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The evolution of video-game cyberpunk: 'Ruiner' and 'Tacoma'
What does it even mean, cyberpunk?" It's a strange question coming from Magdalena Tomkowicz, the narrative designer of Ruiner, a top-down action game that takes place in an anime-inspired cyberpunk world. It just landed on Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this week from Polish studio Reikon Games, but fans of gritty sci-fi shooters have been looking forward to this one for months. The thing is, Tomkowicz and Creative Director Benedykt Szneider never intended to create a cyberpunk game. They're simply products of the 1980s, pulling inspiration from their favorite childhood stories -- Alien, Die Hard, Ghost in the Shell -- to create something of their own. Tomkowicz is also a former journalist who covered emerging technology and consumer trends, and her professional curiosity informed Ruiner's aesthetic far more than any desire to re-create the world of, say, Blade Runner. Besides, the traditional Blade Runner version of cyberpunk -- dense, dark city streets coated in smog and grime, eerily illuminated by walls of neon -- is out of touch with today's reality, according to Szneider and Tomkowicz. This aesthetic made sense in the '80s, but sci-fi is all about extrapolating from current technological and social trends, not clinging to 35-year-old ideas about the future. Blade Runner completely missed the advent of cellphones, after all. "It's like it's actually a retro-futuristic genre and something that is locked in its bubble," Tomkowicz says.
'Nexus Dawn' explores story leading up to 'Blade Runner 2049'
Blade Runner 2049 picks up 30 years after the classic original movie, but what happened in the interim? Denis Villenueve, the sequel's director, tapped three creators to make short films exploring the events between the films. Watch the first one, 2036: Nexus Dawn, below:
Seminal sci-fi magazine 'Galaxy' is now free online
The next time you watch a big blockbuster sci-fi film like Alien: Covenant, you can thank the original pulp magazines. The written form of the popular genre got its start in comic book-sized magazines like Amazing Stories, Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. These publications, under the direction of influential editors like John W. Campbell, Jr., helped improve the genre from basic adventure stories to more thoughtful, well-written speculative fiction by authors like Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. It's not an overstatement to say that these magazines created the current science fiction craze. Now, Galaxy Science Fiction, a magazine that published Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man," is available for free online.
Twitch's latest marathon is a six-day 'MST3K' binge
B-movie lovers rejoice, for social video platform Twitch is set to air a Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathon lasting a mind-numbing six days. The stream, which features 38 classic episodes, will air on Shout! Factory TV's new Twitch channel from June 26 to July 3. The comic sci-fi show, which emerged as a cult favorite despite two network cancellations, follows hapless host Joel Robinson as he's trapped by mad scientists in space and forced to watch some of the worst B-movies ever produced. Viewers are not only treated (subjected?) to the appalling films in their entireties, but also to the running commentary of our sorry protagonist and the two robot sidekicks he's built to keep him sane (which, in the face of absolute fiascos such as Manos: The Hands of Fate, is no mean feat).
Bloody sci-fi shooter 'Strafe' lands on PS4 and PC in May
Strafe is a lovely little homage to classic games like Doom or Quake -- it's built to feel like a first-person shooter from 1996 but features modern mechanics, updated graphics and buckets of blood. We got our hands on the game during E3 2016 and had a blast shooting space monsters in the face. Everyone will have a chance to do the same on May 9th, when Strafe lands on PlayStation 4, PC and Mac.
The cyberpunk revolution begins with video games
Hey, game developers: William Gibson called. He wants his dystopian sci-fi future back. The annual Game Developers Conference showcases the latest projects from studios around the world, offering a first-hand look at the themes and trends driving the industry forward. And this year, it's all about cyberpunk. Walking among the flashy, flickering and noisy booths of the GDC show floor and its surrounding events, the pattern becomes clear -- a significant portion of these games have a strong sci-fi vibe, many of them dealing with the idea of futuristic corporate overreach and gritty technological espionage.
