Photo by Onur Binay on Unsplash
New Chinese Game “Black Myth: Wukong” Breaks Single-Player Records on Steam
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
The new game Black Myth: Wukong, developed by the Chinese company Game Science, reached over 2.2 million users on Steam this week. According to PCGamer , it just earned a record as “the second-highest peak player record in Steam’s history” within just a few hours after its launch this Tuesday.
Black Myth: Wukong , considered an AAA game—with the highest development budgets and levels of promotion—was inspired by the Chinese novel Journey to the West, published during the Ming dynasty in the 16th century. Players become Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, and must defeat monsters during a 15-hour journey. Its massive reach and promotion have also sparked controversy and debate.
According to the New York Times , gamer influencers had reached out to play and stream the video game before its launch. However, the restrictions regarding what these influencers were allowed to speak about were criticized. The list included forbidden topics like “feminist propaganda,” Covid-19, and isolation. The Chinese company has refused to comment on this.
Benoit Reinier, a journalist and YouTuber, shared a review and expressed being upset about the situation. “I have never seen anything that shameful in my 15 years doing this job. This is very clearly a document which explains that we must censor ourselves,” said Reinier.
Game Science invested over $50 million in the creation of the game and reached the first spot in the list of the top games played on Steam. B lack Myth: Wukong quickly became a trending topic on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, with many citizens taking pride in the Chinese culture, as the default language is Chinese and the history is based on a traditional Chinese story, but it also had critics. The hashtag “Black Myth: Wukong insults women,” in Chinese, also went viral on the social media platform.
The Chinese government has also taken advantage of the game’s popularity. The Department of Culture and Tourism in Shanxi featured the landmarks mentioned in the game in a cultural video.
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
Neuralink Successfully Installs Implant in Second Trial Patient
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by
The American neurotechnology company Neuralink successfully installed its second implant in another human, according to a report shared this Wednesday on its website. The new participant is now able to play video games and is learning to design 3D objects with computer-aided design (CAD).
“This marks another significant step towards providing a high-performance interface that will enhance the control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia to help restore their autonomy,” wrote the company in the report.
Alex—only the patient’s first name has been revealed—became the second patient to be part of the startup’s PRIME Study and had surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute last month. The procedure “went well” and the company shared more details of the results. “I’m already super impressed with how this works,” said Alex.
Neuralink’s first patient, Noland Arbaugh, encountered a medical problem with retracted threads, reported in May, but this time, as explained in the report, experts took measures to reduce thread retraction like “reducing brain motion during the surgery and reducing the gap between the implant and the surface of the brain.”
According to the report, the implant was installed last month and in less than 5 minutes Alex could control the computer cursor with his mind. In just a few hours, the patient could achieve all tasks and quickly surpass all the tests in the company’s game called Webgrid created to measure success in this procedure. Later, the patient used his new abilities to play the game Counter-Strike 2. The patient was discharged only one day after the surgery.
Since the surgery, Neuralink has been working with Alex to improve his capabilities and help him create and achieve his goals. Alex was an automotive technician before his spine cord injury and had always wanted to learn how to design 3D objects using CAD. He used the CAD software Fusion 360 on the second day of the implant installation and has been building and designing a custom mount for his Neuralink charger.
The company shared a YouTube video showing how he designed the mount.
And another one of Alex playing Counter-Strike 2:
Neuralink said they are working to improve future participants’ experiences.
