halloween
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Apple confirms 'scary fast' event for the night of October 30
Apple is holding a streaming event on October 30 at 8PM EST. This nighttime presentation could feature the announcement of new iMacs.
‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ is getting spooky for Halloween
Pumpkins and pine cones, and a Halloween friend called Jack.
The latest 'Destiny 2' Halloween event starts October 29th
Bungie is about to kick off Destiny 2's customary Halloween event, and it's borrowing from the past even as it throws in some new twists. This year's Festival of the Lost will run from October 29th through November 19th, and it'll bring back both Eva Levante and the candy system. Earn enough sweets and you can buy "grab bags" as well as a Masterworked version of the Werewolf auto rifle. The Haunted Forest is also making its return and challenges you to venture as far into the spooky maze as possible in 15 minutes.
PlayStation's Halloween sale includes 'Dark Souls 3' and 'Devil May Cry 5'
Halloween is fast approaching so that means brands have got some fiendishly good holiday deals on offer, and the US PlayStation Store is no exception. Expect between 50 and 75 percent off loads of horror and horror-adjacent games, including Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, We Happy Few and Wolfenstein II.
Google adds seasonal Nest doorbell ringers in time for Halloween
If you're the type of person who goes all out each Halloween decorating your home to make it the star of the neighborhood, Google wants to help. Starting today, the company is updating Nest Hello video doorbells to add a new seasonal ringtone to help create the right atmosphere for the spookiest day of the year.
Crowdfunding is better than Netflix for YouTube's creep queen
One day six months ago, Christine McConnell picked up the phone and learned that her Netflix show, The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell, wouldn't be renewed. The production company called with the news, citing an email it had received from Netflix. McConnell had been floating in limbo since her first season wrapped and aired around Halloween last year, unsure if she'd get another chance at streaming stardom.
'Stranger Things' is coming to 'Rocket League' for Halloween
Rocket League's annual Halloween event is about to get underway and this year, it'll be a crossover with Stranger Things. The Farmstead Arena will take on a distinctly Upside Down vibe, and the Netflix mega-hit's terrifying Mind Flayer will cast an ominous shadow over the field. It's not quite clear yet how or if the monster will affect your attempts to score goals, but Psyonix warned players to "make sure to look after your teammates."
'Apex Legends' will bring back solo mode in a Halloween event
Don't despair if you miss Apex Legends' solo mode -- it's coming back, if not quite in the same way. Respawn and EA are running a Halloween-themed Fight or Fright event between October 15th and November 5th, and its centerpiece is a limited-time Shadowfall mode that has 35 players squaring off in a nighttime version of Kings Canyon (which is also back following the new map release). It's not a typical battle royale, however. Anyone who dies joins an undead "Shadow Squad" that only has high-powered melee attacks, and the last 10 living players have to make it to an evacuation ship while the undead hordes try to stop them.
First 'Borderlands 3' event is the Halloween-themed Bloody Harvest
It won't take too long before Borderlands 3 stretches its virtual legs. Gearbox has revealed that the shoot-and-loot title's first in-game event, Bloody Harvest, will go live in late October. To no one's surprise, it revolves around Halloween. You'll encounter haunted foes in the new Heck area (yes, that's the name) who hinder your vision by invoking terror, including the obviously-named Captain Haunt. You can turn the tails on enemies by equipping "anointed" attachments that bring terror to others.
The unfiltered joy of Christine McConnell's 'Mortal Kombat' cake
Rose is an obese, Frankenstein raccoon with a pink bow on top of her ratty head and a bent fork where her left hand should be. She's blindly self-possessed, spending her days devouring sweets and torturing men -- and often vice versa. She's died at least twice, and each time, she's been lovingly brought back to life by her creator, Christine McConnell.
