Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Windows Azure CTP extended through April 2010

Great news for developers hoping to spend more time in tinkering with the Windows Azure SDK - the CTP is extended until April 2010 if you're from these locations.

I'll be posting some tutorials on how to develop in Azure especially with its storage services such as blob, table and queue. For the meantime, this is a great opportunity to delve in to the world of cloud computing the Microsoft way as other cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services and SalesForce.com are already on commercial release.
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Friday, January 15, 2010

Windows Azure Pay-Per-Use to Start this February 2010

As of this writing, we only have exactly 15 days to play around with Windows Azure. Beginning February this year, Windows Azure will finally go commercial. You can read the entire article here for the pricing details.

Windows Azure is Microsoft's implementation of cloud computing. One of its notable features is its storage services which are of prime importance with regards to the cloud computing business. If you have time, you can download the Windows Azure SDK and tinker around with it which is one of its great advantage - running a local development fabric on your computer to simulate what is going to happen in the cloud.

If you have Visual Studio 2008 and an OS of Windows Vista, Server 2008 or Windows 7, you can give it a try. It's worth it. It has tutorials on how to create cloud-based applications which practically is very similar to creating web-based applications. Also worth noting would be its interoperability with PHP. It has PHP-support thru FastCGI so you can deploy a site created out of PHP into the cloud.
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Next-Gen Nintendo DS to feature Motion Sensing

According to the report, as translated by GameSpot, Iwata told the paper that the DS successor could be expected to feature a "high level of visual quality," as well as sensors to read a player's movements.


You can read the entire article here.

This is great news for the handheld gaming industry and handheld gamers as well. It is also important to note that the "high level of visual quality" is a huge step forward for Nintendo since they are the last to boost their graphical performance against Sony and Microsoft. Also, this could probably be something brought about by Microsoft's release of Zune HD which was Microsoft's answer to Apple's iPod Touch. In the meantime, iTouch and iPhone are pretty much attracting game developers with their motion sensing. Nintendo's next-gen handheld console with the new motion sensing will probably be the start of serious game development featuring games with motion sensing capabilities in the handheld industry.
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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Next-Gen Console Ideas

While Nintendo has been rumored to be working on an HD version of the Wii and Sony and Microsoft has been looking forward to adding accessories to their current generation consoles, I'm wondering, like you guys, what will we be expecting in the next-generation consoles?

Nintendo's Wii is a sure hall of famer to the short-listed best consoles ever produced. With its unique motion-sensing feature, many non-gamers jumped into console gaming. However, as a sign of aging and due to lack of future technological advances, third party developers tend to sway away from the idea that it is a console for hardcore gamers. Meanwhile, if you're a casual gamer, do you turn into Microsoft XBox 360 or Sony Playstation 3 for gaming? Graphics-wise, you'll probably jump into buying one of these consoles but fun factor? An obvious answer would be "No". That is why both these companies are now targeting the casual audience and creating accessories for them.

Now I'd like to give some ideas on how next-generation consoles are made up of?

Hardware

Storage-wise, I'd say go embrace the Blu-Ray technology. Content-heavy games are always in demand for most gamers. So 25GB of pure gaming content is a necessity for the console. Graphics-wise, I'd say go for the average - way above Wii's hardware, definitely at par with PS3's graphics. Even until now, only very few games were able to maximize PS3's graphics hardware. Controller-wise, now this is something to be treated with utmost confidentiality. Wiimote must have been kept secret for the longest time for us gamers and the gaming media. Chances are, the success of the console may be heavily dependent on the controller and its capabilities. But since Wii did it with necessity, so must the next-gen console be - motion-sensing and vibration. Many of you wouldn't agree to some of the add-ons I would like to have but anyway here are some of it:

Indicators - Since all controllers now are wireless, I think it wouldn't hurt if they have some indicators when then battery is running low or providing some information about the game their playing.

Creative buttons - How many games actually use the "Select" button extensively these days? Only a few right? What if we replace some of the buttons we have been used to seeing with sensible ones.

Multi-touch screen - I think its usage would still be a concern but who knows it's just a suggestion.

Games

There are a lot of genres for games nowadays but the gamers I think are still divided into three: social apps, casual and hardcore gamers. Social apps gamers are those who just plug in their pc, log on to Facebook or any site and play social apps. Imagine if the console you're creating is a social app-friendly and has heavy tie-ups on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Top social apps developers Zynga and Playfish may be involved in the discussion as well. Homebrew games should also be encouraged as well.

Don't you think it's time to boost up campaign for creation of new franchise games for casual and hardcore gamers? I know it is hard to conceptualize games per se and build on it as a franchise but hey third party developers such as Square Enix, EA and Rockstar North. Even Nintendo has to really come up with a new set of franchise games. Mario and Zelda need major revamps, God of War and Halo must be extended more to the casual audience.

Finally, gamers are the most important part of the console business. Interaction through communities is a necessity for its continued success. Continued invention and innovation is the key towards driving that success further.
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