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WoW movie still needs a writer, Blizzard's CGI team won't be involved
When you've just released an expansion pack that sold more copies than most major stand-alone releases, all in less than 24 hours, you know you're sitting on a goldmine of a franchise. Blizzard, of course, is aware of this, what with World of Warcraft getting a licensed miniature game and a coming feature film adaptation.And speaking of the feature film adaptation, we have some elusive news about that. MTV's Multiplayer blog had a chat with Blizzard's Frank Pearce about the project. The scoop is that the studio, Legendary Pictures, is still looking for a screenwriter and director. Obviously, that means the movie is very early in development.MTV also asked Pearce if Blizzard's own world-renowned CGI animators would be involved in producing the special effects for the movie. Pearce said that the suggestion has "come up in discussions but it's not something we've really considered because it takes so long to generate just the brief amount of footage that we create for the game."
Philosony: Yea, though I walk through the uncanny valley...
I wrote a few weeks back about the uncanny valley and Hideo Kojima's possibly telling observation that war machines of the future may exploit the creepiness of robotic simulations to instill fear in their prey. I want to turn my attention now to a discussion of the valley as it applies more directly to us as gamers - overcoming the creepiness of computer generated people. Quantic Dream has already boasted of successfully traversing the valley with its upcoming (and secretly acclaimed) PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain. While realistic graphics are one thing (and it's up to interpretation whether they succeeded in the tech demo almost two years ago), is there more to escaping the valley than mere realistic modeling?
Breakfast Topic: Warcraft movie casting call
So the Wrath cinematic is out. It's gotten mixed reviews, with players like Mike Schramm generally unimpressed and disappointed there aren't any Gnomes, and other players, like myself, really liking it. In fact, I think it's the best World of Warcraft cinematic trailer to date. Whatever anyone thinks, though -- love it or hate it -- the cinematic has stirred thoughts about the World of Warcraft movie. Some people, impressed with the CGI, have even suggested that the movie should be done as a full-length animation a la Advent Children. It's almost unsettling not to have any news on the movie, despite Blizzard's modus operandi of keeping everything under wraps until "it's ready". In fact, the last news we heard was how Blizzard laughed off B-movie hack Uwe Boll. While that's certainly good news, it's been quite some time and we're quickly approaching Legendary Pictures' pegged release date of 2009. While I trust Legendary Pictures (behind Superman Returns, 300 and The Dark Knight), let's take matters into our own hands this morning and cast the movie. Even if it were done as an animation, you'd still need some actors for their voices. WoW player and Blizzard fan Brandon Routh expressed wanting to be in the movie, so why not? He'd make a good... uh... human, I guess. Varian Wrynn, maybe? We'll hear more for sure in the upcoming, sold out BlizzCon, but for now we can play casting directors and imagine who should play who in a Warcraft film. Who would you cast in the Warcraft movie?
Players respond to the cinematic
Welp, the cinematic is out now for your viewing pleasure, and the response is... mixed. While pretty much everyone praises the technical quality (Blizzard's got that cinematic magic, which makes it all the more surprising that they went with live action for the movie), there is some back and forth on whether this cinematic stands up to the other two. While fans of Arthas definitely got their fill (and it was interesting to hear Terenas' voice echoing from the past, which hearkens back to perhaps the best cutscene Blizzard's ever done), other players were disappointed to see that this cinematic doesn't follow the standard "various classes and races battle it out" formula. And that only shows that this expansion will be very much more about the guy in the Lich King suit than anything else.We'd point out, too, that this trailer didn't really have a "You are Not Prepared"-style catchphrase (though the word "King" definitely echoes with significance right at the end there). Clearly, Blizzard chose to go a different direction this time around, and whether it worked or not, of course, is up to you.Unfortunately, Gnomes didn't get their day... or did they? When players cry foul on the forums, Vaneras (in official blue text) answered with the picture above. Can you see the Death Knight Gnome hidden in among the Undead army? I like Schwick's answer even better, though -- there's probably a Gnome Rogue stealthed right behind Arthas. Those little buggers are everywhere.Update: A few people are suggesting that there is more to the trailer that we haven't seen, but Nethaera has confirmed that that's everything. She commented on the forums that the trailer only showed half the battle, but later confirmed that she meant the story was incomplete (and that we needed to complete it by going to Northrend), and not that there was more of the trailer to show.
New modeling technology breathes life into animation
Ask any animation modeler about the "uncanny valley," and you're sure to get at least a grimace, if not a groan. Said term describes the long-standing barrier which refers to the perception that "animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness." Image Metrics is hoping that a newfangled approach used to create Emily (pictured) will finally allow animations to look more like humans and less like "corpses." As you could probably surmise, the secret is the tech's ability to survey and replicate the most subtle of movements, though even Raja Koduri, chief technology officer in graphics at AMD, doesn't see the line between reality and fiction being blurred before 2020. We'll see what Emily's posse has to say about that.[Thanks, Przemek]
Point your single oversized eyeball at this Resident Evil: Degeneration trailer
Comic Con 08 attendees were recently treated to a new, two-minute trailer for the upcoming CGI motion picture Resident Evil: Degeneration. The series' previous, lackluster live action installments enveloped our hard hearts in a thick shell of apprehension towards the new movie when it was first announced -- but after seeing it in action, consider said shell shucked. Not only does it look gorgeous, but it appears Leon and Claire will be voiced by Paul Mercier and Alyson Court, the two characters' voice actors from Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Veronica, respectively. It's also full of valuable Pro-Tips for those playing along at home! Shoot them in the head, eh? Thanks, Leon!
