Microsoft Communities

video games

Posted By: Laura Foy | Apr 18th @ 11:13 AM
The Tuttle Madcap Misadventures Starlight charity challenge pairs having a good time with doing good. A first of its kind fundraising initiative Starlight Starbright Childrens Foundation has partnered with Legacy Interactive on the development of this original game. Learn more about how you can help in this clip and see how you can win through their unique Facebook challenge.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Apr 15th @ 1:27 PM

Ever wondered how the characters in your video games look so real? Or how they move so life-like? Well it's easier than you might have thought. Natural Point brings it to your home.

See the improvements from last year.

Posted By: Laura Foy | Apr 9th @ 10:25 AM
You have to admit, owning the Z-Dome would make you the coolest kid on the block. Within the Z-Dome immersive experience, the user visually feels like part of the environment. You can go flying over a volcano or really get on that stage while playing Guitar Hero. I took it for a test drive and got all the nitty gritty details for you. The good thing is that it's coming out in a smaller consumer format that regular people can actually afford and there are tons of tweaks you can do to really make it fit your needs.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Apr 3rd @ 10:37 AM
NeuroSky is a break through mind controlled interface. In our never-ending search for new and better ways to experience our games, I found this headset. Now, I've tried EEG reading headsets before but they always involved wet sensor pads and therefore were somewhat messy and complicated. Brainwaves have been used in medical research for years and now NeuroSky is bringing it to us, the consumers. I gave it a test ride to see just how powerful my brainwaves are. Be afraid.
Posted By: Sarah Perez | Mar 25th @ 11:26 AM
Happy Halo Map Pack Day! As of today, Halo 3's formerly $10 set of maps, the Heroic Map Pack, is now free. This add-on lets you add new battle zones to the Halo 3 game. The pack consists of the Rat's Nest, Standoff, and Foundry maps, where players are provided with things like labyrinthine mazes (Rat's Nest) and editable objects that can be used to create a custom battlefield (Foundry). The next series of maps, the Legendary Map Pack, will be available on April 15th for 800 Microsoft Points.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Mar 22nd @ 3:25 PM
This year at MIX, amongst the seminars and future of the web discussions there was an intense battle of the bands. The Rock Bands. Friends and colleagues grouped together and formed the best possible Rock Band they could and entered the tournament. More than having some of the most interesting and unusual names I'd ever heard- some of these bands could really Rock! Take a look at some of the highlights and see who finally ends up as the Rock Band Winner.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Mar 18th @ 3:55 PM
You may not have heard of them, but Chair Entertainment has been bringing you great games for years now. Perhaps you've played Undertow on XBOX Live arcade? If not, you should- especially since it was just named XBLA Game of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine.  And there's more good news! The expansion pack, "Path of the Elect" was just released. The BIG NEWS though, is about Chair Entertainment's next big thing: Empire. They decided to kick off their franchise by commissioning a book, Empire, written by Orson Scott Card. If you're not convinced yet that Chair is a company that should be on your radar, then watch this clip to learn about them also acquiring the interactive rights to Orson Scott Card's : Enders Game. And a few other juicy surprises as well.....
Posted By: Laura Foy | Mar 10th @ 11:20 AM
Think you have what it takes to be a video game designer? Well XNA is offering you the opportunity and the tools. Meet me at GDC next year...
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Posted By: Tina Wood | Feb 5th @ 1:23 PM
Okay, I was perusing the internet this morning and I came across this article on ABC News.com.  To summarize it, they stated:  When testing the brain activity of men and women playing video games, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that the reward centers of men's brains were far more activated than those in women's brains. "These gender differences may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become 'hooked' on video games than females," the researchers wrote in their paper. There is no doubt that I was "addicted" to the original Halo.  Now, that could have had something to do with timing as well.  I was working at G4 where LAN Parties and blowing each other up all day was part of my job but I played all night long when I got home.  And my weekends were filled with marathon sessions in "Hang 'Em High" and "Blood Gulch".  However, I do believe there are exceptions to every rule and I can say that the Original Halo is the only video game I was literally "Addicted" too.  Have you ever been addicted to a video game, which one and do you agree it may be a boy thing?
Posted By: Sarah Perez | Feb 5th @ 12:30 AM

WeGame is a social video sharing sites that allows gamers to record video of their gameplay and instantly publish it online. Focused entirely on user-generated content, WeGame members upload their own videos to the site to share with others. WeGame also offers a downloadable client program which captures video footage. The client supports a good amount of games including Call of Duty 2 & 4, Crysis, Everquest, Half-Life 2, Halo, LotR Online, EVE Online, DoD: Source, Quake, Second Life, Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft, Wolfenstein: ET, and many others. With this tool, people who may have never posted content before due to the technical difficulty of doing so now have any easy way to share their footage.

