Multi-Directional Treadmill Matches Well With First-Person-Shooter

Multi-Directional Treadmill

(Image Credit: http://www.pcmag.com)

Combining a multi-directional treadmill with a first-person-shooter is something that will likely excite virtual reality enthusiasts who want to bring their game to another level. Omni is one such product that allows gamers to interact with the game in a wholly different level, while having a good exercise at the same time.

A video was released recently by the producers of the product showing the Omni treadmill being combined with the Oculus Rift headset. The treadmill looks like an open booth where the users will be able to move towards any direction they want.

The video shows the player moving naturally using the multi-directional treadmill within the game. The head movements and other physical movements of the player simulate the movement of the character in the game. The game used on the video is Team Fortress 2.

According to Jan Geotgeluk, the CEO of Virtux, the company aims to provide household consumers will a multi-directional treadmill that has a reasonable price. The company was able to produce the first such treadmill that is small enough to be used in the living room and is priced reasonably. The product also allows users to walk naturally in any virtual environment.

For the moment, it remains uncertain when the product will become available in the market. However the company intends to launch its Kickstarter campaign to create awareness for the product. It is also aiming to create more Kinect-friendly versions of the product.

The multi-directional treadmill from Virtux is expected to have a price tag of around $1,000, which is reasonable enough for a number of virtual reality products that may come out in the market.

Sony PlayStation 4 May Be Unveiled Sooner Than Expected

PlayStation 4

(Image Credit: http://www.cnet.com)

Specs of the Sony PlayStation 4 were revealed in an event last February where the controller of the PS4 was unveiled by the company. The company also revealed the stereo camera that features motion-capture functionalities. However it did not unveil the console itself.

But a source that had some knowledge about the marketing strategy of the company revealed that the next model of the game console from Sony may be launched by the end of this month or at the start of next month. The source added that the company is trying to increase the hype for the device as it released information about the console on a piecemeal basis.

A number of industry watchers were expecting more news about the PlayStation 4 during the Game Developers Conference recently, but apparently the company only disclosed some of the hardware used for the PS4.

Since the game console was not unveiled at the Game Developers Conference, it may be possible for Sony to organize an event that will launch the PlayStation 4 unless it will make the big reveal at the E3 gaming conference, which is scheduled to be held in June. The source indicated that Sony is aiming to do this for the PS4 and the event is set to be held around April or May.

On the other hand, the supposed Xbox 720 of Microsoft will reportedly be unveiled before the end of the month. However, it remains uncertain if this will indeed happen since the company typically makes a big reveal of major gaming products during the E3 event as shown with the Kinect and the Xbox 360.

A countdown was also posted by Microsoft on its blog to the upcoming E3 event this year. Some industry watchers indicated that this may countdown to the reported Xbox720.

However, Microsoft has not given hints about its supposed game console, it did not even give any indications that it was working on a game console. This is in contrast to Sony, which gave out some tidbits of information about the PlayStation 4. At present, only the Nintendo Wii U is the latest iteration of the game consoles in the market.  The PS4 and the supposed Xbox 720 are expected to be unveiled before the end of the year.

Since the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 were not unveiled at the Game Developers Conference, Ouya and Oculus VR were highlighted at the event as the two Kickstarter-funded companies unveiled some products that they aim to release this year.

Features Added on Draw Something

Draw Something

(Image Credit: facebook.com)

A number of users of Draw Something have often found out the hard way that some of their digital sketch creations will get lost in the void as they were not able to save them into their devices. However with the recent update, these users will have the chance of keeping their artworks for a long time, may until they lose their devices or brick it somehow, but that’s another story altogether.

The creators of the games have added a number of new features including the capability of saving their works of art into the photo library of their devices.

The update for iOS devices will allow the players to save their Draw Something sketches into the photo library of their devices as well as make comments on the drawings of other players. The update also allows them to upload their Draw Something creations directly into Twitter and Facebook.

Zynga recently paid more than $200 million for the drawing and guessing game, which was considered the pervious notable event in the life of the Draw Something application. The game is basically a Pictionary where opponents have to make guesses basing on the clues that are drawn. The drawings are also animated in real-time, which makes Draw Something quite cool.

Players will also have the capability of ‘undoing’ one backstroke, which may not be much since its limited to only one stroke and it will not be necessary to use the eraser option to often. Draw Something users will also be able to write down short notes on the drawing. The short notes will be limited to 100 characters.

Pull to refresh will also be supported on iOS devices to allow users to update their game list while the number of drawings that can be rendered in Draw something was increased from 99 to 999. These are just some of the new features that are expected to give Draw Something players a better user experience.

The Android update for the Draw Something game is also still set to be made available in the future.