The game has extended from what was just donating processing power to crunch numbers and mathematically generate structures to actually giving it a go themselves.

I worked for two years to make these enzymes better and I couldn’t do it – Justin Segal a post-doctoral biophysics researcher.

The game has 240,000 registered players, 2,200 of whom were active last week.

n one puzzle, the researchers asked users to remodel one of four amino-acid loops on the enzyme to increase contact with the reactants. In another puzzle, players were asked for a design that would stabilize the new loop. The researchers got back nearly 70,000 designs for the first puzzle and 110,000 for the second, then synthesized a number of test enzymes based on the best designs, ultimately resulting in the final, 18-fold-more-active enzyme.

The ability to crowd source such things allow for the competitive aspect of the leaderboard system and truly call in on humans intuition or maybe even luck at generating the best proteins possible.

Whilst there is no application for this protein it’s a good sign that us gamer’s out there and the ability to create games like this could yield scientific breakthroughs.

For more info visit the source

There’s been a number of key revalations since then:

* Anonymous retaliating

* Fileserve and Filesonic shutting down it’s external linking services and making it for personal use.

But the latest revlation is that the owner of Megaupload Kim Dotcom (username MEGARACER ) was ranked #1 mw3 player on xbox. Video below.

From what appears to be cinematic (NAGF) with some game play footage it looks like this one could be a good end of year release.

Boasting their biggest roster ever, allowing you to beat the shit out of any fighter you wish.

This game also includes the recently bought out Pride Fighting Championship. Pride fights will be accompanied by Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros.

In some sort of social media strategy you must like UFC Undisputed 3 to gain access to the DLC to unlock the powerhouse that is Alistair Overeem.

The fan page can be found below

Here 

TCAXTHZKHQWU

Hi Chris, thanks for taking the time out to talk to me in what must be a very busy time for you..

Chris: Not a problem, somewhat of a calm before the storm at the moment, as our single programmer is putting the finishing touches to what will be the final main build of the game prior to release testing.

Tell me a little bit about your team and how it came into being. Where did you guys start off?

Chris: The team was formed at Salford University during our final semester of the undergraduate Computer and Video Game Design degree. The main submission for the semester was a game prototype that must be designed and created in just over half a year which doesn’t sound too bad, until you throw in all the work for the other modules of the course and a dissertation on top…

So this is how we came together, Velisia the game we are currently working on is indeed a revamped and much polished version of the game prototype that we created for the University project.

It’s good to see a group coming straight out of university and forming their own indie studio. Can you tell me a little about the game?

Chris: Velisia is, at its core, a Turn Based Strategy/RPG which draws its roots from gameplay along the lines of those found in the Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem series. Unlike these games, the story and gameplay focuses around just four main heroes that are directly controlled by the player.

Action takes place over four levels of gameplay that see the heroes travel on a story across the land of Velisia, as they attempt to defend their homeland against an ancient enemy. The story and gameplay in the first chapter of Velisia, titled “A Traitors Legacy” is first of three episodes of content that we hope to deliver if the game is successful.

Each further piece of content will continue the story, allow further advancement of your characters, with all your stats and choices from the previous game carrying straight on into the next.

Quite a large and ambitious project, but it sounds incredibly exciting! So, from that I assume, you do have plans to expand on Velisia and release new content for players?

Chris: Plans and/or dreams, yes. As with everything, we need to be successful in order to see them through to completion. When we wrote the narrative for the Velisia story it soon became clear that it was too long to be delivered within the deadline and budget that we currently have as a fledgling start-up studio.

So instead we will release the first section of the game’s narrative which is a complete story experience, but with your standard plot holes left open for expansion. This game model will allow us to keep the unit costs to a bare minimum and hopefully make people more willing to take a punt on a brand new game from a brand new company.

If this works and enough people make that choice we will quickly be able to put out the second and third installments of the game. Within a few months of the game’s release – we won’t be expecting fans to wait years for the next section of the story…

The turn-based RPG has been a genre that has suffered in popularity in recent times. Do you think this is due to a lack of choice or the quality of the titles that are produced for the genre?

