The Bailey Mail Computer Software Feed

Grand Theft Auto IV Continues the GTA Trends

Grand Theft Auto IV has not let its makers down, by continuing the series' trend of selling millions of copies in the first week. And also the other trend of reopening the debate over the handling of violent computer games. The Grand Theft Auto series is probably one of the most gratuitously violent games ever released, but Sydney's chief sensor for games, Bill Hastings was quick to point out that the violence is not necessary to proceed in the game, and that Grand Theft Auto players could simply drive around admiring the architecture.

That possibility was suggested because of the realism of the game, which is also part of the reason why the game is rated 18. Hastings' comments were in a Sydney Herald article, which opened with how stores had called up the censors asking what they were to do in the face of so many parents coming into stores to buy Grand Theft Auto IV with their 14 year-old children by their side. They censor's advice was to hold firm, and not to sell if it was suspected the game was being purchased for under-18's.

The realism of Grand Theft Auto, specifically the life-like movements of the characters when they were being shot, blown-up or otherwise killed, was also mentioned in another light, with some gamers saying it was so realistic it was creepy, and others saying they played the game in a different way, focussing on hanging out, and making friends etc.

I've got to admit, I don't play Grand Theft Auto to hang out and make friends, that is what real life is for, playing Grand Theft Auto, well any computer game is my time for letting go and submerging myself in a the world of the game, and in Grand Theft Auto that means carrying out the tasks asked of you, which usually involves violence. Not that I don't enjoy emptying clips of an AK47 or M16, for a guy that is the crack. Things like that, for me, are what I would never do in real life, but it is an adrenaline rush to do it in Grand Theft Auto.

I haven't got my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV yet, but I have had every previous version, and you can bet your bottom dollar I will be getting GTA IV very soon.

Computer Games Curriculum in Scotland

The Scottish government has introduced an official for schools to teach computer games design and development, as well as animation and computer generated film making. The skills are already being taught in Scottish schools but this is the first time an official curriculum on the skills they should learn has been put in place.

The move comes in response to falling numbers of university students enrolling in computer studies courses, which academics say is in response to the rise and fall of the dot com industry.

The Scottish government hopes to educate a generation of adaptable citizens, capable of putting Scotland at the forefront of the knowledge fuelled economies of the future. Scotland's computer game industry already employs 500 people and generates £20million for the economy.

Binge Drinking Educational Game a Bad Idea

The University of West Scotland have developed a computer game, where the player controls a teenager, with the objective of finding his severely intoxicated friends, before the slip into a coma and bring the dreaded game over screen.

The game is due to be rolled out to all schools in the UK. The most surprising thing is the fact that the target age group for the game is 11-15. Education boards have slammed the game, saying it is wrong to inflict children just out of primary school with the idea that their friends could die from drinking too much.

That is the typical attitude with these matters, the fact is that up and down the country there will be 11-15 year olds getting hammered, maybe not many 11 year olds, but definitely a good few 12-15 year olds. I know because I was one of them when I was that age.

On the other hand I don't think the game is a good idea either. It is likely to cause more teenagers to start drinking than it is to stop them; if the game is "cool" then binge drinking will be cool as a result. If not cool then funny, if the game is a laugh then drinking will be a laugh. At the very least it will publicise binge drinking to all 11 year olds up and down the country, it will put it into classrooms in small villages, in front of children who mightn't otherwise have been faced by binge drinking.

Violent Computer Games to Blame for Youth Violence?

The release of Manhunt 2, which is by all accounts a brutal game starring an escaped mental patient and centred on sadistic and violent murders has reopened the debate over the effect violent games have on children. I have decided to put in my tuppence worth. More violent acts, assaults, shootings, murders, and stabbings are carried out by this generation of youths than any generation before. No one can honestly deny that computer games play a part, but it is more to do with the gang and violent culture of American gun-toting home-boy gangsters and gang bangers, portrayed and popularised so well, by today's big rap stars.

I have a license to talk because I myself was one of the infected. A big fan of Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Tupac, two rappers introduced to me by a friend, and whom I hated to begin with, but it grew on me when I started to see some of the movies about the culture and learn some of the lingo. Pretty soon I was getting into trouble with "the law" walking around with a soft-air replica Glock 17 pistol tucked into my waist, as were all my friends (homies). If I was in a position to get a real gun I would no doubt have done so.

