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New Fallout Online artwork sighted
It seems like the Fallout Online hype-machine is slowly grinding into gear, what with the recent FAQ update and now word of some cryptic new artwork being sent to mailing list subscribers late last week. Destructoid has the scoop on the email blast, which kicked off with a brief textual teaser before leading into the imagery. "There are many stories and many more tall tales about life in the wastelands, this is one of them," read the notice. In addition to artwork like the vista shown above, subscribers were sent images of a letter scrawled by a character named Les, who waxes on about the Menkey Butte Mine and a "Ragskin" named Fast Eddie. Yeah, we can't make sense of it either, but it's a great way for Interplay to pique our collective interest.
Winners of "Declare your Loyalty" contest announced for City of Heroes
Sometimes you notice them and sometimes you don't, but the background touches in City of Heroes are always there. They're little reminders that you're moving through a city full of people. The Rogue Isles has its share of shady billboards and decorations (including no-questions-asked investigators and a minion recruitment service), while Paragon City has law firms and socially-conscious advertisements about the Rikti. And Praetoria has propaganda for Emperor Cole... and against him. That's the crux of the now-concluded contest to declare your loyalty in artistic form for Going Rogue, and the winners of said contest have been announced. There are three winners in each category, for both Loyalist propaganda and Resistance subversion. Two of the pieces of Resistance graffiti and one of the Loyalist billboards have also been adopted by the developers -- they will be featured in Going Rogue, albeit in a slightly-altered form. The gallery of winners showcases both the original submissions and the slight alterations made for the appearance in-game. City of Heroes players who haven't yet picked a side -- or those who are just interested in seeing some nicely-done propaganda pieces -- should head on over to take a look.
Google Envelopes turns Gmail into snail mail, wraps it in precisely routed Maps printout
It's a fantasy come true for the avid nerd / traveler, but unfortunately for us, it's but a concept in its current form. Syracuse's own Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik have dreamed up Google Envelopes, and if brought to production, this might just make the USPS as relevant as it was during the heyday known as 1985. Put simply, the solution would involve a new 'Send Envelope' method of passing along a note penned in Gmail; when pressed, you'd get a printout of the message along with a specially crafted envelope, the latter of which really makes this idea shine. The envelope itself would be a Google Maps representation of the quickest route to transfer said message from you to the recipient if roadways and kayaks were used in place of fiber and coax, giving the receiver a crucially awesome keepsake each time you dropped him or her a line. Oh, and having an 'Avoid Tolls' option would just totally put it over the top -- even if were relegated to beta. [Thanks, Yofred]
iPodMeister gives you an iPad for your old CDs
Want to get a new iPad but a little short on cash? Trade in a bunch of your old CDs or DVDs to a company called iPodMeister and your problems are solved. Sound too good to be true? It's not, reports the New York Times. iPodMeister was founded by a group of musicians and students who realized that though CDs are virtually worthless in the US, they often fetch higher prices abroad. Their business model is to collect your discarded CDs or DVDs, giving you an iPod, iPhone, or iPad in return, and sell your CDs and DVDs for a profit in other countries. A fringe benefit of this is that your old CDs and DVDs actually get used for something instead of just going into a landfill. The cool cats at iPodMeister do have strict rules regarding what CDs and DVDs are acceptable, but note that if you bought your CDs in a record store, you're probably good to go. They do require both the original jewel case (remember those?) and the original album artwork, however. If you've got binders full of original CDs, but no inserts, you're out of luck. So what will the various iterations of the iPad cost you? The full breakdown's past the link below, but you might be surprised -- an iPad ain't cheap.
OLED becomes art, your bank account becomes empty (video)
We're still on the cusp of an OLED revolution for home entertainment -- or at least we're still holding out hope that we are. We'd planned on having big-screen displays by now but we're instead still dealing with tiny ones along with a never-ending series of concepts. This latest use, spotted at last week's CES, adds a little artistic flair to the technology, staggering a series of displays and synchronizing the video across them to create some lovely results. We're not really into the whole lacquered boat look, but the fan-like array of displays is quite interesting to say the least. As is the cost: from $100 all the way up to $100,000. You could buy a lot of XEL-1 TVs for that money. Video after the break.
