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Sunday, January 27, 2008

nintendo wii accessories

3 Must have Nintendo Wii Accessories Reviewed and Explained

Gaming is a multi-pronged world with consoles, accessories and more crowding the market. apart from gaming consoles there have developed over the years a great many gaming accessories that take gaming to new never before explored levels.

With Wii Nintendo brings to the fiercely competitive market a product that has family appeal, is affordable, and encompasses great technology. Nintendo intends with the release of Wii to retain its market presence and bring to its consumers new delights in gaming.

The much awaited Nintendo Wii comes with its own batch of must have accessories:

• The Wii remote is slotted for release in the US on November 19th and is priced at USD 39.99. According to pre-release information the Wii remote has a one-handed remote control design and so is more sensitive to pointing, movements, and user friendly. The remote has wireless functions and works using a short-range Bluetooth radio. One can use a maximum of four controllers at a distance of 5 meters from the Wii sensor bar. The Wii remote is multi functional and allows ambidextrous use, can be used horizontally, or like a steering wheel. According to expert gamers the design is such that experienced players will be able to hold a remote in each hand or a Nunchuk in one and a remote in the other. Technically advanced the Wii remote can sense movement and orientation. The remote can identify linear motion along three axes. The optical sensor can determine the direction. According to experts reviewers at CNET the pointer can get jerky or twitchy. And, the tilt control requires a light and subtle touch. The remote controls cannot be calibrated manually and gamers have to make do with Wii's calibrations.

• The Nunchuk is also slotted for release on Nov 19th and is priced at Us 19.99. This is a device that can be plugged into the Wii remote. It has an analog stick and two buttons and can be used in games like Red Steel and Twilight Princess. Since the nunchuk has motion sensors it permits gamers to perform specific character actions, like a spinning slash attack. According to industry reports this is all set to become the most popular and "must have" accessory.

• The Nintendo Classic Controller will also be released in the US on Nov 19th and is priced at USD 19.99. This is the classic-style expansion controller which can be used with the Wii remote slotted in to play games using a traditional game pad. It is to be used to play existing games, virtual console games, and multiplatform games. It connects to the Wii remote through a cord.
Aimed at gaming being fun the Nintendo Wii will disappoint if graphics and special effects are what are required. The biggest draws are supposed to be the motion-sensing remote , pseudo-reality controls, and internet capabilities. The Wii in its present form will not play CDs or DVDs although this feature is in the offing.

Author Bio
Aaron Brooks is a freelance writer for www.1888freeonlinegames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for Free Software Downloads Site www.1888softwaredownloads.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Free Online Games: Education Spiced Up With Entertainments

Free Online Games: Education Spiced Up With Entertainments


It is true that the word "educational" do not often link it to any degree of enjoyment to people but to young kids, they are as fun and as productive as they could possibly be. Research shows that the developing brain of children in their early stage have active capacity of absorbing almost anything thrown at them. Therefore if you have young kids then bring some twist to your teaching method. Introducing online educational games in your teaching process where they can have both fun and knowledge can be highly rewarding.

Generally educational games are highly underestimated but unfortunately the least visited applications in an entertainment site reside within this educational category. Max out the application of the internet which is considered as the most amazing learning tool where you will find answer to any kind of questions with a few points and clicks. There are plenty of on-line resources for kids especially when it comes to free kid's educational games on varied subjects like math, English, geography etc.

Educational games are have been specifically designed to teach people about a certain subject, grow their concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play. But no wonder why children’s educational computer games have often encountered more negative critics instead of positive critics. Centralized by increasing technological and informational society, education to the growing children will be provided through a mediated combination of learning and enjoyment experience.

Online educational games will help even the teachers to assist students on social aspects such as critical learning, knowledge based communication and effective interpersonal skill that traditional method of teaching could not offer. The recent emergence of educational games spiced up with entertainments are helping the children to take interest and learn fast their subjects as well as their guide that may be their parents at homes or teachers at school to teach them with ease.

The advent of online educational games had brought a new revolution in the world of education providing additional information to the growing children. These computer-aided learning programs are said to be highly effective when designed to address a specific problem or teach a certain skill in any subjects. So whether its letters, numbers or colors that you would like your child to learn and respond to you positively online educational games can be a good option for you to avail. Just try and see.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Gaming Has a Positive Side

Gaming Has a Positive Side

By: Paul Wilson

Gaming is not just about revenue, addiction, gamers, and so on. A game being an expression of technology, developing cultural norms, and a world wide phenomenon that transcends all boundaries, becomes a source of study.

