In a world where connections seem to fade and loneliness wraps around me like a heavy blanket, I find myself reflecting on how Apple reinvents reality with ARKit 4 and the Vision Pro. The promise of augmented realities feels distant, like a dream I can never grasp. Each innovation seems to highlight my solitude, reminding me that while technology advances, my heart remains untouched by companionship. I watch as others embrace these new experiences, while I linger in the shadows, yearning for a touch, a voice, a presence. The brilliance of new beginnings feels hollow when faced with the weight of isolation. #loneliness #augmentedreality #Apple #VisionPro #heartbreak

Doom: The Dark Ages just launched on May 15. But it's already received "difficulty" balance changes "that have made the demons of Hell even more dangerous than ever," writes Windows Central: According to DOOM's official website Slayer's Club, these balance adjustments are focused on making the game harder, as players have been leaving feedback saying it felt too easy even on Nightmare Mode. As a result, enemies now hit harder, health and armor item pick-ups drop less often, and certain enemies punish you more severely for mistiming the parry mechanic. It reached three million players in just five days, which was seven times faster than 2020's Doom: Eternal," reports Wccftech, more than two million of those three million launch players were playing on Xbox, while only 500K were playing on PS5.") "id Software proves it can still reinvent the wheel," according to one reviewer, "shaking up numerous aspects of gameplay, exchanging elaborate platforming for brutal on-the-ground action, as well as the ability to soar on a dragon's back or stomp around in a giant mech." And the New York Times says the game "effectively reinvents the hellish shooter with a revamped movement system and deepened lore" in the medieval goth-themed game... Double jumping and dashing are ditched and replaced with an emphasis on raw power and slow, strategic melee combat. Doom Slayer's arsenal features a brand-new tool, the powerful Shield Saw, which Id Software made a point to showcase across its "Stand and Fight" trailers and advertisements. Used for absorbing damage at the expense of speed, the saw also allows players to bash enemies from afar and close the gap on chasms too wide to jump across. While previous titles allowed players to quickly worm their way through bullet hell, The Dark Ages expects you to meet foes head on. "If you were an F-22 fighter jet in Doom Eternal, this time around we wanted you to feel like an Abrams tank," Hugo Martin, the game's creative director, has told journalists. And Doom Slayer's beefy durability and unstoppable nature does make the gameplay a refreshing experience. The badassery is somehow ratcheted to new heights with the inclusion of a fully controllable mech, which has only a handful of attacks at its disposal, and actual dragons. Flight in a Doom game is entirely surprising and fluid, and the dragons feel relatively easy to maneuver through tight spots. They can also engage in combat more deliberately with the use of dodges and mounted cannons... One of my favorite additions is the skullcrusher pulverizer. Equal parts heinous nutcracker and demonic woodchipper, the gun lodges skulls into a grinder and sends shards of bones flying at enemies. The animation is both goofy and satisfying. Another special Times article notes that Doom's fans "resurrect the original game over and over again on progressively stranger pieces of hardware: a Mazda Miata, a NordicTrack treadmill, a French pharmacy sign." But what many hard-core tech hobbyists want to know is whether you can play it on a pregnancy test. The answer: positively yes. And for the first time, even New York Times readers can play Doom within The Times's site... None of this happened by accident, of course. Ports were not incidental to Doom's development. They were a core consideration. "Doom was developed in a really unique way that lent a high degree of portability to its code base," said John Romero, who programmed the game with John Carmack.Id had developed Wolfenstein 3D, the Nazi-killing predecessor to Doom, on PCs. To build Doom, Carmack and Romero used NeXT, the hardware and software company founded by Steve Jobs after his ouster from Apple in 1985. NeXT computers were powerful, selling for about apiece in today's dollars. And any game designed on that system would require porting to the more humdrum PCs encountered by consumers at computer labs or office jobs. This turned out to be advantageous because Carmack had a special aptitude for ports. All of Id's founders met as colleagues at Softdisk, which had hired Carmack because of his ability to spin off multiple versions of a single game. The group decided to strike out on its own after Carmack created a near-perfect replica of the first level of Super Mario Bros. 3 — Nintendo's best-selling platformer — on a PC. It was a wonder of software engineering that compensated for limited processing power with clever workarounds. "This is the thing that everyone has," Romero said of PCs. "The fact that we could figure out how to make it become a game console was world changing...." Romero founded a series of game studios after leaving Id in 1996 and is working on a new first-person shooter, the genre he and Carmack practically invented. He has no illusions about how it may stack up. "I absolutely accept that Doom is the best game I'll ever make that has that kind of a reach," he said. "At some point you make the best thing." Thirty years on, people are still making it. And in related news, PC Gamer reports... As part of a new "FPS Fridays" series on Twitch, legendary shooter designer John Romero streamed New Blood's 2018 hit, Dusk, one of the first and most influential indie "boomer shooters" in the genre's recent revitalization. The short of it? Romero seems to have had a blast. of this story at Slashdot. #new #039doom #dark #ages039 #already