Bethesda's 'Prey' reboot makes you fear everything
Prey is all about deception. The first-person shooter starts off simple enough: You're a scientist beginning a new job at your brother's massive research company. You wake up in your bedroom, do some exploring and board a helicopter on top of your roof to head to work, where you're then subjected to some first-day testing. Everything seems to be going fine, until -- much like Valve's 1998 classic Half-Life -- all hell breaks loose. Aliens run rampant in the compound, and you black out during an attack. That's when Prey, the upcoming retelling of the 2006 game of the same name, twists the notion of what you know. You wake up in your bedroom again, just like before, as if the first 30 minutes of the game were a bad dream. But once you start exploring, you discover you're not in an apartment. You're in the middle of a giant sound stage simulating parts of your life, Truman Show-style. Once escaping the sound stage, you learn you're not in a futuristic version of San Francisco but instead on a space station that seems to be largely deserted. But one part of that earlier vision is true: The station is overrun with aliens.
James Cameron producing history of sci-fi series for AMC
AMC is producing a six-part series on the history of science fiction in collaboration with one of its most prolific modern purveyors, James Cameron. Tentatively titled James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, it will examine the history of science fiction from the early days of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne to the pop-culture juggernaut it is today. "When I was a kid, I basically read any book with a spaceship on the cover and I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey many, many times," Cameron said in a statement
English rain inspired the Google Daydream game, 'EarthShape'
When Mike Bithell was a kid, sitting in the backseat of his parents' car as the cloudy English sky soaked the roads, he would draw lines in the window's condensation, attempting to "catch" raindrops as they slid down the pane outside. "I honestly don't know what the point was, but that little activity would keep kid-Mike occupied for hours," Bithell remembers. "When I was trying to think of accessible family game mechanics, I remembered that and imagined how much more fun my little game would be if the raindrops reacted to the lines." Fast-forward a few decades and Bithell is a successful independent developer building a launch game for Google's new mobile VR headset, Daydream. His past games include the award-winning platformer Thomas was Alone and Volume, a futuristic Robin Hood-inspired stealth title starring Andy Serkis, the actor who brought Smeagol to life in the Lord of the Rings movies. Volume: Coda just debuted on PlayStation VR -- stealth, Serkis and all.
Dissecting the alien language in 'Arrival'
One of the coolest bits from Arrival isn't the sci-fi movie's Lovecraftian aliens or its stunning cinematography (although, to be fair, those are both great), it's the Heptapods' language. Figuring out a way to communicate with beings without provoking a war is central to the first-contact story's plot. While their spoken language is basically a series of low-frequency grunts and groans, the inky "written" version of it resembles an ouroboros that's written and read from left to right and right to left, simultaneously.
'The Solus Project' is Xbox One's sci-fi exploration game
We've seen a few games graduate from the Xbox Game Preview program and become full-fledged Xbox One titles, but perhaps none as intriguing as The Solus Project. Earth is a goner, so humanity takes to the stars, with what's left of the human race hanging out near Pluto. From there you're shipwrecked on an even more distant planet while looking for a suitable colonization site.
Pilot a disembodied head on July 26th with 'Headlander'
Headlander, the Adult Swim game with a '70s science fiction vibe, comes to the PS4 on July 26th. First announced last December at the PlayStation Experience, it puts you in the head of the "last organic life left in the known universe," according to the PlayStation blog post. Even though you're just a disembodied head, you do have a spacesuit helmet and rocket booster. That lets you dock your dome on any object with a "universal docking ring," including humanoid shepherds, robot dogs and even vacuum cleaners.
'Starbound' is almost ready for everyone to explore
After years of being in Steam's Early Access program for in-development games, Starbound is readying to leave those confines. Four years on and the 1.0 patch, what developer Chucklefish refers to as "the story update," adds a ton to the charming 2D sci-fi title. In terms of narrative, your character is a member of a group called "Protectors" who are trying to guide the universe toward peace, and after your Earth-based graduation from the training program you'll head off to the stars to explore the galaxy.
