gameofthrones
Latest
Mathematician tries to predict the next two 'Game of Thrones' books
Tired of waiting for George R. R. Martin to finish the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series? So is the University of Canterbury's Richard Vale: he's created a statistical model based on the series' previous tomes to predict what might be in the next book. Don't worry though, it's mostly spoiler free. Vale's analysis of Game of Thrones doesn't account for plot or foreshadowing -- it's strictly a numbers game.
Here's how digital effects give 'Game of Thrones' its grand scale
We've already seen how digital effects make Game of Thrones' world more believable, but there were some spectacular scenes in the show's fourth season: giant city-states, an undead horse and battles involving thousands of cavalry. Want to know just how important computer graphics were in bringing those moments to life? Graphics house Rodeo FX will gladly show you. As you'll see in the footage below, some environments (such as Meereen's pyramid-laden landscape) depended very heavily on computer effects, with only a few live humans and real-world places involved. And that cavalry battle demanded even more work -- animators populated the field with "smart" horse soldiers that reacted both to each other and the world around them. You may not want to watch the demo clip if you haven't caught up on the show, but it's otherwise worth checking out to see how fantasy and reality can blend together.
Engadget Daily: Samsung's NX mini, the world's first video arcade machine and more!
Today, we review the Samsung NX mini, go hands-on with the world's first video arcade machine, take a look at Acton's RocketSkates and learn about visual effects techniques used in the Game of Thrones. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
See how digital effects put the spectacle into 'Game of Thrones'
Game of Thrones has a healthy $6 million-per-episode budget, but that's still nothing compared to the average Michael Bay blockbuster -- especially for the special effects needed to fill in the magic (and gore). That's where the creativity of effects house Mackevision comes in. If an epic shot can't be done "practically" in camera, characters are filmed against a green screen or threadbare set. Then, elements like terrain, castles, crowds of soldiers and even CG water are added. As you can see in the video below, with a touch of artful compositing, lighting, shading and color-timing, the result is a seamless final shot. If there's any money left over, they may even add a dragon or three.
This cover of the 'Game of Thrones' theme was made with an NESkeytar
Enjoy this for what it is: a bitchin' chiptune cover of the theme song to the nerdgasm, soft porn fantasy-fest that is HBO's Game of Thrones. And, yes that is a "keytar" with a Nintendo Entertainment System attached that YouTuber Theremin Hero is deftly fingering to play the show's epic opening theme. Dude's even rocking Think Geek's 8-bit tie. Clearly, he's committed. The full video is after the break. (Full disclosure: I've tried reading book one of Game of Thrones at least twice on a plane ride and failed to get hooked. Same goes for season one of the show. I just don't get it.)
When a meme goes too far, someone makes a Hodor keyboard
It was Shakespeare who said "brevity is the soul of wit," and you won't find a better champion of that statement than Hodor. The gentle giant from Game of Thrones can express seemingly anything using only his name, and now you can be just as concise with the Hodor Keyboard. The Android keyboard replacement swaps the usual line-up of cumbersome characters out for a simple Hodor button, all for a mere $0.99 (or £0.59) -- practically a gift from the gods. In other GoT-related news, the show's officially overtaken The Sopranos as HBO's most successful, with an average of 18.4 million viewers this season. And, they're just the ones that watch it legally.
Engadget Daily: Microsoft Surface Pro 3, Voice over LTE and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours – all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Watch 'Game of Thrones' mysteries explained (or disproved) with science
Sure, works of fiction are hardly subject to the rules of science, but the folks behind It's OK To Be Smart set out to explain many of the enigmas surrounding Game of Thrones. In the PBS digital short that awaits after the break, topics like the plausibility of Daenerys' dragons, winters that last a decade, the origins of Valyrian steel and more are given real-world significance through the lens of scientific explanation. Also, it's decided that the planet on which Westeros resides should be called Hodor -- an honor of which he's pretty deserving, if you ask me.
Game of Thrones' author explains why he writes with an ancient DOS computer
You may have heard that Game of Thrones (read: A Song of Ice and Fire) author George R.R. Martin writes on a decades-old computer. Well, it's (still) true: he hones his craft on a DOS-based PC running WordStar 4.0, the same technology he used when he started his fantasy series in 1991. But... why? Thanks to a sit-down with talk show host Conan O'Brien, we know. As he puts it, the ancient hardware does everything he needs in a word processor, and nothing more. Automatic spelling checks in modern software would actually get in the way; you'd get frustrated, too, if you had to watch out every time you wrote "Winterfell" or "Daenerys Targaryen." Martin has a modern PC for everything else, but he makes a good case for using only the technology you need to get a job done. Let's just hope he has backups -- he won't get much help if that old machine eats his Winds of Winter manuscript. [Image credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP]
Game of Thrones' season premiere is free to watch on Xbox this week
If you missed out on Game of Thrones' season 4 premiere when it first aired -- say, because of the HBO Go meltdown -- you're in for a treat this week. HBO is giving all Xbox users free access to the episode between April 8th and April 14th, whether or not they're subscribers to the premium TV service. Some cable and satellite providers are also offering gratis access through their on-demand platforms and websites. This isn't purely an act of generosity, as you might imagine. Besides giving HBO a chance to advertise a show à la Silicon Valley, the free content could steer some of the many people pirating Game of Thrones toward legitimate sources. Time Warner's CEO has argued that piracy promotes HBO's series -- his company may see a chance to replicate that buzz through official channels.
