Monthly Archives: March 2020

Gaming Labs International - Gaming Labs International GLI "); } /*if ($(window).width() '); }*/ }, (jQuery)); Ask GLI

Services Revolutionizing Global Gaming Certification

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) provides the gaming industrys leading testing and certification services. And we are so much more than just testing, with an unsurpassed range of services and tools for regulators, suppliers and operators.

One of our most popular requests is for pre-compliance testing services. These services involve working collaboratively.

GLI provides independent testing and inspection of electronic gaming products.

Precise forensics protect the operator, regulator, and the player.

RG initiatives are essential to maintaining public trust and is the cornerstone to the continued success of the gaming industry.

Helping regulators keep as up-to-date as possible in new technologies.

Pioneers in interactive gaming testing and consultancy.

Your global resource for complete and thorough business solutions.

Identify threats and reduce risk before it's too late.

Services for existing and emerging jurisdictions worldwide.

Helping you identify opportunities for growth and enhanced quality.

Events Meet us live in person

June 9, 2020 - June 10, 2020

GLI University Improve Your Event-Wagering IQ Seminar

July 17, 2020 - July 20, 2020

iGB Live 2020

July 27, 2020 - July 29, 2020

Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Conference and Trade Show

July 28, 2020 - July 30, 2020

G2E Asia 2020

July 30, 2020 - August 1, 2020

Phil-Asian Gaming Expo 2020

The Gun Lake Tribal Gaming Commission has had the privilege of working with GLI since the beginning of our gaming operations. We are proud of the relationship that has flourished through the years with their professional team. Their highly trained experts continue to provide world class services to our organization. We look forward to working with them for many years to come.

MELINDA COFFIN Executive Director, Gun Lake Tribal Gaming Commission

GLI has always been responsive to our needs as a Tribal Gaming Regulatory Authority. By consistently providing the gaming industry and industry regulators the technical expertise and game certification required to keep pace with todays ever-changing casino game offerings, GLI has established themselves as the worlds leading independent gaming testing laboratory. We are confident of the integrity of all games offered for patron play in our jurisdiction, as operating in accordance with manufacturers technical specifications, once they are tested and certified by Gaming Laboratories International.

TIMOTHY MCLAUGHLIN Gaming Commissioner, Graton Gaming Commission

In online business, working closely with your test partners, and their ability to move quickly in lock step with you, is critical in the businesss ability to innovate, trial, improve and update. For Gamblit, GLI has proven time and time again to be an exemplary partner. We couldnt be more pleased with their service and responsiveness. Their people and systems allow us to push content and updates at record speed.

ERIC MEYERHOFER CEO, Gamblit Gaming

The Gaming Division of the PR Tourism Company has contracted GLIs services for the past 16 years without interruption. As regulators, we have obtained an excellent and professional service that has allowed us to be always ahead with everything related to new technologies, programs and modalities of emerging games. As part of our recent regulatory efforts, we are in the final stages of testing the use of the IRIS Online program in a modality that will allow us to achieve a better measurement of our communications systems and certification of gaming machines in our authorized casinos. Additionally, we are working together with GLI on Legislative projects regarding Online Gaming and Sports Betting, a measure in which we can regulate this activity and achieve growth in the sector. We thank James Maida and all his team for the support and consulting during all these years."

Jaime A. Irizarry Delgado Gaming Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Your details have been received! Please click here to access your offer. We will also send a copy of offer to your inbox.

Read the original post:

Gaming Labs International - Gaming Labs International

With Animal Crossing: New Horizons exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, here's a whistlestop tour of five other options across console, computer, and mobile: Garden Paws, My Time at Porta, Mutazione, Seabeard and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

The adorable, laid-back Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been getting a fair bit of attention since its March 20 release on Nintendo Switch.

Yet console availability (and attainability) is not always in line with aspiration so here are some alternatives on mobile, console and computer.

Garden Paws

Instead of a human mingling with an animal population, you're a cat, fox, bunny, dog even a cute, kindly dragon. There's still a load of fishing, digging, crafting, trading and customisation to make your rural town a happy place to live. Currently playable in its Early Access form on PC (through Steam) and confirmed for Switch at some point in future.

Seabeard

It's got the daily dip-in, dip-out rhythm of Animal Crossing coupled with a more adventurous spirit, with quests, seafaring, monster hunting and building up a functioning retail economy. Free with optional payments for iOS and Android.

