The video game medium and its community are no stranger to weird rumors and stories that can slowly spiral into something more. From the early days of gossip at the arcades to the 24-7 cycle of communication on the internet, certain games have managed to latch onto our collective interest, pulling us into a deeper web of intrigue and suspicion that can blur the lines between fact and fiction. Because of this, several stories--some skeptical, and others entirely fictional--have added a level of scrutiny and mystique to certain games.
With this in mind, GameSpot is taking a look back on the many urban legends that have sprouted out from video game community. While some of these stories are hotly debated, and others have since been admitted to be an elaborate hoax or misunderstanding, the impact of these events have had--and what they've done to the gaming community--still lingers. Here are nine of the most bizarre and strange urban legends in gaming.
The Legend Of The Nude Tomb Raider Code
Starting off with one of the more infamous gaming urban legends, the Lara Croft nude code was a phenomenon that surrounded the original Tomb Raider in 1996 and ended up drawing far more attention to the game than it could on its own. Originating from a nude patch from the developers at Core Design, which was intended for generic character design and programming purposes, gamers on PC caught wind of this and sought ways to produce this for their own games.
Eventually, rumors began to spread online about a secret nude code for console versions of the game. While the developers continually denied the existence of such a code, crafty gamers on PC eventually made their own custom mods that allowed them to create their own "Nude Raider." Most console gamers were unaware of the specifics of PC mods and assumed it was a secret part of the game after searching for images online, adding further mystique and attention to it. Moreover, game cheat devices jumped on the wave of interest, even advertising that their devices would allow access to naked Lara Croft.
It didn't take long for news outlets to pick up the story about a naked female character in a video game, adding more scrutiny to Tomb Raider. Due to the unwanted attention, publisher Eidos took action against websites that hosted mods and access to data on nude mods, resulting in several cease and desist letters from their legal team. Though proving they still had a sense of humor about it, the developer added the rumored nude code in the Tomb Raider sequels, resulting in Lara Croft suffering an instant death from spontaneous combustion. Still, this particular code became infamous due to its unusual nature and how the internet gossip machine turned a simple developer tool into something more than it really was.
The Strange Prank From The Classic Gaming Magazine -- Street Fighter II: Shen Long Unlock
In the pre-internet era, gaming magazines were an invaluable resource for fans to gain knowledge and stay up to date on the latest news, tips, and tricks. But when Electronic Gaming Monthly--one of the premiere video game outlets of the time--took the opportunity to pull a prank on fans of Street Fighter II, it started a lasting and common misconception about an incredibly popular game, which ironically inspired the developers at Capcom to introduce new features to the game.
In Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, there were references to a specific character known as Shen Long, the master of Shoto fighters Ryu and Ken. According to EGM in a 1992 issue, there was a way to battle and unlock the character if players managed to clear the game on a no-damage run with Ryu. When fighting M. Bison, players would have to force the match into a draw by avoiding damage from the Shadaloo leader and without dealing any damage themselves. After several rounds, Shen Long would come onto the scene and engage in a fight to the death. Due to the popularity of the game, there was a large amount of interest in uncovering its secrets, and tips on how to unlock a new character quickly spread around the world. EGM eventually stated it was an elaborate prank in their following issue, but the scrutiny the magazine received from this prank didn't stop the editors from doing it once more in the 1997 April Fool's issue for Street Fighter III.
However, this particular urban legend resulted in a pleasant turn of events that put a surprising end to this myth. Over the years, the developers at Capcom were continually hounded by rumors and references to Shen Long from fans, but were still humbled at the wave of interest that came to the game. This hoax would eventually go on to inspire the demonic antagonist Akuma, who barges into fights in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and is now an established characters in the series. When the long-awaited Street Fighter IV was finally ready for its release--which was set sometime after the events of SFII--they introduced Gouken to the roster. While similar to Shen Long, Gouken is an original character and separate from the Shen Long referenced in-game, and the game features more advanced versions of Ryu, Ken, and Akuma's fighting styles.
The Most Dangerous Arcade Game: Polybius
As one of the more infamous gaming urban legends, the Polybius arcade cabinet has a reputation for being the most dangerous video game ever made. But of course, the claims and lack of evidence make this one hard to believe. According to myth, an arcade in Portland, Oregon during the early '80s possessed a strange arcade machine named Polybius. It was essentially a top-down shooter with bright and chaotic vector graphics, and you'd have to clear out waves of enemies to make it on the high-score list.
