9+ Cartoons, TV Shows and Movies that Infuriatingly Aren’t on DVD Yet

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/io9/vip/~3/TJktOtxvbDU/9%252B-cartoons-tv-shows-and-movie-that-infuriatingly-arent-on-dvd-yet

Hard choices: The Week In Tech

Hard choices: The Week In Tech:

Couple of questions for you hardware freaks to ponder this week. Is it time to think the unthinkable, to do the undoable and ditch the hallowed keyboard n’ mouse control interface for PC gaming? Oh, and is the desktop PC dead? The former’s something I’ve wondered for a while in relation to PC interfaces in general, but now somebody is actually having a proper stab at bettering ye olde rodent and fiddlestick. The latter bombshell, meanwhile, follows rumours Intel will stop selling desktop CPUs in a little over a year. That sounds bad. Fortunately, the reality isn’t altogether catastrophic. (more…)

Lego Antikythera Mechanism - YouTube

Lego Antikythera Mechanism - YouTube:

'via Blog this'

BioShock Infinite won’t have multiplayer

Ken Levine said almost word for word what I've been shouting for years :D "Unless you're Call of Duty, unless you're Halo, unless you've got something new to say like Left 4 Dead, people are not going to care, so why do it?"

http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32730/f/510578/p/1/s/59ad9ab8/l/0L0Spcgamer0N0C20A120C110C270Cbioshock0Einfinite0Eno0Emultiplayer0C/story01.htm

Syfy launches a giant boxing robot show that wants to be a real-life Real Steel

Syfy launches a giant boxing robot show that wants to be a real-life Real Steel:
Did you like Real Steel? That movie about Wolverine and a little boy teaching a large boxing robot how to, er... box? The TV executives at Syfy must have, because they just greenlit Robot Combat League, a show about 8-foot-tall robots who get in a boxing ring and, er... well... they still box, actually. It will be hosted by wrestler-turned-Dancing with the Stars contestant-turned-ridiculous Syfy boxing robot show host Chris Jericho. Entertainment Weekly has the scoop (as well as pics that aren't from the Real Steel movie, like the one up top):

Robot Combat League will have 12 teams. Each consists of a fighter (dubbed a "robo-jockey") and a robotics engineer (a "robo-tech"). The fighters and techs are from various backgrounds, such as a race car driver, an Olympic athlete, a National Guard helicopter pilot. One of the robo-jocks, for example, is MMA fighter Amanda Lucas (Star Wars visionary George Lucas' daughter). Each team is paired with their own unique robot, all designed by Setrakian, that will have unique strengths and vulnerabilities. And, of course, the robots will have a colorful names, such as "Steampunk" and "Sgt. Smash." [...]
Fights consist of three rounds, with the winning team advancing to the next competition. The winning team claims a $100,000 prize. Jericho will set up each fight and provide play-by-play commentary. "They are complete boxing matches," Stern says. "If a robot is disabled, the team has 20 minutes to get it functional again and back in the ring."

Obviously, this won't be the first time Man has forced Machine to fight to the death for its own televised amusement, but it will be the first time the robots will be humanoid, unlike the tiny, belligerent toasters seen in shows like Battle Bots. I imagine this is a key development in the upcoming robot apocalypse, and be the primary source of the footage our new robot overlords will show at our sham trials shortly before sentencing us to death in the human-shredders.
[Via Entertainment Weekly]

Rubber and Glue

Rubber and Glue:

These beetles are officially the laziest creatures on Earth

These beetles are officially the laziest creatures on Earth:
The parents of the beetle species Eocorythoderus incredibilis must be so disappointed. All they ever wanted was for it to make something of itself... but instead it actually evolved a handle for unsuspecting termites to carry it around all day.
This recently discovered beetle species, native to Cambodia, has clearly come up with one of the sweeter deals in the animal kingdom, albeit completely at the cost of its dignity. These beetles have adapted to living inside the nests of the termite species Macrotermes gilvus, whose larvae have themselves evolved natural handles so that grown termites can carry them around, which allows the slow-moving larvae to reach their food much quicker.
These beetles have now horned in on that racket by tricking the termites to carry them to food as well. The beetles have developed chemicals that can imitate those secreted by the termite larvae, which entices the adult termites to pick them up. There has been a cost for this laziness (besides the aforementioned dignity). The species is wingless and its eyes are almost blind, meaning the beetle can now only survive inside the warm confines of the termite nest.
As you may know from our previous posts on codependent insect behavior, this is a textbook case of parasitic beetles invading the termite next. At least, it would be, if not for the fact that the beetles are so utterly lazy that they can't actually be bothered to do much by way of actual damage to the termite nest. Instead, they appear to be the insect equivalent of freeloaders, taking up space and enjoying the fruits of the termites' labor, but not actually hurting the termites beyond that.
For more, check out New Scientist, as well as discoverer Munetoshi Maruyama's original paper at Zootaxa.
Image from paper by Takashi Komatsu.