And before those who blame the parents say that my mum and dad shouldn't have got me the soft-air gun they didn't, I got it myself by means I won't go into

Luckily my parents moved us from the town to the country and my ways changed before too long as I went back into my happy hardcore and dance music again. But before my days as a "gangsta" I had never been into getting into trouble with the law, and it just shows how easily these influences, when shared with a group of lead to emulation of criminal behaviour and violence.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Hits Jackpot

Cartoon beat-em-up Super Smash Brothers Brawl on Nintendo Wii has been called one of the best computer games of the year so far, and with first day sales of 874,000 copies, and 1st week sales of 1.4 million copies it is also set to be one of the best sellers. It set a record in Japan, becoming the fastest selling Wii game ever with 1 million copies sold in eleven days.

It was always a game destined for stardom, Smash Brothers is an occult title, combine that with a fighting game using the Wii motion sensory controls, meaning to throw a punch in the game you throw a punch in real life, and you're onto a winner.

Mario Kart is the next big Wii release from Nintendo Games, which will be sold with a Wii steering wheel. That will be followed by the Wii Fit, a fitness suite for the Wii, which will include a balance board and will be released May 27.

Nintendo are also hinting at a major title to be released in June, but they are keeping their cards close to their chest; saying only that it will attract both hardcore and casual gamers alike. Some believe it will be the next in the long line of popular Zelda titles. Zelda features a princess in a fantasy land, and has been released in many shapes and forms and on practically every computer system for the last ten years.

New Playstation 3 Release First to Support BD Live

Sony have announced that the next release of their Playstation 3 games console will be the first Blu-ray disc player to support for the new BD Live technology. BD live allows users to connect to the internet and engage in online gaming, social networking, and downloading games and ringtones etc. Even Sony line of products built around the new technology isn't due out till June.

The first titles to take advantage of the new capabilities; Walk Hard, the Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day, both of which will be released April 8, though it is unclear which features of BD live they will support.

The latest Playstation 3 will have a host of other features, like the capability to transfer stored playlists to Sony's handheld Playstation, the PSP (Playstation Portable). In the new release the PSP can also be used as a remote control, allowing you to play music on your PS3 without having to turn on your TV.

You can also now play long (up to 2GB) DivX and .wmv files. There is also a new resume feature, allowing users to resume play of a disc where they left off, even if another disc has been inserted in between uses. Apparently web pages load faster in the new PS3, and you can save files locally or to external storage.

Government Bites Tongue on Violent Computer Games

The BBFC's decision not to classify manhunt 2 by Rockstar games, which effectively banned it from sale in the UK, was overturned last week, when Rockstar took the decision to the Video Appeals Commission. The BBFC, which should supposedly share the aim of the VAC, was decidedly bitter about their ruling being overturned, saying only they would have "no choice" now but to grant the game classification now.

Despite the heated debate there has been in the last few years over whether violence in video games is causing the upsurge in teenage violence, the government bit its tongue on this occasion. A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said:

"The classification of Manhunt 2 is a matter for the BBFC and the Video Appeals Committee," adding that, "It is important to note that there is no conclusive evidence of any link between playing computer games and violent behaviour in real life. Our concern is to make sure that inappropriate material is kept away from children."

Manhunt 2 can now be expected to hit the shelves in June, for the PC, XBOX360, Playstation 2 and Playstation 3. If it is as good as Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series -- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was my favourite -- it will be wicked.

Computer Games in Education: Succesful Start Brings Wider Experiment

Curriculum body Learning and Teaching Scotland have taken the education world by storm, by introducing the Nintendo DS' brain-training software as an instrument of education, perhaps more surprisingly were the results.

The experiment took place in Dundee, St Columba school, where for ten weeks pupils spent the first 20 minutes of the day playing the Nintendo DS' brain-training software. Their behaviour, work-rate and competence in studies were monitored all day throughout the ten weeks, and the results compared with another class being taught normally.

Apparently the pupils using the DS each day showed improved maths results, better behaviour and a greater level of focus on their studies, than the class being taught normally. Derek Robinson of LTS, who was behind the pilot scheme said:

"We need to look at the educational experience of learners who are coming from a digital age, who have a cultural value of technology, of games. It's important that school reflects this as well and that teachers can use this innovatively and effectively to engage those who may be disaffected."