My Time At Portia

Another town sim which, upon its debut, was likened not only to Animal Crossing but also community farming game Stardew Valley and its inspiration, Harvest Moon. It's all about building up a town in (an extremely pleasant) post-apocalypse. There's no multiplayer mode so if that's not something you want to concern yourself with, then Portia could be ideal. On PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and Windows PC.

Mutazione

Set on an island, much like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but one that's more than 100 years into recovering from a meteor strike. This one's about looking after your grandparent, helping mutant islanders with their neighbourly dramas, and growing plants to help with their ailments. For PlayStation 4, Apple Arcade for iOS, PC, and Mac.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

It's got the general play style and characters of New Horizons and its predecessors, within a campsite setting, visits to and from friends, and an upfront cost of zero (though Pocket Camp has been criticised for its reliance upon microtransactions). For iOS and Android. AFP Relaxnews

The rest is here:

Five games like Animal Crossing to try on other devices - The Star Online

A game like the online shooter Destiny 2 offers hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of play, exploration and study. Set in an intricately designed sci-fi world, it tasks players with taking out wave after wave of alien enemies. It also rewards them for understanding a complex character progression system that involves completing ever-more-difficult goals and objectives, sometimes multiple times, in exchange for rarer and more powerful weapons and armor. You might not actually accomplish anything after a day spent checking off quests and gathering virtual materials, but youll feel like you did.

Game critics have noted the worklike nature of many modern games for years, not always favorably. But in a world of stay-at-home mass unemployment, even the illusion of accomplishment is probably better than none at all.

Indeed, the particular shut-in nature of our current crisis makes video games unusually relevant in a different way: What video games do better than any other medium is simulate places.

Open-world games like Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption II or The Witcher 3 are built around giant, explorable spaces, sometimes the virtual equivalent of hundreds of square miles, with elaborate geography and shifting weather. They can take days or weeks to fully explore and at their best can be unexpectedly beautiful, offering the opportunity to encounter animated versions of sun-dappled vistas or foggy mountain peaks, to wander through crowded city streets or stroll past others on well-trod footpaths. Games can give us someplace else to go.

That makes games useful in another way. Some of us are shut in alone. But especially in cities, many are now effectively trapped inside modest apartments with family or roommates, and little private space. Games offer a form of personal escape, a way to simulate being elsewhere from the confines of your couch.

And for those who are alone, games can also serve as social spaces, virtual fields of play for cooperative adventures or competitive contests. Many of todays most popular games are online experiences that allow players to engage with friends as well as strangers, to forge digital versions of the same sort of bonds with teammates that can develop in the real world.

If youre new at this, the cost of entry is fairly low: There are thousands of high-quality games available for phones, and many more available to download directly to your computer.

Excerpt from:

Its a Perfect Time to Play Video Games. And You Shouldnt Feel Bad About It. - The New York Times

Sorry Not Sorry!: Each player rolls the dice to determine how many steps closer Trump and his staff will move toward one another, behind the press-conference microphone. The winner gets to yell out, I dont take responsibility! or Thats a nasty question! and revoke a reporters press credentials.

Medical Risk: Players survey physicians and researchers across the globe to assess various medical risks and best practices for flattening the curve. Then they ignore all logical advice in an attempt to destroy their home countries as quickly as possible.

All-Inclusive Battleship: Every ship is a cruise ship with an open-air buffet and only four serving spoons.

Hungry Hungry Hoarders: Players attempt to grab as much toilet paper as possible, in sixty-second intervals. Then the losers judge the winners for their callous selfishness, while buying up all the pasta.

Delivery Monopoly: Players compete to see who can set up the most Amazon warehouses in a neighborhood. Chance cards tell you whether your dried garbanzo beans and low-sodium Progresso soups are still in stock.

Stock-Market Jenga: Players carefully tap various industries out of the economic chain, hoping they dont remove a link that sends the Dow crashing down.

Chutes and Ladders, Spring-Break Edition: A team game. One team diligently climbs the flattened-curve ladder. The other insists on getting drunk and engaging in sloppy Fort Lauderdale orgies, determined to slide everyone back into crisis mode.

But I Really Need This Operation: This game is actually impossible to play because, in addition to the regular missing organs, there are now no masks, gloves, or hospital rooms left.

The Game of Quarantined Life: Landmark events include getting an (online) degree, cancelling your wedding, and saying fuck these streaming yoga classes before eating a dozen Toll House cookies, while watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Solitaire: No adjustments required.

