Posts Tagged ‘video games’
Connect a PS4 Controller to a Mac
I recently discovered Steam for video games (very late adopter over here) and for most games I prefer a controller to the keyboard/mouse thing. What to do?
English: A Sony PlayStation 2 DualShock 2 controller. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(NOTE: the picture above is of a PS2 controller. This article is about connecting a PS4 controller. But I didn’t have a photo of a PS4 controller I could use for free. You might be able to use a PS2 controller as well. As always, YMMV.)
Turns out it’s fairly easy — OK, super easy — to use a PS4 controller on a Mac, which is what I have. Basically, you plug it in and it works. Wireless usage via Bluetooth is also possible, although I’m old so I prefer wired.
Click through to Macworld.co.uk to see full instructions.
If you’re looking for a great controller for playing games on a Mac, look no further than the PS4 DualShock. The stock gamepad for the PlayStation 4 is a great controller, and it’s easy to set up. In this feature, we’ll show you how to connect a PS4 gamepad to your Mac
Source: How to connect a PS4 games controller to a Mac – Features – Macworld UK
Books – The Original iPad
I recently received an email from a PR person touting the success of electronic devices giving parents some time to themselves. This is true. But it doesn’t only apply to electronics. It also applies to books.
When I was a kid, there were electronics, but they required dinosaur toenail clippings to run. (Little joke there.) I spent plenty of time in front of a screen, usually a television, because that’s what we had. I also owned a lot of handheld games, like this miniature Pac-Man machine. Eventually I had a TRS-80 Color Computer which I used to play games and also write programs in BASIC.
English: Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But before any of that, I read books. So many books. The Hobbit. Lord of the Rings. Bored of the Rings. A Wrinkle in Time. The Fletch and Flynn series by Gregory MacDonald. (I was too young for those but I read them anyway.) Agatha Christie. Sherlock Holmes. Comic books.
Reading gives parents a break as much, if not more than, electronics do. I’m not anti-screen time. I try to manage it, and I recommend that parents with very young children manage screen time closely, mostly because I don’t see any reason for a 6 month old to be playing with an iPad. But as a kid who grew up watching a lot of TV, it would be hypocritical of me to say that I’m anti-screen.
But a good book will always trump electronics. A good book — I’m talking about a really good book — is hard to put down. Sometimes it is impossible to put down. “Just one more chapter. Just one more page.” Sound familiar? Sure, the same can apply to a video game. “Just let me beat this boss.” But it’s not the same thing. A book requires imagination, and therefore uses more of the brain than anything involving a screen does. (Kindles count as books, although there is an argument to be made that plain ol’ paper books are more involving because it’s just the book, no buttons, no screen. It’s not necessarily an argument you will win, but you can make it, and I’d back you up.) (Note: the statement “uses more of the brain” sounds like I’m making a scientifically proven statement. I’m not. I think it’s likely that my statement is correct, but I don’t have the science to back it up.)
Not all kids are readers. I was, and luckily so are my kids. I like to believe that because they grew up in a house where reading was a regular activity, they naturally became readers themselves. I have no idea if this is the case, and I never will. Maybe I just got lucky. But I can confidently say that once your kids learn to read, it has the potential to be life changing… for you.
Kids who love to read get involved in their books. And when they’re reading, they don’t ask you to look up a walk-through so they can beat a section of the game they are playing. Also, reading is a quiet activity. Books don’t make noise. And readers rarely make noise when they read. (Occasional exclamations of surprise and/or joy don’t count, although they are wonderful to hear.)
Again — I am not knocking screens, literally or figuratively. Heck, unless you printed out this blog post, you’re reading it on a screen. And video games are fun. My point is simply that back in my day, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, books provided a service to parents that electronics do now. And they still can.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Oh My, It’s Comic Con Time
To borrow the words of the ever-wonderful George Takei: Oh my, it’s comic con time.
What are we talking about? Why, the San Diego Comic-Con of course. It happens every year.
(Here’s a video of George saying “Oh My” in case you need to hear that. There’s never a bad time to hear George.)
Anyway, San Diego Comic-Con has been around for awhile, but in the past decade, it has become big news. Geekery, as we all know, is no longer a hidden pleasure for many. It’s become a billion-dollar business. Amazon recently introduced their Geek Boutique, which about as mainstream as it gets.
One could debate when this all started, the explosion of so-called geek culture into the real world. I’ve been a Geek Gold Card member for my entire life, but suddenly people actually want to know who the hell Ant-Man is. (If you are one of those people, just ask. I’m nice that way. For example, here’s the latest “Ant-Man” movie trailer, complete with a reference to The Avengers.)
The links below give you more information about the big event than I ever could, and not only because I won’t be there. I’ve actually never attended the San Diego Comic-Con, just the New York Comic Con. But there will be lots of announcements about nerdy stuff (or perhaps I should say formerly nerdy — is something still nerdy if it’s immensely popular?) like movies, TV shows, video games, and yes, even comic books.
Here’s how to follow io9’s coverage of Comic Con. (We like io9.) The Mary Sue is also a good source. For example, here’s Betty White as Wolverine.
And then there’s this, via Polygon.com. Watch it at your own risk.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Minecraft Story Mode Announced
Minecraft Story Mode is coming in 2015.
The fact that Minecraft does not have a story is apparently not a problem.
This was back in 2013.
Confused? That’s OK. You’re probably an adult. Ask your kids. Or check out this semi-game on Mojang.com. (More on that later.)
The new game will be made by Mojang, the original developer of Minecraft, and Telltale Games. Telltale is best-known for their mega-hit episodic game The Walking Dead, based on the comic book and TV show. That game is NOT for children, and since Minecraft is played by a lot of young’uns, some have expressed concern that Minecraft Story Mode will be violent. What I’ve read says this will not be the case. I’m inclined to believe it, since that would hurt sales enormously.