‘Fortnitemares’ ends Sunday with a live in-game event
Fortnite really got into the Halloween spirit with its Fortnitemares special event. Sadly, it will come to an end Sunday evening. But developer Epic Games wants to give fans a final treat, with a one-time event that will occur inside the game at 1PM ET.
Snapchat's dumb dancing hot dog is now an $80 Halloween costume
As of today, Snapchat sells three physical products: Spectacles, a charging case for the Spectacles, and a Halloween costume based on its dancing hot dog filter. The company confirmed to Engadget that, yes, it IS officially hawking the getup. So if you really want to spend $80 to look like a meme that briefly crowned the internet earlier this year, here's the link.
First 'Rocket League' Halloween event kicks off October 16th
There may be an emerging backlash to loot boxes in video games, but that isn't stopping Psyonix from hyping them up. Rocket League is holding its first-ever Halloween event between October 16th and November 6th, and it's ushering in a new event system that encourages you to earn crates. The more you play online, the more you earn a special event-only currency (Candy Corn) to spend on event-specific keys (Decryptors) that unlock crates holding Halloween-themed perks. You'll occasionally get lucky with crate drops, but you'll otherwise have to buy as many crates and Decryptors as you can.
'Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare' has a Halloween bash of its own
Halloween is always a fun time for gamers. This year, Overwatch fans get their second annual seasonal update in a day or so, while Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare players can jump into a month-long event dubbed "Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream." There are four weeks of creepy events scheduled, including free supply drops, themed loot, the "Carnage" multiplayer map with double XP and character skins to add to your fun. Starting October 13th, you can drop into themed boss battles, with new baddies added the following two weeks. Plus, there's a weird new mode called "gesture warfare" so you can crush your opponents with hand movements.
MIT taught a machine to give you nightmares
Robots are learning to create zombie faces and apocalyptic landscapes, and with your help, they can make them even more terrifying. Researchers from MIT and Australia's CSIRO have created the Nightmare Machine, an AI algorithm that can transform a normal face or landscape into nightmare fuel. The AI analyzed 200,000 normal human faces and was soon able to generate its own, but the team wanted to take it in another, freakier direction.
The Morning After: Monday October 31st 2016
While today officially marks Halloween, we're sure you've already made, worn and irreversibly damaged your costume over the weekend. That's fine; we all have to come back to reality some time. And at least there are dinosaur brains, rep-counting headphones and a tour around Xiaomi's HQ -- the world's next tech giant -- to soften the blow of those Monday blues.
Game studios go all-out with Halloween events and sales
Game developers thrive on seasonal events, and that's truer than ever this Halloween. It's not just themed skins and game modes, although there are plenty of those -- there are some serious bargains to be had, whether you're a Steam veteran or just getting into virtual reality. Even PlayStation Now has some Halloween goodies. We've rounded up some of the spookier events and sales to make sure you don't miss out.
ICYMI: Halloween Spooktacular 2; The CGI reckoning
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Disney figured out a way to make digitally generated faces in a fraction of the time it used to take with a head-worn camera rig. Designers in the Netherlands created a stilt-like elevator that relies on human power to get a person to climb up, though they say it requires very little effort to do it.
The Morning After Weekend Edition: Happy Halloween!
Letter from the Editor Change is life. It's what keeps things interesting. It's also what keeps the cauldron of commerce at a full boil. And in the technology industry, change is constant. This week, Apple and Microsoft revealed new computers that'll tempt many — particularly folks working in the creative arts — even if they come with eye-watering price tags.
Facebook Live gets spooky face filters for Halloween
Should Facebook dress as Snapchat for Halloween? The company has unveiled new Facebook Live masks for the spooky soiree with an eerie resemblance to those from its social media rival. To don them, you just start streaming, tap the upper left magic wand and select the masks icon from the creative tools tray below. You can choose a skull, evil queen, "limited edition" pumpkin or witch masks. Facebook also unveiled Halloween Reactions, including a "grimacing jack o'lantern" to express anger, and a cackling witch "smile."
