Google’s banner on March 11th, in honor of Douglas Adams’ 61st Birthday.
Doctor Who
So proud to finally get to unleash this piece on my blog. It was a long time in the making, and the client who commissioned it was beyond patient. When I get a commission that intimidates me, it takes awhile for the creative juices to start flowing and for my confidence to get up. After all was said and done, though, I’m really happy with how this piece turned out. The client wanted the tardis and the vortex with the good doctor flying through it. I was originally going to include Ms. Amy but by the time I got around to the commission she was gone and Clara was introduced. (Yea, I know, that’s how long it took me to get to this piece.) Luckily, the client loved it and I’m so happy for that. Let me know what you think!
Remember Me Lands a Summer Date
First time developer Dontnod’s sci-fi actioner, Remember Me, has gone and got itself dated. The Capcom produced title will see a Western release June 4th and on June 7th for the European market for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
A dash of Arkham Asylum’s combat, a bit of Assassin’s Creed’s platforming, and a whole mess of Total Recall’s, well, everything, Remember Me follows Nilin, an amnesiac who awakens in 2084 Neo-Paris (don’t ask me to point it out on a map). Nilin soon discovers her forgetful disposition may be a taste of her own medicine; in her former life, she was an expert at “memory remixing,” a skill that gave her access to others’ memories, allowing her free reign to manipulate and modify them at her whim.
It’s a rife concept that plays on the notion of literally rewriting people, effectively playing God. Hopefully Remember Me’s meatier notions aren’t overshadowed by mindless action (both Total Recall’s suck in their own special ways, after all), but I’m willing to give Dontnod the benefit of the doubt considering how hard up the industry is for original IP’s, especially when studios are saving up their “Wow” shit for the soon-to-be next generation.
Ray Cusick, the BBC designer who created the look of the Daleks, died in his sleep Thursday. He was 84.
thank you Ray Cusick for giving us the Daleks and may you rest in peace
Nurturing Mother by Heavenwill
Destiny Unveiled: Details On Bungie’s “Shared World Shooter”
Bungie has returned from their three-year video game hiatus to show us a project so utterly ambitious, its success could mean changing the console shooter as we know it from here on out.
So, what is Destiny? Bungie likes to think of it as “mythic science fiction” in a massive, always-online world. But we’re not allowed to call it an MMOFPS, despite how fitting it sounds. The ingredients may all be there — gigantic open-world, instantaneous co-op, in-game currency to unlock better gear, the ability to embark on raids…But, no, MMO doesn’t fit the bill according to Bungie. Despite the need for persistent online-access, publisher Activision promises there’s no subscription fees, and Bungie claims the amount of players you’ll encounter has a controlled cap, shirking MMO standards.Bungie prefers to call it a “shared world shooter” (think Borderlands on a larger scale).
Players don the role of a Guardian, warriors tasked with protecting the last of human civilization. Drawing their power from the moon-shaped “Traveler” floating above Earth’s last city, Guardians can evoke class-specific skills to thin the alien onslaught attempting to bloody humanity. Three such classes were revealed: the Titan, a brute with a focus for guns, big ones; the Hunter, a lithe infiltrator with a knack for sneaking and a sure-shot sniper; and the Warlock, a mage imbued with the Traveler’s decidedly supernatural power.
When touching on the sheer scope of the game, Bungie revealed players will have to think big. Not only can you traverse amongst the ruins of Earth’s once-great cities — locations like the swamp infested Old Chicago and the “European Dead Zone” — but your exploits encompass the whole of our solar system with customizable spaceships bouncing you from planet to planet (while Bungie hinted at space combat, it was mum on whether or not we’d take control of our vessels).
Each locale offers you the chance to create your own “Legend,” a set of missions that compose a story molded by your actions. These Legends can be tackled by your lonesome or you can better your chances with Guardians you meet, randomly generated in your session seamlessly and unobtrusively (think Journey with a spot of the ol’ ultra violence). Bungie made it a point that Destiny’s story isn’t told, but found; players having to actively seek, or even shape, the narrative and lore through discovery and completed Legends. How that works is anyone’s guess since Bungie was far from clear on the subject.
And that same obscuring, self-perpetuated fog hides the rest of Bungie’s grand effort. We know to expect Destiny on both current and next-gen technology (PS3, Xbox 360, and whatever’s around the corner) but Bungie is dodgy about when, though they’re sure cross-platform online play is being ruled out. We get the general premise, and a bunch of conceptual art to boot, but the public hasn’t seen minute one of gameplay footage. This may only be the first reveal, but it seems the meatiest of details are purposely being withheld. Though, mission success if it was Bungie’s intention to make me crave more.
The general assumption was that we’d see Destiny release before the year’s out, but with critical information lacking and two of the four consoles it’s intended for still not public knowledge, it appears we’ll be waiting quite awhile yet before we experience this shared world shooter. From what we’ve seen and heard today, though, it looks worth the wait.
[Check out a detailed assessment of Bungie’s reveal hereabouts.]
Pacific Rim (2013)
Here’s the latest crop of photos from Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming sci-fi spectacle, Pacific Rim. Early screenings of the film generated a fairly positive buzz around the net, including a wonderful nod from Looper director, Rian Johnson: “Go into Pacific Rim preparing to be transmogrified into a 12 year old. And then to pee your pants with joy. I love it so much.”
I hear ya, Mr. Johnson. There is a strong, powerful love for this film growing within me. With little more than kick-ass trailers and a bevy of production photos to go on, I’m truly hoping that Del Toro can show the world just how a modern monster film should be made, and with nary a lukewarm review in sight, it seems that the famed director will do just that.
Pacific Rim crashes into theaters on July 11th.
speedpaints. shepard as rick deckard, the illusive man as roy batty
Image by John Berkey
