Blizzard is continuing to peel back the curtain on World of Warcraft's in-the-works player-housing system, this time revealing new details about how players will be able to decorate the interior of their homes on Azeroth.In a blog post, Blizzard outlined what will be possible when it comes to decorating. Inside their home, players will be able to freely erect walls and create rooms, and further customize each room's wallpaper, ceiling, and flooring. Blizzard said players can customize the inside of their homes however they want by mixing and matching decor, flooring, and aesthetics. New objects made just for the player-housing feature will come with a large variety of color choices, allowing players to dye objects as they see fit.An example of a home interior made using WoW's housing system.Blizzard additionally clarified that just because a player's house may look like a shack on the outside, it could be a mansion on the inside with few restrictions in terms of the size or number of rooms. The opposite also applies, as what appears to be a mansion on the outside could be a single room home on the inside. It's all up to player preference.Continue Reading at GameSpot

The long-rumored remake of Bethesda's 2006 RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion could be announced soon and potentially release before June. That's according to NateTheHate, who has a solid track record of reporting on unannounced games and platforms.Asked to say when more information about the rumored Oblivion remake might arrive, NateTheHate said (via The Gamer) that fans can expect details either this month or in April. As for when the game could be released, NateTheHate said it could be "likely sooner than the original June target." However, NateTheHate said the situation is fluid and there is no concrete information to go on at this stage.Some thought Microsoft and Bethesda would reveal an Oblivion remake during the Xbox Developer Direct in January, but that did not happen.Continue Reading at GameSpot

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How to confidently find yourself in the new researchmethod.I was talking to a former colleague about AI moderation for research sessionswhere an AI moderator conducts qualitative research with a human respondent.Her reaction was equal parts disgusted and demoralized: Uggggggh, crap.I recognize that reactionits the unsettling feeling of AI threatening to take away something you do, something youlove.For qualitative researchers, this hits especially hard. We believe in our work, and we take pride in it. If you look inside any qualitative researcher, youll find a trophy cabinet of moments when they cracked the mysterious human code and uncovered an insight no one elsesaw.AI moderation seems to devalue or jeopardize all of that. But Id like to offer a different perspective.Finding craft in the newmethodI started experimenting with AI moderation about a year agoat first, to prove it wrong. But eventually, I found myself building my own AI moderator, DeepNeed, to prove itright.Ive trained many practitioners over the years. I even taught qualitative methods at MIT for two semesters. My thinking was: how would we feel about this technology if it respected our rules for thedance?And in doing so, something in me shifted. I moved from a place of self-protection and defensiveness to one of gratitudefor what this method affordsus.Why? Because Ive seen it open doors: more opportunities for qual, more credibility, and more strategic impact.Perhaps more importantly, I found that it still felt like our work. The craft was still there. And I still liked my part init.The methodological barriersThe first step in opening our minds is to address the three most common critiques of AI moderation:AI moderators cant probe to uncover the deepwhy.AI moderators miss emotional subtext and environmental context.AI moderators cant buildrapport.Critique 1: AI moderators cant probe to uncover the deepwhyTheres something almost magical about a seasoned interviewer, fluidly probing to uncover deeper motivations. When I was first learning, I remember watching veteran interviewers and thinking they had superpowers.The general consensus is that AI cant do thiswell.As a recent Ipsos report putit:An AI moderator bot often behaves like a novice moderator that is constantly looking down at the discussion guide and, as a result, takes its eyes off the prize. It misses out on fertile opportunities toprobe.Of all the critiques, this is the one I disagree withmost.If an AI moderator fails to probe effectively, its a design flawnot a fundamental limitation of the technology. Like a human, AI has to be trained to move beyond the discussion guide and recognize rich moments worth exploring.At DeepNeed, we use an agentic workflow, where a coding agent and an interview agent work together to determine where to probe. Heres an example from a recent