Darth Vader continues to be the best father ever in Jeffrey Brown's Vader's Little Princess

Remember Dad's: It's never too early to talk to your kids about Star Wars.

Darth Vader continues to be the best father ever in Jeffrey Brown's Vader's Little Princess:
If you're one of the countless people who picked up Jeffrey Brown's adorable children's book of Darth Vader bonding with 4-year-old Luke Skywalker, titled Vader and Son, all you need to know is that Brown's coming out with a sequel next April, the sequel is Vader's Little Princess, and the cover is above. Since there's not a human being alive - man, woman or child - who read Vader and Son and didn't completely love it, this information is all they'll need to be impossibly excited. But if you're one of those sad, empty few who haven't picked up Vader and Son, for yourself, a child, a Star Wars fan, a carbon-based lifeform, or anyone who likes things that are Good - do yourself a favor and pick it up, because not only it is adorable and funny, but it's also one of the best Star Wars books ever. In fact, buy two, because you're going to want to give a copy to somebody over the holidays, no question. And then you might as well go to Comics Alliance and print their Vader and Son gift tags.
There. We just reduced your holiday shopping by at least one gift. You're welcome.

THIS FUCKING AMUSEMENT ARCADE - Molyneux and Fucking Kickstarter

THIS FUCKING AMUSEMENT ARCADE - Molyneux and Fucking Kickstarter

Interview: Peter Molyneux On Curiosity’s Failings, GODUS

OMG. I thought he was joking with that last post. Nope. Molyneux actually cried in an interview.

Interview: Peter Molyneux On Curiosity’s Failings, GODUS:

Last time I spoke with Peter Molyneux, he was practically abuzz with renewed vigor. He’d left Microsoft, started his own hand-picked studio, and ascended back into the high-concept realm he so loves to call home. But reality has a way of dousing even the most excited of flames, and Molyneux knows that better than just about anyone. But the godfather of god games was different when we spoke today: insanely thrilled to be launching a Kickstarter for his Populous meets Dungeon Keeper meets Black & White god opus GODUS, yes, but also wearied, frantic, and tremendously apologetic. It’s been a rough few weeks for 22 Cans, and it showed. And then something crazy happened: Molyneux cried. Openly. Without reservation. But not for the reason you might think. “I just,” he winced, his voice audibly cracking, “I still believe so much.”
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Peter Molyneux’s Tears: “I Still Believe So Much”

Peter Molyneux’s Tears: “I Still Believe So Much”:

In an extraordinary interview to be published shortly, a clearly emotional Peter Molyneux broke down into tears when discussing the struggles he’s had with Curiosity, and his concerns about making promises for Kickstarter GODUS.
“I can’t blame people for not believing,” Molyneux responded, when it was suggested that his history of over-promising and under-delivering might hurt prospects for GODUS. Especially in light of the very negative reaction to Curiosity’s server failures – something the creator tells us was “a disaster”.
“I know I’ve said things,” Molyneux continued. “I wish I could not say them, I guess. I just… I still believe so much.”
(more…)

Listen, Shut Up, DICE Are NOT A Battlefield Factory

Shared for Karl *cough*

Listen, Shut Up, DICE Are NOT A Battlefield Factory:

As the decidedly not very good Medal Of Honor: WARFACEFIGHTER received its critical pannings, one refrain was repeated again and again: they’re the games EA puts out on the year’s DICE don’t have a new Battlefield ready. That may well be true, but EA are now at pains to point out (not necessarily in reaction, I should say) that DICE are not “a Battlefield factory”. (Imagine a non-gamer reading those words. “Dice are not battlefield factories? And you say FPS games HELP your minds?”) There’s more to the Swedish team, they insist to OXM today. And in response rumours that Mirror’s Edge 2 is in development have once more bubbled to the surface.
(more…)

Here Are Some Fuck This Jam Games I Like

Here Are Some Fuck This Jam Games I Like:

