Video: A classic game postmortem of Westwood Studios’ Command & Conquer

April 4th New Preview Alpha & Beta 1904 Update (1904.190403-1745)

Starting at 6:00 p.m. PST today, members of the Xbox One Preview Alpha and Beta Rings will begin receiving the latest 1904 Xbox One system update (19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1904\18362.2015.190403-1720). Read on for more about the new features, fixes and known issues in the latest 1904 system update.

DETAILS:

• OS version released: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1904\18362.2015.190403-1720
• Available: 6:00PM PDT 4/4/19
• Mandatory Date/Time: 3:00 AM PDT 4/5/19

Fixes:

My Games and Apps

• Fixed an issue in which UWP games such as Minecraft could not be installed from disc.
• Fixed an issue in which some users were not receiving updates for games installed.

System – Mouse

• Fixed an issue in which users moving their Razor mouse while on home or other inbox apps may see it highlight tiles. Further, clicking on a blank space will deselect the tiles and the controller will be unable to navigate.

System – Home

• Fixed crashing issues with the Dashboard and guide on Home that some users have been experiencing.

Known Issues:

Profile Color

• Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.

Super Neptunia RPG Comes To Switch This Summer With A Lovely Physical Release

Idea Factory has announced that Super Neptunia RPG will be coming to Nintendo Switch this summer, both digitally and physically.

Developed by Artisan Studios in Canada, this game is said to bring the characters of the Neptunia series to life in “a whole new 2D way”. Each character was hand-drawn by Tsunako, the artist behind the series, and then animated by what the publisher calls “computer magic” to create a world that’s mysteriously switched from three dimensions to two.

You can probably guess that the game features RPG elements, thanks to that highly self-aware title, and this is made up of side-scrolling dungeons and turn-based battles. We have a list of key features for you to explore below.

Key Features:
– New Me in 2D – Your favorite Goddesses jump from three dimensions to two! Artisan Studios and Compile Heart proudly present new, vibrant backgrounds and newly developed 2D animations hand drawn in this action-inspired side-scrolling RPG! With Artisan Studios and Tsunako collaborating to create new background and character art, fans and newcomers alike can see Gamindustri in a new 2D perspective.
– Where You Lead, I Will Follow – With four Goddesses to rotate on-the-fly during battle, players can change their formation type and unleash devastating attack combos. Depending on which Goddess is leading the pack, players can strategize attacks from four different formations: Strike, Magic, Support and Heal!
– Goddess ‘bout to Break! – Strut your stuff and dish out your special Break Attack to ensure victory! Armed with their classic ability to transform, the Goddesses gain additional stat bonuses that enhance their attacks and lay waste to any enemy!
– Put a +2 Str Ring On It – Strengthen your Goddesses by utilizing Skills and Abilities that can be unlocked with weapons, armors, or accessories! Strategically assign Skills and rearrange your abilities for each battle.

We don’t have any release information beyond the slightly vague “summer 2019” window, but we’re sure a fixed date will be shared in the near future.

Until then, why not let us know your thoughts on this one in the comments below? Will you be picking it up?

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey Is An Uncompromising Survival Experience

Patrice Désilets is no stranger to pitching video games. During his illustrious career at Ubisoft he was a key creative force behind Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and multiple Assassin's Creed titles. Standing in front of a room of people and delivering his vision for a game is, you'd think, second nature at this point. And yet, in a small hotel in Paris, he's breathlessly rattling through his journey post-Ubisoft, displaying the kind of nervous energy more commonly seen with indie developers revealing their first ever game.

It makes sense, however, when he comes to a grinding halt and very deliberately says, "This is an indie game," pausing to let that sink in. His new game, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, has been shrouded in mystery since it was first revealed, and he's setting expectations. He may be the guy that helped make Assassin's Creed, but Ancestors is the start of a new journey. It's a game where the player begins as a simple ape that must forage and fight for survival; venture into the unknown in search of knowledge and experience; develop the skills necessary to place it and its tribe in a position of safety; and evolve so that it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the other species inhabiting the jungle. They say you should write what you know, and it's hard not to draw parallels to the very real challenges Désilets and his newly established studio are facing, overwrought though the comparison may be.

