AI-Musement Park and MONDO Vanilli’s Blockchain Busting Musical Experience “R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs?”
Immediate release from: 03/03/2023
“AI-Musement Park comprises a cornucopia of performances / talks / happenings / documentary & discussion about AI, Intelligences, technocapitalism’s more than pressing-ongoing urgencies.” -Eleanor Dare, Cambridge University & AI-Musement Park
R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs? An original AI-Musement Park, PlayLa.bZ & MONDO 2000 History Project human and machine learning co-creation, taking the perspective of an AI that is training itself on the R.U. Sirius & MONDO Vanilli ‘I’m Against NFT’s’ song lyrics, exploring a surreal, mind melting and multi-dimensional 360 world of paradoxes and conflicting rules.
“Mondo Vanilli was originally intended to be a virtual reality band exploding all assumptions about property and propriety in the 1990s. Today fabrication becomes de rigueur as the connection to the real is intentionally confused by the banal political tricksters of power and profitability… while storms pound our all-too-human bodies and communities. I am thrilled to finally see MONDO Vanilli in it’s appropriate context. Immersive. Come play in the simulacra one more time” -R.U. Sirius, MONDO 2000
R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs? Is a satirical, irreverent block-chain busting commentary on the propaganda relations fueled ‘Web 3’ hype around non-fungible tokens and the broader issues that underpin our algorithmically massaged hyper-connected infinite scrolls and trolls age. Challenging our assumptions about the nature of technology, creativity, and value, reminding us that the digital world is shaped by powerful forces that determine what is valued and what is not, and a click is not always for free.
Join Us! On Spring Solstice 2023 For “R.U. Cyber? :// Mondo 2000 History Project Salon” at MozFest Virtual Plaza & Mozilla Hubs: AI-Musement Park 20th March / 8.30pm EU / GMT
About R.U.Sirius & Mondo 2000 #Mondo2000 #RUSirius
R.U. Sirius is an American writer, editor, and media pioneer. Known for being one of key psychedelic & cyberpunk movement figures. Best known as Mondo 2000 editor-in-chief and at forefront of 1990s underground cyberculture movement.
About Mozilla Festival #TrustworthyAI #AIMusementPark
Since 2010, MozFest has fueled the movement to ensure the internet benefits humanity, rather than harms it. This year, your part in the story is critical to our community’s mission: a better, healthier internet and more Trustworthy AI.
About PlayLa.bZ CIC #PlayLabZ #SpatialCadetZ
Co-founded by PsychFi, FreekMinds & Squire Studios we’re a next generation multipotentiality multi-award-winning, multi-dimensional motion arts experience design laboratory, developing DIY changemaking createch immersive experiences & software applications for social good storycraft. Supporters & Friends: Mozilla Festival, Jisc: Digifest, Beyond Games, Tate Modern, Furtherfield, Boomtown Festival, Sci-Fi-London, Ravensbourne University London, UAL, East London Dance, NESTA, Modern Panic, ArtFutura, Kimatica, National Gallery X, Kings College London, Looking Glass Factory, SubPac, Ecologi, The JUMP, BOM Labs, Mondo 2000
PR Contact: James E. Marks, Tel: 07921 523438 @: [email protected] Twitter: @GoGenieMo
Gamescom 2024 in Cologne, Germany, is about to begin with Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live spectacle, a two-hour parade of trailers, advertisements, and ideally, new game announcements that kick off the show and set the stage for the event… oh yeah, and give those of us back home some distraction. Thanks to public hints and […]
It’s all of the great taste of Kickstarted sci-fi MMORPG Dual Universe but with your own personal spin: It’s myDU, the standalone version that offers private server hosting Novaquark announced in July, which has gone live today, August 19th. As we reported previously, this is a separate purchase that will set players back $35 (though […]
After six years, Shonen Jump’s mega-popular sorcery-fighting manga, Jujutsu Kaisen, will publish its final chapter on September 30. In the years since it began syndication, it was nominated for (and won) a few literary awards, and both seasons of its anime series brought home Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year. But as a…
Tactical Breach Wizards, the next game from Tom Francis (Gunpoint, Heat Signature), has everything you could want out of a game with such a name. There are 1) wizards, 2) tons of tactical breaching, 3) a huge conspiracy to unravel and 4) so many windows to throw people out of. What might not be apparent at first…
The 2023-24 season has wrapped up, and there are still quite a number of sci fi and fantasy television shows waiting to hear if they will stick around for another year. I expected more cancellations than usual this year, and we haven’t quite seen that yet, but that could change depending on how many of these shows end up getting sent to the Network Executioner. So far, 21 genre entries were cancelled or ended in this past season (27% of shows tracked) while 34 have been renewed so far (44%). You can see the full rundown of shows with all of their statuses at our Cancellation Watch Page, and below I look at the ones that have not received either a cancellation or renewal announcement yet.
The shows that I have flagged as On the Bubble can certainly use a Call to Action from fans on the social networks. And pretty much every show that has not been renewed yet could benefit from any form of fan support. We have seen genre entries like The Expanse, Lucifer, and Manifest saved by fan campaigns in the past, and perhaps one of the shows below could be the next to get an extended lease on life. Be sure to follow this site and our Twitter and Mastodon accounts for updates and breaking news on these shows as well as the genre entries for the 2024-25 season.
See all the upcoming sci fi and fantasy TV premieres at this link and keep up with the weekly schedule at this link.
The Acolyte (Disney+, Renewal Possible): This live-action Star Wars entry is not quite a Bubble show yet, but pretty close. Showrunner Leslye Headland has plans for more seasons of this show, but there have been rumors that Disney+ is not planning on continuing it beyond its first year, largely because it is so expensive to produce. It did make an appearance in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, though, so maybe that will help its chances.
The Ark (Syfy, Renewal Possible): The second season of this space opera has just started, and Nielsen ratings data for the cable channels is sparse these days, so it is hard to make a call on this one at this point. Syfy has been bad about promoting its originals, and reviews have been mixed on the show, so I would not count it as a strong genre entry at this point. But perhaps it will do well enough to journey into a third season.
Ark: The Animated Series (Paramount+, On the Bubble): This animated entry released the first six episodes of its first season with no advance notice in March 2024, with the remaining seven set to be released later in the year. It was originally supposed to premiere in 2023, but the show got shuffled around and Paramount+ does not appear to be giving it much promotion. This is a co-licensed production with Studio Wildcard and Tiger Animation, and it may end up getting only the one season from the streaming service, though it could get shopped around to other venues.
Beacon 23 (MGM+, On the Bubble): This show had originally been a joint production by AMC and Spectrum and had been picked up for two seasons according to an interview with executive producer Glen Mazzara. It shifted over to MGM+ when AMC and Spectrum backed out, and there are plans for additional seasons. It is unclear if that network has an interest in keeping the show going, though, or if they just picked it up for a burn-off run.
Cult-SciFi.com: Looking Back at Cult Movies, TV Shows, Books, and More from the Worlds of Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Horror
The Changeling (Apple TV+, On the Bubble): This horror series did not develop too much buzz in its first season, but its creative team has a two-season plan in place that will wrap up all of its storylines. Showrunner Kelly Marcel says that “season one was a setup of a lot of questions, and season two is the answer to all of those questions”. However, there has been no word on that second season yet, and with Apple TV+ looking to cut back on spending for its original content, this show’s fate could be very much in doubt.
Chucky (Syfy/USA, Renewal Possible): There has been no word on a fourth season of this horror/comedy yet, but creator Don Mancini has already made a pitch to Syfy for where the show can go next. In addition, fans have an opportunity to support the show by calling 1-201-500-3347 to demand more adventures from Chucky. Its linear viewing numbers dropped off in its third year, but perhaps this one could stick around for another season (maybe becoming a USA exclusive like Resident Alien) if the fans lobby for it.
Creepshow (Shudder, Renewal Possible): This horror anthology has proven quite popular for the Shudder streaming service, setting viewership records and also receiving good buzz from critics and fans (plus, it has done well in its encore runs on AMC). There has been no word on a fifth season yet, but I am guessing that this one is not done yet.
Dark Matter (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This sci fi entry has not made it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings so far, though it currently has mostly positive feedback, holding an 81% Fresh Rating and 82% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. Series creator Blake Crouch has indicated that he has ideas for a second season in an AMA he did on Reddit, though he has also suggested that the first season told the full story that he had planned. With Apple TV+ looking to cut back on spending for its original content, it is unclear where this one stands, but it could stick around for another season.
For status updates on the current sci fi and fantasy shows along with breaking news on cancellations and renewals, follow our Cancellation Watch posts.
Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix, Renewal Possible): This series spent three weeks in the Netflix Top 10 and two weeks in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings, though that may not be enough to satisfy the completion rate that Netflix execs are looking for. It is tied to the same universe as The Sandman, and perhaps that connection will keep it going, but the streamer is known for cutting bait on shows it does not believe are performing up to its viewing standards.
