Sony slides on Microsoft-Activision Blizzard tie-up plan – BBC News
January 18, 2022
Sony slides on Microsoft-Activision Blizzard tie-up plan – BBC News:
Shares in Japanese technology giant Sony have slumped in Tokyo trade after Microsoft said it plans to buy mega games company Activision Blizzard.
The deal worth $68.7bn (£50.5bn), would be Microsoft’s biggest ever buyout and the largest deal in gaming history.
Maybe Sony would be doing better if anyone could readily get their hands on a PS5…
Penny Arcade – Comic – The K Word
January 10, 2022
Penny Arcade – Comic – The K Word:
The only thing I ever think of when I hear Kinect is a horror movie, and frankly that suits me just fine.
What wipes in Star Wars teach us about the brain and also interface design (Interconnected)
December 25, 2021
What wipes in Star Wars teach us about the brain and also interface design (Interconnected):
The brain has a limited amount of resources, so it has to choose what’s going to be regarded and what’s going to be ignored. The feeling of this resource allocation is what we call attention.
This seems to match with my experience.. From a technical point of view this was the point of the doorway transitions in Resident Evil, but narratively it really worked well too.
More on Roblox’s exploitation of children | Boing Boing
December 14, 2021
More on Roblox’s exploitation of children | Boing Boing:
Last year, People Make Games released a thorough expose of the company’s practices. Roblox “pressured us to delete it”, says presenter Quintin Smith. So they dug deeper, talking to employees and others, and today published a follow-up report.
I think the overall pitch – Roblox is currently a libertarian dream where there is 0 oversight or moderation, where the worst practices are amplified, and there can be no meaningful accountability.
Tiny Emulators
December 5, 2021
A huge variety of tiny emulators for vintage systems to run right from your browser.
Warhammer Isn’t For Everyone, Especially These Nazis…
November 11, 2021
Warhammer Isn’t For Everyone, Especially These Nazis…:
Make no mistake, Warhammer, and the hobby of tabletop miniatures in general, is not for Nazis, PETA’s shenanigans, Politics, or just hatred of any kind.
The time for action is now, with no quarter asked for or given. Keep our hobby and its communities safe from events like these, and we will all be better for it!
Former Blizzard Developer and ArenaNet, Undead Labs Founder: “We Need Unionization” – IGN
September 15, 2021
Former Blizzard Developer and ArenaNet, Undead Labs Founder: “We Need Unionization” – IGN:
I wish things like this were better covered in real-time rather than being a retrospective… I think if more of us realized how toxic Blizz was already starting to be way back when, it could have been steered to better outcomes.
“The Activision Blizzard disclosures this week have left me disgusted and repulsed — but not at all surprised,” Strain writes. “I joined a very early stage Blizzard as a game programmer in 1996 when there were several dozen employees.”
Strain recounts how in 1998 “after a cataclysmic meeting with one of the founders over our objections to dismembered and impaled female body parts in the beta version of Diablo, my wife and I began planning to leave Blizzard. Ultimately, I joined with a few like-minded colleagues and moved a thousand miles away from the Blizzard sphere of influence to start an independent studio.”
Blizzard will rename Overwatch’s McCree, who was named after fired employee | Rock Paper Shotgun
August 26, 2021
Blizzard will rename Overwatch’s McCree, who was named after fired employee | Rock Paper Shotgun:
Overwatch character McCree is going to be renamed, the game’s development team have announced. The change comes after the character’s namesake, Blizzard developer Jesse McCree, left the studio amidst a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard by the State Of California which alleges workplace sexual harassment and discrimination at the developer.
“We built the Overwatch universe around the idea that inclusivity, equity, and hope are the building blocks of a better future,” begins the statement released through the official Overwatch Twitter account. “We believe it’s necessary to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for.”
This is a start, but it’s cosmetic for all intents and purposes. Until devs themselves say that they’re satisfied with changes, I don’t see how the gaming public can support them.
Activision Blizzard have allegedly shredded documents related to their ongoing harassment lawsuit | Rock Paper Shotgun
August 25, 2021
“DFEH is also informed and aware that documents and records have not been maintained as required by law of the DFEH’s Document Retention Notice,” the lawsuit alleges. “Including but not limited to documents related to investigations and complaints were shredded by human resource personnel and emails are deleted thirty days after an employee’s separation.”
They further claim that, due to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), employees must talk to the company before coming forward to the DFEH. They also criticise Activision Blizzard for calling in the third-party legal firm WilmerHale to conduct their own “confidential” investigation, saying this “directly interferes with DFEH’s statutory mandate to investigate, prosecute, and remedy workplace discrimination and harassment violations.”
Despite listing a number of actions they’ve taken to make Activision Blizzard more “welcoming”, the employee group A Better ABK say that none of their demands for a better workplace have actually been met.
Pocket Realities 