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Scarface Blu-ray's $699 Limited Edition Humidor case, fan art revealed
We already let you know that Scarface will be released on Blu-ray September 6th, but we should mention that the true fans (and cigar enthusiasts) can snag a limited edition copy in its own hand-crafted humidor box. There will only be 1,000 sold and we're sure your imported cigars will appreciate the untreated Spanish cedar and 1,000 coat brilliant finish. You can see a few angles in the pictures here, while the Blu-ray trailer and snaps of winning fan art to be included in the set as collectible cards await after the break. How much will it cost to get your hands on one of these boxes? The MSRP is $999, but Amazon as always is offering them for the low, low price of just $699. Slightly less rabid fans can grab the SteelBook release for $24.99.
SWTOR dev diary steps beyond story
Star Wars: The Old Republic separates itself from other MMORPGs by introducing the element of -- say it with me -- story. But how deep exactly is this wormhole? BioWare Writer Ian Ryan explains to us in the latest developer diary that a TOR writer's work is not done once the last word is penned. "Armed with [our] knowledge, we set out to provide feedback on each planet's art as it relates to story," Ryan reveals. The writers log into the game and play the levels they created story for. It is a collaborative effort. The writers attempt to give the environmental artist a clear picture of what best sets the scene for the stories they have created. In the gallery below, we have some before-and-after renders of the Promenade on Nar Shaddaa and the Blastfield Shipyards on Corellia. Both of these areas received major overhauls after the writers witnessed the first incarnation of the environments. Following the before-and-after pictures is a new piece of concept art of Corellia released for the fans. Lastly, we have featured some new pieces of art created by the SWTOR fans Micah_Vale, CuriousOne, and SkinRuder77. Enjoy. %Gallery-114430%
Winners announced for Star Trek Online's Enterprise design contest
A while back, Star Trek Online's development team asked players to submit their entries for the next generation of the starship Enterprise. If you're at all familiar with the years of fiction, of course, you know that designing the next incarnation of the Federation's flagship is no small feat -- not only do you have to come up with a craft that still adheres to the designs set forth by countless previous ships, but you also have to make something that looks futuristic and advanced on its own. The contest's winners have finally been announced, and it looks like players were more than up to the challenge, producing a variety of ships that would make an excellent example for the ship of the line. The winning entry also includes a comparison of the new ship's profile compared with its famous predecessors, a treat for both Star Trek Online fans and fans of the series in general. Our congratulations to all the winners and runners-up.
Star Wars: The Old Republic unveils art from its players and developers
In watching any of the documentaries or behind-the-scenes interviews, you will notice that art plays a huge role in any Star Wars-related project. In Star Wars: The Old Republic, the developers and community team like to showcase not only the artistic skills of the designers but the illustrations of the fans, too. This week, we are lucky enough to have both. The SWTOR Studio Insider is written today by two artists: Senior Concept Artist Ryan Dening and Senior Environment Artist Christopher Reeves. These two creators dive deep into the design process of creating the Agent starship. "For the first time, we were making these ships exist in real space and giving the players the experience of owning their own Starship," Dening said in regard to the difference in designing for SWTOR vs. Knights of the Old Republic. The community is not without its talent as well, and the community team is quick to acknowledge this. Greighson and Crypticgrrl of the official forums had their work displayed in this week's Fan Friday. Grieghson designed propaganda posters for the Empire, and Crypticgrrl displayed her fine art talent. We have placed their works in the gallery below. In another announcement, the development team confirmed that it will be at PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts, from March 11th to March 13th. Rest assured Massively will be there to catch the latest. %Gallery-114430%
Fan art being accepted for Udon's Mega Man Tribute book
If you know your way around a pen, paintbrush or tablet, and are also filled with a surplus of fandom for the Mega Man franchise, Udon Entertainment could use your help. The company is publishing a collection of fan art featuring the Blue Bomber, and is currently accepting submissions.