Aligning design leadership with business goals is the motion we needed from the startThe Mysterious Life Of UX Designers is a good example how others don’t really understand the value of what we do because we don’t connect to business goals. We should have been connecting to business needs from the start.For way too long we’ve been running user experience teams like they’re some kind of magical creative unicorns that should somehow be immune to business realities.That’s complete nonsense.Our teams need to deliver value, not just pretty pictures or endless research projects with a lot of hand waving. We should be thinking about our teams like a CEO thinks about their business — with clear goals, measurements, and accountability for results.I’ve seen organizations where design was treated as a cost center rather than a strategic advantage, and this happens because we haven’t been willing to demonstrate our value in terms executives actually care about — outcomes and the bottom line.The best UX leaders run their teams like strategic businesses within the larger organization, with a focus on delivering measurable outcomes.A lot of the concepts below are not new — hence the links to resources — we have just chosen to ignore them. We need to leverage what’s proven to work so we can forward as a construct.It’s time we grew up and started treating user experience like the business function it truly is — Here’s how we can get there.Map to Business OutcomesNothing matters more than tying UX work to business outcomes. If you can’t explain how your design improves conversion, reduces support costs, or drives retention, you’re just drawing pretty pictures.Too many user experience teams waste time on work that doesn’t move important metrics. They design in a vacuum, divorced from what actually matters to the business. This is career suicide in today’s environment where every team needs to justify their existence.When approaching any project, your first question should be: “What business outcome will this improve?” If you don’t have a clear answer, stop everything until you do.The best design leaders start every presentation with a problem in business terms first, then explain how to addresses it. This approach changes how executives perceive your value.Remember that executives don’t care about your amazing journey map — they care about results.Leverage Research to Manage RiskResearch isn’t just about making users happy, it’s about managing business risk. Every design decision represents potential risk, and good research helps mitigate that risk before you commit significant resources to a direction.When you frame research as risk management, executives suddenly get a lot more interested. Nobody wants to launch a product that fails spectacularly in the market.On a panel, I was asked how do I innovate, and I said something along the lines of I don’t believe in innovation, I believe in managing risk. It’s about making the right small bets until you need to make a big bet that’s informed.Evaluative research shows us where the landmines are before we step on them. It’s like having insurance for your product development process.I’ve worked with companies that saved millions by catching major usability and strategic direction issues before launch through simple testing. That’s not a design win — that’s a business win that came through smart risk management.A lot of this is how you frame your research within business terms — don’t say “users didn’t like it.” Say “we identified a risk that could potentially impact our projected revenue by 15% if we launch as planned.”Agile processes are time-boxed way of measuring value and having mileposts along the way. The word “Sprint” creates a sense of urgency, by design.Time Box Projects To Demonstrate ValueI’m a huge believer in time boxing design work, putting names and dates to drive ownership. Nothing focuses the mind quite like a declared deadline and limited resources.This isn’t about rushing — it’s about being realistic about the diminishing economic returns that come with endless refinement.Time is money. By establishing measurement points, we show stakeholders they are getting value for what they are paying for.Parkinson’s Law, which was published in a 1955 issue of The Economist, states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion,” and I’ve seen this play out countless times in design projects. Give a resource three weeks, and they’ll deliver in three weeks. Give them three months, and they’ll take three months and the solution might not be substantially better.Good user experience leaders understand when to call a design “good enough” and move on, especially in today’s environment. I’ve found that setting aggressive but achievable time boxes forces teams to focus on solving the core problems rather than endless refinement of edge cases.The real reason there was a drive towards agile processes was this — it’s one big time box exercise. It’s a way of driving measurable value.The real world moves fast, and a pretty good solution shipped today usually beats a perfect solution shipped six months from now. The word “Sprint” creates a sense of urgency, by design.As much as we don’t like to admit this, we aren’t inventing fire. We should design into what we have until there’s a clear decision to do something radically different for business reasons.Design into Your Existing Application, Not Around ItOne of the most expensive mistakes I see UX teams make is constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Every new feature becomes an excuse to redesign everything from scratch, creating massive development costs and confusing users who have to relearn your interface.Jakob’s Law reminds us that users spend most of their time using other products, so they prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know, including your own.When you design within and in addition to existing patterns, you’re leveraging the learning users already have, reducing cognitive load and development costs simultaneously.I worked with a team that kept pushing for radical redesigns of their enterprise application that would have cost a lot of money, but what actually moved their metrics was incremental improvements that