Austin Bytes

AustinBytes Video Game Reviews The Green Alternative to Gas

The hottest indie games on the market See on page 26

The increase in use of electric cars See on page 20

UT and Tech in Austin How UT grows Austin’s tech sector See on page 11

Austin: An Emerging Technology Hub Why is Austin’s tech growing so fast?

See on page 6

Photos by John Maffei and Elliot Brown

Table of Contents Letter from the editor Biographies Tech moving to Austin Tech made in Texas Growth of tech at UT UT tech budget Electric vehicles Electric vs. gas vehicles Video game reviews Video game add-ons 2

Table of Contents Prelude and explanation of magazine by Hamza Syed Biographies from all of the writers of the magazine An article of why technology companies move to Austin The top examples of technology made in Texas An article about UT’s effect on the Austin tech industry How UT spends its money on academics and technology An article on the progression of electric vehicle available Comparing the benefits of electric to gas vehicles Reviews on independent video games A brief history of video game accessories and their technology

4-5 6-7 8-11 12-13 14-17 18-19 20-23 24-25 26-29 30-31 3

Letter From The Editor

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Technology has led to many major strides in the world around us, leading to expanding industry, educational development, and new forms of entertainment. I have always been fascinated by what it can achieve, how it has changed over the past and upcoming years, and how it impacts the world around us. It’s an essential part of many people’s daily lifestyle, from computers, smartphones, the internet and cars, but it doesn’t stop there and the list keeps on going. Even this magazine wouldn’t be possible without all the advancements in technology. AustinBytes magazine aims to bring you various information about technology, the impacts it has, and provide a more local perspective, focusing on topics like the University of Texas and technology growth in Austin. We choose this unique perspective to give our readers a more in-depth insight on technology in the state of Texas, and with CNN Money’s fastest growing cities list, three of the top five cities are in Texas, and tech being one of the factors leading to its large growth. Our team all pitched in to investigate and deliver you the most relevant information about technology. We hope that you enjoy as you byte into all the technology in Texas.

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Meet The Writers 6

Hamza Syed is a freshman who has always had an interest in technology. He is taking a computer science class and has also recently built a computer. He thinks that technology is important to driving the world’s future as we continue to evolve and make technologies that we first thought were impossible.

He also keeps up with the latest technology and is amazed by what technology can achieve.

Erich Manzke is a freshmen who has always been interested in Technology, ever since he was young. He enjoys doing activities related to computer science, and PC gaming. He also enjoys using his skills in Photoshop to create new works of art, and show them to his friends.

Trevor Keig is a freshman who works in the field of computer-aided design for robotics and is always interested in learning more about computer science. He enjoys keeping up with technology news and understanding what ways technology affects the way we live. He firmly believes that technology literacy is an important factor in shaping a brighter future for the role of tech in our society.

Ben Villalpando is a 9th grader who enjoys playing various video games. He understands the importance of technology in the modern world and has been interested in the subject for a long time now.

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Austin: An Emerging Technology Hub Why is Austin’s tech growing so fast?

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By: Hamza Syed

f you were asked to name a place that specializes in technology, chances are, many of you would say Silicon Valley, California, but there is a new challenger on the field that is catching up, becoming neck and neck with one of the largest tech hubs. While Austin, Texas is often referred to as the “live music capital of the world,” it’s also one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., and in the technology field, it’s no exception.

Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the technology industry, with many companies from multimillion dollar tech giants to new startups and small businesses coming to the city. According to Forbes,

The growth of Austin’s population has been growing quickly over the past few years.

Photo Credit: Hamza Syed

Austin is the second fastest growing city overall, and has seen a 44.9 percent increase in growth since 2000. Austin has lots of pro-business laws and incubators that allow

A processor box from Intel (left), and a graphics card box from AMD (right), both large computer chip companies with offices in Austin Photo Credit: Hamza Syed

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businesses to have strong startup support, something that many other cities don’t have, which helps accelerate the city’s growth, and in addition, large tech giants are also coming to Austin.

Austin is home to many events and innovations involving different kinds of technology. For example, Austin’s South by Southwest music festival’s success has given rise to SXSW interactive, featuring various technologies in Austin, which is attracting interest from around the world. It also holds many major campuses of large companies, as well as new start-ups. For example, in computer processors, some of the biggest computer chip companies like Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and ARM all have offices in the city. However, Austin has one of the most diverse types of technologies being developed, thanks to its ever expanding industry. “[Austin] is a hotbed of innovation in the autonomous car industry, 3-D printing, machine learning and the Internet of Things, Cognitive Computing, wearables, medical technology, software, big data and cloud computing,” Laura Lorek says, the founder and editor of Silicon Hills news, a news site covering technology

Austin’s Skyline

Photo Credit : Stuart Seeger

in Austin and San Antonio.