What makes this particular game so unusual was that players who came in contact with it were apparently met with severe nausea, night terrors, panic attacks, and other psychological effects after playing. Eventually, witnesses claimed that several men in black visited the arcade to take data from the machine before carting it off. The game was never seen again after that.
There were never any public records of Polybius, nor any details of the developers or even a publisher. While there have been many instances of players falling ill after long-term gaming from other titles, particularly of the tragic case of a young teen playing several hours of the arcade game Berzerk and suffering a heart attack, Polybius looks to be a tall tale resulting from an amalgamation of true gaming horror stories and government conspiracy theories. Some communities online focusing on retro-gaming have even made mock versions of Polybius based on descriptions found online. Hoax or not, the myth of Polybius continues to live on.
The Curse Of The Madden Cover
Becoming the cover athlete for the annual Madden football series should feel like a high honor, but over the years it's become something that many fans and players dread. Dubbed the "Madden Curse," almost every athlete that has graced the cover of the EA's Madden series over the last twenty years has either performed poorly during the following season or received an injury. As one of the few urban legends with real-world ramifications, this supposed curse has many fans and pro football players nervous. While some cover stars managed to avoid the curse, many were not so lucky, giving this urban legend some added believability.
While there are many years to cover, there are a couple notable standouts for the Madden Curse. On the cover of Madden 2002, Daunte Culpepper of the Minnesota Vikings made a name for himself as a starting quarterback straight out of college. But he soon found himself with a serious knee injury in the following season after making the cover and subsequently missed the rest of the 2001 season. In another, more unusual instance, Madden 2010 featured two cover athletes--Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers--resulting in further belief of the curse. While Fitzgerald had a largely solid season that year, Polamalu did not, with two injuries that caused him to miss several games.
Currently, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots is the cover athlete for Madden 18. Though his season has been spectacular so far, and he's gone on record to say that the Madden Curse isn't real, though there's still that apprehension from fans who are worried that the curse will strike at the worst possible time.
The Strange Occurrence Of The Voxel Doppelganger: Minecraft
During the early years of Minecraft's dominance of the gaming market, there were many stories of players experiencing bizarre and strange events from the game. Since Minecraft is set in a procedurally generated world, and has many enemies hiding underneath the dense caverns and ruins under the surface, players can encounter all sorts of surprises if they dig long and hard enough. But there have been other instances where players have come into contact with something so unusual and haunting that it would seem like it wasn't supposed to be part of the game.
On an online forum, a player claimed to have encountered a strange, white eyed doppelganger of the hero while exploring. Initially keeping its distance, this character known as Herobrine continually stalked the player, even venturing inside his home. One streamer in particular encountered Herobrine, which was documented on his livestream, but many claim it to be a hoax. Since it came from an online forum, many speculated that it was an elaborate trick to attract interest. Still, that didn't stop players from becoming fascinated by the event, even coming up with their own backstories for the character and where it came from.
Due to the popularity of Herobrine and other scary moments players had in-game, Mojang introduced a number of horror themed updates, including Slenderman-esque creatures known as Endermen, and other creatures that unnerve players while exploring at night, which attracted the interest of horror enthusiasts. Still, Herobrine in particular is an odd case, and while many players believe it to be just an elaborate story, the developers aren't shy about making references to the community legend in their patch notes, continually stating over several updates that Herobrine has been removed from the game.
Ben Drowned: The Haunting In The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In another strange case of a cursed video game, Ben Drowned is an infamous urban legend about an elusive and apparently haunted copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. While the game on its own is creepy and remarkably bleak, detailing a world on the brink of destruction, the Ben Drowned myth created a far deeper sense of dread. One anonymous user who came across this copy of the game detailed his experiences with the corrupted version Majora's Mask online.
As the story goes, the user found an unmarked copy of Majora's Mask for the N64 and went home to play it on his Nintendo 64. After loading up the game, he entered the menu screen and saw a lone save file with the name "BEN" listed on the page. Ignoring this, he created a new save file, but over the course of his playthrough, characters referred to him as only "BEN". What followed took the user through a nightmarish version of Majora's Mask, with distorted music and visual effects populating the many safe areas, and even an enigmatic statue resembling Link routinely stalking the player throughout his journey--which he detailed with videos and pictures on his personal social media pages.
This story hits many notes found from a popular urban legend, but what is interesting about it was the reaction it got from other players. Many were entranced and disturbed by the journey this particular user went on and followed along with the updates and media that were posted after. Due to its popularity, the urban legend eventually spiralled out into a popular ARG event, with users online trying to figure out what or how the game came to be. Even many years after, the case of Ben Drowned still stands as one of the strangest events to happen online.
