e371 – Legacy Games & New UX

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@michaelrowe01’s #WWDC22 experiences, metaverse connections, @humane building the beyond, @habitca ‘s goal gamification and expanded universe

Michael R begins with a recap of his WWDC staycation education week, highlighting his experiences, and making a connection to the UX enhancements that lend themselves to mixed reality experiences.  Michael R makes a compelling argument for how Center Stage may frame the way that applications and focused interactions may be handled in an Apple version of augmented reality.  Michael M wonders whether the iPadOS Sidecar functionality is integrated with the multiscreen MacOS Center Stage.  

Michael and Michael then turn to an article about Humane, a startup comprised of amazingly talented people, whose mission is “to build innovative technology that feels familiar, natural and human.”  The Cult of Mac article focuses on several intriguing patents with user experiences that are projected vs experienced through glasses or a pane of glass.  The Sam Sheffer video highlighted in the Cult of Mac article, and embedded below is a fascinating exploration of the people, patents and process.  Give it a watch.  

The co-hosts then turn to the gamification of goal achievement.  Habitica shares gamification characteristics such as earning digital rewards and team battles with other examples such as Chore Wars and SuperBetter.  Michael and Michael did go to the Games At Work archives, and found a discussion on the prior incarnation of Habitca from episode 41 – see the link below! 

Wrapping things up, Michael and Michael discuss how the Lord of the Rings extended universe has similarities with Marvel and Star Wars, based on a Guardian article’s assessment.  

What do you think the future augmented reality user experiences may be?  Will you be ramifying your goals?  Why or why not?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

Michael Rowe’s Random Thoughts blog: WWDC 2022 Keynotes

Apple’s WWDC 2022

Cult of Mac article: Secretive startup full of Apple talent aims to change your life through wearables 

Hu.ma.ne

TechRadar article: Ever wanted to play Doom in Minecraft? This player built an in-game PC just for that

Habitca

Games at Work e41 — The Paymeium Currency (for Habit RPG)

Chore Wars

SuperBetter

The Guardian article: Is the Lord of the Rings now a never-ending franchise like Marvel and Star Wars?

Michael R’s WWDC blog posts

WWDC 2022 keynotes

State of the Platforms

Apple Design Awards 2022

WWDC Day two – Into the meat of the matter

WWDC Day three – Catching up

WWDC Day four – The nitty gritty

WWDC Day five – Smooth landing

and Extra extra links we didn’t get to

The Verge article: Microsoft is working on games for Microsoft Teams

RetroRGB article: Palm OS developer releases source to classic games, 20+ years later

Slate article: A Horrifying Proposal for Airplane Seating Confirms the Future of Coach Is Being Knocked Unconscious

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e370 – Driving with the Queen

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London streetscape with taxi and double-decker bus
Photo by Sabrina Mazzeo on Unsplash

Driving with the Queen: stories about maps – custom @Waze voices, @geoguessr & an open source generator, LARPs (#StarWars & more), PvP, #WWDC22 and @DiabloImmortal 

Michael and Michael start their engines (and navigation software) with a story about how Waze is celebrating the Queen’s platinum jubilee with a special Waze Voice.  While reportedly only available to users in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, it appears also in the options for US users as well!  Of course, no story about driving with the Queen would be complete without the Wayne’s World clip of driving with Queen.  Party on, Garth!

Next up, an article on the best icebreaker games for groups highlights some great ways to generate engagements with large virtual groups.  One of the games is called Geoguessr that teleports you to a place on earth and has you discover where you are.  Staying on the map theme (with Waze and Geoguessr), the next link is a free and open source tool that allows you to create your own fantasy map, or configure a map with specific names, like adjacent technologies.

An article from the New Yorker discusses LARPs – live-action role-play games, starting off with the Disney Star Wars experience in Orlando on the Galactic Starcrusier.  While this example of a LARP has garnered a great deal of attention in the past couple of years, due to the Star Wars theme, as well as the cost, LARPs are not new, and the article gives several examples.  A key takeaway is the value that people are placing on experiences versus things, and as entertainment, LARPs are extraordinarily immersive experiences that allow those being entertained to lose themselves in the story.

Then Michael and Michael turn to an article from The Next Web where they explore rights in virtual worlds, specifically what legal actions could be imposed based on interactions between people in the metaverse.  PvP and PvE games are debated, as are geographic and country level laws.  While the co-hosts did not address the similarities and differences between interactions between people in a LARP and people’s avatars in a virtual reality space, this could be an interesting discussion to explore.

WWDC looms large – it’s next week – and there are a couple of articles in the show notes below about what people are hoping to get from the upcoming conference.  Michael and Michael wrap up with the excitement about the Diablo Immortal game being live (for some!) on iOS.

