Blog

Gaming, HCI, Psychology, Serious Games, Simulations, Usability

Crossing the UI Rift with Oculus


1 Comment

Virtual reality opens the doors to a new era for user interface design. Oculus VR speaks to Develop about its opportunities Virtual reality doesn’t present user interface design with its first opportunity for transformation. The dawn of 3D long ago afforded games makers the prospect of moving beyond flat heads-up-displays and conventional menus. And when

Read More

Gaming, HCI, Usability

Xbox One and PS4 Are Filled with Missed Opportunities


Before we knew anything about the PS4 and Xbox One, our imaginations ran wild. When they were just ideas, the next-gen consoles held unlimited possibilities for every gamer. Of course, all of those hopes came crashing down when the infinite possibilities collapsed down into two actual real-life products. The PS4 won’t be shipping with a

Read More

Gaming, HCI, Usability

Xbox One: The Wobbly Third Leg of Microsoft’s Non-Desktop Trifecta


With the complete hardware, services, and pricing unveiled for the Xbox One at E3, we now have the totality of Microsoft’s “next-generation” consumer-oriented lineup: Windows 8 on the desktop, laptop, and tablet, Windows Phone 8 on the smartphone, and Xbox One in the living room. On paper, this trifecta, seamlessly connected via Microsoft Account, SkyDrive, and Xbox Live,

Read More

Gaming, HCI, Serious Games, Simulations, Usability

The Future of Gaming – It May All Be in Your Head


Gaming as a hobby evokes images of lethargic teenagers huddled over their controllers, submerged in their couch surrounded by candy bar wrappers. This image should soon hit the reset button since a more exciting version of gaming is coming. It’s called neurogaming, and it’s riding on the heels of some exponential technologies that are converging

Read More

Gaming, Serious Games

SimCityEDU: Using Games for Formative Assessment


As game-based learning gains momentum in education circles, teachers increasingly want substantive proof that games are helpful for learning. The game-makers at the non-profit GlassLab are hoping to do this with the popular video game SimCity. GlassLab is working with commercial game companies, assessment experts, and those versed in digital classrooms to build SimCityEDU, a downloadable

Read More

Gaming, Psychology, Serious Games, Simulations

Fear of Fun


Some day not all that far in the future, a new kind of entertainment is going to be perfected that will either be the coolest video game ever, or the media equivalent of a lethal man-made super-virus. You can predict what that entertainment might be like just by extrapolating from technology that already exists.

Read More

Gaming, HCI, Serious Games, Simulations, Usability

Sculpting in Virtual Reality: Meet Leonar3Do


Hungarian startup Leonar3Do (pronounced “Leonardo”) today demoed its mind-boggling virtual reality software for PC and Mac that lets you manipulate 3D objects as if they were right in front of you. Using a combination of triangulation (using sensors latched on to your computer) and 3D goggles, Leonar3Do creates an environment for interacting with 3D objects

Read More