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Popular AI platform introduces rewards system to encourage deepfakes of real people
Popular AI platform Civitai just launched a feature called ‘bounties’ that encourages the community to create passable deepfakes upon request. The best one gets some fake money.
The unfiltered joy of Christine McConnell's 'Mortal Kombat' cake
Rose is an obese, Frankenstein raccoon with a pink bow on top of her ratty head and a bent fork where her left hand should be. She's blindly self-possessed, spending her days devouring sweets and torturing men -- and often vice versa. She's died at least twice, and each time, she's been lovingly brought back to life by her creator, Christine McConnell.
‘Slender Man’ trailer is proof some things shouldn’t leave the internet
I suppose it's better that the first internet-inspired meme to hit theaters will be the Slender Man instead of Grumpy Cat (whose movie was straight to video, chumps!), but creepy copypasta from the internet's teenage days sounds like a terribly thin base for, y'know, a feature-length production. But some industry exec's kid probably got spooked from a Slender Man thing once and idea-strapped Hollywood decided to spend money adapting web-bred spoopiness into a horror flick. Behold, the trailer for Slender Man.
Touchy turns you into an over-friendly, clingy human camera
"Hold my hand for ten seconds and I'll take a picture of you." That's what you get to say to people when you're wearing Touchy. The idea's simple: You put on this camera-shaped helmet, and the shutters will keep you blind until you get help from someone by just touching him or her. As a bonus, if you manage to hold onto your new -- and maybe slightly terrified -- friend for ten seconds, the helmet will then automatically take a photo and display it on the back. This is the work of Hong Kong artist Eric Siu, who created Touchy in 2012 as a way to heal social anxiety, though we can't say we were entirely convinced when Siu approached us at CEATEC. That said, we now have a new idea for our Halloween costume.
This trailer for The Order: 1886 is chilling
Not like, "That trailer is so relaxed, it's chillin'." This trailer for The Order: 1886 does away with fancy 3D cinematics and tells the terrifying story of Little Bobby Paige, complete with children singing in the key of creepy. [Image: Ready at Dawn]
Disney Research crafts a more realistic way to capture the human eye
We're keen on checking in with the folks at Disney Research from time to time to see what crazy projects its been working on. At SIGGRAPH Asia this week, the outfit is presenting recent work in crafting more detailed 3D-rendered eyes. In order to properly capture all the details needed to make things appear realistic for things like character generation, the studio has crafted a method for nabbing those intricacies based not only on appearance, but taking into account how the eye responds to light, too. "Generically modeled eyes may be sufficient for background characters, but it now takes significant effort to manually create realistic eyes for heroes and other leading characters," says Disney Research Zurich's Pascal Bérard. The project is nothing new for Disney's experimental arm, as the folks there have been looking into a method for more detailed ocular representation for quite some time. The method not only cuts down on the work required to manually produce believable results, but the tech could also drastically improve modeling in ophthalmology as well.
Artist creates hilariously surreal GIFs from Library of Congress photos
Despite the myriad communication options we as a technologically advanced have at our fingertips (literally), sometimes nothing gets our point across better than a GIF. Despite the amount of weird ones (and arty samples) we've seen, none quite hit the vibe that Droga5's art director Kevin Weir concocts though. As This Is Colossal has spotted, Weir uses historic images from the Library of Congress' online archives to create the sometimes creepy animated photos you see above and below. Weir says that he started making these in an effort to keep himself busy during downtime at a grad-program internship, and has since started posting them to his blog Flux Machine. Next time you need a trump card in a GIF war, well, now you have another place to look.
Nobody would bother stealing your iPhone if you had this case
There's a lot of talk these days about ways to prevent smartphone theft. The iPhone's kill switch feature seems to be doing a pretty good job of curbing iPhone thefts, and that's definitely a good thing, but I have a feeling this creepy case from Japan might do an even better job. If nothing else, it'll probably scare at least a few would-be crooks away before they even realize what it is. The case is modeled after a giant isopod, and unlike other such cases from Japan, it's designed with a seriously disturbing amount of detail. With almost frighteningly realistic legs, mandibles, and a scale-like external shell, the limited edition case holds your precious iPhone snuggly in place while looking endlessly discomforting. The creepy crustacean is available for order from Japan, but be warned; it won't be gentle on your wallet. The case, which comes in two colors, is priced at US$80 and $120, depending on which shade of nightmare you prefer.