Fuck This Jam was a pretty brilliant idea. Conceived by Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail and Panoramical creator Fernando Ramallo, it challenged developers to design games in their most-despised genres. “Through utter ignorance for conventions and hate for the established rules of a genre,” said the jam’s mission statement, “beautiful things will happen.” And they did! I mean, Dear Esteban had a sky whale. But I took a casual, decidedly less narrated stroll through FTJ’s submission section today and came across a few more standouts. Admittedly, there are plenty of other amazing entries that I fully plan on giving more attention to, but for now, here are a few that made me laugh, cry, and stab in the most fascinating of fashions.
(more…)

Sony stock downgraded to 'junk' by Fitch

Sony stock downgraded to 'junk' by Fitch: BB-minus rating down to poor economy, storng Yen, high competition

Project Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment � Meet the Developers - Steve Weatherly — Kickstarter

Shared for the first sentence of how he describes his job. Bravo.

Project Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment � Meet the Developers - Steve Weatherly — Kickstarter

Swedish woman charged for sexing herself with human skeletons

Nope. I've changed my mind. I don't want to go to Sweden.

Swedish woman charged for sexing herself with human skeletons:
Fair warning: Potentially unsettling images after the jump. Then again, you're reading a post about necrophilia; what did you expect? No judgement. Just saying.
When authorities discovered knives and various human skeleton parts in a 37-year-old woman's living room back in September, she was arrested under suspicion of murder. That accusation has since been dropped, but a new one has cropped up in its place: Today she was formally charged with "brott mot griftesfriden" (disturbing the peace of the dead) for using the bones as sex toys.
Reports Sweden's The Local:

Prosecutor Kristina Ehrenborg-Staffas could not explain how the woman managed to collect almost an entire skeleton, but that the human remains had been used in an "unethical" way.
The woman is believed to have used the human bones for sexual gratification. The evidence that the prosecution presented to the press on Tuesday included a CD labelled "My necrophilia" and "My first experience" which contained a number of document files.
However, a psychological evaluation of the woman shows that she is not mentally ill, at least not in any juridical sense of the term.

The woman — who also peddled skulls over the internet, and is expected to plead not guilty — claims her hobby stems from an "interest in history," and that she "collected the remains like other people might collect stamps."*

* NB: While there's definitely some sort of rule against licking the pieces in your stamp collection, photos seized by police reveal that no such rule exists for human bones:

Read more, and see many more photos, over at The Local.

Photos via Polisen

After a Nation Rejoices at Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Honest Trailers Takes a Somber Look Back at New Moon

After a Nation Rejoices at Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Honest Trailers Takes a Somber Look Back at New Moon:






Now that Bella has married Edward, become a vampire, had a creepy CG baby and given that baby to a teenage werewolf that wants to have sex with it (...eventually) in this weekend's Breaking Dawn Part Deux, we thought it was important to take a look back at how far we've come since a young, white blob first fell in love with a sparkly, whiter blob with deep-seated emotional issues. And by "we" I mean the guys at Honest Trailers, and by "a look back" I mean they make belated fun of New Moon. Seriously, where did all those jean shorts come from?
[Via FilmDrunk]

Pedro Almodovar making another science fiction film?

Pedro Almodovar making another science fiction film?:
Pedro Almodovar dipped his toe into science fiction with The Skin I Live In — although the film sort of dropped its science fictional conceit halfway through and then never returned to it. Now, he says he wants to make a straight-up science fiction movie, inspired by 1950s paranoid freak-outs like Invasion of the Body Snatchers — and this sounds like a pretty great fit for his psychotic "soap opera" sensibility.
Talking to Variety, Almodovar says:

I am still young enough to make a science fiction movie. I have ideas for this genre... The way I would like to do it is present something impossible in a real, domestic way. One of the scripts on my desk is of that genre, so I hope to make that.

But don't hold your breath — Almodovar says this could still be years away, because he develops projects slowly. The idea of doing a 1950s-style movie about aliens or monsters in a "domestic" way actually makes a lot of sense, given how much those films often relied on interiors. So fingers crossed! [Variety]

Terry Pratchett says his daughter Rhianna will take over the Discworld series

Terry Pratchett says his daughter Rhianna will take over the Discworld series:
Since his diagnosis with Alzheimer's in 2007, beloved fantasy author Terry Pratchett has kept up his rigorous writing and touring schedule, despite his growing health difficulties. These days, he writes entirely with the help of voice-activated software and his assistant Rob Wilkins. Now he's done an extensive interview with New Statesman's Laurie Penny, where he reveals what his life is like now, and what's coming next for Discworld.
In New Statesman, Penny writes:

He has lost the ability to use a keyboard altogether and can do very little with a pen. His most recent four books have been written entirely by dictation, and with the help of his assistant of 12 years, Rob Wilkins.
"I can no longer type, so I use TalkingPoint and Dragon Dictate," Pratchett says, as Rob drives us to the café in a rather unexpected large gold Jaguar. "It's a speech-to-text program," he explains, "and there's an add-on for talking which some guys came up with."