maintained consistency with what users already understood.Redesigns are expensive and unless they are proven to be dramatically better, they hurt engagement which is money poured down the drain. One of the best examples is Microsoft’s Metro Design Langugage — transformative but too different for users to accept.The best UX teams I know understand the difference between innovation that matters and innovation for its own sake. your revolutionary thinking for where it truly adds value.Atomic design is a mental model that creates a shared language designers can align on. That saves money and time in any environment.Create Design Systems as a Shared LanguageDesign systems aren’t just about making things look consistent — they’re about creating massive business efficiency and a shared language that aligns organizations.When every designer reinvents buttons, forms, and navigation patterns from scratch and gives them names that are non-sensical, you’re burning money that could be spent solving actual user problems.As Nathan Curtis wisely put it, “A design system isn’t a project. It’s a product serving products.”When you treat your design system as a product, you’re investing in something that pays dividends across your entire portfolio. It’s the difference between buying assets and renting them over and over again. The organizations that get the most value from their UX teams are those that establish and maintain robust design systems.These systems dramatically reduce design and development time, create consistency for users, and allow teams to focus on solving unique problems rather than redesigning form fields for the hundredth time.The business case is clear — design systems aren’t a luxury, they’re a competitive necessity that scales teams.The problem with the double diamond isn’t the labels, but the size of the diamonds themselves — sometimes the problem is clearly evident, and the solution just has to be worked through.Process with Intent, Not for Process’ SakeA lot of UX processes are just religious dogma that people follow without understanding why. I don’t want a process; I want results.That’s why I call them frameworks, not processes — frameworks can be adapted based on the specific challenge you’re facing. Processes sound like you have to follow every step.For example, the concerns I have with the double diamond or design thinking isn’t the labels, but the size of the steps themselves — sometimes the problem is clearly evident, and the solution just has to be worked through. Your approach should be tailored to the problem you are facing.All design approaches are non-linear and we should act accordingly.I’ve seen teams waste weeks on journey maps that never influenced a single design decision. I’ve watched designers conduct extensive user research when the key insights were obvious after the third interview. Blindly following processes without understanding their purpose is just busy work masquerading as UX.Sometimes you need to skip steps. Sometimes you need to adapt the framework to fit your constraints. The best UX leaders know when to follow the book and when to throw it out the window. Your job isn’t to follow a perfect process — it’s to deliver business value in the most efficient way possible.If your process is getting in the way of outcomes, you have the wrong process.Use and Improve Existing Mental Models —Especially in the Time of AIAs we rush headlong into the AI revolution, we don’t need to reinvent how humans interact with technology.Conversational design leverages mental models people already have— they know how to ask questions and have discussions, and have done so for years with existing applications with Natural Language Processing as an example.These mental models are why chatbots and conversational interfaces feel intuitive despite being relatively new.The most successful AI implementations I’ve seen build on familiar interaction patterns rather than forcing users to learn entirely new ways of working. They understand that users already have well-established mental models about how to get things done and teaching new ones is challenging.Smart teams leverage existing models instead of creating cognitive friction because learning new ones cost money and time. That’s good design.This is about being pragmatic, not lazy. When you tap into existing mental models, you reduce the learning curve for your users, which means faster adoption and less resistance to change. You’re making your AI features feel like a natural extension of what users already know rather than an alien imposition.In any gold rush, the winners won’t be those with the most advanced algorithms, but those who make the technology feel most natural and accessible.Craft Costs Money; Use It WiselyLet’s get real about craft — every pixel you perfect costs the company money. Those extra hours spent on subtle animations, perfect typography, and delightful interactions represent real investment that needs to justify itself in business outcomes.This doesn’t mean we abandon craft, it means we need to be strategic about where we invest.The login screen users see once a month probably doesn’t deserve the same level of craft as the core workflow they use every day.I’ve worked with designers who fought for weeks to perfect details that users never noticed, while ignoring fundamental usability issues that were costing the company customers. The best designers I know have a keen sense of where craft translates to business value and where it’s just self-indulgence.Good UX leaders understand how to allocate their craft budget where it matters most to impact the bottom line. They pick their battles carefully and invest their craft where it delivers the most impact for users and for the business.Running UX Like a BusinessAt the end of the day, running your UX team like a business means taking accountability for results, not just activities. It means speaking the language of the organization and showing how design drives business outcomes. It means being strategic about where you invest your limited resources for maximum impact.The most successful UX leaders I’ve worked with don’t hide behind buzzwords or mystify their process — They’re clear about the value they deliver, ruthless about prioritization, and focused on metrics that matter to the business.They understand that UX isn’t a special snowflake that exists outside normal business considerations — it’s a critical business function that needs to demonstrate ROI.If you want your team to get the respect, budget, and influence it deserves, start running it like the CEO of a business, not like the head of an art department.The days of UX getting a pass on business accountability are over, and that’s actually a good thing for all of us.Running UX as a businesswas originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. #running #business #like #should #have

