted squadmates, I want to hit a button and break out inexplicably, joyously and inappropriately into song.
And I want even more. I want the option of doing so right in the middle of a firefight. I want to force my exquisitely rendered allies and foes to drop their murderous ballet of real-time violence and form up into a chorus. I'm tired of hunting for health packs, ammo and whatever other improbably useful detritus designers litter their levels with. Let me call up a rousing minigame rendition of "I'm So Pretty" to recharge my batteries instead.
Yes, it's insane. And that's just the point. These days games come in only two flavors — the deadly serious and the achingly cute. Precious few designers have picked up on the power of juxtaposition and the value of the absurd, the rhythm of counterpoint and the marvel of subverted expectations (and I don't mean getting headshotted behind cover at 100 yards by an unseen enemy).
So, please, Mssrs. Bleszinski, Mikami, Kojima and Levine, give me some Marx Brothers to go with my Peckinpaugh.
Gran Turismo Concept Car for Citroen Wows London Onlookers [Video]
July 1, 2009
There's something both eerie and exhilarating about watching the GTbyCITROEN's low-slung frame wind through the streets of London, crosscut with clips of its virtual ancestor doing likewise in Gran Turismo. Eerie because the product of a collaboration between the French car maker and Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi shouldn't exist; exhilarating because it does.
Even Yamauchi-san seems a bit stunned by the whole thing — "GTbyCITROEN shows how the worlds of virtual and real-life motoring can join together to create a truly innovative partnership. We were delighted that Citroen approached us and gave us the opportunity to combine our creative strengths to build this very special concept car," he said in a press release last year. "To see the car take shape in game and then for real has been a truly unique experience as our work normally stays in the digital world. I just hope I can get behind the wheel of GTbyCITROEN and drive it on a real race track!"
That is, if he can afford it. The GT will cost two million bucks when it goes into production, a fee which would net you about 35,000 copies of the digital original.
WoW in a Browser: Gaikai Shows Off Its Cloud Gaming Platform
July 1, 2009
OnLive's streaming games-on-demand service was the focus of much speculation and doubt at GDC this year. But Gaikai, which is Shiny Studios founder Dave Perry's own take on "cloud" gaming — the use of distributed clusters of servers to deliver next-gen game experiences over the Internet — quietly evaded the harsh glare of skeptics and has now emerged with this impressive tech demo.
Cloud gaming has the potential to transform the game industry, as Perry explained to Edge Online:
In the age of the cloud, when all your documents, email, photos and videos are instantly reachable online, it seems archaic that you still need to install gigabytes of game files on an expensive PC with an even more expensive video card. And even then you can only play from that specific computer.
Although the thought of playing games like Spore without having to deal with decidedly neanderthal DRM schemes is a plus, the real treat is watching Perry run WoW in a browser.
If Gaikai is able to bring that kind of performance to market, it'll be a lot more than just the console makers with something to worry about. Productivity at every office in the world will plummet. Everywhere, that is, except at Blizzard. They'll probably just commission another giant statue of an orc, or maybe it'll be Dave Perry.
No, China Didn't — Ban Gold Farming, That Is
July 1, 2009
Reports of the demise of gold farming in China have been greatly exaggerated.
After Information Week reported on Tuesday that "China Bans Gold Farming," the gaming blogosphere quickly leapt on the story, and the sound of hardcore MMO players rejoicing in chat rooms, forums and in-world was nearly audible.
But while it's true that China's Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Commerce announced a ban on the conversion of virtual currency into real cash, the several-hundred million-dollar gold farming industry, which it's estimated employs hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Rather than targeting the sale of virtual goods and services, or even the trade of in-game currencies, the Chinese ban is aimed at preventing credits used to pay for access to online games (similar to game cards sold for MMOs in this country) from flowing into the Chinese economy.
As Richard Heeks, a professor at the University of Manchester's Centre for Development Informatics, explains on his blog
This is a government restriction on the use of the quasi-Paypal-like currencies (mainly QQ coins) that are used extensively in China to pay for virtual game stuff. As announced they can now only be used to pay for virtual stuff, and you can’t buy real things with them as game companies were allowing to happen, nor can you gamble. This therefore is not about what gold farming clients do: use real money to buy these virtual currencies; it’s the mirror image.
