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Becoming a Video Game Actor

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Adventures in Voice Acting

Adventures in Voice Acting (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One type of acting that has become increasingly popular in recent years is voice acting for video games. As video game technology advances, more and more game characters are being voiced by big name actors. Fifteen years ago it would have seemed impossible to get someone of the caliber of Gary Oldman to lend his voice to an action game. Cut to today, when Oldman has lent his voice to no less than two games in the ever-popular Call of Duty series. Video game voice acting isn’t just for big names, either. It has become an increasingly popular way for actors to break into the industry, so long as they have the right mentality and go about it the right way….

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Familiar Voices In Gaming: Track The Trend

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Thanks to recent advances in technology, the visuals involved in today’s video games are better than ever before. Crisp, clear images allow gamers to feel like they have actually stepped into another world. However, when a video game ups its standards for its visuals, it must follow suit with other aspects of gaming; otherwise, the result is a disjointed, awkward experience for the player.

Although many games have done an excellent job improving visual formatting, some focused solely on this aspect of gaming to the detriment of areas such as the soundtrack and voice over acting. Sound constitutes an important part of any gaming experience, setting the mood for the player and determining if the game has a playful, sinister or dramatic feel. Even a game with the very best visuals would be very boring indeed if it lacked a quality voice over.

The benefits of quality voice acting are many, but the following are just a few of the biggest advantages you will gain by hiring talented voice actors:…

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Skylanders: Giants Expected to be a Big Hit

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There’s a new game foreseen to be a big hit among kids and adults this year. Skylanders: Giants is Activision’s game series that has become among the top 10 best-selling brands for kids in the U.S. today. It is also expected to be a hot item this Christmas season.

This new game released just recently features new character figures and a line of Giant Skylanders. According to Activision’s CEO, the story of the game is what attracts kids to play it particularly as they have a role in the story as the portal master.

Experts in the gaming field agree that Skylanders is more than just a video game. The game mainly relies on the Portal of Power which is a docking system that connects to a video game console. The goal here is to “port” Skylanders figurines into the game. Players should make sure that the figurine touches the Portal of Power so they can run amuck or shoot fireballs with Spyro.

In 2011, the starter pack came with three figurines for all platforms and 29 more characters were added for the duration of the year. Owing to its huge success as evident in the Q2 earnings of Activision, Skylanders was considered the best-selling console and handheld game.
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Drive Like You’re in Gran Turismo 5

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Gran Turismo 5

Imagine driving some of the coolest cars from the bestselling racing game Gran Turismo 5. Making that dream come true isn’t as hard as you think.

Gran Turismo 5 features more than 1,000 cars, 26 different racing locations, and a total of 71 tracks. It’s an incredibly robust game, taking you on a virtual world tour of racing venues all over the world, and vehicles from every major car manufacturer. It seems like it would be impossible to replicate the experience in real life, but its not as hard as you think.

Gran Turismo 5: Aston Martin

If you want to get behind a real wheel and not just a virtual one, particularly the game’s more exciting and exotic models, there is a way to do it, and without breaking the bank. If you’re up for a little adventure, that is. And it’s not even a secret.

Gran Turismo 5: Audi R8

All you have to do is find a local wish-fulfillment company. What that means is a certain class of company that, for a certain price, can enable you to do things outside the everyday. Things like skydiving, piloting a helicopter, or as in this case, driving some of the fastest cars known to man. Many major race tracks regularly offer special packages where you can pay to get a hands-on lesson, and learn to drive real race cars a certain number of circuits around the track.

Gran Turismo 5: Ferrari 430

For example, there’s a company called Wish.co.uk in the United Kingdom that keeps in stock some of the sweetest rides in the world, including many of the coolest vehicles seen in Gran Turismo and other modern racing games. If you look at their website, you’ll see packages available at a wide range of prices that let you drive cars like an Aston Martin, an Audi R8, a Ferrari 430, a Ferrari 599, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Lamborghini Murciélago, a Mini Cooper, a Mitsubishi Evo, a Nissan GTR, a Porsche, a Subaru Impreza WRX, and many more. This company even offers an ArielAtom and a F1 Formula race car, as well as many other types of vehicles.

