TekTidbits

Now, Gamers Can Experience the Action From a Chair Made for Gaming

Ultimate Game Chair has released the Renegade, a chair equipped with headrest mounted stereo speakers, 12 vibration motors synchronized with gaming action, and under the seat "ground-effect" lighting. 

This chair is released to retail stores today, and retails for about $299 in stores.   

The Renegade is compatible with most gaming systems, including PS III, the Wii, and the Xbox and helps make your gaming experience more like reality.

These would make great Christmas gifts.

Online Game Teaches a Positive Attitude

According to a recent CNET article, a new online game can up your confidence and reduce stress in a mere five minutes of play!

A McGill University research team found that players had a 17% decrease in stress hormones after they played this game, in which you find the smiling face amongst a sea of frowning faces. 

Sounds simple?  Definitely, but it appears to be effective.

You can download a trial version of this new game at www.mindhabits.com

Smile! 

Wii Attracts Women Gamers With the Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit

In a move to attract more women as well as older gamers, Nintendo is launching a Wii Fit Home Fitness game in Japan as of December 1.  This game will feature a gizmo that looks much like bathroom scales called the Wii Balance Board. It will measure your weight and balance, and allow the game to track how you are moving.   

The game will offer 40 different activities, from aerobics to balance, to keep users in tip top shape.  This comes on the heels of Wii's new Brain Age game, designed to keep your brain sharp. 

There is currently no word as to when this will be available in the US, but I can hardly wait.  I need to take off a few too many sales dinners!

[Photo Credit:  CNET]

Behavior Capture Artificial Intelligence - Taking Gaming to the Next Level

Florida-based Trusoft has created the ultimate gaming innovation - "behavior-capture" artificial intelligence that will allow a game to "learn" the playing style of any human in just 30 minutes of game time.  Their new product, Artificial Contender™, was used in the development of Sony's "This is Football".

How does it work?  AC uses a nonsynchronous method of decision making by retrieving knowledge gleaned during game play by the human being modeled.  Knowledge is organized into "zoom" levels, which are sets of specific game representations - and are unique to each game.  An AC agents knowledge about what is happening real time in the game is represented by a set of semantic directed graphs, providing the means for structured hierarchical analysis of game data in decision making.

The possibilities here are endless.  Game companies can hire a celebrity to endorse their product - and end users have the opportunity to play tennis against Andre Agassi, football with Joe Montana as their quarterback - the list goes on.

There are also possibilities outside of gaming. 

An avatar that really acts like you can be created for the latest virtual reality communities popping up all over the web. 

And a personal shopping avatar that really knows your preferences could be created to do what you don't have time to take care of.   

The SDK is readily available and easy to use - and has a low footprint.  On the PS2 platform, it consumes under 1 Mb of memory and less than 20% of the processing power.

Consulting for this company has been fun! 

technorati tags: trusoft, artificial contender, AI, behavior capture AI, artificial intelligence, gaming, game development, Sony
del.icio.us tags: trusoft, artificial contender, AI, behavior capture AI, artificial intelligence, gaming, game development, Sony
icerocket tags: trusoft, artificial contender, AI, behavior capture AI, artificial intelligence, gaming, game development, Sony