Hit Monkey (Hulu, On the Bubble): This animated entry is the last surviving show from the Marvel Television days before Marvel Studios took over production on all of the TV entries. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings in its second season and it has received very little buzz so far. There are plans for a third season, but my confidence is not high that it will go forward.
Orphan Black: Echoes (AMC, Renewal Possible): This Orphan Black spin-off has not drawn much of an audience so far based on the linear ratings and it has received mixed reviews. But AMC continues to advertise it pretty strongly, so perhaps they want to keep this franchise going. It may be performing better in digital viewing (I have not seen any numbers for that), and that may help get it to a second season.
Pluto (Netflix, On the Bubble): This animated series did not place in the Netflix Top 10 during its first-season run, and it adapted the full Manga across its eight episodes. If there is no word on it over the next month or so, I will consider it ended.
Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale (AMC+, Renewal Possible): This supernatural drama arrived without much advance notice, though it did get a fair amount of promotion from AMC once it started streaming. No viewership numbers are available, and it did not develop much buzz during its first season run. But it is likely not too expensive to produce and there is still a chance that it could return for a second season.
For the weekly schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows along with news and the latest trailers, follow our Sci Fi TV Highlights posts.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix, On the Bubble): This animated continuation of the feature film made it into the Netflix Top 10 the week after its premiere, but according to creators Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski, they consider the first season to be one-and-done and currently have no ideas for a second year of the show. They have not completely ruled out a continuation, but if there is no word on it in the next month or so I will consider it ended.
Strange Planet (Apple TV+, On the Bubble): This animated series based on the webcomic of the same name came and went with very little fanfare and did not make any noise in the streaming charts. It has been a year since it premiered with no word on its fate, so likely this is one-and-done, especially considering that Apple TV+ is cutting back on spending for its original content.
Sugar (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This mystery series with sci fi elements developed some good buzz during its first season run, and from what I understand it performed well compared to other originals on Apple TV+. There has been no word on a second season yet, and Apple TV+ is cutting back on spending for its original content, but perhaps it could stick around for another year.
Sunny (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This sci fi dramedy arrived with very little fanfare and has not developed much buzz so far. It is still releasing episodes from its first season, and Apple TV+ may not have made a decision about its fate yet. But that streamer is cutting back on spending for its original content, so it is unclear whether a second season is a possibility for this show.
Keep up with sci fi TV news, updates, trailers and discussions at r/SciFiTV.
The Swarm (CW, Renewal Possible): This German-made series is an acquisition by The CW and its viewership in the U.S. will likely have little impact on whether it gets renewed. It is an expensive show to produce, but it did perform well in its home country during its first season run and a second season is possible. But if there is no word on that in the next month or so, I will consider it ended.
Them (Prime Video, Renewal Possible): The second season of this show made a brief appearance in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings and showrunner Little Marvin has indicated that he has plans for a third season. There has been no word on that yet, but this one could stick around for another year or so.
Time Bandits (Apple TV+, Renewal Possible): This reboot of the 1981 Terry Gilliam film is another new entry from Apple TV+ that did not receive much promotion before its premiere. The early reviews have been mixed on this one and no viewership numbers are available, so it is hard to make a call at this point. Apple TV+ is cutting back on spending for its original content, and this looks like a costly production, so if the viewership is not there it could end up as another one-and-done genre entry from that service.
Velma (Max, On the Bubble): People were surprised that this show received a second season after the first was pretty widely panned, but apparently that had been planned in advance. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings across its two seasons, and it currently holds only 38% on the Tomatometer scale and a 10% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. A third season seems unlikely at this point, especially as Max is cutting back on its original content.
Wolf Like Me (Peacock, Renewal Possible): This Australian-made supernatural dramedy has received very little attention for its run in the States on Peacock. But it is relatively inexpensive to produce and could stick around for another season or so, especially since it has an international partnership propping it up.
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
I know that I’m extremely late when it comes to the Palworld hype. Palworld released in early January 2024 and currently, since there aren’t a lot of updates dropping, the hype died out. Yet, the roadmap looks extremely promising. Since this game is still in early access, I’m always hesitant in writing about the game. Since, you never know which mechanics or things will change and evolve during the early access period. Especially since we are currently only at v0.1.5.1. So, I decided to hold off on my first impression/review article for now. But, I wanted to talk about this game. So, here are some things I’d love to see in the full version of Palworld or even in one of the next updates.
First of all, what is a Palworld?
Palworld is a combination of several games, all thrown into one. It’s easy to describe Palworld with saying which games it combines.
Foremost, at its core, it’s a game you can somewhat compare to Ark Survival Evolved. When I first started playing, I noticed the similarities right away. The way how you have a crafting system to build your base, and you have monsters running around you can tame/catch is totally here as well.
I haven’t played a lot of Ark, so I can’t say if this mechanic is also present in Ark… But, the fact you can use your monsters to preform tasks in your base reminded me quite a lot of The Survivalists. A game where you are stranded on an island, and you can train monkeys to preform actions for you. The big difference is that now certain monsters can only preform certain tasks, instead of the monkeys just copying you.
Now, a lot of other articles describe this game as Pokémon with guns. After playing this game, I think that’s a somewhat unfair comparison. When I think Pokémon, I think a journey with gyms and an evil team. I think turn based battles and a big ending tournament as its conclusion. While some Pals share a very similar design language to some Pokémon, most of the mechanics of what makes a Pokémon game aren’t in this game. The other big mechanic is the capture mechanic, but by now this isn’t exclusive to Pokémon games anymore. Especially since we have games like Coromon.
There are also influences of the latest Zelda games. Especially Tears of the Kingdom. There are these huge, strong bosses roaming around on the huge open world map, you can beat at any time. Also, the korok seeds to upgrade your character are also here in the form of effigies and Pal souls to upgrade your monsters.
This game really feels like the developers looked at all the games they liked playing, looked at what worked and threw it all together into one pot and shook it until it all clicked together. The mechanics of this game really click extremely well together. If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t be surprised if I said that this was a finished game.
There are some silly bugs here and there and in some spots, this game feels unfinished. But, overall the game we have currently is amazing and if you would enjoy a game like this after reading what I wrote here… Give this game a try. I only told you the most basic things in this game. This game is a survival game with elements from a lot of other games like those I have already mentioned but also Minecraft, Dragon Quest Builders and various others.
Let’s talk improvements
While the game is a lot of fun to play at the moment, there are some things I wish that were improved or updated. While you get a lot of warnings that there are: save corruption bugs, crashes and bugs… Besides sometimes the lighting engine giving up for a moment or the AI of the pals or enemies doing some funky stuff, I haven’t seen too many worrying things.
Take for example this floating rock screenshot here. I have explored roughly half of the map after 35 hours of play, and this was the only floating rock I could find. That’s extremely impressive, especially since if you look at the size of the map… It isn’t small at all. In the future, new islands and area’s will be added so if they deliver them with this kind of quality, I have no complaints.
Well, I do have one recommendation. I’d love to see more landmarks in the map. Currently, almost all the landmarks in the game are based upon the terrain. I’d love to see more villages or ruins of them. I loved finding these things in the Zelda games and letting my mind wonder what happened there. It’s a very difficult balance act, since too many landmarks would make the map feel crowded and limit the amount of possible base locations.
Basically, I’d love more reasons for me to go exploring these regions and get unique rewards. Besides completing the Paldex, there isn’t a lot of reason to go exploring in certain area’s. And when you have set up the right kind of farms and work stations for your pals in your bases, the chance you run out of resources is rather small.
Speaking about bases, currently you can only have three bases. Most likely, this is done to improve the multiplayer performance. Since, the game emulates the three bases in the background, so you can easily have a base close to big ore clusters to farm those while you are working in your other base. If you don’t place a cap on those, it’ll tank the performance of any computer or server. Yet, I’d give the tools to the player to increase the cap. Personally, I think Minecraft has one of the best systems with the game rules. You can almost change anything to your playstyle and even disable or remove caps that are there for performance reasons. You already have quite a lot of toggles and sliders in Palworld, but I’d also expand on that.
Currently, the building system is decent, but it needs a lot of polishing up. The biggest problem I have with the building system are the stairs. It’s a nightmare sometimes to place stairs to go from one to another floor. Also, why can’t we place a full wall next to stairs? Most likely because some pals their hitbox would do some crazy stuff? Also, placing certain items or crafting stations on elevated floors doesn’t always work the best.
On top of that, besides the visual look of the floors, walls and ceilings, what’s the point of being able to unlock stone foundations? As a test, I tried to build a high tower with wood and one with stone. I didn’t find a difference. I’d love to see more meaning to what I unlock. Granted, stone can’t burn down. So, if you have any raids with flamethrower or fire enemies, your base isn’t in danger. But what’s the difference between stone and metal, then?
