Fable is one of the biggest selling games ever on the Xbox platform, with more than 3 million shipped. Fable 2 is in the works and has a lot to live up to. Coming at it from left-field, as ever, designer Peter Molyneux thinks he has the answer: Love. Yes, you heard correctly. At GDC 2007 Molyneux lectured:
“The emotion I want you to experience, is love. I want you to experience being loved. If I can convince you that you were really loved, that would be an innovation; that would be drama; you would walk away from that game feeling different.”
True, probably wondering why your RPG bloodlust tank is empty. To be fair though, Fable 2 is isn’t asking players to hang up their swords for quiet, romantic nights in by the fire. It is, however, upping the ante set by the first game wherein you were allowed to sleep around or get married.
This time out, the big decision is not whether to pack the two-handed sword or bow, but whether you want protected, or unprotected, sex. The latter will most likely result in a pregnant wife that changes shape gradually, giving birth to a child that grows up and greets you when you return from the wars. Of course the greeting will depend on how good a dad you’ve been. Still, it’s not all about child-rearing with the new world being 30 times bigger than the one in Fable.
I like how Molyneux pushes game boundaries within mainstream games but is this going to enhance or detract from Fable 2?-Martin Lynch
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Ever wish you could zoom in ever farther using Google Maps? Well, with a tiny bit of URL tweaking you can, provided the area you're looking at has big enough images. Check it:
Select a location and switch to satellite view. Zoom in as far as you can, and click 'link to this page' at the top right. Now replace the 'z' parameter in the URL with a higher value, e.g. 20, 22, or 23, and wait. Some locations will now show more detailed imagery.
You can see the difference between the above shot of the Googleplex, which is at "maximum zoom," and the super zoomed shot below.
Sweet. –Adam Frucci
Geotrotter [via Random Good Stuff]
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Up close, you might mistake LG's 21FU1R for a flat-panel TV. Afterall, it has the same stylish design as most of the TVs in their line up. But take a look behind and you'll see this boob tube has some junk in its trunk, though with a deflection angle of 120 degrees, LG is claiming it's the slimmest CRT available. Still, a 21-inch screen is pretty small, so I'm not entirely sold just yet, no matter how much cheaper it is than a flat-panel TV. – Louis Ramirez
LG CRTs For the Cheapskate in All of Us [CrunchGear]
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At the end of the GDC blogger's breakfast yesterday morning, Chris Satchell dropped this bomb that not many people seem to have picked up on. He said, regarding Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility:
At some point we're going to focus less on it. When you get to the end of this year there will be a reduced focus on backwards compatibility. There are so many 360 games out there. I don't know if it's important anymore.
So depending on how many Backward Compat. updates (we counted two in 2006) your Xbox game may not quite make it to Xbox 360, which means you're going to have to keep that big black box around indefinitely. – Jason Chen
GDC 07: Liveblogging the Blogger Breakfast [Kotaku]
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"Mr. Spock, what is that substance?"
"Hmm...it appears to be a naked photo of the alien from Zentir 16. The one that you promised to show to no one else."
"Not that! The OTHER substance."
"Oh, that's just the STD you left on the picture...and my heart"
Purdue researchers have invented a real-world "tricorder". It utilizes a mass spectrometer to analyze the information received from an ionized water vapor (that contacts any substance under study). Not only does the unit provide results within minutes—it only weighs 20lbs, which should be an attainable lifting goal for most Star Trek fans before the next conference. – Mark Wilson
Scientists Invent Real-Life Tricorder [via scifi tech]
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Throw away your cables! The latest Cybershot from Sony adds wireless, a feature that you can get on a slowly growing number of other digital cameras. Nikon, Kodak and Canon already sport wire-free models.
Just imagine not having to fiddle around with bloody storage cards, readers and cables – almost too good to be true. This year you will see a lot more cameras add Wi-Fi, which will no doubt drive down prices a bit and that can only be a good thing.
Even cuter is that you’ll be able to share pics with cameras that sport the DNLA logo (Digital Living Network Alliance).
The DSC-G1 is a 6-megapixel camera with a 3.5in LCD screen and 2GB of internal memory. It supports Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo cards, which come in capacities up to 8GB.
It’s due out next month in the US and trust me, you will pay for the privilege. It will cost a cool $600 (£350), but will cost more than that here when it arrives in a few months.-Martin Lynch
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Negative terrorism hype aside, flying is still a very safe mode of transport. The only real danger is being beaten to dearth by a group of radical environmentalists for polluting the atmosphere.
Boeing, though, is taking no chances and thinks its latest autopilot is the perfect answer to anti-terrorism. Classed as a 9/11-proof system, it will stop terrorists from flying the plane into land or sea targets and can be remotely landed by ground-staff. Once activated, it cannot be deactivated.
The captain can activate the system manually or - and this is the bit I have some concern with - it can activate itself when sensors fitted to the cockpit door record excessive force – like terrorists trying to break in.
Hmm, what happens if turbulence causes someone to fall against the door, a drunk passenger needs to tell the captain something really, really important, or a rogue drinks trolley hits it? Boeing could have these in all planes with three years, according to insiders.-Martin Lynch
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