Games are not mere toys, they promote:

  • Information literacy. Players download text files, make notes, they also take "screen shots" of the game and upload it with their comments. A group then examines the suggestions and discussions emerge on strategies as well as required improvements or changes. Knowledge creation and rapid sharing is common to digital spaces. People of all ages and ethnicities from around the world pool their understanding and resources to solve problems.

  • Curiosity and a thirst to find out more. Leading to the development of learning. Players pool thoughts and resources and try and work out how different elements function. Individual skills are sharpened using pooled resources.

  • Development of well developed research skills and the use of a huge mind boggling variety of resources. For games like "Lineage" a player would need to become a member of a 100 or more strong clan and in order to protect his castle or carry out sieges he or she needs to manipulate text, images, research equipment use, draw out maps, manage resources, design strategies, create and maintain treasuries, write down facts, theories, and proposals, as well as design workable models.

  • Social interaction and exchange of ideas and thoughts especially in multiplayer online games.

  • An understanding of world history. A few games are based on civilizations and take players as far back as 4000 BCE leading them through different developmental stages of the world with the creation of cities, temples, libraries, granaries, railroads and more. Many games are map based and re-enact actual events that have taken place in the world.

  • The setting up of virtual learning to explore new game related technologies, new gaming elements, and modes of play with peers. In fact, "Civilization" aficionados created "Give peace a Chance" in which players learn about wining by using non violence.

  • Interpretation of data and lateral thinking. Players spend long hours absorbed in researching information, searching high and low for tips, cheats, and tricks, developing what are known as walkthroughs.

  • Curiosity and sets the wheels of the mind clicking leading to innovations in design, software programming, graphics, strategies, and more.

  • Team work, a sharing of ideas, as well as collective problem solving.

  • Competitiveness a thirst to succeed and win.

In depth research has proven that gaming plays a role in increasing self esteem, and is motivational in many ways. Children who play games perform better at comprehension, spelling, and math.

Gee, Squire, and Stienkuehler, University of Wisconsin-Madison professors, are studying learning through game playing and the advantages of gaming over traditional teaching tools truly believe that gaming has woven within its matrix important learning technologies. Learning in the e-learning world of virtual gaming is hands on, interactive, has no restrictions or boundaries, promotes collaborative working, problem solving, creating a new generation of leaders.

Author Bio
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888Discuss.com/online-games/, the premier REVENUE SHARING discussion forum for Online Games Forum including topics on find free online games, free download games, suggest your new game and more. He also freelances for the premier Free Online Games Site www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com

Monday, January 7, 2008

Internet Gaming Tips for Newbies

Internet Gaming Tips for Newbies

By: Paul Wilson

Internet games use the cyber world technology for playing. Games are extremely popular and constantly evolving.

There are:

  • Games played using e-mail.

  • Games played on a browser window by using a web address.

  • Games played using Internet Relay Chat, Telenet, MUD client, or a Web based forum.

  • Games that are graphic need stand-alone software that permits players to play with or against one another using an Internet connection.

The first game, MUD, was developed in 1978, and the market has burgeoned since then.

To play, one needs:
  • A reliable Internet connection.

  • A personal computer or game console.

  • Selected software required by specific games.

One can play simple board games like scrabble, or bingo, or games like poker, mahjong, and pool. Another popular category is simulation games-these imitate real-life situations and cover aspects like combat, city planning, strategies, as well as flight simulation.

For serious gaming the computer performance must be optimized. This can be done by:
  • Running the disk defragmenter and organizing the computer files. This should ideally be done once a month at least.

  • Correct folder and file errors by using scandisk---use once a week and the computer will give trouble free performance.

  • Clean your hard drives-get rid of Internet files, temporary files, as well as files in the trash/recycle bin. Clear the cache and uninstall programs that are not in everyday use.

  • Update the operating system software. Download any new security patches. Keep video drivers updated.

  • Clear space on the hard drive---store files on a back up system.

  • Clear any spyware you have inherited from websites.

  • Minimize number of programs running-when playing a graphic intensive game if there are too many programs running simultaneously the graphics will become choppy and game will be slow.

  • Delete add on game files-wall papers and other paraphernalia will just clutter the computer.

  • Run an anti-virus program regularly but disable it when you are loading/playing games. Antivirus programs slow down games.

  • Always shut down the computer properly.

The Internet allows gamers to compete with people across oceans, on the other side of the world and anywhere in the universe. Some use PCs while others use consoles. What you use is a personal choice and depends on issues like costs and so on.

Before you buy a game you must:
  • Consider "system requirements" - some games can run on systems that are not exact others need specific hardware.

