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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.
Jetman soars over Rio, flies circles around historical landmarks (video)
Why would you want to leap out of a perfectly good aircraft? To fly a winged jetpack over the city of Rio de Janeiro, of course. It sounds nuts, but it's just a day in the life for Yves Rossy, the self proclaimed "Jetman" who flew over the Grand Canyon last year. Since soaring over the Rio Grande, Rossy has pitted his carbon-fiber wings against a rally car on Top Gear, taken to the skies over Abu Dhabi and, most recently, buzzed Brazil's famous Christ the Redeemer statue. Jetman rocketed past the monument on an 11 minute flight earlier this week, beginning his journey by dropping out of a helicopter over Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. Rossy pulled his Rocketeer trick and eventually parachuted to safety on Copacabana beach. Sound fun? Head past the break to see the man in action. Us? We'll keep our feet planted on terra firma, thanks.
The Guild posts episode 8 of season 2
Yes, the new episode of The Guild is now live for your watching enjoyment, and the gang deals with the servers going down the only way they know how: by driving each other crazy. Strangely, rather than running for the hills while they don't have to be in the game together, they decide to party up in real life as well, and that should be a sight to see next week. Plus, Codex gets her own game shut down by an unexpected player.Good times as always. The latest episode should also be up in HD soon on Xbox Live and in the Zune marketplace as well. Just the thing to keep you entertained during today's extended maintenance.
THQ abandons Stuntman and Juiced franchises
Developer and publisher THQ is going through some, how shall we say this, mid-life crisis problems as of late. Problems that are forcing them to close a studio, give up on certain franchises and cancel games. Oh bother ... According to THQ's financial outlook that was just released, THQ confirmed that both their Stuntman and Juiced franchises haven't performed as well as they expected and they will not be making any more games in either franchise. THQ also confirmed that they've canceled the PS3 version of Frontlines: Fuel of War, the PS2 version of Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed and stopped development on one of their unannounced 2010 releases, closing the studio behind it (Concrete Games). They say they're "trimming the fat", we say there's trouble in paradise.
THQ cans Frontlines PS3, Juiced and Stuntman franchises
Confirming earlier rumors, THQ has announced that the PlayStation 3 version of dystopian shooter, Frontlines: Fuel of War, has been canceled. And it's not the only game to have its plug unceremoniously pulled. Indeed, THQ's update to its fiscal 2008 outlook brings to mind Joystiq's consistently inept maid who's always yanking all the cables out with her feet while she's dusting the office TV. In describing the publisher's third fiscal quarter (ended December 31, 2007), the report notes "non-cash charges of approximately $27 million" in relation to the cancellation of not only the PlayStation 3 edition of Frontlines, but the PlayStation 2 version of Destroy All Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed. THQ also notes a decision "not to pursue" its Juiced and Stuntman properties, the latter particularly described as underperforming following its release on Xbox 360 and PS3 last year. Also appended are two unannounced titles for Xbox 360 and PS3 which "had" been scheduled for release in THQ's fiscal year 2010. One of them was being worked on by THQ's Concrete Games Studio, also the victim of a closure according to the report. Though it would be easier to blame the maid, THQ CEO and president, Brian Farrel, deemed the decouplings necessary to "strengthen [THQ's] pipeline and position [the company] to compete aggressively with compelling, high quality games."
Destroy All Humans 3, de Blob, Frontlines delayed until FY 2009
So, there's good news and there's bad news, die hard fans of Destroy All Humans. (Yes, we're talking to both of you.) First off, as previously rumored, a third Destroy All Humans subtitled Path of the Furon is in the works for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. The bad news? Well, it's just been delayed from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 until FY 2009, meaning you can expect it between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009.The news came from a fiscal outlook from THQ, in which Frontlines: Fuel of War on PS3 and de Blob for the Wii were also moved into 2009. In completely unrelated news from the same release, Stuntman: Ignition and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights are performing worse than THQ expected, despite their impossibly sexy titles.[Update: A THQ staffer wrote us and said that Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon will actually be coming in FY 2008, but the profits will be realized in FY 2009.][Via TeamXbox]
Worldwide PS3 releases for the week of September 24th
Whoosh! That's the sound of games literally flying off the production lines and onto shelves. Today's release list is possibly the best yet. Remember when we were having weeks like these? Thank goodness those are over. Here's the full release list:US Games Skate World Series of Poker 2008 EU Games Stuntman: Ignition SEGA Rally FIFA 08 Ratatouille Asian Games Warhawk The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion This week at least one high profile game being released in each territory. We're intrigued to see how Oblivion and Warhawk will do over there here in Japan. All of these games are subject to the constant change in whim of the Game Fates, so don't start moaning if any last-minute delays occur. It's not our fault.If you see something on that list that you like the look of, but it's not in your region, then don't fret. Simply import the game and play it on your region free PS3. Simple. Which titles will you be picking up?
Worldwide PS3 releases for the week of September 17th [UPDATE]
Wow, we're a day or so late with this one. Sorry about that. A couple of us are currently rushed off our feet preparing for our trip to Tokyo tomorrow. Regardless, we've managed to find the time to deliver to you the (frankly, quite underwhelming) news regarding this week's game releases. Check out the full list below.US Games Stuntman: Ignition EU Games Warhawk Asian Games Blazing Angels 2 Nothing too exciting. Never mind, eh. Thankfully weeks like this are now the exception rather than the rule. If you're a Stuntman fan, however, then rejoice! Even if you live outside of the US you can happily import and play it on your region free console. Release dates are subject to a constant flux, so be sure to check before leaving the house. It's dangerous out there.[UPDATE] Whoops! We goofed. We forgot that the Warhawk retail box is out in Europe this week. Thanks everyone for reminding us.