I honestly think that it’d be a bad idea if PocketPair only created more content and not make the mechanics have more depth. For example, something I’d love to see them implementing in the pal task system is a mechanic I love in Cult of the Lamb. When you welcome a new member in your cult, you can set the main focus of a member there. I’d love to see that you are able to set the main focus per pal. For example, when things are damaged in the base after a raid, you select one pal to go and get the repair kits and repair all damages first before going to do their usual tasks. Or when you have a pal that can do multiple things, and you mostly need that pal to pick up items, you could disable their other abilities. Maybe we need some items for that and those items can be only found in the wild, and we need to hunt for them. That’s an interesting idea to lure players out of their bases.
Dreaming like a madman
There are some UI elements I’d love to see change as well. First, I’d love to have a mini-map. The compass at the top of the screen only shows things in roughly 300m range, and that’s too short. Especially since in some areas the warp spots are spread quite far apart. A mini-map where you can pin certain things like the nearest warp spot would be amazing.
Secondly, in terms of the weapons. I’d love to see their stats before I craft them. Now it’s a guessing game that if I craft a certain weapon, if it’s going to be stronger or better than the one I currently have. It’d also be amazing if the durability is shown outside the inventory as well. There is some space in the UI element at the bottom right, so why not show it?
Now, in terms of the inventory. Sometimes I have issues with combining stacks of items. Sometimes I have to do it twice or thrice before they are combined. This is a rather small things, but outside of those… I don’t have a lot of small quality of life things that I could recommend. Maybe that if you sleep during the day in your bed, you can skip to night if you are hunting the nightlife pals?
Maybe there is one quality of life feature I think would be amazing. Quite often, when I’m hunting the stronger pals, I have my pal instructions set on “Focus on the same enemy”. I think it would have an amazing option if you have a feature where you are able to say to your pal if they are allowed to kill the wild pal or not. Since, if they are dead, you can’t capture them.
There is one attack that is a double-edged sword. In the Pokémon games, you have the self-destruct attack. You also have this one in Palworld, yet, some wild pals with this attack always take it over their other attacks. These bee pals always swarm me and instead of being able to weaken them, so I can catch them, I just get blown up. You barely have a chance to do any damage to weaken them to make capturing possible.
I just remembered one other quality of life feature. You can create saddles, gloves and other things to do special things with your pals. But, why I am allowed to create more than one? I mean, I can only use one of them at a time and they can be interchanged. So, if you make a saddle for a certain bird pal e.g. Helzephyr, that means you can use it on all Helzephyrs you catch.
But the biggest quality of life feature PocketPair could add is a mini-map inside caves/dungeons. The times I almost got lost in these caves is insane. Especially since there are only a handful of rooms in these and it’s easy to get turned around and confused.
Now, to completely change the subject… I wish there was more music in the game. The soundtrack in this game is amazing. Sadly, there isn’t enough in the game at the moment, so there are some silent moments. A little bit more ambient tracks would go a really long way in this game.
But, I saved one of my biggest things for last. That is inventory management. This is a total pain in bases. Since pals can put things inside chests, you can forget organisation. Thankfully, while crafting, the game pulls from all resources in your base, but if you need a certain item to use at another base, have fun to go searching through all your chests. What I usually do, if I can, is start crafting an item with the one I want to move and then cancel it. Since it drops the resources then and there. Now, how to solve this without breaking the game and the idea that pals can put things in chests? What if you have a new skill that pals can have? An organisation skill and depending on the level, they either put red things with red things or make a weapons chest and come to complain to you when there aren’t enough chests for their organisation?
If your base is fully set up, the proper of a lack of depth starts to show as well. When you build your base, why should you return to it besides needing to craft or repair your weapons? Give us some activities we can do in our base when we build them. I mean come on, we even have the amusement furniture set. If only we could play some mini-games with our pals to increase their sanity for example? Since currently, there is not a lot you can do when a pal is stressed.
Of course, a certain balance needs to be maintained. The more things a pal can interact with, the more chance you have to create lag or overwhelm the player. Also, the more depth you create, the more things you have to maintain and maybe that’s not the type of game that PocketPair wants to create. How I currently see Palworld is a playground sandbox in the schoolyard. It’s an amazing playground where you can make your own fun but it’s only part of the schoolyard and only has a swing, some monkey bars, a climb rack, a small castle and a slide. It’s all solid built and amazing to spend your time in… But, then you notice the potential this sandbox has to grow. What if we enlarged that sandbox with another castle, so the multiplayer can be player vs player as well? Or wait, why don’t we add an underground to that sandbox?
All I’m saying is that currently Palworld has an amazing foundation. The biggest issue at the moment is that the game lacks depth. While the current roadmap has a lot of expansions and more content, I hope PocketPair doesn’t forget to also make it more than just surface level. For example, imagne that the raid bosses can be captured and barely have an unique skills. Why should the player do the raids then? What reward do you get out of it? Not all mechanics can be fun because they are enjoyable to do. Players will get bored and they will look for a way to spice things up or to challenge themselves.
Now what that said, I’m going to close off this article. I’m quite excited for the future of Palworld and I’m going to wait a few more updates before I decide to write a review on the game. But overall, I’m really liking what I see. The basis of an amazing title is here already and I think we are going to get an even better game when this comes out of early access. Let’s wait and see what happens when the first big updates drop. Especially the raid bosses that got teased a few weeks ago.
Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. What do you think of PalWorld and what should be added or changed? Let me know in the comment section down below. Also, what do you think of my idea’s? I’m curious, feel free to leave a comment about that one to. But, I also hope to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
AI-Musement Park and MONDO Vanilli’s Blockchain Busting Musical Experience “R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs?”
Immediate release from: 03/03/2023
“AI-Musement Park comprises a cornucopia of performances / talks / happenings / documentary & discussion about AI, Intelligences, technocapitalism’s more than pressing-ongoing urgencies.” -Eleanor Dare, Cambridge University & AI-Musement Park
R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs? An original AI-Musement Park, PlayLa.bZ & MONDO 2000 History Project human and machine learning co-creation, taking the perspective of an AI that is training itself on the R.U. Sirius & MONDO Vanilli ‘I’m Against NFT’s’ song lyrics, exploring a surreal, mind melting and multi-dimensional 360 world of paradoxes and conflicting rules.
“Mondo Vanilli was originally intended to be a virtual reality band exploding all assumptions about property and propriety in the 1990s. Today fabrication becomes de rigueur as the connection to the real is intentionally confused by the banal political tricksters of power and profitability… while storms pound our all-too-human bodies and communities. I am thrilled to finally see MONDO Vanilli in it’s appropriate context. Immersive. Come play in the simulacra one more time” -R.U. Sirius, MONDO 2000
R.U. Cyber.. R.U. Against NFTs? Is a satirical, irreverent block-chain busting commentary on the propaganda relations fueled ‘Web 3’ hype around non-fungible tokens and the broader issues that underpin our algorithmically massaged hyper-connected infinite scrolls and trolls age. Challenging our assumptions about the nature of technology, creativity, and value, reminding us that the digital world is shaped by powerful forces that determine what is valued and what is not, and a click is not always for free.
Join Us! On Spring Solstice 2023 For “R.U. Cyber? :// Mondo 2000 History Project Salon” at MozFest Virtual Plaza & Mozilla Hubs: AI-Musement Park 20th March / 8.30pm EU / GMT
About R.U.Sirius & Mondo 2000 #Mondo2000 #RUSirius
R.U. Sirius is an American writer, editor, and media pioneer. Known for being one of key psychedelic & cyberpunk movement figures. Best known as Mondo 2000 editor-in-chief and at forefront of 1990s underground cyberculture movement.
About Mozilla Festival #TrustworthyAI #AIMusementPark
Since 2010, MozFest has fueled the movement to ensure the internet benefits humanity, rather than harms it. This year, your part in the story is critical to our community’s mission: a better, healthier internet and more Trustworthy AI.
About PlayLa.bZ CIC #PlayLabZ #SpatialCadetZ
Co-founded by PsychFi, FreekMinds & Squire Studios we’re a next generation multipotentiality multi-award-winning, multi-dimensional motion arts experience design laboratory, developing DIY changemaking createch immersive experiences & software applications for social good storycraft. Supporters & Friends: Mozilla Festival, Jisc: Digifest, Beyond Games, Tate Modern, Furtherfield, Boomtown Festival, Sci-Fi-London, Ravensbourne University London, UAL, East London Dance, NESTA, Modern Panic, ArtFutura, Kimatica, National Gallery X, Kings College London, Looking Glass Factory, SubPac, Ecologi, The JUMP, BOM Labs, Mondo 2000
PR Contact: James E. Marks, Tel: 07921 523438 @: [email protected] Twitter: @GoGenieMo
Phantom Spark is a high-speed racing game developed by Ghosts. Players must master challenges, hone their skills, and memorize pathways to surpass the champions of the track. With instant restarts, players can stay in the rhythm, keeping focus to refine each pathway. Phantom Spark is launching on August 15 for PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam).
