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Barely Related: The Interview didn't go well
Happy holidays, everyone! Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
What's this? What's this? The Nightmare Before Christmas invades LittleBigPlanet's dreams
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas will become a nightmare before Halloween, thanks to an upcoming costume pack and level kit for LittleBigPlanet 2 and LittleBigPlanet Vita. Neither piece of DLC has a confirmed release date, but the PlayStation Blog and LittleBigPlanet website both claim we'll see Sack Skellington (haa) and friends sometime "next week." The costume pack includes everything you need to transform your Sackboy or Sackgirl into Jack Skellington, Sally, Dr. Finkelstein or Oogie Boogie. Meanwhile, the level kit will contain stickers, objects, a background and an interactive music track. We know it's probably "This is Halloween," and that "Oogie Boogie's Song" will forever be an underappreciated masterpiece, but what're you gonna do?
Taxi Journey from Lexis Numerique fuels up on Kickstarter
Lexis Numerique's Taxi Journey, an adventure that takes equal parts inspiration from Tim Burton, Hiyao Miyazaki and Limbo, is officially accepting cab fare on Kickstarter. Lexis Numerique seeks $130,000 for development of a Windows and Wii U version of the game, while Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, PS Vita, PSN and XBLA versions are tied to higher stretch goals. The fundraising campaign will conclude on October 12. Taxi Journey tells the story of Gino, a cab driver so broke his cab doesn't have a passenger seat or engine, and Zoey, a "mysterious young girl." The two strangers meet in a dark forest, and from there begin their (wait for it) taxi journey across the strange world. Lexis Numerique wants players to care for protagonists Gino and Zoey, even if there is a certain amount of crate pushing and puzzle solving to be done. Gino also possesses an umbrella sturdy enough to shield himself and Zoey from rocks, as well as a fishing pole that can catch reflections. Zoey, meanwhile, has the ability to carry immaterial things, like energy and sound. The Kickstarter video, for example, shows Gino fishing out a light's reflection to sneak by a giant fox-like creature. Yeah no, that totally sounds like the last time we caught a cab.
Alice in Wonderland DLC makes a very important date with LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet's sackboys lead very busy lives in an extremely large world, meaning they don't always have time to watch the latest movies as they're released in theaters. This is one explanation for the Alice in Wonderland costume pack coming to LittleBigPlanet this week, featuring accessories based on the 2010 Tim Burton film.The pack will include costumes for Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen, all in their full Burtonized glory. Each costume is available individually, but buying the entire pack gives players Alice in Wonderland stickers as well.
Coloring inside the lines: An interview with PlanetSide 2's Tramell Isaac
I think we're all allowed our moments of pure geek squeeing when we bump into the people responsible for some of our favorite video games of yesteryear. So I had to apologize to Tramell Isaac in advance for gushing over his work on the first two Fallout titles, games that are among my all-time favorites. He didn't seem to mind, and he spent a few minutes shooting the breeze about his favorite designs in the game -- designing Robobrain and the Vault Boy cards that accompanied the player perks. MMO fans will probably best know Isaac from his work on the original PlanetSide, a project that is near and dear to his heart. Sony Online Entertainment brought him back on board to be the senior art director for PlanetSide 2. This makes sense -- after all, who else would best know how to evolve the series' design than the guy who started it? Isaac was kind enough to sit down on the phone with me to talk about how PlanetSide 2's visuals are shaping up, following his own blog post on the subject. Hit the jump to find out why each faction is going with a very specific color scheme, how microtransactions will affect how awesome you look, and just what Batman has to do with any of it.
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D ships via disc or download in August
If you loved the stop motion classic The Nighmare Before Christmas, the 3D version is coming home from Disney August 30th. Interestingly, the press release notes it will be on Blu-ray 3D and available for a 3D movie download, so we can only ponder what services (Vudu, Samsung, ?) will support 3D delivery by then. The MSRP on the combo pack (before any discounts) is $49.99 while the download is priced at a shocking $25. There's a slew of extras detailed in the press release after the break, but we'll have to hear more about what that 3D download entails before suggesting anyone except the biggest Tim Burton fans click the buy button.
One life in the New World: Salem MMO to feature permadeath
Permadeath is a topic that's brought up on a regular basis in MMO discussion circles, usually featuring a cast of characters that span the full spectrum of the debate. Is there a burning desire for the risk and finality of a permadeath system in MMOs? Would players flock to or flee from such a game? And how would it work in such a way to retain players instead of alienating them? Game Designer Bjorn Johannessen is working hard on the answers for those questions in his new MMORPG, with the working title of Salem. Developed by Paradox Interactive, this free-to-play title is set in New England during the early period of North American colonization and features players stepping off the boats from Europe to make their way in uncharted wilderness. Like Wurm Online and Minecraft, Salem will focus heavily on crafting as players forge the tools, buildings and weapons they need to survive. For Salem's aesthetics, Johannessen named H.P. Lovecraft and Tim Burton's gothic horror as sources of inspiration, and the MMO will include magic and witchcraft as potential paths. Over all of this is the specter of permanent death: "When your character dies, he stays dead," Johannessen said matter-of-factly. This is made even harsher by the fact that Salem will allow free-for-all PvP, which means that anyone can attack you without provocation. Player buildings can be razed and their corpses looted, but Johannessen hopes that the players will band together to protect each other and mete out justice. You can watch Bjorn Johannessen's introduction to the game after the jump.
Alice in Wonderland Blu-ray 3D loosed from the bonds of exclusivity December 7
So far, Disney's Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, the original hits high def in 2011) has only been available in 3D in a Sony pack-in deal, but this week the exclusivity runs out and a four disc combo pack hits shelves December 7th. Check the press release after the break for all the details, but it has a $49.95 MSRP, and comes with the same features as the original Blu-ray release, which unfortunately extends to a complete lack of extras on the 3D disc. Since Tim Burton's flick was converted in post as opposed to being shot in 3D originally it may not have the allure of a title like Avatar, but reviews usually leaned more towards the positive than rush jobs like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender.
TUAW's Daily App: Alice in Wonderland
I played Disney's Alice in Wonderland way back in February of this year, and back then, I wasn't super impressed. It was a little too much before the movie, and for US$4.99, it was a little too common for a platformer. But the app has just gone on sale for Halloween, and for $0.99, it's worth another look. The game did have some fun innovations in it, with four different powers and the ability to use the iPhone's GPS to unlock some items. Especially for kids, it's a solid platformer, and at the sale price, it's worth seeing what Disney puts on display here (of course, this was before they picked up Tapulous and put them in charge of the mobile division).
Sleepy Hollow HD DVD review roundup
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and nowhere does that appear to be more true than in reviews of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow as released on HD DVD by Paramount. One thing that seems to be shared by all the reviews we read is that in this case the source material, with dark, largely colorless backgrounds and very present film grain. It's not the kind of movie that you look at in high definition and it practically jumps off the screen in 3D at you, making it a difficult choice for the format. However in the three reviews we found plus a discussion on AVS Forum, reactions to the quality of Paramount's 1080p VC-1 encoded effort varied widely.