Chris: I think turn-based strategy suffers because it’s not a genre that delivers the big spectacle which seems to be what all the AAA titles are about these days. In a market that is constantly pushed for the newest, shiniest graphics and amazing set pieces, a game that makes you wait your turn and watch units move one after the other will always appear second rate to the more modern RTS game.

Lack of titles is definitely a major issue for the genre, and even when titles are released in Japan/Asia, it is not uncommon for them never to see the transition to the Western market – or, if they do, several years go by before they finally get released.

Speaking of Asia, one thing that really makes your game stand out is the manga art style. What were the key motivations behind picking such a unique style for your game and how has it been received by the fans?

Chris: We started off with perhaps a little too much Manga tunnel vision, attempting to make the game look and feel like a comic book, this has been toned down quite a bit recently to be more in line with a traditional JRPG.

All in however the art has been probably the easiest section of the project, very little has needed to be redone and the only major issue we hit was making our special effects for the heroes abilities match up to the style and quality of the artwork for the characters and backgrounds themselves.

Quite a few people have left feedback on our moddb.com page saying the game reminds them of Valkyria Chronicles. We at TCGames take that as a mission accomplished.

During the last few weeks you have done a lot of development diary videos covering certain characters or classes which have all been really informative. Do you intend to keep this momentum in the weeks prior to launch?

Chris: The character introduction videos sadly only really showed off the game’s combat engine, this was due to the core game still being in major development and not really at a good place for viewing. Once Matt Sanders (our programmer) finishes the final game build I spoke of earlier, we will be releasing a series of gameplay videos that show exactly how the game looks and feels to play.

How important do you feel it is for a start up indie studio like yourselves to keep in touch with its community, and have you found this an easy thing to do given today’s obsession with social media?

Chris: It’s definitely a key element to getting your name out there. Unfortunately it also takes a lot of time to really push it forward, and when you only have six guys in your team, time isn’t something you have in large amounts to throw around.

Once we have a finished product I’m hoping to convince some of the more established YouTube community members that review and give commentaries on indie games that we deserve a little of their precious time. This would do us the world of good in getting our title noticed as some of these guys have hundreds and thousands of viewers on every video they release.

Is there a date set for when Velisia will be available to purchase?

Chris: Release dates are not something I can confirm yet as they are handled between our Publishers Merge Games and the number of online digital portals that we are approaching to put Velisia on their shelves. At a guess, sometime around February, but don’t hold me to that!

Velisia is however available for pre-order from our website, www.teamcraftgames.com and there is an option there to get hold of the game’s Beta build if you really cannot wait for release day!

Seems like you’re all geared up and ready for a great launch! The game is looking great and I know we here at NAGF are following you guys with great interest. Thanks for your time Chris, and good luck with finishing Velisia!

This stat was confirmed via notch’s twitter. It says

“Minecraft now has 20 million registered users. At 70 kg each, that’s 25% of the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza.”

https://twitter.com/#!/notch/statuses/158311410600906753

This small indie game has gone from strength to strength continually showing us all that unique ideas are what makes indie gamers so successful among-st the Goliath franchises.

According to security experts the hackers where able to compromise the system in such a way that the passwords where obtained in pure text with no encryption.

We advise if you have an account with game that you change your passwords and monitor your bank accounts for strange activity. At the time of posting it is unclear at the severity of this hack.

Source

I contacted Konami yesterday to see if there was a planned console release for Silent Hill: The Arcade. “It’s not on any current plans,” was the official response from their European PR handlers, Voltage – I suddenly had the urge to send them an immediate enquiry because I had just read House Of The Dead 3 and 4 were both moaning and groaning their way to PSN on February 7.

Sega’s lightgun masterpieces are getting a spanking new HD facelift, and are sure to be hits for people who have bought PlayStation Move. Sega is throwing its full weight behind both titles, as Sega Of America senior VP of digital business, Haruki Satomi said: “The House Of The Dead has always been one of Sega’s most popular series, and over the years we have worked hard to bring that full arcade experience to console owners. The abilities of the PS3, as well as PlayStation Move, have let us get closer than ever before.”

