Humanity: Shiba Inu controls humanity’s destiny in game – 05/24/2023 – Tech

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The idea is simple, but a little weird. The player controls a Shiba Inu dog to dictate the movements of a crowd, as if he were a god. It can, for example, tell people whether to turn left, jump or push a block. That is until they reach a door to heaven.

This is “Humanity”, a PlayStation and PC game developed by the Japanese studio THA and Enhance, from “Tetris Effect: Connected” and “Rez Infinite”.

The game has 90 levels divided into seven stages with puzzles that consist of guiding a line of people to the exit.

In that respect, it’s reminiscent of the 1990s computer classic “Lemmings”. Add 3D perspective, unlimited time, nihilistic narrative, experimental soundtrack and “Humanity” appears. It also has similarities to “Where’s My Water?”, a game that went viral in the early smartphone era, but with people instead of water.

In most of the levels of “Humanity”, for example, the crowd enters through a door located at the beginning of the board and leaves through another, on the opposite side. Between the two, there are obstacles.

The maps, or boards, are made up of several blocks, like a chess game. Each of these positions has only one command from the protagonist, the friendly Shiba. Solving the puzzles requires the correct combination of commands. For example: “right”, “left”, “jump”, “right”. But a single phase can contain numerous solutions.

Solving one of these puzzles makes the player feel like a genius. The opposite occurs if he gets stuck in one of them and, after hours and dozens of attempts, realizes that there is only one command missing in the correct position.

For the latter case, the game at least allows you to restart the level by keeping all the commands where the player had left them in the previous attempt, ensuring less stress and more analytical look —which even matches the theme of the narrative.

Among his inspirations, game director Yugo Nakamura cites “Boids” — 1986 software that simulates the behavior of a flock of birds — and a queue of people waiting patiently at a Tokyo manga festival, Comiket.

“Each of us, by and large, is kind and rational. Few are really crazy or insane. But that changes dramatically when it comes to ‘groups’. Politics, war, cancel culture on social media… extreme when they are part of a larger group. The title, ‘Humanity’, embodies the idea that humans gain a new trait when they come together,” Nakamura told the official PlayStation blog.

“When we see human beings as a cluster rather than individuals, we can associate them with a totalitarian and homogeneous image, and fear and the extremes derived from this is certainly an important theme in the game.”

“Humanity” is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. The game is also compatible with PS VR, PS VR 2, Meta Quest 2, Valve Index and Oculus Rift S virtual reality headsets. . Playable at no additional cost with PlayStation Plus Extra membership.

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play

game tip, new or old, for you to test

baba is you

(Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, iOS)

Speaking of puzzles, “Baba is You” is one of the great games of the genre in recent years. The idea is that you rewrite the rules of the game to move forward. The player controls Baba the bunny, whose task is to manipulate words and objects in the scenario to solve the puzzles. At each level, the player is challenged to rethink what has been learned so far and, from there, try different combinations until finding a way out.

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update

news, launches, business and what matters most

• The PlayStation Showcase will take place this Wednesday (24) at 17h (Brasilia time), focusing on new titles for PS5 and PS VR2 in development by internal studios and partners. The event kicks off the game announcement season, and will be followed by Summer Game Fest (June 8), Xbox Games Showcase (11) and Ubisoft Forward (12).
• Nintendo announced that it sold 10 million copies of “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” in three days, making it the franchise’s biggest release and one of the best-selling games of this year. “Hogwarts Legacy”, a commercial success from Warner Bros. Games, for example, reached the 15 million mark two months after its debut.
• The same Warner Bros Games. announced on Thursday (18) “Mortal Kombat 1”, a new title in the franchise that recently completed 30 years. Developed by NetherRealm Studios, the game will be released on September 19th for PS5, Xbox Series S/X, Switch, and PC.
• “Pac-Man 99”, arcade battle royale for Nintendo Switch, will no longer be available for download after October 8th. The user who has purchased its additional content, however, will be able to play after that date, but only in offline mode. Bandai Namco, the game’s developer, did not provide a reason for the shutdown. The game is free for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
• On the other hand, Nintendo Switch Online will receive three games from the “Super Mario Advance” series, by GameBoy Advance. They will be available to Add-on Pack subscribers this Friday (26).
• The release of the expected “GTA VI” may be close, according to Take-Two Interactive’s projections for the April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal year. The document says that there will be the “launch of several extraordinary titles” in the period, which will generate revenue of US$ 8 billion.

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download

games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worthwhile

May 23

• “Convergence: A League of Legends Story”: BRL 88.99 (PC), BRL 159.90 (Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, PS4, PS5 and Switch)
• “Star Trek: Resurgence”: price not available (PS4, PS5, PC), BRL 147.45 (Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC)

May 25

• “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum”: R$ 149.99 (PC), R$ 222.45 (Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X), R$ 299.90 (PS4, PS5)

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readings of the week

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