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Can Jesus save virtual reality?
Vive Studios just debuted its first "feature-length" virtual reality movie at the Raindance Film Festival in London. It's neither sci-fi nor twee endearing animation, however: it's a Christian film based on Jesus' seven miracles, captured in 360-degree video, and it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Best Immersive Story. The majority of the tale is told in wrap-around 8K video, with each of the miracles taking roughly 10 minutes. The episodic structure makes sense: Virtual reality is still tiring, both because you're wearing the mask and because you have a screen so close to your eyes. It's not the only issue with virtual reality, especially when it's used on lengthy media.
Jesus is coming... to virtual reality
Producers have been fretting about how to do feature films in VR, because the format doesn't lend itself to traditional Hollywood techniques. However, it's about to be used on one of the best-known tales of all time for Jesus VR -- the Story of Christ, slated to arrive in Christmas, 2016, according to Variety. The 360-degree, 4K film will work on all major VR platforms, including the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear and PlayStation VR. Produced by Autumn Products and VRWERX, it'll tell the story of Christ's life from baptism to crucifixion.
Faith Fighter shut down over Islamic protest
Yesterday, the media suddenly and unexpectedly went temporarily insane following UK Metro's coverage of Faith Fighter, a year-old Flash title that pits various deities against one another in Immortal Kombat. The backlash to the title from religious leaders was about as feverish as you might expect -- in fact, following protests from the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the title's Italian developer Molleindustria pulled the game from its site.The page where the site was once hosted now holds a message from the game's developers, blaming the Metro UK article for dredging up controversy and inciting protests over a game that has been "played by millions of players on the Internet" and "been exhibited in several artistic venues around the world." Of course, as Molleindustria was quick to point out, its pulling of the game is merely a symbolic gesture -- it's pretty tough to completely remove things from the internet.[Via GamePolitics]
Baby Jesus and Co. get free GPS devices this holiday season
The baby Jesus in the manger continues to be too enticing a prospect for some sticky-fingered pranksters, apparently. We've seen GPS tech harnessed on a small scale in the past to stave off such thievery, but now the counter-attack is going national. LightningGPS and their partner BrickHouse Security have announced that any house of worship or school can rent and use their GPS devices (and hidden cameras!) free of charge throughout the holiday season to protect the baby G and his family, the menorah, and uh... Santa. Nice to see they're covering all the religious bases here.
TEO MP-301 brings Jesus and the MP3 together at long last
Good lord. No, really. Good lord. The TEO MP-301 MP3 player from IceTech USA crams 1GB of media storage into -- as you can see -- a very Jesus-friendly form factor. The $49 player features a built-in microphone with voice recorder, mirrored front panel, and even a little speaker. According to reviews, the player has some serious interface issues and a weak screen, but if crucifixion is your thing, you can't go wrong with this necklace cross-cum-MP3 player. Or is that the other way around? Is this an MP3 player that's also a cross? Anyway, there you have it: the cross-shaped MP3 player, indeed.[Via Crave]
Forum Post of the Day: Pray for the warlocks
Sure, QQing can get old after a while, but as long as you do it creatively, a good whine is always welcomed. That's why this forum thread, offering up prayers in many religions for Warlocks after their troubles with Lifetap, is so funny. Yeah, it's Warlocks whining -- they've been doing that for a long time. But it's Warlocks whining in a creative and interesting way, so that makes it much better.Who knows what deity might encourage Blizzard to lift the nerfs for good and bless us all with buffs aplenty? We don't know it's Jesus, St. St. Maximilian Mary Kolber (the patron saint of addicts), Jebus, Thor, Sargeras (for the Legion!), or Buddha, pretty much the only recourse left to save your class from debilitating nerfs is just to pray (or meditate, if you'd rather do that) as hard as you can.Thanks, rjvv!
Jesus and fam outfitted with GPS in Florida nativity scene
Tired of prankster kids making off with baby Jesus year after year, Dina Cellini of Bal Harbour, Florida is having GPS installed in the doll, as well as the Joseph and Mary statues. "We may need to rely on technology to save our savior,'' said Cellini. Last year they tried bolting down the figures, to no avail, and this year they'll be augmenting the GPS with a Plexiglass screen. We're saving all our good wise man jokes for tomorrow's festivities, but feel free to toss your own into the comments.[Via The Inquirer]
We're all going to hell for this
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/nintendo/Somebody_thinks_Passion_of_the_Christ_is_perfect_for_the_Wii'; You know, posting this might not be the best idea on our part, as we're sure the video is going to offend some folks. But, we have a responsibility to bring you anything and everything Wii-related that we can find. This video, which is mainly composed of Jesus having a bad day (well, probably his worst day ever), is a parody of The Passion of the Christ, turning the film into a game for the Wii. Personally, we'd probably buy it, not because we want to beat on Jesus or anything, but because the controls would actually make for a good use of the Wiimote.So, unless you want to see an interactive version of Jesus getting whipped and nailed to the cross utilizing the Wii, don't head past the break.