Star Trek Online opens up Hearts and Minds for one day only
It's Friday the 13th today, the most ominous of all day-and-date combinations. (Tuesday the 21st doesn't have a horror film series named after it.) Star Trek Online is celebrating as a result by giving players access to a special mini-episode, Hearts and Minds, an irregularly visited mission that is available to players only until 9 a.m. EDT on June 14th. Players who choose to take part in the mission are sent to investigate a Vulcan doctor and see just what happens when some unconventional research goes a bit too far. The mission is short and is meant to be creepy rather than gruesome, a quick vignette for any captains above level 10. You can also get a special reward for taking part, although you might feel a bit... unsettled afterward.
An iPad as nightmare fuel
That's just about the creepiest thing I've ever seen. Thanks for that. [Photo credit: Joe_murphy]
New Basement Crawl screens are dark and puzzling
Bloober Team revealed a handful of new screens for Basement Crawl, the developer's PS4-exclusive action/strategy game, showing off the top-down view of the Bomberman-esque levels in the dark game. The developer previously offered a creepy teaser trailer for the game, which we've included above. Basement Crawl will include four and eight-player multiplayer modes, and has basement crawlers setting traps for their enemies. The game's creative director Peter Bielatowicz said the game will be "as skill-based as possible" and the developer will work to omit "the luck factor and remove the dependence on leveling-up characters." Basement Crawl is coming to PS4 "very soon."
RIFT's single most engaged in activity is artifact harvesting
Trion data guru Barish Orhon is the author of the latest RIFT-centric dev blog. The piece touches on Trion's propensity for collecting game-related data and using it to improve the player experience. Topics include data collection systems as well as insight into the firm's daily activity report. Said report tells Trion "how a game is doing day-to-day, week-to-week, but it also breaks down every in-game activity by user." The post also provides a couple of interesting case studies as well as the answer to what is RIFT's single most engaged in activity (harvesting artifacts).
The Daily Grind: What's the sneakiest cash-shop trick in MMO land?
Casino chain Harrah's could teach MMO cash shops a thing or two. The casino famously employs a complicated system of tracking and metrics to estimate when precisely an individual losing player will walk away from a gambling game... and right before that predicted moment arrives, employees swoop in with complimentary food and free currency to encourage the loser to stick around (and lose more, of course). I don't know of any MMOs that use this exact trick, but they certainly could. An MMO could easily track how many mobs you're willing to kill for a drop or how many lockboxes you're willing to buy before you stop playing and stop buying altogether, then trigger a drop custom-tailored for you just to keep you around. The thought of it is a little creepy but not entirely unwelcome after all the Dragon Chests I've opened to no avail lately. That day is not yet upon us, so today, we're wondering just what is the sneakiest cash-shop trick in MMO land? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WoW Archivist: WoW's most terrifying secrets
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Last year, Alex gave us a thorough look at the hidden Karazhan Crypts area, with its massive pile of bones where hundreds of people were thrown down a well, and humans drowned by chaining them upside-down underwater. The crypts were never meant to be explored by players, but WoW has had plenty of other terrifying secrets through the years that are just waiting for us to discover them. The C'thun Kids Club Above the leatherworking shop in Goldshire, something is amiss. If you venture there, you will sometimes discover six children, arrayed in a strange pattern. They stand there, silently facing each other. The light music of Elwynn changes to an ominous low rumble or a creepy hum. Every so often you will hear ghostly noises, or even the voice of C'thun himself. Outside of the house, two tiny children's skulls are hidden in the grass. They have been called the "creepy children," the "demon children," and the "evil children." They also run around Elwynn to Stormwind and back, always in formation. Sometimes they will stop and stare at each other again, or all look in one direction for no apparent reason. Presumably this is just to creep us out even more.
NCSU creates stretchable conductors from silver nanowires, lets gadgets go the extra inch
As often as we've seen flexible electronics, there haven't been many examples that could stretch -- a definite problem for wearables as well as any gadget that could afford to take a pull or squeeze. North Carolina State University's Yong Zhu and Feng Xu may have covered this gap through a form of silver nanowire conductor that keeps the energy flowing, even if the wire is stretched as much as 50 percent beyond its original length. By coating the nanowires with a polymer that traps the silver when solid, the researchers create an elastic material that can crumple and let the nanowire take the strain without interruption. Although the stretchy conductor's nature as a research project could put any practical use years into the future, Zhu notes that it can take loads of abuse, making it a perfect fit for rugged mobile devices. It should also allow for robots with a gentler touch and a more natural look... although we'll admit we're skittish about the creepy androids likely to follow.