Minecraft, of course, is the game that your children are probably playing, possibly right now as you read this. Mojang, the company that spawned the worldwide phenomenon, was purchased by Microsoft for a huge pile of money earlier this year.
It’s official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family. We're excited for the possibilities ahead w/the Minecraft community.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) November 6, 2014
This latest news about Minecraft Story Mode was hailed on Twitter by California Representative Jared Huffman…
Glad @mojang is partnering w/San Rafael’s @telltalegames on new game based on #minecraft—my son’s favorite game! https://t.co/YSOL1Yf0xa
— Rep. Jared Huffman (@RepHuffman) December 18, 2014
…and he received mad props for doing so:
@RepHuffman @Mojang @telltalegames lolz hey got to give this politician props, I was surprised to see your tweet about Minecraft 🙂
— The Famous Kurt Paul (@ninjanomical) December 18, 2014
What’s my point? That Minecraft is a big deal. Microsoft reportedly paid $2.5 billion for Mojang, and they expect to make that money back by July of 2015, according to a story on IGN.com. That should give you an idea of why this is newsworthy.
I don’t play Minecraft, and don’t plan on playing the new game, although I imagine I will at least hear more about it and possibly find myself being asked “Dad can I buy Minecraft Story Mode?” I did play with this interactive press release on Mojang.com called Info Quest II. It’s actually a fairly amusing bit of business, and a clever way to answer folks’ questions about a new game. Obviously this particular announcement lends itself to an 8-bit-style kindasorta game; I doubt we’ll see car companies use this technique to let the public know about their latest offerings. In this case, I paid more attention to the news than I would have if it had just been a press release. Here’s the link if you want to check it out.
Play Info Quest II. You might learn something…. (Mojang.com)
If there’s a Minecrafter in your house, you might want to buy them Minecraft: The Complete Handbook Collection, a boxed set of books about Minecraft. Or a Minecraft Steve Action Figure. (Trust me, that’s a thing.)
Also of interest: This “Minecraft” Community Is Saving The Lives Of Children With Autism (Buzzfeed.com)
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Playstation Halloween Sale (DaddyDeals)
Lots of horror video games, and also games that kindasorta are related to Halloween (Plants Vs. Zombies, for example) are being sold at “frighteningly good discounts” during the upcoming Playstation Halloween Sale. (That’s what they said at IGN, and who are we to question?) Some prices are cheaper for Playstation Plus Members. Some games might even be free for Plus members. It’s a big list. IGN has it. Go on. Check it out. Don’t be afraid.
Hotline Miami Free During PlayStation’s Halloween Sale – IGN.
Ouya Football Game Raises Eyebrows With Kickstarter Campaign (And Why This Matters To Parents)
Ouya is an attempt to create an alternative gaming console. By “alternative” I don’t mean REM back in the day, I mean “a gaming console that isn’t an XBox 360/One, Wii/Wii U or PS1/2/3/4.” It’s unclear whether or not the thing will succeed, but the folks at Ouya seem to have cash because they’re offering some kind of matching funds to developers who can raise a certain amount of cash via Kickstarter.
One of these developers, MogoTXT, is causing consternation amongst the console cognoscenti, according to a story post at IGN. (Note: all of our information in this post is from the linked IGN article below. That’s our source. We’re not going to go into all of the details because they did all the work so you should go there and read their story if you want to know all the stuff.)
The game Gridiron Thunder (video below) raised sufficient ducats to get more ducats from Ouya, but they had very few backers, and many of the backers seem to have names remarkably similar to each other, as well as to MogoTXT CEO Andrew Won. In other words, some suspect… foul play.
Another intriguing wrinkle: how is MogoTXT planning to release a football (as in NFL) game without having permission to use the images of real players? Maybe they aren’t planning to use images of real players? We don’t know. In general, video sports gamers prefer to play games featuring their favorite superstars, or at least real dudes. I thought the license for this was sold exclusively to the good folks at EA, which they use to make a little game called Madden NFL.
The IGN story states that Gridiron Thunder is the second game to reach the funding mark required to receive extra moneys from Ouya. The other is Elementary, My Dear Holmes!, which sounds much more fun: “A point-and-click adventure game starring legendary sidekick John Watson on an epic quest to prove that Sherlock Holmes is just a jerk.”
By the way, Sherlock Holmes? Public domain. No rights issues there. Just saying.
Why are we writing about this? One, kids play video games. Two, Kickstarter is a real thing. By that I mean crowd-funding is a way to get the money to make a professional quality video game, as well as movies, watches, and who knows what else. Your kids are going to be asking you about Kickstarter. They may already have asked you about it. It behooves you to put crowd-funding on your parental digital radar. Yes, it’s one more thing to think about/learn about/be annoyed with. (What, the Facebook, the Twitter and the Snapchat weren’t enough? Now I have to learn about the Kickstarter too? Oy vey.) At least with this one, your kids could potentially find the money from people other than you to turn their great idea into a reality. That would be awesome.
That’s why I care if a Kickstarter campaign turns out to be skeezy. I would prefer that it NOT be skeezy. There will always be a certain percentage of skeeziness with anything involving the Interwebs. But the less skeeze the better.
Suspicious Ouya Game Kickstarter Campaign Raises Eyebrows via IGN
President of Nintendo Actually Says “Meh”
More Presidents of major gaming companies should say “meh” when describing their competitors products. It would be amusing.
http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/08/28/nintendo-president-on-ps4-xbox-one-launch-lineups-meh?&
