games

Reprogramming pinball machines

MAKE Projects Editor, Paul Spinrad, sent me a link to this project and the following message: Some CS / Game Development students hacked a Lord Of The Rings pinball machine, taking full control of its sensors, actuators, and display, and reprogrammed it to play Pinhorse — like the basketball game, but you try to match […]

Robot soccer over the net

Robot soccer over the net

A company called Robot Services Group is running i-SOBOT soccer matches over the Internet. Using free video conferencing software called ooVoo, you control one i-SOBOT against an opponent’s bot on a soccer field. Another cool service the company provides is a robot test drive, where you can try controlling various mini-humanoid type bots. This might […]

2008 Good Gift Games round-up

Matthew Baldwin’s 2008 Good Gift Game round-up is worth a look – some great games and fun reviews! “In this game we are all epidemiologists, trying to synthesize vaccines to four deadly diseases that are rapidly spreading across the globe…” My God, can you even imagine a less-enticing introduction to a board game? It sounds […]

Spore and science

Science writer (and science tattoo gallery curator) Carl Zimmer recently wrote an article for The New York Times about the science of Spore. He’s also linked to this video from Seed of a conversation between astrobiologist Jill Tarter and Spore creator Will Wright. Here’s a print version of the conversation.