Upcoming PlayStation VR horror game lets friend mess with your gameplay

Virtual reality games tend to be a solo activity. But an upcoming PlayStation VR game wants to change that. Developer Firesprite is introducing a new concept with The Persistence. This sci-fi horror title comes with a mobile companion app to let friends nearby see your game map. They can either choose to make your life easier and steer you towards items you need or cause so much trouble. And at times the app will reward them with points for taking using approaches. At the same time the player in VR might get the option to upload a virus to a terminal in the game to wipe a spectator’s upgrade points. 

In this game, you play as a member of a spaceship that gets into an “incident” where many of the crew members turn into mutants. You then have to try to survive and save the ship. Adding a bit of difficulty and taking away any form of memorization, when you die, you come back with a new name and backstory. We can't say yet how the game will translate in real life but the wait isn't that long. Firesprite aims to release The Persistence around May of this year.

Source: Polygon

'A Series of Unfortunate Events' gets a second season on Netflix

It doesn't come as a surprise that Netflix's adapation of A Series of Unfortunate Events is getting a second season. Daniel Handler, creator of the 13-part young adult series, has said earlier this year that he and other writers of the show were already working on the second season. Now, Netflix confirms the comeback of the show in an announcement trailer that shows coded messages used by the secret organization VFD in the show. Highlighted letters in the trailer are meant to direct viewers to vastlyfrighteningdecision.com, which displays a message from Lemony Snicket, the show's narrator (and Handler's pen name for the books), and how displeased he is with your continuining patronage of the show. Despite what he says, though, we are looking forward to the "miserable" show to come back.

Source: The Verge

'Big Bang Theory' gets a spinoff, focuses on young Sheldon

You don't have to be a Big Bang Theory fan to know of Sheldon Cooper. And it seems you're going to get to know more about his formative years with a new show. CBS has announced that they are making a spinoff of the popular sitcom and it'll be focusing on a young Sheldon around nine years old. He'll be played by newcomer Iain Armitage. Jim Parsons will still be part of the show as he'll be narrating the spinoff as adult Sheldon. He also serves as one of the executive producers on the show 

Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Raegan Revord, and Montana Jordan stars alongside Armitage. Jon Favreau will direct and be the executive producer of the show's premiere. Other executive producers are Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro, and Todd Spiewak.

Source: CNET

Microsoft’s ‘Playable Ads’ lets you try out apps before you install them

While you could think of it as fancy advertisement, a new feature for Windows lets you try out apps before installing them. Called Playable Ads, you can tap on an app install ad on Windows and have three minutes to try out the app without leaving the existing page you’re in. An inline app streaming window will show you the app as if you have it installed on your device. And once you’re done streaming, you can opt to install the app or not. You don’t even need to finish streaming to decide if you don’t want to get the app.

Developers don’t even need to do anything to get Playable Ads to work. But here’s a guide from Microsoft on how to enable it. The feature is currently open under limited preview, though, so it may or may not show up for you.