interview:Artificial ProbingIt wont win a Pulitzer. But does it uncover the deeper why?Yes.And more often than not, I find myself thinking: Thats exactly what I would haveasked.Critique 2: AI moderators miss emotional subtext and environmental contextThe second critique is that AI moderators lack the ability to interpret body language and use subtle cues to probedeeper.As Ipsosstates:Seasoned moderators read between the linesnoticing hesitations, excitement, or discomfort and following up on those signals. Without those cues, theres a risk the research team misses subtext.I agree that AI can miss these latent signalsbut I dont see it as a dealbreaker.When n = 10, picking up on these cues is critical to maintaining data integrity. But when n = 400, individual moments of hesitation or nuance tend to average out, revealing broader patterns atscale.On top of that, many AI moderation platforms, such as Listen Labs, already incorporate video functionality, allowing human researchers to analyze subtext. Technologies like Affectivas Emotion AI claim to detect complex emotional states, further bridging thegap.The more significant limitation, in my view, is the lack of environmental context. Research interviews are often a blend of conversation and observationsomething AI still struggles to replicate.That said, the pandemic proved that in-person research isnt always necessary to capture context. Platforms like Dscout and WatchMeThink have pioneered virtual observation, allowing researchers to gather rich, real-world data remotely.And this is just the beginning. AI companies are actively developing vision functionalityEthan Mollicks demo of OpenAIs Live Mode suggests that LLMs will grow their ability to analyze real-time video, giving AI moderators the ability to interpret context visually.If youre looking for a foolproof reason why AI moderation will never work, I wouldnt bet on thisone.Critique 3: AI moderators cant buildrapportThe final argument is that AI cant create the trust needed for respondents to fully openup.As researchers, we take pride in our ability to mirror emotions, validate experiences, and create a safe space for honest reflection.I dont disagree. In fact, at DeepNeed, weve worked hard to design ways for AI to validate responses throughout an interview.But I also question thepremise.We may be underestimating how intimidating or invasive human-led interviews can feelespecially when compensation is involved.Early research suggests that respondents often prefer AI moderators precisely because they perceive AI as non-judgmental.A London School of Economics study on French voters foundthat:50% preferred an AI interviewerOnly 15% preferred a human interviewer35% were indifferentAccording to the study, participants feltthat:The AI is a non-judgmental entity they could freely share their thoughts without fear of beingjudged.This aligns with established psychology research showing that people disclose more honest and sensitive information to computer-based agents when they believe no human is observing them.The very thing we assume is AIs weaknessits lack of human warmthmay actually be a strength when it comes to encouraging candid responses.The valuebarrierI dont think the biggest barriers to AI moderation stem from these methodological critiques. The real issue is that we dont yet fully grasp its valueand how could we? The technology is still in itsinfancy.As practitioners, we often treat traditional qualitative research like a Michelin-star dining experiencedeep, intentional, and crafted with care. Table 3? You should have seen how their faces lit up at the ceviche!At the other end of the spectrum, quantitative research is like Chipotlequick, efficient, and mass-produced. It serves a purpose, but no ones walking away talking about how life-changing their burritowas.Quant vs.QualI believe the real value of AI moderation lies somewhere in betweenperhaps like a local caf ordeli.Like a local caf, AI moderation serves a unique purpose and has a reason to exist. Its not just about fast, fast, fast!its about leveraging scale and speed to create a distinct method in its own right, not just a poor imitation of traditional approaches.Speed provides strategic bandwidthQualitative research is incredibly resource-intensive. Its easy to get so caught up in coding, debriefing, and insight formation that we lose sight of the core question were meant toanswer.Metaphorically, our stakeholders are asking for a fully cooked meal, but we deliver an organized report of perfectly choppedcarrots.On a recent project, we had just three weeks to deliver results before a board presentationan impossibly tight turnaround for a traditional study. But with AI, we collected the data in two days, giving us ample time to think, refine, anditerate.We ended up reworking the core framework/story three times before delivering it, ensuring a much betteroutcome.Speed