Unreal Engine 4 Goes Free

       On March 2, 2015 one of the most advanced game engines, the Unreal 4 has gone completely free for any users. The Unreal Engine 4 which can be used to create anything from games, films, animation, and ever virtual reality technology is one of the few major game engines that are used by major studios for blockbuster games titles was not like this before. The Unreal Engine 4 was at first subscription based with a $19 dollar a month subscription with a 5 percent royalty fee on sales. However the creators of the Unreal Engine, Epic, wanted the Unreal Engine 4 to be able to compete with it’s competitors Unity and CryEngine as well as to be able to cater to a broader market of indie content creators, which lead to the idea of a monthly subscription of $19 dollars as well as the 5 percent royalty fee. Once again, Epic’s answer to the competition and to have a broader market in the indie community was to release the Unreal Engine 4 as well as all of the future major and minor updates for free. If you think there’s a catch, you’re right. You pay a 5 percent royalty on gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product, per quarter, other then that it is a simple deal in which they will only make money off you if you make money allowing anybody, new user or professional the freedom to create what they want with no worries of how they would have to pay for the engine. AS for the people who have already paid the subscription fee before the free release, they shall be given there last months payment a refund as well as a $30 dollar credit to be used in the Unreal Engine Marketplace. Unreal Engine 4 currently is a fan favorite to many content creators and has fulfilled it’s goal of extending to a broader market.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/2/8134425/unreal-engine-4-free-epic-games

http://www.pcgamer.com/unreal-engine-4-is-now-free/

http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/02/unreal-engine-4-goes-free-but-epic-games-still-gets-its-5-cut-of-your-royalties/

         With the upcoming times and new steps in technology we have gained, now is truly the age of information. Have you seen back to the future? In the past people have dreamed, seen in movies, read in books about how we could show you something real from anywhere in the world or something artificially created to be right in front of you. The answer is VR and AR technology. Starting with VR, virtual reality, placing you into a virtually created world. In that world you would be able to interact with and explore the created environment. The technology of VR is mostly being integrated for the gaming industry mainly because the original creators of them intended to create their product for gaming, that product being the oculus rift. The oculus rift has been in production for a long time, and larger company’s has decided to also join in on the VR craze by creating their own versions of the product. Companies like Sony creating their own headset, Microsoft, even Google with their version called the Google cardboard. The oculus rift comes with two controllers for your hands to interact with tools and the environment. It has become so assessable that there is even a version for phones and laptops called 36o videos, allowing you to turn in any direction and watch the content in quite literally 360 degrees. It has become so popular that even movie sets and music videos are shooting 360 videos of the behind the scenes for anyone who wants to be more involved in the process. Currently the prices of these technology range from the oculus rift being $800 to the Google cardboard being $5. That being said there are still problems that have not been sorted out, one being how to handle motion sickness when playing. No information I have found has resolved these issues however now that it has been released for the public we are sure to find a solution.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/star-wars-battlefront-review-a-second-opinion-1311294

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/future-tech/the-vr-race-who-s-closest-to-making-vr-a-reality--1266538

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/03/28/472176250/oculus-rift-launch-makes-a-splash-will-it-lead-a-wave-of-vr-tech

Interview Assignment

Stephen Jones

Full Sail University

My interview topic is about Lisa Square who is a current realtor investor in the housing market. She has been in the real-estate market for a couple years and has found success in her job. Lucky to a connection of mine I was able to contact her and ask for a short interview which she accepted. During our interview I asked her what exactly she does to which she responded that she goes on the market to buy houses against other realtors and flips them, meaning she fixes them up and then resells them for a higher price. Within the job a lot of game theory is necessary for her because her competition in the field is high and she needs to negotiate with lots of people, making pretty much everything a variable to her. A good example she used was how she uses groups like on Facebook of realtors to help her if she ask questions and to get the inside scoop on properties. Another question I asked I asked Mrs. Square was if there are any dirty tricks in which she encountered, she responded yes and said that there are but is very difficult to spot. However she did give me an example of one she came across during her time, her example was while she does her job and finds a house she likes and wants to buy she would make a bid and sometimes others would make a higher bid which is a regular thing. However sometimes the seller would make a deal with someone to bid higher on the property so that he would get more from the first bidder. Lastly I asked her what was her back up plan if it didn’t work, her BATNA. She responded “Then I would search for another house and move on. Even if I liked the house a lot if it’s a bad investment then I just have to move on to the next, there is always another opportunity somewhere”.

Reference Page

Square, L. (2016, January 27). Interview Assignment [Telephone interview].