According to The Wall Street Journal, there's internal conflict at OpenAI over whether or not to release a watermarking tool that would allow people to test text to see whether it was generated by ChatGPT or not.
To deploy the tool, OpenAI would make tweaks to ChatGPT that would lead it to leave a trail in the text it generates that can be detected by a special tool. The watermark would be undetectable by human readers without the tool, and the company's internal testing has shown that it does not negatively affect the quality of outputs. The detector would be accurate 99.9 percent of the time. It's important to note that the watermark would be a pattern in the text itself, meaning it would be preserved if the user copies and pastes the text or even if they make modest edits to it.
Some OpenAI employees have campaigned for the tool's release, but others believe that would be the wrong move, citing a few specific problems.
Unsure of what new games to pick up this month? Still suck on an Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree boss, or a Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail baddie? We’ve got you covered with the best tips of this final week in July. Click through for them all.
Inspired by the book, Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon, Kenneth Field created a map that helps tell the stories of more than 900 casualties in Grand Canyon through 2018.
Title:Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Type of Game: Action-Adventure, Psychological Horror Developer: Ninja Theory Publisher: Ninja Theory Released: August 8, 2017 Platforms Available: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 4 Level of Maturity: Mature 16+ Reading Time: 10 minutes
The Psychotic Ballet of Senua
Face painted with battle paint, anger, and determination in her eyes. But don’t be fooled. Senua, the protagonist of Ninja Theory’s Massacre, not only uses war paint to show her will to kill, but she’s also probably trying to hide her darkness and banish the whispering demons behind it, in vain. Hellblade is, in fact, a properly psychotic action flick where you’re never sure if there’s a real threat after your neck or the fruits of the main character’s twisted mind. Anyone expecting pure carnage along the lines of Devil May Cry, however, would be mistaken. Of course, you’ll see situations where soul-searching goes by the wayside and swords stabbed into heads come into play, too. Still, Hellblade certainly can’t claim to be classic action-packed fare. It is more of a psychological study. Hellblade is a ballad of madness dressed up in a damn engaging coat that occasionally strays into the field of unadulterated horror.
Senua ventures into the underworld of Norse mythology to save a beloved soul. The apparent main storyline, however, is a background melody to the whole orchestra. Instead, the story is more about dealing with one’s own fears, struggling with fading mental health, and reflecting on how incredibly little it takes for the human mind to slip into a spiral of hopelessness and damnation. In other words, the main storyline here is Senua herself. But when the entire play hinges on the solo performance of a single character, a girl who has been seeing into other worlds since she was a little girl (and it’s not a pretty sight), she needs special attention. And that’s precisely what the creators have done. The foundation is an incredibly detailed and elaborate model that must have been created by someone who was perhaps born with a manual in hand. On top of that, add facial expressions that even the guys from Naughty Dog would be ashamed of with their Uncharted 4 or The Last of Us Part II, games that can rightly be considered the definition of technical excellence in the gaming industry for their time. No need to mention further the incredible Red Dead Redemption 2 (incidentally, a few days ago, we released a gallery of my last playthrough of this beautiful game), but back to the point of why we’re here before I start going into detail and my review of a Nordic adventure becomes an essay on the wild west…
But all of this would have been a dead “primer” for Hellblade if the heroine hadn’t been breathed life into in a riveting way by Melina Juergens. She may have worked as a video editor at Ninja Theory during the game’s development. Still, after playing Hellblade, one can’t help wondering if she’s accidentally missed her calling. Senua transforms into a completely believable, authentic human being through her performance. It’s very hard not to like her, not to sympathize with her, not to experience her hardships. It’s no surprise that most of the story’s cutscenes focus on Senua, occupying her from different angles and giving space to Melina’s acting, but that’s not a criticism, quite the opposite. Having managed to create such an exciting and beautiful character, it would be an eternal shame not to put her to such great use. Ninja Theory could write textbooks on handling mental illness, translating it into atmosphere, game design, and gameplay elements. They’ve succeeded like few before. The intense yet icy fear that paralyzes life, the voices of non-existent beings that you can hear through Senua, the visual depiction of real psychotic hallucinations that the developers worked with psychiatrists and sick people to create – all of this uniquely intersects on screen, delivering an oppressive and compelling experience. The developers recommend playing with headphones, which I can’t help but agree on my part, as the game very often works with 3D sound.
Overall – the setting, mood, atmosphere, and craftsmanship are phenomenal. For these positives alone, the game deserves an honest recommendation. Think back to Devil May Cry – especially in the later levels, the developers made it clear that they are downright good at psychological environments. In moments when you’re not sneaking around with your heart in your pants with some fictional vision, the game serves up a fairly classic pattern of alternating action passages and puzzles with the environment. While the puzzles aren’t particularly complex, they often build to some enjoyable punchlines by working with alternating worlds, adjusting reality before your eyes, and finding the hidden shapes of Norse runes. They may not wholly satisfy avid solvers, but they give you a better view of the beautiful setting, and that is the point.
The Paradox of Beautiful yet Shallow Combat
And then it comes to action. The pulsing Darkness materializes in the form of warrior spirits. The semi-demonic Vikings are properly terrifying and formidable to behold, in short, enemies as they should be. You’ll gather up the fragile remnants of your and Senua’s courage and go out to meet them… …and they’re grabbing at you like straw men. That’s really the only complaint I have with the game. The fights are technically well played, no doubt about it. Everything is slick and smooth; the sword dance moves build on each other like a real ballet, and Senua goes from offense to defense and back with lightning grace, quickly but naturally. Inner voices warn fearfully of a blow going to the back, scream in pain and fear when an enemy knocks you down, and so on. The battles, by the way, like the whole game, are an audiovisual feast. They’re too simple and straightforward in terms of gameplay. The combat system, while visually stunning, needs more depth and complexity than many action-adventure games offer, which may disappoint some players.
The desire not to hurt the carefully built atmosphere, not to pull the player immersed in the local world back above the surface, is apparent. You won’t find any interface here at all, as it could be distracting. The absence of auxiliary indicators may be the reason why the developers didn’t want to go overboard with the difficulty, only that they managed the opposite extreme. Most of the battles can be solved by pressing a single attack and the occasional dodge, during which Senua is invulnerable, so it doesn’t matter which side you perform it on. The pinnacle of the tactic is to kick the enemy with your shield first before you start slashing furiously with your sword. The icing on the cake of the whole negative side of things is then put on by the unnecessarily overpowered focus mode, which stops time, is virtually impossible to die in, charges excessively fast, and takes far too long. The combat system offers more combos and attacks than one might initially think. There’s no list or explanations, so you’ll have to figure them out on your own, but the bottom line is that you can spice up the fight with your own efforts. Combine lunges as much as possible, even though it’s not really necessary, deliberately not using slow motion, and so on. The battles are then pure bliss to look at and listen to; the enjoyment of the dynamics and rhythm of the battle dance is great but lacking in adrenaline. The joy of victory. Tactical depth. This is best illustrated by the fact that I first played through the game on the medium difficulty it offers and rarely managed to die during combat.
The Guttural Symphony: When Music Trumps Gameplay
On the other hand, there would be honorable exceptions where the combat would cause goosebumps. These are not so much the fault of the game design, however, but the music. For a few of the more important conflicts are accompanied by guttural Nordic folk that whip up the already immense sensory pleasure to an unreal level. It’s still a triumph of form over content, but if you like, say, Wardrun, add a point to your rating. And speaking of numbers – to have Hellblade’s complexity, difficulty, and variety of combat system from, say, the oft-mentioned DmC, it would be somewhere between a nine and a ten for everyone else without blinking an eye.
Technological Triumph on Aging Hardware
Technically, the game is in order. On the basic PlayStation 4 FAT model, it consistently maintained 30 frames per second, which is admirable given the game’s high level of detail, and the developers have clearly put effort into optimization, something that not everyone can claim for many years. Furthermore, I encountered a few minor bugs, but nothing worth mentioning, as they occurred so rarely that it’s easy to simply wave them off.
Before the final verdict, I’d quickly return to the mentioned perhaps too simple combat. Don’t take it so badly from me. Despite the reservations about the visually beautiful but easy and not very deep battles, I thoroughly enjoyed the game from the first seconds to the final credits (which lasted about eight hours). This is mainly thanks to the excellent atmosphere, environment, and absolutely unrivaled handling of the theme. The whole experience is then enhanced by audiovisual beauty and a character so excellently crafted (both in appearance and internally) that one’s jaw drops effortlessly. Hellblade is an excellent, emotionally charged poem about real and imagined darkness inside people. Unique, fresh, beautiful, and terrifying. Play it. I recommend it.
