Google’s Little Signals devices will deliver notifications in a subtle way using our plants
Living in an always-on world can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because you will never miss an email, a message, or a call because you have notifications on your smartphone, smartwatch, or your smart speaker. But it’s also a curse as it can be very distracting or even triggering for some. You can turn off notifications to avoid being bothered or disturbed, but you may miss important information. Google appears to want that delicate balance and Google is trying to find it.
Designers: Seed Studio and Map Project Office
Google has created something called the Little Signals Series, which aims to provide distraction-free notifications. They came up with a way to integrate ordinary, everyday sounds that are part of your environment to still bring you alerts but not get distracted or bothered by them. This experimental project provides distraction-free alerts with six devices: Shadow, Tap, Air, Button Movement, Shadow and Rhythm. Users can pick from a variety of options to best suit their needs and lifestyle.
The Air device seems the most interesting one if you are a plant parent. You will receive an alert that the Air device is using patterns such as blow, spin, and wiggle to affect objects or plants nearby. Of course, if you’re not paying attention much, you might miss the signals but at least there’s a way to make it less in your face. It is also more visible as the Button device will either pop up or twist slightly, giving off subtle chime sounds. The button is bright orange, so you will notice it.
The Movement device has seven different actions you can choose from like move, bounce, push, and can even create a “graph” to let you know you have a notification. The Rhythm one seems the most “calming” among the devices as it gives off ambient sounds and can be controlled with the wave of a hand. If you don’t need it to give you notifications, you can just flip it over. I would personally choose this one if it ever goes to market.
Shadow, like its name says, casts movements of shadow when you receive notifications. Shadow can breathe, move, twist, turn, and shake to subtly catch your attention. Tap can also be used to point, knock, wave and spin various notifications. Design-wise, these devices seem to match the Google Home line and are also pretty subtle in appearance, matching their functionalities and how we can interact with these devices.
Elden Ring patch fixes Bleed Dogs and mysterious fake walls
FromSoftware released a new patch for its wildly successful and difficult open-world RPG Elden Ringon Tuesday. You can view the long list of patch notes at Bandai Namco’s website, but the 1. 04 update features a few key changes: the overpowered bleed dogs are nerfed, and the illusory wall is gone.
Zullie the Witch tested the patch Tuesday and discovered that overpowered Rotten Stray dog breeds weren’t nearly as hard as the previous versions. Before the update, the bleed dogs had a glitch whereby the game could deal massive health damage to your character thanks to an error tied to their attack animation — an error making Rotten Stray dogs stronger than some bosses, even. Now, they’re fixed. We don’t necessarily mean that they are “fixed”, as in “taking them to a vet.” Zullie the Witch demonstrated the changes in this video.
Zullie reported another important change. The mysterious, illusory wall doesn’t disappear anymore. In March, players discovered a fake wall in Volcano Manor that dissolved when you hit it 50 times. At first, players weren’t sure if developers were using it to hide secrets, or if it was just a bug. The wall won’t collapse to reveal another room after the patch. It appears the destructible walls, although illusory and effective, were not meant to be a way to reveal more secrets, but a method to conceal an unwelcome room.
Yesterday the upcoming Moto E32 was portrayed in a couple of leaked official-looking renders, and those came with a small assortment of specs too. We now have the complete spec sheet and more renders for this device. Let’s get started, shall we?
The Moto E32 will be an affordable smartphone of course, and that’s obvious from the alleged use of the Unisoc T606 SoC, normally reserved for the cheapest of offerings. This will be paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. Keep in mind however that past rumors talked about the phone being powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 instead (and having a 6/128GB version as well).
Moving on, the handset is said to come with a 6. 5″ LCD display with a centered hole-punch for the 16 MP selfie camera, a triple rear camera setup (16 MP main, 2 MP macro, 2 MP depth sensor), and a 5,000 mAh battery with 10W charging support.