World of WarCrafts: The saturated artwork of Christina Marie
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page. Artist Christina Marie's WoW-themed work is nothing if not saturated -- saturated with color, saturated with game references, saturated with humor. It's the kind of stuff you can toss onto your desktop and then promptly lose vast chunks of time peering and snorting in bemused delight at the details scattered across these works. (Because I whipped up the Christina Marie art gallery, below, in just minutes. Without any linking or idle chatter in the WoW.com newsroom. You believe that, right? Right?) Her talent for twisting elements together (elements of art, elements of the game ... you name it) earned her a nod from Blizzard itself with inclusion in its 2011 holiday fan art calendar (as was our own Kelly Aarons). World of WarCrafts visited with Christina Marie to find out where the deluge of color and inspiration comes from. %Gallery-100713%
Final Fantasy XI shows off winners for its anniversary art contest
Although the North American anniversary doesn't take place until later this year, Final Fantasy XI has been running for eight years as of this past May. When that milestone rolled around, Square-Enix announced their 8th Anniversary art contest as a chance for players to show off their talents and potentially get rewarded for them. The official winners have just been announced, complete with the requisite gallery of all the winning entries for fans to peruse, with the results both creative and indicative of the game's long history. The recurring visual elements seem to be food, tarutaru, mithra, and mandragoras -- which certainly goes a long way toward showing what's stuck out in everyone's minds over the duration. There are even a pair of entries (such as the one above) that use food itself as the medium for the celebration. Final Fantasy XI players are encouraged to take a full look at all the artwork on display in the winners' gallery -- enough to bring a nostalgic tear to any player's eye.
Final Fantasy XI starts its eight-year art contest
On May 16th, 2002, Final Fantasy XI was released in Japan, meaning that the game has marked a full eight years of service in its country of origin. (It didn't come stateside for another year and a half, so we're a bit behind.) The team at Square-Enix is understandably excited about how far the game has come since that day, and what better way to show it than letting the players strut their stuff? That means it's time for the Eighth Anniversary Art Contest, complete with requisite fabulous prizes -- which include the coveted Chocobo Beret. Running until June 16th, the contest calls for players with an active Final Fantasy XI account to submit a picture of their finished artwork. As one might assume given the timing, the art is expected to have an anniversary theme, although how one wishes to tackle the subject is entirely up to the player. Only one submission is allowed per person, with all the winners receiving the Nomad Moogle Rod, and the two top winners also receiving the aforementioned Beret. Take a look at the official rules for all the details, and get ready to see what the game's worldwide community can come up with.
This Miles Edgeworth art has ruined us
Our puritanical grandmother always tried to convince us that art is evil, but we never believed her until this morning. Though we fell asleep in a world where we loved every square pixel of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, we awake to this gorgeous fan art from DeviantArt user brilcrist and now all we can think of is how much we wish the game looked exactly like that. So, Capcom, what would you say to a big-budget, meticulously detailed game centered on Miles Edgeworth costing millions of dollars and countless man hours to produce? ... Hey, where are you going?
Star Wars: The Old Republic fansite kit now available
Some exciting stuff is happening for the Star Wars: The Old Republic community, or at least for anyone interested in running a fansite dedicated to the game. BioWare has released a pretty awesome fansite kit as a part of the newest Fan Friday and it's packed with all sorts of useful goodies like high-res concept art and game logos. We can't wait to see what some of the more creatively inclined members of the community will do with it. In other fan-related stuff, BioWare's released a new video short of a mini-gun animation that's pretty great. There's also some really, really cool fan art by forum user StandAlone. You can see one example of his awesome skills above, but we urge you to take a look at a couple other works, too.
Meet Ether Saga Online's "My Little Pony from Hell"
Letting fans design mounts is always an interesting idea, but here's a mount that really leaves a burning mark on the land -- Ether Saga Online's new "Dark Noturno" mount. Dark Noturno, originally named Nocturne, is the fan-made creation of ESO player Monaka. She submitted her designs for Nocturne during their "create a mount" contest and her designs made it to the official ESO artists in China. After a few tweaks here and there to her designs, Dark Noturno finally came to life and Monaka was the first player to recieve the devilish new mount. Perfect World recently caught up with Monaka to ask her about the experience, so check out their interview with her over at their official company blog. Nice mount, Monaka!