Stuntman: Ignition demo crashes into Xbox Live
C'mon, everybody! Sing along!Well, I've never really sold that well, but I've frustrated plenty. It's true that you can try me for no pay, a-hey-hey. I've gotten burned over long load times after blowin' up for the 20th time, but at least I'm not as bad as on GBA, a-hey-hey. You might say you're gonna buy me, you may think I'm really lame, but I'm the Stuntman demo that just came out today.OK, so we're no Lee Majors, and the demo is actually for Stuntman: Ignition (try working that into a lyric!). But it's E3, cut us some slack. We're actually curious to see what you guys think of this one. So ... what are you waiting for? Go play and discuss!
Destroy All Humans, Saint's Row sequels not coming this year
A brief note in publisher THQ's fiscal report (PDF file) indicates that a previously announced sequel to Saint's Row will not be marching until fiscal year 2009. In calendar terms, that means excess excess pimp-slapping won't be coming until at least April 1, 2008. Conspicuously absent from the entire report was a mention of a Destroy All Humans sequel. Though DAH3 was reportedly announced in a German magazine as coming out this calendar year to consoles, no mentions were made of the franchise for either FY 2008 or 2009. It is still listed as one of its key IPs, however. There's always a chance, however slim, that THQ could pull a surprise announcement at next week's Min-E3. Expected this fiscal year from THQ are Stuntman: Ignition, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights and MX vs. ATV. Oh, and licensed titles, too.
Today's riskiest video: Jackass trailer
Jackass: The Game interests some of us idealistic gamers. Yes, we're the hopeful ones that think this could be an inventive, Stuntman-esque title, where you have to complete odd feats to progress. The cynical recognize Jackass as an easy cash-in; MTV Games didn't even spring for next-gen development costs and instead decided to sling it to PS2, PSP, and DS players.Will the real joke be on the gamers who buy the title? We'll find out with the game's September 24 release. Until then, watch the trailer after the break.%Gallery-4144%
Stuntman: Ignition screenshots explode
We couldn't think of anything better to get the testosterone flowing today than a few new screenshots from Stuntman: Ignition. And you're in luck, because THQ just released ten new action packed screens from the game. And from what we can tell the game is looking more polished than ever (though, its pretty factor still isn't high) which makes us want to see the game in action, kind of like this. But seriously, who doesn't love an invincible monster truck sporting a dead animal skull on its grill? Really?
Stuntman Ignition is on fire, literally
This video of the new Stuntman: Ignition surfaced today, and we must say it's looking very nice. Actually, we take that back. Just for a moment, we're going to revert back into 15-year-olds, which is what we are on the inside, and say that Stuntman: Ignition looks totally awesome. Watching the trailer, you really do get the Hollywood feeling, like you're driving through a bad Pierce Brosnan movie. The last part of the trailer -- the yellow car tearing ass around San Francisco -- looks like it was heavily inspired by The Rock. The ending of the trailer, though, is just plain inspired. In short, we can't wait to get a closer look at this one.Check out the video and tell us what you think.[Via Joystiq]
Stuntman Ignition on PS3 & Xbox 360 in summer 2007
THQ has announced that the follow-up to Atari's 2002 Stuntman will arrive this summer for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Dubbed Stuntman Ignition, the sequel is being developed by the publisher's internal studio Paradigm Entertainment (formerly of Atari). The original Stuntman was developed by another former Atari studio, now with Ubisoft, Reflections. Ignition will continue the tradition of insane(-ly frustrating) stunts, as players desperately fight to maintain a variety of careening-prone vehicles, including exotic sports cars, motorcycles, and (ever-impossible to control) hovercraft. Thankfully, an online mode will let you design the torturous routes, and then invite others to suffer the trial and error.
THQ cooking up sequels
THQ CFO Ed Zinser talked about the future of their intellectual properties and announced sequels for new gen consoles. Saints Row, Destroy All Humans!, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, Stuntman and MX all saw enough success to warrant continuing their respective series. Ed also informed us that they would be released on an every-other-year type schedule. On top of all the aforementioned franchises, Zinser also stated that THQ has fresh intellectual properties that they plan on introducing this generation. Are you looking forward to seeing any of these sequels come to your 360?[Via QJ.net]
THQ announces six franchises to be worked on
THQ CEO Brian Farrell had a conference call recently and thanks to PS3Fanboy tapping all major developer's phone lines (not really... but that would yield some priceless news!), we've learned of six franchises THQ wishes to bring back for some previously unannounced sequels.Farrell belted the titles he wanted to bring back almost as if he had them written down on a napkin: "Saints Row, Stuntman, which will be released this year, Juiced, which is a sequel to the product we launched a couple years ago, Destroy All Humans, MX, and my favorite, Red Faction." This is awesome! With Saints Row on it's way to the PS3, we might see a sequel fairly close to our completion of the first, unless he was referring to the PS3 version of the original. And Red Faction? Heck yes. The first one was a lot of fun. Never played the second. This is good news from THQ! Which game are you guys looking forward to seeing again from this list?
Next-gen Stuntman 2 screens
Remember the good old days when stunt guys acted like Lee Majors instead of Steve-O? Recall those forgotten Fall Guy memories while checking the first round of screen shots from Stuntman 2 for the Xbox 360. As far as we know, nobody staple guns their nipples in this game.