The Shadow People of Shiverburn Valley -- Super Mario Galaxy 2
While Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a vibrant and colorful game focusing on Mario's exploits venturing out into a vast universe and that tests your reflexes, there's an odd and unsettling presence in one of the levels that put a number of players on edge. In the Shiverburn Valley level, there's a cluster of dark figures standing atop one of the nearby mountains. While they make no contact with Mario, nor do they ever come down from their cliff, their presence had many players bothered nonetheless.
Some players, not looking to leave this well enough alone, began extracting data from the game's files and uncovered some odd details about the level. According to people that sifted through Super Mario Galaxy 2's data, the file with the image of the shadow people is known is "HellValleySkyTree," giving players the impression that this could be a part of a something hidden in the game. This caused many players to look around the stage for clues and hidden passages, though none were found. Despite many fans strongly believing that this has a connection to an elaborate secret held within the game, the shadow people standing on top of the mountain are never seen again after Shiverburn Valley.
What makes this particular event so unusual is that it often conflicts with the style and visuals set by Super Mario Galaxy, making the Shadow People really stick out. While claims that they're the remnants of a lost level for Galaxy 2 are still common, with clues pointing to "Hell Valley" being a level that's no longer in the game, there's been nothing conclusive. Nintendo unfortunately hasn't been much help, choosing not to comment on the strange presence in the level. With no comments from the developers, this has left fans to come up with their own theories and ideas of who the shadow people are and where they came from.
The Search For The Elusive Bigfoot Of San Andreas -- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
At the time of its release, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was biggest game in the popular open-world series. Featuring three distinct locations, along with deserts, forests, and coastal areas surrounding the main cities, there was a lot of ground to cover. Because of this, players claimed to have seen some rather bizarre sights and oddities while traveling--such as a strange run-down car with no driver and derelict houses with a strange presence inside. But one of these stories sticks out more than others, and that's of the infamous Bigfoot, who many claimed could be found inside one of the game's more dense locations.
San Andreas featured a plethora of easter eggs, secrets, and odd references to real-life events and locations,so it wasn't too hard to believe that there would some secrets that would go a bit further than others. As the legend goes, Bigfoot could be found lurking deep within the woods of Flint County. This rumor began to spread when players noticed the name "Big Foot" in the game manual's Special Thanks section, making players believe that this was in fact a clue that the infamous Sasquatch was in the game. While some players posted videos and pictures of their encounters, the veracity of their evidence came into question. With countless players searching for Bigfoot in the PS2 release of the game, everyone turned up short with little to show for it.
Eventually, San Andreas found its way to PC, resulting in a number of mods adding an actual Bigfoot to the game. Unfortunately, this was more of salve to the urban legend, and didn't actually offer resolution for fans. As the years went on, and other games from Rockstar had come and gone, the developers decided to make some acknowledgements of the myths behind Sasquatch in San Andreas in both Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto V, which poked fun at the appearances of the fabled creature. While John Marston found himself responsible for the near-extinction of Sasquatch in the Undead Nightmare expansion, GTA V featured a more humourous take on the legend, having Franklin hunt down a Bigfoot impersonator who simply had an unhealthy interest in the creature.
The Curious Case Of Lavender Town Syndrome -- Pokemon Red & Blue
While many Pokemon fans remember the first generation of games fondly, there are a number of morbid and bizarre myths surrounding it. Along with the story of the rare Pokemon Black version--a supposedly hacked version of Pokemon Blue that features only Ghost Pokemon and an increasingly dark plot--one particularly dark urban legend surrounding the original Pokemon unfortunately has some basis in reality.
Known as Lavender Town Syndrome, this urban legend speaks of a strange trance-like feeling players fall into when inside the dark and moody Lavender Town. As one of the more creepy areas of Pokemon, the town featured graves of fallen Pokemon and also housed a number of Ghost Pokemon within its central tower. This gave the setting a somewhat haunted vibe, making it contrast heavily with other more whimsical areas. Adding to this was the music, which was equally eerie also a far cry from the hopeful songs heard in other towns. Because of this, Nintendo made some adjustments to the game's music for its western release--lowering the pitch and frequencies of some beats and notes of the theme--as they felt it would be too off-putting for international audiences.
Around the height of Pokemon's popularity in the '90s, there were several reports in Japan of fans developing an unhealthy interest in the game. During this time, many health experts attributed Pokemon to the wave of deaths among the young population at the time, most of whom were playing the game. Fans online noticed the differences between the songs for Lavender Town in the West and back in Japan, and wondered if there was a connection--which resulted in the Urban Legend of Lavender Town Syndrome. While these theories are purely speculation, this particular urban legend gained popularity over the years as Pokemon caught on in the West.
