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Japan's Privacy Visor will hide your face from software for $240
Right, it's not quite as cool as the Laughing Man's live camera hacking, but it's as close as we'll get for a while. Dr. Isao Echizen at Japan's National Institute of Informatics has spent the better part of two years cooking up a pair of specs that render people's faces undetectable to autofocusing cameras and (with any luck) the facial recognition tech that power the web's social services. The secret behind Echizen's madness creation is a series of carefully crafted lenses that reflect, refract and absorb light in different ways to make your mug nearly unrecognizable to the face-finding software in smartphone and tablet cameras.
Guest Post: 5 ways to become a master of disguise
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider. We've all experienced it: You're walking into Orgrimmar or Ironforge, intent on visiting the auction house to spend that gold jingling in your pocket, when suddenly you stop dead, dumbstruck. Your jaw goes slightly slack as you /awe in wonder. A strange creature unlike anything you've encountered before is dancing in the town square and emoting kisses to everyone nearby. A crowd has gathered. People are cheering. "That's neat ... and maybe a little weird," you silently muse as you crack a smile and continue on your way. I'm talking about player costumes. When the skin of your orc, troll, gnome or draenei becomes too heavy a burden, plenty of opportunities exist for a brief stay in the body of another creature (unless you're a druid, in which case you change forms all the time). These devices, elixirs and enchantments come in many shapes and stack sizes, but one key element runs through them all: They're a blast for the light-hearted player inside each of us. Ever wondered where they're from and how to get them? Wonder no more! Without further ado, I present five of the most delightfully awesome, portable, use-anywhere player costumes of all time. With Hallow's End just around the corner, you're sure to find something here that will suit you as you strut through your city of choice, sipping from a bottle of Autumnal Acorn Ale.
Illusionary Tactics: The Hyldnir
Yes, I know this column has been gone a while. Sorry about that. Or wait, actually - it wasn't gone, it was just undercover! That's it! You didn't really think Encrypted Text was just talking about rogues this whole time, did you? Wake up, sheeple! Wrath of the Lich King has been upon us for some time, and with it came zone after zone of prolific questing and fascinating scenery. I'd like to spend the next few weeks talking about some of my favorite quests and items that provide disguises or change your appearance in WotLK. Obviously, there will be spoilers in some of these posts for those of you that haven't done all the quests in Northrend yet; I'll put all such behind a cut, so don't click on if you don't want to know about the content. Let's start out with the Hyldnir of Storm Peaks.
Illusionary Tactics: Tree's Company
Illusionary Tactics documents my perfectly reasonable preoccupation with items and quests that change your appearance. After all, how long can you really look at one character's back before you start getting tired of it? So much better to turn into a tree periodically. (No, I'm not talking about you, Druids; your column is that way.) Blizzard must have really had a good time designing the Draenei and Blood Elf starting areas for Burning Crusade; there are a lot of great and frequently hilarious quests there, and this is one of them. The reason I'm talking about it here is because it's one of them that happens to turn you into a tree. Although I find it unlikely that anyone would want to avoid spoilers for a level 8 quest chain, I'll put the rest of the discussion behind a cut just in case.
Illusionary Tactics: Orb of Deception
Welcome back to Illusionary Tactics, where we look at items or quests that can make you look like something you're not, for fun and profit (profit not guaranteed). The Orb of Deception is probably the first item I think of when I think about things that belong in this column. It's just so...deceptive! What does it do? It makes you look like a member of the opposite faction, for five minutes on a 30-minute cooldown. The transformations are determined by your race and gender, and are as follows (thanks, Excorsism):
Illusionary Tactics: Dartol's Rod of Transformation
Welcome to the first installment of my new column series, Illusionary Tactics. Each episode will bring you the full intelligence on an item or quest that disguises you, enabling you to better carry out those secret missions -- or at least confuse your friends and guildmates. This time, I'll be looking at Dartol's Rod of Transformation, a perennial favorite of my guild. I've written about this item before, but it's been a while, and it's perfect for this column, so I'm giving it some more air time. What does it do? It turns you into a furbolg for three minutes, with a one-minute cooldown. Unlike many disguises, you can still fight while in furby form, although the form is removed if you are damaged, so it's possible (and I've seen it done) to furbolg-heal and furbolg-ranged-DPS. Just right-click the item in your inventory to activate.
