For Honor to Be Playable in India for the First Time at IGX 2016

PlayStation VR isn’t the only gaming-related first for India at IGX 2016 or
 the Indian Games Expo as it’s called. For those of you who managed to
sit through Ubisoft’s inordinately long E3 2016 presentation, you probably
remember medieval-themed hack and slash game,For Honor.

A sizeable portion of the game’s single-player campaign was shown off
on stage, dispellingmurmurs of the title being multiplayer only. This was
 followed by an alpha that was open for public registration for a host of
regions barring India for reasons related to bandwidth constraints.
Nonetheless, Ubisoft will be showing off the game’s single-player mode
at IGX 2016 - a first for the country in the longest time. To put it in perspective,
the last time an unreleased game had a public showcase was PS3-exclusive
 Killzone 2 at the 2008 PlayStation Experience which took place in Mumbai,
 Delhi, and Bengaluru.

And if Viking on knight on samurai action isn’t of interest to you,
 there will be tournaments for Pro Evolution Soccer 2017,
WWE 2K17, and Mortal Kombat XL at IGX 2016 with a
combined Rs. 200,000 prize pool. Not too shabby for games
that aren’t Counter-Strike,Dota 2, or League of Legends.

Further shoring up the list are a host of locally developed
 games such as Asura. a Diablo-styled game from Hyderabad-based
Ogre Head Studios, Zenith, a role-playing co-developed
by Bengaluru’s Holy Cow Productions, and Dodgefall, a racing game
from Roosh Interactive,a studio based in Mumbai.

This year’s edition of IGX will take place at the World Trade Centre
in Mumbai from October 15 to 16.

Pokémon Go is becoming a part of the course curriculum in colleges around the world

Pokémon Go was the viral sensation this summer. The game uses the global positioning system, augmented reality and licensed content from Nintendo. Behind the scenes, Google has a team of engineers directly working with the Niantic team to ensure that the servers are up and running. The game is very social, and makes trainers form networks, co-ordinate attacks, and discuss strategies. Pokémon Go is physically demanding, and unlike a conventional video game, it makes you go outside and explore locations in the real world

Training can also make you oblivious to your surroundings.

These social and technical characteristics mean that Pokémon Go is now becoming a part of university courses around the world. According to a report in the Daily Mail, Salford University students studying Business Information Technology will be required to play and understand the game as part of their science degrees. The course is about the relationship between businesses, people and information systems, and Pokémon Go is a great game to make the course more accessible.

Students will be studying how playing the game changes the behaviors of the trainers.  Pokémon Go trainers take longer routes to go from point A to point B. On the way, they may stop to catch Pokémon or farm resources from Pokéstops. Students will also be analysing the use of Pokémon Go by businesses. Those businesses that are near Pokéstops can use lure modules to make that particular location more attractive to customers

The Plus is physical hardware that makes playing the game easier.

The game will be used to make the students understand how the global positioning system, the camera and the servers are managed to deliver an experience to the end users. There are multiple technologies being used in the game, along with cutting edge systems made just for the game. As part of providing the cloud service to handle the traffic for the game, Google engineers fixed a number of bugs in the underlying framework. The course teaches mobile app development and how to handle different emerging technologies and information systems in a business environment.

The traffic to the servers compared to the expected traffic. Image: Google

University of Idaho, in Idaho has a Pop Culture Games course that allows students to gain course credits by playing Pokémon Go. The social aspects of the game are used to teach students about leadership and team work. There are three teams in the game, Valor, Mystic and Instinct. Trainers from any team require to co-ordinate efforts to take down gyms owned by any other team. The timing and frequency of attacks need to be coordinated if a team is to dominate a location. Teamwork is also required to share knowledge and information on the various kinds of attacks that Pokémon have, and how to use them effectively against opponents.

Gym battles require co-ordination.

The instructor for the course at the University of Idaho, Steven Bird said, “I want it to be more than people going, ‘I’m going to go catch a Pikachu’. This app does more than let you shoot a Pokéball. You get to adventure around, seeing different things, being active, seeing the sun. It allows you to move in large groups and a team. You get not only physical activity, but you also get team-building and leadership.” Philips Scruggs, chair of the Department of Movement Sciences, said, “It’s a great way to engage youth through adults, and a great way to engage families in active games together. Our interest is to turn folks onto an active lifestyle, and that can be achieved in endless ways.”

