Steam users can currently pick up Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and half a dozen other amazing stealth games at dirt cheap prices, starting at less than a dollar. However, many of these steep Steam discounts will only remain available for a few more days.

Hi, I know souls-lite and low poly is a little overused already, but i am looking for help in bringing my idea to reality,I am a programmer myself with 2 years of experience in unity, so i was inclined to make this project in unity, i started to look around netcode for gameobjects for the multiplayer solution but the project is still young so nothing is sets in stone.If you have experience with programming, modelling, level design, or design, i am pretty much open to all

Image created byChatGPT.While UX may be perceived to be dying, I believe the field is entering a golden age, especially in the age of AI. This is an opportunity.Ive been here a couple of times. The 2001 dot-com recession. The real estate crisis in 2008. Now were here, starting midway through 2022. It all looks different and the same at the sametime.Each had a different flavor and there were doomsayers that said that technology was dead, and it always came back. With each downtown came opportunity. Some of the largest companies that are around today were started these times, and they generated tremendous value for theeconomy.I believe we are at the same crossroads today, especially with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, and an adherence to a business models that looks more like a good profit and loss statements instead of an infinite ATM. Real companies will come out of this stronger andbetter.That presents opportunities that we shouldembrace.Im of the same opinion as Keith Ford about the future of UX: we are entering a golden age, but it will require change of the habits we have. And we have a lot tochange.How we gothereThose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeatit.George Santayana, The Life of Reason,1905.First you need to understand what led to this situation. Every downturn has a different flavor, but they all have base ingredients. The original flavors of this one are COVID and eventually, the effect of Artificial Intelligence changes how we do ourjobs.Read on for the mainpoints.Free moneyendedWhen money is cheap, it seeks opportunity, and the opportunity for a while was investment. That is no longer the case as evidenced by thechart.The era of free moneylow interest rates, venture capital that grew on trees, and easy access to fundingis over, at least for awhile.During the last 10 years, there was a model of lose money on every acquisition but make it up in volume. It makes sense for some businesses that can move to a soft landingthink Uberbut notmost.In the end, growth over revenue works only as long as the music keeps playing, and the music has stopped or at least paused for quite abit.The good news is that investors are now focusing on models that are sustainable and have slower growth, which is better for technology. For too long, many of the startups that were funded lacked fundamentals. This is correcting to a better long-term modelbusinesses thatwork.The bad news is were still in a correction. Less growth means less emphasis on features and more emphasis on making do with what the company has. That means smaller teams, fewer designers, less innovation.Companies overhiredI cant unsee this chart from Indeed. Whats notable is that research can be seen as a value driver, more so thandesign.Free money leads to overhiring.At the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies did just that, a decision that later proved problematic.All you need to know about this is looking at the chart above published by Indeed. Profits soared and perceived digital transformation accelerated, technology companies experienced a surge in demand for their products and services.The problem: much of it was based on free money from investors or found money. Aggressive hiring often outpaced actual business patterns that would return once the world returned to a non-COVID world. As companies realized they didnt need so many tools, theyve been retreating. Theres even a name for itSaaS Winterand the struggle isreal.Too many designers were hired, too many designers were promoted into roles they didnt have the experience for, and too many managerial roles were created. Now were seeing the consequences.This doesnt mean that companies have stopped hiring designers. They are just hiring fewer of them, and a lot of the larger companies have slowed hiring altogether. This means fewer roles, specifically fewer managerial roles, which is where Im seeing the biggest impact. However, the demand is still there for good senior designers, which is evident in the hiring patterns Imseeing.Were still in a correction, but were in a much better place than in late 2022. The ability for designers to job-hop at a moments notice is no longer a reality, and thats good because it will lead to a more stable environment.Boot camps and other educational institutions oversuppliedOverhiring leads to organizations trying to fill thegap.Many of the contract roles for design are offering the same rates that I charged in 2001, or less. Thats all you need to know about the designer oversupply.For me, the evidence was that many designers I taught at General Assembly up until 2017 didnt have much of an issue entering the field. By 2019, it became muchharder.Now, seeing thousands of candidates apply for junior roles is notunusual.All educational programs contributed to the oversupply of