Q&A with The Agency's Hal Milton
In a recent Q&A session with Hal Milton, SOE Seattle's lead designer for The Agency, we get a glimpse into some new info on the characters, leveling and ranking system put in place already. We find out how the six specialties work according to the outfit your player wears, and how certain items can increase your level in a unique system of proficiencies and badges to prevent a typical linear leveling system.There's also word on a mind-blowing alias system which is based on how well you can act the part of the alias you're assuming. For instance, you're in disguise in a bar, and you may start to seem a bit out of place. By performing certain actions that people would normally do in that environment, you're tricking them into thinking you're actually NOT a spy. Of course if you act suspicious, you'll blow your cover! Then, everyone will scream NARC and it's all over for you.
Pirates of the Burning Sea's supernatural side
Gamespot has added a preview of Pirates of the Burning Sea that is solely to do with the supernatural content found in the game, and makes us anticipate the game's release even more. Apparently, a significant portion of content (10-15%) will take place in an area known as the Bermuda Triangle -- you may have heard of it. Happenings in the Triangle tend to lean towards the decidedly-spooky, and the quests that Gamespot managed to see involved zombie armies, voodoo priestesses and possessed crew mates. Some of the finer details in the preview show the effort that developer Flying Lab Software is putting in to make their game unique. An interesting part of the article tells of how the remains of a vanquished zombie can be donned and used as a disguise, to hide within enemy ranks. However, since the NPC monsters themselves move at walking pace, if you happen to break step and move a little too fast, the other zombies will realize something is up and turn on you.
Oceanside California hopes to dress up cell tower
As far as love hate relationships go, cell towers rank way up there. Everybody wants better mobile coverage without having to see an ugly tower peeking above the trees in their neighborhood. The Arts Commission from Oceanside, California, has set its sights on beautifying one particular tower that gets peeped by a few hundred thousand people a day from a nearby freeway. The plan would have the thing bedecked with netting and sea birds in an attempt to blend in with the pleasant coastal theme. We find that by simply staring at our feet and wearing ball caps all while chatting on our cells usually helps us ignore them. Good luck Oceanside.[Via textually.org]
A failed real life attempt at a WoW quest
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/A_failed_real_life_attempt_at_a_WoW_quest'; Any readers in the audience who have played through the Draenei starting area (and you should -- it's a fun zone) must remember the Tree's Company quest, in which you are asked to disguise yourself as a tree in order to overhear a secret meeting. Well, while there's no suggestion that World of Warcraft was involved, this weekend a man in Manchester, New Hampshire robbed a bank while disguised as a tree. (He made off with less than $1000 and was later caught.) Obviously, the tree disguise idea doesn't work nearly as well in real life as it did in the game -- as you can see in the security footage to the right, the disguise just isn't working.[via Boing Boing]
Wario: Master of Temporary Price Drops
Amazon's Deal of the Day has allowed Wario to put on a mask and transform into Much Cheaper Wario. For today only, you can pick up Wario: Master of Disguise for $12.99. That's ridiculously cheap for a first-party Nintendo game. That's approaching Geist levels of markdown.We support even the temporary cheapening of games. If you've been waiting for a reasonable price on Wario, now you're somewhere closer to it.[Via CAG]
Yet another Wario: Master of Disguise commercial
Not completely unlike the first commercial, this latest one is brisk and shows some of the abilities available to Wario in his many disguises. The video even shows Wario taking on one of the game's bosses, so if you do not want that ruined for you, avoiding this video is an option.We've embedded the video past the post break.
Wario: Master of Disguise screenshots magically appear
By way of Jeux-France, we've got some new images of Wario: Master of Disguise to present. These new shots, obviously, give you a look at all of Wario's kickass costumes, which give him a whole bunch of different abilities. We found out, while watching the recent Japanese commercial for the game, that one needs to use the stylus to transform Wario into his different forms. We've stolen included all of the screens into the post, past the post break. Screenshot get!