So, could Konami seize on a trend here and do the same with Silent Hill: The Arcade? I first heard about it when I saw it on YouTube a while back, and have since watched speed runs and anything else I can find. I’m a massive Silent Hill nut, in case you haven’t guessed already. I’ve already written about my 5 hopes for Silent Hill: Downpour which is due for release this year.

But searching through the internet, there seems to be a lot of negativity surrounding The Arcade. Destructoid said it was akin to vomit, despite their only experience of The Arcade apparently extending as far as watching the same videos I have. Their complaint? That it’s messing too much with the IP.

I don’t really buy into that. I think it looks quite sharp and, though maybe not the most original idea, still looks like a lot of fun. I’d download it for a play – more-so if it had Move support (I’ve only got Heavy Rain to play with Move at the moment).

The early Silent Hills always encapsulated me because of the way the story sucked me in, something Destructoid takes offense to with this Arcade version. But at least Konami aren’t pretending to offer something it isn’t with The Arcade, like on-rails full-price retail games such as Capcom’s Umbrella Chronicles. They’ve produced what looks like a fun shooter with recognisable, iconic characters and Silent Hill staples (read: walls melting, big fans, nurses with big tits).

Some argue that the Silent Hill story has been getting progressively weaker since the original trilogy. From my point of view, any different direction that can be taken to freshen up the series has to be a good thing. Come on Konami, PSN that sucker??

But it might be wise to save those pennies, because January has little to offer. There are five titles I think are worth a mention, but even so, they are a bit stale compared to what we were playing a few weeks ago. One thing is if you like your spin-offs, then January will keep you very happy indeed! Here are the five ‘biggest’ games of January 2012:

4 January – NFL blitz

EA Sports has had great success with the NBA Jam brand, and so in true EA fashion, they have decided to do a similar thing with their ever-popular NFL series. Yes, NFL Blitz is a lovely little spin off game for American football addicts everywhere. If one NFL game was just not enough for you each year, fear not because EA has your back!

Maybe if this title does as well as EA hope they will expand and do seasonal versions… anyone for a game of NFL Blitz Spring Break?!

10 January – Gotham City Impostors

This game is probably the most random of the January lot. The GCI is similar in style to Valve’s Team Fortress 2 set within what is apparently Gotham city. Everyone plays either a Batman or Joker wannabe and they fight with guns, laughing gas and a whole host of other gadgets.

With Arkham City still in recent memory, it’s hard to imagine any but the most devout batman fan wanting to play this mediocre, albeit humorous shooter. If you have completed Arkham city and you still crave a Batman fix then maybe you’ll get a kick out of this little title.

31 January – Final Fantasy XIII-2

The first big day this year in terms of game releases has to be 31 January. Not one, but three big games from three very large Japanese publishers. There is a pretty decent mix of genres and it’s nice to see Japan leading the way in 2012 after a very disruptive and unfortunate 2011. Although many will be wary of purchasing the latest Final Fantasy offering (which is also a spin off… see the theme here?!) Square Enix has promised a much improved experience to that of XIII.

31 January – NeverDead

NeverDead is the latest serving from Rebellion, a great British developer more commonly known for the Aliens Vs. Predator series. This game is shaping up to be one of the more interesting games to kick start 2012, combining interesting action, adventure gameplay with some decent writing and humour thrown in for good measure. This title seems to be a bit of a tangent from Rebellion’s usual projects, but hopefully it will do well and give Konami the excuse to let Rebellion flex more of its creative muscles.

31 January – SoulCalibur V

The final game to mention from the 31 January listing is the latest installment of the SoulCalibur series from Namco Bandai. Always a solid beat ‘em up, I always pick up the SoulCalibur games – maybe not at launch, but soon afterwards. The brilliant blend of incredibly-refined fighting mechanics, and the role-playing narrative style of the main game mode makes SoulCalibur games quite unique. As always, each format version of the game has a “cover girl” character added in to help sell the franchise to format fan boys. I have fond memories of killing nightmare with Yoda in the last game of the series…

Although this month still seems bleak compared to the last quarter of 2011, January 2012 is not totally without merit. The variation of games out this month is quite refreshing, and seeing the big Japanese publishers pushing their titles out and kick starting the year is a positive message for the industry. Some of these games deserve a play, but some will benefit from a lack of other options more than the actual quality of the titles.