Windstorm Studios announces partnership with 226 Productions for an upcoming MMO
While Windstorm Studios has been very tight lipped regarding what they're currently working on, they certainly have been offering up a few glimpses into what looks to be a retro-future themed MMO they have in production.The art of the game has recently been entrusted to 226 Productions, a Russian based art company that has done work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, NBA '07, and TimeShift. 226 is no stranger to the IP that Windstorm has been brewing -- some of the pre-production artwork was completed by them.As to what exactly Windstorm will bring to the MMO table remains to be seen, but if these pictures are any indication, it looks to be something fresh, exciting, and filled with laser shooting scooters.
Patch 3.3 PTR: New totems for trolls
Now this is neat: brand-new totem artwork has been spotted on the patch 3.3 PTR for troll shamans by extremely excited tipster Zjin. Previously, all Horde shamans shared a totem design, and draenei got their own space-themed totems when they were added. The new troll ones look appropriately voodoo, I think. There are now at least three designs for the four different horde races; I wouldn't be surprised if orcs turned out to have their own as well. The current Horde totems fit tauren best of all the races. Once we here at WoW.com start making our way onto the PTRs, we'll bring you any more information we can find on possible new totems for the various races. In the mean time, I'll be in my bunk, doing designs for dwarf totems in my head. Update: yep, there are new Dwarf and Orc totems too.
Fallen Earth's art director talks about updating the apocalypse
When it comes to an apocalypse, you might think that you could bang up some destroyed buildings, slap some dirt on them and call it a day. But as we learned from a recent guest dev blog on Curse with Fallen Earth's Art Director, Chris Deavellar, there's a lot of work that goes into creating a believable, realistic apocalypse. Players who are currently finding their way in Fallen Earth will undoubtedly be glad to hear that graphical updates like the one above in the works, and will be coming to us down the road. Additionally, as part of the updates that they're working on, these new building formats and textures will help to reduce the memory needed to render all the original, legacy buildings. In all, it's a great post, offering up some frank "making-of" type information for those who are curious about how this indie studio is moving forward with their work on Fallen Earth. Also included are a series of interior and exterior images showing before and after - updates that will help to improve the overall look and feel of the game. For an apocalypse, we think it looks pretty cool, and can't wait until we ride into Embry and see all new, less memory-intensive buildings.
World of WarCrafts: Aigie's character sketches
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by contacting our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) -- not-for-profit work only, please.Who doesn't love original artwork that expresses the essence of your character? We were captivated by the character sketch Elnore of Argent Dawn-US sent us to go with her recent profile in 15 Minutes of Fame. As it turns out, the guildmate behind the artwork has just begun to accumulate a small portfolio of simple sketches. "I've been sketching since I can remember, really, but not seriously until I was a teenager," says Aigie. "I enjoy challenging myself with different perspectives and the process at which I got from point A to point B. This is why I use Artpad for most of my sketching. Sure, it's not the top of the line program and it's free -- but it has a replay button, and you can see the logical process in which my work evolves. (And did I mention it was free? Hehe.)"
SDCC 09: Dungeon Fighter Online reveals comic book artwork and a new trailer
One of the last things coming out of Comic Con '09 is some of the tasty new artwork and the brand new trailer we've gotten from the Dungeon Fighter Online team during our visit to their booth at the convention. The art is done in complete comic book style, setting up a bit more of the personalities behind the main five characters -- gunner, fighter, mage, priest, and slayer.We've also received word that this week will mark the start of the closed technical beta for DFO. Server load, network tests, and things of that sort will be the focus of this initial beta. Later will be another closed beta phase which will focus on game balancing and design, as well as player feedback.Also, Neople, the original developers of Dungeon Fighter Online, will be on hand to aid Nexon with the localization of the game to North American audiences. This will allow the game to come out to our shores just like the developers intended for it to be played.Interested in seeing our new trailer for the game? Continue reading and catch the trailer after the break!%Gallery-68825%
Video: life-altering 3D projection gets splashed on German building
It's not often that we take time to highlight the creativity and innovation involved in an artistic projection, but this one excited a few too many nerve endings to pass up. The latest in a long line of fantastical wall splashings comes to us courtesy of Urbanscreen, who has designed a downright mesmerizing 3D projection to "dissolve and break through the strict architecture of O.M. Ungers' Galerie der Gegenwart. The project is entitled "How it would be, if a house was dreaming," and it's without a doubt one of the most amazing spectacles you'll see in the next six to ten minutes. Hop on past the break to have your skepticism put to rest, your world view changed forever and your hope in humanity temporarily restored.[Via freshome, thanks Hale]
Meet the Sparkplay Media team: Part One, pg. 2
