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George Lucas didn't remake 'Empire Strikes Back,' you did
Given recent events, it can be difficult to remember that the internet is capable of pretty awesome stuff sometimes. Case in point: this super-cool shot-for-shot fan remake of The Empire Strikes Back that uses some 480 different filmmaking techniques. Spotted by Digg, it runs the gamut from hand-drawn animation, intentionally cheesy live-action and even a makeshift Echo Base populated with stop-motion LEGO minifigures -- and that's just within the first few minutes. Over 1,500 hopefuls submitted their 15-second scenes, and, like with Star Wars Uncut before it, the folks at Lucasfilm stitched the best of them together to create Empire Strikes Back Uncut. It's pretty impressive on more than a few levels and we've embedded it just below. The video clocks in at just over two hours, so we heartily recommend pouring a frosty glass of blue milk and firing up your Chromecast to watch it.
Tauntaun mounts are migrating to SWTOR
Tired of cold, sterile vehicles toting your Force-using butt all over the galaxy? Star Wars: The Old Republic is about to give you a living, snorting mount in the near future. That's right: Tauntaun mounts are coming to the game. Images were given out of SWTOR's first animal mounts at the San Diego Cantina Tour. Apart from the pictures, we have no specific information concerning the mounts' speed, possible varieties, or release. We're also curious if they'll come with the ability to slice them open with a lightsaber as a makeshift sleeping bag if you're caught out in the cold. [Thanks to Austin for the tip!]
Can ThinkGeek's April product introductions get any geekier?
Where do they get those wonderful toys? Yes, the mad geniuses at ThinkGeek once again are offering a slate of new products scheduled to go on sale today. If you're an iPad owner, there are some great choices here; the Hungry Hungry Hippos iPad game shown above looks fun, and the Barbie digital fashion styling iPad/head set is very innovative. It's not clear when some of these products will ship, so would-be buyers should be patient (although the Inflatable Captain's Chair seems to be ready to go right now). Back in 2009, the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag was one of the site's most popular 4/1 product introductions; it took months to actually start shipping to customers.
Taun-taunts: Damion Schubert teases future SWTOR vanity pets
Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic blog Inquisitor's Roadhouse got in touch with BioWare Lead System Designer Damion Schubert to talk about the game's "other" companions: vanity pets. While they may not be the fifth pillar of gameplay, vanity pets in SWTOR are desired by many collectors -- and Schubert has word that more are on the way. While Schubert admits that vanity pets, such as the Hutt Observer and Mouse Droid, weren't at the top of BioWare's priority list in beta, he said the team knew they wanted them as part of the launched game. There are only a handful of pets in the game at this time, but more are to come in SWTOR's next big update. "I don't want to give out too big a hint, but they smell kinda bad on the outside," Schubert teased. He confirmed that currently pets are not limited by faction, although there are some that are restricted to dark and light side players. Schubert said that BioWare will be using vanity pets as rewards for many aspects of gameplay, including the social and legacy systems. Getting them in the future may be more complicated in a good way, however: "One of the things we want to do a lot more of is adding items that take a bit of communal exploration to discover – we're well aware of how popular datacrons and the magenta lightsaber crystal are – and minipets is one place where we've identified adding fun things like that could really pay off."
ArcheAge video shows off unusual transportation options
We've stumbled across another ArcheAge video, and unlike the last such that focused heavily on PvP, this time around we get a good look at some of the sandpark title's unique transportation alternatives. There are a gaggle of mounts on display, and with apologies to our Korean friends who will no doubt correct us in due time, we're just going to call them like we see them. Aside from your traditional horse and rider option there's also what appears to be some sort of spotted lion as well as a curious cross between a tauntaun and a bunny rabbit. We also get a glimpse of some city-based transport systems including a steampunk-esque horse and floating carriage (with some sort of mechanical contraption filling in for the horse), as well as the hang-gliding option we saw previously in the ChinaJoy trailer. Finally, there's more footage of the famous airship that's been featured in several previous ArcheAge clips. Head past the cut to see the sights.