Viewers see red as Game of Thrones premiere crashes HBO servers
Viewing of the Game of Thrones season debut came to a crashing halt yesterday thanks to server problems with HBO Go. The cable outfit first reported the problem late yesterday via Twitter, and finally restored full service early this morning. That set off a firestorm of complaints, and even conspiracy theories that the service was trying to shut out passcode borrowers. HBO denied all that, of course, saying that the service just suffered "overwhelming demand" -- no doubt from viewers anxious to see if GoT could top last season's debauchery.
Must See HDTV for the week of March 31st: HIMYM finale, Game of Thrones, Final Four
March Madness comes to an end this weekend, but it's the perfect time for the return of one of our favorite series, HBO's Game of Thrones. It's joined Sunday night by the premiere of Mike Judge's new comedy Silicon Valley, and Turn, a new Revolutionary War spy drama from AMC. This is also the week we finally say goodbye to How I Met Your Mother, and Anchorman 2 arrives on Blu-ray. Check after the break for trailers plus our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
HBO pushes the boundaries of virtual reality to sell you Game of Thrones
The frost-crusted wooden cage was carrying me to my death. I didn't know that for sure, but something just didn't feel right as the winch kicked into gear and the empty square of Castle Black retreated from my feet. My knees buckled as I began to ascend the 700-foot Wall. The floor rattled beneath my boots and I had to reach out to steady myself against the side of the ramshackle elevator. There was nothing beyond the stone battlements that the Night's Watch calls home. Well, not nothing exactly. There were a few towering pines and squat rocky mountains whose lower reaches were blanketed in thick featureless snow. Their peaks, if you could call them that, were black stains smeared across the blinding white expanse of the Kingdom of the North. As I climbed higher, the cool breeze turned into an icy gale and my collar flapped against my neck like a sail in a storm.
Must See HDTV for the week of February 17th: Winter Olympics, Daytona 500 and Strider
This is the final week of the Winter Olympics, with the closing ceremonies scheduled for Sunday night. Bob Costas is back (with less creepy demon-possessed eye infection stare) plus plenty of action including bobsled, short-track speed skating, hockey finals and of course, curling. Game of Thrones season three will hit the shelves on Blu-ray, so whether you're looking for a recap or just getting your first look in 1080p, now is the time. Racing fans can also look forward to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, while gamers can enjoy a remake of the classic game Strider on current and next-gen systems this week -- although honestly, many of us are just trying to finish off House of Cards before the spoilers become impossible to avoid or filter out. Usually we don't point out the late-night weekly shows, but tonight Jimmy Fallon takes over the Tonight Show chair from Jay Leno. Check after the break for trailers plus our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
Blinkbox goes HD for Game of Thrones season three, available July 15th
Tesco's VOD service Blinkbox beat all other UK players to the punch when it hosted the second season of Game of Thrones well before the box-set launch, and it's doing the same with season three. It's only just ended, but from July 15th, the latest series will be available to download or stream in its entirety, and what's more, its arrival marks the first time HD content has been accessible on Blinkbox. You'll also be able to watch season three in SD, should you want to, and both previous seasons will get HD options when the third lands. Pricing isn't yet confirmed, but we'd expect the cost to be similar to that of season two, which was £1.79 (around $2.80) per episode, or £17.99 (around $28) for all ten. If you haven't seen Game of Thrones yet, and we highly recommend you do, you've got just over a month to prepare for the Blinkbox launch and subsequent marathon.