Image: EOPS Program at Fresno City College

The Fresno Bee reports that the Fresno City College is offering the credit for playing the game in a Physical Education course. The campus of the college has multiple gyms, locations where teams battle each other for dominance. There are also many available for hunting across the campus. The college authorities decided that Pokémon Go was a great way to get young people engaged in fitness. There are plans to include elements of the game into cardiovascular workouts. The college plans to implement more courses that involve Pokéwalking in the future.

A screnshot from Ingress.

Universities tapping into the many positive aspects of the game goes to show that Niantic has achieved something special in Pokémon Go. The previous game by Niantic, Ingress also had most of these elements that makes Pokémon Go sucessful. Augmented reality, real world locations and team work were all part of the game. Pokémon and the nostalgia that comes with it, is what Pokémon Go offers over Ingress. Ingress is still being updated and maintained after almost four years. Pokémon Go offers dedicated hardware, and the makers are planning to roll out the game in more countries around the world. These are signs of a lasting phenomenon, one that will continue to provide gamers with increasingly richer experiences.

Airtel will give you an iPhone 7 for Rs 19,990 onwards, but there is a catch

With the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in India, several online as well as offline retailers have been offering multiple offers. Airtel is also advertising a rather unreal offer on its website. Airtel’s Apple page has a headline, “Now Enjoy an iPhone 7 at just Rs 19,990 with Airtel Postpaid.”

At the moment the offer is only valid in Noida and Karnataka and hopefully Airtel will release it in other cities gradually.

But of course, the offer comes with some conditions. It is similar to the contracts offered in the US.

To be eligible for the offer, you will need to opt-in for any one of the following yearly Airtel plans. At the end of the 12 months, customers are eligible to return the iPhone 7 / 7 Plus and upgrade to the latest iPhone next year.

The three offers are as follows:

• Rs 1,999 plan – 5GB data + Unlimited calling (local/STD/roaming- mobile + fixed line)
• Rs 2,499 plan – 10GB data + Unlimited calling (local/STD/roaming- mobile + fixed line)
• Rs 2,999 plan – 15GB data + Unlimited calling (local/STD/roaming- mobile + fixed line)

You will be required to make the minimum down payment – ranging from Rs 19,990 to Rs 43,792 depending on the model you select – and the rest shall be paid for by your Bajaj Finance Ltd (BFL) EMI plans at 0 percent interest rate.

This is valid for customers who will return the iPhone in the 13th month to upgrade. For those users who plan to continue with the iPhone 7 / 7 Plus, a Balloon payment will be auto-debited from their BFL plans. After you pay the Balloon payment amount, you become the owner of the iPhone 7 / 7 Plus.

In the one year that you are using the phone, you will not be able to switch your plans or port your number to another network or transfer ownership to another user.

Assuming you opt for the cheapest option, you’ll pay Rs 19,990 as down payment, Rs 26,000 as part of your monthly plan and Rs 24,000 as a balloon payment. This brings your total up to Rs 70,000 if you purchase the device after the contract is up. If you don’t want to purchase the phone and would like to upgrade, you will have only spent Rs 46,000 on the phone.

You can either return the phone after 12 months to upgrade to a new phone or you may continue with your iPhone 7 and terminate the contract after paying the Balloon Payment amount.

“The EMIs shall form part of the bill amount under the Plan. Thereafter, BFL will debit the remaining outstanding amount (‘Balloon Payment’) from your account and your contract with Airtel for the Plan will terminate and your loan with BFL will be closed,” says Airtel.

In order to terminate your contract before 12 months, you will need to foreclose your Bajaj Finance loan and carry an NOC to your nearest Airtel store. After that you can switch to any Airtel plan of your liking.

Post the 12 months of the plan, customers will be required to visit their Airtel stores within 30 days. If this is missed then Bajaj Finance will auto-debit the concerned Balloon Payment account depending on the model, from your bank.

After 12 months, you can either change your plans, or if you are not sure which plan you want to opt for, you will get the following discounts on current plans. Rs 1,999 will reduce to Rs 1,199 rental; Rs 2,499 will reduce to Rs 1,599 rental and Rs 2,999 will reduce to Rs 1,999 rental.

Airtel states that only phones which are in working conditions, without any physical damage will be accepted by stores. Airtel has detailed the device return guidelines in detail on its website.

Indian Express may have found some information that throws a spanner in the works, however. The publication reports that an Airtel customer care employee has informed them that the offer is limited to Bharati Airtel and HCL employees only. We are independently trying to confirm the story and will update this article as and when we receive confirmation.