Given the nature of our business, it’s a very common scenario that we will need to find information or screenshots for games. Fortunately, since game development is a very technical business, most every game has its own dedicated web site.

What is unfortunate however is the industry’s never-ending fascination with Flash-based sites. Waiting for a site to load and then not being able to cut and paste text or save screenshots to disk because the whole damn thing is rendered using Flash is not my idea of a good time.

I got a hilarious - and unprovoked - message over MSN today which pretty much sums up the situation I’m trying to describe:

/tries to grab a wallpaper image from lego indiana jones site

“You do not have enough points to buy this item. Go surf around the site and find more treasures.”

Oh ffs

Why so many site makers decide to glam up their sites at the expense of speed and usability, whilst simultaneously crippling people who are trying to use their assets to promote their game is beyond my understanding.

The Gameplanet Store team attended the tenth annual NetGuide Web Awards last night and I’m very pleased to announce that we won the award for “Best Online Shopping Site” for the third time in four years (Trade Me was apparently a Shopping site as well as an Auction site one year, so we were upset about that one).

Obviously we’re very proud of the achievement and we owe a huge thanks to all of the customers (and GP forumers!) who voted for us.

Our friends at Gameplanet picked up the award for the Best Games-Related Site, whilst Zillion was once again a finalist in the Trade Me Best Trading Site Category. happysheep was also a deserving finalist for Best New Site.

Update: NetGuide has published some photos, so for your viewing pleasure (or not?):

Simon & I accept the award for “Best Online Shopping Site”

Big grin.

Dan & Simon from Gameplanet accept the award for “Best Gaming Site”

Word has come out of the Mass Effect Community Forums that the upcoming PC version of Mass Effect will be implementing SecuROM piracy prevention measures which will require gamers to authenticate their game against Electronic Arts’ servers every ten days. Here’s my understanding of how it works:

• You install the game from the DVD-ROM; (This is the last time that you will need the DVD, which is nice.)
• Each time you play Mass Effect, it will connect to EA to authenticate your CD key. If successful, this authentication will allow you ten more days of play time.
• After those ten days are up that you will be required to authenticate again - in other words, if you are not connected to the Internet for nine days after your last authentication, you’re fine, but if you’re still not connected on the tenth day, you will not be able to play the game.

The BioWare representative also mentions that Spore will be employing this method.

Now, I’ve outlined my views on piracy measures in a previous post, but this is ridiculous. Assuming the system is flawless, this would probably not affect me because I have an always-on Internet connection plugged in to my gaming PC, but why should I have to report back to headquarters every 10 days to prove that my game is legit? Why shouldn’t I be able to play the game after ten days without Internet if I took my laptop on holiday? Why the hell is my legitimate copy inferior to a pirated copy!?

This move is going to anger a lot of the “hard core” gaming market, who also happen to be Mass Effect’s target audience. I expect that our customer service department will be actioning some cancellation requests over the next couple of days.

This is one of the most uselessly clever things I’ve seen lately: Homer Simpson rendered entirely with CSS.

This is quite possibly the coolest consumer device I’ve ever seen:

No, it’s not a replica of R2-D2 from the Star Wars films… well, it is… but it’s also a very cleverly disguised audio and video projector. Check out the features:

• Picture by DLP from Texas Instruments
• Project to ceilings and walls up to a 260-inch picture
• Resolution: 1024×768
• Contrast Ratio: 1800:1
• Lumens: 1500
• Built-in CD/DVD player. Also plays MP3/MP4 video
• iPod docking station, memory card and USB slots
• Built-in 20 watt stereo speaker system
• FM wireless audio out (channels 1 through 7)
• Full-function: forward, reverse turn 360 degrees and recline
• Millennium Falcon remote control with removable stand
• Head turns using Millennium Falcon remote control
• Plays the most popular R2-D2 sound effects

That all sounds pretty cool, but if you’re still not sold then watch this video. This thing is made of 100% pure awesome, and I’m not even a Star Wars fan.

It comes at a price, however - $2,995US to be exact. If you’re richer than me you can order yours now from StarWarsShop.