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The National
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Omani designer goes viral for hyper-realistic video game set in 1900s Gulf
Clips from a video game demo have gone viral among enthusiasts in the Gulf over the past several weeks. They show what looks to be an open-world game set in Oman, following a man dressed in the country's traditional thoob and distinctive headwear. The clips were posted by the game's designer, Almohannad Alwhaibi, a 24-year-old virtual-reality expert from Muscat who revealed he originally had no intention of making the game in full. 'It was actually just an experiment,' he told The National. 'My strength is in making realistic games, mainly so people get to know me and my work. "I worked on it for two or three weeks, along with my colleague, who is a designer. Together, we built it from scratch. I decided to post it on Instagram just to show people my work.' There's no story yet, but Alwhaibi knows the path he wants to follow. 'I want it to be story-based,' he said. 'The player will explore areas and solve puzzles while following the story. Some people suggested adding light horror or mild action. That's something we haven't fully planned yet.' The demo clips and images show that emphasis has been placed on replicating familiar and unique Omani landscapes. 'I want the story to draw from Omani heritage and folklore, from the days before cars,' added Alwhaibi. 'Many old stories include horror, action or significant events, so I expect the game's timeline to be set in that kind of era.' In his day-to-day job, Alwhaibi assists government entities in Oman with developing virtual-reality concepts. Despite only being at the early stages of development, the game could be made ready to play within a year, Alwhaibi said, if he receives the right support and investment. 'It will be a simple game, but it will also showcase the strength of Arabs, and Omanis in particular, in game development,' he added. He is committed to retaining autonomy and control. 'I would prefer getting investment, joining a ready-made team, or collaborating with another company,' Alwhaibi explained. 'But I won't hand over full ownership. I'd like to continue the game with support while keeping ownership. I would also consider collaborating with studios in Saudi Arabia or the UAE. 'I'm not committed to having only Omanis. There are very few skilled people here in realistic game development. So, I'll need a team from outside – Gulf-based or elsewhere – as long as they can follow the scenario with me.' Alwhaibi wants the game to demonstrate his passion for his country and culture. 'Attention to detail drives me – the environment, the trees, the sand, the clothing,' he explained. 'I aim to make a game that's highly realistic but optimised so it runs on all devices, even weaker ones, at 60 frames per second. That's always my focus: realism and optimisation.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Consume Me, the highly personal game about feeling ‘stupid, fat and ugly' in high school
If you visited the V&A's Design/Play/Disrupt exhibition in 2018, you may have played an interesting minigame collection, in which you fought wobbly physics to feed a girl named Jenny, using a Tetris-style board to achieve the perfect calorie amount, and then twisting her into pilates poses. Almost seven years later, the full version of Consume Me, which won this year's Independent Games festival grand prize, is set for a September release. According to developer Jenny Jiao Hsia, the game has become a semiautobiographical tale about how she felt 'stupid, fat and ugly' in high school. What started as a collection of minigames about Hsia's struggles with dieting and disordered eating grew into a game that looks at the many facets of her life as a teenager, including her relationship with her mother – who appears accompanied by Persona-style boss battle music and always finds a reason to nag – as well as her insecurities around her first long-term relationship. Hsia and co-designer Alec 'AP' Thomson have been making games together since their time studying at NYU Game Center. The duo conceived of Consume Me when Hsia showed Thomson old diaries featuring her calorie charts and notes about dieting. 'I said, 'Hey, doesn't this look like a game?',' she recalls. Thomson agreed. 'We had a little prototype and then we got funding, and the game grew from there,' says Thomson. As Hsia and Thomson grappled with the challenge of making their largest game yet, the years went on. 'The last big project we worked on together was essentially a student game for us,' Thomson says. That game was Beglitched, a match-three puzzler from 2016. 'Compared to that, our whole process on Consume Me is completely different.' Hsia is self-depreciating about the experience: 'On Beglitched, I physically worked next to AP every day, and I was happy to let him tell me what to do. My set of tasks on this and our smaller games was very clearcut – [with Consume Me] I had to take more responsibility. I don't think I'm a very disciplined person, that's why it took so long.' Hsia stresses that Consume Me wasn't a way for her to work through her issues with disordered eating, as she had left that time of her life behind before she started development on the game. Instead, she thinks that working from her own experiences makes for a more interesting story. 