graffiti
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Sideway: New York shows off new mechanics and a spray-on look
The PSN Blog has posted a feature on Sideway: New York, the upcoming 2D platformer from Playbrains that features a lead character actually painted on a wall, and interacting with the environment from a flat plane. Developer Scott Simpson is also interviewed, and talks a little bit about the various mechanics of the game -- working through the levels will allow your character, Nox, to double-jump, glide down a wall, or even leave the wall for a bit to explore the actual 3D world. The trailer above shows off the game's art style as well -- it's not super realistic, even in the parts off of the wall, but the "sprayed-on" graffiti asthetic does seem to make for a few fun twists and turns. Sideway: New York (the subtitle hints, of course, that it's the first in a series) will be available on October 11 for $9.99 on PSN.
Put a Banksy on your Mac
Banksy is an urban artist who graffitis buildings and structures, mainly in the UK. Most of his graffiti art has a social commentary aspect to it and his artwork has become both sought after and valuable. For those of you who are fans of his work, The Custom Vinyl Shop now offers a selection of Banksy vinyl decals to put on your MacBook, which will either show your appreciation for art or make you look like a desperate urban hipster. I once lived in a flat in London that had a Banksy graffitied onto its outside wall. From time to time it crossed my mind to go out in the middle of the night with a chisel and jackhammer and remove the portion of the flat's wall the Banksy was on and put it up on eBay but, alas, I figured I'd probably just get caught (and a few weeks later the owner of the house had covered the artwork in plexiglass). Oh well, I still might not be able to have an original, but now at least I can put a Banksy on my MacBook.
Croteam looking for fan-written graffiti for Serious Sam 3
In a press release so tongue-in-cheek we're worried about their jawlines, Croteam has announced that its "Lead In-Game Wall Graffiti Artist" has decided to quit the company, leaving an opening for ... well, you. We're pretty sure Croteam is just joking, but the outcome is that it's having a contest for secret graffiti in Serious Sam 3: BFE, asking fans to submit some quick quips that will actually be posted in the game's environments, coded in Arabic and hieroglyphics. You need to submit lines, either through Facebook or Twitter, by July 29, and the team's favorite lines will actually show up in the game. We were going to suggest the old standby "Kilroy was here," but someone on the Facebook page already posted that one, so we're out. Good luck to everyone else who enters!
Robo-Rainbow, all the way (video)
Paul Vasquez, meet your mech god... if god rode a bicycle and illegally tagged decrepit streetscapes with happy bands of color. Watch this complicated technical solution assist with a simple act of vandalism art urban renovation in the video after the break. [Image credit: Donna Zoll]
One Shots: Kilroy was (not) here
If you're fighting your way through Realtime Worlds' shiny new MMO, All Points Bulletin, and seek to stake your claim on a particular area, one of the ways you can let rival gang members (and police) know is by tagging signs around town. However, if you're trying to do it by yourself on a heavily populated map, it's a great way to wind up dead. After all, anyone can come along and shoot you while you're busy "spraypainting" your graffiti up. Today, we have a screenshot of a pair who managed to find an open spot and successfully pull off getting their design in place. This image comes to us courtesy of Brad, also known as Nemesis on the Zombie server, who writes in: "This screenshot was taken after a long shoot out in the waterfront district. A fellow clan member and I held out on a rooftop and happened upon a blank billboard. We decided that the waterfront district needed to know who we were." One Shots needs more screenshots! If you're playing an MMO -- from large to small -- we'd love to see one from you. All you have to do is email a screenshot to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit. %Gallery-85937%
Graffiti for Android scribbles Palm OS memories all over Google's platform
Gather around the campfire, children, as we tell you a story from or youth. You see, back in our day, we carried around PDAs driven by Palm's operating system (no, not that one). Primitive and bulky by modern standards, sure, but if there's one aspect we remember most fondly -- or at least most vividly -- it'd be Graffiti, the shorthand writing system for your stylus-based text entry. And guess what? You can now bring that same frustration enjoyment to Google Android. Available now via Market, the free, OS-wide keyboard alternative comes care of Access, who gained the rights to Graffiti following the Palm / Xerox settlement from way back in 2006. The future is the past as remembered by the present, or something like that -- download away.
Winners of "Declare your Loyalty" contest announced for City of Heroes
Sometimes you notice them and sometimes you don't, but the background touches in City of Heroes are always there. They're little reminders that you're moving through a city full of people. The Rogue Isles has its share of shady billboards and decorations (including no-questions-asked investigators and a minion recruitment service), while Paragon City has law firms and socially-conscious advertisements about the Rikti. And Praetoria has propaganda for Emperor Cole... and against him. That's the crux of the now-concluded contest to declare your loyalty in artistic form for Going Rogue, and the winners of said contest have been announced. There are three winners in each category, for both Loyalist propaganda and Resistance subversion. Two of the pieces of Resistance graffiti and one of the Loyalist billboards have also been adopted by the developers -- they will be featured in Going Rogue, albeit in a slightly-altered form. The gallery of winners showcases both the original submissions and the slight alterations made for the appearance in-game. City of Heroes players who haven't yet picked a side -- or those who are just interested in seeing some nicely-done propaganda pieces -- should head on over to take a look.
