The first public appearance of The Witness, a new game from Braid designer Jonathan Blow (and a small team of independent designers), almost went unnoticed. Its presence at last weekend's Penny Arcade Expo wasn't announced by an enthusiastic press release or trumpeted by a flashy trailer. It didn't even have a sign.

"PAX is a huge show, with tons of stuff to see everywhere; if the game could hold peoples' attention under those conditions, purely on its own merits rather than by hype or pedigree, then I would know that it was really working," Jonathan Blow wrote on The Witness blog. "Happily, the game worked very well - despite the fact that the visuals are still in an early prototype stage. People tended to play for a long time, and they liked what they played."

Kotaku's Stephen Totilo compared the first-person exploration and puzzle-solving to Myst. The game's beautifully lit and serene world hides abstract enigmas, such as boards that require you to trace the correct route. What's most interesting, however, is that there don't seem to be any prompts or instructions for the player -- making this understated PAX reveal seem very appropriate indeed.

The Witness makes low-key debut at PAX originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Develop reports that bankrupt studio Realtime Worlds has seen its Project MyWorld IP bought up by an "anonymous American company." It's currently unclear what this means for the 23 developers who were working on the project at the studio's location in Dundee, Scotland. One of the more optimistic scenarios is that the American outfit will create a satellite studio nearby and hire the current staff to finish the (allegedly almost done) project.

This means that Realtime's APB IP, which at last count had about 130,000 players, is still up for grabs from Begbies Traynor, the company handling the bankruptcy. Okay, Begbies, we've got $5 and some gummi bears in our pocket -- what do you say?

Develop: US firm acquires Realtime World's Project MyWorld originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The fate of Gears of War 3's Clayton Carmine is sealed. Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski and Rod Fergusson wouldn't reveal what fate would ultimately befall the latest Carmine, but announced that the "Fate of Carmine" campaign has raised $150,000 for Child's Play.

Although the promotion/charity event ended September 1, it appears that the shirts are still available for purchase (SAVE CARMINE Male, Female / CARMINE MUST DIE Male, Female) on the Xbox Marketplace. We're sure that buying the apparel now won't affect Clayton's chance at survival, but it's unclear if the proceeds still go to charity -- we're following up with Microsoft.

Continue reading Gears of War 3's 'Fate of Carmine' campaign raises $150K for Child's Play

Gears of War 3's 'Fate of Carmine' campaign raises $150K for Child's Play originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first week of September brought about a bunch of new PC game announcements, including the news that a certain title 13 years in the making may finally be coming out after all. Let's look back at the past seven days:

Exclusive features

• Reviews: We give our final verdicts for the crime action game Mafia 2 and the puzzle title Tidalis.
• Boot Disk: Our retro games column takes a look back at the hacker-themed classic Uplink.

Downloads

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent demo: Try out this sample of the upcoming horror-themed first person adventure game.
• Lost Horizon demo: Its a small taste of the PC adventure game.
• Company of Heroes Online Install Client: Relic is letting folks try out its upcoming WWII-themed persistent RTS game for free.
• Blood Good Time trailer: Check out the first glimpse of this over-the-top multiplayer action game.
• Firefall trailers: Check out this cinematic trailer and this long gameplay walkthrough for this just announced online shooter.

Continue reading The Best of Big Download: August 30 - September 5

The Best of Big Download: August 30 - September 5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that only slightly more than one quarter of the country can correctly identify John Roberts as the Chief Justice of the United States:

Asked to name the current chief justice of the Supreme Court, and given four possible names, nearly one-in-ten Americans (8%) choose Thurgood Marshall, despite the fact that Justice Marshall left the Supreme Court roughly 20 years ago, and passed away in 1993. In fact, very few Americans can name the current chief justice in a Pew Research news quiz; just 28% were able to correctly identify John Roberts. Another 6% thought the recently retired Justice John Paul Stevens was chief justice, while 4% named Sen. Harry Reid. A majority (53%) admitted that they did not know the answer.