'Ghostbusters' reboot trailer is here
Prime your proton packs, because it's not long now before the Ghostbusters reboot haunts theaters worldwide. We've already seen a few promo photos and set shots from the film, but today we've got our first honest-to-goodness trailer. And oh boy, does it have us intrigued. The new supernatural-ass-kicking squad stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, all with distinct skills and personalities. The teaser runs for about two and a half minutes and features plenty of ghouls and other Ghostbuster staples, such as the gang's iconic uniforms, the Ecto-1, and the classic theme tune. July 15th can't come soon enough.
BBC America to show social media on 'Doctor Who' reruns
The latest season of the time-travelling Doctor is all wrapped up, so what should you be doing while you wait for his next adventures? Watching reruns with a sprinkling of social media, apparently. BBC America will soon be rebroadcasting season 9 as "Doctor's Notes," which are essentially regular episodes with fan-made commentary layered on top. They'll include quirky tweets, rambling Tumblr posts, exceptional Instagram fan art and Facebook babble. The BBC says it'll then be coupling these with its own facts and storyboards to keep longtime fans entertained.
Cyberpunk noir game 'Read Only Memories' heads to PS4 and Vita
Read Only Memories, a pixelated adventure game set in the futuristic city of Neo-San Fransisco, will make its way to PlayStation 4 and Vita "soon," developer Midboss announced in a new trailer. Midboss is composed of the folks behind the annual GaymerX convention, and Read Only Memories is a narrative-driven, sci-fi romp set in 2064 that happens to include an array of inclusive character options, such as the ability to choose your preferred gender pronoun. However, these options are almost a side-note to the game's emphasis on story, retro 2D gameplay and robust character interactions.
Watch the premiere of 3DR's drone-shot series 'Life after Gravity'
For the most part, consumer drone videos are without narrative; beautiful sweeping views of the world. That's no bad thing, but 3D Robotics thinks we're missing the full potential that quadcopters have to offer. When it revealed its Solo "smart drone" earlier this year, it gave special attention to the camera-specific features -- such as a virtual cable cam, orbit mode and other cinematic options. In case you weren't convinced, 3D Robotics is driving the point home with an original sci-fi mini-series called Life after Gravity shot entirely with the Solo (and a GoPro, naturally). Each episode is accompanied by a blog post that talks you through the production, and details on how key shots were achieved. We're exclusively revealing the first episode right here.
New game from 'Gears of War' creator breaks the moon
LawBreakers is not a post-apocalyptic shooter. It is a shooter. It does star a group of Marine-like soldiers out to gun down people in the name of justice and it does take place in the future. But creator Cliff Bleszinski is adamant that this isn't a standard futuristic, kill-streak kind of game. As the mastermind behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, he knows all about those. Instead, LawBreakers takes place in a post-catastrophe world: Human experiments on the moon cause it to shatter, which triggers devastating earthquakes and breaks gravity in certain spots. Humanity rebuilds, bigger and better than ever, and then violent gangs begin to attack the new world. The LawBreakers are deployed to fight the gangs, using super-human supplements and special maneuvers made possible by the low-gravity zones.
He made Tom Cruise 'forget the mouse.' Now it's our turn.
In a way, John Underkoffler's like Hollywood's own Wizard of Oz. He's the man behind the curtain responsible for infusing blockbuster fantasy with real-world tech. He created the futuristic UI in Minority Report, worked on the timeline for Hulk's transformation and found a Soviet fusion reactor to blow up Stark Industries in Iron Man. He also recently received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for his work as an interface designer both in films and in the real world.
The beautiful cyberpunk game that turned two brothers into developers
Tim and Adrien Soret, brothers from Paris, were quietly developing a Studio Ghibli-inspired dark fantasy game when the Cyberpunk Jam digitally rolled into town in early 2014. They took a break from their existing development schedule to build a completely new experience, a pixelated, neon-infused, sci-fi homage to some of their favorite childhood titles -- Another World, Flashback and Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. They were new to game development and unknown on the indie scene, but in six days they coded, animated and designed their entry, The Last Night, and then threw it online for voting. They didn't expect much. "When we discovered that we won out of 265 games, we were totally stunned," older brother Tim Soret says.
