In today’s computer gaming news, learn more about Xbox and Minecraft have collaborated with BBC Earth to offer the breathtaking glacial landscapes of the landmark called Frozen Planet II to Minecraft: Education Edition. Meanwhile, American video game company 2K has confirmed that its help desk platform was hacked and used to send fake support tickets to customers with embedded links that spread malware. Lastly, ‘This Girl Does Not Exist’, a recent Steam game featuring simple puzzle gameplay, heralds a gaming industry shift. The developer says the art, story, and music were developed by AI.
BBC Earth, Xbox, and Minecraft: Education Edition Produce Frozen Planet II
Original Source :Xbox and Minecraft: Education Edition partner with BBC Earth to create Frozen Planet II worlds
Minecraft Education has teamed with BBC Earth to add Frozen Planet II to Minecraft: Education Edition.
Through five new free worlds, Minecraft players may meet animals and landscapes from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit.
As the best-selling game of all time, Minecraft has millions of players worldwide. Its Education Edition, accessible in 29 languages, helps kids learn via creative gaming. With Frozen Planet II, instructors may access lesson plans to enlighten and inspire students about our frozen planets and investigate climate change as part of their curriculum.
The first of five free Frozen Planet II worlds is available on the Minecraft Marketplace on September 21, 2022 for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition and Minecraft: Education Edition. The worlds will allow gamers to experience life as a chinstrap penguin, Lapland bumblebee, or polar bear, or as a natural history filmmaker capturing animal behavior and environmental study.
“The natural world has the potential to engage and enthrall young and old,” stated Frozen Planet II producer Elizabeth White. “We’re thrilled to join with Minecraft on this collection of educational computer games, which will allow children to interact with stories inspired by the series through gameplay and learn more about the challenges of these habitats through lesson content.”
“We’re pleased to join with BBC Studios in this unusual endeavour — we’re bringing a whole new viewpoint to Minecraft and a truly authentic experience of some of the world’s most fascinating and significant areas,” says Allison Matthews, Head of Minecraft Education.
Never has it been more important to educate gamers about climate change and excite a new generation about sustainability. We believe it’s our obligation, and this relationship is the next step.”
First of five free Frozen Planet II worlds available 21 September 2022. Frozen Planet II is on BBC One and on BBC iPlayer.
2k Games’ Hacked Support Desk Sent Spyware to Players
Original Source: 2K Games says hacked help desk targeted players with malware
Video game publisher 2K revealed that its help desk platform was hacked and used to send bogus support tickets with malware.
“Earlier today, we became aware that an unauthorized third party fraudulently obtained the credentials of one of our vendors to the help desk platform that 2K utilizes to support our clients,” 2K’s support account tweeted on Tuesday after BleepingComputer broke the story.
“The unauthorized entity supplied a malicious link to some players. Do not open emails or click links from 2K Games support.”
The company recommended people who may have clicked a fraudulent link to lessen the impact immediately.
Reset your browser’s passwords (e.g., Chrome AutoFill)
Enable MFA on personal email, banking, phone, and Internet provider accounts. If feasible, avoid MFA that relies on text message verification; use an authenticator app instead.
Install a reliable antivirus application.
Check your account settings to check if forwarding rules were added or altered.
2K’s support portal was pulled offline while the company investigates and tackles the fallout.
The company claimed it will notify players when they may contact support employees again.
2K will give a warning when you can resume communicating with official help desk emails and provide instructions on how to protect yourself from malicious conduct.
Hello, please read this message from Customer Support. THANKS pic.twitter.com/yKI18eL7mY
— 2K Support September 20, 2022
Emails pushed RedLine info-stealer
As previously reported, 2K customers began receiving emails today indicating they opened support requests on 2ksupport.zendesk.com.
Users confirmed these tickets were accessible via 2K’s help desk interface, although several recipients said on Twitter and Reddit that they did not open them.
After opening the tickets, they received another email (from a purported 2K support rep named ‘Prince K’) with a link to download ‘2K Launcher.zip’ from 2ksupport.zendesk.com.
The archive includes RedLine information-stealing malware, according to VirusTotal and Any.
Analyze.
RedLine Stealer is an info-stealer malware that threat actors use to steal a wide range of data, including web browser history, cookies, saved browser passwords, credit cards, VPN credentials, instant messaging content, and cryptocurrency wallets.
