games news

• Why there are 'no shortcuts' to making people care about your game's characters

  17-02-2017 23:55
  
  Learn how you can put trust in your players to grow attached with your characters at this year's GDC. ...
  
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• Hitler's 'destructive' wartime phone up for auction

  17-02-2017 23:47 via yahoo.com
  
  Adolf Hitler's personal telephone, which the Fuehrer used to dictate many of his deadly World War II commands, will hit the auction block this weekend, the US house selling it announced.Originally a black Bakelite phone that was later painted crimson and engraved with Hitler's name, the relic was found in the Nazi leader's Berlin bunker in 1945 following the regime's defeat.Auction house Alexander Historical Auctions estimates its worth between $200,000 and $300,000.
  
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• Worldwide Internet Access is Closer Than we Think

  17-02-2017 23:43 via yahoo.com
  
  Google and a scientific research team, X has made another breakthrough in providing internet access to every part of the world.
  
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• US university's invite to Dalai Lama sparks uproar

  17-02-2017 23:40 via yahoo.com
  
  A California university's decision to have the Dalai Lama speak at this year's commencement ceremony has sparked uproar among Chinese students who see the choice as an affront."The Dalai Lama is not simply a religious person, but also a political exile who has long been engaged in splitting the motherland and destroying national unity," the student association said in a statement.
  
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• Amtrak officer charged with killing unarmed man in Chicago

  17-02-2017 23:40 via yahoo.com
  
  CHICAGO (AP) — An Amtrak police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed Minneapolis man outside Chicago's Union Station was ordered held on $250,000 bail Friday.
  
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• Durst of 'The Jinx' HBO series faces more testimony in murder case

  17-02-2017 23:39 via yahoo.com
  
  An old friend of Robert Durst, a real estate icon tied to slayings explored in HBO's series "The Jinx," acknowledged on the witness stand on Friday in Los Angeles that he has been inconsistent in describing what he called Durst's private confession to murder.Nick Chavin, 72, a New York advertising executive who was a longtime friend of Durst, returned to the witness stand a day after testifying Durst told him that he killed mutual friend Susan Berman in 2000.Prosecutors have asserted Durst kille
  
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• Sony Could Follow Nintendo Switch Design, Patent Shows

  17-02-2017 23:37 via yahoo.com
  
  With the Nintendo Switch release date looming, could Sony release put out a PlayStation device similar to the features on the Switch. A patent reportedly suggests so.
  
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• GM Will Build and Test Thousands of Autonomous Bolts Starting in 2018

  17-02-2017 23:32 via yahoo.com
  
  Partnering with San Francisco-based Lyft, GM will start to test an unprecedented number of self-driving Chevy Bolts next year.
  
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• AT&T’s new ‘unlimited’ plan sucks

  17-02-2017 23:29 via yahoo.com
  
  As of this morning, all four major wireless carriers offer data plans described as "unlimited" to all their customers. But while I'm reluctantly willing to describe the Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint plans as unlimited (despite some restrictions), AT&T's plan could better be described as a "22GB data plan but you can't actually use that data to watch pretty videos or do work on your laptop" plan.
  Admittedly, it's not such a catchy description, but it does have the alternative benefit of being
  
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• Besieged Trump lashes out at mainstream media: ‘The enemy of the American People!’

  17-02-2017 23:24 via yahoo.com
  
  “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” he declared from South Florida, where he is staying for the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate.The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!Trump’s latest attack against the press came after Thursday’s feisty marathon press conference, in which the president aired a host of
  
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• The Latest: Trump calls media 'enemy of the American people'

  17-02-2017 23:14 via yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• This Rise Of Trump Is Leading To A Rise In Political Apps

  17-02-2017 23:05 via yahoo.com
  According to recent data, political apps—especially those that help connect constituents to their representatives—have seen a big increase in downloads since the election.
  
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• Climate doubter Pruitt takes EPA reins as Trump targets regulations

  17-02-2017 23:05 via yahoo.com
  
  By Timothy GardnerWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday over the objections of Democrats and environmentalists worried he will gut the agency, as the administration readies executive orders to ease regulation on drillers and miners.The installation of Scott Pruitt, who sued the agency he intends to lead more than a dozen times as Oklahoma attorney general, reinforces expectations on both sides of the po
  
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• Amtrak police officer charged with murder in Chicago shooting

  17-02-2017 23:01 via yahoo.com
  
  By Timothy MclaughlinCHICAGO (Reuters) - An Amtrak police officer has been charged with murder after fatally shooting an unarmed man who had been spotted smoking marijuana outside Chicago's Union Station train terminal, a police statement and court documents showed on Friday.Laroyce Tankson, 31, shot Chad Robertson, 25, on Feb. 8 at around 8:40 p.m. local time, the police statement said.Robertson was transported to a hospital in serious condition and died on Wednesday.
  
