If your idea of relaxation involves opening cardboard boxes, you’re in for a good time. Humble Games and Witch Beam have confirmed that Unpacking is coming to iOS and Android on August 24th. You can pre-order the iOS version for $10 today. This has been a long time in coming given that the game first arrived on consoles and PCs in 2021, but it may be worthwhile if you’re new to the concept.
Unpacking is, at its heart, a hybrid puzzle and home decoration game. You have to find space for items as an unseen person moves into a new abode. There’s no time limit or other pressure, and it can be very soothing as you set up a child’s bedroom or the family kitchen. However, it’s particularly clever for the way it tells its story. You’re learning about a woman’s life by seeing where she goes and what she brings with her, rather than dialog. As the title is almost entirely wordless, it’s accessible to a wide range of people.
The game isn’t changing significantly with the move to mobile. However, the developers argue Unpacking is “perfect” for touch as you can drag objects with your finger and sense the world through haptic feedback. Whether or not that’s true, the portability may be appealing. This may be the most appropriate game to play when you’ve just moved to a new place — you can fire it up while your usual gaming hardware is still packed away.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/zen-moving-game-unpacking-comes-to-android-and-ios-on-august-24th-214513079.html?src=rss
The summer of foldables may be over before we even see a release from Android’s third-best brand, OnePlus. The company is reportedly delaying its folding smartphone debut due to dissatisfaction with its current display supplier. But the good news is that this might mean an upgrade for the folding display on the…
A Chinese zoo is denying that its Malayan sun bears are humans dressed in costumes after visitors claimed the bears’ behaviors strongly resembled that of a person. A video of the bear, named Angela, was posted on social media and went viral, showing the bear standing on her hind legs and facing onlookers before…
Movie studios were served a big loss in their quest to take down pirates. This weekend, a federal court tossed a subpoena in a case against the internet service provider Grande that would require Reddit to reveal the identities of anonymous users that torrent movies.
Amazon’s approach to digital healthcare is now available nationwide. The company has expanded Clinic to all 50 states as well as Washington, DC. You can also have clinician video visits across the country in addition to text-only conversations in 34 states. Both avenues are available through Amazon’s website and mobile app.
As launched in November, Clinic is meant to provide treatment for over 30 commonplace health issues such as birth control prescriptions, migraines and pink eye. You choose a telehealth provider, fill out an intake form and get in touch with a clinician. You don’t need an appointment or insurance, and the cost is visible before you reach out. Amazon hopes you’ll fill any necessary prescriptions through its in-house Pharmacy service, but any third-party pharmacy is an option. Help with more conditions is due in the “coming months,” the company adds.
Clinic is part of a long-running effort on Amazon’s part to cover many aspects of healthcare. It bought PillPack (the basis of Pharmacy) in 2018, and between 2019 and 2022 provided a Care telehealth service to its own employees as well as other companies. Amazon more recently closed its $3.9 billion purchase of One Medical, turning it into a primary healthcare provider with a physical presence, virtual options and lab testing. In the right circumstances, you might only have to interact with Amazon businesses.
These moves have drawn scrutiny from regulators. Although the Federal Trade Commission said it wouldn’t challenge the One Medical acquisition in February, it warned that it was still investigating the merger for possible anti-competition and privacy issues that come from access to health data. The Commission said it might challenge the deal later if it found concerns. For now, though, Amazon’s healthcare ambitions aren’t facing major resistance — it’s now an alternative to conventional clinics, at least for everyday problems.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-virtual-healthcare-service-is-now-available-in-every-state-171827351.html?src=rss
Feminist Frequency announced today that it’s shutting down. The nonprofit, founded in 2009 by Executive Director Anita Sarkeesian as an outlet for media criticism of video games and other pop culture, expanded through the years to include podcasts, gaming resources, and an Online Harassment Hotline. Although the organization’s industry resources will remain on its website indefinitely, the hotline will close at the end of September, and the remainder of Feminist Frequency will wind down by the end of 2023.
“I started this project to fill a need that was missing in the media criticism and video games space,” Sarkeesian wrote in a press release today. “Over the past decade and a half, along with an invaluable team of staff members and industry partners, we’ve accomplished so much to be proud of. Feminist Frequency grew into something I never could have anticipated when it began all those years ago. At this point, I think it’s important to share that exhaustion and burnout — not uncommon in the nonprofit world — have taken their toll.”
The organization added that Jae Lin, director of the confidential emotional support hotline, will continue to run ReSpec, the hotline’s accountability support space. In addition, a private event at next year’s Game Developers Conference will honor Feminist Frequency’s accomplishments through the years.