provides more opportunities forresearchThis one is perhaps the most obvious: when research becomes faster (and more affordable), it becomes more accessible.Instead of being seen as a slow, resource-intensive process, stakeholders start to view qualitative research as a nimble tool they can deploy more frequently and more strategically.We can try to force stakeholders to dine at our Michelin-star restaurantbut we need to realize theyre increasingly choosing to skip the restaurant altogether.Aaron Cannon, co-founder of Outset.ai, makes this point by drawing a parallel to the cost of data storage. As the price of computer memory and storage plummeted over the last 50 years, it didnt just make existing computing cheaperit enabled entirely new innovations, like smartphones.Outset AISimilarly, as the cost and time investment of qualitative research decreases, it doesnt just make research easierit expands whats possible.Scale provides a fullerpictureTheres a common perception that AI moderation produces worse databut thats not necessarily true.Scale doesnt just accelerate research; it uncovers insights and opportunities we might have missed in a smaller sample or overlooked because they didnt immediately resonate withus.For instance, in a recent study, we conducted 400 interviews with patients. We captured 300 hours of audio, and we identified 3,580 deep customer needs. We clustered those needs into 29 aggregate categories, organized by frequency.A single AI-moderated interview might not feel as nuanced. But across hundreds of interviews, the sheer scale builds a richer, more completepicture.Scale provides credibility.I dont know about you, but Im tired of fighting the sample sizewar.Every company seems to have key stakeholders who dont trust or believe in qualitative work. But something shifts when we can back up deep insights with quantitative-level scale.Theres a big difference between presenting an insight that emerged from four conversations versus165.The sheer volume doesnt just strengthen credibilityit also allows us to capture the nuances within broader patterns, giving us a richer, more defensible story.The Last Barrier: OurselvesThe final challenge isnt technologicalits personal.This work is deeply meaningful to us. We dedicate our creative talents to understanding others, people entirely different from ourselves.Research isnt just a job; it shapes our identities. We dedicate our creative talents to understanding otherspeople entirely different from usand their stories stay withus.Something clicked when I did my first AI-moderated study. I found myself: Excitedly digging into what people said, hunting for golden nugget Noticing interesting word choices that summed up key insights Building a story I knew would help debunk the teams biggestmythsAnd I realized: this is still the work Ilove.AI moderation isnt just a tool; its a new method. And like any method, it still needs human expertise at thehelm.The key is to design our place within these new models, with confidence. So I encourage you: try it. Experience the value firsthand. And confidently find yourself in the newmethod.ReferencesIpsos. (2024). AI Moderation in Qualitative Research: Opportunities and Limitations. [Referenced for critique of AI moderation capabilities]Ratcliff, M. (2023). The State of AI in Qualitative Research. Murmur Research. [Referenced regarding AI qualitative research being open-ended quant]London School of Economics. (2023). AI vs. Human Interviewers: Respondent Preferences in Political Research. [Study finding 50% of respondents preferred AI interviews]Mollick, E. (2024). Demonstration of OpenAIs Live Mode. [Referenced regarding multimodal vision capabilities]Opening our minds to AI-moderated research was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Finding authenticity indesignWhen I wrote The Design Game Has Changed, and I Dont Know Where I Fit Anymore, I wasnt trying to make a statementI was just beinghonest.I was (and still am) standing at a crossroads, looking back on two decades in design, only to realize that the industry around me was shifting faster than I couldor even wanted tokeep up. It wasnt just about the craft anymore. It wasnt just about passion or process. It felt more like a gameone that rewarded branding, followers, and self-promotion over realimpact.I didnt expect what happenednext.The response was overwhelming. My inbox was flooded with messages from designers, creators, leaders, and even executives who felt the exact same way. Its like you wrote this for me, many said. People I had never met before reached out, sharing their own stories of disconnection, burnout, and frustration with an industry that once felt likehome.Some of the best discussions Ive had in my career came after publishing that last post. Designers at every levelfrom juniors to seasoned leadersopened up about their struggles, their disillusionment, their