Professor of cognitive neuroscience at Edinburgh University, Robert Logie is less quick to shout miracle:

"I think that they're just games. They can be fun to play, but I think focusing too much on this as a sort of catch-all cure for what people see as a lack of mental ability is misleading."

Logie put the success of the software down to improving the pupil's confidence, or possibly the "practice effect" meaning pupils simply got better at the tasks because they were repeating them regularly. I think he has misunderstood the results; the improved maths results were not on the game, but in the actual maths lessons during the course of the day, after playing the game each morning.

Her Majesty's Inspectors of Education are determined to find out if this was a fluke or something that can become an integral part of British primary school education, and backing LTS to conduct a wider study.

In 16 primary schools across Scotland -- in Aberdeenshire, East Ayrshire, Dundee, and the Western Isles, -- classes will spend 15 to 20 minutes each morning playing the consoles. Other classes will be taught normally, and the two sets of results compared. I for one will be intrigued to see the findings.

Mind Control Computer Games Coming onto the Market

Computer game company Emotiv, who I recently wrote about launching a new EPOC headset that would allow users to control game-play with their mind and emotions, have launched a game to go with the headset.

The new Harry Potter game will still be controlled primarily in the standard way, but the additional mind-control elements are an additional method of controlling extra features. For instance, picking up boulders, and throwing thunderbolts.

The new leaps forward in mind control of computer games aren't really all that new. Apparently software companies have been using them to test their games for a while now, but primarily using them to measure brainwave patterns during play and to make their games as engaging as possible.

The turn toward using them to control games has come from the success of the Nintendo Wii, which did away with the standard controller in favour of a wireless motion detector, that allows users to control the game play by moving the wireless controller in the manner they want their game character to react.

Nintendo Wii excelled because of the suite of tailored made games being release simultaneously with the launch and regularly ever since. Games that have done extremely well are Tennis, where the user actually moves their hand in the batting motion and their player hits the ball as hard or as soft as the player's motion infers.

Another game coming out on all consoles is Mindball, a game in which the winning player will be the one who is most focussed and relaxed in the heat of game-play.

A new era seems to be upon us gamers, and I am excited to see, and use these new technologies.

Doctor Who Video Game in Production

In an earlier article I covered how the current owners of the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider game: Sci Entertainment were axing 25% of their work-force due to falling profits, and also that they had shelved 14 new games to concentrate on their established best sellers. One game that obviously survived the chop is a new Doctor Who video game. Eidos, a company owned by Sci Entertainment today confirmed rumours that a new Doctor Who computer game is in the works.

The new Doctor Who game will no doubt carry the company's hopes that it will be a best-seller and help put the failing company back on track. Doctor Who has its faithful followers and the recent BBC series was quite popular, so the chances are the game will be a good seller, but a game like that will be bought by fans of Doctor Who, and that's it, whereas games like Tomb Raider that are a game before they have been anything else tend to do better.

The game is being released on PC, Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS, the latter two's versions will be aimed at younger players and may not have the qualities necessary to attract followers of Doctor Who from its early days, depending of course on the reviews it receives. Of course Eidos has only just confirmed rumours that the game is in production, it could surprise everyone and be one of the best and most successful video games ever made.

Releasers of Lara Croft Tomb Raider Axe 25 Percent of Workforce

The company now behind the game Lara Croft Tomb Raider: SCi entertainment are axing a quarter of the work-force as the company endures increasing financial set-backs.

Until recently SCi had been a shining light in British computer games development, starting small they had a big hit with Carmageddon. I played their first big hit and I have to say, for being a bit gory for my taste it was bloody good fun -- literally.

The company first jumped onto the radar as a major player when it purchased Eidos, who originally released Tomb Raider. Things were obviously going well at that point, but subsequent expansion attempts did not go well leading up to the current troubles.

Troubles which strangely come on the back of an extremely successful release with the game Kane and Lynch, a shoot-em-up developed by SCi, and starring a medicated psychopath and a Rambo style mercenary. The game sold 1.4million copies around the world over the Christmas period, but SCi bosses said it could perhaps have sold more under better management.

SCi's new Chief Executive said: "It's clear things have to change. We recognise the failure to maximize the franchise opportunities we have had" and announced that the company plans to scrub 14 games currently in the development stages at a write-of cost of £79.6million.

