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Barely Related: Wonderwear, Deadpool footage
Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Commander, watch the Master Chief Collection, Mass Effect SDCC panels
If you weren't able to attend, Microsoft and BioWare have published full video of their respective San Diego Comic Con panels on Halo: the Master Chief Collection and the next Mass Effect. If you've got 90 minutes spare, you could do worse than perching right here and checking them out - the Halo video's up top with Mass Effect below the break. If you've been lost in space for the last month and this is the first you've heard of either of these things, let's fill you in. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a remastered compilation of Halos 1-4, and it's coming to Xbox One on November 11. It also includes access to the Ridley Scott live-action Halo: Nightfall series, as well as the Halo 5 multiplayer beta, due to begin in December.
SDCC reveals new details about the Warcraft movie
Are you excited for a movie about World of Warcraft? Because the Warcraft movie won't be about that, exactly; it's focused on the backstory of World of Warcraft, specifically how the First War got started before the first Warcraft game. At SDCC, some new details were revealed about the title, which is currently set for release in theaters in March of 2016. The story will focus on both sides of the conflict, with Durotan being the central character of the orcish side and Anduin Lothar taking up the protagonist mantle on the human side. A teaser trailer was also shown with a blend of both CGI and live effects, although the trailer has not yet been released to the general public. Director Duncan Jones stressed that he wants the film to be accessible to everyone and not just existing fans of the fanchise; it'll be a couple more years until fans can see how well that goal was accomplished.
SDCC: Warcraft movie details from Legendary Pictures panel
With San Diego Comic Con in full swing, people are starting to get to see previews and hear details about upcoming projects, and one of those projects is director Duncan Jones' Warcraft movie. During the Legendary Pictures panel, details were released about the movie (coming March 2016) and here's what our sources have to say about it. We're looking at an origin story, one that details how the First War got started. Durotan is the orc focus character, while Anduin Lothar plays this role for the humans of Azeroth. Duncan Jones, the director of the film, says he wants the movie to be accessible for everyone and that it's been fantastic working with Blizzard. The teaser trailer "Looks just like the game. Amazing. Stormwind and throne room looks exact (like that tiny glimpse we saw in an earlier photo.) Armor, gryphons, orcs in full cgi that look just like game trailers." The teaser trailer varies between the human and orc perspectives. We're told that there is a blend between CGI and live effects in the trailer and that it looks natural and clean. For now the teaser seems to only be available to view at SDCC, but if it goes up online we'll be sure to give it to you as soon as we can. This is a post in progress
Barely Related: Comic-Con envy, Hello Kitty convention
Happy San Diego Comic-Con week, everyone! To the lucky few (thousand) that are actually there, pick up some swag for us, yeah? Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Riot Games promises to increase diversity in League of Legends
League of Legends features a lot of diversity among its male champions, but the female champions all feature a fairly uniform body type. That's something the developers at Riot Games are keen on changing. In response to a fan question at SDCC, producer Omar Kendall said that the company has been introducing new ways of looking at body types and shapes, with the end goal of making female champions who don't look like the others. Kendall went on to specify that the call for more diversity is one that players should see represented soon in a new character coming out. He also noted that diversity is being strongly considered with further character designs and any new champions. Game designer Brian Feeney noted that it would be a net boon to the game as a whole -- as Riot is very concerned with distinctive silhouettes, a more robust selection of body types makes it easier to tell champions apart.