It becomes apparent why setting expectations is important to him the moment I get my hands on Ancestors. It's an ambitious idea that is incredibly interesting but is realized with mechanics that I found myself unexpectedly tangled up in. In that respect, it has a distinctly indie feel to it.

At its heart, Ancestors is a survival game, but one that ties almost everything you do to the development of your ape avatar. It wants to inspire curiosity and experimentation in a natural way, and to that end is devoid of any sort of quest system. The exception is the opening, where I was tasked with finding an adorable young ape that was stranded in the wild and bringing it back to my shrewdness (fun fact: A group of apes is called a shrewdness, as I learned while writing this). I did this by using my natural senses, hitting a button to focus my hearing and then honing in on soundwaves coming from a distant tree.

The act of traveling there is undoubtedly the most recognizable representation of Désilets' design history, with a kind of simple traversal system built around holding and releasing a button to grab onto trees, branches, and thickets. Momentum can be used to swing from position to position around the jungle environment, and while it's not quite as slick as something Altair or Ezio would pull off, there was a kinetic quality to the movement that felt satisfying. With the infant ape returned, I was then free to head back into the jungle and do as I please.

Although the game doesn't make a big deal of it, there's a line that it throws up during the intro that serves as the drive behind the gameplay. It challenges you to defy science and evolve faster than the rate history states apes transformed at. Doing this involves indulging that curiosity and exposing your ape to the unfamiliar as much as possible. This, in turn, leads to it learning and growing. Items and objects in the environment initially have a black fog around them, indicating they are unfamiliar and should be examined. I picked up tree branches to figure out what they are, explored surroundings to develop a familiarity with the world around me, and leapt around to advance motor skills.

In doing so, I was rewarded with Neuronal Energy. When resting at Sleep Spots I was able to access the ape's mind and build neural pathways that improved my capabilities and unlocked new ones. After picking up enough things, my ape realized it could hold things in two hands, and then switch between them. With ample use of my visual and aural instincts, which are represented in-game by a kind of special overlay that highlight points and objects of interest, the range at which I could see and hear things could be extended.

Seeking out the unknown, learning, and evolving as a species is the core of Ancestors' gameplay loop, but there are additional considerations. Perhaps the most important is growing in number. Out in the wild there are other apes that can be found and added to your shrewdness. With more apes, the opportunity to procreate arises, which is also a key part of advancing ape-kind. You can approach other apes and groom them to build a relationship, and once it's intimate enough, you're able to mate and have children--provided you grab a few comfy leaves and put together a makeshift bed to get it on in.

"Survive the elements, teach your family, and build a home," the game says. However, for the two hours I played, simply surviving was such a challenge that I was barely able to even think about teaching or building. Ancestors holds out on a lot of information, so I found myself frantically trying to figure things out before my ape died and I was given control of another one to, effectively, start over. At one point something in the jungle cut me, I'm not sure if it was a narrow miss with a bird of prey that got the jump on me as I was scoping out the jungle from atop a tree, or if it was the needles of a bush I was trying to investigate, but either way I could see blood leaking out of me. The clock was ticking and the game offered no indication of what to do to stop the bleeding beyond finding something with clotting properties. My first thought was to grab a leaf, use my new ability to run my hand along it and strip off the leaves, and then try to apply it to myself. However, after I did this, there was no indication that I had some new material I could use. Ancestors doesn't have an inventory system and my hands were empty, so I clearly had the wrong idea. Except, I had the right idea. The leaf residue was in my hand, but that just wasn’t made clear to me. Had I known that, I would have sought out a rock to break it down and apply the clotting material to my wound.

Ancestors holds out on a lot of information, so I found myself frantically trying to figure things out before my ape died and I was given control of another one to, effectively, start over

This is representative of the overall obtuse nature of Ancestors and, according to its developers, this is by design. Ancestors is a game about trial and error, experimenting to find out what works. After all, that's what the apes are doing, so why should it be any different for you? There are solutions to the questions you want to be answered, and once you come upon them the knowledge fundamentally changes how you perceive the world around you, the tools available to you, and your chances of surviving. If the developers were to lay out all the answers, there would be no challenge. And without the satisfaction of figuring out how to solve a problem, it'd become a hollow experience.

