56w ago - This weekend PlayStation 3 homebrew developer Corwin75 of Armprime Industry has made available an Open Beta version of PS3 Rich Appearance Maker (R.A.M.) alongside some video footage of it below.

Download: PS3 Rich Appearance Maker (R.A.M.) Setup / PS3 RAM Quick Start Guide (PDF) / Anonymous Project Theme Sample by Corwin75 and Benoit0727

To quote: Sony gives to those who will purchase the PS3 SDK some tools allowing the creating of PS3 themes, nevertheless these last ones are not easy to use, it is for it that Armprime Industry has developed this software. Let your imagination!

R.A.M Introduction

Would you make your own PS3 theme, but you find that too complicated? That time is now past with Rich Appearance Maker by Armprime Industry!

There is a Camera, two Lights, 3D Objects (DAE), Textures (DDS/JPG), Actors (Entities) and a Script. For program of your dynamic theme, you have to use the PSJS programming language, a fusion of JavaScript and PS3 libraries.

Right...

67w ago - Today Designer, Producer and Community Manager Peter Bartholow of Reverge Labs has posted up a developer diary video below showcasing the feature-rich PSN fighter Skullgirls.

To quote: Previously on the PlayStation.Blog, I introduced you to Skullgirls' story and characters and discussed its unique gameplay systems. Today, with the game racing towards completion, I'm here to shed a little more light on the game's features.

Even though Skullgirls is a downloadable game for PSN, we've got a feature set consistent with a full-priced fighter.

• Story Mode
• Arcade Mode
• Tutorials
• Practice Room
• Ranked and Unranked Online Play
• Custom Soundtracks
• PS3-exclusive Trophies

Story Mode

The world of Skullgirls is vast and full of colorful characters well beyond the eight playable characters we'll have in the game. These characters will show up throughout the characters' stories, which are told with a series of short vignettes, and are told with over 200 pieces of unique art, character portraits and new music.

Check out our new Story mode trailer above, which features Skullgirls' awesome attract mode and glimpses at some of the characters' stories.

234w ago - Steve Demeter, a former banker who has created a game development house following the success of his first game called Trism.

The respective game earned the developer $250,000 in profits for just the first two months alone, as you'd expect, such figures and the democracy offered by the App Store has motivated him to pursue developing full-time.

To quote: It's also become a potential gold mine for entrepreneurs who create games for the device. Just ask Steve Demeter, developer of the popular puzzle game "Trism."

A former ATM software designer for a large bank, Demeter created "Trism" in his spare time and pitched it to Apple last spring. The company made the game available for download with the July launch of its App Store, an online provider of applications for its iPods and iPhones.

Priced at $5, "Trism" earned Demeter $250,000 in profits the first two months.

"It's done phenomenal business," said Demeter, 29, who lives in the California's San Francisco Bay area. "I'm very honored that so many people would enjoy my game. I get e-mails from 50-year-old ladies who say, "I don't play games, but I love Trism.' That's the coolest thing."

266w ago - On Tuesday the Advertising Standards Agency banned adverts for a new computer game, Kane & Lynch, because it deemed them too violent. It is interesting that adverts for last year's "torture porn" film Captivity were not banned, even though they were heavily criticised in the US. And no one even raises the possibility of banning such films outright. But then, computer games are our society's straw man for panic about moral decay, thought to have some special power to harm and corrupt.

Dr Tanya Byron's eminently sensible report last month on children and new technology emphasised the many opportunities for fun and learning that games provide. But the media coverage focused on the usual fears and worries. Byron said that we need to move away from talking about computer games "causing harm"; in response, TV and newspapers showed stills from games with titles like Manhunt and God of War. Byron said children need to be "empowered to keep themselves safe"; newspapers said computers and televisions should be kept in communal spaces in the home.

As a gamer, I can't think of anything more annoying for everyone concerned than playing games in a shared living room. Games make noise: they're surely going to irritate other family members who aren't playing or watching. Not to mention the supreme aggravation, as the...