search for meaning indesign.It made me realize: were all feeling this shift, and were all figuring it out together.Matt Fangman who reached out via LinkedIn after reading my article so elegantly putit:At some point we have to figure out how/where to compartmentalize our needs, desires and goals. And understand what is truly in our control and what isnt. Designers are an interesting bunch because the vast majority (myself included) choose to rely on an external impetus to be the spark for our creative and intellectual activity. And with this comes financial considerations. That will always put us at risk from things outside of our control affecting our mental and physical wellbeing.Personal design conceptTheillusionThe illusion of one-size-fits-all successTheres been a huge push toward escaping the 9-to-5, building a personal brand, and monetizing creativity. And dont get me wrongthats an amazing path forsome.I felt the urge too. The FOMO to jump in, start creating content, and turn my expertise into something profitable. I tried. I reallydid.I shared design tips. I talked about how to grow in the industry and become a better designer. I followed the playbook of online creators. But something feltoff.Maybe my content wasnt what the algorithm wanted. Maybe it wasnt optimized for engagement. Maybe it wasnt even good. But the bigger realization wasthis:Was I actually helping others level upor just feeding the contentmachine?The pressure to constantly produce, to package insights into bite-sized posts, to chase visibilityit started feeling more like a grind than trueimpact.And thats when it hitme.Personal design conceptThe authentic designerThe turningpointFor a while, I kept telling myself that maybe I just needed to try harderpost more, engage more, and force myself into thegame.But then one day, I caught myself refreshing a posts engagement stats like it actually mattered. And I realized: this isnt what I set out todo.I didnt become a designer to chase vanity metrics. I became a designer because I love solving problems, building systems, and helping peoplegrow.That moment shifted everything forme.Dan Koe says passion isnt something you findits something you develop. You dont wait for it. You commit to something, you show up for it, and through mastery and momentum, it becomes yourpassion.So, after failinguh, I mean learningabout content creation on LinkedIn and X, and after reading Dan Koes book, I had a real moment of reflection.I realized something important:I dont want to create content about grids or fancy button animationseven though I know they get soooo much tractiononline.So whatnow?Honestly, I dont know. But what I do know isthis:I lovewriting.Personal design conceptthe evolvingdesignerFulfillment isnt found on every path and why thatsokay!But lets be honest: its not the only path to fulfillment.Some of the most meaningful and impactful design work happens inside organizationsnot just as a solo creator, but alongside smart, driven people who challenge you to grow in ways you never couldalone.You dont fail at life because you choose to work at anagency.Youre not less ambitious because you decided not to go all in on freelancing.You dont lack vision because youre not trying to be a design influencer.Theres more to life thanwork.What matters most is whether your work aligns with your values, your strengths, and what actually makes you feelalive.Personal design conceptsuperpowerYour personal brand is your superpowerinside andoutHeres the thing: Your personal brand isnt just about how you show uponline.Its about how you show up in yourwork.Your value as a professional isnt about how many followers you haveits about how much value you create. And the more value you create, the more opportunities come yourway.After two decades in the design fielddesigning, building, leading, and scalingIve learned that your reputation, your influence, and your impact go far beyond job titles and portfolios.So, how do you build a personal brand that actuallymatters?Be known for solving real problems. Titles will change, but your impactwont.Communicate with clarity and conviction. If you cant articulate your thinking, your influence will always belimited.Be valuable before youre visible. Stop chasing visibilitybe so valuable that people cant ignoreyou.Master internal influence. Your personal brand isnt just externalits about how you operate within ateam.Teach, mentor, and give back. The fastest way to build credibility? Help othersgrow.Design at scale. Early on, craft is your leverage. Later, your ability to scale design is what defines yourimpact.Your personal brand is your legacywhether you work for yourself or within acompany.You might forget this story at some point, but remember these 3 principles if you strive to build your personal brand to achieve yourgoals:Craft: Define and refine your personal brand so it aligns with your growth, values, and