My Life with the Sims

My favorite computer game of all-time is "The Sims" and I was not surprised at all when I read the news announcing that the game was voted as one of the most popular and best-selling games of all time, based on an online survey of PC gamers.

According to the game’s distributors, Electronic Arts, the virtual-life Sims game has sold over 7 million copies worldwide as of 2002, dislodging Myst as the top-selling computer game of all time. First created by Will Wright and Maxis, “The Sims” has spawned a number of expansion versions which, if taken into account, would reflect total worldwide sales of The Sims series at over 13 million.

Since the game was first issued to the public on February 4, 2000, there have been seven expansion packs that followed as well as a sequel, The Sims 2.

What makes the game so appealing is its unique gameplay. Instead of meeting a set of objectives like the great majority of computer games, The Sims allows players to engage in a fully interactive environment and the Sims characters can make their own choices about everyday living. The challenge to the player is how to best spend the Sims’ time in a "virtual day." And like real life, the only real objective is how to organize the Sims’ time and activities to give him maximum happiness and to help him attain his personal goals.

One unique quality of the Sims is that, like real people, they also possess a certain amount of free will. This allows them to ignore a player's commands if they wish and instead embark on something that they consider to be more pressing and important, just like real people. For instance, a player may order a Sim to go to the supermarket or visit a friend, but if the Sim is tired and fatigued, it may simply fall asleep instead to restore its energy.

Players also have control over how their Sim character relates with other characters. For instance, they can make the Sim a real jerk who insults, slaps or even attacks other Sims, which, just like in real life, often means that they get insulted, slapped around and attacked in return.

http://ezinearticles.com/?My-Life-with-the-Sims&id=348819

Breaking into the World of Flash Gaming

Online gaming is more popular than ever – and instead of sitting on the sofa and just playing the games – more and more people have decided to get in the action and develop their own games. And with 722 million total PCs using the internet – and more than 97 percent of those PCs equipped with Flash, now is a great time to get into Flash gaming!

But how do you do it?

Of course, you could go the old-fashioned route and get your degree in Game Art and Design, but if you already have your degree in another field of study and you don’t have the time or inclination to go back, there are some simple steps you can take to get your foot in the door at Flash gaming companies the world over:

• Get a degree in something. Any degree program will teach you critical thinking skills, writing and speech (which is important when you’re trying to make a good impression), plus you can add in art classes to develop your creative side and programming classes for a solid background any employer would love to have.
• Develop a working Flash game demo and submit it to gaming sites like UGOPlayer.com and others. This will get your game out there, get you the feedback you need to work out the kinks and – most importantly – impress gamers and others in the industry.
• As a side job – or your only job – land a position with an established game company to test their games. It’s not glamorous, but it will get your foot in the door and you’ll work with just about everyone in the company!
• Parlay your game tester job into a QA job and get to know the developers and designers personally and professionally. If you can make some good calls, they’ll learn to respect your work and may, eventually, help you weasel your way into their division.

Of course, knowing the actual games that are hot or are coming up really helps your knowledgebase and your understanding of what people really want in a Flash game, so play, play, play. But don’t just sit on your sofa like a lump – play the games in earnest – take notes, find the tricks and discover what really makes them tick.

When you’re ready, send out your resume and your demo, follow up on every inquiry and make any connection you can. There’s stiff competition in game development, but with the right skills, the right connections and a good plan of attack, you’ll land on your feet.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Breaking-into-the-World-of-Flash-Gaming&id=336380

Popular Online Game Meets Sci-Fi

Lineage 2 is a highly rewarding massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), introduced by NCSoft Korea. Since its launching on October 1, 2003, Lineage 2 continues to enthrall the players from all over the world, with its strong graphic drive coupled with detailed as well as vast environment. Lineage 2 is the sequel to the Lineage – the reigning subscription winner in the MMORPG world. Further, the game is credited to be one of the only few games that avoid such problems as lack of variety and disequilibrium primarily when a race becomes dominant in relation to another. However for playing the game, there are certain minimum system requirements such as Pentium 3 800MHz or better, RAM with a capacity higher than 256M, GeForce2 or better 3D Graphics card, 56K Internet Connection, and HDD space of 8GB.