Jesus Christ spotted in Tabula Rasa
Razor over at Razorwire experienced a surprising theophany in the world of Tabula Rasa. "I was playing Tabula Rasa last night," he said, "when a figure wearing battle armor and carrying a chain gun ran past me and my avatar provided the appropriate double-take for me. The character's name was Jesus Christ."Yes, Jesus Christ in Tabula Rasa. Obviously, Jesus Christ wasn't really playing Tabula Rasa (well, we assume he wasn't, anyway), but whether the use of the name amuses you, offends you, or both, it brings up some interesting questions about Tabula Rasa's naming policy -- questions Razor asks in his post. Give it a read. It's not super in-depth, but he points out that because Tabula Rasa is not a fantasy world like World of Warcraft or The Lord of the Rings Online, it uses a different naming policy. That policy opens the door to abuses that would have been nipped in the bud far earlier in those other titles.According to Razor there is unfortunately no way to report the name because the game's GM help features are still disabled.
Flash memory oddity reveals image of Jesus and / or Gandalf
Now that we've got our own CNC hot-air gun to draw images of Jesus and Mary to our heart's content, we're not so very surprised to see those revered images popping up in odder places, like this here flash memory. Revealed by transmission electron microscopy, the folks at Chipworks found this familiar image of the Messiah on a 4GB Samsung flash memory chip. Dick James explains: "We often get dark fringe lines in the silicon, and in this case it looks like there was some holy influence." However, we're not so sure this is a dead-ringer for Jesus. As some staff at El Reg have pointed out, the dude also bears a striking resemblance to Gandalf, and we're seeing more of a long-haired, bearded Strongbad at play here.
And lo, the angels hath smiled upon thee: NiGHTS 2 confirmed
This isn't some sick, delayed April Fool's joke. After endless rumors and speculation, Japanese gaming mag Famitsu has finally confirmed ONM's "world exclusive": the official sequel to NiGHTS into Dreams, tentatively titled NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, is coming to the Wii this winter. The Wiimote will be heavily utilized in the flying mechanics, which include soaring, tumbling, and freewheeling through an endless diamond sky. The producer of the title, Takashi Izuka of Sonic Team USA, has this to say about the title: "In 1996, we created the NiGHTS character to achieve a concept of 'being refreshed from being able to fly in the sky'. 11 years later, at last, we have broken our silence. NiGHTS will now fly in a new dream world: new stages, new story, and on the new Wii platform. Please look forward to NiGHTS and friends exploring this brand new adventure." Better news in the world of Wii does not exist, friends. What is it now, like, 264 days till the Winter Solstice? [via Joystiq] [Thanks to Dias and Creamsugar!]
Jesus appears atop cellphone tower in Uganda
Cingular, you may have the iPhone but South Africa's MTN has an exclusive with the Jesus. That's right, the Christian religion's iconic friend of burnt toast and water-stains is making a (second?) comeback at the top of an MTN cellphone tower in Gulu, Uganda. Yesterday, excited onlookers could be heard saying, "Come, come, come look over there, between those two bars, do you see him, do you see him...? He [Jesus] is standing between those two bars." Unfortunately, neither reporters nor the MTN marketing department could see the manifestation so they won't be able to use the Son-of-God on any marketing collateral. They did say "Uganda" and not Germany, right? For that is where pilgrims can find the one true blessed cellphone tower. In the almighty words of Harlo in the comments, "Can you heal me now?"[Via The Register]
Mii on a Tee
Mii on a Tee can hang right next to your Snakes on a Plane shirt in your closet. You've fabricated Miis of yourself, Hitler, your significant other, your neighbor, and Jesus (in that order). Why not display your creations for the world to see?Pick a color, pick a size, and send off your Mii to creepy leprechauns via Wii-mail or digital photograph, and you've got yourself a bonafide shirt just dripping with fanboy-idity. People will then begin to question your sanity, financial decisions, and why they themselves don't yet have one. Make us proud, guys!
The miraculous CMU Water Runner
Although it probably won't win a following of apostles for the feat, Carnegie Mellon University bot Water Runner's ability to, well, walk on water, is at least worthy of a small write-up in a gadget blog, we think. The lightweight plastic and carbon fiber robot, which is the newest member of a supposed zoo of animal-inspired devices from CMU's NanoRobotics Lab, owes its gravity-defying skills to research done by Harvard University biologists on the basilisk, or Jesus, lizard. Like its scaly counterpart, Water Runner uses a rapid slapping motion of the "feet" that provides enough propulsion for the bot to avoid sinking or tipping over. Although it's currently just in the proof-of-concept, prototype stage (like, it still needs to be plugged into the wall, making it less than ideal for outdoor applications), future versions of the project will sport batteries (of course), sensors for monitoring water quality, cameras for peeping stuff, and even bacteria for breaking down pollutants (think: Exxon Valdez). These applications are all well and good, but as usual, all we really wanna know is: could it take down RoboSnake in a land-and-sea grudge match?[Via Robot Gossip]
Jesus found on Xbox 360 of Turin
Someone was trying to unload an Xbox 360, purported to feature the likeness of Jesus himself, on eBay. After a "bidding war" between two eBay members--neither of whom had any account history--pushed the price past $3000, the auction ended yesterday with the reserve not being met. The only thing that makes this whole thing even funnier, is that the same member already sold an Xbox 360 featuring the very same likeness of Jesus in December, just before JC's birthday, for $530!The auction has links to a site that previously linked to their earlier auction! Great way to keep it a secret! Also, just for fun, check out how many "Jesus on fill in random object here" auctions Way Out Auctions links to.[Via play girlz]