aspirations.Share: Regularly express your insights and experiences in ways that connect with others. Whether through blogging, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or another platform, choose the format that feels most natural toyou.Nourish: Continuously develop and adapt your personal brand by engaging with others, gaining real-world experience, and allowing it to evolve overtime.Personal design conceptsuperpowerA pledge tomyselfIm here to lead with the heart and create with authenticity.I no longer want to chase validation.Everything in life is energy. The intentions we set, the work we put out, the way we show upit all carries a frequency. And when we align with our truth, when we pour the right energy into what we do, that same energy finds its way back tous.I dont want to post for the sake of visibility.I dont want to showcase every pixel I push on X just to play the algorithm game.Yes, I know thats how many people get opportunities. But I also know Id rather break the rules and create my ownpath.The odder, the better.BillBenslyBill Bensley, a renowned architect, has built a successful career by following his passion for design. Since moving to Singapore in 1984, hes designed over 200 hotels across 30 countries, drawing inspiration from his travels throughout Asia. His approach blends natural landscapes with architecture, creating innovative and immersive spaces. Bensleys willingness to challenge traditional design norms and embrace unconventional creativity shows how authenticity can drive unique, visionary design. His work encourages designers to break free from the ordinary and express their true creativeselves.Lets build something realIm exploring what it means to design, write, and create from a place of real authenticity. Not chasing trends, not forcing strategies that dont feel rightjust doing work that actuallymatters.And from the messages Ive received, I know Im not alone inthis.So lets figure it out together.If this resonates with you, Id love to hear where you stand. The journey ahead may not always be the easiest or most visiblebut I believe its the one most worthtaking.Lets talk.Home - Dan KoeStanding at the crossroads of authenticity and career advancementPersonal branding for UX beginnersHow My Personal Branding Helped Me Stand Out and Achieve My Goal FasterNot Every Path Leads Somewhere and Thats OkayBill Bensley designed Thailand's real-life 'White Lotus' hotel and doubts he could have pulled it off in the USFinding authenticity in design and career was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Each year, Samsung takes what Google has made with the annual Android updatethe Android Open Source Project (or AOSP) to be preciseand builds a fresh version of One UI, its bespoke mobile operating system complete with all the extra Samsung bells and whistles. This year, we're getting One UI 7, which is based on Android 15.One UI 7 comes preinstalled on the new Galaxy S25 phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the rest of us are still waiting for it to roll out at the time of writing. Here's everything new that's coming with the software update, and when you can expect it to make its way to your Galaxy handset.Best new features in One UI 7Perhaps the most significant new features in One UI 7 are the Now Bar and Now Brief. The Now Bar is Samsung's answer to Live Activities on iOS: It shows pertinent information, including sports scores, map directions, workout stats, media playback controls, and stopwatch timers right on the lockscreen.Then there's Now Brief, which gives you regularly updated summaries of information you need front and center as the day progresses. You might get alerts about upcoming meetings, for example, or the weather forecast for the rest of the day, or a summary of your stats from Samsung Health. The Now Bar is new in One UI 7. Credit: Lifehacker As you would expect, there's plenty of AI: The writing assist tools have been upgraded to make it more straightforward to rewrite, summarize, and compose text across any app, and using any Android keyboard. There are also AI-powered call transcriptions so you can get your spoken conversations on the phone written out for you as you talk, and enhanced AI search with natural queries in the Samsung Gallery app.A more minor change comes with tweaks to the adaptive charging options. With One UI 7, you can set a limit for charging, beyond the standard 80% and 100% options. if you want charging to stop at 85% or 90% instead, that's now possible if you dive into the battery settings.Sticking with device maintenance, One UI 7 follows Android 15 in making app archiving a system-level feature (previously it was inside the Play Store app). This means if you've got apps you don't use often, you can clear out most of the associated data to free up space, without doing a full reinstallthat saves you time if you need to get back to the