There is talk of a hasty sale, but insiders believe this is not in SCI's best interests, as the company's intellectual property would be going for a fraction of its true value.

The biggest factor in SCi's demise was the failure to recognize the immediate popularity of the next generation of Games Consoles, mainly Playstation 3, but also Nintendo Wii. Their shares took a big tumble after the falling price of Playstsation 2 games forced them to announce a profit warning. Before that the company was on a high, with shares peaking at 635p in October 2005, and Tomb Raider Legend selling far more copies than expected July 2006.

An easy mistake to make I suppose, most new game releases even now are still released on the Playstation 2 as well as Playstation 3, and the new consoles are really expensive to begin with, so you can't blame SCi for thinking more people would stick with PS2 for a while till prices of PS3 dropped a bit. Sony were clever enough to release around Christmas time though and parents today go daft to keep up with the joneses and get their kids the most up to date gadgets.

I have a place in my heart for SCi, as part of my respect for British companies that start small and make it big. I hope the latest batch of drastic changes puts them back where they deserve to be.

Getting Killed in Computer Games Induces Happiness?

I just read an article in the Telegraph about a study carried out by journal Emotion on the responses of Finnish students to actions in computer games. And either the Telegraph has got it mixed up, the people who typed up the results of the study got it mixed up, or the Finnish students were mixed up.

Apparently the report showed that the gamers display Anger and anxiety when they killed their enemies, and happiness when they got killed themselves.

The results came from using electrodes in the skin and facial muscles to detect arousal levels as well as particular emotions. Subjects also took the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to check for any psychotic tendencies. And that presents one other possibility: Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the gamers knew they were being studied and, especially after being checked for psychotic tendencies were afraid to display happiness at killing in case they got carted away in a straight jacket.

I don't know about you, but I've been known to spend a few hours here and there playing computer games, and I was never happy to get killed, depending on how far I had got in the game, and how many times I had been killed on the same level, my emotions on getting killed ranged from frustration, to anger to resilience and sometimes to abjection, but I was never happy to get killed.

Killing enemies never made me anxious or angry either, in fact killing enemies hardly ever made me up nor down, except for if it was at a part of a level I had been stuck on for a while, or I killed them in a particularly cool way -- like with a special move or something.

Correct me if 'm wrong, using the newly installed comments section below this article, but I doubt I am. I know my friends displayed pretty much the same emotions as me anyway. The study was based on the latest bond game (James Bond 007: NightFire) and Monkey Ball II a non-violent game.

An emotion spokesman said this of the results:

"Instead of joy resulting from victory and success, wounding and killing the opponent elicited anxiety, anger, or both, while subjects appeared to respond positively to being killed."

The study also noted that the level of response to killing did not fade over time, which contradicted recent claims, that computer games desensitise kids to violence and increase the chances of them committing violent crimes. The spokesman added "the fact that wounding or killing the opponent elicited negative, not positive, emotional responses might be reassuring."

I would find it reassuring, but I just don't believe the results are correct.

EPOC Headset Will Revolutionise Computer Gaming

In one of the biggest advances in the computer game industry, Emotiv will launch a headset later this year that lets users think or do what they want their game character to do. Currently the headset can read facial expressions, and simple thoughts such as lift or drop.

One of the best things for me is that it can detect emotions from your facial expressions, like happiness after killing a character in the game, "If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous." explained Tan Le, the president of Emotiv.

So far, the headset can read over 30 different emotions, actions and expressions, including: smiling, raising eyebrows, winking, shock and laughter. It can also detect more raw emotions like frustration and excitement. But perhaps the most incredible feature - gamers can command a character to do something simply by thinking about it.

"We've created a brain/computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a video game can accept and control the game dynamically," Ms Le told the BBC. "It doesn't require a large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it - and it doesn't cost tens of thousands of dollars,"

Scientists have been measuring brain-waves in a similar way for almost a century, but experiments to use the measurements, what is called EEG to interact with computers began in the 1970's. Emotiv said their headset is to be the first consumer-oriented EEG games controller.

The EPOC headset, which connects with Sony Playstation, Xbox360 and all other major games consoles, as well as PC, has 16 sensors on the players head, and is wireless ready. It uses a gyroscope to measure the user's movement, technology first mastered by Nintendo in controllers for the Wii console. The EPOC headset is to be released later this year and will cost $299 (£153).