Austin also has many pro-business policies on issues like taxes, which supports local businesses and promotes innovation, making Austin a great place for developing new ideas and technologies.

“The city government is open to new ideas and innovation and that helps cut down on bureaucracy and create an environment where new

The Google Self-driving car , a modified Lexus SUV Photo Credit: Steve Jurveston

ideas can flourish. Texas doesn’t have an income tax. It’s a pro-business state that encourages expansion and growth,” Lorek says.

Not only is Austin’s business support strong, it’s a great place to live too. It has lots of advantages when it comes to things like housing and education.

Austin’s housing market is also very cheap especially when compared to places such as the Silicon Valley in California. According to Rent Jungle, the average cost for renting a one bedroom apartment in Austin is $1203, while in San Jose, a city in the Silicon Valley costs almost double, coming in at $2362. This makes Austin a great place for families to live, having all of the necessities like housing, education and available jobs at a lower cost. However, with all of Austin’s growth, costs of homes in Austin can go up quickly, but it will remain lower than other places that already have booming business.

“Tech growth is booming right now in Austin, it’s a great place for companies to come and build offices and expand. As a result, Austin business is like booming and getting more rich. The market for houses is getting more and more expensive because of all the people from the tech industry who are moving 9

here,” Michael Chen says, a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy.

Education is another factor that makes Austin a strong competitor in technology. The University of Texas at Austin has one of the best engineering programs in the country, ranking 10th place by US News. Education is also cheaper, and it costs $17,506 per year for out of state students, while top ranked colleges like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology costs $46,400 per year and the University of California, Berkley, costs $26,322 per year, according to US News. This is allowing for many students to come to Austin for education, and at a lower cost. With all of the new business coming to Austin, it helps create many job opportunities for a new workforce.

“Quality of life and the ability to build nearby have attracted people here, as has the success of local companies such as Dell and the influx of major companies such as IBM, Google and others. Perhaps most importantly, having a world class research university in the city ensures there is a continual supply of welleducated young people who want to build careers here,” Andrew Dillon says, a dean and professor of the school of information at UT Austin.

While all of new development is making Austin grow and become a tech centered city, it also affects the lives of its people. They are lots of new things that tech is bringing to the table. One example of an innovation that is seen selectively in Austin is Google Fiber, one of the world’s fastest internet providers.

The new internet service gives a download speed of one gigabit per second, and according to PCMag, the average internet speed of the U.S. of 12.6 megabits per second, 10 which makes Google Fiber

Dell, a PC manufacturer, has it’s headquarters in Round Rock, a part of the greater Austin area.

Photo Credit: Eustress via Wikimedia Commons

about 80 times faster.

“There are only two cities in the world that I know of that have Google Fiber.

Probably because of the huge tech industry it has because, there is so much new futuristic tech in Austin, there are lots of tech companies, [and] tech startups. A lot of tech is slowly moving toward Austin,” Chen says.

In fact Google might be one of the most involved companies that are investing and working in Austin.

Google has a campus in Austin, chose it as the second city to get Google Fiber, and is one of three cities selected to test their new self-driving car.

“One of the things I mentioned earlier was the Google self-driving car. They are currently testing and developing some parts of it in Austin.

And then it’s really interesting because having a self-driving car, you can watch it drive by your house,” Chen says.

“Information technology can be used to deliver enormous positive effects on education, health, social services etc. but only if we harness its potential appropriately and deliver technologies that serve peoples interests, not just corporate profits”, Dillion says.

Not only is technology changing Austin, it’s changing the societies around the world. New technology isn’t just about money. It makes people’s lives easier, and has hundreds of uses from entertainment to health research. For example, 4K displays are some of the newest display technologies, offering four times the resolution of today’s popular full HD screens, giving a much more immersive viewing experience, as well as giving people such as film makers more accurate results for what their video looks like. On the other hand, a blender, a very simple and common technology, is used to mix food, but it was also used to make the polio vaccine, a life threatening disease that paralyzed its victims, but with the aid of a blender, the first cure was made, saving hundreds of lives.

While Austin has some of the most unique tech being used, tested, and developed here, they are always some consequences and unintended issues.