Hopefully, you all had a terrifying and horrific Halloween watching various horror movies and playing some haunting video games. However, this past week quite a few Halloween-themed television series hit the airwaves as well, and we're taking a look at four of them, even though one of them has nothing to do with horror at all. Were the new shows this past week any good or were they frightfully terrible? I feel like the Cryptkeeper right now.
Over the course of the past couple of months, we've been looking at a selection of new and returning shows and giving you a quick breakdown of what is worth watching and what you should pass on. This week, we're talking about Helltown, Stan Against Evil, Ghost Adventures: Museum of Madness, and Total Divas. One of these things is not like the other.
Helltown
Based on a true story, Helltown takes the 1974 event of President Gerald Ford calling for eminent domain of Boston, Ohio, in order to turn it into a national park, which meant vacating everyone that lived in the city. From there, conspiracy theories arose about chemical spills and other government cover-ups. That's were the true story behind this special ends. Helltown is a mockumentary that revolves around the idea of an ancient beast that is killing people in the woods and of course, there's pagan cults involved as well.
What I loved about this special was the mixture of a real life event, the folklore that surrounds that event, and creating a new mythos as well. There were numerous times, before it got all super-natural, that I found myself pausing the show and looking things up: "Did Helltown really have a weird pagan problem?" There are times this show is cheesy, primarily when dealing with the supernatural beast, but overall, it's a pretty big success as you want to know more about this story and world as the show progresses. It's intriguing and well-crafted.
Is It Worth Watching?: Yes. Most of the time, Halloween-themed travel/history/food shows are awful. This one is top notch.
Helltown is available for viewing on the Destination America website, as long as you have a compatible cable service.
Stan Against Evil
Stan is having recurring nightmares involving a woman in a coffin, which is actually Evie Barret. He meets a group of witches known as the Black Hat Coven and tries to figure out what's happening to him and how to stop the dreams in the Season 2 opener of the IFC series.
Stan Against Evil is a fun show, and the premiere picks up right where the series left off. The show tries to combine horror and comedy, and at times, it's successful, mainly from John C. McGinley's titular role. However, the problem comes from the fact that the majority of the characters are written to be the comedic relief, so everyone comes off as this zany, one-liner driven, flat character. This is a bit of a letdown because the story really stands on its own. It's interesting but gets bogged down by comedy, which at times is very unfunny. In order for this show to really succeed, the supporting cast needs to be a bit more serious and let Stan drive the comedy.
Is It Worth Watching?: This is a mild watch. The story and plot are really cool, but the series's main fault comes from the fact everyone tries to be the comedic relief.
Stan Against Evil airs on Wednesdays at 10 PM ET on IFC.
Ghost Adventures: Museum of Madness
Strap yourselves in for madness. Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans takes you inside his museum filled with items that are from his past adventures on the Travel Channel series, many of which he claims to be haunted. The Ghost Adventures crew, along with a good witch, a bad witch, and a vampire (why not?) spend the evening in the museum to look for ghosts.
Museum of Madness is silly. It's a bunch of people in a house filled with dolls, mirrors, and actual human remains--like the very real skull above--screaming at the walls in the dark. It's not entertaining, and if you have a scientific mindset, you'll probably hate all the pseudo-science being tossed about. That being said, what makes Ghost Adventures watchable is the history behind each place the cast visits, and that aspect is non-existent here, making this special ghastly.
Is It Worth Watching?: No.
Museum of Madness is available on-demand through your cable or satellite provider.
Total Divas
Finally, the newest season of Total Divas introduces two of my personal favorite stars from WWE: Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss. Throughout the episode, which at times has incredibly over-dramatic, obviously manufactured drama, the women deal with their rise in the WWE, which includes the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match.
This is a really cool time--in this history of WWE--for the women on the roster, as we're in the middle of the Women's Revolution. While there is a good chunk of this episode that is very unappealing to me, hearing these star's behind-the-scenes thoughts on where the division is going is intriguing. The episode is pretty funny as well, especially when the cameras follow Smackdown champion Naomi and her husband, the Smackdown tag team champion, Jimmy Uso. Someone give them their own series already.
Is It Worth Watching?: If you're an avid WWE fan, you'll probably enjoy this series.
Total Divas airs on Wednesdays at 9 PM ET on E!.