Sarkeesian founded Feminist Frequency while studying for her master’s degree at York University in Toronto. In 2010, she began producing Tropes vs. Women, a series of videos examining misogynistic storytelling trends in movies and television. But a 2012 Kickstarter campaign to fund a video series highlighting the same problems in the gaming industry raised the organization’s profile dramatically — for better and worse.
Feminist Frequency
The campaign shattered Sarkeesian’s $6,000 fundraising goal in less than a day. And while the video series boldly confronted the growing industry’s casual objectification and minimization of female characters (and real-world abuse towards female gamers), it also triggered a backlash from the darkest segments of society that her work singled out — helping to spawn the harassment campaign known as Gamergate. Sarkeesian quickly became a favorite target of abuse — online and off. In 2014, someone sent a bomb threat because she was a scheduled speaker at the Game Developer’s Choice award ceremony. The same year, she was forced to cancel a speech at Utah State University based on loose security after a student sent an email threatening “the deadliest school shooting in American history” if the event continued. The FBI even got involved.
“Harassment is the background radiation of my life,” Sarkeesian toldBloomberg in 2014. “It is a factor in every decision I make. Any time I tweet something, or make a post, I’m always thinking about it. When I post our videos, it’s a consideration. It affects where I go, and how I behave, and how I feel walking down the street every day.”
Despite the abusive ambiance, Sarkeesian continued the organization’s work to highlight injustices and provide resources. Intel partnered with Feminist Frequency in 2015 as part of a $300 million campaign to help promote career opportunities and positive representation for women and minorities. Feminist Frequency received a Peabody Award for Digital and Interactive Storytelling last year. And, although far too slowly, the industry has made gradual progress. “The work we’ve done to effect change in the industry made a difference, and all of us at Feminist Frequency and the Games and Online Harassment Hotline are hopeful to see improvements continue to be made,” she wrote today. “But the time has come to close this chapter and rest before starting the next phase of my professional life.”
Reflecting on the end of the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series in 2017, Sarkeesian said, “It hasn’t all been for the better, but some of it definitely has. There are conversations happening now, among players and among creators, that weren’t happening before.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-award-winning-feminist-frequency-is-shutting-down-after-14-years-185321464.html?src=rss
Samba de Amigo is coming to Apple Arcade. Sega’s classic maraca-shaking rhythm franchise is seeing a renaissance this year as the new installment arrives on Apple platforms and Nintendo Switch on the same day. A VR port for Meta Quest, announced in early June, is also scheduled to launch sometime this fall.
“Shake it with your maracas and groove to 40 hit songs from the world’s most popular genres,” the game’s App Store description reads. Exclusive songs for the Apple version include “The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga, “Daddy” by Psy (of “Gangnam Style” fame) and “The Walker” by Fitz and the Tantrums. The Apple Arcade version’s title, Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go, emphasizes its portable nature. The Switch version is called Samba de Amigo: Party Central, while the Meta Quest version is simply Samba de Amigo.
Neither Sega nor Apple has said much about how gameplay details may differ between Apple’s variant and the other platforms, except that the Apple Arcade version will exclusively have the series’ first story mode. “Embark on a quest with Amigo to return lost music to the world,” the blurb reads.
Sega / Apple
Apple Arcade subscribers can shake it with Samba on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. The App Store listing doesn’t precisely say how controls work, but using your phone as a faux maraca (with touchscreen controls as a fallback) would be a logical guess. (However, it does mention that external controllers are also supported.) The Switch version uses Joy-Cons, and the Quest version relies on its Touch Controllers.
Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go is scheduled to hit the App Store on August 29th. Apple Arcade costs $5 per month after a one-month free trial, and none of its games have in-app purchases. The Switch version, also due August 29th, is priced at $40, and the Quest VR variant will be $30. You can brush up on your Dreamcast-era moves while watching the trailer for the Switch version below.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-new-samba-de-amigo-game-is-coming-to-apple-arcade-this-month-211127732.html?src=rss
For the Marvel-loving, LEGO-building fan in your life (maybe it’s you!) comes this Captain America’s Shield LEGO set. The 3,128-piece set costs $200 and comes together to form an impressive reproduction of the superhero’s shield, with a diameter of 18.5″. For reference, Captain America’s shield in the movies is approximately 30″, so it is a bit smaller. For your sake, I hope it’s still big enough to block all the NERF darts I’m going to shoot at you when you’re finished building it though.
The way that it’s constructed is actually a feat of engineering itself. Of course, I say that about most LEGO sets. Would I be able to construct this set successfully? I guess that depends on whether Captain America’s shield is supposed to be triangular.
Obviously, I plan on building the set and taking it to the theater with me when Captain America: Brave New World comes out next year. Will it break mid-movie, and all the pieces scatter on the theater floor? If the LEGO Infinity Gauntlet I brought to Infinity Wars was any indication, yes. I lost two fingers and three infinity stones!
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