Using the client software is simple, you just start it up, launch your game, and hit record. When you're finished recording, you can instantly publish it online. The client even has an "HD Mode" for recording higher resolution, higher quality videos for use in Machinima. The WeGame client works on XP and Vista and is completely free.

Like any video sharing site, the uploaded videos on the WeGame site can be commented on, voted on, and embedded elsewhere by copying the provided embed code. There are also channels created by various content creators who publish their videos to WeGame.

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Posted By: Laura Foy | Feb 1st @ 5:11 PM
It's Dinosaur hunting season. The latest evolution of the classic Turok franchise will soon be playable on your xbox 360. I met up with Touchstone to learn all about the game before it comes out and give you this sneak peek. There's more carnage, more weapons, more creatures and of course...more fun. Check out this clip to see what you will soon be playing.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Nov 28th, 2007 @ 2:16 PM
We all want a little more realism in our video games, thats the goal right? So what better than actually feeling a *thud* against your chest or side or shoulder when you get fragged in a first person shooter?!? That's what TN Games is offering us all. They've created a vest that recreates the forceful impact that a bullet would. But how real can it really feel? Really real. Take a look and see.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Nov 16th, 2007 @ 2:50 PM
Did you know that ants live in highly structured societies with very advanced means of communication? Yep, it's true. What does this have to do with Will Wright - designer of legendary games like SimCity and The Sims? A lot, actually. I chatted with this genius for a while and he broke it all down for me plus threw in his thoughts on gaming as a whole and where he sees it going in the future. Then - you know that new game he's been working on....Spore? Only here on Channel 10 can you get the kind of insider scoop that he dishes out.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Nov 13th, 2007 @ 1:22 PM
The boys are back and oh how we've missed them. They start out talking about their achievements....life achievements you ask? NO! Video game achievements of course :) Then it's on to some Games for Windows news and the boys get to the bottom of that nasty rumor about having  to pay for multi-player on the PC.

Post your favorite achievement below...let the chest bumping begin!
Posted By: Laura Foy | Nov 12th, 2007 @ 2:41 PM
It really just tickles my heart when I encounter a group of hard-core gaming girls who have taken it upon themsleves to band together for the greater good. Ok, I maye sound a TAD dramatic but honestly, it's just cool. I have been a friend and fan of All Games since before I can remember and these girls participate in the radio show and bring it some love. So, like the Frag Dolls, GamerChix and the PMS Clan...take a minute and get to know these Girls Got Game.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Nov 6th, 2007 @ 1:56 PM
I'm sure you've all seen and heard plenty about the gaming conference, E for All. I've posted a few videos here, here and here about the games and content on display there- but what I really wanted to see was what people were saying about a gaming conference at the Staples Center, in a post E3 era. Needless to say, there were some pretty big shoes to fill.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Nov 1st, 2007 @ 3:20 PM
Ok, first of all, ignore that stupid face I'm making in the screenshot to the left. Let's focus on what really matters- the games. EA always impresses me with their displays at the gaming conferences and this year was no different. Not only did I get to play some games that are not yet released like The Simpsons Game and NFL Tour, but then I got to drool over The Orange Box. It's all for the Xbox 360, it's all Electronic Arts and it's all good.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Oct 25th, 2007 @ 3:46 PM
There is no denying that gaming conferences are changing. The big conventions were tremendously scaled down this year while other gatherings like PAX and GDC really ramped it up. In fact, newcomers like E for All might not have been a possibility in year past as all things paled in comparison to E3. But now, thankfully, there's room for all- there's E for All. So power up and play.
Posted By: Larry Larsen | Oct 25th, 2007 @ 1:07 PM
I came across two videos last night that will take you back to a simpler time. The first is a video showing various Windows start-up screens - along with the start-up sounds. It wasn't until I saw this that I was reminded just how many times I've heard each of those.

