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7 CommentsHalf-Life 2 modded to add head and gun tracking ahead of Oculus Rift
By Samit Sarkar on Feb 04, 2013 02.04.13
Half-Life 2 now has a virtual reality mod that adds head and gun tracking, and the mod's creator says he will support the Oculus Rift headset once he receives his developer unit. The creator, Nathan Andrews, implemented his mod with a modified Sony HMZ-T1 3D headset, which does not offer native head tracking. Instead, he used a Hillcrest sensor for head tracking, and taped another one to a wireless Top Shot Elite gun controller to track the weapon's movements. According to Andrews, the trackers are the same ones John Carmack used in demos of Doom 3: BFG Edition with an early Oculus Rift prototype. "Once the official Rift [APIs] are available I'll integrate them," he said in the description for the video above. The mod works with Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One and Half-Life 2:...
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7 CommentsDishonored developer's cancelled Half-Life 2: Episode 4 stills and animation revealed
By Emily Gera on Jan 14, 2013 01.14.13
Images and early character animation reportedly from the cancelled Half-Life 2: Episode 4 — a title that was in development from Dishonored creator Arkane Studio in 2006 and 2007 — are revealed in a new video released by Valve Time. According to Valve Time, a designer formerly associated with Arkane offered up concept art along with an animation reel from the now-cancelled title. The footage is compiled in the video above, which offers a look a textures and models planned for Episode 4 — known also as Return to Ravenholm. In addition to this footage is the odd inclusion of a particular HUD element called "Absortion." Last year, Valve's Marc Laidlaw explained the reasoning behind the cancellation of the next episode in the Half-Life series, telling LambdaGeneration that creative...
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5 CommentsHalf-Life 2 dinosaur mod turns Gordon Freeman's world into Jurassic Park
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Jan 02, 2013 01.02.13
"Jurassic Life," a mod in development for Half-Life 2, flips Gordon Freeman's dystopic alternative version of earth into the dinosaur-ravaged island of Jurassic Park. The video above shows the creation of modder "BUTANe" and his crew in action. Players forgo Gordon Freeman to step into the skin of Jurassic Park warden Robert Muldoon. On the mod's description page, "BUTANe" says that the mod's storyline is set in the same span of time as the first film, and will include versions of several key scenes and locations. The mod's progression will be "relatively linear" with "Resident Evil inspired management of the stress." "BUTANe" is making "Jurassic Life" on Valve's Source Engine, and notes that the game is still very much a work in progress. The developers are currently looking to bring...
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57 CommentsVideo: The evolution of PC games
By Polygon Staff on Jul 17, 2012 07.17.12
From the earliest text-based adventures to the latest modern shooters, Reverse Enginears has created a stunning musical composition featuring only sounds and music from PC games. Reverse Enginears is a digital creative agency that specializes in A/V re-sequencing. AKA "remixes." Their remixes have been featured in advertising campaigns for Disney, Marvel and GM, and have been watched millions of times on YouTube and elsewhere. You may also enjoy A brief history of video games. Complete list of games referenced: ZorkMULEDam BustersFlight SimulatorKings Quest: Quest For The CrownDOS NinjaHard Hat MackChessDonkeyLode RunnerSid Meier's PiratesBurger TimeGalactixWhere In The World Is Carmen San DiegoAlley CatPool of RadianceWizardryOregon TrailLeisure Suit Larry in The Land of The...