In many ways, Pew’s poll reflects the challenge facing progressives trying to educate the public about the harm Roberts caused since he became Chief in 2005. Roberts led a conservative bloc of five justices to grant corporate interests sweeping immunity from environmental law, from laws protecting women and older workers, from antitrust law, and — of course — from any meaningful restrictions on corporate money in American elections. Roberts’ dissenting votes go even further, declaring that rogue banks, drug companies and the tobacco industry should be immune from much of state law. But it?s hard to make the message about Roberts? extremism penetrate the public mind if they don?t even know who he is.

Outgoing Minnesota governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty appeared on Fox News and Fox Business last night to defend his recent executive order prohibiting the state from applying for grants provided by the new health care law. Pawlenty’s ban could cost the state $1 billion or more in federal funds, but in his national TV tour last night, the governor compared the federal government to a drug hustler pushing its product on willing addicts:

PAWLENTY: Federal government’s acting increasingly like a financial drug dealer, handing out tastes or free samples, trying to get people addicted, further addicted. And we’ve just had it and we’re not taking the bait anymore. We’re not taking the free samples anymore. This is an executive order that says we’re sending them a strong message, but we’re also going to try to make sure the policies are for Minnesota not because some big federal bureaucracy tells us what to do.

Watch a compilation:

Of course, the 97 different entities that applied for reform’s reinsurance grants can rightfully take offense to Pawlenty’s drug-dealing analogy and his dismissal of the money as nonsensical. The Wonk Room explains why Pawlenty’s claim that he has a long record of refusing the federal government’s so-called financial drugs, shouldn’t be taken at face value.

Two weeks ago, Amanda Terkel signed off for the last time as deputy editor at ThinkProgress. You may have already seen some of her articles at the Huffington Post, where she is now a senior politics reporter. After approximately six years at the Center for American Progress, Amanda was ready to tackle a new challenge. While it?s sad not having her around the office, we?re excited to see her incredible creative talents being put towards a good cause.

Amanda was the most prolific blogger in ThinkProgress history, authoring literally thousands of posts for us. She started as a junior researcher on the team over five years ago, and worked her way up to become one of the top progressive bloggers on the web ? in addition to being one of its leading female writers.

Though small in stature, Amanda had a towering presence that we’ve all looked up to throughout the years. Around the office, Amanda was a close friend and mentor to both staff and interns. She always had a smile on her face, a story to tell, and a blog post idea to write up. Here?s a sampling of our favorite Amanda posts (though our long-time readers will probably have others to share in the comments section):

I Was Followed, Harassed, And Ambushed By Bill O?Reilly?s Producer [Link]

O?Reilly Attacks Me As A ?Villain? For Highlighting His Rape Comments [Link]

Taking Advantage Of Citizens United, Dirty Coal Groups Form 527 To Elect Industry-Friendly Republicans [Link]

Cantor Says Federal Spending Doesn?t ?Create Jobs? ? At Job Fair With Companies Funded By The Stimulus [Link]

State Rep: In Oklahoma, There?s A ?Feeling That Women Aren?t Capable Of Making Reproductive Decisions? [Link]

Right-Wing Radio Host On NY Mosque: ?I Hope Somebody Blows It Up? [Link]

Bush wipes his hand on Clinton?s shirt after shaking hands with Haitian residents. [Link]

Malkin On Detainee Suicides: ?Boo-Freakin-Hoo? [Link]

Pimp My Congressional Office [Link]

No Mention Of Iraq In Bush?s Presidential Library Bio [Link]

NBC Censors Sexual Orientation Of Openly Gay Gold Medalist Diver [Link]

Bush Stimulates The Porn Industry With His Economic Package [Link]

DC Madam Customer David Vitter Is Outraged By The ACORN Prostitution Scandal [Link]

Hannity?s Hypocrisy: Criticizing Colleges For Taking Money From Saudi Prince Who Funds Fox [Link]

Why The ?Professional Left? Continues To Hold Obama Accountable [Link]

Did Palin write the answers to Tea Party Convention questions on her hand? [Link]

Texas lawmaker: Asians should change their names to make them ?easier for Americans to deal with.? [Link]

Though she’ll kill us for revealing that she shed a few tears during her goodbye, we’re pretty sure we miss her more. We?ll be rooting for your success, Amanda! Best wishes.

