The first step in the process is to use above-said device to go to “https://wired.netaccess.umn.edu/cgi-bin/register.pl” or “wired.netaccess.umn.edu” if you don’t want to type in the whole url.

It will then redirect you to the Internet login page, where you will enter in your x500 login and password (your University internet password).

After you log-in, click on Add new registrations, which will bring up a form for Computer/Etherjack Network User Agreement. Read the acceptable use and guidelines (if you’re a good person) and then enter the MAC address for the ethernet port that is currently being used into the text box labeled “Hardware Addresses.”

For those of you that don’t know how find your MAC address for the ethernet port, here are steps you can take to find it for Mac and PC, although there are a multitude of methods for finding this information:

For computers running Mac OSX:

1. Click the apple icon on the top tool bar of your computer and click on “System Preferences”



2. Under the “Internet & Wireless” section, click on “Network”



3. Click on the Ethernet port that is connected and click on “Advanced…”
4. Click on the tab labeled “Ethernet”



5. The MAC address for the ethernet port is listed as “Ethernet ID.” This can be directly copied and pasted into the text box.

For computers running Windows (including Windows 8):

1. Go to “Control Panel,” accessed by either clicking on the Windows icon and clicking “Control Panel,” or for Windows 8, simply typing “Control Panel.”



2. Go to “Network and Sharing Center”



3. Click on “Change Adapter Settings” on the sidebar



4. Right-click on “Local Area Connection” or the ethernet port being used and click “Status” from the drop-down menu



5. Click on “Details…” and find “Physical Address.” This is where the MAC address is listed and can be directly copied and pasted into the text box.

After this has been done, click on “I agree” and your device should be registered. It may take a few minutes until your computer is fully registered and can access the internet, to which your University e-mail will be sent your confirmation for registration. Then you are free to use the wired internet!

What do I need for my build?

There are two important things your need to think about when starting a new computer build. What do I want to do on this computer, and what is my budget?

What do I want to do?

Knowing what you want to do with your computer is extremely important to get the most out of your money. This also ties into your budget very closely. Certain components are much more critical for some activities. For example, we’ll assume you all want to play new video games. The most important component for this scenario is your Graphics Card (GPU).

Components 101

CPU

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is your computer. All of your programs and calculations are done using the CPU. CPU speeds have increased exponentially over the years. However, a single CPU hasn’t increased significantly for quite awhile. To further increase speed, CPUs have been made to run concurrently. This means that a dual-core or quad-core is essentially 2 or 4 processors running in parallel.

To take advantage of this, programs need to be multithreaded. A thread is essentially a portion of program that runs part of the overall product. This means that different parts of a program are run simultaneously on each part of the processor. For instance, a modern browser can have multiple tabs open at the same time. Each tab may be a different thread of the overall browser program, which allows for more tabs to be open and active at the same time.

The CPU is another important component for gaming, and is extremely important for streaming video. There are also two main manufacturers, AMD and Intel. Intel created the x86 architecture, and in general produce more powerful processors. However, this only really matters at the highest end. In general for quad-cores, AMD have comparable performance and cost significantly less.

Here there are a few numbers you’ll need to pay attention to, the clockspeed (e.g. 3.2ghz, 3.0ghz) and the number of cores. For most modern games you’ll only need a quad-core in the 3.0ghz range for clockspeed. This will handle most games even on maxed settings. You can even run your favorite music player, skype or whatever in the background too. This will also allow you to stream your gameplay to twitch for games like League of Legends and SC2 on high settings at about 720p. However, you will likely need a much more powerful processor if you want to max your settings and output your stream in 1080p at 60 frames per second.

Here is a link to the Tom’s Hardware link for the October 2013 CPU comparison:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

Tom’s does one of these monthly for GPUs and CPUs, so make sure you check the most recent one!

