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In this week’s Reflecteur, we highlight two games (Zombie Streetview
Apocalypse & Famous Objects from Classic Movies) to help you waste
oodles of time and two popular photographic memes (Looking Into the
Past Photos, and Young Me/Now Me) that you just might go out and try
yourself.

We’ve also included some recently popular tumblrs under Top Reflecteur
Links… in case you have a few more hours to burn.

Download the latest issue here!

We’re sorry issue 78 of Reflecteur is a bit late, but we make up for the tardiness in quality. This issue is a bit bipolar – much like the Internet itself.

Page one focuses on two poignant items currently popular in digital culture:

The first, a film called “The Chapel,” is a stunning example of our ‘Talent Required’ and ‘How to’ themes from the most recent recap presentation. It also touches on another theme we often see – the way we humans seem to love to uncover hidden gems in our world.

The second item is a the first ever group page created on 1000memories, a site that allows users to create virtual memorials to those they have lost. Egypt Remembered collects images and information on those killed in the protests across Egypt earlier this month. A great example of the universality of photos, the gallery brings home the human cost of the protests better than any article or news piece could.

Page two is more flippant and ridiculous:

Denuo’s PLAYED staffers are romantics through and through.  That said, instead of a bundle of roses, we crafted this sweet-smelling bouquet of gaming insights and news, gently placed around titles involving science-fiction terror, Russian stacking dolls, and 3D tech, delivered straight into the palm of your hand.  You can feel the love, can’t you?

In this month’s issue, we look beyond the third dimension of Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld.  While everyone is agog over glasses-less 3D, the handheld brings even more functionality to the social and casual game spaces than first thought.  On the mobile gaming side, we check out the big, exclusive steps that Google’s Android mobile OS platform has taken to move into gamers’ hearts and minds.  Meanwhile, we examine Facebook’s virtual currency market shake-up with the rollout of Facebook Credits and its effects on the social gaming space, and wrap things up with a couple Denuologists weighing in on EA’s marketing effort for their latest hit, Dead Space 2.

Last week, we had the pleasure of helping run the world’s first Tweet Race for Mercedes-Benz. Along with our colleagues at Razorfish, we took four teams across the country in Mercedes-Benz vehicles that were “fueled by Twitter,” meaning the teams had to generate social media activity to keep their engines running. We designed a game around this that involved the teams competing in challenges, stoking their supporters for extra Tweet Fuel, and various tasks to accomplish both online and offline, all building up to a winner based on the strength of their social network and their skill behind the wheel.

Over a frenzied three days of racing, we learned a lot about games, digital marketing, competitive spirit, blizzards, Dallas ice treatment controversies, live event management, and when to let go and enjoy the ride. Join us, won’t you?

….and we’re back! Last year saw the gaming industry grow in unexpected ways, from social gaming to the rise of digital distribution. 2011 looks to be another year of innovation, business development, and, of course, great games. That said, this issue of PLAYED takes 2011 to task, asking both how and where we’ll all be gaming over the next year, while also recapping and prognosticating about the ever-shifting social gaming space. Also, since the year is getting off to a splendid start for blockbuster titles, we look at how gamers are utilizing unique and innovative ways to try games before plunking down their hard-earned cash well beyond the video store shelf.