Come back next week for our thoughts on Damnation, The Curse of Oak Island, Ozzy & Jack's World Detour, and Lady Dynamite.
What we don't know is how the Xbox One X will do after launch. So we asked a bunch of GameSpot staff what their thoughts on the console were. Check out their responses below and let us know what you think about the new Xbox console in the comments. Oh, and be sure to read our Xbox One X review!
Chris Pereira | News Editor
As someone who bought a PS4 Pro right away, I'm obviously eager to get my hands on an Xbox One X. The absence of a headlining new game to showcase it is not a problem for me, as that's not really the point. This system is the console equivalent of someone who buys a new video card for their PC when the old one still works; it's meant to let you experience a better version of the games you could already play--a proposition that is certainly not for everyone, as Microsoft admits.
But I'd argue that its arrival is good news for everyone. Xbox One is four years old, and we could easily be facing a more traditional console launch in the next year--one for a system that doesn't play the games on your shelf and won't let you play with friends who decide to stick with their Xbox One. Instead, we're letting the people who care about framerate and resolution get what they desire without upending things with a completely fresh generation of hardware. I don't expect Xbox One X to sell to a massive audience, but it should make people like me happy without impacting the Xbox One owners who don't care. Seems like a win-win.
Jimmy Thang | Technology Editor
On paper, the Xbox One X features great specs and seems to be great value despite being cost-prohibitive for many. I predict it will sell extremely well into early next year, but like Phil Spencer said, it's not for everybody. Considering the Xbox One S is roughly half the price, I see Microsoft's white variant selling better overall for a long while.
If you ask me, with both the release of the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro, the traditional five-to-seven-year console life cycle is dead. It's been replaced by a quicker, more gradual release cadence. While this can be a boon to both game developers and console manufacturers, it can also make it harder for Microsoft to fundamentally rock the boat against Sony.
Its US $499 / £449 / AU $649 price point will keep it primarily in enthusiasts' hands for a while, but I believe the Xbox One X (or newer variants of it) will overtake the standard Xbox One / S in the coming years. How fast it does that will largely depend on the adoption rate of 4K TVs, how aggressive Microsoft will be willing to lower its price, and how many compelling exclusive games it will be able to deliver.
Oscar Dayus | Staff Writer
With just a few days to go until launch, there seems to be a great buzz around the Xbox One X… for seemingly little reason. It sounds powerful, sure, but I think Microsoft is lacking a big, fresh exclusive to really show off what the device is capable of, and to give me a reason to go out and buy one. After all, my original Xbox One is perfectly capable of gathering dust by itself…
Eddie Makuch | Associate Editor
When Microsoft announced the Xbox One Elite controller in 2015, some balked at its US $150 / £120 / AU $200 price point. That's more more than double the cost of a normal gamepad. Who would buy that? As it turns out, Microsoft saw huge demand and more than a million have been made. I see a similar path for the Xbox One X. At $499 / £449 / AU $649, it's double the cost of the Xbox One S. It's not for everyone. Microsoft itself has admitted as much. Microsoft has also gone on record to say the Xbox One S will sell better than the Xbox One X this holiday and into the future. So who is the Xbox One X for? Given the price point and specs, it seems to be aimed at the enthusiast crowd. Xbox One X is for those looking for the very best. While that is a smaller market than what the Xbox One S will appeal to, there are more factors to consider.
For one, if multi-platform games look and perform better on Xbox One X--as we're expecting them to given the console's extra horsepower relative to everything else out there--Microsoft gets a leg up on Sony in the messaging department. Want to play Call of Duty: WWII at its highest possible graphical level? You need an Xbox One X to do so. Microsoft is hoping to swing the pendulum back in its favor with the Xbox One X, as it was the PS4 that took the cake early on by being the most powerful console on the market. No more. Finally, it's exciting and encouraging to see consoles finally get closer to the PC space in that, if you want to spend more for better performance, you can.
Tamoor Hussain | UK Editor
I don't think Microsoft is overly concerned about hitting big sales numbers, though that would no doubt be nice for them. Phil Spencer's messaging has been clear: the Xbox One X is intended to be an option to those that want to play games in optimal conditions. At this point in time, given the price of 4K TVs, that's not a massive number of people, certainly when compared to the amount of people that have traditional HDTV setups.
