creativeworks – Michmutters

Tag: creativeworks

Categories
Technology

Activision Making More Off Phone Games Than Console And PC

Activision Making More Off Phone Games Than Console And PC

A solider with a rifle stands near a large, brown orc and both are in front of a screenshot of Candy Crush.

picture: Activision / Blizzard / King / Kotaku

Here’s a sign of the times: Activision has confirmed via newly released financial documents that it made more money on its phone games last quarter than it did on all of its console and PC games combined.

As spotted by tweaktown, Activision’s quarterly report was published last week and sheds some light on how its biggest games across PC, console, and mobile are doing financially. And because of games like Devil Immortal, Call of Duty Mobileand Candy Crush Sagathe beleaguered Call of Duty publisher’s making a lot of cash off phone games. In fact, more than half of its total earnings for the second quarter of 2022 came from mobile titles and not console or PC games.

According to the report, about 51 percent of Activision’s total earnings from the Q2 2022 period came from mobile games. That adds up to a total of $831 million in mobile game earnings. Meanwhile, its console games earned around $376 million and PC games brought in a bit less, $332 million. Finally, it made $105 million from events and esports.

What you might not expect, especially if you don’t realize how massive mobile gaming has become over the last decade, is that of the $831 million made off phone games, most of it came from King’s titles and not stuff like Call of Duty Mobile. In the report, Activision says that King titles like candy crush and FarmHeroes brought in over $680 million.

ReadMore: Lawyer To Pay Activision For Not Playing Call Of Duty

What these numbers reveal is that for big publishers like Activision, the future is likely one where it invests even more resources and money into mobile games and focuses less and less on console games. In an era where AAA games are more expensive to make than ever, take years to createand often flop, mobile games have become a lifeline for large game companies looking to keep their heads above water.

G/O Media may get a commission

Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse

20% Off

Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse

Gaming!
Uses exclusive ultra-fast wireless tech to make sure your mouse is faster than you are, can be sued alongside special software for highly-customizable performance, and has 11 buttons to mess around with, a hyper-fast scroll wheel, and RGB lighting too .

For Activision it’s especially important as Call of Duty continues to lose millions of players and underperform. Seeing as the company has spent years focusing much of its energy on Call of Duty—at one point even having every studio it owned working on the franchise in some capacity—it’s likely it will seek to diversify into mobile more, not less, moving forward.

It should also be noted that Activision’s hugely successful mobile games are one of the main reasons Microsoft began the process of buying the company earlier this year following a huge, public fallout after the company was sued over years of sexual harassment and discrimination.

in some way, Call of Duty and warcraft are more like bonuses that Xbox gets top of King and his money-printing games.

.

Categories
Technology

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla YouTube Leaks Tease Iron Man Suit

Assassin's Creed Valhalla YouTube Leaks Tease Iron Man Suit

Eivor in an Iron Man suit shoots a laser beam.

screenshot: Ubisoft / Andy Reloads

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla dataminers recently discovered files of an Iron Man skin that shoots a Unibeam from the chest. The skin is currently not available in Ubisoft’s digital store, but fans are hoping that it gets released sometime in the future.

The armor was found by an Assassin’s Creed dataminer named Pedder, who previously mined DLC information from the game files that later proved to be accurate. the Youtube videos show a red-and-yellow armor set that shoots a laser beam from the chest and a similar looking white variant. The Unibeam can be activated with the “Battlecry” ability in Valhalla. The pack also includes a mechanical raven, a mount, and two swords.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Update – NEW ‘Star Wars’ Advanced Mechanical Armor Set Found!

This isn’t the first time that Marvel-related Assassin’s Creed cosmetics have surfaced. Previously, Andy showed off a video of a Thanos skin called “Master of Elements.” This unreleased skin includes colorful gem-studded gloves that activate a different ability every few seconds. Some fans are a little disappointed Ubisoft hasn’t actually released any of these skins—or even confirmed their existence. Kotaku reached out to Ubisoft about whether or not these skins will be released, but was not able to obtain a comment at the time of publication.

A Marvel collab wouldn’t even be the most unusual crossover to appear in the Assassin’s Creed series. back when Origins was still getting updates, players could stumble upon a final-fantasy Easter egg in ancient Egypt. Iron Man’s robot mount may be a little out there for medieval England, but I’d say that the Chocobo mount was far more jarring to ride into the desert sands. Assassin’s Creed‘s Fortnite-ification continues.

