Tag Archives: EPOC

Train2Game News: Opportunity to work with SpecialEffect on once in a lifetime project

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Special Effect logoSpecialEffect have an exciting opportunity for a talented programmer from the Train2Game student pool.

SpecialEffect are working on a very exciting, helpful new project. The games charity is creating a fully accessible chess game for absolutely anyone to play, no matter what disability they may have.

The plan for the game is to be able to use any body part to play the game or even using the power of the mind thanks to technology such as the EPOC system. SpecialEffect specialise in creating hardware and software that is simple to use for people with all abilities.

The charity require a programmer to help finish off the work they have been doing on the project. This could be a once in a life time opportunity to work on an amazing project and really make a difference in the lives of so many people who may have trouble playing games in the fashion we are all so used to.

The charity are looking for a C++ programmer and the programmer who has developed the software so far will be available to give support.

This is an unpaid position but working on this project would be a brilliant addition to your CV as it will get some a lot of attention from the games industry media and possibly national media.

Dr Mick Donegan, Founder and CEO of SpecialEffect, said “Anyone who is potentially interested is welcome to get in touch and we’ll happily send the existing code for them to look at. We’ll also demo what we’ve got and talk them through what’s required to finish off the game.”

If you are interested in the job get in contact with at mick@specialeffect.org.uk

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 07.06.13

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Son of NorIt’s Friday so it is time for a Train2Game industry news round up!

stillalive studios celebrated after its Kickstarter campaign, to raise $150k to fund the completion of its debut 3rd person action adventure PC/Mac/Linux title; Son of Nor, was a success, making $151,175 at its close. The team are now putting all efforts into the completion of the highly anticipated game and have announced its launch onto Steam Greenlight and call for support and people’s votes on the platform. The link to this can be found here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=143053545. During the month long crowd-funding project the studio announced a number of exciting partnerships that will allow players to use integrated hardware such as the Emotiv EPOC; a revolutionary personal interface for human computer interaction, a so called Brain Computer Interface (BCI); the partnership will allow players to control character actions, such as telekinesis, terraforming and magic with the power of their minds and Oculus Rift; that will allow players to immerse themselves in the lore and adventure of Son of Nor deeper than ever before by using this hugely exciting virtual reality device in game.

SpongeBob SquarePants fans can build their very own Bikini Bottom with Nickelodeon’s brand-new city building app, SpongeBob Moves In. Released and available worldwide, SpongeBob Moves In features a stylized 2D design and gives fans a whole new way to interact with the hit animated series. The game is available on iOS and costs £1.49. In the game, players build Bikini Bottom to their own tastes and are tasked with keeping the city’s residents happy by making all their wishes come true. As players advance in the game, they can unlock exclusive-to-the-app, untold stories about how their characters, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Squidward and Sandy, first arrived in the town. Written by the SpongeBob SquarePants series writing staff, these stories are told through brand-new animated short videos unlocked throughout the game.

Diablo 3 is coming to the Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation, Blizzard has announced. The action role-playing game launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 3rd September 2013. The game is already announced for PlayStation 4, although that version is without a release date. There is currently new word of an Xbox One edition. If you pre-order the PS3 or Xbox 360 version and you’ll get the Infernal Helm in-game item. You can wear this at level one and gain an experience bonus to boot.

Telltale games have been using their twitter account to tease and excite fans. They have been using the Vine app to show little six second clips showing characters that are drawn in the same art style as The Walking Dead game. It started with the Day 2 trailer, which is interesting as the first episode of Season 1 was Day 1. It shows a missing persons board and someone hanging up a picture of a character called Vince. Vine 2 is titled Day 220, and it’s the same missing persons board with Bonnie being added to it. Bonnie apparently stood outside the White House once. Vine 3 shows a man named Russell, who, by the looks of it, seems to be a recent graduate.

Finally, Masahiro Sakurai took to Twitter to confirm the news today of the brand new Smash Bros. He said (via Google translation): “In Nintendo Direct delivery of 23:00, June 11, New video of “Smash Bros.” will be unveiled for the first time. Simultaneous world, here for the first time! Do not miss.” You can watch it from 3pm UK time. Sakurai is serving as producer on the new Smash Bros. game, which is a Wii U/3DS crossover in development at Namco Bandai.

Train2Game News: Stillalive studios respond to scepticism

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Son of NorFollowing the release of the video demonstrating the partnership stillalive studios have formed with Emotiv to allow players to control the gameplay mechanics with brain activity, there have been suggestions from viewers that the device and its functions are not genuine.