If you’d like to send Amanda a goodbye note, drop her a line at byebyeamanda@gmail.com.

Earlier this week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) issued an executive order directing “all state agencies not to participate in the federal health care overhaul,” specifically demanding they not seek any discretionary funding available through the Affordable Care Act. In issuing the order, Pawlenty vowed to do “anything that I can do to slow down, limit or negate Obamacare,” warning that it “threatens private sector economic growth.” Immediately, the move and its implicit attack on President Obama were seen as a means to position Pawlenty for a presidential bid in 2012. Indeed, his Political Action Committee promptly tried to raise money off of Pawlenty’s order.

But his claim about the law’s danger to businesses were quickly undercut. As the AP reported, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is calling on Pawlenty to accept the funds:

Chamber President David Olson sent a letter to the Republican governor this week encouraging him to specifically apply for a $1 million federal planning grant to study a potential health insurance exchange.

“This grant does not require the state to create an exchange,” Olson wrote. “Instead, it allows for an independent and comprehensive actuarial analysis of an exchange. The analysis will help us determine whether or not an exchange is a cost effective option for Minnesotans shopping for health care coverage.”

Olson also stressed that an exchange could possibly have a significant impact on Minnesota businesses.

The state Chamber is not alone here. The Minnesota Medical Association and the 20,000-member Minnesota Nurses Association both blasted Pawlenty for refusing the money, calling on him to immediately relent and accept the funds.

But in urging Pawlenty to take federal money available through the Affordable Care Act, the Minnesota Chamber seems to be breaking with with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has relentlessly attacked the health care plan since before it became law. Still, while many of the U.S. Chamber’s right-wing allies have signed onto an effort to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Chamber has tellingly hedged, saying full repeal “is not a realistic option.” The Chamber has led efforts to repeal small portions of the Act, but perhaps they quietly realize — as it appears the Minnesota Chamber has — that the law can actually be very helpful to businesses.

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), the chairman of the Atlantic Council, recently sat down for an interview with the Washington Diplomat. In the interview, the former senator touched on a variety of topics, including what he feels is the need for the United States to “unwind” from the war in Afghanistan. Towards the end of the interview, Hagel says that while he has “no plans to renounce his membership in the party,” he finds that the Republican Party of which he is a part is not “presenting any new alternatives, any new options, or any new thinking“:

?I don?t see them presenting any alternatives, any new options or any new thinking,? Hagel said. ?If the Republicans get back in power, what are they going to do? There is no articulation. It?s just a ?no no no, I?m against Obama because he?s a socialist and he?s taking America in the wrong direction.? That?s certainly an opinion, but what about you, Mr. Republican? What would you do??

In fact, leading Republicans like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, and Peter King have proudly embraced the ?no, no, no? agenda. Hagel told the interviewer that he remains confident that his party will once again rebuild itself. “The Republican Party will find a new center of gravity,? he said. ?I think they?ll let this nonsense play out. It?s like a bad storm ? it just has to go through.?

We can all agree that Sonic Unleashed had some pretty deep lows -- specifically, the Werehog. But the daytime segments in the game showed promise; almost a return to form. These areas of the game, for the unaware, combined Sonic Adventure-like 3D free-running elements alongside more classical, 2D elements from the series' past. It was easily the highlight of that game.

And Sega knows it, which explains why Sonic Colors is pretty much nothing but those portions of gameplay. That alone would make for a pretty serviceable Sonic game, but Sega has also added Wisps: small alien creatures who imbue Sonic with one-time-use powers.

Continue reading Sonic Colors preview: Wisp you were here

Sonic Colors preview: Wisp you were here originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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