designers. Bootcamps did so by offering accelerated, intensive programs that promised quick entry into the field, but universities didnt exactly prepare designers either, judging by the quality of the work as reported by hiring managers.The reality is that the talent pool isnt meeting our needs. Thats not at all related to the designer oversupply; its a skillsgap.There will be too many designers in the field for a while, but in the end, it will lead to a stronger field as designers close the talent gap in their effort to breakin.Where we need togoThis isnt just about me on a soapbox because Im a data point of one. Im also looking at other signals in the UX community that confirm my beliefs about the direction of UX, and it has a pretty clear direction.Consider the following evidence:Jacob Nielsen in his Substack is urging the UX community to learn as much as possible because this is going to change technology.Jorge Arango is pivoting hard into training people how to use LLMs and his podcast, The Informed Life, is now a constraint stream of AI-related topics.Indi Young has shifted her mantra to Data Science thatlistens.Jonathan Lupo is one of a growing many that are focusing their efforts through transforming businesses with AI with a UXlens.There are those who are fearful of this transformation, and there are those that are jumping rightin.I urge you to jump rightin.Embrace Artificial IntelligenceA chart by PricewaterhouseCoopers. AI seems to be a thing. We need to embraceit.The new age of artificial intelligence is here. Get overit.Consider this particular anecdote: some companies are already asking how much of the job can be done with artificial intelligence when evaluating the need to hire a role. This is supported by evidence that companies are reevaluating their teams and acting accordingly.Wireframing is still going to be a thing for a long time until we can produce perfect PRDs, but it does mean that many tasks that contributed to specialization can be done with smaller overall teams at a level that is good enough to move the business forward, which Ill be covering later in thispost.For example, AI can summarize much of the work that designers and researchers do as a draft today. Many of these tools can do writing draft content for interfaces.Is it going to be perfect? No. Is it going to be good enough to move the business forward? Absolutely.This is going to accelerate even with the bumps and bruises, and its not goingaway.Whats in:AI. The more we get involved in what artificial intelligence means for our field means we get to define it. Right now, businesses are defining our role for us, which is dangerous. We have to define it for ourselves so we can influence the conversation.Role flexibility. The magic of AI is as a really fancy tool because it can enable us to do many more things. Designers need to be more flexible about what they take on. There will be an expectation in many organizations for designers to be able to take on more tasks because they will be more efficient.Consider smaller teams and generalist rolesA prediction Ive been floating is that the artificial intelligence revolution is spawning an interesting model: A new bunch of cottage companies that are AI-first like the mobile first generation we saw when the iPhone come outbuilt for a world that has a newcontextThats a goodthing.AI-first companies would unlock opportunities to replace software that has been outdated for a long time. A lot of these software packages are going to be solving smaller problems.Venture funding seems to be supporting this. Even though a lot of the Q2 2024 funding for companies is attributed to a single dealElon Musks AI venturethe market does seem to be picking up, andthatOther legacy organizations are hiringtoo.With all the talent available on the market, non-technology companies and government agencies are seeing this as an opportunity to hire talent that might not have been available before.The compensation might be less, but it is employment and it helps grow thefield.Whats in:Generalists. This is just another cycle of the specialist/generalist battle. While design systems and research are a thing on larger teams, smaller teams are required to be more nimble and flexible. This will continue until we can further prove how we can contribute to the business.Low code. There are a bunch of low-code tools out there that actually flatten the development cyclewho needs a big team of developers if a Product Manager and Designer can build most of it off the shelfand this revolution is going to accelerate.Focus more on business anddataThe more we talk about craft, the more we put ourselves at risk from being cut because its really hard to quantifycraft.As Scott Berkun illustrated so well in his article Bad design makes money over on Substack, business is just math. If a company has a decision for spending more on marketing to reach customers or more on design for craft, more often than not marketing is going to win because its cheaper and they can prove a return on investment.With craft, its really hard to prove a return on investment, and thats why Im advocating growth overcraft.A Product Led Growth strategy treats the product itself as a conversion funnel for engagement that makes money. This shifts the power dynamic to product management and user experience. Instead of marketing or customer success controlling the funnel, we have an active influence over what engagement and business impact look like and claim credit forit.Leaning into product lead redefines our role from a cost center to contributing to the bottom line in a very tangible