martialarts
Latest
AI stuntpeople could lead to more realistic video games
Video game developers often turn to motion capture when they want realistic character animations. Mocap isn't very flexible, though, as it's hard to adapt a canned animation to different body shapes, unusual terrain or an interruption from another character. Researchers might have a better solution: teach the characters to fend for themselves. They've developed a deep learning engine (DeepMimic) that has characters learning to imitate reference mocap animations or even hand-animated keyframes, effectively training them to become virtual stunt actors. The AI promises realistic motion with the kind of flexibility that's difficult even with methods that blend scripted animations together.
Explosions! Car crashes! Kanji Ken!
Mentioning Kanji Ken earlier this afternoon prompted us to make a beeline for the Japanese game's official site, scrounging its pages for any new developments on the kanji trainer/brawler. Amidst a pile of nonsensical videos, we were able to unearth a pair of magnificent downloadable wallpapers of incalculable value. Just seeing them will blow your mind right out your ass. Keeping with the game's kung-fu theatre theme, the desktop decorations parody martial arts movie posters with cliches like city skylines in the background and uh... a man screaming for no visible reason. Needless to say, they're every bit as zany as Kanji Ken's cover art! Sweep kick right through the post break for the new trailers and previews of the wallpapers.
Kanji Ken's boxart: the legend continues
Kanji Ken's packaging doesn't look like anything you would expect from other "training games," but you could say the same about its teaching methods. The educational title eschews traditional academic themes, opting instead for a style that drills students on Chinese characters through kung-fu battles that play out on the handheld's topscreen. The game's cover art shows its martial arts hero at the crest of his flying kick, clutching a Nintendo DS Lite. A collage of characters surround his dynamite pose, each one more enthralling than the last! There's a drunken kung-fu fighter, an inviting blonde with no visible end to her dress' plunging neckline, and a sinister robot looming in the background. The Great Wall of China is thrown in to sweeten the deal.Head past the post break for a better look at Kanji Ken's casing and a new screenshot of the menacing automaton.
Kanji Ken continues to confuse
The latest screenshots for Kanji Ken give us a better idea of what to expect from the game -- players translate hiragana characters, writing their kanji equivalent on the touchscreen. Scribbling out the correct Chinese symbols assists the kung-fu hero brawling on the top screen. That part of the mystery is solved!What has us befuddled, however, is the new trailer that Success Corp. is using to promote the game. The minute-long video plays out an epic, live-action duel between Kanji Ken's martial arts mascot and... a folding chair? The two opponents exchange a barrage of punches and high-flying kicks, neither of them revealing the motives behind their battle.Head past the post break for the movie clip and screenshots.
Mazu Kan's "contact-free" Laser Martial Arts game
If you've got the bank credentials to back it up, you can build your own robotic fighting machine, or hop in the "squishy ball shooting" Land Walker and (slowly) mow down neighborhood pests as you please. But if you've only got $60, and don't feel like sustaining any major injuries when releasing that pent-up rage, Mazu Kan's Laser Martial Arts game has you covered. This two-person, "contact-free" slugfest contains a pair of wearable sensors that track your punches, dodges, and uppercuts to determine who loses their "10 life points" first. The built-in "sound and rumble" effects supposedly help you forget that you're not in an actual brawl, while the "two levels of combat" should put those newly-acquired cagefighting skills to the test. Red vs Blue tees not included.[Via Uber-Review]