The development of tech in general has its downsides. For example, the recent occurrence that Apple had with the FBI on whether they should implement a backdoor into their iPhone’s software after recent shooting in order to access one of the terrorist’s phones. If all of the new technology such as phones and advanced security didn’t exist, all of this debate on a backdoor to search people’s devices would have never happened. With Austin having many tech companies, people working there could be more impacted by the issue, and could even be pressured to quickly find a solution.

“All technologies have unintended consequences and end up being used in ways that the designers never imagined. Anyone who tells you that all technology is good and advances our humanity is naive,” Dillon says.

Another downside is that Austin has

to make sacrifices as technology in Austin grows. It is losing people in previous industries to make way for the emerging technology market. For

of inequities in social structures, with poorer communities having less access, lower quality resources which we need to tackle now,” Dillon says.

All of these are major reasons why Austin is becoming one of the biggest leaders in technology. By using all of Austin’s advantages, it’s able to keep growing in the industry and come closer and closer to being one of the largest tech cities in the country. If Austin is able continue its growth, it might have the potential to be one of the largest technology leader’s in the world.

The type of phone that belonged to the shooter, an iPhone 5C .

Photo Credit: John Karakatsanis

example, Austin’s “Live music capital of the world” title is diminishing, and its musicians could soon be taken over by the new tech employees coming to Austin.

“The growth of the technology industry has created traffic congestion and lead to affordability issues for some of Austin’s creative class of musicians and artists who are not commanding the large paychecks of the technology workers,” Lorek says.

With all of the new advancements, issues, and developments, there are questions on how technology will impact the future. The world will begin to assimilate all of the new technologies being developed, or at least common ones like the internet, computers, and systems to clean water and provide electricity.

“We also anticipate that everyone on the planet will have access to the internet, which will fuel a massive expansion in communications and require major re-thinking of issues such as privacy, ownership, identity and security. There is always a danger

“Austin has worked for decades to become a technology hub and now the city has all the pieces in place to attract outside investment, entrepreneurs and startup companies. It is the combination of the technology industry, government and educational institutions collaborating to ignite and support the technology industry here,” Lorek says.

Technology has changed the way many people live their lives with advancements like the internet, computers, and faster, more efficient transportation. Austin has been adapting and developing all of these technologies in recent years, continues to educate its people, and expand its industry. With many major companies as well as startups coming to develop here, it gives Austin lots of opportunities to push ahead in the technology field. Austin’s fast growth rate and presence of many new and emerging technologies gives it the potential to be one of the next leaders in technology and work and compete with other technology hubs.

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Top Tech Developed Cars are known as one of the most important pieces of technology and transportation, making easier for people to travel quickly in their own vehicle. Thousands of car accidents happen every year, with about 94% caused by human-error. A robot, which cannot make mistakes, has the potential to fix this, and in addition, allow people who are old or are drunk to travel safely.

Google’s self driving car uses a variety of sensors and a computer to help choose the best route to take, avoid obstacles, and predict where an object may move. Google says that the car can detect an obstacle from two football fields away. They are currently using a modified Lexus RX450h SUV, but are developing a small coupe sized car that is optimized for self driving. With only one accident caused by the car’s software after 1.4 million miles of driving, it has a low accident rate, and according to Engadget, Google is now working on resolving the issue using a simulator and analyzing why it happened.

NASA’s new Orion capsule Photo Credit: Bernt Rostad

Google’s own self-driving car currently undergoing testing Photo Credit: Marc Van Der Chijs

The Lyndon B. Johnson space center in Houston, Texas has been in service since 1961, serving as a control center for numerous space flights. The mission control center was used for the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions, including, the first trip to the moon. In addition, it’s used to communicate with the International Space Station. The Space Center also serves as a research facility, and contributes to the large aerospace industry in Houston. Today, it holds the new Orion spacecraft and simulator which is being developed there. The new ship has already been tested in low earth orbit in 2014, and will be sent to the moon around 2018, although it won’t hold a crew. According to space.com, if it succeeds, they plan on sending people to an asteroid, and eventually, Mars. This will become the farthest man has ever traveled, and Houston aerospace engineers are collaborating with other development centers to make it happen.

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in Texas

By: Hamza Syed

The Hennessey Venom GT, a modified super car, is now the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (unofficial) fastest street legal car.

The company, Hennessy, is based in Houston, Texas, and modifies cars for performance. The Venom GT, a modified Lotus Exige, reached a top speed of 270.49 mph, however, it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t qualify because it hit the speed on a straightaway. According to Gizmag, the Hennsesey Venom GT Spyder,a convertible version of the car, is the worlds fastest convertible, reaching 265.6 mph. The Bugatti Veyron SuperSport holds the official record at 267.8 mph, but Hennessey claims that the Venom could have hit 278 mph if they had enough space. They are now making a new super car, the Venom F5, which has plans to reach 290 mph, and possibly have more than 1,400 horsepower. This car will compete with the upcoming Bugatti Chiron,which has similar goals to the F5.