Must See HDTV (June 3rd - 9th)
The summer programming schedule has officially arrived, and this week familiar warm weather favorites return including Continuum, Falling Skies and Burn Notice. There are also a few new entire including TNT's The Hero reality show and Sinbad on Syfy, plus a lengthy list of Blu-ray releases including a few classics and season five of Breaking Bad. The NHL Conference finals are in full swing, and tonight we'll find out who's joining the Spurs in the NBA Finals. All that, and we haven't even mentioned the Game of Thrones season finale or the news that Dan Harmon is returning to Community. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Continuum Despite a plot centering around the always-tricky-to-pull-off time travel, season one of this Canadian science fiction show impressed us when it finally aired here, and now season two is ready to go on Syfy. The first season left plenty of juicy plot threads and cliffhangers for us to wonder about, and now we'll find out if the show can continue to deliver on them. Check after the break for a season two preview. (June 7th, Syfy, 9PM) Falling Skies TNT's own science fiction effort returns for its third season this weekend and features a new twist in the battle against Earth-invading aliens -- more aliens. The first two seasons have had some inconsistent quality and gotten bogged down in romantic or political plot lines occasionally, but the premieres and finales always suck us right back in. (June 9th TNT, 8PM) Mad Max Trilogy All three Mad Max films get a Blu-ray set this week, and the third movie Beyond Thunderdome makes its debut on the format. We shouldn't have to convince you this one is worth viewing, but you can see a few trailer clips after the break. Why is this set arriving now? A new flick, Fury Road, is due next year with Tom Hardy taking over the title role. ($34.86 on Amazon)
HBO Go version 2.1 for iOS adds AirPlay multitasking
Now that you can finally watch HBO Go on your Apple TV via AirPlay, the premium cable network has decided to sweeten its iOS app with AirPlay multitasking in a 2.1 update. The new version of the app also offers enhancements to Game of Throne's interactive features and general performance improvements as well. We'd obviously prefer that the app offers a standalone option instead, but being able to catch up on episodes of GoT on the HDTV while looking up how to say "winter is coming" in Dothraki is good too. (It's "Aheshke jada.")
Must See HDTV (March 25th - 31st)
The second weekend of the NCAA Basketball tournament takes place this week with the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, but hoops fans will also want to keep an eye on the streaking Miami Heat. Meanwhile, some sci fi / fantasy favorites are highlights thanks to their seasonal return or departure this week, but we'd also give new series like BBC America's Orphan Black a chance in between sessions of Bioshock: Infinite. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Doctor Who Doctor Who is back, now featuring actress Jenna-Louise Coleman as companion Clara Oswald for the next half season. There's a preview trailer embedded after the break, and the BBC has a rundown of the first four episodes right here. (March 30th, BBC America, 8PM) The Walking Dead This season of everyone's favorite zombie series is finally ready to wrap up with what we expect will be an epic showdown between the prison residents and Woodbury. Last season's finale certainly met our expectations in terms of action, we'll see if it can repeat or even top that effort this time around. (March 31st, AMC, 9PM) Game of Thrones Winter is... still coming. Game of Thrones is back for season three and there is an appropriate amount of backstabbing, intrigue, violence and dragons to go around. By now we know what to expect from the lands of Westeros, if you need to be filled in check after the break for a recap of the last two seasons. (March 31st, HBO, 9PM)
A Game of Thrones Android app guides you through the world of Westeros and beyond
Perhaps the second screen experience for HBO megahit show A Game of Thrones provided through Xbox 360's SmartGlass functionality and HBO Go's iPad app isn't enough for you? And maybe you want a bit more of a George R. R. Martin touch to your Game of Thrones book companions? This week's release of "A Game of Ice and Fire" for Android -- the previously iOS-only Game of Thrones app that acts as an "official guide" to the series and its myriad characters / relationships / political struggles / etc. -- is clearly for you. And yes, it goes beyond what just the show covers; it can even be customized for spoilers based around how far you are. The initial cost to download is nothing and comes with several characters as well as a companion for the first book, but for books two through five you'll need to grab the upgrades: $1 apiece, or $5 for those four plus an additional "InfoPack" which would otherwise cost $2 by itself. Those $2 "InfoPacks" include, "new characters and places and additional data and background info" (whatever that means), and more are expected in the future. The third season of A Game of Thrones kicks off on March 31st, and wouldn't you know it, this app is perfectly timed to accompany it. That's what we call synergy. Head to the Google Play link in the source link and grab it for free, or risk *paying the iron price. *Thankfully, in this case, that price is just potentially looking ignorant about A Game of Thrones. So ... not that big of a thing, actually.
Game of Thrones Season Two Blu-ray set arrives February 19th
While waiting for season three of Game of Thrones to start airing March 31st, fans of HBO's series will be able to snag the second season on Blu-ray February 19th. Even if you've already seen it (whether on TV, via a borrowed HBO login or...other sources) there should be some new elements with Blu-ray exclusive "HBO Select" features including an interactive "War of the 5 Kings" guide to keep track of who is doing what / where / when, animated histories, in-episode guides with more information on characters (like the iPad companion app did) as they appear and "dragon egg" surprises. Check the press release after the break for a full account of features, or hit Amazon to preorder the 7-disc set (w/ digital copies) for $55.99.