Despite Ubisoft’s troubles with delays and cancellations, Valhalla has enjoyed a relatively robust release schedule. This spring, the publisher launched the major dawn of ragnarok expansion, which added a ton of Norse mythology quests to the already-massive open world RPG. Ubisoft has released a Valhalla expansion every year since the game’s initial release, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. So I’m not too bothered if the developers spend a little more time tweaking the skins that absolutely no one was even expecting from a viking game.

.

Categories
Technology

Researchers Have Taught Machines How to Follow Lego Instructions

Researchers Have Taught Machines How to Follow Lego Instructions

The enduring appeal of Lego comes not from the complexity of the sets, nor the adorable minifigure versions of pop culture icons, but from the build process itself, and turning a box of seemingly random pieces into a completed model. It’s a satisfying experience, and another one that robots might steal from you one daythanks to researchers at Stanford University.

Lego’s instruction manuals are a masterclass in how to visually convey an assembly process to a builder, no matter what their background is, their experience level, or what language they speak. Pay close attention to the required pieces and the differences between one image of the partly-assembled model and the next, and you can figure out where all the pieces need to go before moving on to the next step. Lego has refined and polished the design of its instruction manuals over the years, but as easy as they are for humans to follow, machines are only just learning how to interpret the step-by-step guides.

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to machines learning to build with Lego is interpreting the two-dimensional images of the 3D models in the traditional printed instruction manuals (although, several Lego models can now be assembled through the company’s mobile app, which provides full 3D models of each step that can be rotated and examined from any angle). Humans can look at a picture of a Lego brick and instantly determine its 3D structure in order to find it in a pile of bricks, but for robots to do that, the researchers at Stanford University had to develop a new learning-based framework they call the Manual-to-Executable-Plan Network—or, MEPNet, for short-as detailed in a recently published paper.

Not only does the neural network have to extrapolate the 3D shape, form, and structure of the individual pieces identified in the manual for each step, it also needs to interpret the overall shape of the semi-assembled models featured in every step, no matter their orientation. Depending on where a piece needs to be added, Lego manuals will often provide an image of a semi-assembled model from a completely different perspective than the previous step did. The MEPNet framework has to decipher what it’s seeing, and how it correlates to the 3D model it generated as illustrated in previous steps.

photo of lego instruction converted into a 3D model by machine learning

screenshot: Ruocheng Wang, Yunzhi Zhang, Jiayuan Mao, Chin-Yi Cheng, and Jiajun Wu

G/O Media may get a commission

Amazon Fire 65" 4K SmartTV

40% Off

Amazon Fire 65″ 4K Smart TV

looks good
Aside from being 65″ in size, this TV offers UHD 4K visuals which are a constant feast for the eyes, features HDR to make sure you can appreciate the full range of colors and contrasts, and it also allows you to use it as a hub for all of your streaming services.

The framework then needs to determine where the new pieces in each step fit into the previously generated 3D model by comparing the next iteration of the semi-assembled model to previous ones. Lego manuals don’t use arrows to indicate part placement, and at the most will use a slightly different color to indicate where new pieces need to be placed—which may be too subtle to detect from a scanned image of a printed page. The MEPNet framework has to figure this out on its own, but what makes the process slightly easier is a feature unique to Lego bricks: the studs on top, and the anti-studs on the underside that allow them to be securely attached to each other. MEPNet understands the positional limitations of how Lego bricks can actually be stacked and attached based on the location of a piece’s studs, which helps narrow down where on the semi-assembled model they can be attached.

So can you drop a pile of plastic bricks and a manual in front of a robot arm and expect to come back to a completed model in a few hours? Not quite yet. The goal of this research was to simply translate the 2D images of a Lego manual into assembly steps a machine can functionally understand. Teaching a robot to manipulate and assemble Lego bricks is a whole other challenge—this is just the first step—although we’re not sure if there are any Lego fans out there who want to pawn off the actual building process on a machine.

Where this research could have more interesting applications is potentially automatically converting old Lego instruction manuals into the interactive 3D build guides included in the Lego mobile app now. And with a better understanding of translating 2D images into three-dimensional brick-built structures, this framework could potentially be used to develop software that could translate images of any object and spit out instructions on how to turn it into a Lego model.

.

Categories
Technology

Higround Unveils Sonic the Hedgehog Themed Keyboard Collection

Higround Unveils Sonic the Hedgehog Themed Keyboard Collection

Photo of a Sonic the Hedgehog Keyboard

the sonic the hedgehog video games are more or less about one thing: blasting through a level with as much speed as possible. So as lovely as this Sonic-themed keyboard from Higround is, it seems almost antithetical to the spirit of the games, at least if you don’t have all your key positions perfectly memorized.

