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'Jessica Jones' props will hit the auction block in December
If you've ever fancied yourself as a private eye with superpowers, you'll soon have the chance to get your hands on a desk that might make you look and feel the part. Props and costumes from the Netflix series Marvel's Jessica Jones, including the eponymous PI's desk, will hit the auction block in December.
Marvel is auctioning props from its Netflix shows
The Netflix era of Marvel TV shows has drawn to a close, but that doesn't mean you'll have to walk away from it empty-handed... in fact, you might just own a piece of the shows themselves. Marvel and Prop Store are auctioning off props and costumes from Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist on August 12th through the 13th, with online bidding starting now. And no, these aren't just incidental objects that would require a freeze-frame to recognize. Many of them are major, instantly recognizable items that defined the shows.
Finally, an official Bluetooth 'Star Trek' communicator
Star Trek fans have settled for toy prop replicas, DIY projects and the occasional off-brand (but functional) Starfleet comm-badge--but the age of compromise is almost over. In January of 2016, you'll finally be able to buy an official, screen-accurate, Bluetooth-enabled Star Trek Original Series Communicator.
Adorable new 'Star Wars' droid proves it's not CGI
When the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released, the internet lost its collective mind. Not only were people up in arms over the fact that a stormtrooper could be *gasp* black, but also nobody could believe that this incredible rolling droid, dubbed the BB-8, was actually real. It must be CGI, right? Well, during today's Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim, California, the BB-8 made its first real-life debut by rolling onstage to riotous applause from the crowd. Check out the video below to see the BB-8 and the venerable R2-D2 engage in a beeping, tweeting chirp battle.
Breakfast Topic: What are the telling details you love in the game?
I wasn't sold on the Bilgewater Goblins initially. When they and the worgen were announced in the run-up to Cataclysm, I had to wonder if there was any compelling reason to play what felt like a green gnome over a badass werewolf. (Yes, I was young and foolish in those days.) That changed quickly when I hit the beta and found them to be a hopelessly endearing race despite (or perhaps because of) their fairly amoral approach to life. I loved the little details in their towns, from the empty Chinese take-out boxes scattered around their inns to the little dinghies that fly underpants in place of flags. Credit where credit's due -- most of this is the work of the Blizzard props team. These folks are also the reasons that Gilneas is so magnificently creepy, with its creaky windows, flapping sheets, and papers drifting across lonely towns. What little details do you particularly enjoy about the race you play as a main?
Sony brings the Holodeck to life, throws in giant sea monsters for free (video)
The Holodeck is real and there's no Lt. Barclay to make things awkward. Using a combination of a Steadicam, multiple EyeToy cameras, PlayStation Move controllers, projection mapping, motion tracking, spandex-clad actors and giant rubber sea monster tentacles, Sony Europe, Studio Output and Marshmallow Laser Feast shot three web videos to highlight the immersiveness of movies rented or purchased from the PlayStation Store. Impressively, the shots rely exclusively on visual tricks, with zero editing or postproduction work. Is this the future? See for yourself after the break and relive the joy of the Holodeck without having to interrupt Worf from one of his weird workout routines.
BlizzCon 2011 World of Warcraft Art Panel
I know that the World of Warcraft preview and question-and-answer sessions always tend to attract the most commentary at any given BlizzCon, but for my money, the most interesting ones in the long run tend to be those concerned with the game's artistic and technical sides. Seeing how developers got the game to look the way it does, and the reasoning behind the design of different races, zones, and items gives you a much better appreciation of the game while you're in it. The gorgeous Uldum sky didn't get there by accident. As you'd expect, the art panel contained a number of previews of the characters, locations, dungeons, and props we'll be seeing in Mists of Pandaria. If you're only interested in a peek at the male pandaren's model and animations, well, you can get that here, but there were a number of interesting observations made. Two of the things that really jumped out at me: They're experimenting with tier and item set models. Rather than pasting a design onto the standard-issue flat chest and leg pieces, for example, we may see swinging chains, ribbons, and other three-dimensional objects on more gear in the future. Technical advances in very recent months have made it easier and faster to add more detail to the environment. New texture tools have made it possible to add snow or lava between cracks in a road, or pooled in the nook of a hill, much more quickly than they could earlier. We'll have a full gallery of the panel up later! The news is out -- we'll be playing Mists of Pandaria! Find out what's in store with an all-new talent system, peek over our shoulder at our Pandaren hands-on, and get ready to battle your companion pets against others. It's all here right at WoW Insider!