Microsoft's goal with Xbox One X is to bolster its ecosystem and having the X alongside the original Xbox One and Xbox One S, in addition to Cross-Buy, is a good way to do it. Of course that makes the metrics by which it measures success a little more tricky to ascertain, but after the mixed multimedia messaging around the Xbox One's launch, the key concern for them is reminding people that they are about games. They've started to shake that off a bit but I think the One X will be what really helps them turn the corner since they can say, "This is the most powerful games console on the market." From that perspective, I think the device will be successful and it will pay dividends in the next generation, where Microsoft will be able to truly shed that baggage.
Peter Brown | Senior Reviews Editor
While I don't predict Xbox One X will translate into a watershed moment for Microsoft, I do think it's an exciting if small kick in the pants for console gaming at large. It only loosely counts as a new console (it's a refresh, albeit a significant one), but it gives players something new to consider, and hopefully greater room for developers to experiment. We may also see Sony react with new hardware of its own, at least faster than it would have otherwise. I haven't seen a reason to be head over heels for X but I'm at least looking forward to the reactions it inspires on all fronts.
Michael Higham | Associate Editor
The Xbox One X will be a slow burn. Nobody should expect it to fly off store shelves week one, but it's significant for establishing an 'upgrade path' for console games. As games start to showcase the power of the new console, its place in the gaming hardware space will be more apparent. We'll see it surpass the capabilities of the PS4 Pro and PCs within the same price range, but it's not going to make a clean break from the original Xbox One (or S) and those versions may hold back games' full realization from a technical perspective. Look at Destiny 2: it runs in 4K, but at a locked 30 FPS, and I'm willing to bet the limited framerate is for parity's sake for the game's competitive space between the different consoles. Maybe by the time the One X hardware becomes 'old,' we'll be ready for the next generation. Or maybe this is the next step towards an iterative console cycle in which companies will have to decide how generations of games are handled.
I admire the technical achievement that is the Xbox One X, but personally, it's not enough to change what I want out of games. In that regard, the new console isn't for me, and I'm not the target audience. But if you want the best version of console games without shelling out the money for an equivalent or better PC in today's market, the Xbox One X is probably for you.
Justin Haywald | Managing Editor
I'm holding out for the retail release of the HoloLens.
Pixomondo has a lot of cool projects in the works, including its latest, a digital aquarium experience situated underground below Times Square called National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey. But the company's most famous and impactful creations are, without a doubt, Game of Thrones' dragons. At the company's Los Angeles office, Pixomondo's leads told GameSpot about their newest work, as well as the surprising inspirations behind Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion on Game of Thrones.
"I think from outside, it feels like, 'How hard can it be? It's a dragon, and it looks natural, and it acts like a dragon would act,'" said Pixomondo CEO Thilo Kuther. "But the way to get there is a lot of meetings, discussions, back and forth of versions, until [we] settle on a specific one."
Pixomondo started creating Game of Thrones' visual effects, including the then-tiny dragons, back in Season 2. In subsequent seasons they began focusing exclusively on the dragons, as the beasts became exponentially more complex and demanding to animate.
"That opening discussion [back then] was, coming down to budget about the dragons, that they would not compromise--that they only have a certain amount of money for the dragons, so if it's not possible to do certain things for the money, then they'd rather not show the dragons, and cut back on the dragons if the quality's not right," Kuther said. "With every season it got clearer and clearer how complex that task was."
Daenerys's dragons are some of the most realistic ever to grace the screen. As we watched a highlights reel describing some of the studio's more impressive processes for building them, Pixomondo Executive Producer David Garber said they've accidentally fooled children into believing dragons are real. "A cute story I like to tell is, I showed this to a group of little 9-year-olds, and they said, 'How'd you get the dragon to do that?'" he said, chuckling.
It's not surprising that they look toward real life animals to determine how the dragons would move and act, but the creatures they choose as inspiration are a surprise. First off: chickens.
"When they got bigger in Season 3 and 4, there was a lot of, 'So if a dragon is this big, how can it lift itself up? What is it? Is it a bat? Or is it a bird? Is it an eagle? And the amount of energy that went into these discussions is beyond belief," Kuther said. "That's why they went to a Trader Joe's and bought a chicken, and took it apart, and said, 'So, how does that work?'"
They used that hands-on research to determine everything from how the dragons' muscles move when they're walking around on the ground to how much downward pressure they need to create with their wings to lift their bodies into the air. They even watched YouTube videos of bats and chickens flying. But as the dragons continued to increase in size--and thus in the amount of detail Pixomondo needed to create on the screen--they started going bigger in the real world too.
"If the dragon gets 10 feet size in just the body, then you see every tiny tendon underneath, and that skin starts stretching, and if it breathes in and out, then you see how the skin starts stretching over, and it's rolling over the muscle and the bones, and if you don't do this--just the breathing, if it doesn't breathe--you immediately feel there is something wrong," Kuther explained.