The Hennessey Venom GT in white Photo Credit: Axion23 via WikimediaCommons

The Mission Control Center at Johnson Space center in 2005 Photo Credit: NASA

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UT and Tech in Austin

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How UT grows Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tech bysector Trevor Keig

Photo courtesy of Phil Roeder

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urnt orange never fails to seep into all aspects of Austin, and now more than ever it is common to find Longhorns working in the local tech industry. Whether it’s taking classes in one of the largest computer science departments in the country or learning how to pitch a startup, the University of Texas (UT) produces students that are ready to immediately jump into high-tech jobs. Over the last 2 decades, the university has been a primary factor in the growth of Austin’s technology sector. From the faculty who conduct ground-breaking research to the experienced students that employers sometimes hire straight out of freshman year, according to Dr. Brian Roberts, professor in the UT government department and former Vice President of UT Information Technology, the talent that UT produces and outputs into the Austin job market attracts high-tech employers to the city.

“Well I would say students have so many companies on campus all the time who are looking to recruit with internships and full-time positions,” Tiffany Buckley, Associate Director of Academics in the Department of Computer Science, says.

UT brings internship opportunities to students as soon as they arrive on campus for the first time. In the computer science department, there is a program called Friends of Computer Science that allows companies to work directly with the department to employ computer science students as early as their freshman year. But these students are not the only ones that employers are interested in.

“Some companies will get involved with us, and then find ‘oh, I’m also interested in hiring engineering students, or hiring business students,’” Buckley says.

Internship and hiring programs like this one provide exposure for multiple departments to employers,

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia user Guðsþegn

“Well I would say students have so many companies on campus all the time who are looking to recruit with internships and fulltime positions,” employ a wide range of students, and keep the local labor pool dynamic. The skills that students will earn from taking an internship or part-time job are the skills that the University doesn’t explicitly teach but are necessary for the real world, Craig Lauck, UT alumnus and account Manager at NetSpend, says. However, internship programs are not the only thing that the University provides in order to train talent and bring busi-

“If you reach out and you have something that is entrepreneurial in focus or startupbased, the University of Texas is there to help,” ness to Austin.

“If you reach out and you have something that is entrepreneurial in focus or startup-based, the University of Texas is there to help,” Lauck says.

Lauck says he is speaking from experience, having worked on a startup among fellow UT graduates with the help of a program run by the 15

In Austin, construction is a clear sign of rapid growth in municipal industry.

university. With the large number of programs available for individuals looking to create a startup for UT, it was difficult for him to remember which one his colleagues had consulted. The McCombs School of Business offers a lot of entrepreneurship programs, lectures, and classes. However, participants in programs like Longhorn Startup and Austin Technology Incubator are not limited to just business students.

“Whether it’s a college like communication, engineering, business school, all of them understand the potential for UT to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurs.” Roberts says.

By training a variety of students with so many programs, UT has grown 16

the talent available in the Austin startup scene. In the fiscal years of 2003 up through 2013, 190 different companies related to UT were created that remained active in the fiscal year of 2013, according to the document “Demonstrating the Statewide Economic Value of the University of Texas at Austin,” which was published in February of 2015. UT’s size as an institution is growing. With the new medical school, UT will have a center for medical research that it lacked before, and thus will attract a whole new range of students. The medical school is also selling itself as an innovator in teaching medical students as well. Changing the way students learn things and making sure what they learn is important in the real world is a goal of the university, says

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia user LoneStarMike (with modification)

Roberts.

“The most important thing is probably listening to the community.

Where are jobs merging? What are the skill sets that students need?”

Roberts says. “We will not change our curriculum overnight just to the swings and tastes and skill desires, but overtime, yeah.”

UT is in sync with the local tech community and wants to prepare students as best as possible for what kinds of jobs they will actually be going into. As they keep the pulse of the job market and update the skills they teach, the university is also continuing to work with the city government to make student housing more centralized. This way, students can

collaborate on projects like startups with students who are closer to them.

Bringing all of these factors makes it obvious why so many tech companies want to move to Austin. First, UT helps students get the experience they need to work in the tech industry. They do this by ensuring that what they are teaching is pertinent to current technology, then they help students get internships and connections that they can use once they graduate to get a full-time job.