The Moto E32 is disappointingly rumored to run Android 11 out of the gate, and it should measure 163 x 74 x 8. 5 mm whilst weighing 190g. Leaked pricing based on a retailer listing has it going for EUR179 in the EU. We now have the full details and we hope Motorola will announce it soon.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers are protected by law in their right to form a union and self-organize. The complaint, filed Monday in Washington, names both Nintendo and Aston Carter, a staffing agency Nintendo apparently uses to hire workers in contract positions. The unnamed worker alleges that Nintendo and Aston Carter engaged in “concerted activities,” like retaliation toward, firing, refusing to hire, or disciplining organizing workers; “coercive actions,” like surveillance of those workers; and “coercive statements,” such as threats or promises of benefits. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 is meant to protect workers from unfair labor practices related to organization efforts.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday. Details included in these documents were not immediately available to the public — just the public docket. Nintendo has not responded to Polygon’s request for comment.
Nintendo of America, a Japanese subsidiary of Japanese Nintendo, is located in Redmond. Nintendo as a whole has 27 subsidiaries and more than 6,500 employees, according to a Corporate Responsibility report published in 2021. Nintendo, like other videogame companies, sometimes depends on contract labor to develop certain positions.
With this lawsuit, Nintendo of America is joining a growing list of video-game companies who have been accused of labor abuses. Currently, the NLRB is pursuing a labor dispute with Activision Blizzard’s leadership and its quality assurance (QA), workers at subsidiary Raven Software. Raven Software QA workers have announced that they will unionize. The employees are calling themselves Game Workers Alliance and are awaiting a procedural ruling from the NLRB before they can vote in a formal unionization.
Elsewhere at Activision Blizzard, hundreds of workers walked out of work in 2021 following a report from the Wall Street Journal that detailed the extent of Kotick’s knowledge of employee misconduct.
The latest NLRB lawsuit comes in a time when video game workers are pushing toward unionization. Last year, Beast Breaker developer Vodeo Games became the first certified gaming studio union in North America after management voluntarily recognized it. In 2020, contracted game writers for Voltage Entertainment went on strike, and won, after 21 days without official union recognition — a first for the video game industry. And in the board games industry, United Paizo Workers and Cards Against Humanity Workers United formed unions in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Dark Souls tabletop RPG rulebooks will be corrected and reissued
Steamforged Games will correct and reissue manuals for Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game, whose rulebooks have been in circulation for a month and are reportedly shot through with errors.
“[T]he best course of action is to order reprints of the book,” Steamforged said in a statement Tuesday afternoon, “issuing replacement copies to those customers who have already bought or pre-ordered the Standard Edition and/or Collector’s Edition.” Steamforge added “a sincere apology” for the errors and thanked players for bringing the problems to light.
That began last week, when collector’s edition buyers in Europe and the United States got their advanced copies, and found mistakes ranging from spelling errors all the way up to game-breaking inconsistencies in the rules. The books’ full launch in the U.S. comes May 16.
Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game, is a tabletop role-playing game adapted from both FromSoftware’s A-list video game franchise and an open-source version of Dungeons & Dragons’ 5th Edition rules. Steamforged announced pre-orders for the game back in January, riding the coattails of the commercially successful but critically middling tabletop game it Kickstarted in 2016.
Last week, players who bought in early reported serious inconsistencies in what they were reading from their rulebooks. In one instance, a Knight wouldn’t have enough strength to wear their own starting-level suit of armor. In another, Casters couldn’t wield a recommended weapon. Steamforged, in a statement to Polygon, said it took the complaints “seriously” but didn’t, at the time, consider them game-breaking mistakes.
“Although these concerns shouldn’t affect the playability of the game, we’re always striving to strengthen our processes to ensure our loyal fans continue to enjoys the games we release,” Steamforged said last week.
Tuesday’s statement applies not only to hard copies of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game’s standard and collector’s edition, it also means PDFs for the game will be rewritten and reissued. Their release date and information on how to obtain updated copies is “coming soon,” Steamforged said.
“We ask for a little patience as we gather more detailed information regarding these reprints, the timescales involved, and how best to ensure we resolve this for each affected customer,” Steamforged said.