Pratchett also said that he's thinking about the future of the Discworld series, and his daughter Rhianna is going to take the helm when the author can no longer write. The younger Pratchett already has writing chops — she's written for a number of videogames, including Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, Overlord, and Heavenly Sword (for which she won an award). Writes Penny:

[Rhianna] will be a co-writer on the BBC Discworld series The Watch, news of which has had fans like me chewing their cheeks in excitement. Mine may never recover after hearing some particularly exciting casting details that I'm absolutely not allowed to tell you about.
Run by Pratchett's new production company, Narrativia, The Watch will continue the well-loved City Watch saga where the books left off, and Rhianna will be an important member of the writing team. The author tells me that he will be happy for her to continue writing the Discworld books when he is no longer able to do so. "The Discworld is safe in my daughter's hands," Pratchett assures me.
Rhianna has grown up immersed in her father's universe and knows it inside out. Listening to him talking about his daughter, I realise it is the first time I've heard him acknowledge the possibility of not being able to write any more.

It will be interesting to see how the next chapters in Pratchett's incredible life — and his much-adored Discworld series — unfold.
Read more via New Statesman
Photo of Rhianna Pratchett via Wikimedia Commons

Amnesia Fortnight: Decide Double Fine’s Next Prototypes

Amnesia Fortnight: Decide Double Fine’s Next Prototypes:

Double Fine’s Amnesia Fortnight has become a fairly well known event by the developer. For two weeks every year, everyone at the company stops what they’re working on, and get together in small teams to create prototypes for new game ideas. And since 2009, all the games the studio have released have been born from these creative weeks. The likes of Costume Quest and Stacking came out of this elaborate brainstorm. This year they’re doing it differently. “We’re letting the world in on it,” explained studio head Tim Schafer to me this evening, in an interview to appear later tonight. Via Humble Bundle, we get to vote on the 23 pitches to pick the four that will be created as prototypes. And then the whole process of developing will be live-streamed, with the finished projects available to everyone who paid.
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Rules For Games: Do & Don’t #5

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RockPaperShotgun/~3/ClT_Jk7iDHw/

Star Citizen raises over $4.5 million, is now “the highest crowd-funded game project ever”

Star Citizen raises over $4.5 million, is now “the highest crowd-funded game project ever”:

Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen continues its rocketlike ascent with the news that its crowdfunding drive has passed the $4.2 million mark. Since that story was published on Blues News, it’s even raised an extra $400,000 odd – at the time of writing, it’s now at $4,605,301 and counting. This means, according to Roberts Space Industries, that Star Citizen is now “the highest crowd-funded game project ever”.
Now that the $4.5m stretch goal has been achieved, all the previously Kickstarter-only rewards have been unlocked, including “extended hardcore flight sim controller support” (flight chairs, multiple monitors etc), and a new alien race known improbably as the ‘Kr’tak’. New stretch goals have, of course, been added as a result, at $5m and $5.5m respectively. If the project reaches these targets – which could be a stretch, as there’s only one day remaining – we’ll get a tablet companion app, celebrity voice acting for Squadron 42 (“we will bring back at least one favourite from Wing Commander!”), and, at $5.5m, the largest playable ship, the Bengal Carrier.
As Roberts himself notes on the site, reports of the space sim’s death “have been greatly exaggerated.” If you want to contribute to this extraordinarily successful project, you have just over a day left to do it.

Wot I Think: CODBLOPS 2 (Singleplayer)

Wot I Think: CODBLOPS 2 (Singleplayer):

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is the 4192nd Call of Duty Game, and as such predominantly requires you to run forwards while firing a machinegun and following an indestructible friendly NPC whose main purpose is to open doors. It’s developed by Treyarch rather than Modern Warfare-makers Infinity Ward, and it’s the direct sequel to the Cold War-set Black Ops 1. This time, the setting switches between the Cold War and a new war on terror in 2025, as starring the son of Black Ops’ protagonist Alex Mason.
It came out on Tuesday, and I blitzed through the singleplayer yesterday. (I probably won’t write about the multiplayer because, not being terribly well-versed in the fine detail of the earlier ones, I can’t say anything useful about it. Also I don’t want to.)

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