Excerpt from:

Board Games Adapted for the Pandemic - The New Yorker

2020 is a year in which we could all use an escape. Theres so much going on in the world, and so much of it is overwhelming, that even an hour away from the doom and gloom can be a welcome respite. Its a time when video games can seem more vital than ever.

Thankfully, 2020 is also a year full of great interactive experiences. That could mean the return of beloved franchises like Animal Crossing on the Switch or Half-Life in virtual reality, or inventive indie titles like Murder by Numbers or the final act of Kentucky Route Zero. Even Call of Duty has seen a resurgence, thanks to the free and accessible Warzone spinoff.

As with last year, were going to be keeping tabs on all of the best games throughout the year. If we play something and recommend it, youll find it right here on this landing page, which will be updated regularly, so be sure to check back. And if you see the little best games of 2020 badge on a review, know that its a title we truly love.

See the article here:

The best games of 2020: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC - The Verge

Reaches Agreement with Gaming & Leisure Properties for $337.5 Million in Rent Credits

Raises $1.2 Million for Emergency Relief Fund and Extends Health Benefits to Assist Team Members Affected by Planned Companywide Furloughs

Withdraws Full-Year 2020 Guidance

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PENN: Nasdaq) ("Penn National" or the "Company") today announced additional measures to help mitigate the financial impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"As the global COVID-19 health crisis continues to evolve, we are navigating through this unprecedented time for our Company, our industry and our nation," said Jay Snowden, President and Chief Executive Officer of Penn National. "With all of our 41 properties in 19 states temporarily shuttered, like many others in the gaming and hospitality sector, we are making difficult decisions to help preserve our liquidity and ensure a brighter future for our Companys team members, customers, shareholders and other key stakeholders.

"Today we announced an agreement with our principal landlord, Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI: Nasdaq) ("GLPI"), involving the sale of the Tropicana Las Vegas real estate assets (we will continue to operate the facility) and a new ground lease for our planned Category 4 casino in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, in exchange for $337.5 million in rent credits," said Mr. Snowden. "In addition, the deal includes an option for us to acquire the operations of GLPIs Hollywood Casino in Perryville, Maryland at a future date. We greatly appreciate the cooperation, creativity and partnership shown by GLPI during this challenging time. While this transaction will help to relieve liquidity pressure in terms of rent obligations, we are committed to taking further steps to reduce our ongoing operating expenses in order to ensure we have a healthy business to return to when we are able to re-open our doors," said Mr. Snowden.

As previously announced, Penn National will continue to pay its team members their full wages and benefits through March 31. However, several states have announced extensions of their temporary closure orders and other states may soon follow suit. Given the uncertainty about the duration of the pandemic, and with no meaningful revenue for the foreseeable future, Penn National will be implementing unpaid furloughs impacting approximately 26,000 team members companywide beginning April 1.

"This decision was extremely difficult to make for all of us at Penn," Mr. Snowden wrote in a letter to Company team members. "Penn National is a family, and we deeply regret the hardship this will place on you and your loved ones. We are extremely motivated and focused on re-opening our properties as soon as it is safe and legal to do so. To try to help ease some of the burden, were maintaining your medical benefits through June 30, for those team members who are currently enrolled in our health plans," wrote Mr. Snowden.

In addition, Penn National has established a special COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund under the Penn National Gaming Foundation to provide assistance to team members and local relief organizations in our communities. The Company has already raised over $1.2 million in team member relief funds, including more than $425,000 in personal contributions from Mr. Snowden and his senior management team, the Companys Board of Directors, and property general managers. For more information about the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund or to make a donation, please visit: https://www.pngaming.com/community.

"We are committed to doing all we can to help our affected team members get through this," said Mr. Snowden. "I am proud of the fact that when the call came down from our governors across the country to temporarily close our facilities, we managed the process in a safe and orderly fashion, ensuring the health and well-being of our team members and guests. Im equally proud of the fact that since closing our doors over a week ago, our properties have donated more than 45 tons of food to local food banks and homeless shelters in our communities, ensuring our perishable food items can help those in need. In addition, our properties have donated thousands of unused masks and surgical gloves to first responders and health care providers," said Mr. Snowden.

Story continues

Penn National is taking the following additional short-term actions to reduce its cost structure during the property closures:

"Since the time we suspended operations, we have taken swift measures to confront this unprecedented challenge head on and have managed to significantly reduce our daily operating expenses," said Mr. Snowden. "While the steps weve taken are deeply painful on a personal and professional level, I am confident these moves will help to preserve our Companys and our team members long-term future," concluded Mr. Snowden.