The keyboard is part of a new ‘capsule collection’ (yes, we’re just as upset about writing those words as you are about reading them) from Higround, who partnered with Sega to help pay tribute to the company’s most recognizable characters and one of its most beloved consoles.

Image for article titled These Sonic the Hedgehog Themed Keyboards Could Ironically Slow Your Typing Speed

The collection includes t-shirts, pants, bags, keycap sets, and even mouse pads, but the highlight definitely has to be the three heavily-themed keyboards. The most flamboyant of the bunch features elaborately decorated keys (with TTC Speed ​​Silver switches underneath) recreating the iconic Green Hill Zone from the first sonic the hedgehogwhile a slightly more subtle alternative mirrors the key art for sonic adventure 2.

The last keyboard of the bunch pays homage to the Dreamcast, with the console’s logo on the space bar and the arrow keys matching the colors and labels from its controller’s action buttons. Each keyboard appears to be completely free from labels to prioritize the artwork on the keycaps, but in reality, the alphanumeric labels have been moved onto the side of each key for aesthetic reasons, prioritizing form over function. At least there’s some form of safety net.

G/O Media may get a commission

Amazon Fire 65" 4K SmartTV

40% Off

Amazon Fire 65″ 4K Smart TV

looks good
Aside from being 65″ in size, this TV offers UHD 4K visuals which are a constant feast for the eyes, features HDR to make sure you can appreciate the full range of colors and contrasts, and it also allows you to use it as a hub for all of your streaming services.

Higround’s Sega collection officially becomes available starting at noon, PST, on August 5, through the company’s website. Wthread pricing hasn’t been revealed for any of the items yet, other keyboard releases from the company have ranged in price from $135 to $145.

.

Categories
Technology

Symphony Of War Is A Steam Hit Perfect For Fire Emblem Fans

Symphony Of War Is A Steam Hit Perfect For Fire Emblem Fans

Warriors prepare to fight in one of Symphony of War's tactical battles.

screenshot: Dancing Dragon Games

There’s been a raft of intriguing strategy RPGs this yearbut one of my favorites so far is Symphony of War. It’s been climbing the charts on Steam in recent months, and for good reason. From a distance it looks like another Fire Emblem knockoff. Up close it’s doing enough interesting things to stand on its own, and I really recommend you give it a shot.

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga quietly came out on Steam in June and has been rack up positive reviews ever since. Developed by an indie team called Dancing Dragon Games with a history of RPG Maker projects, it’s a trope-filled military drama about civil war and demonic threats. But you can pretty much ignore all that. Beneath the predictable plot and airbrushed character portraits is a deep strategy game that’s hard to put down. Personally, I think it’s even better in the strategy department than Triangle Strategy.

Make no mistake: Symphony of War is old-school. While newer entries in the Fire Emblem series have delved deeper into visual novel elements and relationship mechanics, it’s focused almost exclusively on renewing the nuts and bolts of classic grid-based battles. What works so well is that Symphony of War nails the basics and also adds plenty of new wrinkles for fans to dig into (especially those who also dug last year’s Dark Deity).

gif: Dancing Dragon Games / Kotaku

The biggest one is that each individual unit represents an entire squad made up multiple types of fighters. Maybe there are some knights in front flanked by pikemen while wizards and archers rain down death from the back. When two units move next to each other and throw down, a mini-turn-based skirmish ensues. Mages in the back cast fireballs and healing spells while knights in the front dish out melee damage. Combat unfolds across two rounds, with attackers getting the first turn and the defending side going second. Some fighters can only attack on the first or second turn, while others will occasionally luck into a bonus turn. The action is easy to follow and yet also opens up plenty of room for customization.

G/O Media may get a commission

Vertagear Summer Sales 2022

Up to $200 off

Vertagear Summer Sales 2022

Ergonomic premium quality
Vertagear has a number of gaming chairs on sale right now. One in particular that caught our eye is the PL4500 which is embroidered with Swarovski crystals down to $500. You can also get one of their RGB kits to add a set of lights to either the top cutout sections around the headrest or a bottom LED kit for $200 to light up underneath like your chair is in Need for Speed: Underground 2.

Adding more subtle layers of complexity are unique fighter bonuses and an extensive research tree. Horseback fighters get to attack first without retribution. Infantry provide defensive bonuses to nearby units. And archers can naturally attack from a distance without facing counter-attacks. These and other stats can then be augmented and magnified by researching new tech. Rather than leveling up specific units, you’re growing the overall capabilities of your army.