The second video is an orchestra playing music from old video games (1.2 million views in 2 weeks!) starting with Pong and moving through some of our favorites including Rastan, which probably had the best video game theme music until Halo launched in 2001. Orchestras playing video game theme music isn't new and is always a crowd pleaser, no doubt from the countless hours of it being engrained in our heads.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Oct 23rd, 2007 @ 12:36 PM
This year, at the E for All Expo Major League Gaming consumed the largest amount of real estate of any exhibitor. And for very good reason. Not only were they giving away thousands and thousands of dollars, but they were also offering free Halo 3  tips and tricks. Want to learn a little? Or perhaps you can teach somebody? Watch and learn.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Oct 19th, 2007 @ 1:53 PM
Gamers gathered from across the globe to attend the World Cyber Games finals hosted in Seattle, Washington. I spent some time getting to know a few of them...quite an eclectic bunch, take a look.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Oct 16th, 2007 @ 7:47 PM
When Samsung, Curcuit City and Microsoft all come together to sponsor an event- you know it's going to be huge. While I was touring the floor amongst hundreds and hundreds of exhausted, jet-lagged, nervous and excited gamers, I ran into Jeff Bell. You may remember Jeff from my Halo 3 launch piece. He's really diving head first into the gaming community and here he tells us why.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Oct 15th, 2007 @ 3:02 PM
The World Cyber Games grand finals took place in Seattle at

Qwest Field. Normally Qwest field is filled with huge football players and screaming fans- but when the World Cyber Games comes to town you get an entirely different breed of athlete. This is a Microsoft sponsored global tournament in which sport is conducted in cyberspace, also known as e-sports- or "video games" to us old skoolers. Here are some of the highlights from this years opening ceremony. Check back all week for continuing coverage of the World Cyber Games.

Posted By: Laura Foy | Sep 28th, 2007 @ 12:12 PM
It's Friday so it's time to check in with my boys from The GamerScore Blog. This week we reflected on what is now known as the biggest launch in entertainment history: Halo 3. On top of that we threw out some Tokyo Game Show goodness and took a look at what we have coming out on the horizon. Oh- and we also introduced Nelson Rodriguez to the cast and if I do say so myself, he's pretty darn amusing :)
Posted By: Laura Foy | Sep 25th, 2007 @ 4:13 PM
I couldn't NOT go to the launch event for Halo 3 right here in Bellevue, Washington at our nearby Best Buy. Honestly, I was overwhelmed. There were hundreds of screaming Halo fans, free stuff, food, music, and PLENTY of Gamer Fuel. On top of all that excitement I got to talk to legendary football quarterback Warren Moon, Bungie community leader Brian Jarrard, Microsoft's global marketing Maestro Jeff Bell - and the man himself Bill Gates even came out to run the register on the first copy Halo 3 sold there. Plus, I got to mess with fanboys! Good Times!

Click HERE to see how the Halo 3 launch compared to the PS3 launch....
Posted By: Laura Foy | Sep 24th, 2007 @ 1:25 PM
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game under development by BioWare exclusively for the Xbox 360, which will be the first installment of a planned trilogy. It is scheduled for release on November 20, 2007. The game takes place in the year 2183, with the player assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, set out to explore a vast universe on his/her ship, SSV Normandy.

I set out on my own mission to Edmonton Canada to meet with BioWare and get an exclusive hands on look at this exciting new title.
Enjoy.

Posted By: Laura Foy | Sep 6th, 2007 @ 10:38 AM
Most of you have probably heard of Wizards of the Coast, as they are considered the global leader in hobby gaming (think Dungeons & Dragons)- but you might not be as familiar with Gleemax. Gleemax intends to be the home for gamers on the web – a combination of social networking, on-line gaming and game related content. They haven't fully launched yet but sneak a peek at this interview to get the low down on a site I predict we will all be frequenting.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Sep 5th, 2007 @ 12:45 PM
DonnyBrook is a project that Microsoft Research is working on to make games more epic. Imagine playing an FPS with hundreds of other players- not just 8 or 16. "How can that be possible?", you must be asking! "There would be so much LAG!", you must be saying! Well - Microsoft employs some pretty smart people who truly care about improving the gaming experience. Watch this clip and learn how they did it.
Posted By: Laura Foy | Sep 4th, 2007 @ 1:39 PM
OK, don't REALLY quit your job- that would be just plain silly. But you can definitely start profiting from all those hours you spend playing video games. Just think about the many years your parents spent telling you games were a waste of time- well have them watch this clip and prove them wrong!
Posted By: Laura Foy | Aug 31st, 2007 @ 12:48 PM
When the Penny Arcade Expo has been all said and done, I sat down with the guys fom