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• U.S. infrastructure legislation back on Congress' radar

  17-02-2017 22:59 via yahoo.com
  
  President Donald Trump's pledge to bring massive investments in U.S. infrastructure projects showed new signs of life on Friday after lying dormant for weeks, as leading Republican lawmakers said proposals from the administration could be in the offing.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, told reporters he expects to receive "some kind of recommendation on an infrastructure bill, a subject that we frequently handle on a bipartisan basis," but gave no details or timing.Some Repub
  
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• What can game devs do to revitalize the roleplaying game genre?

  17-02-2017 22:51
  
  Roleplaying games have come a long way in the past decade alone, but some developers believe that the genre needs to keep innovating if it's to reach its full potential....
  
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• Half-Life 2, Portal Writer No Longer at Valve

  17-02-2017 22:51
  After working on a number of games at Valve, writer Erik Wolpaw has left the studio.
  News of Wolpaw's departure comes by way of former Valve scriptwriter Marc Laidlaw, who posted on Twitter: "Wolpaw left Valve so I can now insult him freely without damaging the company's reputation. He's a comic genius and a true original."
  Shortly thereafter, Wolpaw took to Twitter to confirm that Jay Pinkerton, who co-wrote Portal 2 with Wolpaw, hasn't left the company, saying, "Pinkerton's stil
  
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• Lincoln is still No. 1 but Obama debuts high on historians’ 2017 presidential ranking list

  17-02-2017 22:45 via yahoo.com
  
  Recommended:Know your US presidents?Mr. Obama did best in the “pursued equal justice for all,” category with an overall average of 83.2, placing him third behind Abraham Lincoln (first) and Lyndon Johnson (second).
  
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• Pence arrives in Germany for meetings with world leaders

  17-02-2017 22:43 via yahoo.com
  
  MUNICH (AP) — Making his debut on the world stage, Vice President Mike Pence is looking to reassure skeptical allies in Europe about U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, who has made his "America First" mantra a centerpiece of his new administration.
  
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• Bill Gates Says Job Stealing Robots Should Get Taxed Like Humans

  17-02-2017 22:19 via yahoo.com
  
  Billionaire Bill Gates says robots should be taxed like humans.
  
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• FIFA 17 Ultimate Team winter player upgrades just went live, and these are the best ten

  17-02-2017 22:06 via gamesradar.com
  
  EA has sought to breathe fresh life into FIFA 17’s Ultimate Team mode with winter upgrades to this season’s best performers – and, to that end, a whole batch of new Premier League cards went live at 6pm this evening
  
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• AP Exclusive: If California dam failed, people likely stuck

  17-02-2017 22:05 via yahoo.com
  
  Communities immediately downstream of California's Lake Oroville dam would not receive adequate warning or time for evacuations if the 770-foot-tall dam itself — rather than its spillways — were to abruptly fail, the state water agency that operates the nation's tallest dam repeatedly advised federal regulators a half-decade ago.
  
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• House committee probes Russia payment to Flynn

  17-02-2017 22:01 via yahoo.com
  
  Citing a Yahoo News interview with retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn last July, a House committee has opened an investigation into whether President Trump’s recently resigned national security adviser received an improper payment from the Russian government for a trip to Moscow in December 2015.
  
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• Don't Miss: Teaching players without using words

  17-02-2017 21:45
  
  In this 2016 blog post, Ubisoft technical level designer Max Pears explores different methods of explaining game mechanics to players without writing explicit, wordy instructions into a game....
  
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• Chill raccoon hitches a ride on a garbage truck, steals some hearts, remains unfazed

  17-02-2017 21:37 via yahoo.com
  
  The level of chill this raccoon has reached is previously uncharted territory, honestly. Politico reporter Helena Evich spotted the tiny trash hitchhiker Friday, clinging to the back of a garbage truck and apparently on its way to Rosslyn, Virginia. SEE ALSO: Tiny kitten livestream from tiny house is what you need right meow This raccoon is having a rough morning-just wanted some trash & ended up in Rosslyn!>And yes I alerted the driver pic.twitter.com/L3y3JFBpFx — Helena
  
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• Blair urges pro-EU Britons to 'rise up' against Brexit

  17-02-2017 21:37 via yahoo.com
  
  Former British prime minister Tony Blair on Friday urged Britons who support the European Union to "rise up" and persuade Brexit voters to change their mind about leaving the bloc in a high-profile speech."This is not the time for retreat, indifference or despair but the time to rise up in defence of what we believe," he said at an event organised by Open Britain, a campaign group lobbying for Britain to retain close ties with the EU."We have to build a movement that will stretch across party li
  
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• Longtime Valve writer Erik Wolpaw leaves company

  17-02-2017 21:33
  
  Erik Wolpaw, best known as one of the more prominent writers at Half-Life and Steam house Valve Software, is leaving the company....
  