Then, for a tech company looking for top talent, it’s very easy to find that talent at the university; UT is one of the largest computer science departments in the country, and they work with the companies directly in order to get their students hired. With UT looking forward and ensuring that they continue to grow, tech firms looking to come to Austin can be sure that UT will continue to produce experienced job-worthy students even 10 years after they build an office here. But what exactly ensures that a significant portion of UT graduates will stay in Austin?

“One of the biggest disappointments for a UT grad is having to leave town for a job,” Roberts says. “There’s clearly an on-average desire to remain in Austin.”

“One of the biggest disappointments for a UT grad is having to leave town for a job,” “There’s clearly an onaverage desire to remain in Austin.”

While the connections that students make at the university through faculty and internships do not necessarily guarantee that students will stay in the Austin job market, Roberts says, graduates usually look for some way to stay in Austin if they can. UT is, of course, not the only reason why companies come to Texas, but it is the main reason companies come to Austin specifically. All of Texas has a host of other benefits for companies looking to move here. The lack of corporate income tax is the biggest, most obvious factor that attracts companies, Roberts says. There are other things like the bigger labor markets in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. Houston is also a huge site for the oil and gas industry.

Companies come to Texas for the lack of income tax, but they come to Austin because of UT.

That’s why Austin’s tech sector has exploded in growth over the past decade.

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UT BUDGET Fiscal Year 2015-2016

Salaries and Benefits

52%

of total expenditure

Self Supporting expenses

15%

of total expenditure

including...

18

$150

million in athletics

IMPORTANT INCREASES

Source: UT Budget Office; 2015-2016 Budget Summary

2014-2015 McCombs School of Business

2015-2016

$3,522,262

Change College of Natural Sciences

$15,656,548

Dell Medical School $40,224,156 0

50

100 150 200 (millions of dollars)

250

300

REVENUE SOURCES $965 Million $466 Million

Other Academic Enhancement $428 Million

Self supporting

State General Revenue

Tuition

$358 Million $593 Million

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Above: A Mitsubishi electric car, one of the more common types of electric cars

Photograph taken by Tony Hisgett

The Green Alternative

To Gas Image Created by openclipart user netalloy

The increase in use of Electric Cars

by Erich Manzke 20

Above: An electric vehicle charging station, charging an electric car

Photograph taken by Steve Jurvetson

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ou’ve probably seen an electric car drive past before, and been interested, but chose not to buy one because they’re so expensive. Well, you’ll probably be able to own one by the turn of the century.

“I feel like [electric cars] are the future for transportation, and cars,” Joseph Barletta, CEO and founder of Smart Charge Residential Inc., says.

Smart Charge Residential Inc. is a company that makes charging stations for electric cars. Barletta started it in 2014 because he wanted to see more electric cars in and around Austin and knew that it would help if he made charging stations for the electric vehicles.

I feel like [electric cars] are the future for transportation, and cars.”

In Austin, Texas electric vehicles have been becoming more and more common.

It’s been gradually happening over the years and has recently been happening more rapidly. This is mainly because electric cars are being seen as a better alternative to gas vehicles by some people, mainly due to the fact that electric vehicles are better for the environment. However, electric vehicles do come with a few drawbacks, as some people have pointed out.

“Rather than releasing a bunch of harmful exhaust into the air, which isn’t good for anything at all,” Barletta says, “[Electric Vehicles] just run on

electricity, which is just better for everyone, and the environment.”

According to Thinkprogress, a website that features many news stories, the prices of electric vehicles has been slowly lowering, for the past several years. This is because the most expensive component, the battery, is becoming less and less expensive to manufacture, just gradually over time.

“The main reason that electric vehicles cost as much as they do is because of how expensive the batteries are,” Marc Kohler, director of product management at Valence Technology, says, “The batteries in the vehicles sometimes need to be replaced as well, so that just makes it cost even more.”

Valence Technology is a company

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Above: An electric scooter, similar to the ones sold by Electric Avenue Scooters

that manufactures the batteries used in electric vehicles. It was founded in 1989 and developed the first commercially available batteries, Lithium Iron Magnesium Phosphate rechargeable batteries. They have been around for a while, and are aware of the fact that batteries have been getting cheaper and cheaper. “[Batteries] have to cost more to make up for the price of [manufacturing] the battery,” Barletta says.

“So that the people who sell the cars can still make a profit. Eventually, it might cost less to manufacture the batteries, but for now, it’s still relatively expensive.”

Recently, it has been costing less per Kilowatt Hour in a battery, and over 22

the past 9 years, has lowered from over 1000 dollars per kilowatt hour to less than 300 dollars per kilowatt hour in some electric vehicles.