app again (in terms of logging in and configuring it). One UI 7 will also recommend apps it thinks you should be archiving. There's more control over adaptive charging. Credit: Lifehacker One UI 7 also brings with it a pretty comprehensive visual overhaul. It looks cleaner and more modern than One UI 6, with icons, widgets, and menus that are a little more colorful and easier on the eye. The Quick Settings and notification panels have also been split up, so you need to swipe down from different sides of the screen to see themthough there is a setting to go back to the old combined panel if you prefer it.Finally, Samsung has also given the default Camera app a bit of a refresh, with a more intuitive approach to the interface that makes it easier to get to the pro-level photography tools (while also keeping them well hidden away if you never need them). Like the other visual changes, it makes the software feel fresher and easier to navigate.When is One UI 7 being released?Samsung has recently confirmed that One UI 7 will be rolling out to at least some older phones sometime in April, though it hasn't provided a full list of which devices will get it (perhaps because it's not sure). The Samsung Galaxy S24 range will certainly get the update, as the software has been available in beta for those phones since December.Since the launch of the beta program, it's been extended to cover the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6, with support for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy A55, and Galaxy Tab S10 tablet series coming soon. However, as these devices are all joining the beta at different times, it's not clear whether or not they'll get the finished One UI 7 by April. The update could go back as far as the Galaxy S21. Credit: Samsung Broadly speaking, Samsung tends to offer four years of Android upgrades to its flagship and mid-range devices, so handsets as far back as the Samsung Galaxy S21 (from 2021) may well be eligiblebut that's just an estimated guess, not an official confirmation, and it's difficult to say how long it may take for the software to fully roll out.There also remains some confusion over which handsets will get which One UI 7 featuresagain, it's not something Samsung has been very specific about. There has been speculation that features such as Now Brief may remain as Galaxy S25 exclusives, most likely to push sales of the newer devices.

Niantic Labs just announced that it has found a buyer for its game division after putting out feelers back in February. The Saudi Arabia-owned company Scopely has agreed to purchase the division for $3.5 billion. Scopely was founded in Los Angeles but was purchased using money from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, otherwise called the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).The agreement includes most of Niantics portfolio of AR games, including Pokmon Go, Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom, among several others. It also includes the companys social companion apps for Pokmon Go, Campfire and Wayfarer. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions.Scopely says it will receive Niantics entire team of exceptional gamemakers and category-leading games. There are a couple of titles, however, missing from this purchase. Niantic Labs will retain the AR gaming titles Peridot and Ingress.Scopely is a major player in the mobile games industry. Its the company behind games like Star Trek Fleet Command, Marvel Strike Force and Monopoly Go!, to name a few.As for Niantics games division, its a shadow of its former self. Pokmon Go engaged more than 500 million players in its first year, but the games staying power has waned in recent times. At its peak, the mobile monster battler attracted over 230 million players each month. Nowadays, that number has shrunk to around 80 million.The company has also struggled to replicate the Pikachu-shaped lightning in a bottle with other titles. It tried to reskin the Pokmon Go formula onto other franchises like Harry Potter and NBA basketball, but nothing stuck. The Monster Hunter and Pikmin projects, however, are still active.This led Niantic to cancel multiple games and lay off hundreds of employees. Niantics valuation has taken several hits and the companys long-promised real-world metaverse has yet to materialize. If the sale goes through, the company will focus on building out its standalone entity Niantic Spatial. This group builds real-world 3D maps and is led by company CEO John Hanke.The Saudi PIF has become a major player in the games industry in recent years. It not only owns Scopely and its parent company Savvy Games Group, but has financial stakes in organizations like Nintendo, EA and Activision Blizzard.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/pokemon-go-maker-niantic-sells-its-game-division-to-saudi-owned-scopely-160905447.html?src=rss