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Yukata-clad robots party down in Tokyo
While these robotic creatures don't have such lofty goals as colonizing the moon or caring for the elderly, there's nothing wrong with teaching a new 'bot old tricks, especially when it can turn around and teach actual humans how to bust a move. In the latest episode of Japanese robotics completely outshining the rest of the world's attempts, a group of children (and a few parents) gathered around a "wa" -- better understood as a dancing robot all dressed up for the occasion -- to bring out a gyrating side they never knew possible. The 35-centimeter tall dancing machine reportedly sports a face, arms, legs, and most of the phalanges you'd expect to see, as well as "joints" throughout the frame to give it lifelike abilities while breaking it down. While we're not exactly sure how this little guy (or girl) was programmed, nor if it would make a suitable practice partner for the vertically challenged, the possibilities here are limited only by our imagination (and its battery life). It seems that we're getting ever closer to relying on robots to convey meaningful information to other humans autonomously, and while learning how to get down on the dance floor from something that needs to be routinely oiled may seem a bit, um, unnatural, we hear the wa does an excellent job at holding back the laughter when you take a spill (and doesn't charge by the hour, either).[Via Digital World Tokyo]
Hands-on with B-Boy
Marco, regular PSP Fanboy reader, wrote in our comments section: "It is something nobody has done before (as far as I know)... I think people are jaded about any game being about Hip Hop... but at least I do know that there are people who do make the genre respectable."Very true, Marco. It's pretty easy to get jaded over games that don't seem authentic, but B-Boy seems to be the real deal. It's a game that deserves a bit more attention than it's getting, if only for its unique premise: you play as a rising star of break-dancing, and you battle other b-boys to try and become the best. It looks pretty new and different, and according to IGN, it "doesn't play quite like anything that's come before." The D-Pad controls movement, and the face buttons are used as the building blocks of moves. You string things together, and maintain balance using the L and R buttons a la Tony Hawk. There are transition moves, and increasingly complicated moves which require greater button combinations, and that's where a surprising amount of depth can come into play. Like extreme sports games, you can build up some impressive combos.B-Boy promises to mix music rhythm and sports gameplay into an innovative combination. The game is currently UK-exclusive, but hopefully we'll see it branching out soon.
Mad TV - Apple's iPad
Mad TV has produced one of the raunchier iPod spoofs we've seen to date (meaning: probably not safe for work) in the form of an advertisement of, how shall we say, pads for women who 'think different'. The 'iPad' ad wins bonus points for coming complete with a spoof of the iPod silhouette ads and a mock voice-over of Bono.
The Inspiration for the Draenei Dance
I admit, I was wondering about the unusual Draenei dance from the moment I saw it. Well, WorldofWar.Net seems to have found the dance's inspiration - in the form of this music video from India's music star Daler Mehndi. WorldofWar.Net warns that "the Mehndi video is crack," and, well I don't think I could explain it any better myself.
The Question on Everyone's Mind...
Beyond racial skills and available guilds, I know everyone's just dying to know what the new race's dance is. Well, here's one of them - the male blood elf dance. The voice commentary in the video also does a good job of addressing the obvious questions brought to mind...
Attend a 74-second rave
Greets to all my fellow sufferers out there nostrils-deep in finals. This brief video should lighten the mood some, what with Scooter's uplifting lyrics reminding us of a time when "life was so wonderful, a miracle, oh it was beautiful, Magical." Let life be beautiful and magical again, at least for 74 seconds. Then back to the books. [Thanks, Mazzocchi]
Gamers resurrect imploded pop stars
What is it about Michael Jackson and machinima? After stumbling across this clever video set in Counter-Strike, I ran a couple of searches. This rabbit-hole goes deep. There's plenty of MJ to be found in World of Warcraft videos (Beat It, Billy Jean) which is unsurprising considering that the entire male population of night elves appears to have summered at Neverland ranch in their youth (this would explain many of their pathological in-game tendencies, but that's a whole 'nother rabbit hole). Many of the night-elf dance moves are lifted from the King of Pop's library of signature jigs, including the pelvic thrust and twirly-hand-leg-kick thing. Even denizens of Second Life appear to be thrilled by the opportunity to relive the days when Jacko only pretended to be ghoulish. Through machinima, fans of celebs who have dashed their careers against the treacherous reefs of fame can now travel back to the future. Fans can return to a time when their idols still had something worth worshipping. It's a form of therapy.
Dance Across Azeroth
Deciding on the perfect race and class for a new character can be difficult, which is why it's important to stay informed about the choices that matter. What am I talking about? Dance animations, of course! The EU website had filled a glaring gap in existing documentation by providing a handy reference to dance animations - though they have sadly neglected ghost wolf, moonkin, bear form, and cat form animations (the later two new features in the upcoming patch, for those not in the know)!
GUN PLAY: theater about video games
Opening this Thursday at the Chocolate Factory in Queens, a theater group is going to "[blur] the line between real and imagined violence" with their performance piece, GUN PLAY. The New York Times reports the "the cast and crew spent hours playing Xbox titles, [as] part of their research into how to move like futuristic fighters or California carjackers." They practiced the unnatural and affected way video game characters behaved, including walking, standing, stomping, shooting, and dying. Most interesting (and eerie) was their research to act out dying realistically: they watched security camera footage from video games' greatest albatross around its neck, the Columbine High School shootings. The NYT writes, "When a person is shot at close range... his body simply collapses: 'What's really chilling about it is how it's visually not interesting.'"
