Tech Evangelist Joey deVilla on software development, tech news and other nerdy stuff
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Woot! has a pretty sweet deal on refurbed XBox 360s: $140 for a refurbished model with 20GB hard drive and HDMI output. The package comes with all the stuff shown above. If you want it, get it now, because this deal isn’t likely to last very long!
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AWWWWWWWW YEEEEEEEAAAHHHH!
The much-anticipated first downloadable “episode” for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned, is now available via XBox Live for 1600 Microsoft Points (US$19.99).
The Lost and Damned is a brand new story with brand new characters set in Grand Theft Auto IV’s Liberty City. In the story, you play the part of Johnny, a veteran member of the biker gang known as The Lost. Niko, your character in Grand Theft Auto IV’s main story had some pretty interesting run-ins with them, and as Johnny, you’ll have some pretty interesting run-ins with rival gangs – and probably with rivals within your own gang. (Has there ever been a Grand Theft Auto where a supposed friend didn’t stab you in the back?)
Here’s the first trailer for The Lost and Damned:
…and here’s the follow-up trailer:
I’ll download it tonight and report on my gameplay experiences later this week.
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Hey, it looks like I’ve got some potential reading material for the holidays! O’Reilly’s just released their new book, Learning XNA 3.0, an introduction to Microsoft’s 2-D and 3-D game development framework for the PC, Xbox 360 and Zune. Here’s an excerpt from O’Reilly’s description of the book:
Written by an experienced university-level game development instructor, Learning XNA 3.0 walks you through the framework in a clear and understandable step-by-step format. Each chapter offers a self-contained lesson with lots of illustrations and annotated examples to help you master key concepts. Once you finish the book, you’ll know how to develop sophisticated games from start to finish.
- Learn game development concepts from 2D animation to 3D cameras and effects
- Delve into high-level shader language (HLSL) and introductory artificial intelligence concepts
- Develop three complete and exciting games using 2D,3D and multiplayer concepts
- Develop and deploy games to the Xbox 360 and the Microsoft Zune
While teaching XNA to beginning game developers, author Aaron Reed noticed that several key concepts were difficult for students to grasp. Learning XNA 3.0 was written specifically to address those issues. With this book, you can test your understanding and practice new skills as you go with unique "Test Your Knowledge" exercises and review questions in each chapter.
The book, when purchased from O’Reilly, comes in several formats:
If you’re in Canada, you’ve got a chance to save big. Chapters/Indigo’s online price for the paperback book is CAD$23.09, which makes it cheaper than the electronic version. If you’re an iRewards member, they’ll shave another buck-fifteen off the price to make it CAD$21.94.
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Here’s something for gamers who want to go big: the Cineplex chain of movie theatres in Canada is renting out downtime at 29 of its locations to people who want to play XBox 360 games on their giants screens. CDN$179 (US$169) gets you and 11 of your friends 2 hours’ worth of big screen time.
Here’s an excerpt from the CBC article:
Theatres will generally have about 12 to 24 hours of available downtime a week, mostly in the morning, she said. Many theatres are in “full grind” right now showing summer movies, but they should slow down and have more available time once school begins in September.
Theatres may also stay open late into the evening to accommodate groups, at the discretion of each manager.
“If they wanted to book a four-hour window, we could certainly go later in the evening,” [Pat Marshall, Cineplex's vice-president of communications] said. “If the theatre manager has the staffing, they could go till two in the morning.”
The wife is a big Rock Band aficionado. Maybe I could book something for her birthday…
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