Norse mythology mixed with a ticket to human madness provides the basis for the creation of a dark, captivating mood. The game stands on exploring fear, anxiety, and on an amazing main character, or rather the excellent acting performance of her portrayer. The sophistication and depth of the combat system lags a bit, but the rest of the game is an unconventional delight that is definitely worth buying, which cannot be said about the sequel that only repeated already used, albeit once good ideas with minimal innovations. However, you can read more about that in my previous review of that second part.
Where to Buy Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Steam (PC): Available for $29.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
FromSoftware or Soulslike game fans, rejoice! The PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls from 2020, the precursor to the Elden Ring phenomenon, is now available for PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers.
This visually stunning reimagining brings the brutal world of Boletaria to life with breathtaking detail, offering veterans and newcomers alike a chance to experience the game that started it all.
Did you know? The Demon’s Souls remake includes a mysterious new door, unseen in the original, sparking wild theories among the community. What secrets lie behind it? There’s only one way to find out – dive in and discover for yourself.
Thousands of video game actors went on strike on July 26 for the first time since 2017. The fight is over AI protections and other issues in contract negotiations with some of the biggest studios and publishers, and will halt work from SAG-AFTRA members on future projects, as well as possibly keep them from promotion…
Cancellation Watch: Status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.
Status Updates
House of the Dragon (HBO, Status: Renewed): For the first full week that the Nielsen charts measured this show’s second season, it improved to Number 2 in the list of acquired shows with an estimated 1.23 billion minutes of viewing. That is the highest viewership the show has seen thus far, surpassing the 1.02 billion mark it achieved in its first season. Not surprisingly, this one has already been renewed for a third season.
The Ark (Syfy, Status: Renewal Possible): Nielsen ratings data for linear viewing has been hard to come by lately, but TVSeriesFinale.com does have the premiere ratings for this show’s second season and it posted a 0.04 score based on same-day viewing in the 18-49 demographic with 240K total viewers. That is down from its first season average of a 0.06 rating, and not a strong return for the show. I will watch how this one tracks in the coming weeks, but it could be shifting to Bubble status shortly.
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (Prime Video, Status: Renewed): This animated sci fi comedy arrived on Prime Video with little in the way of promotion in February 2024 and did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings. But apparently it was renewed in advance for a second season and work on that is already underway. Whether it will continue beyond that remains to be seen.
Beacon 23 (Syfy, Status: On the Bubble): This show had originally been a joint production by AMC and Spectrum and had been picked up for two seasons, but those two venues backed away from it before it aired. MGM+ acquired the series and has now aired the two seasons, though it received little in the way of promotion and that may have just been a burn-off run. They have not indicated whether they have an interest in carrying it into a third season and I am going to shift this one to Bubble status.
Velma (Max, Status: On the Bubble): People were surprised that this show received a second season after the first was pretty widely panned, but apparently that had been planned in advance. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings across its two seasons, and it currently holds only 39% on the Tomatometer scale and a 10% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. I am going to assume that a third season is unlikely, so I am moving this one to Bubble status.
You can see the status of all the shows from the current season at our Cancellation Watch Page.
This past week brought two more cancellations with Halogetting the ax from Paramount+ and Reginald the Vampirecoming to an end at Syfy. In addition, apparently a fifteenth season of Doctor Who was part of the Disney partnership with the BBC and that is in the works, and The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy was renewed for a second season in advance as mentioned above. So factoring in all of that, the current score is at 21 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy entries (28% of shows tracked) vs. 31 renewed (42%). Below are this season’s numbers, and you can see the list of shows and keep up with the score throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.
Show Count
74
Cancelled
15
20.3%
Ending
6
8.1%
28.4%
Renewed
31
41.9%
On the Bubble
5
6.8%
Renewal Possible
17
23.0%
Mini-Series
6
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
Letos je volební rok v mnoha evropských zemích a ve Spojených státech amerických, tam je to panečku jízda. Pořád se tam něco děje, lidí odstupují, přistupují… Jo, úřad amerického prezidenta je prostě velká věc. Tak velká, že jsme ho mohli vidět již v desítkách filmových zpracování. Protože jsou ale všechny politické kampaně a jednotlivá vyhlášení kandidátů často terčem posměchu, dnes se podíváme na vtipné, někdy tragikomické, jindy komické a nebo přímo parodické ztvárnění prezidentů ve filmech. Teď vám totiž představíme 10 komických filmových prezidentů.
Prezidentka Janie Orleanová z Netlfix filmu K zemi hleď! je podlá žena, která udělá cokoli, aby zůstala ve funkci. Film prostřednictvím její kampaně v zásadě satirizuje způsob, jakým Američané konzumují politiku a jak toho politici využívají. I když, nebudeme si lhát, u nás to s politikou až tak odlišné není. Janiin vzhled je stejně směšný jako její činy, ať už jde o její čepici s nápisem „Don't look up“, která paroduje Trumpovy čepice s nápisem Make America Great Again, nebo o její tetování na zádech. To vidíme vlastně až na konci filmu, kdy je i jejím přičiněním zničena celá planeta, ale ona, tedy jako privilegovaný člověk, z toho vyvázne živá.
Perfect Dark has been in the news quite a lot recently. First there was the impressive gameplay reveal for the upcoming reboot at this month's Xbox Showcase and, literally yesterday, Nintendo announced that the original Perfect Dark is now available to play on Switch.
All of this Perfect Dark news got me perfectly nostalgic, so I jumped back into the original three games and put together a little list video based on some of the most bizarre (and naughty) Easter Eggs and features that Rare's series has to offer.
Give it a watch on the player above or there's the YouTube version embedded below if you'd prefer to push that one into your peepers. Enjoy!
The art of the reveal is a difficult thing - and in our current industry, most publishers prefer trailers packed with pre-rendered CGI or snippets captured across the game. Yet, I've always preferred a different approach: a linear series of events showcasing what's possible in the game. This style was memorably used to reveal Metal Gear Solid 2, along with titles like Halo 2, Doom 3, The Last of Us and Killzone: Shadow Fall. It's designed to showcase the gameplay vision of a title contained within a single location - a way to help the player understand what sort of game the developer is building. With the reboot of Perfect Dark, finally shown during this year's Xbox showcase, I was thrilled to see a return to this format.
There's little doubt that the lead-up to Perfect Dark has been fraught with challenges. First named six years ago in a simple teaser, the studio went radio-silent afterwards, with rumors suggesting it was in a rough state. With this new trailer, however, it finally feels like we have a vision for what the team wants to achieve. This is still very much a vertical slice - it wouldn't be surprising to learn that little else of the game's campaign has been built yet - but this trailer gives me hope that they're on the right track.
Creating a new entry in the Perfect Dark series is perhaps not as simple as it may seem. On the face of it, the original Perfect Dark is a type of shooter that largely doesn't really exist any longer. It's mission- and objective-driven, filled with gadgets and other unique scenarios, but the central mechanics, level design and flow are very much of the era. There is one contemporary game, known as Agent 64, which perfectly builds on this style of play - the demo is excellent and a fun throwback - but that's not necessarily what you'd want from a full reboot.
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Perfect Dark are heading to Nintendo Switch Online, as part of the Expansion pack's new "mature" games app.
Nintendo made the announcement during this afternoon's Direct broadcast. Both N64 shooters are available from today. In addition, Perfect Dark will arrive with online multiplayer, so who is ready for a round or two later?
As well as these mature games, Nintendo Switch Online users will be able to get their hands on GameBoy Advance's Metroid: Zero Mission and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords. You can see a little taste for what's in store via the video below.
Pieces Interactive, the developer behind the recent Alone in the Dark reboot, has been shut down by Embracer.
The developer's website now reads "thanks for playing with us" and the dates 2007-2024. "Our last release was the reimagining of Alone in the Dark," it concludes (thanks IGN).
Embracer acquired Pieces in 2017 after working on a number of Titan Quest projects. The Swedish conglomerate has closed a number of developers over the past year, resulting in layoffs.
Oblíbený animovaný seriál o městečku South Park a jeho obyvatelích je tu s námi již od roku 1997. Seriál ukazuje spoustu postav, hlavní je ale čtveřice kluků: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman a Kenny McCormick.
Jedním z populárních vtipů byla Kennyho smrt v každé epizodě, kterou si nikdo z obyvatel v dalším díle nepamatoval, protože Kenny se vždy objevil živ a zdráv. Později tvůrci v epizodě „Kenny Dies“ z roku 2001 Kennyho zabili napořád, protože jim prostě lezl na nervy. Nakonec se ale Kenny vrátil, jakoby se nic nestalo. Až v roce 2010 v epizode Coon vs. Coon and Friends jsme konečné zjistili, proč Kenny pořád umírá a vstává z mrtvých.
The perpetually scarlet-faced and jovially maladroit folk of Embracer have done their usual vaudeville comedy routine of spinning around with negative-dollar signs in their eyes and trampling on another game development studio - in this case, Pieces Interactive, creators of the recent Alone In The Dark reboot. The Swedish studio's website is now a tombstone, bearing the dates 2007-2024. Oopsy-daisy!