Creepy Japanese title Nanashi no Game phones in a sequel (in Japan)
Call us masochists, but we were really looking forward to the stateside release of Japanese horror title Nanashi no Game, or its sequel, Nanashi no Game Me (trailer above) for the DS. Neither of these made the trip -- evil spirits are afraid of flying, we assume -- and now there is one more Nanashi no Game title we can feel left out on, Nanashi no Appli, out today for iOS devices in Japan.Nanashi no Appli follows the same story as its predecessors, Andriasang reports, where you play as someone who downloads a cursed RPG, which gives you one week (whisper: seven days) to complete it before you die. Nanashi no Appli features Twitter connectivity, a virtual OS that decomposes as the game progresses, and 3D sound, so you never know exactly where those disembodied voices are coming from.An Android version will be released in February, also in Japan. Maybe it's better that way.
League of Legends unearths harrowing Halloween skins
It's not too late to sign up for Riot Games' Institute of Horror, brought to you by League of Legends and your deepest, darkest nightmares! During the Harrowing event, fright-proof players can enjoy Halloween goodies and decorations sprinkled around their favorite maps. Skin collectors (ew) will be delighted to hear that there are four frightfully fascinating variations to nab, as Annie, Blitzcrank, Nidalee and Nocturne now boast a spooky makeover. These will be available as soon as the patch goes live. Unfortunately, these skins will be gone once the Harrowing is over, so get them pronto or forever hold your peace. You can view League of Legends' severed-tongue-in-cheek Harrowing trailer after the jump.
The Daily Grind: What zone creeps you out?
In the early levels of pretty much every MMO, the setting is idyllic. Sure, there are rats that could devour a housecat in abundance, but the environment feels fairly sedate. Once you get into the higher levels, however, you start walking through regions that are less welcoming. Some of them just feel unreal and alien (Final Fantasy XI's Promyvion regions), while others are real environments pushed far beyond the breaking point (World of Warcraft's Shadowmoon Valley). Whatever the cause, though, there are definitely spaces in the game where you really don't want to own a house. Every person's tolerance of creepy is going to be different, and for some people the opening of RIFT in the midst of a bleak and hopeless future is going to be creepy enough. But we're not going to tell you what the creepiest possible region of a game world is; you're going to tell us. So what in-game zone makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and why? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Puzzle Agent 2
I've been looking forward to this one. I first enjoyed Graham Annable's Puzzle Agent last summer actually on the iPhone, even though it was also released for the Mac and PC previously. The sequel is now available on iOS, and I can't wait to play it. Annable's weird mix of homespun comedy and creepy gnomes is fascinating to me (and you'll love it too, especially if you have a taste for the weird and slightly frightening), and Puzzle Agent's puzzles were ingenious little bite-sized affairs, paced perfectly well with a story full of wacky characters and twists. There's no Game Center integration here, and the presentation might not be perfect -- the first iPhone title suffered a little from weird graphical glitches (though there were no game-breaking bugs that I found). But nevertheless, the Puzzle Agent series is much-loved by a certain crowd, myself definitely included. If you know you'll like it already, you can pick it up on the iPhone for US$4.99 or on the iPad in HD for $6.99. If you've never played the series before, you can check out the first title for the same prices, play through the free version, or just wait a bit for them to go on sale.
Parrot AR.Drone floats into damaged New Zealand cathedral, returns with haunting video
Whenever disaster strikes, robots are among the first to scope out the damage. Rarely, however, do they return with footage as eerie as what this Parrot AR.Drone recorded in Christchurch, New Zealand. In the wake of Monday's 6.0-magnitude earthquake, engineers sent the $500 bot into the city's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament -- a 106-year-old Roman Catholic church that had sustained significant damage, rendering it too dangerous for humans to enter. The iPad-controlled quadrocopter swooped in and captured rather depressing images of the cathedral's battered interior. The video's quality may be low, but its creepy quotient is high: shattered stained-glass windows, piles of debris, stray pieces of iconography -- it's all quite heavy. Head past the break to see it for yourself. [Thanks, Ross]