  • Find out if the game is single player or multi-player. Many games need the Internet-and, the broadband connection is more efficient than the dial-up connection. Many like Xbox Live only work on a broadband connection.

  • Find out if the game can be played using a mouse/keyboard or whether it will need a full-featured joy stick.

Be wise and try a demo before making an actual purchase. Playing a demo benefits the player as well as game developer. Many online games offer free trial periods - beta testing is a great opportunity to find out if the game suits your taste as well as pockets.

Do your research thoroughly-usually there are several games competing for players within a genre. Read game reviews before taking the final step.

Author Bio
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for the premier Computer Article Submission Directory Site www.1888Articles.com/computer-articles-11.html

Sunday, January 6, 2008

How To Cheaply Produce And Market Online Games

How To Cheaply Produce And Market Online Games

By: Michael Colucci

I've talked to many artists and programmers who have said they would like to produce free online games. Many of these individuals are talented, but lack the college degree, connections, or capital necessary to design their own games. In this article I will explain a growing trend, and how you can produce quality online games for a low cost.

The console game industry has continued to increase the price for their products in recent years. Brand new games for the Xbox 360 now cost $60 each. The cost involved with developing games for the Xbox or Playstation is too much for most people. Only well established companies with lots of resources are able to produce games for these consoles. This puts the independent developer in a position where it is difficult to compete.

However, the rise of the internet has made producing free online games much easier. It is now possible for a independent developer to hire both programmers and designers to create an online game. How can this be done? When you hear of outsourcing in the news, you often think of fortune 500 companies. In reality, even small business people can outsource by using the internet. It is possible to find programmers in India, China, or Eastern Europe who can write code for very affordable prices. The same is true for designers.

With a budget of only a few thousand dollars, it is possible for you to produce free online games. You could hire programmers and designers via forums, and once you have designed the game you can cheaply advertise it via the internet. You could use text link or banner advertising. You could upload samples of your game onto P2P networks. Many of these advertising methods are low cost or free of charge. You could also use Adwords to market your product.

The internet makes it possible for small groups to produce quality games and compete with large companies. Before the rise of the internet this was impossible, and most people had to go work for large corporations if they wanted to produce video games.

It is also possible to build a website where you allow people to play the game free of charge. This could allow you to build a gaming community where you can earn income from advertising. There are no limits to the types of free online games you can produce on the internet. The only thing that limits you is your imagination.

Author Bio
Michael Colucci is a technical writer for dustgames.com - A site that offers you to play free online games on a free online arcade game site.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Flash - New Opportunities for Game Designers

Flash - New Opportunities for Game Designers

By: Paul Wilson

Flash is an interactive platform that has a powerful design and animation tool along with a dynamic scripting engine, bitmap rendering, as well as advanced video and audio playback. There are three main aspects: the player, the file format, and the authoring tool/IDE. Flash games can be developed for websites, interactive TV, as well as handheld devices. There is no need to adopt multiple programming languages to build games.

It is the universal tool that permits the development of multimedia driven complex games. Games means fast, furious, efficient with rich graphics.

Flash enables developers to build the most popular games for online gamers. It just needs to support:

  • Rich engaging graphics.
  • Smooth download of files from the net.
  • A playback device that can interpret downloads.
There are three main areas: design, development, and hosting.

The first step is creation of graphics. One must use Fireworks as well as Freehand for this aspect. The tools are compatible and fireworks allows the addition of Java script to images.

The game development will be done in Flash by importing graphics created in Freehand and Fireworks. The graphics are then placed in Director the parent tool of Flash.

The next part, hosting, uses a Web server. Dreamweaver MX is the tool that will create Web pages to host the game.

And, finally Action Script is used to provide enhanced functionality.

Advantages:
  • Integrates almost all features needed for developing a game. It is a great interactive tool.

  • Can be used anywhere does not need additional software or plug-ins.

  • It is Mac friendly.

  • Permits conversion from a full game to web version and vice versa.

  • Low cost and free to distribute. Licenses for decoders MP3 and Sorensen Spark are included.

  • Artists that can use flash easily are in plenty.

  • Flash delivers broadcast quality images over the Internet.

  • Permits embedding of game in power point for use in presentations.

  • Plenty of information as well as guidelines can be accessed as well as understood by all -tutorials, articles, as well as blogs.

  • The size of the game file remains small as the vector graphics and sound files are compressed.

  • Learning Flash language is easy.

  • Permits copy-paste to test components

There are traps one must be wary of and a few cons. Know the system well to maximize its use. There are plenty of tutorials inline that can be used as guides. Flash interface is ideally suited to both designer as well as developer, you can have fun while creating the game.