The perpetually scarlet-faced and jovially maladroit folk of Embracer have done their usual vaudeville comedy routine of spinning around with negative-dollar signs in their eyes and trampling on another game development studio - in this case, Pieces Interactive, creators of the recent Alone In The Dark reboot. The Swedish studio's website is now a tombstone, bearing the dates 2007-2024. Oopsy-daisy!
This week, we’ve got tips for helping you get started on the right foot in Shadow of the Erdtree. We’ll also help you determine just which of the many swords Cloud finds in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the best, and how to use Starfield’s robust new settings to tailor the game to your liking.
I came across an interesting deal on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Edition on Fanatical. For fans of action RPGs, this is definitely newsworthy. This edition includes both the critically acclaimed base game, Elden Ring, and the new expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree.
What’s Included:
Elden Ring: The base game offers an expansive open world, challenging combat, and a rich storyline co-created by George R.R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion: This new DLC adds more depth, content, and challenges to the already vast world of Elden Ring.
Key Highlights:
Open-World Exploration: Elden Ring is renowned for its vast, interconnected world filled with secrets, lore, and a variety of landscapes.
Challenging Combat: Known for its difficulty, the game rewards strategic thinking and skillful play.
Rich Lore and Story: With contributions from George R.R. Martin, the story is deeply engaging and immersive.
Additional Content: The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion promises to bring new adventures, bosses, and areas to explore.
Interesting Tidbits:
Developer: FromSoftware, the studio behind Dark Souls and Bloodborne, brings its signature style and challenge to Elden Ring.
Depth: Collaborating with George R.R. Martin adds a unique storytelling element that enriches the game world.
Navzdory ukončení rozsáhlé restrukturalizace došlo v Embracer Group k uzavření dalšího studia. O práci přišli tvůrci nedávného remaku Alone in the Dark ze švédského Pieces Interactive. Firma byla založena v roce 2007 a o deset let později ji koupila Embracer Group a zařadila pod THQ Nordic. Předtím pracovala například na Magicka 2.
Alone in the Dark se neprodávalo podle představ vydavatele. Hra na trh vstoupila v březnu tohoto roku ve verzích pro PC, PlayStation 5 a Xbox Series X/S. U nás v recenzi obdržela 7/10 za hezké vyobrazení atmosféry a prostředí a celkově příjemnou hratelnost. Další hrou, která nenaplnila prodejní cíle Embraceru, je Outcast: A New Beginning od Appeal Studios.
„Alone in the Dark se snaží novému publiku představit hru, sérii a příběh, který před tolika lety započal jeden z nejoblíbenějších žánrů, které se dnes těší ohromné podpoře. V porovnání se svou přímou konkurencí bohužel nová reimaginace původního dílu nevyčnívá tak, jak by mohla, přesto jde o zábavný a se vším všudy dobře zvládnutý titul, který doufám, že je pouze začátkem něčeho víc,“ napsali jsme v recenzi.
Od 1. 4. 2023 do 31. 3. 2024 propustila Embracer Group celkem 1532 lidí. Plus prodala Saber Interactive a Gearbox Software. Také zrušila studia Volition (Saints Row) a FreeRadical Design (TimeSplitters) a snížila počet her ve vývoji o 80. Do 31. 3. 2025 chce skupina vydat více než 70 titulů. Mezi nimi je i Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 od českého studia Warhorse a Killing Floor 3.
Samsung has always been big on UI customization. Its Good Lock app officially offers many deep UI and UX customization features on Galaxy phones. However, the company recently removed two features from Theme Park but is considering bringing them back after users' feedback.
Theme Park's folder and keycap customization could come back
It has been revealed (via @tarunvats33) that Samsung is considering bringing back custom folder and keycap shape options to Theme Park. These two features were recently removed after Samsung updated that app. This information was revealed by the official forum moderator from Samsung, who is in charge of communicating changes related to the Good Lock suite of apps.
Using this feature, users could create custom shapes for the folder on the app drawer and the home screen and for the keys in the Samsung Keyboard app.
The story continues after our video below.
Samsung's official forum moderator said that while the company's engineers are considering bringing back those two features, they can't say for sure whether they will. Hopefully, those customization features will return, and we will keep you updated on this matter.
Microsoft konečně ukázal nový Perfect Dark v gameplay záběrech, které nám dávají dobrou představu o tom, co máme od tohoto špionážního thrilleru vlastně čekat. Americká společnost na návrat této akce dost sází, vždyť kvůli němu otevřela úplně nové studio a najmula odborníky.
Perfect Dark je thriller o tajném agentovi z blízké budoucnosti zasazený do světa plného špiónů, nových technologií a záhad.
„V blízké budoucnosti postihne Zemi řada globálních katastrof, které přivedou ekosystémy po celém světě na pokraj zhroucení. Staňte se Joannou Dark, elitní agentkou společnosti DataDyne, která pátrá po nejhledanějším zločinci světa Danielu Carringtonovi. Odhalte tajemství převratných technologií, které mohou ohrozit životy milionů lidí,“ dočteme se v popisku.
Dnešní video naznačilo poslání tajné agenty Joanny Dark (hlas jí propůjčila Alix Regan a vizuální podobu Elissa Bibaud), ukázalo nám její sestup do prostředí Káhiry v blízké budoucnosti a poté nám poskytlo lákavý pohled na zcela novou hratelnost inspirovanou tajnými agenty.
Perfect Dark bude zážitek pro jednoho hráče se sérií misí, ovšem záleží pouze na vás, jak tyto mise splníte. Velkou možnost představuje pohyb. Vývojáři měli vytvořit intuitivní pohybový systém, na který navazuje bojový systém, který umožňuje boj zblízka i střelbu, stealth mechaniky a volné využití gadgetů. Cílem je nabídnout skutečnou fantazii tajného agenta - a klíčem k tomu je nechat hráče používat různé nástroje a schopnosti tak, jak chtějí.
Po letech od prvního oznámení se společnosti The Initiative a Crystal Dynamics konečně pochlubily prvním herním trailerem na hru Perfect Dark.
V něm se dlouholetá hlavní hrdinka Joanna Dark vydává do Zahradního města v Káhiře, aby našla a zneškodnila Daniela Carringtona (který dříve sloužil jako její šéf). Podívejte se na něj níže.
Po prozkoumání úkrytu se Carrington spojí s Joannou a začne filtrovat pochybné informace přes její systém rozšířené reality. Paranoia a podezřívavost nejsou ve světě Perfect Dark ničím novým a Joanna si opět bude muset dávat pozor, komu věří. Během své cesty může využívat nové vychytávky, jako je analýza hlasů k vytváření deepfakes, převlékání se za jiné NPC a další.
Stejně zkušená je Joanna samozřejmě i v boji, kde využívá smrtící i nesmrtící zbraně, boj na blízko a celou řadu zbraní k likvidaci nepřátel. Hráči mohou tyto přístupy kombinovat, a to i s využitím prostředí, aby splnili své cíle. Obojí s sebou nese rizika i odměny.
Hra Perfect Dark vychází na konzole Xbox Series X/S a PC. Zůstaňte naladěni na další podrobnosti, které se brzy dozvíte.
Xbox’s upcoming revival of Perfect Dark finally revealed a first look at its gameplay and it actually looks pretty great. The fluid first-person shooter will blend high-end technology with agile movement to make for a satisfying spy fantasy. The game is being developed by The Initiative as well as Crystal Dynamics.
I never played the original Perfect Dark, but the trailer for the reboot shown during this evening's Xbox Games Showcase instantly made it the most exciting game I've seen during not-E3. It's first-person, it's got stealth, it's got parkour, it's got hand-to-hand melee combat including slidekicks. It looks like a mashup of Mirror's Edge and something more immersive sim-y? What's not to like.
I was a diehard WipeOut player as a kid. Seriously, me and the boys used to roam the streets of Bradford looking for F-Zero players to bully, at least till the RollCagers rocked up and stole our lunch money. Mind you, I think I was probably less interested in WipeoUt's racing than its trackside landscapes, which remain exquisite decades on - all those sweeping album-cover facades with their animate fixtures that thickened and solidified into full-blown peripheral cities as the series progressed.
I am similarly hooked by the worlds of Ghosts Ehf's Phantom Spark, which are a million lightyears from WiPeout in terms of their influences and atmosphere, much as the underlying hover-jockeying is a million lightyears away from WipeouT in terms of its gentleness and lack of combative elements. But these spaces are just as mesmerising to fly through and think about when not focussed on finding the perfect line through the next corner, or avoiding a patch of grass. Small wonder, given that the game's art director is Joost Eggermont, whose streaking astral contraptions and "small interactive moments" I've long admired, but never managed to write about until now.
