enter the Atari arcade

Atari has teamed up with Internet Explorer to bring you the Atari arcade ; a modern take on eight classic atari games built with html5 (no joystick needed). Atari was an early pioneer in the video game industry, in fact, they virtually created the industry with their introduction of the arcade game Pong. The brand name "Atari" was used for many years and applied to several other entities that developed products ranging from arcade video games to home video game consoles to home computers to video games for personal computers. A list of all Atari games released can be found in Wikipedia here. The available games on the arcade are Centipede, Combat, Lunar Lander, Super Breakout, Yars Revenge, Missile Command and of course Asteroids and Pong.

As per the developers : "The Atari Arcade was among the most demanding game development projects because it required full multi-touch, multi-player support across many modern browsers and devices - and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without CreateJS. We’ve rebuilt these games from scratch and we were able to do this project in half the time it would have taken one year ago without these enhancements. There’s no emulation - and everything, from design to code, is completely original in HTML5, CSS3, and JS. It was also a lot of fun." The whole project follows the "rethink the web" initiative sponsored by Microsoft to boost the market penetration of Windows 8 touch platform and Internet Explrer for tables and mobiles. Check out more here. Unfortunately this is also a small issue, since you are prompted to use / download I.E. in order to get an "ad-free experience" (prior to each game start, you have to view an ad).

Code Racer : battle it out & learn to code

Code Racer is a multi-player live coding game that teaches newbies how to code a basic website using HTML and CSS, and tests intermediate and advanced users on their coding speed and agility. Players race against each other and the clock to complete coding challenges, unlocking weapons and rewards along the way. Even if someone has zero experience with building websites, they'll be able to watch a video tutorial and complete the code challenges that will give them the basic skills to launch a web site.

Code Racer was built by the team behind Treehouse, where they teach web design and development to everyone in the world who wants to learn. The backend to the game uses Facebook Connect, Node, CoffeeScript, Socket.io and Spine. The frontend uses HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery. Code Racer was conceptualised and constructed during a what they call in Treehouse, "Idea Week," an annualy held session where they focus solely on designing and developing a project. In 2012 they chose to develop Code Racer when they realized there was no other live coding game on the web. It's a fun spin-off for the members of Treehouse to practice their skills and have fun as they learn to code through Treehouse’s online courses.

Pixel Press : draw your own video game

To describe it in short : the Pixel Press platform offers engaging, interactive storytelling tools that enables users of all ages to turn drawings into video games. Follwing a succesful Kickstarter campaign, with the upcoming release of Pixel Press on iOS & Android, you can create your own video game levels in just four easy steps ; draw a level, take a picture, design it, play & share. In the past, video games like Super Mario Brothers and Metroid were groundbreaking. Today, Pixel Press recreates the run and jump gaming experience, but in a completely new way. With Pixel Press, you don't just play a video game ; you create your own, making video game creation accessible to everyone, with no coding required. If you're not in the mood to create, or just don't have the time, you can play levels designed by your friends or other members of the Pixel Press community.

With the Pixel Press video game level creator you are designing five floors of a video game level (Think Mario level 1-1, level 1-2, etc). Your hero will start at the bottom floor and attempt to overcome the obstacles you create to reach the elevator at the end of each floor to advance up to the next floor. Your objective is to create a level that is progressively more challenging from bottom to top. Creating a level is a simple four step process - draw, upload & test, design, play & share.

And, don’t forget. Pac-Man was created on paper. Check out the info and photographs from Control Magazine here.

OUYA : a new kind of game console

OUYA is a new game console for the TV, powered by Android and packed with features, that aims in revolutionizing the established console games industry. According to the realised market shift over the last few years, interest has markedly deviated from big name consoles to the more alluring mobile market (being mobile phones, tablets, or mobile consoles). That unfortunately has driven also away many game developers, apart from the end users. Needless of course to mention the fact that in addition, the game console market is dominated by the "big boys" who essentially have obliterated all competition, and now enjoy large profit margins from hardware and software alike.

OUYA aims in reversing the trend, by employing an open platform, and open development concept, trying to bring in fresh or seasoned game (and apps) developers, essentially to a platform that will project to the user's TV set. This little box is packed full of power. Developers will have access to OUYA's open design so they can produce their games for the living room, taking advantage of everything the TV has to offer. Best of all, OUYA's world-class controller, console, and interface come in one beautiful, inexpensive package. All the games on it will be free, at least to try.

Great games come from great developers. Developers can wave farewell to the roadblocks of bringing a console game to market. Anyone can make a game: every OUYA console is a dev kit. No need to purchase a license or an expensive SDK. It's built on Android, so developers already know how it works. Check out the following video from OUYAs Kickstarter campaign (which was VEEERY succesful by the way, raising 8,5M USD, from a target of 950k) :

All that 1080p goodness isn’t just for gaming also. OUYA brings all your favorite apps to the big screen, streaming shows, movies, and music directly into the living room. They've already partnered with VEVO to put their music videos, Twitch.tv, Crunchyroll, iheartradio, TuneIn, XBMC adds a streaming media app, Plex and Flixster and others. Check out a video interview here.