Some even predict that the price will lower to $150 per kilowatt hour even before 2020, which will make it cheap enough to be widespread, and compete with normal gas vehicles.

Photograph taken by Jeff Reisberg

Electric vehicles charging station prices have always been low, and most of the time, it is paid for monthly, and generally, for the amount of charging that a person does, it’s a good deal to be paying only 20 dollars every month. However, even with all of the pros of using an electric vehicle, there are a couple of cons.

“The charging stations cost about one third the price of a gas pump, so that’s a bonus as well”

“[Electric vehicles] don’t use gasoline, and the charging stations cost about one third the price of a gas pump,” Barletta says. “So that’s a bonus as well.”

“The only real downsides I can think of is that electric vehicles can’t travel as far without using a recharge station,” Barletta says. “And that the

Photograph taken by Northern Ireland Executive Above: An electric vehicle rapid charge point, a new technology for charging electric cars

charge time is kind of long.”

However, these cons are not really that bad, because most people don’t travel more than 40 miles in a vehicle each day, according to a study done by National Household Travel Survey, a website about average daily distance travelled; There is enough time to charge one’s electric vehicle over the night so that it is fully charged by the morning, according to Plug In America, a website about electric vehicle charging. However, if someone was planning to travel on a road trip or

something else that required travelling a large amount of miles per day, they might then want to consider the usage of a gas vehicle.

“I just hope that [electric vehicles] become common before it’s too late for the environment.”

“I personally feel like [electric vehicles] will be most common in 15 years, because of the increase in concerns about global warming,” Mark Sze-to, managing director at Electric Avenue Scooters, says. “And they are already becoming more common in cities like Austin. Hopefully, they will be everywhere by then, because the environment is already in incredible danger, and if it keeps on going like

this, there won’t be any environment left.”

According to Education Protection Agency, greenhouse gas emissions have always been rising slowly, but they have been increasing incredibly quickly since about the year 2000.

With these current trends, greenhouse gasses will likely continue to increase, which will lead to more global warming, which is why some people believe that electric vehicles are necessary.

“Overall, I just hope that [electric vehicles] become common,” Barletta says. “Before it’s too late for the environment.”

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Electric Cars Total Price:

Battery Replacement 25% $13,500

V

$54,054.38

Charging 1% $559.38

Car Price 74% $39,995

At first, the electric car appears to cost a lot more, due to the price of the vehicle itself, and the likely battery replacement that will occur. However, the annual cost of charging an electric vehicle is very low, and over a long period of time, the gas vehicle will cost more than the electric vehicle.

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S

Gas Cars Total Price: $31,421.75

Engine Repair 16% $4,899

Gas 6% $2,27.75

Car Price 78% $24,495

On a counter point, if you were to be using a car for a short amount of time, and not the several years that it takes for an electric vehicle it would theoretically be better to purchase a gas car, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking at it with a purely financial view, and were planning to replace it in a few years time.

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Dig into This!!!

Shovel Knight, the lost NES game for the modern gamer By: Ben Villalpando

Get ready adventurer! Venture through the land defeating ghosts, dragons, wandering heroes and enemy knights! Collect unique relics to loot chests, defeat enemies and progress further. As a hero, you are charged with saving the land from the terrible evil.

You are armed only with your wit, items and don’t forget, your trusty rusty shovel.

Shovel Knight is game ripped straight out of the NES era. The game was created and published via kickstarter by Yacht Club Games. With the game’s mechanics drawing inspiration from classic NES series, the game feels like a nostalgic trip.

Eating hidden chicken and flying back when hit like in Castlevania; traveling through a vast world map with side sections like the Super Mario Bros. series; roaming the levels like Megaman; even jumping to strike an enemy underneath like DuckTales: The inspiration found in Shovel Knight is endless. Shovel Knight is completely different from most of the modern games today. Not only in presentation, but also in mood.

Even the story gives off a classic feel. Shovel 26

Knight is a spade-wielding blue knight of justice. He comes out of retirement to defeat the Order of No Quarter, a villainous league of other knights and the Enchantress, to save his partner and love interest, Shield Knight.

To save Shield Knight, Shovel Knight needs to defeat his rival, the mysterious Black Knight, and the Order of No Quarter. Shovel Knight knows the odds are stacked against him, but he doesn’t care what he has to do to save his love.

The game teaches the player almost exclusively through gameplay instead of blatant instruction. During the intro stage, the player is taught to move, jump and thrust downward. The player is also taught what checkpoints look like and that when Shovel Knight falls and/or is defeated, he drops gold the player must recover. After Shovel Knight defeats Black Knight, the world opens to reveal its grandiose nature. The player enters a village where they offer health and mana upgrades as well as relics, items that use magic to give Shovel Knight powers, in exchange for gold.