Exploring a 'Cyber Renaissance' in Deus Ex: Human Revolution
When Art Director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête sat down to design the overarching look of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, he had two big criteria for his designs to meet. First, he wanted to choose "illustration over simulation" -- rather than creating something exactly real, he wanted to make a game that had a definite style. And second, he adhered to the theory that "design distinction creates desire" -- if a game (he used Bioshock and Team Fortress 2 as examples) has a distinct art style, it will already start to stand out in players' imaginations. And so, from all of the various genres and settings for the third Deus Ex game, Belletête and the team landed on the phrase "Cyber Renaissance" to describe the look they chose. In a pre-E3 presentation this week, Belletête talked about "Cyber Renaissance," and how it defined the art and architecture of Square Enix's Deus Ex title.
BlizzCon 2009: Worgen and Goblin starting areas with the Props team
The Props team at BlizzCon showed a video on what they do, and also displayed a lot of the characterization and mood setting of the new Goblin and Worgen starting areas. The Lost Isles for the Goblins are just beautiful and quirky and funny, abounding in tropical drinks, a breakfast machine, and a "rocket-catapult-turtle-powered-machine" (and did they actually build a railroad out of bamboo?), although I have to say that the Dickensian/Victorian feel of Gilneas is just...words fail me. It's lovely. This is perhaps the loveliest, most haunting, spooky and creepy zone Blizzard's ever done, and...it's going to be an almighty lagfest when Cataclysm hits. Oh well. Truthfully, I had no idea just how much of what we think of as the "landscape" is in fact the Props team at work.As an FYI for readers who have observed this on previous video, yes, there are gold-sellers' ads popping up on Viddler, and no, we're not happy about it, and we certainly didn't put them there. BlizzCon 2009 is here! WoW.com has continuing coverage, bringing you the latest in Cataclysm news, live blogs, galleries, and reports right from the convention floor. Check out WoW.com's Guide to BlizzCon for the latest!
The amazing fan-made Portal gun
This replica Portal gun was created for Flickr user -- and soon-to-be Portal cosplayer -- emilyskeith by her boyfriend, and is clearly a triumph of prop making. In fact, we consider it a huge success. We're sure it was hard for Emily to overstate her satisfaction with the finished replica, which features working orange and blue LEDs and was weathered to convey the idea that she wasn't the first Aperture Science subject to use it. To her boyfriend: you've ensured that her love for you will be still alive for years to come. Also, we want one.[Via X3F]
Notes from the BlizzCon 2008 Art panel
Greetings from sunny Anaheim, California! One of this years WoW-related BlizzCon panels focused on the process and inspiration for the creation of the art for various aspects of Warcraft. There were a total of 7 people on this panel, lead by Chris "The Intern" Robinson, the Art Director for WoW. Also on the panel were other representatives from the various art teams, enough that there was some confusion as to where they were all sitting at first.Before we get into the whole thing, I should mention the most important part: The artists all but said that giving visible armor to Druid forms is in the works!
First look at Halo Movie Warthog?
Tipster Doug explains the provenace of a video that might be the first glimpse of a Halo movie Warthog (Feel free to blink -- it's not an action shot):My friend in Wellington was on a guided tour, while driving past a WETA owned backlot she spotted a giant car being put through its paces.She recognised the front of the car and its size as the warthog from the Halo video games. She took one sneaky picture when it parked and emailed me it immediately knowing my interest in halo.I excitedly posted it on the Bungie.net forums and within an hour it had been removed, and in my inbox was a message from a moderator telling me I would be blacklisted for posting any kind of leaked pictures. Which leads me to believe its authenticity.Banned by Bungie or not, it looks kinda factory for a Warthog. Take it for what it's worth.