Contrary to rumors, then, the Chinese are far less interested in banning gold-farming in games than they are in heading off black-market economies that use game credits, like QQ coins, as a faux currency. In other words, it's about protecting the Yuan, not World of Warcraft.
[via Inc Gamers]
Grandmaster Flash Digs Crates, DJ Hero
July 1, 2009
While rock legend Jimmy Page may find Guitar Hero "depressing", hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash has not only embraced DJ Hero's plastic turntable and rave-styled "euphoria" mode, he sees it as the key to setting the historical record straight.
For one thing, Flash, the founder of pioneering rap troop The Furious Five, is a geek. He wears that badge proudly, crediting his his penchant for gear hackery and experimentation with driving him to turn a turntable into an instrument.
Flash, who consulted on DJ Hero recently told Game Daily, that "[The developers] started hooking me up at real cool geeks, and because I'm a geek first and foremost before I'm a DJ. I'm a straight up geek and that's how I came up with the turn table science that, you know, every DJ uses." Cutting, for example — rapidly cueing between two decks to chop up the beat — which Flash invented, has become a staple skill among turntablists and beat jugglers.
And though he respects Page's views on genuine versus ersatz guitar wizardry, exposing people to music in non-traditional ways is something much closer to the Master's own experience, likening the re-discovery of classic rock tunes through rhythm games to crate digging for old breaks:
"There are some people that don't know who Jimmy Page is still, so it's people like Grandmaster Flash who goes into the Salvation Army to find old records. Who goes into the momma and pop shops to find old records with them great breaks that Jimmy Page played guitar on? It's us that made them heroes. When I play the White Stripes song, he needs to see what that song does [to the crowd]."
In fact, Flash fully endorses the idea that a rhythm game can let anyone get a feel for the ones and twos, and he sees DJ Hero as an important cultural tool, one that could cultivate a deeper appreciation for the artists who pioneered the booty-shaking science of platter and tonearm:
"This is more than just a game for me. This is just actually taking my science that I invented, and now it's not only making it available to the party goers, but just the people. Chronologically, people who enjoy rock know who did what. People who enjoy jazz know who did what. People that do R&B, know who did what. Classical, who did what. Hip hop, is always 'we don't know' and today's kids don't know, and it's such a mystery to which person started this or where did this come from?"
[via Game Daily]
Pirate Bay Spokesman Tweets Then Talks About Selling Out to Swedish Gaming Company
June 30, 2009
The file-sharing community was stunned this morning with news that The Pirate Bay, the infamous torrent tracker that ranks as one of the top 100 sites on the Internet, has been sold to a Swedish gaming company.
The level of surprise could be easily measured in the tsunami of "WTF" posts on P2P blogs around the world. The enigmatic crew that has run The Pirate Bay since its launch in 2003 are notorious for their indignant and seemingly fearless free copyright crusade, which inspired the formation of Europe's political Pirate Party and pitted the site's founders against the world's most powerful media corporations and lobby groups. In April founders Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svarthom and Carl Lundstrom were found guilty of copyright infringement related to the site. Each were sentenced to a year in prison and were slapped with a $3.5 million fine.
According to Torrent Freak, Global Gaming Factory X has agreed to pay $7.8 million for The Pirate Bay, half of that in cash, the exact amount of the legal fines levied against the site's founders. GGF claims to operate one of the largest networks of Internet cafes and game centers in the world. The company's stock is up %150 on news of the deal.
GGF says it hopes to turn The Pirate Bay into a "legitimate" content distributor. In a press release, CEO Hans Pandeya said that
The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary. Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it. File sharers ´need faster downloads and better quality.
Not exactly music to the P2P community, which still has a vivid collective memory of the fate of Napster, which was shut down in response to an injunction by the Ninth Circuit Court, which ordered the service to prevent copyright infringement on its network. The Napster brand was eventually bought by Roxio, slapped onto the company's for-pay service and then sold to Best Buy in 2008 for $121 million.