GPU

If you want to play modern video games your GPU (Graphics Processing Unit, or Graphics Card) is very important. This is where you’ll want to invest most of your money. The big question for choosing the right card for you is how high you want your settings to go, and on which games.

A GPU is essentially a specialized CPU. There are methods for writing programs to assign graphics processing to your GPU. Graphics libraries like Directx and OpenGL will allocate calculations for graphics to your GPU for you. For video games, most of the heavy calculations are done for graphics. For a game running at 60 frames per second, it needs to update what is seen by the player 60 times every second. That is a lot of calculations! This is why there is a dedicated processor for graphics.

Currently there are two options for add on graphics cards: Nvidia or Radeon. The difference between the two currently isn’t very large. Both are capable of SLi or Crossfire, which are just separate names for using two or more add on cards in tandem. Oftentimes using two of a lower powered GPU will give you slightly better performance than a single card you could buy for the same amount of money. It also allows you to start with a lower powered card then buy a second one later, requiring less money upfront. The downside to SLi and Crossfire are space, power and cooling. You’ll need a larger motherboard and case if you want to have multiple cards in your build, as the GPUs take up quite a lot of space. Multiple GPUs also require more power from your PSU (power supply unit), as both cards need power.

For more reference on GPUs check out this guide from Tom’s Hardware. This is the link for October 2013: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and is another important component for gaming. At the very minimum you’ll want 4 GB of RAM. 8 GB will allow you to go crazy on mods in WoW or Skyrim while listening to music and have skype open. The only reason to go higher is if you intend on using RAM heavy programs like Photoshop or Illustrator.

The amount per stick doesn’t make a difference for performance, but it does matter for expansion and space. Most motherboards will only have 4 slots for RAM sticks, and you need to use the same size and speed for all of your RAM. So if you plan on getting more RAM in the future, it’s better to get more RAM per stick.

Physical Memory (HDD/SSD)

Physical memory is where your information is actually stored between power-ons of you computer. Memory access speeds have developed much slower than processor speeds over the years, and as a result many programs will try to utilize cached memory (RAM) as much as possible. Still, there all programs will need to access your main physical memory at some point. There are still some games that load assets from physical memory during runtime, like Diablo 3 for instance.

The big things to keep in mind for your physical memory is how much you think you will need, the number of drive slots you have, and the number of inputs on your motherboard. First of all, there are two main types of drives for desktops: Solid State Drives (SSD) or Hard Disk Drive (HDD). Solid States are much quicker and access memory at a higher rate than Hard Disk. They are also much less likely to fail, as they have no moving parts, unlike a Hard Disk. The tradeoff though is that they are still much more expensive on a per memory basis.

The next thing you need to ask yourself is, how much memory will I really need? For most gaming purposes 500GB is more than enough for all the games you will play. 500GB is anywhere from 30-50 different games, depending on if they are large AAA titles or smaller indie games. However, if you also want to produce audio or video content you will need much more space. An HD recording of only 2 hours takes up about 3GB of memory. This means that in 10 hours of video you have used the same amount of memory as 2 full installations of Starcraft 2 HotS.

If you are planning on creating video or audio content and storing it on your computer you’ll need multiple Terabytes (TB) of memory, otherwise one 500GB HDD should be sufficient. If you plan on gaming I also recommend getting a 90-120GB Solid State drive to increase performance greatly. Keep in mind that to get higher performance from a SSD you’ll need to install your Operating System and any programs you want better performance onto your SSD.

Motherboard

The motherboard is the bridge between all of your components. There are slots for your processor, RAM, and usually expansion SATA and PCI slots for GPUs and hard disks or disk drives. Most motherboards also have an onboard gpu, sound card and networking capabilities. This means that out of the box you would only need a power supply, motherboard and cpu to have a fully functioning computer. However, an expansion GPU and extra RAM are generally required if you want to play games or really do anything other than browse the internet and use a word processor.