Their reasoning makes sense and, on occasion, it worked. At one point I consumed berries to stave off starvation and found myself poisoned. I looked around and, not seeing any obvious plant remedy, I decided to just see if drinking lots of water would help wash it out of my system. Lo and behold, the poison indicator drained quicker as I hydrated myself and I became poison-free. But for every situation where it clicks, there's one where just a little bit of guidance would have been helpful. Having made a spear by stripping branches, I used the action button and my ape stabbed into the ground. Naturally, I thought this would be perfect for fishing, so I walked into a nearby stream to try and gather some food but walked away empty handed. It wasn't until much later, when I found a fishing spot, that I realized that there are specific locations that yield fish.

Ancestor's biggest challenge, to me, is walking the line between creating that sense of trial and error that leads to finding solutions and developing a knowledge base that smooths out survival, and providing enough guidance so that players don't become frustrated and walk away before have that kind of meaningful experience. Although Désilets and his team are aware of this, he was very committed to sticking to his vision, saying the ambiguity is core to the experience.

"That line, and I had multiple discussions with the team and the other game designers, where it was like, 'What is too much and what is not enough?'" he said. "You're right, we're always on the line. I was asked before, 'Could you tell us what's the solution for bleeding?' If I tell you, it's over. It's not like there are 48 different solutions to bleeding. There's one or two, and if I tell you the one there's only one left.

"If you did it, then you know it's difficult, but as soon as you find a solution the game world will change. Because suddenly you see opportunities that you didn't see at first. We did a playtest in November, and there was a guy who came in, and he told me he had an epiphany while playing it. He said, 'At first I thought there was nothing, then I pick up something, I transformed it, and I went holy f**k, there's everything. Everything is already there, and it's neat.'

"Once you understand the rule set, and you know how to get rid of your bleeding, or your broken bones and whatnot, you'll start to go on the other side of the fence, of like okay, now I get it. Then from the second to second struggling, you'll go to the minute to minute, then hour to hour. Then it's a different fun."

As Désilets rightly pointed out, the strict time conditions we played under somewhat alter the experience of Ancestors. I had just two hours with the game and so, naturally, I was trying to get a feel for it at an accelerated pace, delving deep into the jungle as quickly as possible, attempting to battle snakes and escape alligators well before I was probably ready to. Having finished my playthrough, I came away slightly frustrated but also feeling like, under the right circumstances--namely that I had more time--I could take a more considered approach and have the experience Désilets and his team envisioned.

"There's a part of me says, yes, you may feel frustrated because you feel like it won't let you play the game the way you may want it. I saw all of you just went in the jungle crazy running, and this is where a little bit I'm like, 'Okay, that's your choice, not mine. I didn't say to you go in the jungle and run. You went, and because there is you can have a lot of fun and pleasure not exploring that far.

"But also take your time, don't rush it. This is where I say [your character is] not like the other video game characters out there where it's all about you can do it, you're superior. No, you're that little prey at first. Take your time, slow down, stop. Then our job is to make sure you understand, well, this is the pace of this game.

“But you're totally right, though. It is a fine line, and sometimes we're not on the right side. It's about balancing at the end of the day. But it is a game about that, about you as a gamer, can you go through your own evolution of play? Maybe in a way that will let me survive."

Despite my minor frustrations with it, Ancestors has definitely piqued my interest. That loop of learning and evolving felt compelling, even among the frustration of not knowing what to do and repeatedly dying. It has sparked a curiosity in me, and I do have questions that I want to see answered. While the game's title indicates players will be able to evolve from simple ape to homo sapien, the game actually only goes for eight million years of human history, up to the Australopithecus stage of evolution. However, whether or not I make it that far will depend on the balancing, and Désilets admits that it's something that the team is working on in the lead up to release.

Remothered: Going Porcelain Will Bring More Psychological Horror To Switch

Indie publisher Modus Games has today announced that it will release Remothered: Going Porcelain, the second chapter in the psychological horror series, on Nintendo Switch.

The game arrives as a sequel to 2018’s Remothered: Tormented Fathers, a survival horror available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Tormented Fathers was also revealed to be coming to Switch in 2019, although we haven’t heard anything of this release since its announcement back in March 2018.

Details are still rather slim for this new release, too, but Chris Darril, Creative Director of Darril Arts and Remothered, has shared the following in a press release:

“I am immensely proud of the success gained by Remothered: Tormented Fathers and even more proud about the collaboration that will give life to the second title of the trilogy. Get ready for something new, something mad, something to be scared of and to cry for at the same time. Get ready to enter a tragic love story.”