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak and ongoing uncertainty regarding its magnitude and duration, Penn National is withdrawing its 2020 financial guidance provided on February 6, 2020.

The Company will provide a financial and operational update in connection with its first quarter 2020 earnings announcement planned for May 7.

About Penn National Gaming

Penn National Gaming owns, operates or has ownership interests in 41 gaming and racing properties in 19 jurisdictions and video gaming terminal operations with a focus on slot machine entertainment. We also offer live sports betting at our properties in Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In total, Penn Nationals properties feature approximately 50,000 gaming machines, 1,300 table games and 8,800 hotel rooms. In addition, the Company operates an interactive gaming division through its subsidiary, Penn Interactive Ventures, LLC, which recently launched iGaming in Pennsylvania and, through strategic partnerships, operates online sports betting in Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Company also has a leading customer loyalty program, mychoice, with over five million active customers.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements included in this press release, other than historical information or statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding COVID-19, the length of time Penn Nationals gaming facilities will be required to remain closed and the impact of these closures on Penn National and its stakeholders, the demand for gaming once the facilities reopen, the impact of COVID-19 on general economic conditions, capital markets, unemployment and the Companys liquidity, operations, supply chain and personnel, the potential benefits of the transactions with GLPI and the decisions made by the Company in response to COVID-19, the Companys daily cash burn and the ability of the parties to obtain third party approvals are all subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could significantly affect the Companys future financial results and business. Accordingly, Penn National cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (a) COVID-19 and its effect on capital markets, general economic conditions, unemployment and the Companys liquidity, operations and personnel; (b) industry, market, economic, political, regulatory and health conditions; (c) disruptions in operations from data protection breaches, cyberattacks, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics such as the COVID-19, and other natural or manmade disasters or catastrophic events; (d) the consummation of the proposed transactions with GLPI are subject to various conditions, including third party agreements and approvals, and accordingly may be delayed or may not occur at all, including for reasons beyond our control; (e) potential adverse reactions or changes to business or regulatory relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the transactions with GLPI; (f) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or its directors, officers or employees; (g) the impact of new or changes in current laws, regulations, rules or other industry standards; and (h) other risks, including those as may be detailed from time to time in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). For more information on the potential factors that could affect the Companys financial results and business, review the Companys filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200327005526/en/

Contacts

General Media Inquiries: Eric Schippers, Sr. Vice President, Public AffairsPenn National Gaming610/373-2400

Financial Media and Analyst Inquiries: Justin Sebastiano, Sr. Vice President of Finance and TreasurerPenn National Gaming610/373-2400

Joseph N. Jaffoni, Richard LandJCIR212/835-8500 or penn@jcir.com

Read the original post:

Penn National Gaming Announces Additional Mitigation Efforts in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic - Yahoo Finance

If you werent playing games when Half-Life came out, its hard to drive home just how shocking a departure it was from what had come before. Though some familiar mechanics served as a base to build off of, the injection of elaborately scripted sequences that put you into the action, mature humor and genuinely engaging set piece-driven plot put Half-Life into its own special section of the stratosphere.

Its not often that you can say that a product changes everything in its category from that moment on. Half-Life did that.

And then when Half-Life 2 debuted, it did it again with its method of delivery, incredible building tools and yes, inventive-as-hell gameplay.

Half-Life: Alyx does that again for VR, making such a direct impact that this will be a demarcation line forever in the way we craft immersive virtual experiences.

Alyx begins in the period of time between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, taking place mostly just before the action in the latter. The world is familiar, as are most of the cast of characters (along with some bespoke new additions). Given their high-fidelity look and carefully stepped variety, even newbies to the Half-Life universe should be kept entertained as they encounter new threats.

Those of you returning will find a large part of the new experience in inhabiting the same virtually physical space as headcrabs, barnacles and combined forces. Let me tell you, seeing the underbelly mouth of a crab flying toward your face in VR versus on your monitor definitely hits different.

That sense of presence that is so pivotal to VR is something Valve leaned into hard with Alyx. You are rewarded for treating environments and encounters as a place to pretend to be rather than progressing through. There are a variety of tricks that Alyx uses to make you comfortable existing in this world, not the least of which is the presence of a voice in your ear in the form of an engineer named Russell.