The biggest thing to pay attention to when deciding on a motherboard is what socket-type it is. AMD and Intel processors won’t fit onto the same motherboard, and certain types of processors from the same manufacturer won’t work with a particular motherboard. The most common desktop socket types are AM3+ for AMD processors and LGA 1155 for Intel processors.

The next thing you’ll need to worry about is your form factor and expansion inputs. If you are planning on putting a bunch of different hard disks and disk drives in you’ll need more SATA ports. If you want an expansion GPU (you do) you’ll need PCI Express ports, and possibly more than 1 if you want to have onboard wifi or are planning on SLI or Crossfire. The main form factors are ATX, Mini-ATX and Micro-ATX. These refer to the supports that you will mount your motherboard to your case with, so it doesn’t really matter which form factor you use so long as it is compatible with your case. If you want to SLi or Crossfire in the future you will likely need an ATX board.

Monitor

The monitor is another of the most expensive single part of building a new computer, and one of the most important ones. The only compatibility issue with a monitor is the input to the monitor and the output from your GPU. If you get an expansion graphics card you’ll be outputting video from it. In general GPUs will have some combination of VGA, DVI and HDMI outputs. Both DVI and VGA only output video, but HDMI does audio and video. It’s important to check that both your gpu and monitor have matching video inputs and outputs.

Which size monitor and what specs do I need? Most people get a monitor that can output 1920x1080p, which is a 16:9 aspect ratio, as most games and movies are made for that aspect ratio now. Generally you’ll want somewhere between 20” and 24” when sitting eye level 3 feet from the screen. The last number you’ll need to worry about is the refresh rate. This is measured in hertz (hz) and should be at least 60hz. Ideally games run at 60 frames per second, and if your monitor doesn’t have at least 60 updates per second there wouldn’t be any use in those extra frames. So getting a 60hz monitor will allow you to see all the glorious frames that you paid for!

Power Supply Unit (PSU)

While not something most people think about when building a computer, the Power Supply is very important. This is what actually brings power from the wall to your computer. If you don’t get the right amount of wattage you can blow out your components, which will end up costing you a lot of money, or it won’t turn on at all.

You’ll need to make sure that you have the correct connectors for each of your components. There will be power for each of your GPUs, CPU and to the motherboard for SATA and other connectors, as well as connectors for each of your fans. Many PSUs will use modular connectors, so it will come with a 20+4 or a 4+4 connector. A 20+4 will work for a 20 pin and 24 pin connector.

The other thing that must be taken into account is the power consumption of the system, which is measured in watts (W). 550W power supplies will be able to handle most modern single card systems, but the wattage varies greatly as you get into SLi or Crossfire. If you plan on using more aftermarket fans or some other method of cooling, you’ll also need more power.

Case

There are a few things that need to be kept in mind while purchasing a case. Firstly is the size, which are most commonly mid-tower or full-tower. It is important to get a matching form factor for your motherboard, for instance you’ll need an ATX case if you have an ATX motherboard. Most single card builds will fit inside a mid-tower, but if you want multiple cards a full-tower is almost required.

The next thing to keep in mind is airflow. Things to consider here are the number of fans placement of fans, and side panels. Having a fan and open side panel near your GPU can greatly help longevity of your system. Some cases also have removable dust covers which makes them easier to clean.

Finally, there are two main materials that are you used for cases. Most come in either aluminum or steel. Aluminum is lighter, but is more expensive. Steel is heavier but cheaper, and both are similar for durability. So if you know you will be moving your computer a lot you may wish to opt for an aluminum case, otherwise it’s best to stick with steel.

Useful Resources

Here are a few helpful sites for buying or picking any parts you’ll need for you build.

Newegg, Online Computer Parts Store: http://www.newegg.com/

/r/BuildAPC, Subreddit community for PC builds: http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc

PC Part Picker, Useful tool for managing prices and components: http://pcpartpicker.com/

Why did you want to create a game about dinosaurs?