Impressive Huxley cinematic trailer surfaces
German website PCGames.de is hosting a new trailer (and several screenshots from said trailer) for Webzen's massively multiplayer online first person shooter (what a mouthful) Huxley. If you've not heard of the game, all you need to know is that it runs on Unreal Engine 3, is developed in Korea, and features large-scale, instanced PvP battles.The trailer doesn't show any gameplay footage (but past ones have). It just shows a really well-orchestrated cinematic sequence. It looks very Unreal or Gears of War. Unfortunately, all the dialogue is in Korean, so we have no idea whether or not it reveals any interesting story elements.Note that a giant worm-like monster makes an appearance at the end. That might imply that players won't just be fighting each other. Huxley recently found a Western publisher, so we're looking forward to seeing for ourselves. [Via Blues News]
LotRO's Smeagol is sneakin' in the Lorebook
The Lord of the Rings Online's Book 11 introduced Gollum as a character with whom players could interact. His cameo appearance was a fun addition, albeit a minor one. Turbine hasn't forgotten him, though; he's the subject of the Lorebook entry most recently featured at the official LotRO website.The entry tells the "sad and perilous" tale of an innocent little fellow who was consumed by his "precious" -- the One Ring which at first seemed pretty and innocent, but which drove him to murder. We all know the ring is neither pretty nor innocent. As Gandalf said: "it wants to be found," and the one who's looking for it is none too pleasant. Gollum is one of the classic characters in English language literature. And if you're a fan of the movies as well as the books, then you'll surely agree that Gollum is the greatest CGI character in film history. Don't even get us started with that Jar Jar guy.
Run for the new Alone in the Dark CGI trailer
Whether you run "to" or "away from" this video is up to you, but Atari has given MTV a new CGI trailer for the oft-delayed Alone in the Dark game. Whereas we were impressed by the in-game trailer from late January, this footage left us feeling less enthused. We do wonder, however, if the protagonist is running from (a possibly demonic) Bugs Bunny. Video embedded after the break. Gallery: Alone in the Dark (2008)
Ratatouille joins Cars for November 6th Blu-ray release
Those already saving up their $34.99 for Disney's Cars may now be inclined to pinch those pennies a bit harder, as it looks like Ratatouille will be landing on store shelves the very same day. Sure, this seems like a shameless attempt to get early-bird holiday shoppers (and grown-ups with youngsters in tow) to pick up twice the amount of Blu-ray films they were initially planning to come November 6th, but we won't be surprised if the scheme works out quite well. No word just yet on what kinds of rat-infested extras we'll see on the BD release, but we're keepin' our ears, er, nose to the ground.
Ubisoft to open CGI film studio in Quebec, partially funded by Canada
Word from the Canadian newswire is that Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is preparing to announce a major "growth plan for the company" tomorrow. According to Québécois newspaper La Presse, Guillemot will unveil plans for a new computer-animation studio in Quebec, which would initially produce "short films for the general public."Ubisoft's new CGI studio would be made possible, in part, by an ongoing government grant that is providing the company with roughly C$454 million (approximately $383.9 million USD) over time, in order to create 1,000 new jobs in Quebec. Supposedly tomorrow's announcement will see Canada labor minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn and Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay present Ubisoft Montreal with a portion of the grant worth C$8 million (approx. $6.8 million USD).
Misleading TV ads face UK ban
Game ads have been showing pre-rendered CGI images, rather than in-game footage, for a while -- but the UK advertising industry has only just caught on. After complaints that Call of Duty 2's graphics didn't match up to the advertising, games ads have been hastily slapping a disclaimer on and hoping the advertising authorities will look the other way.The Broadcast Advertising Clearing Centre and Advertising Standards Authority are investigating, but something seems fishy, with the BACC claiming that advertisers aren't revealing the CGI nature of the footage. It's a well-entrenched advertising trick, but now that the authorities are aware of it, they might try and stop it. Actual in-game footage would give commercials a credible touch, but since TV advertising is only one of many channels used to promote games, advertisers don't seem too worried about the potential ban of CGI yet.
Phony PS3 screenshot busted?
First off, let me extend the olive branch of peace to our new neighbors at PS3Fanboy. Here's a snazzy "screenshot" from the PS3 title Motorstorm presented at last year's E3:And here's an actual game image from Motorstorm taken at the recent Game Developers Conference in San Jose (click for larger image):I know it's not a 1: 1 comparison, and perhaps the quality of the grab is poor, but do Kutaragi & Ko. really think Xbox 360 fanboys aren't going to bust balls over this stuff? Because that looks painfully PS2.5. Maybe it's from the PSP version. It's not like Sony has a history of grossly exaggerating the capabilities of their consoles and passing off CGI fluff as gameplay.[Thanks Charch]