Blizzard Holiday Fan Art Calendar Contest
The World of Warcraft has always had amazing fan art. Looking through the fan art gallery, it's hard not to get blown away by the talent the community has and their passion for drawing Blizzard properties. This year, the folks in Irvine decided to celebrate all that talent and passion by holding a contest for the artistically-inclined. Zarhym invites artists over at the official forums to contribute to the Holiday Fan Art Calendar Contest. The idea is to create a piece of World of Warcraft art that sets the tone for a particular month based on the in-game holidays. Artists can choose to depict scenes from or situations inspired by events from the Lunar Festival, Love Is in the Air, Noblegarden, Children's Week, Midsummer Fire Festival, Pirate's Day, Brewfest, Harvest Festival, Hallow's End, Day of the Dead, Pilgrim's Bounty, Feast of Winter Veil, all the way to New Year's Eve. Winners will be featured in the 2011 Official World of Warcraft Calendar as well as win a set of 2010 wall, daily, and mini calendars. One grand prize winner will also get to take home a Wacom Cintiq 12WX, the pen-on-screen drawing tool that some of Blizzard's own artists use. Additionally, the grand prize winner will also have his or her work featured in the official World of Warcraft magazine. Deadline for submissions is on February 8, 2010. As always, be sure to read the fine print if you're eligible!
Final Fantasy XI reveals Shantotto art contest winners
Her ascension has come, her name is well-known -- Shantotto is blessed both afar and at home. Final Fantasy XI's resident genius has long been admired as clever and devious. Not so very long hence, you'd recall our report that a contest was held, an artistic sport. After all, who could deny that true inspiration would come from a lady of such reputation? That contest is over, the judging all done, now look through the images to see who has won! Three pages of entries await to be seen, a collection of art unrivaled on one's screen. The portrait above, while quite suited for framing, was not the first winner in the contest we're naming. That image must indeed be seen and admired, but all of the portraits should meet one's desires. At the top of the tier, there's more than just rotes, for each entry is graced with the professor's own notes! View all of the entries, we gladly suggest, for Shantotto as subject is quite hard to best.
Pumpkin contest winners for Final Fantasy XI
As Halloween fades into a memory of candy, costumes, and cheaply-made outdoor decorations, the MMOsphere slowly closes its doors on the various holiday events. Final Fantasy XI's pumpkin-carving contest on Allakhazam has finally drawn to a close, with the votes in and tallied and the winners determined. And if you doubt that there's a great deal of talent and originality on display with the contest, the excellently-rendered San d'Orian knight charging into battle above wasn't the winner -- they placed fourth. Third place went to a rendition of the title image for this year's Halloween event, while second place went to Final Fantasy XI's resident mad professor herself. First place went -- quite deservedly -- to this hauntingly well-rendered image of a tonberry in the darkness. The official announcement includes a tally of the votes, but that might not be quite as exciting to casual observers as a gallery of all the entries. Congratulations to the winners, and here's hoping that next year brings still more pumpkin-carving fun for FFXI.
World of WarCrafts: Chalking up an oldie but goodie
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself; contact our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations. This week, we've got a golden oldie for you. Jennifer Jean Lee's night elf/orc pavement chalk, created way back in 2006, resurfaced recently on Twitter after a belated nod from @Warcraft's #BlizzSpotlight, which highlights noteworthy fan-made crafts. We followed up with artist Jennifer Jean Lee, who's long since retired from playing WoW. "Back in the day when I did the chalk painting, I was a dedicated player," she wrote us. "I might go back one day, once I've accomplished some goals such as making iPhone apps and posting comics regularly." In the meantime, Jennifer's not completely given up on WarCrafting. She's currently at work on a number of WoW-related items for her Etsy shop, in preparation for the holidays. %Gallery-76408%
Final Fantasy XI holds a contest to draw the professor, Vana'diel's newest royal successor
We have news for all of you readers, you can now draw pictures of your future fearless leader! Final Fantasy XI's Lady Shantotto is the focus of the mini-expansion, "A Shantotto Ascension," and she wants to make sure her reign begins with your full apprehension!If you are artistically inclined, then drop by the Final Fantasy XI website in time! There you will learn the contest's basics, so hopefully you can learn enough to face it. Many renditions of her fabulous nature will be chosen, but only a few will get the medal that is golden!Those selected to win a prize will see it appear right before their eyes. A Nomad Moogle Rod is the contest's winning, and we think you'll find that the item will keep you grinning. Target a fellow party member and before you can say do-si-dori, a gift will end up in their inventory!So don't wait and stop to yawn, or else this contest will have come and gone!Sincerely, Professor Shan... er... the Massively.com staff. O~hohohohohohohoho!