Gran Turismo 5: Lamborghini Murciélago

And that’s just one example. A similar company closer to where you live might offer an equally cool but different roster of souped-up cars for you to drive on closed tracks.

Gaming to the Extreme: Creating the Ultimate Experience

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Whether they prefer strategy-based P.C. games or first-person shooters on a console, serious gamers are always looking for new ways to enhance their overall experience. To create the best possible environment for their hobby, gaming enthusiasts may purchase updated equipment, continuously tweak their sound and visual settings or even make manual upgrades to the equipment they already own. Below are some of the most common strategies these gamers use to get the most out of their gaming experiences.

High Tech Equipment Purchases

Like all technologically-dependent fields, the gaming industry is constantly changing. New consoles are developed, highly-anticipated games are released and updated accessories are always available. Some of the most common new equipment purchases among serious gamers include:…

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Gaming Has Gone Beyond Consoles

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As technology advances, people enjoy more upgraded devices. Despite the higher prices that come with the newer models, many consumers don’t mind spending for their favorite gadgets and changing them as often as they like.

This is what’s happening with the video gaming consoles. In the past, it used to be that people relied primarily on them to play their favorite video games. In short, one had to purchase a console and even a cartridge in order to play a game. Such is the case for most of the Nintendo devices like the Atari and Gameboy.

Today, however, this is no longer the case. In fact, gaming has gone beyond the consoles.

With the advent of the internet, it is possible nowadays for players to do what they love to do online either via their computer or their mobile phone. This is convenience and savings at their best. In other words, it is really not even necessary to own a specific console in order to play a particular video game. Keep in mind that a gaming device can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars but if you’re okay with going online, then you can be sure to enjoy big savings.

The designer of Tekken, one of the most famous video games, agree that manufacturers of game consoles can no longer control the way people games. According to Harada San who is the game director and chief producer of Tekken, major console makers such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft can even do more good if they join forces. By this, he means coming up with a single console for the satisfaction of consumers.

Sharing with you some interesting statistics here about gaming console usage. According to the 2012 figures of grabstats.com, there are currently 190 million households in the U.S. that own the next-generation video game consoles and 80 percent have consoles connected to the internet.

Also, 65 million American households play video and computer games while the average age of a player is 35. The regular players have been engaged in their favorite activity for 13 years. You might be surprised to know that of these millions of game players, 40 percent are actually women.

Get Your Game On Twitter with InstaBG

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Gamers are notorious for being passionate about their favorite games, bringing it into all aspects of their lives, from wearing costumes during cosplays to collecting memorabilia. Dreams are not even exempt, with me admittedly dreaming quite regularly about fave games during the height of my gaming days back in college. With gamers more than willing to let their passion for games cross boundaries, it isn’t surprising at all if you’re into tweaking your social accounts to reflect your love of gaming.

A good way to spice up your Twitter page and tell the world at the same time just how much you like your games is by customizing your Twitter background using InstaBG’s free service. InstaBG uses Instagram photos (can be your photos or everyone’s public photos) to make a collage about any category or topic you like, including gaming-related topics such as console and The Sims.


InstaBG-generated Twitter background using “consoles” as tag

 


InstaBG-generated Twitter background using popular images for “Sims” as tag

 


InstaBG-generated Twitter background using new images for “Sims” as tag

 
As you see above, the backgrounds differ in tile sizes, spacing between tiles, colors of the spaces, and the images themselves. You can change all these and more easily on InstaBG and choose whichever option yields the collage that suits your taste. You can always preview the collage before posting it as your Twitter background so you don’t have to worry about getting an ugly background.

If you get bored easily, you can also set InstaBG to automatically update you Twitter background everyday so that the images on the collage will change without you having to anything.

Images generated using InstaBG

No Fuss Gaming Blog Promotion with Blog Search Engine

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Promote your blogGot a gaming blog you need to promote? If so then I just might have found an easy solution for you – Blog Search Engine.