Roll on the rest of 2012. Big things are waiting just around the corner…

Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Two of the best-selling games over the last few years, starring the world’s greatest detective, trained to the absolute limits of physical human perfection.

But both games also have us worrying for the Dark Knight. We’ve suffered from mania (it’s no fun kids, trust us), and we can see the signs. There are ticks that Batman displays which developers Rocksteady may have included to show the ‘more vulnerable side’ of Bruce Wayne behind the mask. Not so – instead they confirm to us that Bruce is bipolar, popping pills and that poor old Alfred must be having an absolute whale of a time looking after him…

Batman’s conversation with Talia

This Top 5 was sparked from a conversation Batman has with Talia Al Ghul in Arkham City. Batman has to participate in The Demon Trials against Ra’s Al Ghul to prolong his life for a few more hours. Walking with Talia toward the challenge, she says:

Talia: “When the blood of The Demon takes hold, you will be on your own.”

Batman: “Like always…”

Such an unnecessary thing to say in such a serious situation, but Batman’s loneliness is obviously crippling, overwhelming. It may sound self-pitying, but Bruce WANTS Talia to know how lonely he is, to comfort him and tell him he doesn’t need to dress up like a bat and climb down industrial chimney pipes for a living. That when he goes home, he sits in a big empty house, counting his money and listening to Alfred go on about how frequent his stools are.

Getting over the death of his parents

Bruce Wayne hangs on to negative things that have happened in his past. Though the silver lining for the death of his parents was the birth of Batman, it was more of a silver lining for the residents of Gotham. Batman broods in the shadows, constantly overthinking his parents’ slaughter. It’s most obvious in Arkham Asylum, where Scarecrow’s serum brings his hidden memories to the forefront of his mind time and again. They also make a cameo in Arkham City – again, before The Demon Trials. Bruce can’t get over it, replaying events in his mind to the point that it overtakes his entire life. The big gay.

Reckless disregard for his safety

It’s like suicide is a constant thought for Batman. When scolded by Alfred for calling in the Grapnel Boost after the AR missions in Arkham City, because the equipment still hasn’t been field tested and is in the prototype stage, Batman casually replies “I’m ready.” Confidence is one thing, but situations like this show a clear disregard for Batman’s own safety. There’s no guarantee that the risks he takes will pay off, which lead us to believe that Bruce Wayne’s suicidal tendencies are spilling over to his Batman persona. Fine, Batman, jump off a helicopter. No skin off our nose.

Joker’s his confidant

One voicemail to Batman sees Joker telling Batman that ‘he’s the only one he can really talk to’. If true, then maybe that’s the reason Batman is loath to kill The Joker off. Depression is such a singular, insular disease that it can be impossible for others to understand if they’ve never been through it. Joker’s mania might just be the best counterbalance for Batman. Maybe he calls Joker late at night, and they both discuss their problems, hoping to find an answer somewhere. Or maybe he finds solace logging onto YouJizz and wanking his brains out.

He’s terrible with splits

He’s a strong, handsome billionaire with a heart of solid gold, perfect moral ethics and is as hard as nails. So why isn’t he hanging out the back of a Grade-A splitarse?

Batman doesn’t seem to have any luck with the tarts. And it’s not like he’s short of offers, either. Catwoman drips all over him and could evidently suck a football out of a hosepipe. Poison Ivy would blates go for a pair of Arabian Goggles, and Talia seems to be the one true love of Batman’s life. Yet all he does is push them all away. It’s deeper than him being a commitment-phobe. Batman is so incredibly lonely that he doesn’t believe anyone will ever understand him, no matter what he does or how hard he tries.

So, for as long as they both shall live, the best Batman can ever hope for is a good ol’ gumming from Alfred.