There's no better feeling than having built or bought a brand-new PC. But before you jump into that game you've been waiting to play, there's something you need to do first. The first thing that every new computer owner should do is run a benchmark test. Benchmarking your GPU is a great way to measure how much performance you can get from your graphics card, how hot it gets under load, and what frames per second (FPS) it will run certain games at.
This nonsense is somehow still going. To catch you up if you’re not familiar with this story, the Ravinia Festival Association operates the Ravinia Festival venue in the north suburbs of Chicago. When a small brewery opened its doors in Highland Park, calling itself Ravinia Brewing Company, the RFA objected to its name and convinced the brewery to enter into an agreement whereby the RFA would not object to the name or sue for trademark infringement in exchange for all kinds of agreed upon restrictions on the brewery. These included restrictions on the percentage of real estate on packaging and marketing materials using the term “Ravinia,” not organizing musical concerts, and so on.
Now, this might all sound fairly reasonable if you’re not from the area, as I am. But if you are from the Chicagoland area, you will recognize two problems with all of this. First, the term “Ravinia” comes from a formerly incorporated municipality that used to exist on the grounds where the RFA operates. It was the name of a neighborhood, not unlike “Wrigleyville” near Wrigley Field, thereby making it a geographic marker. Geographic markers have historically enjoyed very limited trademark protections, if any at all. The reality is that this trademark probably never should have been granted in the first place. Add to that the simple fact that the area also has other businesses that use the “Ravinia” name, some of which include businesses that serve beer and food, all without objection from the RFA. Despite all of the above, the RFA last year claimed that Ravinia Brewing had violated its agreement and sued for trademark infringement.
At present, this lawsuit is still going. The RFA recently amended its complaint, noting that Ravinia Brewing had transferred its own trademarks for its business name to a company setup in Delaware in order to license the marks back to the local business.
The updated complaint in the federal lawsuit between the music festival and the microbrewery accuses the founders of the brewing company of starting their business with “the express purposes of taking advantage of the name recognition and good will of Ravinia [Festival Association].”
In addition to the Illinois-registered LLCs of Ravinia Brewing Company and Ravinia Brewing Company Chicago, the 11-count amended complaint adds as a defendant Ravinia Brewing IP LLC, a Delaware-based entity incorporated in 2016. According to a joint status report filed earlier this month, attorneys for the music festival only recently learned that the brewing company had assigned trademark rights to the Delaware affiliate.
So that’s the reason for the amended complaint, but most of the facts of the case remain the same. The trademark in question is a geographic marker and the RFA has not policed its mark equitably with respect to other businesses in the area. There is still a great deal of complaining in the suit over font sizes, musical “concerts” put on by the brewery, social media “advertising,” and a beer with a musical-themed brand. There’s a lot of scare quotes in that sentence. Here’s why:
The “concerts” put on by the brewery are largely a person with a guitar playing some songs in the bar. These are nothing like the massive concerts put on at Ravinia Festival.
The font size issue occurred when there was a change in size and shape of the beer can and the brewery corrected the issue as soon as it was brought to their attention.
The new music themed beer was called “Key Notes” and featured a person playing a piano on the can. That both isn’t enough to make this trademark infringement, nor is the beer even sold any longer.
The social media “advertising” claim stems from the wife of the owner of the brewery, on her own social media page, posting a picture drinking one of the brewery’s beers while at a concert at Ravinia Festival.
And, again, this is all over a geographic marker trademark that shouldn’t have been granted in the first place. And, in the brewery’s response to the lawsuit, potentially shouldn’t have been granted for other reasons as well.
The brewery contended that the association’s 2011 trademark for exclusive rights to use the “Ravinia” name for “Restaurant Services; Catering Services; Offering Banquet Facilities” was obtained fraudulently, noting that the festival’s finance director signed a sworn declaration that no one else was using the name for restaurants and food — despite the existence of local restaurants like the Ravinia Green Country Club and the Ravinia BBQ and Grill.
The brewery’s attorney, Shelley Smith, said a jury could reasonably determine that a senior Ravinia Festival executive, like its then finance director, could not credibly claim that she was unaware of country club or BBQ joint.
“Thus, when Ravinia Festival filed its trademark application, Ravinia BBQ and Grill had been using the mark ‘Ravinia’ for twenty-five years and Ravinia Green Country Club had been using the mark for forty-three years, all without interference by Ravinia Festival,” Smith said. “It is under these circumstances that Ravinia Festival told the PTO that no one else had the ‘right to use the mark in commerce’ in connection with restaurant services.”
Whether that’s true or not ultimately shouldn’t really matter. The fact is that “Ravinia” is a geographic marker, understood not to be a source of a good or service, but as a reference to a neighborhood. On top of that, the RFA has clearly not policed its trademark against other uses of the term, and is instead singling out Ravinia Brewing Company for this sort of action.
Why the RFA wants to continue with its bullying via this lawsuit is beyond me. It can’t possibly be worth whatever it is paying its lawyers, as there is clearly no threat from a small brewery with a couple of brick and mortar locations.
Alright, this one is going to get a bit convoluted, so stay with me here. There seems to be something going on in the foreign foodstuffs and restaurant industries lately when it comes to trademarking otherwise common phrases for niche foods in a way that pisses off other providers that operate in those same niche markets. An example of that recently came to be in the form of a “chili crunch” trademark granted to David Chang, after which he blasted out a bunch of cease and desists notices. Chang eventually apologized and promised to not enforce his trademark any longer, though that came only after some rather severe public backlash.
And now we have an interesting and somewhat similar situation out of the UK. Dishoom is an Indian restaurant chain that is seeking to revoke a trademark granted to another restaurateur, Tariq Aziz. That trademark is for “Ruby Murray” in the restaurant industry. Dishoom appears to be at least slightly misguided in its petition, in that it claimed that Aziz was not using the mark in commerce. He absolutely is, having a restaurant named Ruby Murray in London.
The restaurant group’s lawyers want the term to be revoked as a trademarked phrase because they believe it has never been used for commercial purposes.
A spokesperson for Dishoom said: ‘A third party has a trademark registration for Ruby Murray and we don’t believe that they have ever used it.
However, Aziz reportedly refused the application, claiming that he is using the name for a food premises in Islington and does not want the trademark to be revoked.
He said: ‘We have a premises in Islington, north London, called Ruby Murray. It’s closed for refurbishment at the moment, but will reopen soon’.
That certainly appears to be true, unless this website for the Ruby Murray restaurant in London is somehow wholly made up, which I doubt. If that really is the sole reason that Dishoom is seeking to invalidate the trademark, it seems unlikely to work.
Which doesn’t mean that canceling the mark isn’t something that shouldn’t absolutely be considered. Why? Well, it has to do with how the name Ruby Murray became associated with Indian food to begin with.
See, Ruby Murray is the name of a British musician from the 1950s. She was wildly popular at that time throughout the UK and elsewhere. And, in keeping with one of my favorite parts of British slang, where you refer to one thing by the name of a completely different thing that rhymes with the original thing, Ruby Murray’s name became a slang term in the 60s for Indian curry.
So, what Aziz actually did was to trademark a common, generic slang term for a common ingredient in Indian food that was also the name of a very famous person. That would seem to raise all kinds of potential problems for the mark and I would argue it never should have been granted. Its obviously considered a generic term, or you would have thought Murray’s heirs or estate would have challenged the mark themselves.
We’ll see if Aziz truly wants to defend this trademark, as he has until July 15th to state so. It would be better if this all went away and everyone just got back to making awesome Indian food.
The controversial boss of Embracer Group has discussed the topic of increasing the price of video games beyond $70 amid rising development costs and a brutally competitive market.
Lars Wingefors, who has laid off thousands of staff, shut multiple studios, and sold off subsidiaries in the last financial year, told
What’s dead may never die. E3 may finally be gone for good but its spirit lives on in Summer Game Fest. Hosted by The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley, the event kicks off in June and promises teases, trailers, and world premieres for the biggest games of tomorrow and beyond. Here’s every gaming conference,…
Developer Hinterland has announced its much-loved snowy survival hit The Long Dark will, all being well, get the fifth instalment of its paid Tales from the Far Territory expansion in the "second half of June" - adding, among other things, a cougar to pursue players all over the map and a way to cheat death in permadeath mode.
Tales from the Far Territory launched back in December 2022, promising a bunch of Surival Mode additions that would release over the next 12 months. In classic Hinterland fashion, however, the pace of development has been glacial and it's only now close to releasing the fifth of six promised DLC instalments as the summer looms some 18 months on.
Thankfully, there's some good stuff brewing for Tales from the Far Territory's Part Five, starting with the cougar - a new apex predator that sounds a bit like Resident Evil's Mr. X in fuzzy form. The cougar is designed as a territorial beast, and is drawn to a player's location if they linger in a single region for too long. To avoid its deadly attention, players will need to keep moving.