way. Ive been preaching some of this for a while, but its even more important in todays environment.This is something we are going to have to learn past thepixel.Whats in:Mixed methods. Companies are stepping away from research roles that are heavy qualitative and focusing more on roles that are mixed method because hard data is really hard to argue with. Consequently, there is already a growth in these rolesGoogle probably does this best because it is in their DNAand this will continue.Growth over craft. Craft still matters, but designers will have to quantify their role beyond the icon. Thats why the role of describing us as Product Designers is a better description, because we are committed to the user and the business. We have to lean into a product strategy that talks more about how we impact the business.ConclusionThis is the same mantra Ive been repeating for quite a whilethis correction I believe was needed because itll be a good cold shower reminder that as much as we like moving around our icons and playing with Figma, its not why we getpaid.The hard truth: design needs to provide a return to the business to be viable, and designers need to lean intoit.Our jobs will depend onit.Patrick Neeman is the Vice President of User Experience and Research at Evisort. Read more about his GPT Prompt Guides serieshere.You can read more about him at Pexplexity, and connect with at LinkedIn, X (Formerly Twitter), Threads and Substack.UX is dead. Long live UX. was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I dont like to start off my Fridays with a closed-mouth scream, but today thats exactly what I did. One of TikToks latest transgressions (theyre starting to feel like personal affronts) is "fridgescaping." After making a quick journey through the five stages of grief I can say, with my heart at peace, fridgescaping is dumband potentially wastefulbut there are good things happening here that can help us store food smarter.What is fridgescaping?Fridgescaping is a portmanteau of fridge and landscaping. It reminds me of tablescape, a term Sandra Lee popularized (at least for me) during her Semi-Homemade days. This Hobbit fridgescape is one of my favorites to shake my head at. (Mostly because Im a LOTR fan, and, duh, Hobbits dont have fridges, they have larders.)Here is another with the text, "Where's my food?" Which at first I thought was a person seeking help after losing food behind the collection of objects.Similar to all scapes, fridgescaping is changing the appearance of your fridge by manipulating the things that are already therelets call them "food and storage containers"and adding non-native itemslets call them "dumb stuff." Dumb stuff seems to include, but is not limited to: candles, tree stumps, mirrors, a handwritten note, decanted candy (decanted everything actually), glass or ceramic cat figurines, battery-powered fairy lights, and flowers in open glass vases.Fridgescaping is mostly not helping your foodApparently fridgescaping is done to make your fridge look more appealing when you open it. Beyond that, Im not sure why folks are doing it. Maybe to impress yourself? Have your guests question whether or not you actually know what a fridge is? Decanting some items, like milks (cow or otherwise), can actually expose them to new bacteria if you arent careful and make them spoil faster. Leaving other foods uncovered in baskets can cause them to dry out or absorb too much moisture. And listen, Im a big fan of string lights, but batteries hate moisture when theyre working. Fabrics and woodswell, those may not do well in humid environments either. Youd essentially have to renew your fridgescape daily or you might eventually discover some interesting growth.Unlike your living room or your maximum curb appeal front walkway, refrigerators arent about looks. Theyre for prolonging the life of your perishable food. Its an efficient, cold, humidified cabinet, and its good at being that. Before you fridgescape, ask yourself, is this improving your food storage, or how you cook? Just like Sandy shouldnt have changed who she was at the end of Grease, neither should your fridge. The wicker baskets arent helping anyone, but there are a few aspects of fridgescaping that are.Store food smarterGet in there and clean the shelves once and a while. Each of these fridgescaping videos starts with the person emptying out their entire fridge and wiping down the damn thing. You dont have to do it every week, but its not a bad idea to get in there and wipe down the shelves, tracks, and drawers occasionally. Plus, this gives you a chance to toss old condiments and other hidden petri dishes.Get organized. While you dont have to go so far as to buy seven bespoke wooden storage containers, its not a bad idea to reorganize your fridge. An organized fridge where you can actually see everything will make it easier for you to practice FIFO (First In, First Out) and prevent waste. Maybe the eggs should be easier to reach and the fresh veggies need a home thats more front and center so you stop forgetting about them in the back.Reduce clutter. I like my fridge best when I can actually fit my groceries in there properly. Once I start balancing containers precariously on top of jars, Ive lost. If anything, a fridgescaped fridge is mostly uncluttered. That means you can see everything, so youll probably eat those things; in general, the appearance is more pleasing. Again, you dont have to store eight mini vases of flowers in your fridge to achieve a pleasant look, save money, and waste less. Try not to purchase more food than you can properly store.