"There was a lot of discussions about even looking at elephants, on how skin rolls over the bones," he continued. "It stretches, it rolls over the bones, so [the animators] went for reference to see how that would look on an animal of this size."
The results of that research are evident in the Season 7 scene in which Jon comes face to face with Drogon and runs his hand along the dragon's face.
"You have an expectation of what that's going to look like," Kuther said. "That's why they looked at elephants, where there is rougher and harsher skin, but then you have, around facial areas, their skin is softer, and when you touch it with your fingers, it would actually give in. So you see the fingers pressing in a little bit. When they shoot it, they usually have a cushion where you can touch it and press your fingers in, so we're taking that information and applying it to the skin."
Pixomondo's latest project deals more directly with real world animals. The National Geographic Ocean Odyssey experience in New York lets the marine-curious walk through around nine different digital underwater environments. These spaces were created in part by Pixomondo's digital artists, and partially with photogrammetry, a process that uses thousands of photographs to create massive 3D environments, then applies those photos to the environments like stickers to create realistic-looking digital, 3D spaces. The Odyssey includes curated but realistic underwater encounters like a day in the life of a "bait ball" composed of thousands of fish, and a playful sea lion that interacts with guests, whose actions and gestures are interpreted by a Microsoft Kinect.
"It's kind of a disruption of that aquarium and zoo world," Kuther said. "You can show day and night within minutes. You can turn all animals to X-ray and show the bone structures of these animals. You can have data overlays that are not possible, and you can create moments where two animals would never survive next to each other."
The Ocean Odyssey encounter is open now in Times Square--and, of course, you'll see more of Pixomondo's work in Game of Thrones Season 8, whenever that happens.
It's clear from the marketing alone that the Justice League movie's Aquaman is not exactly the same character comic book fans love. But the actor behind Aquaman's newest incarnation had a message for fans during a Justice League press conference in London: "Stick with it."
"For the people who are like, 'He's not really Aquaman,' it's like, just wait a little bit longer," Momoa said. "Stick with it for a little bit longer."
Marvel set a template in the first phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with heroes mostly debuting in solo films before the focus shifted to team-ups and collaborations in films like The Avengers. DC is doing things differently, and Aquaman will appear first in Justice League, with a solo movie coming in December 2018.
"I want people to know that, in a year, you're going to understand where he came from, what happened to his mother, what happened to his father, and how he was treated in this world," he said. "He didn't know how to use his powers. And sometimes he saved people, and sometimes he lost people, and his human side didn't know how to cope with those things, and he would cover up those things. There's a lot of layers to this guy, and I think once we do get to the solo film and you get to see the man, he's going to take responsibility and help the world and become a king eventually."
This incarnation of Aquaman is a Zack Snyder creation, Momoa said.
"It all kind of came from Zack's mind," he said. "I mean, Aquaman wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."
"I just wanted to make sure the fans knew that this gruff character, this man who lives within the tides, and is not really accepted in two different places--we needed to know where he came from and why he is this grumpy kind of bit of an a**hole to Batman," he continued.
Momoa described himself as "a big kid" and said he couldn't help tugging on Batman's cape while on set.
"It's just surreal that I'm here playing this guy and around these guys," he said. "You'll see us all up there and you'll feel the same way."
Ben Affleck, who stars in Justice League as Batman, chimed in: "I was like, 'Who the f*** keeps pulling on my cape?'"
The questions around DC's long-awaited Justice League movie intensified when, earlier this year, longtime DC director Zack Snyder stepped down from the film. He was replaced by Joss Whedon, who had served as the driving force for much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Justice League's cast and producers addressed some of those questions, including how much influence Whedon ultimately had over the film, during a press conference in London.
"The movie is Zack's DNA," said Ben Affleck, who stars as Batman in Justice League. "The cast of the movie, the design of the movie--there's something that people who don't actually work on movies don't understand, which is how much of the work is done in prep--the casting, the sets get built, the story is written. The ship is, in essence, sailing. I found as a director you can maybe change 10%, 15% or something, on the day. Zack's ship set sail with us, and we were fortunate that when Zack was not able to continue, we got really lucky in that we got a guy who is very accomplished in his own right, and particularly in this genre, and he kind of sprinkled some of his fairy dust on our movie and finished it."