Well, there’s one universal constant in this world we live in.   Dinosaurs are very, very cool.   And anyone who says otherwise is a steaming pile of Gennaro.

Besides that fact however we (as gamers not as game developers) were constantly frustrated at the lack of respect the Dinosaur genre had received over the years. With a few notable exceptions almost all video games featuring Dinosaurs in recent times have treated them as gimmicks, as a throwaway addition to an otherwise incompatible theme just… well, seemingly because. We, like many other Dinosaur fans (JP1 generation most notably) were waiting patiently for someone to finally make our collective dreams come true and make that Dinosaur game we found we could all see in the dark shadows at the back of our minds.

So, there came a point when we were simply tired of waiting for it and decided “If nobody is going to do it, we’ll do it ourselves!”, and on that day Primal Carnage was born.

In Primal Carnage, we don’t see many of the highly popular dinosaurs from other pop culture media. How did you decide on these dinosaurs? And what type of research went into it?

Choosing which Dinosaurs make it into what was initially a very small lineup for our game was indeed a difficult task (even the T.rex was never assured a place as a playable class from the start).

We had clear objectives, to create unique classes that will perform varied roles as well as being easily recognizable and distinct. Many Dinosaurs, theropods especially, are very similar to one another and it’s a challenge to find species that are different enough to warrant being a separate class in a video game.

The other issue we face still to this day is that said “pop culture media” has its own view of Dinosaurs which sometimes bears no resemblance to reality, such as the existence of something called a “Brontosaurus” and a certain Disney Dinosaur movie convincing the world that Carnotaurus are bigger than a T.rex.

Obviously we have tapped into certain amounts of fictional pop culture expectations ourselves, such as a Dilophosaurus that can spit venom a la Jurassic Park. Obviously they never did this in real life but it presented us with a unique feature to give this particular playable class and therefore was deemed an expectable deviation into fictional embellishment for the sake of gameplay.

As for why we have a “Novaraptor” instead of a JP Velociraptor… that’s a rather interesting story I’ll get to in a moment.

How did dinosaurs and humans come to coexist in the Primal Carnage universe? And why have the humans returned to the seemingly abandoned locations?

Well, much like the JP origins which inspire Primal Carnage all the Dinosaurs you see are manmade, they are the result of scientific advancements and people meddling with what they really ought not have been meddling with.

The island location, which is the primary setting for Primal Carnage, is owned by a company known as “Phoenix”, but unlike Jurassic Park this was certainly not going to be a family friendly zoo. Our Dinosaurs were held in captivity and were cloned, monitored, tested, destroyed and cloned again incalculable number of times. Each clone was different from the last as Pheonix altered their genetic makeup and modified them for whatever purposes they saw fit. This is where our Novaraptor comes in.

The Novaraptor is not a real species of Dinosaur, it is 100% fictional and native to Primal Carnage. It is the result of Mans genetic meddling to the point where it is no longer a recognizable animal anymore and had to be reclassified.

However, much like Jurassic Park this all didn’t end well and a catastrophic containment failure led to the Dinosaurs getting loose, overrunning the Island and either killing or driving off the human population.   The Island then and all its facilities are at the mercy of nature and its new Dinosaur inhabitants and now, a few years later, we want it back.

Are there any plans to expand Primal Carnage? Maybe add a campaign mode?

The expansion of Primal Carnage in all areas is our number 1 concern right now.

We are still a small Indie team and we feel that we have so far only scratched the surface of the potential Primal Carnage has to offer. We have new game modes on the verge of release, new Dinosaurs on their way, a singleplayer campaign or perhaps even coop elements or still on the horizon as possibilities.

Our primary concern and task right now though is to improve the core game and strengthen the foundations for which to build upon, and we will be building upon it. Our hope is that Primal Carnage becomes the benchmark all other Dinosaur games will be measured by.

Which human and dino classes do you prefer when you play? Why?

The Pteranodon and the Scientist.