2K hasn’t said if the attack on their support system is linked to Rockstar Games’ hack over the weekend, but the timing is suspect.
Both firms are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive, a major publisher in the Americas and Europe.
The threat actor behind the Rockstar Games breach also claimed the latest Uber hack, which was orchestrated by a hacker linked with Lapsus$.
2K publishes NBA 2K, Borderlands, WWE 2K, PGA Tour 2K, Bioshock, Civilization, and Xcom.
BleepingComputer contacted 2K before the game publisher verified the hack, but we’re still waiting for a response.
AI-Generated Games On Steam is Not Going Well
Original Source: AI-Generated Games Are Starting To Appear On Steam (And It’s Not Going Well)
Was inevitable. AI-generated art is appearing in competitions and presumably already in your social media feeds. The ability to create detailed images with a few prompts and clicks promises the “democratization of creative.” Steam, PC gaming’s most popular platform, makes selling games easy.
This Girl Does Not Exist, a recent Steam puzzle game, marks a big change in the gaming business. The developer says that the art, plot, and music were all created by AI. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s not surprising; the game has only one negative review on Steam. But the game’s story is odd and reflective of wider issues in the sector.
This Girl Does Not Exist was created by a married couple, who chatted to Kotaku over Discord for this article. “mrspotatoes” said her husband was scared people would “detest it” and “disregard it as not’real art,'” or “perceive it as minimal effort” on par with a “asset flip.” She was optimistic going in, expecting people would be intrigued to see the “showcase of modern technology” and wouldn’t want to “skip the AI train” that’s sweeping internet conversation.
She says using AI-generated assets has distinct hurdles. Since This Girl Does Not Exist was a dating game, it needed numerous gorgeous, persistent characters for the player to romance. Every one has its own tale, voice over, and images. Using Midjourney, it took a lot of trial and error to find prompts that worked and to generate usable results across iterations.
The creator said, “The AI struggles to generate photographs of the same individual in varied stances / settings.” “I had to redo numerous instructions and attempt many times till I got a collection of’same-person’ images.”
After that, she says, the pair emailed the game to 250 YouTubers. None bit. Despite having NSFW titles in their back catalog that Steam hides if the user isn’t signed in, it’s the couple’s worst-selling game. It seems the odd way they built the game’s assets turned off some players.
During a YouTuber’s broadcast, people loathed the AI, not the game, she said. They wrote in chat, ‘I worry the AI will take our jobs / bad vibrations from the game.’
CUTE PEN GAMES
The answer was disheartening, especially because the game is “revolutionary,” she says. According to our talk, the backlash hasn’t stopped the game-developing pair from researching the technology. mrspotatoes says AI will be in their next sexy game, but just in specific parts. She suggests UI or background details.
“If I did an entire AI game again,” she thought, “I could attempt to tell people after they finish the game and see what the reactions are, as I think with This Girl, people had prejudices up front.”
Summary of Today’s Computer Gaming News
Overall, in honor of the popular nature show Frozen Planet II, Minecraft Education has teamed up with BBC Earth to add the icy beauty of the show to Minecraft: Education Edition. Players of Minecraft will be able to meet animals and landscapes from BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s famous series in five brand-new, free worlds. Minecraft is the best-selling game of all time, and its Education Edition helps children learn through creative gaming. Teachers can use Frozen Planet II information to teach pupils about our frozen worlds and climate change.
On the other hand, it has been revealed by the American video game developer 2K that its help desk platform was hacked and used to send fake support tickets to clients with the intention of spreading malware via embedded links. 2K’s support account tweeted on Tuesday after BleepingComputer reported the security breach “An unauthorized third party fraudulently obtained the credentials of one of our vendors to our help desk platform”.
Finally, This Girl Does Not Exist, a recent Steam puzzle game, marks a big change in the gaming business. The developer says that the art, plot, and music were all created by AI. This Girl Does Not Exist was created by a married couple, who chatted to Kotaku over Discord. “mrspotatoes” said her husband was scared people would “detest it” and “disregard it as not’real art,'” or “perceive it as minimal effort” like a “asset flip.” She hoped people would be curious to view the “showcase of modern technology” and wouldn’t want to “skip the AI train” that’s sweeping internet debate right now.
