Download the new Switched app for your iPhone

Skip to Content

Watch Gadling TV's "Travel Talk" and get all the latest travel news!
AOL Tech

electronic-arts posts

Filed under: Fun, Games, Blogging, Web, Humor

Alice and Kev - a Sims 3 virtual soap opera

Alice and KevWhat could be more compelling than documenting the lives of characters from the video game The Sims? Okay, it doesn't sound all that compelling, and there are many examples on the web of it being done poorly. But once in awhile someone comes along and does something that seems like a bad idea in such spectacular fashion that it truly becomes noteworthy.

Alice and Kev is a blog by Robin Burkinshaw that documents the lives of two characters he created in The Sims 3, the latest iteration of Electronic Arts' blockbuster game franchise. The two characters are a father and daughter, and Burkinshaw decided that to make things interesting he would give his characters some real challenges, such as homelessness and in the case of the father, Kev, insanity.

The resulting story is somehow both heart-rending and hilarious. Burkinshaw's blogging style is almost entirely graphical, with occasional pithy comments thrown in. The few comments he includes give the story life, and the characters really do feel all too real.

Reading the comments for each update is almost as entertaining as the posts themselves; Alice and Kev have a huge following, and an average post results in 100 or more comments by people who seem to genuinely care about this duo, and the other characters they are involved with.

It's an inspired bit of storytelling, a bit of a surprise given the usual fare when it comes to Sims blogging.

[via Boing Boing]

Filed under: Games, Internet, News

Are ad-supported video games the next big thing?

Battlefield HeroesLast year Electronic Arts released classic strategy game Command & Conquer as a free, ad-supported download. Now the company is going one step further with plans to release a brand spanking new game as a free download (with advertisements, of course). The New York Times reports that the upcoming Battlefield Heroes title will also allow users to spend real money to buy outfits, weapons, and other virtual goods.

The game is due out this summer. But more importantly, it indicates to us that EA, which regularly produces PC and console games that can sell for $50 or more sees the possibility of generating revenue in multiple ways. We doubt they'll stop selling high priced games anytime soon. But if the ad-supported model proves successful, it could expand the gaming market.

Right now, the folks who are willing to spend the money on bleeding edge games (and the bleeding edge computer or video game console that can handle them) are just the tip of the gaming iceberg. There are millions of people who are already playing simple, ad-supported online Flash games like Line Rider or the troubled Scrabulous. If companies with expertise in creating engaging, high quality games like EA are willing to use the same business model, many people who would never dream of dropping $150 to play Rock Band might be interested in downloading a first person shooter, RPG, or strategy game.

Featured Time Waster

Sushi Cat is an adorable, full-bellied Time Waster

Sushi Cat is one of the cutest Flash games I've ever run across. You play a blue cat with a major talent for eating and, fortunately for you, every level is filled with delicious sushi! The controls are simple: you aim and drop from the top of the screen using the mouse, trying to hit as much sushi as you can on the way down. Eat enough sushi, and you can go on to the next level. Your score depends on how much sushi you eat, and which bucket the cat lands in when it finally reaches the bottom of the screen. The more ...

View more Time Wasters


Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Gowalla for webOS
Livescribe Store
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake

 

Follow us on Twitter!

More Tech Coverage

Joystiq

TUAW

DailyFinance

Autoblog

Urlesque

Engadget

WoW

Switched.com

FanHouse