There’s nothing better than flying around as a pterosaur picking off helpless puny humans and just letting gravity do the work for you, unless it’s shutting one of them down from half a mile away and saving a team mate.

(Eating people as a T.rex is also very high on the list)

How do you think Jurassic Park’s Dr. Grant would respond to this game?

I think he’d be pretty relieved that these Dinosaurs are safely locked away within a video game but would certainly find it in rather poor taste.

I doubt he’d give us an endorsement.

What’s the best way to kill the seemingly unstoppable Carnotaurus?

Take a very large Carnotaurus sized mirror and hang it on a suitably immovable object such as a large, steel reinforced concrete wall. Carnotaurus aren’t very bright and will often charge other Carnotaurus (even if it’s their own reflection).

If you could use one skill or weapon from the game in real life, which would you choose and what would you use it for?

The Trappers Netgun. I’d love to have one of those on hand in an argument to just put someone in a net and say “I win”.

What’s next for Lukewarm?

The ongoing improvements on the core Primal Carnage game as well as adding new content to have a solid base for the continuing expansion of the game.

The revision of the PC:Genesis project, our singleplayer next gen spinoff, we still want it to happen but to happen right.

We will continue to support our player base and community with events and competitions. Such as the monthly “Beat the Devs” event with prize giveaways which will soon be in its 11th month.

We’re still checking on the viability of creating real dinosaurs someday just to have a pet for the office. (This particular goal may take some time.)

And some sleep somewhere in the middle if there’s a spare moment.

Didn’t see you question answered? Keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming play through, where you’ll have the opportunity to jump in game with Aaron and get your questions answered live on stream. 

The environment at Blizzard is, to be blunt, a nerd haven: from league of legends teams at lunch to the video game / anime collectibles filling the office space. There is even a library where D&D campaigns are regular and the books, video games, as well as board games are all available to check out for a week or so. All this does not, however, compare to how awesome the creative atmosphere of Blizzard was! The process of writing for the game was incredibly specialized and therefore completely outside my comfort zone. But with my mentor, I quickly learned and have become almost competent at game writing.

My twin and I in front of the blizzard sign.

I then got to meet the rest of my team. My supervisor was Brian Kindregan, Lead Writer of the Diablo team at Blizzard. I also worked closely with Leonard Boyarsky a senior world designer, Valerie Watrous an associate writer, John Chambers the story editor, and Skye Chandler the producer. These guys were the coolest, most fun people to work with!

Me @ the annual Blizzard Summer fest!

Now not only did I have awesome co-workers but while hanging with the other interns there was never a dull moment! I could begin to list everything the cool University Relations Reps did for us but I’ll just elaborate on the best one! We had a campus raid where all interns participated to earn swag. There were water balloons, basketball, hula hooping, trivia questions, photo ops, and dancing all in the confines of the Blizzard campus. My team, being way too into these activities in the coolest way possible, won collector’s editions of WoW: Catalyst that were also signed!

The highlight of my first day at Blizzard was not the amazing Orc statue outside the main buildings, nor was it receiving literally a massive bag of free swag, it was meeting my mentor, Michael Chu, a Game Designer on the Diablo team, and having ramen with him for lunch. Now I was terrified when I shook his hand, but after that lunch, I realized that at Blizzard, that I had nothing to fear.

Now most internships usually have you doing mundane, or menial tasks. That is not how it flies at Blizzard. They put me to hard work day one. In the end I can say proudly that I wrote lots of monster lore books, drafted an event, emoted lots of scenes, and wrote some legendary flavor text.  I also no longer fear commas, or writing knowing others will judge / tear it apart!

The epic orc statue.

Those activities, the people, and the environment made my summer at Blizzard truly epic!  I couldn’t have asked for a better team to help me learn and grow as a writer. I couldn’t have asked for more cool interns to hang out with that summer. It was a remarkable experience, and to those who wish to pursue a similar experience I say in the cheesiest way possible, shoot for the stars.