While you are probably computer savvy enough to DIY your blog’s SEO campaign, you’re also probably more interested in spending your time gaming instead of finding sites that will link back to you. Using services like Blog Search Engine’s will give you the luxury of focusing on your gaming while ensuring that you get the links you need to promote your blog.

To get your blog listed at Blog Search Engine, all you need to do is submit your blog details, pay the $14.99 fee via Paypal, and wait for the confirmation email. The basic package will get you’re a link on the web portal, and earn your blog a review. Upgrading your package will earn you more links thanks to their blog network, make your blog the featured blog, and even have place a banner ad of your blog on their homepage. Of course, the number of links and length as feature blog will all depend on which package you get.

Promote Your BlogBlogs listed on Blog Search Engine are also categorized depending on the topic, which will be helpful to your SEO efforts when the big search engines (i.e. Google) comes across your link via the web portal because it will help increase topic relevancy signals. This also makes it easier for users of the web portal to more easily find your blog should they choose to search for blog by topic.

Gamers, techies, and geeks are all welcome to try out Blog Search Engine’s blog promotion services.

Recipe Finder: For the Gamer Who Loves to Cook

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Recipe Finder Home Page

Recipe Finder Home Page


Eating out can be fun, but it can also be expensive. That is why a lot more people tend to spend some time in the kitchen creating their own delicious meals. Sure, it takes a little work, but it does help one relax and save money while at it. Of course, there is the anticipation for what comes after cooking – eating!

One trend that seems to be going strong is for people to patronize cooking- or food-related TV shows and web sites. The popularity of celebrity chefs has largely contributed to this, and they have not hesitated to take advantage of this. There are also a considerable number of web sites dedicating themselves to providing recipes to the average person who makes meals in his or her own kitchen.

Speaking of recipe portals, there is a newcomer in the arena: Recipe Finder. This new site is a search engine that has been designed to provide users with the best recipes that can be found online. With more than a million recipes in the collection, Recipe Finder offers users more than other recipe sites.

Recipe Finder is a breeze to use, not requiring technical knowledge from you – the user. All that you need to do is to key in the recipe name or an ingredient. There are also options which allow you to conduct a narrower search, which will give you more relevant results. For example, you can use the feature which allows you to indicate ingredients which you want to be included in or excluded from the recipe. Furthermore, you can indicate parameters such as calorie count, cook time, and the number of servings. With these features, you are assured of the best results.

Recipe Finder offers you more than discovering recipes. It also gives you some help in the organizational front via two features: the menu feature and the calendar feature. The menu feature allows you to create a fully customizable menu which can include the appetizer, main courses, and desserts. The calendar feature gives you the possibility of planning entire meals in advance.

For many people online, sharing is very important. Social networking is the key for them. Recipe Finder addresses this preference by providing sharing options using some of the most popular platforms. And if you are the kind who still prefers the feel of paper in your hands, then simply click on the print icon to create your hard copy!

What’s left for you to do is to cook!

Violent Video Games – The Other Side Of The Story

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GTA IV
We’ve all heard about how violent video games can bring harm to people who play them, especially the young people. More often than not, hardcore gamers get sick of these studies and proclamations of violence making players immune. That is why when I read this blog post on a study looking at the other side of the coin, I was pleasantly surprised. I was even more surprised that I haven’t heard more of this study, conducted by Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, which was actually started in 2004.

So what are the findings of the study? Dr. Olson states in an interview:

Many children in our survey, as well as our focus groups with boys who play violent games, said they played games to manage their feelings. This included playing games to “help get my anger out,” to forget problems, to relax, and to feel less lonely. Children who played at least one M-rated video game “a lot in the past six months” were significantly more likely to agree that getting anger out was one reason they played video games.

The bottom line is that adolescents who play video games are better able to manage their feelings – anger in particular. This is due to the fact that they are able to vent out violent emotions through video games. Another thing that I liked about the study is how they approached the issue – not using the premise that violent games cause aggressive behaviors. Instead, they focused on something more concrete – the reason behind adolescents playing these games.