Massively: Is there any MMO that has influenced your work on Earth Eternal, and if so how did it influence you? Alex Madrigal, Concept Artist: I've been pretty active with MMOs for about seven years now. I've played Final Fantasy XI the most, but I've spent a serious amount of time in World of Warcraft as well. I've dabbled in Everquest 2, Lineage II and most recently Dragonica. Artistically, I've picked something up from each of the games I've spent considerable amounts of time with. What Earth Eternal race represents you the best and why? Alex: I'd have to say that I'm probably most like the Ursine. I'm big, tough and hairy. Also...not so much tough, but definitely cuddly! If you could pick out your favorite part of Earth Eternal, what would it be and why? Alex: My monster designs. That will probably (definitely) come across as conceit, but the time spent with the team discussing, designing and fine tuning the monsters was probably the most fun I've had working on this game. To take something from a simply stated verbal concept and then see it grow through the stages of development is always exciting. Getting to draw strange things and seeing them show up in a 3D virtual space is a hoot. Plus it does my ego good when I hear people say that they think the designs are cool. And if you manage to find monsters you think aren't so cool – I didn't do those. [Laughs]What has been the most difficult obstacle for you to overcome in your work on Earth Eternal? Alex: Doing user interface work. Having come from an animation background, jumping headfirst into designing a UI was a hell of a hurdle. Dealing with a whole new set of technical limitations and rules was difficult at first. For my first UI, I'm pretty happy with the end result, but I prefer the pencil and paper/Photoshop route instead of shifting around tiny pixels. What has influenced your art style for Earth Eternal? Why this art style? Alex: I wish I could say that I was on the ground floor to help decide the artistic style for the game, but I actually came on as the concept artist about a year after the game's development started. I've been following a style set by another group of artists, but I have taken the opportunity to slather it in a healthy coating of my own personal style when possible. I'm heavily influenced by European graphic novel artists, and I really enjoy classic fairy tale illustrations. Things with visual texture and very rhythmic line work. Earth Eternal has rich lore and to me, it feels like a fairy tale world. I try to implement that kind of stuff wherever I can.Come back tomorrow for part two, when we get to speak with the lead writer, Matt Mihaly, and one of the programmers, Ryne Anderson!
World of WarCrafts: Wowatar fills in the lines
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by contacting our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) -- not-for-profit work only, please.Getting started can be the most difficult step for WoW newbies and WoW "WarCrafters" alike. Showing your artwork to other people – or even having the gumption to create any in the first place – can be intimidating stuff. Discovering someone who's willing to show you how it's done or even share his creative process represents a major inspirational coup. Swedish WoW player Jonas at wowatar.com is one of those creative wellsprings. He's created a small drawing site filled with WoW-related nuggets that inspire, instruct and delight.
Sega to give away beautiful Let's Tap artwork from Yuji Naka
Today, both Sega of America and Sega of Europe posted amazing Let's Tap artwork they received from Prope's Yuji Naka. Each branch received five pictures of the Tap Runner avatars, apparently hand-drawn by Naka. He even drew the logo on each one! The US office also got copies of the Let's Tap soundtrack and Tap Runner figurines. Neither office has decided how it will give away the amazing swag yet, but we will let you know when they do. Right after we enter. In other Let's Tap news, the European release, like the Japanese release, will include two big boxes -- as a "Limited Edition." We've contacted Sega of America about the stateside packaging. We need boxes!%Gallery-33707%
Lionhead, Stormfront early concepts revealed in art
It's always curious to see the different stages of life game concepts go through before making it into our grubby hands. It's reason enough why we can't stop flipping through the website for conceptual design studio Leading Light. Among the treasures found on the site are some fantastic pieces dedicated to BioShock, as well as a some early artwork from a pair of Lionhead concepts labeled "Survivors" and "Justice." Artwork for the former looks to be for an action game set against the backdrop of a catastrophic disaster, while the latter concept has a more futuristic, almost Blade Runner vibe. With Lionhead's Peter Molyneux set to talk on concepts his studio is tossing around next month during GDC, it'll be interesting to see if either of these projects is brought up during the panel. However, VG247 reports that according to a Lionhead rep, the pictures represent old material and neither project is in production at the studio. Leading Light's site also includes concept art from a project labeled "Titan," including some jaw-dropping set pieces pitting giant bugs against an even bigger robot. The fantastic-looking idea was apparently drummed up by Sony's Stormfront studio before it was shuttered in April 2008. Sure, it's possible that any of these projects might someday see the light of day, but you'll have to forgive us if we don't hold our breath. [Thanks, Adem]
Chinese MMO accused of stealing art from World of Warcraft, others
A Chinese browser-based MMO named Aurora Blade has been accused of lifting art and design work from a few other MMOs, including Ragnarok Online, Maple Story, and yes, even World of Warcraft. You can judge for yourself in the comparison above (the little Rogue is Aurora Blade, obviously), put together by ShackNews, but that definitely looks alike to us. The game is hosted in the West by a company called IGG, and they've responded by saying that they only host the game and aren't responsible for the game's artwork.They give no indication, however, who is responsible for the artwork of the game, and there's nothing on the page or in the FAQ that gives a company name out either. Granted, Aurora Blade is hardly competition for World of Warcraft, but at this point it appears to be up to Blizzard whether they'll bother taking further action to get to the bottom of this.Of course, there is a flaw in their plan. If they really wanted to rip off some cool Rogue armor, wouldn't it be Bloodfang? Why bother with Shadowcraft?