City of Heroes launches "Declare Your Loyalty" contest
Any City of Heroes fan will likely recognize and have an answer for the question "Loyalist or Resistance?" It's all part of the ongoing campaign for the game's upcoming expansion, Going Rogue, and ties to the main storyline -- whether you're a Loyalist of Tyrant's totalitarian utopia, or a no-holds-barred Resistance member willing to topple Tyrant at any cost. Paragon Studios is taking the campaign one step further to celebrate both the impending release and the six-year anniversary: they're letting players make a permanent mark on the world of Praetoria based upon their allegiance. There are two halves to the contest, based upon one's affiliation. If you're a Loyalist, you are tasked with designing a suitable propaganda poster for Emperor Cole, extolling his virtues and those of his society. On the other hand, Resistance members will design graffiti to spread the message of freedom and encouraging others to rise up. There's a lot of fun to be had with the contest, and the prizes are pretty substantial -- even without the fact that the best entries may very well wind up in Praetoria when Going Rogue launches. Take a look at the full rules, and start declaring your City of Heroes affiliation -- the contest runs until May 14th.
Get your name or handle in Crysis 2 as graffiti
Look, we get it. You found a primo slab of stone that's just aching to have your name emblazoned all over it in big, funky letters. There's just one problem: it's illegal. So how about slapping your name or handle onto a virtual wall? That's what Crytek is offering 50 lucky winners in its latest game, Crysis 2. It's a Twitter-based contest, so you'll need to follow @Crysis and fire off the appropriate tweet below, given your region: UK: Hey @Crysis, I want you to put my name in the game! http://crys.is #Crysis2contestUK US/Canada: Hey @Crysis, I want you to put my name in the game! http://crys.is #Crysis2contestNA Germany: Hey @Crysis, Ich mochte meinen Namen im Spiel sehen! http://crys.is #Crysis2contestDE Act quickly, because the contest concludes on May 3. Oh how we can't wait to see all of the "Pothead McSmokesweeds" and "XxBlazingMad420zxXs" when we're running through a dilapidated New York city!
Pen input faces off against hardware and software QWERTY keyboards: there can be only one (maybe)
It's completely anecdotal and lacking in what some might call "scientific rigor," but we're digging the, ahem, relevance of Phil Gyford's little text input faceoff he performed for his blog recently. The piece pits an Apple Newton, Palm Vx, Treo 650, and Apple iPhone up against each other, with regular pen and paper and a laptop's full QWERTY keyboard thrown in for reference. The results may or may not surprise you, but (spoiler alert) after the MacBook Pro took top honors in blazing through a 221 word passage twice, the iPhone beat out the rest of the competition, with the three pen-related inputs (pen and paper, Newton MessagePad and Palm Graffiti) all taking up dead last. The iPhone, Treo and pen and paper all were relatively close in speed, and naturally your mileage may vary. That said, where do you think you fall? Drop in your results in comments (the full text he used can be found at the source link) or hit up the poll below with your best guestimate. We're dying to know! %Poll-40521%
Get your graffiti in Crackdown 2
Why waste your graffiti on something as temporary as the rear wall of the nearby Rio Grande or Ronald's Cheese Corner when you could have it enshrined forever, digitally? That's the opportunity being offered by Ruffian Games, which is looking for graffiti submissions from fans who'll have a chance to get their art in the game and their name in the credits, if their work is among the best, that is. If you're having trouble deciding what exactly, the theme – the jumping off point, if you will – of your e-vandalism should be, may we suggest ... Mighty Horse?
