Google executive responsible for AI has a solution for the game industry’s problems, and you’re not going to believe this but it’s AI

Jack Buser is Google Cloud global director for games, a role in which he “enable[s] transformation of game industry developers, publishers and platforms with AI and cloud solutions.” And from that lofty perch he has devised a solution for the woes plaguing the videogame business. Can you guess what it is? I’ll tell you: It’s…

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Fallout co-creator says non-linear design is all about never assuming how players will act, illustrates his point by fantasising about an NPC guard he seems to really hate

Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has a new video going over some of his principles for game design, and as you might expect has some strong opinions on the intersection between design intention, and what players actually end up doing. “Rule one, our game is non-linear—don’t assume that players will go somewhere first or talk to…

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Fallout: New Vegas dev says it could’ve been set in New Orleans because ‘the vibe was so cool, the flavor was cool, [it would’ve been] so sweet’

Fallout: New Vegas writer and former Obsidian creative officer, Chris Avellone, has given a new interview to Fallout content creator TKs-Mantis, and it’s a hefty one. Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising assertion is that Bethesda doesn’t have the source code for New Vegas (I’ve asked Bethesda about this, and haven’t had a response yet), but there’s…

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There’s no memory crisis in space, as astronauts on the ISS are getting new laptops with 128 GB of RAM and a seriously beefy specs sheet

While us mere Earth-dwellers are stuck in the middle of the RAMpocalypse, those bourgeoise folks up on the International Space Station have no such worries. The current crew are reviewing plans to replace network servers on the gigantic floating tin can—and discussing when they can activate their new laptops. And what magnificent machines they appear…

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Microsoft’s Xbox ‘Helix’ chip is reportedly the basis of next-gen consoles made by Asus and MSI, but you won’t be able to buy it separately

Microsoft’s fabled Project Helix chip, the AMD-engineered basis of the next-gen Xbox console, will reportedly be used by Asus, MSI and other brands to make third-party gaming machines. However, consumers won’t be able to buy the Helix chip separately. So says KeplerL2, one of the most reliable members of the tech-leak illuminati. Posting on NeoGAF…

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Some gamers are going full conspiracy theory over Pragmata’s path tracing vs ray tracing debate, so I’ve donned my tin foil hat and taken a look

Capcom’s new sci-fi hit, Pragmata, was released to glowing reviews late last week, and much praise has been heaped on its relatively excellent performance. That’s with ray tracing enabled instead of the game’s path tracing option, of course. Path tracing is known to be a resource hog, particularly in a game world covered in shadows…

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