The game may look archaic and seem out of place in the modern world, but I believe the game teaches players of a time almost

ipedia

Photo by Wik

ovel h S f o e r u t c i P Knight

forgotten. Many other independently developed games try to revive the old ways of gaming.

Examples of current games that use pixel graphics, like in the NES era, are Spelunky, Super Meat Boy and even Flappy Bird. Even with the big-budget studios, Shovel Knight and other independent games live in the hearts of gamers.

Shovel Knight is a blast-to-the-past game, almost as if it was the byproduct of the NES era. I recommend the game to those who want to relive the past or want to experience it for themselves.

However, I warn those who just want to complete the game fast as the difficulty of the game is harder than most others. So ditch the high-quality sword for the pixelated shovel of heroism.

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You Gotta Have Faith!!!

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, the story of one child against his mother and religion By: Ben Villalpando

Your mother closes in on you, her delusions have gotten to the best of her. You fall down a trapdoor and you wander the mysterious basement. In one room you find deadly flies in a sort-of attack formation; may be sentient skeletons throw bones at you; or maggots shoot at you, charge at you, or wander just as you do. A golden door opens to show you a new and strange ability for you to adjust to.

This is the world of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is an updated version of the original video game The Binding of Isaac created

by Edmund McMillen and published by “Nicalis”.

The gameplay actually mirrors how The Legend of Zelda, an early NES game, is played. The game is illustrated using pixel art to give off the retro vibe even further.

Most of the items and enemies found can be acquired in the game take inspiration from religion, previous video games, and other items a child could stumble upon.

The game’s story is inspired by the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing his only son Isaac to appease God. Isaac is seen

crying from the abuse of his mother. He travels further underground to collect items, fight evil monsters, and finally defeat his mother.

The rest of the story may be a little dark and disturbing (if it wasn’t already). After venturing into his mother’s womb, Isaac can choose to fight against Satan or an angelic version of himself.

To combat these fierce opponents, the player collects items from the golden-doored item room, curse rooms, shop rooms, or (if the player doesn’t take too much damage) the devil/angel room.

Each item has a unique effect on the player from giving the player more speed, health, or firepower to making the player’s projectiles a giant laser or a floating object that damages those placed on it.

Every time one plays the game the items offered differ and new items will appear from doing a certain objective or defeating a boss.

Whenever the game is beaten, (either by

Photo by Flickr

Cover Art of Isaac

player death or defeating a final boss) the game resets back to level one.

However, when one beats a boss or accomplishes a certain task a new item can be randomly selected to appear. The item then creates an all new effect on the player. Also, new stages and characters with new advantages and disadvantages. For example, when one first defeats Mom, the player is rewarded by allowing them to progress to the “Womb” stage. In that sense, the game never really ends.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a unique homage to older games and religion’s effect on daily life. I recommend the game to all who aren’t offended by the game’s dark and graphic nature. But sometimes, darkness can make people appreciate what they have in their life.

Besides, at least you’re not a child fighting against the world in a dark, disgusting dungeon.

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Holy Guacamelee!

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition, the beat-em-up with Mexican luchadores By: Ben Villalpando Hear the sounds of mariachi music as you venture through the Mexican lands! Watch in horror as skeletons start to rise from the land of the dead! Feel the power of a luchador as you pummel the army of the undead!

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is a action-based beat-em-up platformer created by Drinkbox Studios. The game combines Metroidvanialike action and Mexican culture. The game also constantly makes allusions to other games in the posters you see in the villages and in the dialogue of other characters.

Examples include Los Super Hermanos (instead of Super Mario Bros.), Mega Hombre (instead of Megaman) and Los Casa Crashers (instead of Castle Crashers). Most of the in-game areas have these allusions including the main story areas.

Even the story of Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is inspired by the “save the princess” archetype. The player controls Juan, an agave farmer who dreamed of being a luchador since he was a child. Juan was going to provide tequila for the day of the 28

dead celebrations with daughter of the president of Mexico (Juan and the president’s daughter are childhood friends who have crushes on each other). He is defeated by a skeletal charro named Carlos Calaca while trying to save the president’s daughter. Juan is transported to the land of the dead, unable to prevent the capture of the president’s daughter.

Tostada, a mysterious undead luchador, gives Juan the power of a luchador and revives him to save the president’s daughter.

Now the player must battle Calaca and his henchmen to save the day and prevent chaos in both the living and dead worlds.