Molleindustria games

Paolo Pedertsini was born in 1981 somewhere in Northern Italy, and now lives in Pittsburgh and has taught at Carnegie Mellon University. Somewhere during this simple biography, Paolo opened the La Molleindustria site, creating games on social and critical topics. Pretty rare you may think, but each time a game was released it stroke a perfect hit in various pain centers of this modern world. In his own words : "Since 2003 we produced homeopathic remedies to the idiocy of mainstream entertainment in the form of free, short-form, online games. Our products range from satirical business simulations (McDonald’s Video game, Oiligarchy) to meditations on labor and alienation (Every day the same dream, Tuboflex, Unmanned), from playable theories (the Free Culture Game, Leaky World) to politically incorrect pseudo-games (Orgasm Simulator, Operation: Pedopriest)."

In June 2007 the game Operazione: Pretofilia (Operation: Pedopriest), inspired by the controversial BBC documentary Sex Crimes and the Vatican, was removed from the site after a point of order in the Italian Parliament called "Countermeasures to the religions' offences". In April 2009, Molleindustria initially bowed to complaints from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference by removing Faith Fighter from their site, but later put up a new version that gives the player the choice between a full and a censored version. Molleindustria has later started producing a sequel that promotes religious pluralism and tolerance. Both games have since been put back on the website. In September 2011, Molleindustria released a game entitled Phone Story for smartphones that was promptly banned from the Apple iTunes Phone Story focused on what Molleindustira called the "dark side" of smartphone manufacturing. When Apple banned the game Molleindustria released the game for the Android market. All the funds raised from the game were donated. The game is now available for free online. [1]

[1] Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molleindustria

List of games (not complete) :

Tamatipico-a game based on the life of a worker.

Tuboflex-a game based on the need of human resources.

Orgasm Simulator-a game based on how women sometimes fake orgasms.

Enduring Indymedia-a game based on the FBI seizing Indymedia web servers.

Queer Power-a game based on how homosexuals change gender roles.

Mcdonald's Videogame-a game based on how the fast food industry works.

Operation: Pedopriest-a game based on the sexual abuse cases of the Catholic Church.

Faith Fighter-a game based on religious intolerance.

The Free Culture Game-a game based on the struggle between free culture and copyright laws.

Oiligarchy-a game based on how the oil industry works.

Every Day the Same Dream-a game about short existence, alienation, and refusal of labor

Memory Reloaded-a game based on recent issues in the world.

Leaky World-a game based on the issues of Wikileaks.

Phone Story - a game that looks at the hidden world of smart-phone manufacturing.

Inside a Dead Skyscraper- a game about the September 11 World Trade Center attacks.

Unmanned - a game about the life of an unmanned drone pilot.

GO TO LA MOLLEINDUSTRIA >>>

CHECK OUT THE GAMESZONE FOR MORE GAMES >>>

An illustrated guide to ESRB games ratings

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is the non-profit, self-regulatory body that assigns ratings for video games and apps so parents can make informed choices. The ESRB rating system encompasses guidance about age-appropriateness, content, and interactive elements.

ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). According to their marketing : "ESRB's rating system was devised after consulting a wide range of child development and academic experts, analyzing other rating systems and, most importantly, listening to parents. The result was a rating system that is widely adopted by game publishers, supported by retailers, and which is consistently described by parents and opinion leaders as the best entertainment rating system in the US."

Draw a stickman !

Draw a Stickman began with a very simple idea. What if you could draw a stickman and he would come to life? In 2011 the website drawastickman.com was launched, featuring an interactive adventure where you were able to do just that. Your stickman would then become a hero in a short story where you faced an assortment of imaginary obstacles and overcame them by drawing a variety of things to help you.

A brilliant idea, with exceptional realisation, that earned the people recognition and a Webby Award, for Best Use Of Animation Or Motion Graphics. On the website, two episodes are offered. Due to popular demand, "Draw a Stickman Epic" is taking that concept to a whole new level by creating a full length game. Kickstarter funding was then requested. For more info on the ongoing project, since the creators have more to offer, can be found on Kickstarter here.

As far as the released game is concerned :

"Get ready for a creative gaming experience unlike anything you've ever played before! Draw a stickman and then guide him through a fantastic world using an assortment of pencils, draw elements, tools, and weapons to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles.
Draw a Stickman Epic combines adventure, puzzle, action, and creative thinking, like no game you've ever played before!. Draw a Stickman Epic immerses you in a fantastic world where you have complete creative freedom! "

Available for iOS and Windows 8 devices.