Flash is simple to use and a game can be developed in a few hours in a packaged form that can run on a PC, Mac, or Linux. One can make use of a browser or run the game as a stand alone.

Author Bio
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com.

Java Online Games

Java Online Games

By: Michael Colucci

After Shockwave, Java is the most popular tool for developing free online games. It is a popular programming language which was developed by James Gosling during the 1990s. It is somewhat related to C++ but is much more simple, and is an object oriented language. Java was developed because C++ was considered to be too complex and when using it there were many errors.

C++ also lacked the ability for distributed programming. Gosling and his colleagues wanted to produce a system that could be used on various platforms, from computer to handheld devices. By 1994 Java begin to be used on the internet. They felt that the internet would become interactive, and this would be the perfect environment to use their programming language. They were right. Java has become one of the most well known platforms in use today on the internet.

Many developers of free online games have quickly realized its potential. While Shockwave has replaced Java as the most popular engine used for online games, Java is still the tool of choice among many developers. Java became very popular when Netscape decided to support the program with their browsers. Most people use Java by the "applets" which are supported by their online browsers.

Yahoo has often been credited with heavily using Java to produce online games. Yahoo games is the portion of their website in which players can play games by themselves or against other players. While most of these games are Java applets, others have to be downloaded onto the computer. Reviews are even featured where users can post their thoughts about the quality of the game. Yahoo is one of the most prominent promoters of free online games. Everything from fantasy sports to card games are available.

Despite this, there are some criticisms of the Java programming language. Shockwave has a 3D engine which is much more powerful, and many developers have chose it rather than Java. Others complain that it is not a very pure object oriented programming language. Those who dislike object oriented languages will not design free online games with Java. Programs written in Java may also run slower than programs written in other languages.

Despite these complaints, Java has become one of the most popular languages used for developing independent games. Advances in this language should allow it to produce games which are much higher in quality and graphical detail. Many popular games can be played at the Java website.

Author Bio
Michael Colucci is a technical writer for dustgames.com - A site that offers you to play free online games on a free online arcade game site.

Gaming Captures the Hearts of Gamers

Gaming Captures the Hearts of Gamers

By: Paul Wilson

Gaming is popular with teenagers, women, children, as well as men. Older people say they play games as it alleviates loneliness and puts them in contact with others. Statistics reveal that 41% of gamers are women and more than 43 % gamers are aged 25-49. And, research predicts that the games market in 2005 will be US$ 29 billion.

Players can choose between stored games and online games. Stored games are played on consoles while online games are played on a computer using either a broadband or dial up Internet connection. The growth in online gaming according to IDC, a research firm, is set to touch 256 million users by 2008. And, that gaming is serious business is conformed by the hosting of international conferences devoted to gaming and the formation of "Casual Games Special Interest Group."

Gaming captures the imagination of the players and uses the senses: sight, sound, as well as touch. Many need the use of intelligence as well as strategy. Complex graphics, colors, high quality virtual realities are all set to grab as well as hold the attention of players. Multi-player gaming takes the interest to the next level -offers challenges as well as new horizons to be conquered.

Games played on the Internet are such that clever participants find ways to push the game beyond its visible limits, one can even device cheats to circumvent problems posed by the game. Games test the skills, intelligence, concentration ability as well as techie know how.

Online gaming architecture has six business aspects: the subscriber; the advertiser; the gaming platform provider; the broadband service provider; the network service provider; and the gaming content provider. It is big business-hardware revenues in 2005 are expected to be: US$ 9.4 billion with software and content revenue touching US$16.9 billion.

However, there is a downside, gaming can become addicted and affect normal life-kids stop studying, housewives neglect their daily routine, and people are tempted to play games even at work. It can lead to suicides, mental imbalance as well as destroy marriages and careers. Gamers become recluses and rarely make social contact outside their gaming groups.

Addiction studies indicate that gaming can result in: obsession, neglect, lying, socially unacceptable behaviors, carpal tunnel syndrome, dry eyes, neglect of personal hygiene, as well as sleep disorders.

Popular gaming sites include: MSN games which has 3.4 million monthly registered users ; Pogo which has 8.6 million monthly registered users; and Yahoo games which has 10.1 million registered monthly users.

Analysts predict that by 2007 online gaming will be at least 285 petabits a month, the revenue generated by online subscriptions for gaming is expected to reach US$ 650 million annually.

The future according to Peter Molyneux, is in developing games that "reward a player for "out of the box" thinking and creativity. Games must encourage players to be interactive and decide the direction the game will take.

Author Bio
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com.