At Salone del Mobile in 2023, Armani Casa presented something new. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they re-created their classics. The brand introduced three different techniques that transformed their furniture into new works of art, both bold in color and material, and subtly naturalistic in aesthetic.In a statement, Mr. Armani said the collection's Venus console and Virgola bookcase shelves "feature a new type of hand-painted and lacquered glass." And at a Tuesday night event, partygoers saw the new techniques live and in-person at the brand’s Madison Avenue Flagship in New York. Indeed, Armani noted that the objects are "reminiscent of the uniqueness and beauty of high-end jewelry, made with a craftsmanship that is only possible in Italy." Treatment One: Orsini GlassLorenzo BaroncelliA demonstration of the Orsini Method.The Orsini Method involves artisans painting pieces of glass, creating a series of marbled bands. The brand noted, “This finish is obtained by hand painting the back of a tempered extra-clear glass with a special paint mixing different pastel tones, using a large soft brush.”The colors were inspired by the blue green walls in the Neoclassical Palazzo Orsini in Rome. Though the method is innovative, the painterly process and the use of temperas and pastels still make it feel completely classical.Items re-imagined from the Armani Casa collection with the Orsini Method include: Venus 2024 and Virgola 2024.Treatment Two: Shell Mosaic Lorenzo BaroncelliA demonstrationIn this mother-of-pearl mosaic, experts remove the outer layer of an oyster shell to find a the shiny whites, grays, and blues beneath. The Shell Mosaic, with this high end construction, reflects the ties between Armani's Casa collections and his clothing lines. Said Mr. Armani, “The strongest link between Armani/Casa and my fashion collections is the need to be functional and comfortable without sacrificing luxurious materials and a strong sense of style.” The Shell Mosaic is available in the following pieces from the Armani CASA Collection: Antoinette 2023, Camilla 2023, Sofia 2023, and Vega 2024.Treatment Three: Midollino Courtesy ArmaniThe Midollino Technique on the Riesling Bar Cabinet.Wicker will never go out of style, and Armani Casa’s iteration on the traditional form is reflective of the expertise and craftsmanship constant across the brand's fashion and furniture.The Midollino technique features a carefully woven, but thick and high quality grain. It happens to be the same method also used for a number of Armani handbags, capturing the relationship between the past and present reflective across the collection. Items from the Armani Casa Collection featuring the Midollino Technique Include: Melrose 2023, Riesling 2022, and Sharon 2023.Dorothy ScarboroughDorothy Scarboroughis the assistant to the Editor in Chief of Town & Country and Elle Decor.  #armani #casa #reinvents #classic #designs

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Since the very beginning, Fortnite has kept players engaged by releasing new features with each Chapter and Season, altering the battle royale experience. Epic Games continuously reinvents the game, from new weaponry and map updates to vehicles like the Quadcrasher in Chapter 1 Season 6 and creative systems like Creative Mode. Pet Back Blings dominated Chapter 1 in its early days. Introduced in Season 6, these animated companions, such as Bonesy the dog and Camo the chameleon, reacted to player activities ranging from gliding off the Battle Bus to celebrating Victory Royales. However, new releases declined after 2021 due to high production costs and little use. But despite that, fans have long wished for their return, recalling their unique animations and social petting function. An intriguing leak has aroused excitement that hints pets may return as “Companions” in Chapter 6 Season 3. Fortnite leak suggests Pets are coming back very soon According to trusted Fortnite leakers such as Loolo_WRLD, Companions, codenamed “Mimosa,” will travel alongside players on the map as dynamic in-game entities, rather than just accessories. The leaked Companions try to fill the gaping hole left by Pets with improved features. They will take up a designated locker spot, be visible to party members, and allow full-body previews. Players can supposedly name their Companions, which adds a personal touch and allows for customisation such as skins and motions. Pets are returning to Fortnite as companions. Image by VideoGamer. According to djlorenzouasset, returning petswill receive updated animations, as well as new ones such as Superman’s Krypto from a DC collab in 2025. There’s a lot of speculation concerning gameplay integration. Unlike back blings, Companions may accompany players dynamically, maybe reacting to combat or exploration. While Epic Games has not confirmed the leaks, the timeframe is consistent with Chapter 6, Season 3’s superhero theme, which follows the Star Wars-centric finale on June 7, 2025. If true, Companions could surpass the appeal of original pets by combining nostalgia and innovation. Fortnite Platform: Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X Genre: Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter 9 VideoGamer Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share #fortnite #finally #adding #feature #players