Played hilariously by Rhys Darby, Russells voice serves to mitigate issues that many VR aficionados may recognize. One of VRs primary powers is that of embodiment making the experience of being there so convincing that you generate real memories of presence. Along with that, though, comes isolation. Long VR sessions can make you feel cut off from reality, and horror experiences, especially, can become overwhelming. Having Russell there offering humanity and humor to punctuate the darkness of this supremely dystopian environment is a fantastic choice. Youre a solo operator, but youre not alone.

The environmental intensity of Alyx is well paced, too. An intermix of heart-pounding horror with moments of harsh beauty and humor can often be a difficult cocktail.

Theres a lot of different things that we give you the opportunity to do that give, I would argue, different types of players, different things to go deep on, says Half-Life: Alyx character animator Christine Phelan. With intentionality, we definitely spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what is that line?

Phelan notes that when there are horror elements, VR is well-known to be an intense experience, and modulating that was key to not alienating players. Rather than a relentless onslaught, you are brought up and down.

I checked my Apple Watch heart rate data over the past week that Ive been playing Alyx and, sure enough, there were the spikes in rate during my play sessions to prove the impact of those choices. Some of the more intense segments play like the best horror action movies youve seen Aliens comes to mind, as well as more recent fare like A Quiet Place.

Keeping you engaged in that environment, of course, means that control schemes are incredibly critical. Valves choices on Alyx reflect a desire to make sure that the widest array of people can experience the game. They offer all of the accepted travel modes. including teleporting, a continuous travel mode like walking and, my favorite, shift a sort of zooming snap that keeps a sense of context to your movement.

Personally, I am unable to walk continuously in VR without wanting to toss my cookies, and Alyx is no different here. In fact, the game takes a lot of pains to make sure it moves the character involuntarily as little as possible, even offering a toggle barnacle lift setting to avoid the motion sickness some people may feel being virtually hoisted in the air. A wise choice, as theres a lot going on in Alyx already, with some encounters forcing you to move rapidly through the environment to combat enemies or solve puzzles.

The sheer accessibility of Alyxs options speaks to the desire by the team to make sure it accommodated as many people as possible. Standing, seated, either hand, choice of dominant eye, room-scale or not if theres a way to play a VR game, Valve has you covered.

One of the biggest effective bits is the presence of Alyxs hands in the game world. Because most people interact with the world via their hands (though not all), Phelan notes that you get a lot for free when you make those the primary interaction method. People already know what to expect when they do things with their hands and at that point your job just becomes to make them act exactly as youd expect in as many situations as possible.

And they do. Your hands realistically grasp, tap, push and poke the environment (and there is a lot of environment with the most interactive objects Ive ever seen in a VR game).

The hands even adapt to the contours of things, curving or turning corners as you slide them across objects. The fingers are used to tell you that you really cant interact with this, but you can feel it this is not an action point for you. But then, when there is an action point, the hand naturally curves around something, and you get the message Oh, yeah, I can grab this.

A lot has been said about the Knuckles controllers that come with the Valve Index headset, and theyre great. But the marquee feature for me is the soft hand strap that keeps them attached to you. This frees you up to make grabbing and grasping motions with your whole hand, as you would normally.

I have the Vive controllers, the Oculus controllers and the Knuckles. Certainly, the Knuckles, with the individual finger control, absolutely locks it in, I think, for people on the hand interaction. If every company doesnt dupe the work that Valve has done with these, theyre dumb.

I think the Knuckles and the Index broadly is essentially Valves attempt to say, This is pointing towards a heightened VR experience. This is what we think of as a really great direction for this hardware to go, says Valves Chris Remo, who also added that they did a lot of work to make sure all the compatible VR hardware turned out a great play experience. It was obviously pretty important that this wasnt a Valve Index game. Its a VR game. We genuinely tried our best to support those features, [including] all the finger tracking the Index does on the Knuckles controllers and everything else.

A lot of the work on interactions mirrors what other creatives have done in VR, but polishes it up a level. And a lot of that work is hidden unless you look very hard for it. Doors open in the direction of your hands travel, for instance. Magically outwardly opening doors that open inward is a perfect affordance. Most people will never notice. The people that care will, and thats fine, but most people will just have a better time of going through this way versus that way without fussing too much.

