It appears that a struggle is occurring between two major computer parts manufactures. Intel and Nvidia are bickering over what is more important the CPU (Intel) Or the GPU (Nvidia). For my money I think a combination of the two are a good way to go, Intel says the same. However Nvidia’s new push is to drop the overall quality of you CPU and put a nicer GPU in you system. They say that this is because today’s modern user uses more graphically intensive applications, and the overall raw processing power of a CPU is wasted. Making the more finite power of a GPU a better choice. (My Interpretation)  I am going to have to disagree with this statement. The modern average user is really not that to dissimilar to users of the past. Most of them use there computers to create various documents to include text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, “research” on the internet, (hint, hint) check there e-mail, etc.. Now perhaps the “research”, and presentation portion could benefit from a more powerful GPU, but overall my money is still on a middle of the road processor respective to when you buy the computer. Now the match-up proposed by Nvidia would probably work good for a mid line gaming system. Why not a top of the line? Because top of the line systems are generally bought by top of the line users, and as such they are going to do more with the system than game. So they will want the raw power provided both a good GPU and CPU.
Just so it is clear I like Nividia cards as a matter of fact my gaming machine at home is currently running Dual GeForce 8800 Ultras in SLI mode. However my processor’s are Twin Dual Core AMD’s running at 2.8 Ghz a piece. So in conclusion I think that Nvidia is trying to be a little elitist with this move. As I stated above you need moderation when it comes to choosing a processor and a GPU.

In two months Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition will launch. This new version of the classic game will be much different then the past releases. The big change will be the introduction of online play. Similar to MMO’s such as Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft, however much different just the same. You see MMO’s are controlled by a group of game developers. However this D&D version will still be controlled by individual Dungeon Masters. Allowing groups of players to experience the game in the way they want to, not the way that game developers think is best. Traditionally D&D has been a “book” game, and the experiences were formed in you head. However bringing the computer into it provides a new interface to the game, will it be a different experience then the previous versions, yes. However is seems today that a lot of people need that interface to experience the game, personally I like the old way. But as the great man once said “The only constant is change“

This weekend I acquired a new game from the Steam Network AudioSurf “Ride your Music”. The basic idea of it is you select an audio file from your collection. The game imports and the analyzes the wave patterns in the song. Form there it generates a race track like simulation of the song. Throughout this simulation there are colored blocks, the point to these blocks is to get clusters and score points. This game is extremely addicting especially if you have a large music collection. Luckily, I do over 40 Gigs. All in all I recommend this game, oh and if you are still not sure they offer a demo.

This week the Game Development Conference took place and as such there were many announcements concerning games. Three games announced this week that really caught my eye were Lego Universe Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and a Hello Kitty MMO (blah!!!). It is rather funny that many years ago the saying “Don’t install games on you computer, they have viruses”. Perhaps a few games that people did install did in fact have viruses however they were probably form less than legitimate manufactures of games. However I believe that that gaming in general will continue to grow. Especially with the current state of affairs. Everyone is fairly depressed with their lives and the economy. I think that games today will become much like movies in the thirties. a way for people to escape the heartache of their daily “grind”.

Also specifically on Star Wars: the Force Unleashed. There will be features to keep the content fresh and rich. One feature as called Euphoria this feature will come into play when you repeat a part of the game, it will make it a little different every time. Making you still think about what you are doing, instead of running here, flipping this switch, hitting this guy three times, and then hitting him with special weapon 3 etc. They have also increased the realism in the game using their digital molecular matter feature. When you destroy an object in the game it will look more like it would if it were real. Instead of breaking into random sized bits alone. It will splinter, shatter, and bend just like a real object would.

There is yet another MMO in development. CNET did a story about a Lego MMO. Now I know I just did a story about a Hello Kitty MMO (See MMO Hell) However I believe that this MMO is a little different from Hello Kitty. The Lego brand has been around more many years and has fans in varying age groups. Plus they are speculating that Lego will allow you the purchase real versions of your virtual creations in game. As far as I know this is a new feature that is not really included in any other MMO. I am now looking forward to this MMO. see the Official Site

There has been a lot of buzz about a new game form Will Wright (Wikipedia) the creator of the Sim City the Sims and many other simulation games. This is rather interesting considering most gamers hip to the game have been waiting for years for it’s release. Well in a story from the CNET crave blog ‘Spore’ to ship September 7 yes thats right. Now why I am making this my “This Week in Tech” post, well it is because this game in many ways is revolutionary. Here is the premise you start out in the game navigating the Primordial Ooze (not the Ooze made popular by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2) From there you try to survive and allow your creature to evolve. After you are successful in this venture you are allowed to create a more complex creature, and the evolution begins again, and if you get enough experience in the game you are even eventually allowed to explore outer space, and interact with other worlds that were created in a similar fashion. The social networking aspects of this feature are mind tingling. The idea that you can play god is nothing new, the Black and White series already tried this and was fairly successful. But now to be allowed to do something very similar to “intelligent design” is fascinating.

PREVIOUS POSTS ABOUT SPORE FROM THE CNET CRAVE:

Hands-on with ‘Spore’
EA propagates new ‘Spore’ images
Seeing ‘Spore’ on the Mac for the first time
Electronic Arts will bring ‘Spore’ to the Mac this year

Well it seems like MMO’s are becoming the next “.com” craze. In a story by CNET crave Hello Kitty’ MMO goes into beta. For those of you who have never heard of an MMORPG is stands for M.assively M.ultilayer O.nline R.ole P.laying G.ame. (Wikipedia) Ok there are some good MMO’s out there to include

1. World of Warcraft
2. Everquest 2
3. Vanguard – Saga Of Heros
4. and my personal favorite Earth and Beyond (no longer playable ): ).

But not everything can cross the MMO lines. For a while there (and maybe still) there was a craze to speculate that every successful entertainment venture should be made into an MMO. I even heard rumors about a Brothers Grimm MMO, this is ridiculous. This is my predication for this MMO, when it launches there will be a huge player base however in a few months the players will realize that MMO’s are notorious for “grinding”. (a term used to describe the long amounts of time it takes to level in a MMO) I believe that this less than instant gratification will turn many of these players away, and ultimately the game will fail. However I am male which means that I am prone to being wrong.