Walk like an Altair at the SDCC Assassin's Creed Experience
When San Diego Comic Con opens on Thursday, would-be Ezios, Altairs and Avelines will finally get their chance to seamlessly run over castle walls, shuffle along delicately arranged plinths, and hop over pedestals like a bonafide assassin in the Assassin's Creed Experience. Ubisoft constructed this new, real-life teachable obstacle course for the convention, conceived in part by Michael "Frosti" Zernow, the publisher's new Chief Parkour Officer. Zernow and other pro freerunners will not only give demonstrations, they'll also give lessons on how to move like a regular Auditore as well. Before you go diving off any churches into hay carts, maybe try this out. Also remember you'll probably end up pulling a Homer. [Images: Ubisoft]
Exclusive Xbox One designs to appear at Comic Con
To celebrate Comic Con (and convince people to ignore Spider-Man in favor of the Xbox Lounge), Microsoft is awarding 20 lucky fans exclusive Xbox One consoles patterned after games such as Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon 2. Entering to win one of these machines is relatively easy (assuming you're at this year's San Diego Comic Con). Simply visit the Xbox Lounge on the second floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel, find the display case containing the exclusive Xbox One designs, take a photo of your favorite with the "#XboxOne" and "#XboxSweeps" hashtags attached, and you're entered in the drawing. If you can't attend Comic Con but would still like an Xbox One emblazoned with promotional imagery, Microsoft is also giving away a custom Nerdist Industries console to those at home. Details on how you can win that machine have yet to appear, but Microsoft claims a tweet is coming soon which will outline the entire process. [Image: Microsoft]
San Diego Comic-Con 2014 programming schedule released
San Diego Comic-Con International has begun to release its program of events for this year's convention. Blizzard Entertainment will once again have a presence at the convention as well as a panel with Chris Metzen himself. The panel, titled Blizzard Entertainment Showcase, takes place Thursday, July 24 from 2:15-3:15pm in Room 6BCF. Attendees looking for expansion information should take note that this is a panel about Blizzard merchandise and licensed products. While it may include some new information on upcoming projects, there likely won't be a lot of talking about game development -- but the panel does include a Q&A. However, attendees looking for other Blizzard information would do well to hit up Hall H on Saturday, July 26. Legendary Pictures will be presenting a panel featuring their upcoming slate of films in Hall H from 12:25-1:10pm. Last year, Director Duncan Jones made a brief appearance at the convention to show off what he called a "mood piece" for the upcoming Warcraft film. Filming for Warcraft officially wrapped in May of this year, which means that attendees at the panel may very well see more than just a brief glimpse of Warcraft. Fans looking for Blizzard on the main convention floor can head to booth 115 for Blizzard Entertainment. At the moment, there still isn't an official schedule for any signings that might take place at Comic-Con. Given last year's list of notable names, we should see an official announcement regarding potential signings and other pertinent Comic-Con info soon.
Enter to win exclusive Comic-Con prizes from Blizzard
If you aren't lucky enough to be heading to San Diego for Comic-Con 2014, good news -- you can still get yourself some Comic-Con goodies. Blizzard will be giving away 25 Comic-Con goodie bags chock full of cool and exclusive Blizzard merchandise. To enter, simply follow the link provided on the official announcement post, and earn entries by completing a variety of social actions using the contest app. Winners will receive a Heroes of the Storm T-shirt and lanyard, a Diablo Whimsyshire Treasure Goblin, a Starcraft Cute But Deadly Cloaking Zeratul, a Starcraft Funko Pop! Vinyl Primal Kerrigan, and a Warcraft Nether Faerie Dragon Plush. The contest runs until July 27, so you have plenty of time to get plenty of entries in. For more information, and the official rules, head to the contest app page. Good luck to all who enter!
Blizzard announces SDCC exclusive merchandise
Blizzard is once again making an appearance at San Diego Comic Con, and this year, they have some fantastic goodies going with them. The Blizzard SDCC exclusive line includes a completely adorable Nether Faerie Dragon plush toy, a Whimsyshire Treasure Goblin plush toy, a Funko Pop! Vinyl Primal Kerrigan, and a Cute But Deadly Cloaking Zeratul. There will also be a number items that debut at SDCC, but will become available on the Blizzard gear store after the convention--including a minature zergling plush keychain, and a plush Hearthstone (yes, a Hearthstone) with light and sound effects. The bad news is that none of the exclusive stuff will be available outside of SDCC. The good news is that recolored versions will be available for sale to the general public on the website. I won't repeat the sound I made when I saw the plush Faerie Dragons, but it was somewhere in the range of a squeal. I may not be able to get my hands on the SDCC version, but whenever the regular colors show up online, that thing will be mine. For those of you headed to SDCC, I hope you have a good time, and good luck grabbing one of these limited edition Blizzard goodies!