Xbox research and development lead Chris Novak leaving Microsoft
If you have ever subscribed to Game Pass, or obsess over Xbox Achievements, then you are familiar with Chris Novak’s work.
The head of Xbox research and design is leaving the company after nearly 20 years. Novak, who has been leading the user experience research efforts and designing them for over five years now, previously served as Xbox design director. Across these roles, Novak was responsible for user experience in many of the company’s biggest projects, including Xbox Game Pass, along with cloud gaming and Xbox Live.
“Microsoft has been where I’ve gotten to learn in the crucible of gaming, from the world’s best across the industry,” Novak told Polygon. It’s been both its greatest and worst moments that I have seen it. That learning experience is what I treasure .”
.
Chris Novak leaf-blowing Post-Its off a wallPhoto: Chris Novak
Novak took over Microsoft’s Xbox research and design at a turning point for the company and its flagship console. When the Xbox One launched in 2013, Microsoft’s marketing strategy failed the console: The Xbox 360 had succeeded in capturing a major gaming audience, but Microsoft looked to the Xbox One to become a full-on entertainment system. The Xbox One reveal was a notorious disaster, focusing on everything but video games. Microsoft realized quickly that it needed to win gamers back, and has not abandoned the entertainment platform.
Novak came on as head of Xbox research and design right after Microsoft was pushing hard, publicly, on the idea of Xbox being focused primarily on video games. While consoles were still important, the more exciting idea for Xbox leadership was the freedom to play Xbox games on different devices, beginning with the launch of Xbox Play Anywhere, which let players access games on a Windows PC or a console.
Xbox leader Phil Spencer dialed into a singular idea: Gamers should be able to play games anywhere, using the Xbox ecosystem. Xbox’s leadership placed a strong emphasis on cloud streaming to bring Xbox to mobile devices. Novak pointed to Microsoft’s Touch Adaptation Kit for Xbox Cloud Gaming as a particularly proud moment in his career at the company.
Project Gotham Racing 2Image: Bizarre Creations, Ltd./Microsoft Game Studios
“How big is that challenge when you’re trying to build experiences of entire games on a device that it was never designed for? Novak stated that this was Novak’s challenge. Novak said that the xCloud team spent a lot of time working with the engineers to track down the problem and ensure that the output could be rendered to all devices. […] That is one of my proudest moments.”
Another feature he looks back to fondly is Xbox’s photo modes and achievements; Xbox Live originally almost launched with a limit of just five achievements. Novak and his team realized with Project Gotham Racing 2 that achievements reinforced Microsoft’s philosophy that different styles of play were acceptable. In Project Gotham Racing 2, most people wanted to win races and go fast, but some players wanted to take photos of shopfronts and to explore environments; a wide variety of achievements reinforced the idea of playing your way, a mantra that stayed with Novak and the company for decades.
Novak said that the biggest challenge was to balance experimental changes and keeping it comfortable for players. “It’s very easy to build things which are new but not better,” Novak said. Novak stated that most gamers want their gaming experience familiar, fast and comfortable. They should feel connected to what they are looking for as quickly as possible. If you try to do something different, it might make them think of a new flow or use another button. They might get frustrated by the .”
.
Image: Microsoft
Novak continued: “Getting that balance is a continuous challenge.”
Novak announced that he is leaving Microsoft in order to take a break from Microsoft and refocus his personal life. After losing a person close to him three years ago, Novak said he wanted to take time off to learn new things. He won’t move on to a new company immediately.
“I’m just about to be 20 years with Xbox,” Novak said. Novak stated that some of the exciting things coming to Xbox include putting in years of hard work. That would be incredible. Do I really want to do that? Or do I want to acknowledge that I’m happy with what we’ve shipped? Do I actually need to go out on my own and continue my own learning journey, trying some other things. If I don’t do that now, when do I do that?”