A map shows where grid-based combat takes place in Symphony of War.

screenshot: Dancing Dragon Games

in this way Symphony of War forces you to sometimes think like a 4X strategist while playing like a traditional JRPG enthusiast. Instead of customizing one single party and fighting through a dungeon, you’re building up a small army of them and taking on a whole battlefield. Completing missions faster and capturing enemy units and buildings along the way nets you extra money and points that can then be poured back into outfitting your various crews. Just a few novel tweaks and the decades-old tactical JRPG formula feels fresh and modern again in 2022.

A few other games have also taken hybrid approaches to tactical RPGs recently. The Iron Oath and Songs of Conquest both come to mind. The former is a roguelike with battles that take place on a hexagonal grid. The latter also sports a hexagonal battlefield in service of map exploration and city-building closer to a 4X game. They’re really promising games in their own right (and still in Early Access), yet neither is as focused on plumbing the depths of leveraging small advantages so one group of animated sprites can wipe the floor with another.

Symphony of War is far from a perfect package, but it offers one of the more meaty and innovative takes on the tactics RPG formula I’ve come across in years.

.

Categories
Technology

James Gunn Confirms No Eros

James Gunn Confirms No Eros

Image for article titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Won't See One Big Cosmic Character's Return

screenshot: Marvel Studios

Godzilla vs. king 2 you have begun filming. Jameela Jamil talks she hulk‘s Titania. Plus, good news for moonhavenand what’s coming on Westworld, ghostsand Primal. Spoilers away!

Image for article titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Won't See One Big Cosmic Character's Return

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning

dead line reports Holt McCallany (mind hunter) have joined the cast of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning as Bernstein, the United States Secretary of Defense.

creepers

Bloody-Disgusting reports Jake Manley, Adeline Rudolph, Francesca Reale, Laurence O’Faurain, Nicholas Hamilton, Javier Botet, Skylan Brooks, and Kai Caster will star in the film adaptation of David Morrell’s creepers. Manley will play Rick, “the official leader of the Creepers” while Rudolph plays Diane, “the unofficial leader of the group, and Rick’s rebellious, defying, impulsive girlfriend.” Reale has been cast as Cora, “a parkour expert and the key in the group who opens doors wherever they’re closed while keeping everyone honest” while O’Faurain joins as Balenger, “a mysterious, brooding, powerful stranger with a secret and who isn’t who he says he is.” Hamilton is said to play Tod, “leader of the Scavengers, a rival urbex group and who is particularly cruel and vicious” opposite Botet as the supernatural Pale Creature” whose domain is the abandoned Paragon Hotel.” Brooks has been cast as Vernon, “the 4th Creeper, a wise-cracking tech-nerd who is not doing a good job of hiding his true feelings for Cora” while Caster rounds out the cast as JD, a former Creeper “exiled after breaking their code and further betraying them by joining the rival Scavs.”

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

During a recent interview with Extra, James Gunn confirmed Harry Styles’ Eros/Starfox does not appear in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.

Nope. I’m setting the record straight. Starfox doesn’t pop up.

James Gunn Says Harry Styles’ Starfox Is NOT in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Exclusive)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Meanwhile, David F. Sandberg confirmed Rizwan Manji appears as an unnamed character in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Godzilla Vyes king 2

Godzilla vs. Kong 2 is currently filming under the working title Origins.

Kung Fu

dead line reports Kim Rhodes and Ben Levin have joined the third season of Kung Fu in recurring roles. Rhodes will play Carrie, “the representative of a restaurant investment group that takes an interest in Harmony dumplings” while Levin has been cast as Bo, “a barista/vigilante whose extracurricular crime fighting leads to a collision with Nicky and her siblings.”

moonhaven

moonhaven has been officially renewed for a second season at AMC+. [Deadline]

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Jameela Jamil described her character Titania as both “annoying” and “unselfconscious” in a recent interview with ScreenRant.

Titania stands out because I think she’s the most annoying of them, actually. I think she almost does n’t need to use her strength from her; she could just annoy you to death. And I think that is a superpower that we haven’t really utilized enough.

She’s also very glamorous. I like the fact that she’s a bit curvy, and I like the fact that she’s completely unselfconscious. Ella she’s completely unselfconscious and so, so weird. We’ll see.

ghosts

ghosts has released a “this year on…” trailer for its second season premiering on September 29.

Ghosts Season 2 Teaser Promo

Westworld

The hosts endure spiritual conversion in the trailer for “Metanoia,” next week’s episode of Westworld.

Westworld 4×07 “Metanoia” Promo

Primal

Finally, Spear and Fang battle vikings in a new clip from this week’s episode of Primal.

Primal | S2E4 Sneak Peek: Spear and Fang Battle the Warrior Clan | adult swim

Banner art by Jim Cook

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and starwars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TVand everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

.