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Plastic-plucking robots are the future of recycling
We are living in the Age of Plastic. In 2015, the world's industries created 448 million tons of it -- twice as much as it did in 1998 -- and the rate of production is only accelerating. However, our recycling efforts have not matched pace. In fact, according to the EPA, barely 14 percent of plastic products are recycled globally. But a new generation of recycling technology is here to keep the world's plastics in circulation and out of our landfills.
Warcraft movie will buck the bad game movie trend, according to Legendary Pictures
No, we don't have a release date or casting information yet, but during a recent press tour for Pacific Rim, Legendary Pictures founder and CEO Thomas Tull answered a few questions about the Warcraft movie to be. Will this be the video game movie that bucks the trend of bad video game movies? Tull thinks they can: by ignoring the video game aspect. "We don't know how to make a movie out of Warcraft, the video game," Tull explained to reporters. "It's the incredible story, and the war, and these races, and everything these guys at Blizzard have come up with. They have 100 books, and just this incredibly rich world that they've created." And fortunately, this is a sentiment director Duncan Jones seems to share. Before he was tapped to direct, he commented on the Warcraft film in a 2011 interview saying, "A good game adaptation is where you find the story or the emotional aspect that's at the heart of a computer game and you replicate that on film. It doesn't mean you need to have first person perspective or try and capture the mechanics of a game." Of Jones, Tull explains, "This guy gets it." So we may still not know the details, but we're holding on to hope for a great Warcraft film on the horizon.
Breakfast Topic: Who is your NPC buddy?
I have an incredibly soft spot for Wrathion. Heck, I helped him avoid being smushed as an egg. And then later, I happily murdered his brothers and sisters as well as his utterly cuckoo father. He was so impressed he gave me awesome daggers, even. And sure, I mean, he's a member of the Black Dragonflight and likely using me for his own nefarious means, but I just like the kid. He's my buddy. Needless to say, I was utterly delighted to find him in Pandaria. I was even more delighted when he was finally given something to say and decided to say hello to little old me. I mean, I'm sure he's got other master assassins kicking around, but I'm his favorite. So I'll happily do whatever he asks. He's cool. We're on the same wavelength -- for now, anyway. I seem to get this with every new expansion. Out of all of the varied NPCs introduced, I find one who strikes a particular chord within my heart, and they are my friend forever and ever. Mylune, Stormcaller Mylra, good old Jones in Dalaran (aka the best kitty ever), Rexxar, Umber -- the list goes on and on, and there is no rhyme or reason to it. In Mists, Lorewalker Cho is an immediate favorite, as well as Li Li and of course Chen Stormstout. Who doesn't love Chen? I can't be the only one who does this. Is there any NPC you've got a particular attachment to? One who makes you smile every time you see them? One whose quest you don't mind repeating on endless alts -- one whose quests you actually look forward to repeating? Let's have it -- who is your NPC buddy?
Director predicts Warcraft film will break video game movie trend
Last week, Badass News posted an article detailing an interview with director Duncan Jones in which the Warcraft movie was one of the main topics of discussion. Jones is the son of David Bowie and director of the impressive science fiction flick Moon, as well as Source Code, another sci-fi title being released later this year. Though the interview reveals nothing about the production of the Warcraft movie, Jones thinks that the film is going to break the ongoing trend of terrible film adaptations of video games. In the article, Jones says he believes it's possible to make a good adaptation -- it just has to be approached properly. "A good game adaptation is where you find the story or the emotional aspect that's at the heart of a computer game and you replicate that on film. It doesn't mean you need to have first person perspective or try and capture the mechanics of a game," he says. Jones thinks the Warcraft film will be the film to break the mold because director Sam Raimi seems to be approaching the film correctly. "From the little I've read of interviews with him, the way he's approaching it makes so much sense. It's what I was talking about – it's not worrying about how the game plays, it's about creating the world of the game and investing the audience in that world." Jones explains that he's a serious gamer himself and is skeptical about other directors who claim the same. He doesn't think most directors have the time to be both hardcore gamers and filmmakers. Jones, on the other hand, says he stays up all night to accommodate his gaming habit and cites titles like Starcraft 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops. He also says he's looking forward to Diablo 3. Jones admits that he's "hugely jealous" of Raimi's getting the chance to direct the Warcraft film; the writer of the article goes so far as to suggest that Jones have a chance at directing it, since Raimi set it aside to work on The Great and Mighty Oz. That's not really quite how Hollywood works, though, so unless Raimi steps down from the project himself, I wouldn't count on his losing the project just yet.
New Indy Jones title coming to handhelds also
When it was revealed that a new Indiana Jones game would see the light of day, many poison-drinking, Nurhachi-holding gamers out there rejoiced at the prospect of taking up the hat and whip of everyone's favorite archaeologist for another adventure. However, it seemed that handheld gamers would be left out in the dark, that is supposedly, until now. During E3, TVG apparently managed to receive confirmation that the title would be gracing the PSP, DS, and PS2. The Lucasarts representative who leaked this information, which reads "...this game [Indiana Jones] is coming out on the Xbox 360, which is what we're showing here, as well as the PlayStation3. There's also going to be a PlayStation2 version as well as a PSP version and a DS version," is nameless at the moment, so we'll have to wait for official word from Lucasarts.