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’s talent trees getting a major rework
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight will finally whisk players away to the Dragon Isles, where they’ll be able to roll new Dracthyr characters and play the new Evoker class. But outside of the fancy new content, Blizzard will also be focusing on revamping older systems with Dragonflight. More specially, the much maligned talent tree will see its first major overhaul in nearly a decade.
In a pre-brief session, Polygon interviewed lead narrative designer Steve Danuser and lead combat designer Brian Holinka about what the revamped talent tree brings to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight.
Back in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Blizzard replaced the original tree-based talent system for a small group of very powerful skills players could choose from. The game was easier to read, especially for novice players. However, it has lost some of its depth and Blizzard wants it back.
In Dragonflight, Blizzard will completely overhaul the talent system, and return it to a version of the tree form. Players can unlock skill points when they level up to add one or both of the two skill trees to their character. One is the class skill tree, while the second is the specialization skill tree. The specialization tree can change depending on the spec players who are active.
While players won’t be able to put points into multiple specializations like in the Wrath of the Lich King, the new system does allow for customization and hybridization. Are you interested in playing into your class fantasy? Or push their unique specialization further? With the new loadout system, players will have a limited number of points, but can quickly switch to other talent loadouts within raid bosses or activities.
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
With the new trees, players will be able to expand and customize their classes to fit their needs. But Blizzard stressed that while players will be able to stretch their classes in new ways, they’re still the classes they know (outside of the new Evoker class, of course).
” The intention is for players to still be comfortable with the classes they already know.” Holinka said. “We don’t want to be overly disruptive and someone logs in on patch day, and they just are like ‘everything on my action bars changed, I don’t even know how to play this class I’ve been playing for 10 years anymore.'”
Holinka made it clear that the team wants to preserve what players know, and players looking for something familiar will be able to craft their character in a “very comfortable and familiar way.” However, the opposite is also true, and players will be able to build out an almost greatest hits list for their favorite class.
“A lot talent, you know. We’ve tried to say “hey, what’s the best thing that we have created for these specs and classes throughout the years,” said Holinka. “‘Azerite traits, Artifacts, Covenant abilities. What are some of the coolest things we have, and let’s put it in a talent tree so that players can make some choices and get those cool things back.”
Holinka explained that players will be choosing the most popular traits and abilities for each class. However, they shouldn’t expect to have every ability or trait they had before. However, anything that players consider “iconic” is a safe bet.
Finally, we asked if the talent trees will be easier to expand in the future, which Holinka confirmed is part of the thinking.
After nearly a decade of very rigid selection process — Holinka said you currently make “about seven choices about your character” — and no major Azerite, Artifact, or Covenant-adjacent system in Dragonflight, the talent rework is looking to be the most significant change in the expansion. The new talent system is the key feature that will determine the future of World of Warcraft . As thrilling as new classes can be.
Marvel’s Avengers will add Jane Foster, the Mighty Thor
The new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer isn’t the only place you’ll find Jane Foster rocking the powers of Thor. As part of an extensive promotional campaign, Jane Foster will soon be The Mighty Thor in Marvel’s Avengers , the action-RPG by Crystal Dynamics.
The news comes via an April development update mostly focused on the forthcoming 2. 4 update, which will overhaul the way Avengers handles recurring in-game events. However, in a final note looking forward to the 2. 5 update, the developers mentioned the first few details about the addition of Jane Foster-as-Thor.
While we’ll be coming back with specifics on timing later, we can share that it will introduce a new playable Hero for all platforms: Jane Foster: The Mighty Thor! Our Hero designs are driven first and foremost by their core comic book identities, so, as a fellow wielder of Mjolnir, her suite of abilities will have a lot in common with the Odinson’s, however she will also have elements that are distinctly Jane. We will soon have more information on Jane’s journey in our game.
The Mighty Thor is the first character to be added for PlayStation users since Spider-Man was introduced at the end last year. It also marks the return of Black Panther, the first character that all PlayStation gamers have seen since the War For Wakanda expansion last Summer.
