OCR Text |
Show LIFE JUNE 3, 2013 A8 The Evolution of Games: From dots and lines to de Games have come a long way since Pong, but just how far is a little hard to say By Cameron Simek Life Editor @skabomb Recently the game Alan Wake was on sale via digital download on the Xbox 360. Never having played the game before, and having five dollars, I decided to immediately purchase it. Alan Wake is a little different than most other games. The first noticeable difference is the episodic format that it uses to tell the story. Each episode takes about 30-45 minutes to beat, giving this game an advantage over some of the other games I own. When I want to sit down for a little bit and play a game, I normally pick up my 3DS and ig- nore my console. However, Alan Wake's short episodes give me the perfect starting and stopping points to have a short console gaming session. During my play through I enjoyed the characters and the way they interacted. Though they were essentially stereotypical characters for a story, it was still a fun adventure. Alan Wake's storyline is about a horror author who travels to a small mountain town to help with his writer's block. Due to mysterious circumstances, he ends up in a cabin that shouldn't exist and writes a story that could doom the entire world. The thing that struck me most about the story is how it seemed to blend gaming into an interactive television experience through the use of the episodic content. It felt as though I was playing within a movie, and my choices affected how the story ended. The content increased my 66 I remember playing Tetris on my Game Boy, and fitting those block together to clear lines. UU interest in the game and drove me to play it until I had finished. Alan Wake also made me look back at my own gaming history. I realized how far games have come in the last 20 years. I remember playing Tetris on my Game Boy, and fitting the blocks together to clear the lines below. The game never gave a reason why I needed to clear the lines, all I knew was that it happened. Thanks to the advances in technology over the years, games have managed to develop a better experience for the gamer. They have developed stories to give you a reason for your actions, characters to motivate you to perform those actions, and most importantly, consequences that change the story based on what actions you choose to take. Games have advanced to the point where they can be compared to a great film, or a great book. Alan Wake, sadly, is not one of these great games, but it is pretty fun. It's fun to sit down for about an hour and help Alan save his wife from the darkness that is devouring a small town. Games are still moving forward; better technology will allow for better experiences. My hope is that one day a great game will change the way stories are told and be recognized for the wonderful experience that it will be. JEFF COOK UVU REVIEW From Pong to Alan Wake fun, fun never changes. vivintjobs.com Join our inside sales team. You'll earn a base salary plus commission and receive full benefits, including: Paid time off 401k plan Health insurance Free health clinic On-site gym Free lunch 888.967.5279 START YOUR CAREER AT WWW.TELEPERFORMANCE.COM Tele erformance Transforming Passion into Excellence Teleperformance USA is a Utah based "Career Center" with locations in West Valley, Ogden, and Lindon, that has openings ranging from Inbound Customer Service Agents to Travel/Reservation Agents. With over 250 Call Centers and 138,000 employees in 48 different countries, Teleperformance is the worldwide leader in Customer Service Solutions. OUR MISSION "At Teleperformance, we deliver an outstanding customer experience, at every single opportunity, as a result of our commitment, passion and dedication to excellence. In so doing, we create opportunities and value for employees, clients, customers, communities and shareholders." TRANSFORMING PASSION INTO EXCELLENCE This is a place where we believe in people...Where teamwork wins. This is a place where we work for people...That's how we put commitment into practice. This is the company that inspires. To learn, to teach, to grow. To get things done. This is the company that motivates. Being happy to make a difference. This is the real thing: more than a job this is your career future. Together, we build the best partnership to perform. We have the knowledge and resources to deliver outstanding customer experience, all over the world. This is Teleperformance! From the minute you step into Teleperformance your experience will be fast, fun, thrilling and engaging. Once you start training you will see the tools and techniques used to deliver exceptional customer service and have fun doing it. From the For fun Festival our annual worldwide talent show to the sports club where we encourage sports participation to TP University where we will train and guide the future leaders Teleperformance is committed to our employees. The Citizens of the World charitable campaign is Teleperformance 's way of giving back to the community and in 2013 Teleperformance USA was the number one contributor to this global campaign with over one million dollars raised for charity programs right here in the United States. The Citizens of the Planet campaign is Teleperformance' s way of giving back to the earth by cutting back on our carbon footprint by reducing electricity usage, in house recycling efforts, keeping travel at a minimum. At Teleperformance, we do business with people, for people. We want people to be inspired, to be motivated. Our main goal is to make you proud to belong to our group through job satisfaction and a great work environment. TELEPERFORMANCE HISTORY 1978: Teleperformance founded. 1986: Thanks to its innovative marketing, rigorous methods and high value-added services, Teleperformance became the contact center leader in the French market. The Group's first international subsidiaries were established in Belgium and Italy. 1990: Teleperformance set up the first outsourced customer loyalty centers and carried out the first customer satisfaction engagement. 1993: Teleperformance USA was established in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Group began its contact center operations in the United States. 2003: SR. Teleperformance became the world's #2 contact center outsourcer in terms of revenues. Faced with pressure on costs, the company offered offshore solutions and automated services. SR. Teleperformance launched business transformation solutions aimed at in-house contact centers. 2004: SR. Teleperformance continued its worldwide expansion with the acquisition of CalITech Communications in the United States, and of MM Group, the fourth-ranking provider of contact center services in Great Britain. SR. Teleperformance gained presence in Eastern Europe by taking a controlling interest in three companies based in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. SR. Teleperformance increased its presence in the German market with the acquisition of the company All by Phone+Net, one of the most dynamic companies in its sector. 2013: Teleperformance, a global provider of customer experience management outsourced services, announce it has been recognized as a leader by Gartner, Inc. an independent industry analyst firm, in its 2012 Magic Quadrant report on Customer Management (CM) Contact Center BPO, Worldwide services, released recently by TJ Singh and Johan Jacobs. START YOUR CAREER AT WWW.TELEPERFORMANCE.COM |