Metas decision to shut down CrowdTangle, an analytics tool that was an invaluable resource to the research community, is drawing fresh scrutiny from European Union regulators. The EU Commission, which had already raised concerns about the social networks plan to discontinue the tool ahead of global elections in 2024, is now pressing Meta for more details about its work with researchers.The EU Commission previously cited the impending shutdown of CrowdTangle as part of a broader investigation into the companys handling of disinformation campaigns and election-related policies. Now, just days after CrowdTangle was shut off despite pleas from researchers and civil society organizations to keep it online through the end of the year, regulators are pointedly reminding Meta of its obligation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to allow outside researchers access to its data.The Commission is requesting Meta to provide more information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations to give researchers access to data that is publicly accessible on the online interface of Facebook and Instagram, as required by the DSA, and on its plans to update its election and civic discourse monitoring functionalities, the EU Commission wrote in a statement. Specifically, the Commission is requesting information about Meta's content library and application programming interface (API), including their eligibility criteria, the application process, the data that can be accessed and functionalities.Meta has previously pointed to the Meta Content Library as a replacement for CrowdTangle. But access to the Meta Content Library is much more tightly controlled, and researchers have said it doesnt replicate all of CrowdTangles functionality.We announced earlier this year that we would discontinue CrowdTangle because it did not provide a complete picture of what is happening on our platforms," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to Engadget. "We have built new, more comprehensive tools for researchers, called the Meta Content Library & API, and we remain in discussion with the European Commission on this matter.Update August 16, 2024, 3:15PM ET: This story has been updated to add a statement from Meta.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-regulators-question-meta-about-the-shutdown-of-crowdtangle-175641308.html?src=rss

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It comes as the company tries to get more AI features in front of consumers

As a gardener, I know that August (not January or February) can be the most challenging time for growing things. The heat just makes all plants look a little . . . tired.At work, its easy to see the same sort of low-level exhaustion (beige flag, anyone?) and lack of engagement. The high temperatures are hard on the body and the mind, and even if youve already had a vacation, the dog days of August can often be doldrums of motivation.Its no wonder that already low-engagement rates tend to dip as summer wears on. Robert Sheen of Trusaic noted at that time, Employee engagement in the U.S. has hit an 11-year low. More concerning, this engagement deficit is affecting younger workers more than older ones. Gen Z employees have experienced a five-point drop in engagement (from 40% to 35%) since 2020.Although engagement numbers have ticked up a bit, this is a broader problem, according to Mark C. Crowley, as managers are so focused on meeting targets, theyre not effectively supporting their employees emotional and psychological needs. A report from employment and labor law company Littler found that theres been a 74% surge in employees requesting leave or accommodations for mental health-related issues over the past year.Part of the reason, observes Ben Wigert, Gallups director of research and strategy for workplace management, are the expectations and uncertainty faced by most businesses over the past few years. Wigert asserts this has made it harder for managers to give frontline staff the time and attention they need, causing those employees to either quiet quit or leave the organization entirely, further fueling the cycle. Its a vicious cycle because these managers are effectively throwing up their hands and ghosting their employees.Fortunately, there are some basic tactics to help engage and motivate employeeswhether they are in the office or working remotely. Find common groundLisa Nichols, founder of an eponymous employee-engagement firm, recommends reflecting on what made you feel valued and supported in your work. Acknowledging what has been important to you opens you up to hearing about what matters most to your team members, she wrote.Keep them learningLuke Marsh, head of marketing for Innago, suggested creating a culture of learning to engage people on an ongoing basis. Encourage employees to take courses, learn new skills, ask questions, and be curious. If you create a culture of learning, you set everyone up for success.Offer trustIts simple to engage people, says Jim Harter, chief scientist for Gallups workplace management and well-being practices. Giving people greater autonomy and control over their workday has profoundly positive effects. It leads people to feel trusted and influences them to do much more for the organization.ListenUltimately, Ron Johnson, managing director and cofounder of Blueprint Creative, maintains that you dont need a survey to gauge employee engagement. Sometimes, all you need to do is listen, Johnson wrote. If there is one word in the English language that will clue you in on whetheryour employees are engaged, that word would probably be we. Why? Because engaged employees dont say they. Engaged employees say we.

