Month: March 2022

Enlarge / How can online gamemakers adapt both existing and new titles with systems that make guys like this less angry? Three presenters at the 2022 Game Developers Conference offer their own suggestions. (None include the obvious tip that this stock-photo guy should upgrade his old Xbox 360.) (credit: Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO—As long as popular video games depend on online services like matchmaking and chat, those games will suffer from toxicity, harassment, and bullying. Or at least that’s the assumption that some panelists at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) are eager to either soften or nullify altogether.

Ahead of the conference’s show floor opening on Wednesday morning, we listened to a few participants offer their hopes for more positive social gaming environments—and three perspectives stood out as a combined pitch for a brighter future. The proof isn’t yet in these pitches’ pudding, but each points to different, seemingly smarter steps toward a better online-gaming ecosystem.

Turning the temperature down on “heat maps”

The first pitch, from game-moderation startup Good Game Well Played (GGWP), suggests aiming an AI-powered laser at the problem. Co-founded by pro gamer and entrepreneur Dennis “Thresh” Fong, GGWP is designed to slot into existing games’ moderation systems to make report-based moderation stronger by coupling it with two types of real-time data: voice chat and gameplay “heat maps.”

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

It’s time for another Dealmaster! Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes a new sale on Amazon’s Kindle e-readers. The deals include the newest Kindle Paperwhite marked down to $105, which is the lowest price we’ve seen to date and matches the deal we saw on Black Friday.

As a refresher, we gave the Kindle Paperwhite a rave review when it launched last fall, calling it the best Kindle—and thus the best e-reader—for most people. There’s no need to upgrade if you’re happy with a previous Kindle, but compared to its predecessor, the 11th-gen Paperwhite has a more spacious display (now at 6.8 inches [17 cm] instead of 6 inches [15 cm]), a USB-C port, a better frontlight, more consistently responsive performance, and improved battery life (which Amazon rates at roughly 10 weeks per charge). It’s still waterproof, and if you can live with Amazon’s locked-down ecosystem, the Kindle library remains extensive. This offer includes three months of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited e-book service, too, though note that this will auto-renew by default.

The sale also brings the Kids version of the Kindle Paperwhite down to $115. That’s only $5 higher than the best price we’ve tracked. While this variant is marketed to younger readers, it features the same hardware as the standard Paperwhite, plus a case, a longer two-year warranty (compared to one with the standard model), and no ads on its home page or lock screen (which costs an extra $20 otherwise). The base Kindle Kids e-reader, which is discounted to $65 today, may be the better value for most children, but the Paperwhite Kids model may be worth it for those willing pay a little extra.