Best new board games for April: Bardsung, Avatar the Last Airbender, more
Spring has arrived, which means that it is time to clear your shelves for new tabletop games. We’ve rounded up the best new board games on sale right now, and narrowed in on some of the most interesting new crowdfunding campaigns launching in April.
Taking our top spot this month is Bardsung: Legend of the Ancient Forge, a massive dungeon crawler with a lot of buzz. You and your friends can become legendary by solving puzzles and fighting monsters as you and your group explore deeper into the depths of the dungeon. Choose your own paths to glory to inspire the bard’s songs and turn into a fabled hero.
What sets this fantasy fighter apart is the freedom to build dynamic characters. There are no restrictions on classes such as paladin and rogue. You can follow pre-made hero paths or create your own. Random board generation is another great feature. This ensures no two games have the same dungeon, enemies, or items. Finally, you determine campaign length. Play a single game, or string several together for a narrative that evolves with your choices. With excellent replay value and great character building, Bardsung is a must-play title.
Currently available on the manufacturer’s site, Steamforged informs Polygon that duplicates are also available at many retailers .
Decorum
Ready for the ultimate challenge? In Decorum, you and a partner have to decorate a home that you both love. They can never tell you what they need — only respond with “love it,” “hate it,” or “fine with it,” (truly a relatable scenario). Both of you will need to compromise until your decor is perfect.
Decorum may seem like a straightforward logic puzzle, but it’s really a game of communication and compromise. Your partner may ruin the strategy you’ve perfected to decorate your room, and you might ruin theirs. Unless both of you can let go of your own strategies and work together, the conflict will lead to failure. All-in-all, gameplay offers a fun, refreshing take on deduction and communication limit mechanics. Grab a copy now to test your roommate, or partner.
Will your role be that of the Moth Man or as the leader to his flame? In a thrilling battle for abstract deduction, go head-to-head. The stakes? An entire city. Avoid capture and cause chaos as a cryptid, or capture and expose them as a scientist in Cryptid: Urban Legends.
Gameplay has high stakes. You only have deduction, foresight and ingenuity. This key mechanism keeps every game exciting as it allows players to develop innovative strategies using limited resources and time. Who doesn’t enjoy a good cryptid hunting game? Snag your copy of Cryptid: Urban Legends from Osprey Games starting April 28.
Avatar the Last Airbender: Fire Nation Rising
Calling all fans of Avatar: the Fire Nation is attacking soon! Take command and fight back to restore balance to the world in Avatar The Last Airbender: Fire Nation Rising. Prepare for the last battle against the Hundred Year War by recruiting heroes and fighting villains. If you fail to fend off the Fire Nation’s attack, all will be lost.
Aside from the novelty of playing as your favorite characters (Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, or Zuko), the game offers great challenge scaling. Gameplay can be adjusted based on experience and to increase difficulty. This allows for increased replay value, and makes the game more accessible for all players. Grab a copy of Fire Nation Rising when it goes on sale to introduce any ATLA lover to tabletop gaming.
The Dark Quarter
Unravel the ultimate murder mystery in The Dark Quarter. Work together as Beaumont agents to solve the worst crimes in a dark, fantastical 1980’s New Orleans. Watch how the story unfolds, changing with each decision.
Not only are the rich and dynamic story and characters great additions to the narrative genre, but the setting is also a fresh take. Elements like crime and vibrant nightlife ground the story in reality. The widespread usage of magic and voodoo adds a magical tone. Together, they create a blend of fantasy and reality, building on the culture of a real city to create intrigue. The campaign will be a hit due to the variety of enemies and chaos that surrounds it. Back this Kickstarter before May 5 to see The Dark Quarter come to life. Delivery is estimated for October 2023.
Paradox Initiative
Everything is in your grasp with Paradox Initiative. This title reimagines the 2016 game Paradox in a simple to learn (but challenging to master) pattern builder. As a mad scientist, you will attempt to seize spacetime strands. Create matches in your paradox engine to jump into alternate worlds, then collect sets of their timelines for your research. The galaxy’s respect and renown goes to the scientist who has created the most universes.
