Tag Archives: Julian Mautner

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

Train2Game News: International studios game on Kickstarter

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Son of NorStillalive studios is a young independent game development studio who have members all over the world.

They first got together in early 2010 in Innsbruck, Austria as a team of 3. Over time, the team grew due to the ambitious nature of the Son Of Nor project and new members from Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Italy, US, and Ecuador joined the international distributed team of game developers. The core focus of stillalive studios team is to make innovative indie core-games for PC, Mac and Linux with special and unique game mechanics.

Since their small beginnings they have moved on and now have a game on Kickstarter.

The Son of Nor Kickstarter campaign started on 30th April and will run for 30 days and hopes to pique the interest and backing of gamers everywhere to raise the $150k needed to launch this game into the market.

Son of Nor is a 3rd person action adventure game set in a desert world where human kind is on the brink of extinction at the hands of the Sarahul; an evil race of reptilian creatures bent on the destruction of human civilization. Players become humanity’s last hope for survival in an epic struggle to hold back the Sarahul hordes and change the destiny of the entire planet.

In Son of Nor, players command unique force abilities with which they must fight, solve puzzles and ultimately stay alive. These abilities include telekinesis, powerful magic spells and terraforming; manipulation of the game world itself.

Julian Mautner, founder of stillalive studios, said “If you have a specific goal, it will be the player’s choice of how to achieve it. Players can also choose to play in single player mode or enlist their friends to help them. As gamers ourselves we know the co-op in a game is so important and we have had the most amount of fun developing these elements and know, from feedback so far, our backers and gamers alike will find this very appealing.”

The studio released a new video today detailing multiplayer and co-op game elements for their debut title

Co-op is a key motivating factor in the game. Special level sections, in-game rewards and some puzzles will only be achievable and solvable with the help of companions, when playing through the campaign in multiplayer mode.

You can view the trailer for the multiplayer mode below:

A story like this one shows that no matter where you are or what your situation you can make games and get to a successful level. There is nothing stopping you achieving your dream.

To pledge support please visit the Kickstarter page at: http://bit.ly/SonOfNor