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• Moto G4 Play Just Dropped to $99

  17-02-2017 21:28 via yahoo.com
  
  The Moto G4 Play is the least-expensive model in Motorola's well-respected G line of smartphones.The Moto G4 doesn't offer the latest smartphone specs - you won't find built-in NFC or a fingerprint sensor - but it does provide a good value.
  
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• The Most Beautiful Chart In the World, According To Bill Gates

  17-02-2017 21:26 via yahoo.com
  
  The Microsoft founder tweeted a chart showing a more than 50 percent reduction in childhood deaths since 1990.
  
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• SpaceX's historic rocket launch Saturday could end in another dramatic landing

  17-02-2017 21:15 via yahoo.com
  
  On Saturday, SpaceX is expected to make history by launching its first Falcon 9 rocket from historic launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.  The pad was originally used during NASA's Apollo era in the 1960s but was revamped to serve the space shuttle in the 1970s. SEE ALSO: SpaceX did something amazing over the weekend"Some of humanity's greatest adventures in orbit began at Launch Complex 39A," NASA said in a statement. "Astronauts lifted off from this pad
  
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• Obama-era scandals we can't believe were once considered such a big deal

  17-02-2017 21:11 via yahoo.com
  
  Some might say the Donald Trump administration is off to a turbulent start, with everything from his Cabinet nominations to his alleged ties to Russia causing controversy. Here's a look back at some Obama controversies that don't seem like such a big deal these days.
  
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• Ukraine rebels accuse OSCE of aiding Kiev forces

  17-02-2017 21:09 via yahoo.com
  
  Ukraine's Russian-backed insurgents on Friday accused a top official in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) of aiding Kiev's forces in the 34-month war.A separatist leader made the accusation at a joint news conference in the rebel-controlled city of Lugansk with Alexander Hug -- the principal deputy chief of the group's special monitoring mission to Ukraine --- who denied the claim.The OSCE is a Cold-war era body drawn up to ensure peace in Europe.
  
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• Sweet Jiminy Christmas, the Xbox One is down to $200

  17-02-2017 21:08 via gamesradar.com
  
  All hail tax return season and President's Day weekend
  
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• U.S. judge says arrested Mexican 'DREAM-er' should get bail hearing

  17-02-2017 21:00 via yahoo.com
  
  A federal judge in Seattle on Friday ruled that a Mexican immigrant with a work permit who is being held by immigration officials must be allowed to argue for his release from U.S. custody while court proceedings over his arrest move forward.Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, who received permission to work in the United States under President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, was arrested last week at his father's home near Seattle by Immigration and Customs Enforcem
  
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• Germany bans internet-connected 'spying' doll Cayla

  17-02-2017 20:54 via yahoo.com
  
  German regulators have banned an internet-connected doll called "My Friend Cayla" that can chat with children, warning Friday that it was a de facto "spying device".Parents were urged to disable the interactive toy by the Federal Network Agency which enforces bans on surveillance devices."Items that conceal cameras or microphones and that are capable of transmitting a signal, and therefore can transmit data without detection, compromise people's privacy," said the agency's head, Jochen Homann.
  
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• Pakistan cracks down on militants after IS shrine attack

  17-02-2017 20:53 via yahoo.com
  
  ISLAMABAD (AP) — A brutal attack on a beloved Sufi shrine that killed 88 people raised fears that the Islamic State group has become emboldened in Pakistan, aided by an army of homegrown militants benefiting from hideouts in neighboring Afghanistan, analysts and officials said Friday.
  