There is just one week left to complete your Dezeen Awards China entry! Register your details and submit your entry by Friday 23 August at 23:59 Beijing time for the chance to be crowned a Dezeen Awards China winner.Now in its second year, Dezeen Awards China in partnership with Bentleycelebrates the most outstanding work from emerging and established Chinese architects and designers.Next Friday 23 August at 23:59 Beijing time is your final chance to enter and be in with a chance to win. You can find out more here.Start your entry today!Creating an entry is easy simply register your details here to receive an email with your entry form as well as payment information, gather your project images and succinctly answer the questions in the entry form:1. Short project description: Provide a brief summary of your project. This will be published on the site if you are shortlisted or win.2. Key project details: What was the client brief? Were there any planning constraints? What materials and methods of construction were used?3. How does the project showcase innovation? Does the project incorporate original thinking or address a problem in a new way? Describe the challenge your design seeks to address and how.4. How is the project beneficial? How is your project useful and considerate to both people and the planet? How does the building contribute to society and meet inclusive design principles? What strategies are in place to maximise, reuse and minimise waste?Read our entry information Enter by 23:59 Beijing timeThere are nineteen categories to choose from, whether you are an architect, designer, or curator with a world-class project or product there is a category for you!We've introduced three new categories this year: landscape and urban design in architecture, craft and collectable design in interiors and exhibition design (interior) in design.We also have six Designers of the Year awards, but these are nomination-only and cannot be entered into.Click here to see all our categories Entry feesThe entry fees are 1,000 RMB per category entry for small studios and 2,000 RMB per category entry for large studios.Make sure to pay the entry fee and submit the entry form by Friday 23 August at 23:59 Beijing time to avoid late entry fees. Create your account and submit your entry now.Visit our prices and dates page Need help with your entry?If you have any questions about Dezeen Awards China, please email awardschina@dezeen.com or send a message to our WeChat account DezeenCN and someone from the team will get back to you.Remember to also subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest Dezeen Awards China news.Dezeen Awards China 2024 in partnership with BentleyDezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards which celebrates the best architecture, interiors and design in China. The annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley's architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world.The post One week left to enter Dezeen Awards China 2024 appeared first on Dezeen.

Designed by Frances Baluchon, the Nano Suisse is really one of the tiniest tiny homes weve ever seen. It may be super small, but it is still functional and practical enough to live in. It measures 3.5 m in length, and features a clever space-saving layout that can accommodate two people, and also house a home office. Typical Baluchon homes are twice the size of Nano Suisse, so it is quite small, although it is described as the big sister to Baluchons Nano home. However, the size difference isnt much at all, since the Nano Suisse features an increased length of 7.8 inches. However, Suisses interior is pretty different and has plenty of storage options.Designer: BaluchonFounded on a double-axle trailer, the Nano Suisse features red cedar cladding amped with aluminum accenting. As you enter the home, you are welcomed by a home office area, which also serves as a dining area. It contains seating for two people, a big porthole-style window, and plenty of storage. The storage is pretty commendable when you consider the size of the tiny house. The space also includes a sofa bed, which can be used in the main living space and bedroom. This section includes more storage as well.Although, you must take into consideration that the kitchen is quite small. It is basic equipped with a fridge, sink and some storage. It also contains a portable stove, but besides that, it doesnt have any other amenities. This could be considered bare for some people, so the home is only suitable for short stays, or for people who are okay with a very simple life.The bathroom is the only separate room in the tiny home, and you can access it via a sliding door from the kitchen. The bathroom is integrated with a shower and toilet, but there isnt any sink, since there isnt much space, to be honest. A small storage loft has been placed above the bathroom. Currently, the Nano Suisse has been delivered to the owners land in Switzerland. We are unsure of the homes pricing, but Baluchons tiny homes usually start at around US$92,000.The post This Is The Tiniest Tiny Home Weve Seen With A Clever Space-Saving Layout & Loads Of Storage first appeared on Yanko Design.