Pikachu took a long drag from his cigarette. “Yeh ever seen a man’s brains melt from inside his head?” he pauses, his glassy eyes staring at the space between. At something that I could never see. Something I never would WANT to see.
I shift uncomfortably in my chair, the tape recorder still running. The pause goes on far too long. I start to answer when he speaks up again.
As cinematic technology improves so should the storytelling techniques that guides the picture. While modern cinema has gotten more immersive and in depth from a visual standpoint, it’s clear that some directors and producers don’t know how to leverage those visuals to serve the story.
Back in 1993, Universal released Jurassic Park to great critical and commercial success. Directed by legendary director Steven Spielberg, the film went on to make over 356 million dollars domestically, according to the NPD group. It pioneered special effects in the 1990s and was one of the first films to use CGI, computer generated images, to successful effect.
One of the most striking reveals at the EA Play 2018 conference was the game Sea of Solitude. As the newest EA Original (EA’s independent games initiative) it joins Fe from Zoink! Games and A Way Out from Hazelight Studios.
This new game from small developer Jo-Mei Games was shown off by it’s creative director Cornelia Geppert. In Sea of Solitude, players will control Kay, a young woman who that is suffering from the “loneliness of isolation.”
Continue reading “E3 2018: ‘Sea of Solitude’ and Mental Health in Video Games”
Back in the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 era, indie games were seen as distractions from what people wanted, those being ‘triple-A’ experiences. Fast forward to 2018 and the word “indie game” does not have the same negative connotation it used to.
Indie games’ prevalence and importance on the big stage of the Electronic Entertainment Expo continues to be clear. At Microsoft’s E3 2018 Press Conference, the push to show Xbox’s commitment to indie games was in full force.
Continue reading “E3 2018: Finji Games’ ‘Tunic’ Steals Hearts”
Consumer virtual reality has been available since 2016. While striking up lots of positive coverage upon release, the excitement for VR has died down since. At E3 2018, VR is alive and well, though it’s not the paradigm shift some though it could be.
Two of the three main producers of VR had a presence at E3 this year: Sony with its Playstation VR and Oculus with its Rift, and each had something to show off during their press conferences.
Continue reading “Virtual Reality Continues its Presence at E3 2018”
The deserts of Northern Africa were quite different 100 million years ago. Vast coastal mangrove forests dotting huge swaths of tidal flats and channels covered what would become Egypt and Morocco.
The inland seas and rivers were a hotbed of life. Huge fish, ancient crocodiles and even some plesiosaurs swam those waters. Titanic sauropods like Paratitan and Aegyptosaurus walked the coastline.
One dinosaur was uniquely adapted to surviving this environment of constant change. It stalked the mangroves and swam the channels, hunting its prey. This was the domain of Spinosaurus.
Continue reading “Dino-Bites Spotlight: The Sail of the Sahara”
Modern popular culture has long presented the image of dinosaurs as scaly, stomping beasts. Going further back in time to the early to mid 20th century; dinosaurs were thought to be lizard-like with flicking tongues and strange upright postures.
However, modern science has revealed that dinosaurs may have appeared and behaved far different than originally, or even recently, imagined.
Continue reading “Dino-Bites: What did Dinosaurs Really Look Like?”
For the first time in three years the gaming public will be getting an announcement show from Square Enix. Not the traditional stage show that’s typical for E3, but something akin to Nintendo’s “Nintendo Direct” videos.
There is much that is known about the company’s upcoming releases and even more that isn’t. Square Enix has the potential to be one of the most exciting shows depending on the surprises under the company has kept under their caps.
Continue reading “E3 2018 Predictions: Square Enix Showcase”
Last year’s Bethesda conference was fast paced and full of interesting releases. Bethesda has placed themselves as one of the most exciting conferences every year.
This year Bethesda will have slight challenges as some of their biggest announcements either leaked or were teased prior to the show. That being the case the two games, Fallout 76 and Rage 2, that leaked have generated a large amount of excitement. If Bethesda has any other surprises it will make for one exciting show.
Microsoft has had to take a more defensive position since the announcement of the Xbox One than the when they dominated with the Xbox 360 in the previous generation.
Last year at their press conference they showed off the powerful Xbox One X console, but did not show many exclusive titles to counter its console rivals. They are poised to show some unique experiences this year, though what they could be remains to be seen.
Batteries Fully Charged 