A mix of mechanics keep gameplay interesting and fresh. Some are familiar, like card drafting and resource management. Others, like the Bejeweled-style pattern matching, are unique to the Paradox series. Although the game appears simple, there are many opportunities to improve and refine your strategies. Back this puzzle game on Kickstarter by April 29 to experience the enigma for yourself. Delivery is estimated for February 2023.
Iconoclash
Platformer fans rejoice! Iconoclash puts you in the middle of intense tabletop platform fighting action. Select your character, map and get ready to fight. You’ll have to move around the stage and dodge dangers, avoid attacks, collect items, as well as attack each turn. Spend power tokens to deal extra damage, and time attacks right for a chance to knock your opponent off the map. A player who has zero hit points wins.
The range of characters, each with 500-plus unique attack combos, makes gameplay a blast. Another nod to classic platformers (and a fun feature) are the multiplayer modes. These support up to four players and include a classic mode, battle royale, and 2v2. With so much variety in the gameplay, replay value is through the roof with this creative title. Platform lovers need to back the crowdfunding campaign before May 6. Delivery is estimated for June 2023.
Escape from Stalingrad Z
Combine tactical combat, zombies, and World War II: You’ve discovered Escape from Stalingrad Z. You can fight as veteran soldiers and escape from the zombie invasion. You can play solo, or together to determine the best way forward. Each scenario will offer you different options and your fate is up to your decisions.
The ongoing story elements help this campaign feel cohesive scenario after scenario. This game is for those who enjoy war strategy with an element of the undead. Back the Kickstarter by May 2 to bring the post-war apocalypse to your table. Delivery is estimated for November 2022.
We hope you enjoyed our latest curated list. We’ll keep scouring crowdfunding forums and game developer pages to keep you up to date on the latest and greatest tabletop games. Keep checking back for more exciting new discoveries.
Call of Duty: Warzone adds Snoop Dogg, weed stuff in new Operator bundle
Rapper and marijuana enjoyer Snoop Dogg joins Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Warzone today, on this 4/20 Eve, letting players shoot it out (and smoke it up) as Tha Doggfather — if they’re willing to pay the cost to be da boss, that is.
Call of Duty’s new Tracer Pack, the Snoop Dogg Operator Bundle, brings the man lesser known as Calvin Broadus, Jr. to both Vanguard and Warzone as a new Operator. The Snoop Dogg Operator comes with its own voice lines and progression path, through which players can unlock “several XP and PPSH-41 Weapon XP rewards, as well as two Sprays, two Operator Quips, a Calling Card, a Sticker, an Emblem, a Weapon Charm, a Vanguard-exclusive Killcam Vanity, and four alternate Operator outfits. Two of these threads — the gold-trimmed ‘VIP’ and the iced-out Diamond ‘Tha Doggfather’ — are unlocked at max level (20).”
Worse, the Operator Bund and Snoop Dogg are positively sticky for Call of Duty fans who enjoy a great weed reference. They even include allusions about the fact that Snoop Dogg is a frequent user of weed. Snoop has a weapon blueprint known as the Bong Ripper sniper rifle, a weed-covered gun with nugs in the magazine, as well as an assault rifle called West Coast Bling and an SMG called Tha Shiznit. Each weapon includes “Green Weed Tracer Rounds” and the muzzle flashes look almost like a pot leaf.
Image: Raven Software/Infinity Ward/Activision
Snoop’s spray, charm, and emblem are similar pot leaf-referential, plus he’s hitting (and sharing!) He uses a blunt for his highlight intro and MVP highlight. Then he finishes with the “Finishizzle Movizzle” closing move. Snoop is always in control of marijuana references.
The Snoop Dogg Operator Bundle will set players back 2,400 COD Points, which cost $19. 99 in real-world money.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23400447/image001.png)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23400264/1581688118_2808692436.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20087051/xcloud_art.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23400889/screenshot_talents_full.jpeg)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23398332/Decorum.png)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23400724/snoop_operator_bundle.jpg)