The gravity gloves shown off prominently in the gameplay trailers are another such affordance. They neatly avoid the VR problem of people constantly inching out or down and ramming into things outside of their play area while trying to grab objects on the ground or inside containers. They also give the player the ability to quickly utilize the environment to fend off enemies or distract them with a speed and agility that youd never be able to realize otherwise.

Call it fate or design that Half-Life 2s gravity gun offered the perfect in-world explanation, but it works incredibly here. Grabbing a gas mask off the ground and attaching it to your face, fending off a headcrab with a trash can lid, throwing a brick to stagger a zombie, its all possible with Russell.

You can move through a space just as quickly physically, but people do end up taking longer, because youre naturally invited to do so, says Remo. You can look around something in a physical way that just, theres no equivalent to that in a non-VR game. It also meant that you can get up close to props in a way that isnt really possible or feasible as much in a non-VR game, which meant that all that stuff has to actually hold up and be worthwhile.

I can vouch for the time put in. At one point I grabbed a random half-crushed water bottle laying in a corner and looked inside the mouth to find the interior dimples of the bottom lovingly rendered. One persons trash, etc.

There are so many other things that I could talk about here. The use of spatial audio anchored in what seem to be Gaussian spheres that attach sound and (incredible) music to environments, with nested encounter scores inside. The dynamic loot system that keeps the balance of the resources you have available to you tuned so that the game remains fun. The encounters that take those early scripted scenes in Half-Life and plus them to create a symphony that taxes and rewards the player for creative and thoughtful gameplay.

Its not so much that Valve has executed One Weird Trick for making VR good. Many of these major ideas has been tried by one team or another over the past few years. But the execution has never been more precise and thoughtful. One after another the good choices keep coming and the whole adds up to something truly special and bar-setting.

Inventive, clever and completely engaging, Half-Life: Alyx is the first masterwork of VR gaming.

But that could actually be understating its eventual impact on VR, if thats possible. Though the template for what a truly A-list title looks like has now been truly sketched, it has always been Valves willingness to share its tools that has made the most impact on the gaming scene at large.

Thats why Im looking forward to an eventual SDK. Hammer 2 is easily one of the best game-building tools ever created. Valve is already going to ship Source 2 tools for building new VR levels in Alyx, but as fans of history will remember, the level building scene really took off once the deeper tools to craft a game became available. The ripple effect on the industry will be felt long after people have dissected every sliver of what makes this game so fun. You can trace a major portion of the $1 billion esports industry directly back to mods enabled by Valve being generous with their internal tools.

Imagine what that kind of impact looks like for VR, a field that has been experimenting like mad but has no real coda of best practices for building. It could be massive, and though members of the team have said that theyre not currently planning to release an SDK, my hopes are high.

Until then, we have Alyx, and it is good.

Read more:

Half-Life: Alyx delivers the watershed moment VR gaming needs - TechCrunch

The novel coronavirus pandemic has the rest of the sports world, including the NBA at a standstill. It's been just over two weeks since the league suspended playand the remainder of the 2019-20 season is in flux. Although there has been some uncertainty as to how soon will it be safe for games to resume, that has not stopped the league from preparing a roadmap to normalcy. The NBA is looking to the Chinese Basketball Association for examples on how to resume play in a safe and timely manner, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

The Chinese league has considered gathering every team and playing games in one or two cities with warm climate or effective quarantine strategies. This scenario would involve the temperatures of players being monitored multiple times each day. NBA players and executives might not be too far away from considering a similar strategy if things works out in China, according to Windhorst.

Various ideas have been floated by players and executives. One is to consider using a sprawling casino property in Las Vegas, where everything could be held under one roof. Others have suggested playing in the Bahamas, where a ballroom could be converted into a playing court specifically for broadcast. There has even been talk of taking over a college campus in the Midwest, where reported cases of COVID-19 are lower for the moment.

Getting restarted won't be easy. Basketball leagues in Korea and Japan both attempted and failed to resume action. The CBA has already delayed its return twice, initially set for early April, but now targeted for late April or early May. In the past week, CBA stars Lance Stephenson and Jeremy Lin returned to China and began 14-day self-quarantines to get cleared for training camp.

If the 2019-20 NBA season resumes, it would be under circumstances the league has never seen before. Fans could be barred from games; broadcasters may be given limited access, and the playoff format could be tweaked. Whichever path the league chooses, it will surely consider the successes and failures of the CBA in its return.