Today I learned Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert is working on a new game, which he describes as "Classic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park". Well, hello there!
Work on this project actually started several months ago, but it only came to my attention this afternoon thanks to TimeExtension. I have since done more browsing, and come across some posts on Terrible Toybox, as well as Gilbert's own Mastodon page.
Now, admittedly there still isn't a huge amount of information on Gilbert's upcoming project at this time. The game doesn't even have a proper name yet, and rather has been labelled as Game Name TBD on Terrible Toybox's website. Meanwhile, Gilbert has been using the hashtag #rpgtbd to tag his social media posts.
Britain's signals intelligence spy chief raised eyebrows this week with warnings that Russia is coordinating both cyberattacks and physical acts of sabotage against the West. There's evidence to back her claims—and the West may be returning the favor. Coming soon after FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that China is targeting American infrastructure, it looks like the world is not only fracturing once again, but that the hostile blocs are engaged in covert warfare.
Rumors of War
"We are increasingly concerned about growing links between the Russian intelligence services and proxy groups to conduct cyberattacks as well as suspected physical surveillance and sabotage operations," Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) Director Anne Keast-Butler told an audience at the United Kingdom government-sponsored CyberUK 2024 conference. "Before, Russia simply created the right environments for these groups to operate, but now they are nurturing and inspiring these non-state cyber actors in some cases seemingly coordinating physical attacks against the West."
Keast-Butler, whose agency is comparable to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), also called out China, Iran, and North Korea as cybersecurity dangers. But naming Russian officials as being behind "physical attacks" raises the stakes. Sadly, her claims are well-founded.
Sabotage, Espionage, and Other Mischief
"A 20-year-old British man has been charged with masterminding an arson plot against a Ukrainian-linked target in London for the benefit of the Russian state," CBS News reported last month. That wasn't an isolated incident.
"In April alone a clutch of alleged pro-Russian saboteurs were detained across the continent," The Economistnoted May 12 in describing what it called a "shadow war" between East and West. "Germany arrested two German-Russian dual nationals on suspicion of plotting attacks on American military facilities and other targets on behalf of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency. Poland arrested a man who was preparing to pass the GRU information on Rzeszow airport, the most important hub for military aid to Ukraine. Britain charged several men over an earlier arson attack in March on a Ukrainian-owned logistics firm in London whose Spanish depot was also targeted."
The GCHQ chief's warnings coupled with reality on the ground are alarming in themselves. Worse, they come after FBI Director Christopher Wray issued similar cautions in April about China.
"The PRC [People's Republic of China] has made it clear that it considers every sector that makes our society run as fair game in its bid to dominate on the world stage, and that its plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce panic and break America's will to resist," Wray told the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wray clarified that, by "infrastructure," he meant "everything from water treatment facilities and energy grids to transportation and information technology."
If that doesn't make you want to check that your pantry is stocked and that the water filter and generator are in working order, nothing will.
A Game Both Sides Can Play
Of course, in war of any sort, the implication is that both sides are involved in conflict. Western intelligence officials are loud in their warnings about foreign threats, but less open regarding just what their own operatives might be doing in Russia, China, and elsewhere. Still, there's evidence that this is hardly a one-sided war, shadowy though it may be.
In June 2022, The New York Timesreported that Ukraine's defensive efforts relied heavily on "a stealthy network of commandos and spies rushing to provide weapons, intelligence and training." In addition to Americans, the story noted, "commandos from other NATO countries, including Britain, France, Canada and Lithuania, also have been working inside Ukraine."
American journalist and combat veteran Jack Murphy goes further, claiming the CIA, working through an allied spy service "is responsible for many of the unexplained explosions and other mishaps that have befallen the Russian military industrial complex." The targets include "railway bridges, fuel depots and power plants," he adds.
And if you wonder who blew up Nord Stream 1 and 2, well, so do a lot of people. Russia was initially accused, but it didn't make a lot of sense for the country's forces to destroy pipelines that generated revenue and fed western dependence on Russian natural gas. Since then, Denmark and Sweden have closed inconclusive investigations, journalist Seymour Hersh blamed American officials, and a report by Der Spiegel and The Washington Post placed responsibility on a rogue Ukrainian military officer.
The Wider War Is Here
Taken all together, the warnings from Keast-Butler and Wray, as well as acts of sabotage and arrests of foreign agents suggest that fears of a wider warresulting from Russia's continuing invasion of Ukraine may miss the point; the war could already be here. People looking for tanks and troops are overlooking cyber intrusions, arson, bombings, and other low-level mayhem.
"Russia is definitely at war with the West," Oleksandr Danylyuk of the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense and security think tank, told NBC News earlier this week.
Russian officials seem to embrace that understanding, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commenting in March that the invasion of Ukraine, originally referred to by the euphemism "special military operation," is now more serious. "It has become a war for us as the collective West more and more directly increases its level of involvement in the conflict," he said.
Fortunately, a shadow war of the sort around us is less destructive than open military conflict, especially when the hostilities involve nuclear-armed powers. It's far better that spies hack the email accounts of government officials, as happened in the case of a Russian cyberattack on Germany's ruling Social Democrats, than that cities burn. But civilians still must live with the consequences of combatants attempting to do each other harm—particularly when the harm is to infrastructure on which regular people rely.
So, welcome to the world of global shadow war. Try to not become collateral damage.
Genuinely legendary game designer Ron Gilbert – whose works include the classic adventure game Monkey Island, the RTS Total Annihilation (as producer), and the term “cutscenes” – is making a new game.
The Terrible Toybox website describes it as “Classic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park”, and one of the other people working on it is Elissa Black, co-designer and writer of the wonderful Objects In Space… who is also, I’ve just learned from her personal website, working on a retro 90s style turn-based spaceship command game influenced by the 1971 mainframe adaptation of Star Trek. Argh, so many good things in one article.
I've played little of legendary survival sim The Long Dark, or The Short Dark, as I guess it has proven for me. I fell off the game after succumbing to my first wolf. But I've sampled enough to know that adding a "Misery Mode" to the game is sort of like upending a bucket of water over a drowning person. More misery in The Long Dark? Oh thank god, that's just what this notoriously easygoing wilderness adventure has been missing. And what's this, developers Hinterland are introducing a new predator, the Cougar, which will move into any area you're fond of and compete over territory. Finally, a bit of friction for what has previously been a stroll in the woods.
It's not all misery. In a first for The Long Dark, which has hitherto been a permadeath game that wipes your save between runs, the devs are working on an optional Cheat Death system. It's not as cheaty as it sounds, however. You can only return from the grave four times, and each time, you'll have to make unspecified trade-offs. The idea is to stop people backing up their saves and make failure more of an adventure or if you prefer, an agonisingly slow decline, rather than letting players avoid the consequences of their actions.
Closing in on four years since Microsoft's Perfect Dark reboot was announced, and a year since it was reported that "little meaningful progress" had been made on the project since its unveiling, it's now being claimed the reboot remains in "a very rough state".
That's according to journalist Jeff Grubb who, while discussing Xbox's surprise recent studio closures on the Giant Bombcast, told co-presenters, "I've been hearing for years that Perfect Dark is in a rough state, [but] it sounds like it's in a very rough state. It doesn't sound like it's really come together in any way since then."
In the wake of Grubb's comments, several other industry pundits (as spotted by VGC) took to social media with similar claims. VG247's Alex Donaldson wrote, "I have some crazy stories about the development of that game I have not put in print out of respect for a team really trying hard to push a boulder up a steep hill. But my patience is getting thin." Meanwhile, video game historian Liam Robertson wrote, "From what little I have heard about the development of the new Perfect Dark, it sounds like... a big, protracted mess."
Closing in on four years since Microsoft's Perfect Dark reboot was announced, and a year since it was reported that "little meaningful progress" had been made on the project since its unveiling, it's now being claimed the reboot remains in "a very rough state".
That's according to journalist Jeff Grubb who, while discussing Xbox's surprise recent studio closures on the Giant Bombcast, told co-presenters, "I've been hearing for years that Perfect Dark is in a rough state, [but] it sounds like it's in a very rough state. It doesn't sound like it's really come together in any way since then."
In the wake of Grubb's comments, several other industry pundits (as spotted by VGC) took to social media with similar claims. VG247's Alex Donaldson wrote, "I have some crazy stories about the development of that game I have not put in print out of respect for a team really trying hard to push a boulder up a steep hill. But my patience is getting thin." Meanwhile, video game historian Liam Robertson wrote, "From what little I have heard about the development of the new Perfect Dark, it sounds like... a big, protracted mess."
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Phantom Spark is a high-speed racing game developed by Ghosts. Players must master challenges, hone their skills, and memorize pathways to surpass the champions of the track. With instant restarts, players can stay in the rhythm, keeping focus to refine each pathway. Phantom Spark is launching on August 15 for PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam).
"It's something we have been discussing…"