Lineage 2 is designed in such a way that it should be played from the point of view of a third person. Once the game is started, you are taken to the amazing world of Adena where Player versus Player combat is constant. You are given option to choose from any of the five fantasy races, such as, the dark elves, humans, dwarves, elves, and orcs, each with its own class trees, which in turn enables players to alter their character appearance. The selection of race not only tests the players’ ability but also the way they will later develop or advance in the game. All of the races are great for combat, but dwarves differ significantly from the others and they are the only race possessing crafting skills. Additionally, players can decide between two starting classes; fighter or a spell caster. Fighters can use weapons, and the other, as the name indicates, use spells.

Movements involved in the game are accomplished by either pointing or clicking. But, in order to play the game, you must have a clear idea on RPG. One of the worth mentioning features of Lineage 2 is the use of Soulshots and Spiritshots, which play the role of a weapon or a spell for a single bow. Another unique feature involved in this game is grinding level. Above all, the game’s GUI is amazingly clean and utilizes screen space very proficiently. Lineage 2 is also renowned for its character models, particularly female characters which take after beauty pageant. Other relevant features of the game are class advancement and specialization; large variety of in-game events for players to cooperate in; advanced graphic engine; no zoning and hence one big world; castle sieges; political as well as economic systems; simple interface as well as easy to learn game structure; and clan housing and castles.

However, in order to attain success, Lineage 2 involves the application of certain weapons such as arrows, healing potions, and soulshots, which can be acquired through its purchase via Lineage 2 Adena. Lineage 2 Adena is the currency considered invaluable in Lineage 2. But farming cheap L2 Adena is not an easy task. It mostly comes from such sources as quests, monsters, and other players. Selling items to players is regarded as one of the best ways to gather plenty of Lineage 2 Adena, since many of the weapons applied in the game may be of high price in the private stores. Popular ways to buy Lineage 2 Adena also include farming weapons from quests or monsters and selling it to vendors. Another great way to earn Lineage Adena 2 is through clans by taxing the surrounding lands if they own a castle in the area. But, it is recommended not to buy Lineage 2 Adena from NPC merchants.

There is a limit to what words could convey. So, in order to get the true feel of Lineage 2 Adena, try competing in one of the races and don the various character colors. Real time gaming helps you to learn and understand the game better.

http://add-articles.com/Article/Lineage-2---Popular-Online-Game-Meets-Sci-Fi/74570

How to Watch the SuperBowl

On February 4th hundreds of thousands of Football fans will be gathering around their televisions to view the SuperBowl, but what are the essentials to maximizing your SuperBowl watching experience

The teams may not have been decided yet, but it is not like it really matters, no matter who plays most eyes will be glued to the game. With the exception of the fans of those teams that are playing most people who watch the SuperBowl are just hoping for a good game.

One thing people like to do to make the game more interesting is an office football pool. This is when everyone throws money into a pot and you get a box latter numbers are randomly put in each box, then at the end of each quarter the score is checked and whoever is on the box that corresponds with the current score wins some money, and who ever has the score at the end of the game gets the majority of the money.

Another thing the more hardcore gamblers like to do is to place a bet at one of the many online sportsbooks. If this is hat you are into I recommend you go to several sportsbooks before placing your bets, different sites will offer different odds. Make sure to only place your bets on the SuperBowl with the bookie who offers you the best odds.

Besides betting on the game there are many things you can do to make the game more enjoyable.

The people you watch the game with effect the enjoy ability of the game. If some of the people you watch the SuperBowl with do not like football or understand the game they are not going to get into the game and they may want to talk and be a disturbance to those who want to watch the game undisturbed.

The 2 most important things you need to watch the SuperBowl are food and beverages. SuperBowl party’s can be very wild and result in many people calling out of work the next day, because of being hung over or sick from bad food.

Make sure whatever types of foods you offer the foods were not prepared in a rush. If you are planning to order food to be delivered you may want to rethink your plan. One of the busiest nights of the year for a take out restaurant is SuperBowl Sunday, and in a rush to get all the orders delivered on time sometimes food can be undercooked, so you may want to either keep it simple like pizza or make your own food.

