Morning DLC: Video Games News And Rumors 7/20/13
By Nick Tylwalk
"The burgeoning world of professional video gaming known as electronic sports (eSports) scored a big win this week when Riot Games, creators of the popular online competitive game “League of Legends,” announced that it had successfully lobbied the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services to begin issuing professional players P-1 visas, which are intended for “individual athletes.”Dustin Beck, vice president of eSports at Riot, told NBC News that the change in policy “is a watershed moment,” both for the field in general and “for the pros who’ve made this their life’s passion and career.”"
"“South Park: The Stick of Truth” has been a long time coming, in part because of the ambition of the project. At a San Diego Comic-Con panel, “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone explained how the game grew to epic, somewhat unrealistic proportions.Polygon reports that after taking inspiration from “Skyrim,” the script became 850 pages and included “just about every character” from South Park. The team at Obsidian joked that they were targeting “holiday season 2032.” They were urged to cut, and make extra content into DLC. Parker noted that the cut content will “get out there” somehow, possibly as TV episodes."
"Virtual reality only immerses two of your senses: sight and hearing. Not that we’re dying for smell and taste in video games (bleh! Imagine first person shooters), but tactile feedback makes things feel a lot more real. Disney Research’s Aireal does this by blowing puffs of air in your face, and it’s not nearly as crazy as it sounds.Inside the camera-sized device, five subwoofer-like actuators blast a very low frequency through a movement-following nozzle, creating a low-pressure ring of air traveling toward you. When the ring hits your skin, it collapses, and you feel a small, sharp puff. The frequency of the pulses can be varied to create different textures and sensations, and with a firing range of about six feet and 75 degrees of articulation, it’s perfectly dialed in for Kinect-style close-range interaction."