While angry cries of "sell out" rivaled the expression of shock and disbelief among former Pirate loyalists (many defiantly maintaining the news is a hoax), Tweets reportedly sent by Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi (aka brokep) suggest otherwise:
Nova Profiles Carnegie Mellon's Genius Game Designer
June 30, 2009
The season premiere of PBS' vaunted science series "Nova" tonight features a profile of Carnegie Mellon computer scientist, Macarthur genius and game designer Louis Von Ahn.
von Ahn, who invented those annoyingly cryptically mutated words you have to first puzzle over and then enter into a text field before submitting just about any form on the Internet — they're called 'captchas', blessed shorthand for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart — is also a game nut.
von Ahn did his Ph.D. dissertation on games, which he famously used as a foil for "human computation," the use of computer technology to rope together the collective brainpower of many human beings. von Ahn's key insight was that games could be used to motivate people into doing useful computation they might otherwise consider tedious or boring but which was beyond the ken of silicon-based life-forms.
His ESP Game, for example, randomly pairs humans into teams and then presents them with an image. Each player enters words that describe the picture until the team scores a match. Rounds are timed and high scores and a bevvy of other game stats are tallied. It's basic but addictive, and in the process each team is actually doing the computationally difficult work of tagging the content of photos. The game produces such good photo tags in fact, that Google licensed the game and uses it to improve its image search engine. Another game Phetch, gets one player to apply short descriptions to an image while the others guess which of a group of images the first player is describing. The results are used to help improve Web accessibility for the visually impaired.
In the segment, von Ahn admits that getting people to do work can be tough. Left to his own devices, he says he'd probably watch TV most of the time. (He's a big fan of JJ Abrams' "Fringe.") He's fascinated, however, with figuring out how to get humans and computers to get along better, and that passion has driven him to use games to get all of us, PCs and people, to work together.
You can check out vonAhn's game site, which hosts the ESP Game, Phetch, and a slew of other "games with a purpose" here.
[via New York Daily News]
The Ultimate Achievement: Games Hit The New York Times' Wedding Pages
June 30, 2009
In early 2001, I was up in Redmond chatting with Seamus Blackley about a little project he and the rest of the "Microsoft Cowboys" (Ed Fries, Kevin Bachus, J Allard, et al.) had whipped up called the Xbox — Microsoft is making a game console? It'll never work. Can you say Windows 98? Anyway, I asked Blackley what he would take as a sign that games had "finally arrived" (that was still in question back then), and he said, "When videogames are reviewed in the New York Times, just like books and movies." Safe to say Blackley has lived to see at least one of his dreams become reality.
Last week, however, The New York Times went Blackley one better and admitted a game designer to one of the most exclusive, highly sought after clubs on the planet (for those who are into that sort of thing, at any rate). On Saturday, Joshua Samuels Atkins, a lead designer for Peter Molyneux's Fable franchise, and his fiancee Amy E. Gilbert got their wedding announcement published by the Gray Lady.
The Times' wedding pages are one of the last public bastions of American aristocracy. Larded with famous ancestors, wealthy parents, a notoriously high Ivy League degree-to-betrothed multiple and, sometimes even impressive personal accomplishments, the Wedding pages offer a treasured peek into the pinnacle of elite culture. As The Times' own columnist David Brooks has noted
The wedding page is a weekly obsession for thousands of Times readers and aspiring Victor Hugos. Unabashedly elitist, secretive (believe me, I've tried to get information out of the page's editors), and therefore totally honest, the "mergers and acquisitions page"—as many of its devotees call it—has always provided an accurate look at an important chunk of the American ruling class. And over the years it has reflected the transformation of the American establishment.
That transformation now includes videogames. Thanks to Mr. Atkins and Miss Mrs. Gilbert, videogames have gained access to that most 1337 of American institutions.
The funny thing is that, in the process, the Wedding pages scored another first. In addition to describing Gilbert's Ph.D. studies in molecular medicine at King's College in London, her mother's program work for Meals on Wheels, Atkins' father's stint as chief executive of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, and a charming anecdote about how the betrothed met cleaning shower stalls in a homeless shelter, the Paper of Record unknowingly confirmed Fable III for Xbox 360:
Mr. Atkins, 34, is the lead game designer for Fable III, a video game series produced by Lionhead Studios in Guildford, England. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Whoops. When Sony president Jack Tretton bemoaned the rampant leaking that plagues the industry at E3 earlier this month, it's almost certain he wasn't targeting nuptial announcements.
But there you have it. Now that games have "finally" arrived, anything's possible.