Beverages can be a bigger problem then the food. Most men will usually drink some beer while watching the game, but unless each person brings their own beer you risk running into someone who does not like the selection you have provided, also because the game is on a Sunday people may want to stay sober, because of work the next day. So make sure to have a good selection of beer, hard liquor and non alcoholic soft drinks. You can always ask you friends when you invite them for the game what they like to drink, then assuming no one picks something so out of the ordinary you should be able to find an acceptable mix of drinks for everyone.

As for Snacks I recommend a large selection or the basics chips, pretzels and maybe popcorn or even peanuts.

Hopefully this will help you to have a better time watching the SuperBowl, and throw a great party at the same time.

http://www.abc-articles.com/Article/How-to-Watch-the-SuperBowl/10932

Chinese Gambling Games Casino Games with Chinese Origins

The Chinese culture has a significant influence on the American gambling industry. Many of todays popular casino games were introduced to American casinos by Chinese immigrants. In this review, you can read about some of the most popular Chinese gambling games that had a successful immigration to the West.

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is a hybrid of American poker and traditional Chinese tiles game called Pai Gow. The original tile game Pai Gow, which means Make 9, is one of the most ancient gambling games that are still available in cotemporary casinos. Pai Gow Poker is played with playing cards instead of tiles and it uses the traditional poker hand ranking. It is one of the most popular casino games worldwide and it can be found in almost every major casino in the US. Its online version can be played at most casinos on the internet.

The object of the Pai Gow Poker is to form the highest possible two poker hands, one five card hand and a two card hand, out of the seven cards dealt to each player. Each player competes against the banker that can be either the casino dealer or one of the players who can afford paying the players winnings.

Sic Bo

Sic Bo is yet another popular casino game with roots that go back to ancient China. The chance game came to the States around the beginning of the 20th century by Chinese immigrants. It can be played in most land based casinos in Macau, the US and the UK. Sic Bo has an online version as well.

The meaning of Sic Bo is Dice Pair. It is played with three standard dice on a special table. Each player places any number of bets on the table and then tosses the dice. The outcome is determined by the combinations of the three dice. Each combination has a different payoff according to a payoff schedule, which vary from one casino to the other.

Fan Tan

Fan Tan used to be the most popular gambling game among Chinese gamblers but the glory days of Fan Tan have already passed. During the 1890s, Chinese immigrants brought the game to the United States. At that time, every Chinatown in American City had several Fan Tan houses that were always full of enthusiastic gamblers. Nowadays, you can find Fan Tan in some casinos in Macau as well as in some online gaming sites.

Traditional Fan Tan, not to be confused with the card game of the same name, used to be played with any objects such as coins, dried beans or small buttons on a table with a square marked on it. Fan Tan. The object of the game is pretty simple and odds are 1: 4.

The play begins with the banker puts on the table a pile of objects then covers them with a bowl. Each player has to bet on one of the numbers that mark the four sides of the square, or on one of the corners of the square. After the bowl is removed, the croupier removes four of the objects each time until the last group remains. If 1 object is left, then the player who placed a bet on 1 wins the pot, and so on.

Mahjong

Mahjong is probably the biggest inherit of Chinese culture to the gaming world. The ancient Chinese tile game has many variants worldwide including variety of online games. According to the myth, Mahjong was developed by Confucius around the 500 BC. The game was brought to the United States during the 1920s and soon was very popular especially among women. The game was played in Chinese style decorated rooms with waiters wearing traditional customs.

The American version of Mahjong was developed during the 1930s and it is played in America until today. At the same time, the National Mahjong league was founded. In addition to American Mahjong, there are Japanese, Vietnamese, Cantonese and other variations of the game, which vary from one to the other by their scoring structure, number of tiles and rules variants. In 1998, the China State Sports Commission had set a standard set of rules that will differentiate the illegal gambling game from the skill game.

Mahjong Solitaire, the online version of Mahjong, gains wide popularity recently. The online version of the classic Chinese game is a matching game that uses the Mahjong tiles. Online Mahjong games can be found in many online gaming sites in variety of layouts and versions.

http://www.abc-articles.com/Article/Chinese-Gambling-Games--Casino-Games-with-Chinese-Origins/10668

Playing Free Arcade Games

Arcade games, historically, emerged as early as the late 1920's where you could find theme parks which combined mechanical form of gaming machines and a great fun atmosphere. This was the beginning of modern gaming. The first arcade machines appeared in the and were mainly coin-operated. To play the game, you sloted in your coin or token and when that run out the game ended. You then had to purchase further tokens if so desired. Now, most video game machines use solid state electronics to operate. Scores and bonuses are all electronically controlled.