'I think it's boring if you're just inventing something from your mind without any tangible experience, or at least I don't have the imagination to do that,' she says. 'The character of Jenny you see in the game isn't solely based on me, either. She's very much an amalgamation of AP and myself. She's very diligent about reaching goals and crossing things off her list for example, because that also makes for a good game, but in reality, it's AP who's more like that, not me. I wrote all those calorie diagrams down, but I didn't actually follow them.' Hsia seems surprised at the idea that a lot of Consume Me feels very relatable. People who have difficulty concentrating will probably see themselves in the reading minigame, in which Jenny's head perpetually rotates away from the book she's holding. There also just never seems to be quite enough time to do it all, and more often than not, Jenny's budget comes down to a lucky 20-dollar bill she finds on the street in a minigame that sees her walk her dog around worrying amounts of poop. Jenny's habit of finding money on the streets of New York is apparently another well-documented facet of Hsia's own life. 'I don't actually know what people will take away from it,' she says. 'That's the interesting thing to me. You cherrypick parts of your life to show to complete strangers, and then you watch them react.' Consumer Me is released on PC on 25 September
Wall Street Journal
07-08-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Take-Two Interactive Software Raises Fiscal-Year Outlook on Improved First-Quarter Results
Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO -0.32%decrease; red down pointing triangle raised its fiscal-year outlook as it logged improved results in its latest quarter, helped by continuing demand for its core game franchises. The videogame developer said Thursday it now expects a narrower per-share loss of $2.40 to $2.05 for fiscal 2026, compared with prior guidance for a loss of $2.45 to $2.79.
Globe and Mail
30-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. Signs LOI to Acquire ChessGold Inc
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 30, 2025) - Bluesky Digital Assets Corp., (CSE: BTC) (OTCQB: BTCWF), ("Bluesky" or the "Corporation") announced today that the Corporation has signed a non-binding letter of intent dated July 29, 2025 (the "LOI") with ChessGold Inc. ("ChessGold"), an online digital game developer. Under the terms of the LOI, the Corporation has been granted a 120-day exclusive due diligence period to review the business and assets of ChessGold. Upon the successful completion of the due diligence period, the Corporation will have the ability pursuant to the LOI to negotiate a definitive agreement with ChessGold to acquire 100% of ChessGold's outstanding equity and equity equivalents or all of ChessGold's business (the "Transaction"). The potential deal structure and terms of any proposed Transaction will be determined at a later date and will be negotiated between the Corporation and ChessGold based on the findings and other considerations of the successful completion of the 120-day due diligence period. Any proposed Transaction would be subject to customary closing conditions and necessary regulatory approvals, including, as applicable, approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange, completion of due diligence reasonable or customary in a transaction of similar nature, and entering into a definitive agreement, among other conditions. About Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. Bluesky Digital Assets Corp, has created a high value digital enterprise at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Web3 business solutions. Leveraging its success as an early adopter providing proprietary technology solutions, Bluesky has invested in its Roadmap. Bluesky's platform, BlueskyINTEL, is well positioned to leverage the current exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") and Blockchain based technologies through a tightly focus built collaborative platform. This innovative web platform offering supports and better enables businesses to adopt and utilize these emerging and developing technologies. For more information please visit Bluesky at: or Please also follow us on Linkedin at: For further information please contact: Mr. Ben Gelfand CEO & Director Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. T: (416) 363-3833 E: Mr. Frank Kordy Secretary & Director Bluesky Digital Assets Corp. T: (647) 466-4037 E: Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events, including the prospects for a merger of Bluesky with ChessGold. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. In particular, there can be no assurance that a bidning merger agreement can be settled between Bluesky and ChessGold on terms which are economic for Bluesky or at all. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release, and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek safe harbor. - 30 -
