Eaten by a Grue

This week, the archive received a donation that was a special treat, a glimpse into our local video game industry from almost a decade ago: Alter Echo.Alter Echo was the last game developed by an Ann Arbor-based company called Outrage Entertainment, which developed games in Ann Arbor from about 1997-2004. And the generous donor of said game? None other than one of the testers of Alter Echo, Tod Schlegelmilch.The game isn't yet available for play, but keep searching Mirlyn to stay up to date on its status. I'm sure it will be a game well worth checking out!

After a long wait and many, many inquiries, it's finally here. Look at the cover - even Link is excited! So take some time and check it out this week.

Coming soon to a UM Computer & Video Game Archive near you... The CAVE EVIL Limited Edition board game!

Our friends at The University of Michigan Press have released Silent Hill: The Terror Engine, the latest volume in their Landmark Video Game series.

Wolverine Soft is hosting a game development contest this weekend in which a group of participants design a game within 48 hours. Game themes are announced at the beginning of the event. Participants don't need to be game programmers - musicians, artists, and people with design ideas are welcome as well. Registration is open to current students of any university in Michigan or alumni who have graduated in the past 6 years (except those currently involved in the video game industry). Pre-registration is encouraged.

Ann Arbor District Library is holding finals for the Arcade Master Series this Friday from 6-8:30pm at the downtown library, so don't forget to check it out! Food and musical Chiptunes entertainment will also be included.Participate for a chance to win an iPad 2 with iCade mini arcade cabinet! Hope to see you there.More about the event here.

Here are the top 10 games played in the archive during the month of December. A few new games quickly rise to the top, and FIFA makes an appearance on both Xbox 360 and PS3. We also have a board game on the list, showing the slow rise in popularity of our non-electronic collection.

We will be closed for the rest of the holidays and plan on resuming our normal hours on the first day of classes next year, January 4th.Have a great break!

A recent Wired article highlights the use of the Kinect as a terrain imaging tool, to capture data for anything from glaciers to asteroids. According to Tedesco, one of the scientists mentioned in the article, the Kinect works as a much more affordable way to capture the kind of data they need. It also helps inspire students to do related research because the Kinect is a tool that they're likely already familiar with, and doesn't seem as imposing as more complicated imaging equipment.

The Fourth International Games Innovation Conference is accepting submissions for their next conference taking place in September 2012.