Fallen Earth fan gets tattoo, hasn't played game yet
World of Warcraft tattoos are probably a dime a dozen, and if you've gotten one, you're relatively safe, because clearly that title's proved to have staying power.But how about getting permanent ink for a game that's not even officially out yet? That's what 25-year-old Sweden resident Joakim has done. The support technician for a Swedish internet service provider has gone out and gotten the logo for the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth on his leg.Both Joakim and developer Fallen Earth LLC have sworn that this isn't some coordinated PR stunt. We recently got a hold of Joakim via e-mail, and he explained why he got the tattoo and why he'll never regret it.
BlizzCon creative contests open for entries
Attention aspiring artist, songwriters, and machinimators: want to win an awesome Alienware laptop? Sure you do. Well, here's your chance. Blizzard is holding three creative contests at BlizzCon this summer: best fan art, best original song, and best movie using WoW footage (i.e. machinima). Entrants in each category have until July 31 to submit their best work. Various countries and localities around the world are eligible, although not all; this is due to legal issues, and not Blizzard hating Italians and residents of Vermont (which Alex claims are called "Vermites"). For the full rules, see Blizzard's contest page, but the general guidelines for submissions are as follows: Art must be high-res Photoshop files. Movies must be under three minutes and 100 MB, and should be WMVs, AVIs, or MOVs. Music must be either by the entrant or by Blizzard. Songs must be MP3s under 2 minute and 5 MB. Lyrics (if any) should be without profanity, in English, Spanish, French, German, Korean, or Chinese, and if not in English, must come with a written English translation. For second place in each category, Blizzard will be awarding some Razer equipment, and third place will get an unspecified NVIDIA video card. The top two winners in the Movie contest also each get a copy of Adobe CS4, which is pretty sweet. So get creating!
BlizzCon Movie, Original Song, Fan Art contests open for registration
Blizzard has opened up registration for their Movie, Original Song, and Fan Art contests, and you can register for those along all over on their registration page (the Costume, Sound-alike, and Dance contests are also there, but it looks like they're not up for registration yet). These things are always a lot of fun, and it seems like every year, the bar goes even higher -- there's always a costume that just really impresses with the amount of work that went into it. Of course, don't let that stop you from entering: Sound-Alikes are always really funny and pretty easy to do, and I believe Original Song is a new category this year, so it's probably wide open in terms of what people will come up with. Come to think of it, we've actually got a song that might go in there...Registration ends on the 24th of July for the current contests, so make sure to get your entries in now if you've got a movie, song, or a piece of fan art you think Blizzard might like. And there are some nice prizes -- looks like the grand prize in each contest is an Alienware laptop, with Razer and Nvidia gear and Adobe software filling out the rest of the places. Sign up now -- we can't wait to see what you guys bring to show off at the convention in August. %Gallery-34252%
Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday introduces MS Paint and CYOA
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Fan Friday is back with another week's worth of fan-tastic goodness. Given the enduring legacy of the Star Wars franchise (and we're not just talking films and games here), it's no surprise that Lucas' creation is still one of the pinnacles of sci fi.But back to The Old Republic. As part of the latest Fan Friday segment on the official site, this week's showcase of what the community has been up to is actually quite revealing. There's a Choose Your Own Adventure and a really interesting tutorial showing how to create your own artwork using (of all things) MS Paint that really shows what this much derided freebie program is capable of. Finally there's a new official poll and a peek at some Trooper avatars.
