Have you ever dreamed of owning the minority report computer? What about the cool technology of some of the other famous movie computers like HAL or SkyNET? What about computers from Star Trek and Star Wars? Well to be honest with you, your day may be closer than you think!

With technologies like Microsoft Surface, G-Speak and the newest of the technologies Sixth Sense all of our fantasy computers are slowly coming to life. Microsoft Surface was unveiled at CES 2008, while G-Speak is more recent and Sixth Sense being the newest of the technologies they all offer something completely different.

Microsoft Surface is a multi-touch table top interface with a series of cameras that “sees” what is on the surface of the screen. This interface interacts with phones, cameras and other wireless capable data devices to transfer and exchange information.  This technology is already being utilized in locations such as AT&T stores and Harrah’s Casinos.

G-Speak, referred to as a spatial operating environment by its creators, Oblong Industries is a very unique technology. Using gloves, multiple very large screens and even a tabletop screen, this operating environment allows for many possibilities. With simple hand gestures and finger movement it seems as if almost anything is possible.  From editing movie clips, photo editing and even just sifting through endless data everything seems very seamless.

Sixth Sense Technology, created by Pranav Mistry(an MIT grad student) and helped along by TED, is the newest and probably most inexpensive and practical. Sixth Sense Technology consists of a small projector, camera and finger sensors all worn as very lightweight and simple accessories. Sixth Sense can project on almost any surface, be used as a camera, cell phone, watch and pretty much anything else you can put your mind to. Some of the cool features are showing you flight information on your boarding pass, giving you time with a simulated watch, telling you what products are best for you at the store, giving you ratings of a book in the bookstore and even telling you information about that person you just met. This technology could literally make EVERYTHING interactive by connecting to a database called CLOUD which holds all the information for the device.

With all this technology at our fingertips, what could possibly be next? Holograms? Maybe even the computer in Iron Man? Oh yeah and of course where will the gaming world fit into all of this? From Microsoft XBox 360’s NATAL to Sony Playstation 3’s motion controller you never know where all this will lead us to.

“First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. The genre coalesced with 1992’s Wolfenstein 3D, which is generally credited with creating the genre proper and the basic archetype upon which subsequent titles were based.” - wikipedia



The first person shooter genre is obviously a genre most of us have grown to love and even for some the first genre they ever played. Whether FPS keeps you playing games, started you playing games or just kills time in between your MMO pwnage, FPS has most likely shaped your game play at some point.

Since Xbox has launched it has been a console that has relied on the FPS genre to propel it to new heights with its popular and exclusive title Halo. With the launch of Xbox live in November 2002, it allowed the console FPS to grow exponentially.  Halo was a launch title for the original Xbox and became the best selling console game in history, twice, with Halo2 and Halo 3. Halo 3 grossed $300 million in its first week and over 1 million people played it online in the first 24 hours!



Then comes the Call of Duty series which has culminated in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on 11-10-9, on both Xbox and PS3, which sold 4.7 million copies worldwide within the first 24 hours. Now the most popular and most played FPS on the planet and one of the most sold console games ever, but like any game still has its flaws. 



One of this genres glaring flaws on any system has always been player hosting and networking . Now if you are an FPS player you have experienced a host shotgun, host that you can’t kill, lag switches, bad connection, dashboarding and so many other advantages that only a host can have. Hosts always have that split second advantage and it can sometimes make a Pub match unbearable. Of course we all know the networking on Call of Duty has been disheartening at best. Player hosting also limits the amount of people we can have in a single match.

The real question here is “How do we fix this?”. As a member of the gaming community myself I believe that there really is only 1 answer, SERVERS. Now PC has done this for many years and yes the better your connection to the server, lower ping you have, you can still experience slight advantages but this is the fairest way to allow a “generic” host. Now I know this is not a new idea by far but it is time for all gaming companies to start utilizing this so that online play is as fair as possible and so much less frustrating.

In comes MAG (Massive Action Game) a PS3 exclusive and a game that allows up to 256 players in a single match.



“The game uses a new server architecture to support online battles with up to 256 players, with users divided into 8-player squads, with 4 squads forming a platoon, and 4 platoons forming a company. Each squad is led by a player who has advanced through the game’s ranking system.  Character statistics and development also increase with frequent game play.  The players most advanced in rank are able to either direct the battle or participate directly in combat.”

“Basic battles take place within ongoing, faction-based campaigns to encourage the player to actively play.  The game’s E3 unveiling trailer featured large landscapes, tactics such as air strikes and parachuting, and a variety of vehicles, from tanks and APCs to airplanes. Players are able to customize the face, voice, and armor of their characters, as well as what weapons and kit they carry into battle. In game, the player can level up to 60 on any faction. After unlocking this, they may create a new soldier on another faction.”

Is this the future of FPS? Is this going to revolutionize the way we look at the FPS genre on consoles? All we can do is wait and see but what MW2 fan wouldn’t drool at the possibility of a server hosted, primarily network error free game play system with up to 256 players? I can only hope.

We have seen the best games on Video Game Awards and the best multiplayer games of 2009, but have you seen the worst games for multiplayer online? I not talking gameplay, but rather the people playing , that pretty much talk… “trash” in matches. Some games are worse than others.  Here are just a few that I have had the opportunity to experience, both the good and the bad.

The Games:
Halo ODST or 3: Was a huge success when it came down to the multiplayer, but the wonderful gameplay brought a lot chit chat wasn’t that great. But with all customization of your characters that was possible, you could look past a lot of the trash talk.  You could make your character pink, with a pink emblem, and pink shoes…. in which case, made it easier for people to see that there was a possibility of a girl playing. Of course there were some that did it just because they enjoyed the annoying others.

Rainbow 6 Vegas 2: Was one of the most fun multiplayer games I have ever played. Not the fact that the game play was so different than any other game, but the people seemed to be nicer and willing to help you through games and when they come to find out that you are a girl, majority of the time they were nice.

Call of Duty Series: Now as for this game, I have heard it all. Call of Duty World at War was by far the worst for me.  Because you were able to see the stats and leader board status, it made it easier to talk real trash whereas Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, you were unable to. But in these games, it’s not just the boys doing all the talking.  You also hear the occasional “trash” talking from the girls too. (Not me of course! )

Battlefield Bad Company: As for this game I didn’t get the opportunity to play that often accept for community gaming nights and some public matches, but as for the people in these public matches they seemed to be more about the game than to just talk down to people even if they suck.
My Favorite Quotes:

You’re not a girl, you’re a twelve year old boy
Hey, is that a girl? Oh, it is! HAHA
You must have no life
You must not have a boyfriend
I bet your super fat and have a pizza face
Girls shouldn’t play video games, because they can’t! 
Is that a girl? Whutch ya Wearin?
Or my favorite, “Go back into the kitchen and make me a sandwich”

Oh, the love of multiplayer, but it isn’t just the boys that do it now these days. Lately I have noticed that girls are starting to do the “trash” talking back. Perhaps it’s understandable with the degradation of women in online fps games. Maybe that’s just my perception.  Either way, the experience of online gameplay can be greatly effected by the people playing.  Just something to remember next time you’re getting fragged up!