Atari, which started in 1972, was now dominating the market with popular arcade games such as Pong (electronic version Ping Pong), Pacman, Space Invaders, Battlezone, Donkey Kong and the Galaxian. Video arcade games started appearing everywhere including shopping centers, public houses such as bars, train stations, college campuses, bowling alleys and dedicated amusement parks. However, with video arcade games located in seedy places like casinos and gambling houses, their reputation waned. The sales of arcade games further took a hit with the advent of home video game consoles in the early nineties. People rather preferred to buy or rent out the exact games they used to play in these amusement parks and enjoy it from the comfort of their own homes.

With this decline in fortunes, dedicated arcade games businesses started to suffer and many had to close down or diversify. Diversification involved offering other attractions such as rides with arcade games being only a small part of the business and at least offering arcade lovers to still indulge in their passion. Most of these centers are so different, they are no longer what they used to be.

Playing arcade games is now even easier. With most dedicated venues closed due to advances in the gaming console technology and the internet, you do not need to uproot yourself and find a physical venue. If you are into gaming consoles, all you need is to buy or rent your game and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. On the other hand, if you wish to play free arcade games with a bit of social interaction, you can choose from many internet gaming platforms where you can play as well as chat or interact with other game lovers in the forums.

Arcade games have evolved since the early basic games and new games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Fatal Fury offer two player fighting themes. There is also more interactivity and more controls, enabling the gamer to feel more connected and thus addicted to the games. Nevertheless, in general, arcade games still offer short levels, easy-to-handle controllers and a progression to more difficult phases. Modern internet arcade games also offer this and just like its predecessors where you play till you run out of tokens or stay alive. Other arcade genre such as racing arcade games or racing simulators are designed to keep the gamer enthused and addicted.

Free online arcade games may have taken the place of the video game that served us these highly addictive and adrenalin-pumping games, but the essence of the arcade still lives on.

http://www.abc-articles.com/Article/Playing-Free-Arcade-Games/7697

Bingo bonus is it real Few ways to get bonus playing bingo

May be it will be shoking for you but we more than confident that you use a very small part of bonuses you really can receive from the online bingo. Online bingo staff very depends on your deposits, so they do their best to make you a loyalty player. That is why you can find a lot of bonuses each bingo offers to you. Here in Online Casino Games we researched various ways to get bonuses and will show you them below.

SIGN UP BONUS
It is no deposit bonus for sign up only. Must say that very limited amount of bingo games offer this type of bonus. Usually you need to sign up only and bonus already waiting for you. The main aim of this bonus to give player ability to test bingo himself. Sign up bonus usually limited up to $5 but that’s enough to play at least 30 minutes in bingo and slots.

FIRST DEPOSIT BONUS
Receive up to 100%-150% one-time sign-up bonus over your first bingo deposit. You will see this offer on almost every online bingo. All is very simple: make first deposit and receive the same sum over your deposit (it’s 100% bonus). There are limitations on first deposit bonus – it could not be more than $100-$150. You must also pay attention to payment methods. In some cases you can get maximal deposit bonus only making deposit via bingo’s "preferred payment system" (Neteller, Wire Transfer, Moneybookers etc.)

SUBSEQUENT BINGO DEPOSITS BONUS
To stimulate your bingo activity online bingo staff will offer you bonus on all subsequent bingo deposits. This is 20%-60% from each your deposit an nothing else from you needed to receive bonus. It is very simple and profitable.

Do not also forget about chat rooms bonuses where you can get some free bingo bucks simply for playing and talking there. And sure "invite your friend" bonus – get money for each bringed friend.

We recommend to read carefully "current promotions" page of each bingo you would like to play – there could be additional bonuses like "Groovy Thursday" on Geisha Bingo online game - you can get bonus on fixed day only and this bonus is not offered on title.

http://www.abc-articles.com/Article/Bingo-bonus---is-it-real--Few-ways-to-get-bonus-playing-bingo-/6803