Today stillalive studio released a further video outlining exactly how the Emotiov EPOC devise works with Son or Nor to quash rumours of fakery and demonstrate the phenomenal function the Emotiv EPOC brings to the 3rd person action adventure PC/Mac/Linux title.

Julian Mautner, CEO of stillalive studios says in the video; “In response to our recent video about the Emotive EPOC mind control device, we got a lot of scepticism. I don’t blame [people] at all because I know how insane and fake it really sounds. So I want to show how the thing works; if you have a certain thing in your mind then the EEG data of that specific thought is stored and as soon as you think it again it will recognise it and trigger some action.” Mautner goes on to demonstrate this in the video by shooting a fireball from his characters hands by only thinking the action.

“The cool thing about the EPOC devise is it recognises more than brain activity, it also recognises facial expressions.” Maunter adds as he demonstrated this by raising the landscape by raising his eyebrows and lowers it with clenched teeth. “The other very cool thing is it can actually measure your emotions; if you are excited or if your are bored or if you’re full of anxiety, [for example] and you can use that data with Son of Nor. For instance, the sound tracks could be selected according to your current emotional state.” Mautner concludes.

The video and claims made by stillalive studios are 100% genuine and backers to the Kickstarter campaign (http://bit.ly/SonOfNor) can pledge to have the EPOC headset included in the reward package; when bidding $300 backers will get the EPOC device plus a digital copy of Son of Nor, a $530 pledge will secure backers an EPOC device plus a pysical collectors edition of Son of Nor.

If Son of Nor is successfully funded through Kickstarter, the team anticipate a release in Q2 2014.

Train2Game News: Son of Nor makes Telekinesis a reality

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Son of NorStillalive studios, creators of upcoming game Son of Nor today announced a ground breaking partnership with the makers of Emotiv EPOC – a revolutionary personal interface for human computer interaction; a Brain Computer Interface (BCI).

The partnership will allow players to control character actions, such as telekinesis, terraforming and magic with the power of their minds.

Son of Nor, which has recently launched on Kickstarter, is the brainchild of Julian Mautner, CEO of stillalive studio and has been in production of over two years with developers from all over the globe investing their time and expertise.

The game is set in a desert world and sees players take on the role of the powerful mages fighting to pull back humanity from the brink of extinction at the hands of the Sarahul; an evil race of reptilian creatures bent on the destruction of human civilisation.

Players command unique force and magic abilities with which they must use to fight, solve puzzles and ultimately stay alive. These abilities include telekinesis, powerful magic spells and terraforming; manipulation of the game world itself.

The inclusion of the EPOC controls strengthens what is already deemed an incredible ground breaking 3rd person action adventure title and will push the boundaries of single player and multiplayer PC, Mac and Linux gaming.

The Emotiv EPOC uses a set of 14 sensors plus 2 references to tune into electric signals produced by the brain to detect the user´s thoughts, feelings and expressions in real time.

“We are so incredibly excited to have partnered with Emotiv to allow our players to be able to perform telekinesis, terraforming and magic with the power of thought. Our game is based around the characters having such powers within the game and now they can do it for real and fully immerse themselves by genuinely be given such abilities. It is phenomenal!” Mr Mautner said.

“Son of Nor´s game play integration with the Emotiv EPOC takes gaming to the next level. Based on the latest developments in neuro-technology, Emotiv has developed a revolutionary new personal interface for human computer interaction. The Emotiv EPOC is a high resolution, neuro-signal acquisition and processing wireless neuroheadset that allows users to experience the fantasy of having supernatural powers and controlling the world with your mind. Sons of Nor, through the magic of your mind, will be yours to command!” -Kim Du, Vice President of Emotiv

Backers to the Kickstarter campaign can now also pledge to have the EPOC headset included in the package; when bidding $300 backers will get the EPOC device plus a digital edition of Son of Nor, a $530 pledge will secure backers an EPOC device plus a physical collectors edition of Son of Nor. Plus as an add on, pledging $290 more than the reward you have already chosen will get you an EPOC device added to your reward.

If Son of Nor is successfully funded through Kickstarter, the team anticipate a release in Q2, 2014.

You can enjoy a video of the EPOC system being used below

You can pledge to the Kickstarter here, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stillalivestudios/son-of-nor-the-world-is-your-weapon