This new sequel is scheduled to arrive on all major platforms in 2020. Hopefully we’ll definitely get the first entry in the series on Switch before that time.

Have you played the original on another platform? Do you like the sound of more horror scaring its way to your Switch? Tell us below.

Key Differences in Security, Management for Serverless vs. Containers

Star Wars: Episode 9 Teaser Trailer Confirms Title As The Rise Of Skywalker

The teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker is here. The first look at the hugely-anticipated next Star Wars film was revealed at the franchise's annual Celebration convention, along with its title. It was introduced at the end of a panel discussion by director JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, and it gives us our first look at the movie and real sense of what to expect. For all the details, check out our Episode 9 trailer breakdown.

The trailer opens with Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the desert, a lightsaber in her hand, as she stares down a First Order fighter coming right at her. We hear Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) voice tell her, "We've passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in your now, but this is your fight." She then runs at it, leaping to attack.

The teaser also shows brief glimpses of many characters, from Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) cutting down foes with his lightsaber to Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) laughing while piloting the Millennium Falcon. The short tease also includes footage of Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher)'s role in the film, which looks to include a touching moment with Rey. Though Fisher died before production of the film began, unused footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is incorporated to complete her story.

The final image of the trailer sees Rey and her friends together, as Luke's voice is heard once more, saying, "We'll always be with you. No one's ever really gone." Then, creepily, Emperor Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) laugh is heard cackling as the title is shown. Check out the teaser above. McDiarmid even appeared on stage at Celebration following the debut of the trailer to demand it be shown again.

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 19. Abrams returned to direct after helming 2015's The Force Awakens, although he wasn't the first choice of director. Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow was initially hired, but he left the movie in September 2017.

The film stars Daisy Ridley as Rey, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata, and Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux. New cast members include Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell. The film will also see appearances from a number of Star Wars veterans including Mark Hamill as Luke, Billy Dee Williams as Lando, and Carrie Fisher as Leia. Fisher died before production began, but will appear in footage originally shot for 2017's The Last Jedi.

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker isn't the only new Star Wars release that fans have to look forward to this year. It has also been confirmed that the live-action TV show The Mandalorian will be available on the streaming service Disney+ when it launches on November 12.

Star Wars Celebration also promises news and reveals for the new Star Wars game Jedi Fallen Order from the developers of Apex Legends and Titanfall. Go to GameSpot sister site CNET to see a full rundown of what to expect from the show.

Review: Metagal – A Mega Man Clone That Comes With A Mega Problem

There’s an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, yet while there’s certainly something to be gained through being inspired by a previously existing work, a new work generally must add something to the mix to keep things fresh and interesting. If the new work fails to add anything fresh, it simply becomes derivative and is almost certainly doomed to wither in the shadow of what came before.

Few games stand as a better example of this than Metagal, a new run ‘n’ gun platformer that clearly borrows heavily from Capcom’s Mega Man series. Though mildly enjoyable in its own right, Metagal seldom makes any notable efforts to differentiate itself from its inspiration, leaving us with a game that never hits the same highs and often sinks to new lows.

As opposed to Mega Man being predominantly about, well, robot men, Metagal’s ‘twist’ is that all the robots this time around are women. The story opens with Dr. Ray—a genius robotics scientist—being accosted by the nefarious General Keeper, who wishes for Dr. Ray to give him an android army with which he can conquer the world. When Ray refuses, Keeper uses an android of his own to kidnap Ray’s GAL robots (*cough* Robot Masters *cough*) and presumably turn them evil later on. Meta, who conspicuously isn’t present during this confrontation, is thus left as the last GAL robot standing and must embark on a mission to retrieve her sisters, her creator, and save the world from destruction. It’s about as flimsy of a plot as you’d expect for this sort of game, and while it’s not exactly one that earns points for its originality or intrigue, it does its job well enough.

Metagal follows the old school Mega Man formula to a T, with the bulk of your experience consisting of running and shooting your way through tough, themed levels that culminate in an even tougher boss fight, which then grants you a unique weapon which does increased damage against a boss from one of the other levels. It’s a straightforward, easy-to-follow structure and Metagal does a solid job of replicating it, but the game manages to fall short of its ambitions by offering up a paltry five main levels, followed by a three-part finale. It’s no joke to say that you can clear Metagal in its entirety in about two hours on the high end, and for a game that’s so focused on copying something that came before, it feels a bit odd that there wasn’t more effort put into designing at least a few more levels to bring it up to the par of eight bosses.