Scooter adorned with WoW art
This is awesome -- Jimzter of Carnage Kings on EU Darkspear decked out his Lambretta scooter with some great looking WoW art, and I mean decked: top to bottom, the whole thing is a celebration of the World of Warcraft. He's got character art all over the place, maps of the two major continents in the floor panels, and even the license plate font is WoW-ized. Apparently Jimzter designed all the custom artwork, and a friend painted it to his specs. As you can see, the guild's logo also got a promient place in the design. Looks amazing.Jim is, we're told, also a member of the Beverly Scooter Club, and if you happen to be in the area of Bridlington (near Yorkshire, England), you can even come see the bike, as he'll be showing it off at the Bridlington National Scooter Rally on October 24 through 26th. With their kind permission, we've put pictures of the scooter in the gallery below. Very nice work. %Gallery-35304%
The Frame brings high-def art to Canadian HDTVs on Star Choice
We'll go ahead and say it: Canada is in desperate need of some fresh HD channels, and while we're sure Canucks will take any one they can get, we have all ideas The Frame isn't high on their list of wants. Nevertheless, the all-HD-art channel that hit Shaw Cable back in August has finally arrived on subsidiary Star Choice, and as expected, it will provide a 24-hour feed of high-def art sans commercials. From "exclusive fine art collections to award-winning photographs," The Frame promises to give your HDTV a workout when there's absolutely nothing else on. Those somehow looking forward to this can catch it on slot 268 this Thursday.[Via Digital Home]
Explore the halls and amenities of Blizzard HQ
Blizzcon is this weekend, and journalists and bloggers the world over are descending upon California to report on everything from Diablo 3 classes to -- you guessed it -- World of Warcraft. MTV's Multiplayer blog counts itself a member of that gaming press Horde, and in addition to your usual Blizzcon coverage, it visited Blizzard's headquarters and took lots of photos.The HQ has a museum, a movie theater, a gymnasium, and a bunch of other amenities, and they're all documented in Multiplayer's gallery. The walls are covered in Warcraft and Starcraft artwork -- basically, it's just as awesome as you would expect it to be. Hit the source link to browse the gallery to your fanboy/fangirl heart's content. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
AGDC: Reset/Play, more gaming inspired artwork
Click for more pictures from the exhibit One of the opening night parties at Austin GDC was held at the Arthouse, which is currently housing an exhibit of gaming related art that ranges from 8-bit inspired to some truly abstract pieces. Reset/Play is showing in Austin through November 2nd, and is well worth a visit. Eddo Stern's Best...Flame War...Ever... (King of Bards vs. Squire Rex, June 2004) is worth the trip alone. It recreates an online flame war between two EverQuest gamers with sound and animation, and runs for about 14 minutes. Truly amazing.Another impressive piece in the exhibit is Andrew Galloway's How to Play World of Warcraft, which features two huge video images showing closeups of the mouse and keyboard of a gamer, and those are flanked by huge blowup images of ASCII text guides for the game. You can see both of these pieces in the gallery below, or read more about it at the Arthouse main page.%Gallery-32061%[Much thanks to Amaze Entertainment's Rodney Gibbs and SXSW's Linday Muse for the invitation]