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• Brewery gives employees 'puppy parental leave' and everyone else major job envy

  17-02-2017 20:50 via yahoo.com
  
  How does spending an entire week playing with a puppyand getting paid for it sound to you? Too good to be true? We're here to inform you that there is a company which allows their employees to do that. Yes, thatexists. Companies all over the world have stepped up their game to ensure a high quality of life for their employees by offering all sorts of competitive perks and benefits. But we have found the one company that has every other place beat, hands down, no question. BrewDog, a brewery base
  
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• Deathwing Battles Gruul in World of Warcraft Art Book

  17-02-2017 20:49
  World of Warcraft: Chronicle, Volume 2 hits on March 14, but until then you can feast your eyes on this exclusive preview inside the hardcover collection from Blizzard Entertainment and Dark Horse Books.
  Just like the first volume, it features full-page artwork of iconic WoW moments, characters and creatures, plus a written account of what happened during large battles and turning points in Azeroth history. Take a look:
  Also, Dark Horse has made these pages available to download, DRM free, until
  
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• Russian spy ship 17 miles from Norfolk naval base

  17-02-2017 20:43 via yahoo.com
  
  Lucas Tomlinson provides latest update
  
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• Watch this in-depth look at Mass Effect: Andromeda's combat and learn all about space-punching aliens

  17-02-2017 20:36 via gamesradar.com
  
  Combat has never been the Mass Effect series' strong suit
  
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• Watch an in-depth look at Mass Effect: Andromeda's combat and see everything you'll want to know

  17-02-2017 20:36 via gamesradar.com
  
  Combat has never been the Mass Effect series' strong suit
  
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• Pakistan 'kills 100 militants' after blast in Sufi shrine

  17-02-2017 20:36 via yahoo.com
  
  Pakistani forces said Friday they had killed more than 100 "terrorists" after 88 people died in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a Sufi shrine which stoked fears of a fresh surge in militancy.Prime minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief of staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa Friday visited the town of Sehwan in Sindh province where the latest attack took place.Sharif vowed to eliminate militants "with the full force of the state".
  
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• Get an in-depth look at Mass Effect: Andromeda's combat and see everything you'll want to know

  17-02-2017 20:36 via gamesradar.com
  
  Combat has never been the Mass Effect series' strong suit
  
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• There’s An Eighth Continent That’s Been Hiding From Us This Whole Time

  17-02-2017 20:35 via yahoo.com
  
  And it was right under our noses.
  
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• Paradox set to eye 'interesting acquisitions' following strong 4th quarter

  17-02-2017 20:31
  
  The publisher closed out the fourth quarter of its fiscal year with steady increases in both revenue and operating profit, leaving the company in a position to take on new investments and acquisitions. ...
  
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• Best Buy is running a killer President’s Day sale on the iPhone 7/7 Plus, HDTVs and more

  17-02-2017 20:24 via yahoo.com
  
  The holiday season might be over, but that doesn't mean we have to wait until the end of the year for more great sales. On Friday at midnight, Best Buy kicked off its annual President's Day sale, offering up dozens of deals on smartphones, TVs, computers, cameras, appliances and more. The sale lasts all weekend and the retailer says that quantities are limited, so don't delay if you see an interesting deal.Rather than list all of the deals available in the sale, we've rounded up the very be
  
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• Pro-Trump town in Colorado warily eyes new president

  17-02-2017 20:21 via yahoo.com
  
  A 90-minute drive from Denver lies Eaton, one of the safest towns in Colorado and one of the few in the state that overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump.Here, residents of the rural community surrounded by farmland and cattle ranches see in Trump a candidate that will deliver on his promise to bring jobs back to America and -- as he repeatedly said on the campaign trail -- "drain the swamp" in Washington.One month into his presidency, many of the town's 5,000 or so residents, 71 percent of whom
  
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• Lithuania probes fake German troops rape claim

  17-02-2017 20:16 via yahoo.com
  
  Lithuanian prosecutors said Friday they had opened a probe into who was responsible for spreading false allegations of a rape committed by German troops freshly deployed to the Baltic NATO state.Police have described as fake an email sent this week to the speaker of parliament and national police claiming that German-speaking men in uniforms raped an underage girl near a barracks in central Lithuania.Several hundred German soldiers arrived this month as part of a multinational NATO battalion in
  
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• China’s ‘Left Behind’ Children

  17-02-2017 20:16 via yahoo.com
  
  Millions of Chinese children are being raised by their grandparents in rural China as their parents left to find work in urban areas.While there are no official figures, a recent government report puts the number of “left behind” children at nearly 10 million, though child welfare experts estimate the number to be closer to 60 million.In the case of the Luo family grandparents, who are elderly and poor, they do what they can to meet the basic needs of four children between the ages o
  
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• Gen. Keane: Russian using spy ship as a distraction

  17-02-2017 20:08 via yahoo.com
  
  Retired four star general, chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and Fox News military analyst explains
  
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