Unfortunately, the levels themselves aren’t terribly compelling to begin with, though there are some positives that first bear mentioning. One area in which Metagal manages to excel is in the overall feel and control of its gameplay; Meta’s running and jumping feels properly tight and the shooting mechanics are snappy, making for a game that—at least in the moment to moment action—can be legitimately enjoyable.

Another (perhaps divisive) element that we feel adds to the experience is the inclusion of passive regeneration for the ammo that your special weapons use. Any weapons aside from Meta’s default blaster use up some or all of a small energy bar devoted to ammunition, but instead of having to rely on randomized energy drops to ensure you can keep using your weapons à la Mega Man, the bar just slowly refills once it’s depleted. With this small ‘quality of life’ change, you can use your full arsenal of weapons freely and without fear of wasting shots, and this helps to make enemy encounters feel that much fresher.

The unfortunate reality, however, is that the most difficult enemy you face in Metagal is not found in any of the filler enemies or boss encounters on your adventure, but in the level design itself. Though not to the point of being egregious, Metagal is far too reliant on cheap enemy placement, leaps of faith, and trap sections that require trial and error to properly clear, which makes for a generally frustrating and boring experience. Rather than offering up a legitimate, thoughtful challenge that tests the limits of the player’s dexterity, Metagal is much more content to simply hide obstacles that a player running blind has no chance of clearing and send them back to the last checkpoint so they can try again.

Granted, this issue is sidestepped somewhat by the “Rebirth” system, which allows you to spend consumable gears dropped by some enemies to start over at the start of the current screen, but that’s a remedy for a symptom of a deeper issue with the level design. At best, the levels of Metagal are just ‘okay’, and at worst, they’re infuriatingly difficult for all the wrong reasons; for a game that has an unusually low level count to begin with, this issue of poor level design is quite damning.

Similarly, Metagal’s presentation is uninspired and bland, even if much of the pixel art is satisfying to the eye. For starters, the boss designs lack any significant creative spark; all the GALS you face off against are functionally color swaps of each other with a few tweaks and new weapon patterns thrown in. Given the high bar set by Mega Man’s Robot Masters, these GAL designs fail to prove themselves as anything more than lazy, creatively bankrupt rip-offs. To match this, each level is themed after the boss at the end of it, but the unmemorable stage gimmicks and enemy types tend to blend together after a few levels.

To its credit, Metagal features some relatively solid pixel art—sprites are well-detailed and the backgrounds can prove to be especially eye-catching—but when the general stage themes are dull to begin with, there’s only so much that can be done. The soundtrack is equally monotonous, replacing the anthemic notes of many Mega Man tracks with generic, low-key chiptune music that you’re sure to forget almost immediately after hearing it.

Conclusion

You may have noticed that we mentioned Mega Man a lot in this review, and the reason for this is simply that Metagal is so devoid of any defining or memorable traits that it can hardly stand on its own; it’s a game that makes every effort to actively copy something that came before it, and it often falls short of properly doing so. Though it controls rather well and has moments where it almost approaches the quality of its inspiration, the terrible level design, uninspired art direction, and almost criminally short runtime make Metagal a game that’s difficult to recommend. If you’re a rabid Mega Man fan, have already played all the main games to death, and are desperate for something to fill that void, Metagal is maybe worth your five bucks. Otherwise, we’d encourage you to save your money and put it towards something that’s more worth your time.

Random: Toad Gets A Little Too Excited In This Official Nintendo Labo Video

In an article that feels absolutely perfect for our ‘random’ tag, and as a great way to wind down on a Friday afternoon, we present to you this rather alarming Toad video.

Before we explain what’s going on (if that’s possible) and before you see it for yourself, note that this little clip has been shared by an official Nintendo account. The video comes from Nintendo’s Line account – an instant messaging app that’s incredibly popular in Japan – and, at first glance, it’s absolutely bonkers.

We’ve shared it for all to see on our Twitter account. Make sure to turn your sound on as you experience Toad enjoying a good foot pressing.