The player utilizes special moves, grapples, throws, punches and kicks to defeat enemies and explore the world.

Local cooperative multiplayer is allowed as well as different costumes.

Pesos are used to purchase upgrades at checkpoints and silver is used to buy new costumes with special perks. Pesos can be acquired by

ipedia

Photo by Wik

Tostada and Juan with Logo fighting enemies, smashing piñatas or finding chests, but silver is only found in piñatas and chests. Multiple puzzles are also used to test the player’s skill and regulate when he/she can progress.

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is also filled with cultural motifs and allusions. Instead of using gold or dollars as the in-game currency, the game uses pesos as if it took place in Mexico.

Side missions include collecting ingredients to make the world’s largest burrito or returning items to the dead owners to demonstrate special Mexican cultural ideas. Even the characters allude to Mexican culture, (Juan’s last name is Spanish for avocado, Tostada means toasted or toasted dish and Calaca refers to skeleton or skull decorations for the day of the dead).

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is a celebration of Mexican culture and retro video games. I recommend it to those who want to learn more about mexican culture or just like to punch your way to victory in video games. To fully complete the game, a lot of backtracking is needed and can be tedious at times. Otherwise, I hope for a sequel and more appreciation for other cultures because of the game.

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Loadout of its Mind!!!

Loadout, the action-packed shooter with an odd sense of humor By: Ben Villalpando

The mission is simple, take out the enemy, acquire their territory, and capture the vital resources.

However, don’t forget to create a wacky weapon and dress up in the most outrageous outfits.

Welcome to Loadout!

Loadout is a cartoon first person shooter with graphic and violent action.

The game was produced

by Edge of Reality, an Austin-based video game company. The game can be played via online or the PlayStation 4. While being very similar to other first person shooters, Loadout is somewhat of a satire of the genre for being so... unique.

One of Loadout’s most time consuming and interesting features is its weapon crafting systems. Players can create a powerful healing laser for their fellow teammates or destroy all with an enormous missile launcher. From the sniper rifle for those clever strikers on the side to the machine gun for all of the “Rambos” out there. As you play the game, the game rewards the player with “blutes” to spend on weapon upgrades or new abilities the player can harness. Since the weapon system is customizable, players can choose to go

Picture of Character (Axl) and Logo

Photo by YouTube for a smart, tactical approach or blow the enemy up with devastating explosions.

This game may not be for the faint of heart, if you haven’t gotten that fact already. Another Loadout feature is to decorate your character’s attire. From their default to special ops to the dreaded “birthday suit”, no one is safe. Cosmetics such as these operate on their own currency, “spacebux”. While this currency is harder to

receive, Loadout allows for the ingame purchase of “spacebux”.

Loadout’s game modes allow for varied forms of chaos. There’s the classic deathmatch against the computer, the brutal player team versus player team and of course every player for themselves. Only the most skilled and experienced will survive, but the newbies can learn from the veterans as the number of defeated becomes higher and higher.

Loadout is a game where the mad and insane go to duke it out in a violent murder spree. I recommend it for those who just want to release some anger or want to have a good laugh along the way. I promise that no other games match the creativity of Loadout.

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Revolutionary Accessories in Video Games By: Ben Villalpando

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1985

1982

Nintendo’s R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) was a robot that the player could control. When the player caused the screen to light up, R.O.B.‘s light sensors in its eyes would make the player’s actions affect it. R.O.B. essentially acted as a physical second player.

Amiga’s Joyboard was one of the first balance-board peripherals.

Released for the Atari 2600, the player would lean instead of using the joystick.

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Photo by Wi

Photo by Wikipedia

Photo by Wikipedia

Photo by Wikipedia

1989

Mattel’s Power Glove utilized motion sensors to play games. After entering a code, players would move their arm and fingers. The movements would translate into commands as if it were the original controller.

1995 1994

1990

ikipedia

Photo by Wikipedia Catapult Entertainment’s XBAND introduced online gaming to the market.

The XBAND would be placed between the system and game (as seen above) as well as being connected to a house phone. Many of the functions used in Photo by Wikipedia modern online gaming were present in the XBAND such as having an avatar and Nintendo’s Super Game Boy made Game friend list.

Boy cartridges playable on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The adapting software also gave coloration to the Game Boy’s games long before the Game Boy Color.

Konami’s Laser Scope used light gun technology and a microphone. The eyepiece was detachable and the headset could be converted into headphones to listen to music on the go.

Technological innovation is everywhere, especially in the video game market. No two pieces of tech are quite the same. Here are some implements of technologies in video game accessories.

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