DIY Eyewriter brings the joy of art, vandalism to those with ALS
You know, there are a slew of devices out there that'll let you indulge in some graffiti action without sullying your hands (or breaking the law). Indeed, we've seen real time 3D paintings in galleries and something called the Wiispray, and now we have Eyewriter. An ongoing effort by a group of graffiti artists from around the world, this open source project has designed and built a low-cost eye-tracking system to enable people like Tony Quam (a.k.a. TEMPTONE), who is paralyzed, to create artwork moving only his eyes. But that ain't all -- the group also designed a "mobile broadcast unit," which is essentially a low-powered, networked bicycle capable of projecting the business onto the side of a building (or street sign, or train). The kids responsible for this heartwarming example of "eye vandalism" promise that how-to materials, software, and the like will all be available soon, but in the meantime check a video of the thing in action after the break. [Via Jailbreak]
WiiSpray tagged with design award
Martin Lihs and Frank Matuse's WiiSpray, the art project that combines a projector, a custom Flash interface and a Wiimote inside a spray can-shaped enclosure, now has documented proof that it is awesome. Over the weekend, International Forum Design awarded the creators of the WiiSpray project its iF Communication Design Award in the category of product interfaces.In August, International Forum Design will announce "gold award" winners from within the group of iF winners. Even if WiiSpray doesn't get that, it's already noteworthy enough to see a Wiimote-based homebrew project win a design award. And it's quite an achievement for a couple of students![Via GameSpot]
You can play piano on your DSi, kinda
Has your long-held habit of carrying a baby grand piano with you everywhere you go begun to cause irreversible damage to your easily pliable spinal cord? The Monday Night Crew gang discovered an easier way to tickle ivories touchscreens on the go by using a neat trick in the "Graffiti Mode" on your DSi. Basically, the music note stamp in graffiti mode makes a sound that changes pitch depending on where you place it on the screen. By placing these stamps over a cleverly crafted grid, you can wow your friends with MIDI renditions of your favorite songs. It's a neat trick, and far less damaging on the ol' sacroiliac. Check out a video demonstration after the jump!
Color us impressed: The WiiSpray graffiti program in action
In the ten months since we last saw Martin Lihs's WiiSpray application, the Bauhaus University student has turned his combination of Flash programming and custom Wiimote enclosure from a simple tagging simulator to a networked platform for interactive art. We're hoping the next step is "thing that you can buy."After plugging the Wiimote into the virtual spray can, you can "spray" onto a projected surface, change colors, choose and manipulate stencils, and even save work to a server for further editing at the time and place of the user's choice. Let's see you try that with a wall. Check after the break for a video demonstration![Via Engadget, Attract Mode]
Video: WiiSpray lets virtual taggers spray without fear of the man
When we first caught a whiff of the virtual aerosol action promised by Martin Lihs' thesis at Bauhaus University, dubbed WiiSpray, we were intrigued, but we never figured the end product would be this impressive. Lihs has since posted up a short teaser trailer showing the wall in action, controlled by a modified Wiimote controller, with results that should make even the most law-abiding artist smile. The video below shows an extensive color picker tool, interactive stencils, and what looks to be a perfectly accurate spray pattern -- and it should be, as the whole is getup is sponsored by Montana Cans. We're not sure what's next for this technology, but hopefully Lihs and his creation will be bombing a more public location soon.
Sega tags USPTO with Jet Set Radio trademark
Sega has already enjoyed a measure of success with two ports from its wonderful Dreamcast line-up, and now Jet Set Radio will join the likes of Shenmue on the "rumored" pile. A "Jet Grind Radio" trademark was filed over at the USPTO last week by Sega, while Kotaku heard whisperings at the ongoing Comic-Con 2008 festival that the trademark referred to a new Wii game.Though we should emphasize the "whisperings" part of that last sentence, it's difficult not to get massively over-excited by the idea of a Jet Set Radio on Wii. The original game, now a breathtaking eight years old, exuded style and flair from every pore, with to-die-for cel-shaded visuals and a soundtrack that is played on the Wii Fanboy stereo to this day. We'd take a trip back to Shibuya-cho and Professor K any day of the week, and we'll do it with Wii MotionPlus compatibility, if you're reading this, Sega.[Via Game|Life]
The DS Life: Out of habit
Though we try to keep our praise of public property vandalism to a minimum, there are some instances when we can't help but clap in our seats, humorless, like Orson Welles in Citizen Kane. This week's edition of The DS Life is one of those instances, our subject being a magnificent bit of street art spotted in Darmstadt, Germany and photographed by Joachim S. Müller. Say ten Hail Marys and bring yourself past the post break for the photo.
Wiispray makes virtual graffiti
What do you get when you combine graffiti with a Wiimote? Wiispray.This Wiimote was modded to look like a spray can, and almost works like one, too. Created by a German student named Martin Lihs for his thesis project, Wiispray allows users to paint digitally -- kind of like the Digital Wheel Art we wrote about yesterday. Right now, the functions of Wiispray seem a little limited, but Lihs plans to add different spraying caps and colors to his digital spray can. Ultimately, he hopes different sprayers will make their virtual graffiti and share it with the world online.Check after the break to see examples of what "virtual graffiti" looks like.
Wiispray turns Wii Remote into virtual graffiti spray can
If only Mark Ecko had a Wiispray when he was developing Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, perhaps people the world would have understood his vision for a videogame-based, graffiti-tagging urban dystopian angst. Anyway, this Wii Remote turned into a spray can is the product of a student's thesis at Bauhas-University in Weimar, Germany. Martin Lihs crammed the controller into the can-like structure and plans (hopes?) to create a communal -- but not illegal -- virtual graffiti wall in which people can add their digital tags and keep it real clean, yo. Curious that he's using PlayStation-based triangle and square buttons, though.[Via SlashGear]