Have you played in a LARP?  Do you have concerns about digitized harm?  Are you starting up a Diablo game?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

iPhone in Canada article: Waze Offering Queen-Inspired Experience in Celebration of Platinum Jubilee

Waze

Hopin article: 10 of the Best Virtual Games for Large Groups (2022 Edition)

Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator

Michael R's generated map
Michael R’s generated map

New Yorker article: LARPing Goes To Disney World

The Next Web article: The UAE’s AI minister wants ‘murder’ in the metaverse to be a real crime

Apple’s WWDC 2022

Six Colors article: My WWDC 2022 wishlist

9 to 5 Mac article: Apple announces 2022 Apple Design Awards finalists ahead of WWDC event

The Verge article: Diablo Immortal feels uncomfortably mercenary

iMore article: Diablo Immortal for iOS review: The same experience you know, now on mobile

Ars Technica article: Two European countries won’t get Diablo Immortal because of loot box laws

Extended links for this week

TechCrunch article: Amazon is launching an invite-based ordering option, starting with the PS5 and Xbox Series X

Hackaday article: Electronic Catan Game Board is Modular

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e369 — rOS by any other name

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rose in a glass jar
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e369: rOS by any other name – discussion on AR / VR headsets & @Qualcomm’s chipsets, @Zoom extension with #Welo, #virtualworldseducation, for all, & @gocube_official dice

Michael and Michael kick things off this week with an article that reports that Apple showed an AR/VR headset to the board of directors.  This could be an exciting new piece of hardware that has Michael R very excited about the upcoming WWDC, when it may be available.  After a discussion about reality OS (rOS), Michael R shares his experiences on the 100 days of Swift.  

Then, the pair turn their sights toward the Qualcomm AR glasses and have a conversation about their capabilities and the Snapdragon chipset powering them.  

Next up is a mini metaverse story about the Welo plug in for Zoom, and the visual spatial user experience used to convey groups of people in breakout sessions.  Michael and Michael then take a moment to discuss the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium (VWEC) kicking off in SecondLife on Saturday the 21st of May.  

Winding up this week’s episode on the subject of accessibility, Michael and Michael examine a detailed article from Six Colors.  Global Accessibility Awareness Day was Thursday, 19 May, and the co-hosts remark how accessibility features oftentimes make for better user experiences for everyone.  

Closing out the show, the pair quickly touch on a couple of subjects from last week’s episode, namely an accessibility app that synchronizes translations with a movie you’re watching, and a Transformers game on Apple Arcade.  Last up is a set of IoT enabled dice, which also has an accessibility angle to them.

What is your favorite accessibility feature that you find yourself frequently using?  Drop us a line at @gamesatwork_biz and let us know! 

Selected Article Links

Cult of Mac article: Apple shows off AR/VR headset to board of directors

Apple’s WWDC 2022

100 Days of Swift

The Verge article: Qualcomm’s new AR glasses are thinner and wireless

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 5G Platform 

tech.co article: Zoom now has a Mini Metaverse Available for Meetings

Welo

The Mercury News article: Google’s huge new Mountain View campus is poised to be green complex

Bálna Budapest – Photo by Michael Martine, September 2012

Bálna 

Six Colors article: Apple’s Accessibility feature preview gets #GAAD going

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Apple App Store: TheaterEars

Apple Arcade: TRANSFORMERS: Tactical Arena

Games at Work: e368 – Chaos Agent Without Pants

GoDice

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e368 – Chaos Agent Without Pants

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check out e368: Chaos Agent Without Pants – with special guest @theRab & stories @BostonDynamics Spot, drones, open source trackballs, @LEGO_Group, NFTs and @FlipperZero 

Michael, Andy and Michael welcome Ryan Boyles back to Games at Work for a wide ranging discussion on robotics, automotive, AR and open source tech as well as LEGO and NFTs.  

Michael, Michael, Andy & Ryan

The team starts off with a discussion on Spot, and Ryan’s recent experiences with the BostonDynamics robot.  Check out the tweets from the show notes below for photographs of Ryan and Spot.  Another robot is examined later in the show for it’s ability to remain flying for long periods of time, inspired by maple tree seeds.  

After a couple stories on automobile / phone integration and over the air upgrades, the team turn to an interesting AR use case from Google.  Leveraging Google’s technology and experiences, the team discuss a use case for live translation and closed captioning, without needing cameras in the glasses.  

Next up is a conversation on the Ploopy open source trackball, which reminds the team of QMK and earlier Logitech trackballs.  Andy shares a link from Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab.

Then several LEGO stories surface, starting with @Lxs link to the 2427 piece model of Petra, and the recently released LEGO Optimus Prime.  Be sure to check the show notes for a community build of Shockwave (complete with Razorbeak cassette) that is more than meets the eye.  

The team wind things up for this episode with how the Canadian comedy troupe Kids in the Hall predicted NFTs with their 1994 sketch.  That, and a cyber dolphin enabled hardware tool from Flipper Zero.

Selected Article Links

CNN Business article: Spot can paint! Watch the robotic dog collaborate with artist

The Verge article: You can hack Apple CarPlay into a Tesla using — what else — Android

The Verge article: Some new BMWs will need a software upgrade to get Wi-Fi, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

Cult of Mac article: Google shows a possible killer feature for AR glasses

Realtime transcription discussion from e352 — Looking Forward, Looking Back

South China Morning Post: Hong Kong team develops lightweight drone that can fly for longer — inspired by maple seeds

PCGamer article: Elden Ring player spends hours hiding in a bush to hose an AFK farmer

The Verge article: Ploopy and the promise of an open-source trackball

Ploopy

Retro Computing Grotto — picture of a Logitech TrackMan Portable Mouse T-CE3 – PS/2

QMK firmware 

Microsoft Accessibility Blog: Increasing our Focus on Inclusive Technology

TF Source Report article: Countdown: LEGO Optimus Prime — the best tweets

Digg article: ‘Kids In The Hall’ Predicted NFTs In This Sketch Back In 1994

FlipperZero

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