While Toad’s enjoyment levels seem to be creepily off the charts here, watching the video to the end reveals that the person is actually making him do sit-ups, and not whatever you were thinking at first. What a time to be alive.

So, we’ll never be able to look at Toad the same way ever again. But how about you? Share your current emotions with us in the comments below.

Interactive art: ‘Public Radio’ installation lets you pick the music

Standing 10 feet tall, elegantly sloped along its front face with the soft light of rainbow LEDs glowing behind half inch of frosted acrylic, “Public Radio” is a unique art installation you’ll find at District Hall’s outdoor plaza in the Seaport, Boston’s home for innovation. Turn the metal-rimmed dials to tune to a different station as the corresponding LEDs light up on this giant radio, powered by a tiny but mighty BBC micro:bit computer, inviting the public to play with and listen to the latest broadcasts and music. Built by New American Public Art in the Microsoft Garage at the New England Research and Development Center, Public Radio is an interactive art installation with microprocessor parts and a futuristic look that encourages a spirit of community, working and grooving together.

A sense of community, inspiring movement and spontaneous interaction

Somerville-based New American Public Art (NAPA) is a multi-disciplinary art studio that builds interactive projects and installations. NAPA answered the 2016 Public Space Invitational Digital Challenge put forth by Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics in collaboration with Microsoft. After 6 months of fabricating and building, the larger-than-life radio was ready for show. It has been living in The Garage at NERD as a centerpiece that demonstrates how technology and art can converge.

“When you scale up a common object and place it in the public, you often get uncommon and surprising results. How will the public decide among themselves what to listen to?” says Dan Sternof Beyer, Creative Director and Co-Founder of NAPA.

From NAPA’s original project proposal, the idea is “Music inspires movement, creates a sense of place, and provides an opportunity for spontaneous interaction with other people.” NAPA designed the project in collaboration with creative engineer Andrew Ringler. Chris Templeman, Microsoft Garage program manager, had connections with the local studio prior to joining Microsoft. Templeman introduced NAPA to the bevy of hardware and fabrication tools in the Garage maker lab. “The Garage at NERD has embraced local artists since we opened our doors last year. We’re constantly inspired by art and how that creativity and imagination can help make better products and spark new ideas.”

Public Radio in The Garage at NERD (photo credit: New American Public Art)

“I think people will be excited to experience the Public Radio because it’s an innovative way to activate a public space using a combination of interactive art and technology,” says Aimee Sprung, Director of Civic Engagement at Boston’s Microsoft office. “The build-out at Microsoft Garage has been both an educational and exciting experience and we’re proud to have sponsored this program as part of our commitment to driving civic engagement in Boston.”

More than art – bringing technology to life

Public Radio was freshly installed outside District Hall on April 5th and will be on display for the public to interact with through September. For the past year, however, it has stood as a compelling example of innovative tech-meets-art in The Garage at NERD, showcased in interactions with the community and local schools. “We often use micro:bit in workshops where we invite local STEM students,” explains Templeman. “When we have students come in and learn how to program on the micro:bit, we use the Public Radio to illustrate what you can do with it to run such large and interactive projects. It brings the tech to life in a creative and tangible way.”

Employees from Microsoft’s Education Windows and Devices team have also been engaging public schools and collaborating with The Garage to bring students in to engineer escape rooms. “We are teaching kids engineering by building escape rooms using the micro:bit.” Tisha Nguyen, a Solutions Professional on the Education team explains. “This hands-on experience outside the traditional classroom setting is extremely valuable as we continue to prepare the next generation of Data Scientists, Engineers, and Statisticians.” The effort was made possible with the help of engineers from Office who designed the escape room experiences, Jean-Yves Ntamwemezi, Arthur Berman, and Eric Frackleton.

Public Radio outside of District Hall (photo credit: New American Public Art)

With Public Radio now leaving The Garage space and headed to its new home, there are still plenty of creative sources for inspiration left. The recent collaboration of MIT, The Met, and Microsoft has spurred new relationships with other art institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. “We are thrilled to work with local artists and museums to figure out different ways tech can help push the boundaries of creativity,” says Linda Thackeray, Director of The Garage.

The details and specifications of the Public Radio are all available open-source on Github, including how to get the micro:bit connected with the radio boards, sensors, and LEDs. Learn more about the Public Radio from the official press release.