Original post:

NBA could consider clustering teams to play games in locations such as the Bahamas and Las Vegas, report says - CBS Sports

There's nothing quite like being told you can't be outside to make you want to be outside, but that's a bad idea right now. Like many of you, we've been finding new ways to keep ourselves busy indoors, whether that's taking up a new hobby like bread baking or just laying on the couch binge-watching all 22 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

We've also been scouring the web for deals on products that might be extra helpful in this time of self-isolation, from headphones and games to home goods. And while you are keeping your distance from others, we encourage you to support your local businesses and check out any local aid organizations that might be taking donations of supplies for those who might not have them. Take care of each other.

For more ways to stay entertained and productive, this week we've looked at how to get free Kindle books with a library card, how to keep your social life alive at a distance, and how to teleconference like a pro.

When you buy something using the links in our stories, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Here's how it works. You can also support our reporting and reviewing by purchasing an unlimited subscription to WIRED for $5 a year.

Headphones & Laptops

Check out our guides to the Best Wireless Headphones, Best Wirefree Earbuds, and Best Laptops for more recommendations.

Master & Dynamic MW50 Wireless on-Ear Headphones for $125 ($124 off with code WFH50): Like most Master & Dynamic headphones, the MW50s aren't exactly cheap, but they produce incredible sound (9/10 WIRED Recommends), and at half their usual price, they're a steal.

Master & Dynamic MW07 Wireless Earbuds for $100 ($100 off with code WFH50): These are among our favorite wireless earbuds, and normally their premium sound commands a premium price, but until Sunday, they're half off.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon 14-Inch Laptop for $1,849 ($1,000 off): I don't usually get excited about business laptops, but the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a business laptop with serious horsepower and style to match.

ThinkPad X280 12-Inch Laptop for $849 ($1,230 off): The ThinkPad X280 is a great everyday laptop and it's super portable, which will be important when we're able to go outside again.

Games & Accessories

See the original post:

The Best Weekend Deals: Headphones, Games, Laptops, and More - WIRED

Mobile game designers feel like the mad scientists of the development world. They work fast and are constantly adjusting formulas based on the tiniest changes in player data. And when one experiment blows up in their face, theyre ready to move on to whatever is next. On this weeks episode of How Games Make Money, host Jeff Grubb speaks with Metamoki game design director Mitch Zamara about what its like to create games like Weed Inc. and Wiz Khalifas Weed Farmin that kind of environment. Join us, wont you?

Developers have refined mobile games into a science. Studios use performance marketing to acquire players. This is where a developer only pays for an ad when it leads to an install. And as long as the cost of that install is significantly less than what the average player is going to spend, then a game can just keep rolling forever.

This data-driven approach means that mobile gaming is much leaner and more limber than traditional studios.

The notion of spending many years on a game and trying to get featured and putting all these efforts into a high-production product, it creates a huge amount of risk, said Zamara. Thats versus the ability to create a free-to-play game in a matter of months with a much smaller team. You can explore how viable that is as a business in a much cheaper and quicker manner.

But while that might sound like it reduces games to a cold equation, its not really how Zamara looks at it. As a designer, hes never thinking about the monetization first. Instead, its all about creating a game that is fun and players will want to come back to. Thats what determines if a game lives or dies.

For the most part, your early validation is to make sure that your retention is strong so that your players stick around, he said. Thats really more important than even how good your monetization is or how good your other business metrics are. If youre able to get create an experience thats compelling and fun and engaging and people stick around, then figuring out how to make money from those players is a lot easier than having to figure out ways to make people stay.

Zamara says that he has had experiences where his team spent two months trying to get a game from low 30% retention up closer to 50%. But no matter what they did, the needle wouldnt budge more than 5% higher. At that point, the team moves on to something new.

But this doesnt just happen to new, untested games. Eventually, even most profitable games reach the end of their lives. And this is something that Zamara thinks comes with the territory.

This has been happening since 2009 when Farmville was a thing, he said. I worked at Zynga, and they killed a dozen games while I was there, games that were eventually taken offline. Some of those were games that I even worked on.

But none of that changes how to make a game fun. For Zamara, it doesnt matter that the business is so obsessed with data.

I turn spreadsheets into fun and into a player experience, he said. I can look at a spreadsheet and feel what that experience is like for a player. So for me I dont lose that emotional touch because I start first as an advocate for the player and never leave that that perch. Ive always fought for the experience of the player because I know, at the end of the day, thats what will drive the business.

See the article here:

Behind the data-driven design of mobile games How Games Make Money - VentureBeat