With modern consoles offering gamers graphics so photorealistic that they blur the line between CGI and reality, it's easy forget just how cartoonishly blocky they were in the 8-bit era. In his new book, Creating Q*Bert and Other Classic Arcade Games, legendary game designer and programmer Warren Davis recalls his halcyon days imagining and designing some of the biggest hits to ever grace an arcade. In the excerpt below, Davis explains how the industry made its technological leap from 8- to 12-bit graphics. Santa Monica Press©2021 Santa Monica PressBack at my regular day job, I became particularly fascinated with a new product that came out for the Amiga computer: a video digitizer made by a company called A-Squared. Let’s unpack all that slowly.The Amiga was a recently released home computer capable of unprecedented graphics and sound: 4,096 colors! Eight-bit stereo sound! There were image manipulation programs for it that could do things no other computer, including the IBM PC, could do. We had one at Williams not only because of its capabilities, but also because our own Jack Haeger, an immensely talented artist who’d worked on Sinistar at Williams a few years earlier, was also the art director for the Amiga design team.Video digitization is the process of grabbing a video image from some video source, like a camera or a videotape, and converting it into pixel data that a computer system (or video game) could use. A full-color photograph might contain millions of... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2021-12-25 16:30:11 UTC ]
What, and whether, our world leaders read provides crucial insight into their minds and priorities. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2023-02-10 15:44:57 UTC ]
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While Valve’s awesome $399 Steam Deck is a capable enough gaming system out of the box, some of its best features are easy to miss. If you know where to look, you can customize the Steam Deck to your liking, minimize annoyances, and even expand your game catalog well beyond the built-in... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-02-10 12:52:42 UTC ]
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Cloud gaming libraries normally get larger, but Amazon Luna's appears to be shrinking — for now, at least. 9to5Googlenotes that the paid Luna+ tier will lose 53 games in February. Many of these are older or niche titles you won't necessarily miss, but that does mean losing classics like No More... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-02-06 16:53:46 UTC ]
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The latest game to get the reverse-engineering treatment is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Neowin has reported. A GitHub user called snesrev has fully ported the game to PC using over 80,000 lines of code, while adding some extra enhancements. Those include support for enhanced aspect... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-02-06 11:55:42 UTC ]
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A community of Black writers and readers, the group is partnering with Little Free Library to bring more free libraries to Black communities across the country. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Audio has acquired Playaway Products, a producer of physical audio players and tablets preloaded with content. Launched in 2005 and based in Solon, Ohio, the company offers 36,000 titles and works with some 40,000 libraries and institutions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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No, kids CAN'T get the books being banned at libraries and bookstores, Mr. King. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-01-27 11:40:00 UTC ]
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As recent laws restrict school librarians from bringing in new books, they're seeing a drop off of students using the library at all. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-01-23 17:38:56 UTC ]
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Libraries have existed for 5,000 years, but what does their future look like in an ever-changing world. One writer explores. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-01-18 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Library educator R. David Lankes reflects on the community-centered, empowering, progressive libraries he visited on a recent trip to Korea. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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OverDrive officials said 129 library systems hit the milestone with the Los Angeles Public Library becoming its first library system to surpass 10 million digital circulations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2022 figures suggest that demand for digital resources in libraries continues to be robust even as the rate of growth slows from pandemic levels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-01-06 05:00:00 UTC ]
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If you’re an analog person living in a digital world, it’s easy to fear that you might get left behind in the future. So, don’t let that happen. Learning to code is easier than ever, thanks to resources like this 14-part code training bundle. And with this end-of-year special, you can get... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2022-12-19 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Chances are good you know someone who has subscription fatigue from the many digital services that have become essential in our lives. Or maybe you have a loved one getting a new game console or some other exciting new hardware. In either case, we’ve pulled together a number of digital gifts and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-14 14:18:30 UTC ]
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As well as being centres for learning and community, libraries can be great locations for arts and crafts sessions. One Rioter shares ways to set up creative meetings in your local library. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-12-12 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Amid all the stories of shitbag Proud Boys shutting down drag queen story hours at libraries, here’s a nice bit of news about libraries saying a very polite “fuck off” to Kirk Cameron, former Growing Pains star and current Christian film mogul whose latest effort was the anti-abortion... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-08 17:19:04 UTC ]
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It’s been a bumper year for gaming on the go. For a spell, it kinda felt like Nintendo was the only name in town, but it’s since become one of the more exciting corners of gaming. Today, there are handheld options for everything from AAA to Indie to retro and beyond. Whatsmore, the current... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-07 18:00:03 UTC ]
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Google’s interactive Doodle today celebrates the life and accomplishments of video game pioneer Gerald “Jerry” Lawson on what would have been his 82nd birthday. The Doodle lets you play five retro pixel-art platformers in your browser — with two even letting you play as Lawson. The Doodles’... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-01 18:15:43 UTC ]
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The Internet is getting weird again. Twitter’s recent stumbles under new ownership have surprisingly shined a quick light on the world of federated and decentralized social networking services, like Mastodon. These services are peer-to-peer or community-run networks, depending on the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2022-11-30 11:45:00 UTC ]
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For Giving Tuesday, all donations on DonorsChoose will be matched, making your donation go twice as far! Help fund a classroom library today. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-29 14:56:07 UTC ]
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