Game design

Rocket League has been beset by AI that is legitimately as good or even better than some elite players.Image: PsyonixArtificial intelligence has already beaten chess. Hell, the most sophisticated AI systems have a very good chance against top players in the incredibly complicated game of Go.But, in the uber-complicated car-based soccer game of Rocket League, can an AI do a boosted 360 aerial bicycle kick power shot from the midline? Can itpinch a ball off the side ramp so precisely it sails into the goal at 90 MPH? No,…

Image: Studio Wildcard/Lex+OtisThere’s so many live service and online games out there that hearing about one you’ve never really put much thought into can often be a pleasant surprise. Maybe what you hear about catches your attention for a few days, maybe it gets you to dip into said game to see what it’s all about. That’s more or less what I’m at now after watching the trailer for the upcoming animated series for Ark: Survival Evolved.In case you, like me,don’t remember hearing about this show before hand, the series…

The UK-based tech company ironically called “Improbable” officially decided to shutter the company working on its strange, opaque “military metaverse.” It’s another blow to the folks who once talked up the promise of shared virtual worlds technology, especially because somebody thought a solid use case for a metaverse…Read more... The UK-based tech company ironically called “Improbable” officially decided to shutter the company working on its strange, opaque “military metaverse.” It’s another blow to the folks who once…

Image: SloclapThose who plays video games may recall a game from earlier this year (or, if you have a Nintendo Switch, a month ago) by the name of Sifu. Developed by Sloclap of Absolver fame, the roguelike simultaneously garnered solid reviews for its combat and criticism for how it incorporated Chinese culture and languages. Now things are about to come full circle, as the game inspired by Chinese martial arts films is about to become a martial arts film of its own.Originally reported by Deadline earlier in the week,…

Would you believe that the repeated chorus of the techno beat blasting here was “that ghetto move”? Also, nearly all of the dancing digital avatars behind mine appear to be permanent fixtures of the space, not actual human visitors. Also “Public Health.”Screenshot: European Union / GizmodoIf you build it, they will come. But there’s an exception to every rule and to every Kevin Costner movie misquote. The European Union reportedly built a nearly $400,000 digital metaverse, and only 6 people showed up to the gala…

Nothing says “metaverse” like graphics of the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France that look like they came from an early beta version of Second Life.Image: InterpolEverything we’ve seen from tech companies’ ideas of the so-called “metaverse” have been incredibly boring. Every inch of Meta’s virtual reality playspace Horizon Worlds, for instance, is a starched, corporate rendition of a 3D, interactive space.The world’s largest entity of international law enforcement has apparently watched all those boring demonstrations…