Many fans of DC's and Marvel's movies are familiar with both Snyder's and Whedon's work, and it will be natural to watch Justice League with both directors in mind. But Affleck said it will be impossible to pick out exactly who is responsible for individual scenes.
"I don't think there's any way to go back, to me, and look at those scenes and go, 'That's a Joss scene, that's a Zack scene,'" Affleck said. "It was more that they were both working together toward a common goal. Debbie [Snyder] would know better than I would, certainly, but I got the sense that Joss was working from what he had discussed with Zack before he stepped in."
Deborah Snyder, Zack's wife and frequent producing partner, spoke candidly about Justice League's production and Zack Snyder's feelings.
"I think for us, this whole thing is so bittersweet, because we have been working on this franchise for the past, you know, almost eight years, when we started developing the script for Man of Steel, and then we moved on to BVS, and also Zack developed the story for Wonder Woman, which was leading up to the point of Justice League, where these characters were finally going to come together," she said. "Not being able to complete his vision was extremely difficult. So that makes it hard."
She reiterated that Whedon and Zack had already been collaborating when Whedon took over directing. "We were lucky that we had Joss already working on script pages," she said. "And our feeling is that we're hoping people don't think about how the movie was made when they [go] to see it, because these characters are bigger than any director. They're bigger than any of us. And we love and adore these characters and we love and adore all these people here."
"It's been just a great privilege and fun to work with Zack and Debbie and all of the actors in the various films," added Justice League producer Charles Rover. "It was sad not to have Zack there, but as we've been saying, to have Joss come in, and he had already been working with Zack--and now we're just really happy with the movie and really happy with the dynamics of what we're doing."
The update will start November 14, but for more insight into what the changes will mean for players, we caught up with Starcraft production director Tim Morten at the convention. In addition to learning the team's expectations for how this update will affect the player base, we also found that there'll be a little something available for players who already own all of the Starcraft II expansions.
This transcript has been edited for content and clarity.
Starcraft II had a really big announcement in going free-to-play, that's huge for the franchise. What does that mean to you guys on the development team?
Tim Morten: For us, and this came from the dev team as something that we wanted to do, we feel like Starcraft II is such a special game. One of the things that has been confusing for the audience is how to get into Starcraft II, in its current form. We had Wings of Liberty, plus two expansions; we've had a lot of post-launch content. I think there's a lot of confusion about what you need to play Starcraft II. This just simplifies all of that, and gets the message out loud and clear: that you just download the game and play. Obviously, we love the game, so we just want to share it as broadly as we can.
But there are still some parts that you pay into, right?
Yeah, so the parts that are free when you download Starcraft II are Wings of Liberty, which is the entire first part of the game. Plus access to ranked and unranked multiplayer, plus all of the commanders to level five. Each game mode provides a tremendous amount of free content. The things that you then can pay for, if you choose to, are continuing the story. Heart of the Swarm will be free to those who already own Wings of Liberty, but if you don't, Heart of the Swarm is a charge. Legacy of the Void, Nova Covert Ops, all of that story content.
In multiplayer we offer some skins, and the war chest, which helps fund our esports events, so there's an opportunity to contribute financially that way. Then for co-op, to unlock the commanders leveling past level five, there's a charge to do that.
And if you have the first expansion, you get access to the second one.
Yeah. Basically we wanted to make sure that everybody who had already purchased the content that we're now including as part of the free-to-play Starcraft II, they get rewarded for that purchase. Their reward, if they don't already own it, is the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Is there anything if you've already bought into everything, you already have all the expansions?
If you've already bought into everything, we're talking about some sort of digital rewards, just to acknowledge that people are veterans. But there isn't new story content that's available.
PR Representative: I think they're calling it the founder's gift. It's like a portrait skin.
That's right.
Thinking about Starcraft II, is this going to reinvigorate that player base, is it going to bring in a new audience?
The crazy thing that a lot of people don't necessarily appreciate about Starcraft II is how stable the player base has been. Of course, we saw a big surge around the original launch, but for the last five years, we've had a stable player base in terms of monthly active users. We do expect that, obviously, as we lower the barrier to get into the game and just clarify the understanding that it's free to download, more players will come in. So, we're super excited to see how many new players come try Starcraft II, or come finish the experience that they started with Wings of Liberty.
When you're talking about a stable player base, is that primarily on that multiplayer side?
It's interesting how varied the continuing player base is. Co-op, which we just launched with Legacy of the Void, that's become our single most popular game mode. I think if you add up all of the competitive modes--ranked, unranked, and custom--competitive is probably the biggest slice of current players. But even for campaign, there's a considerable number of people who grind to get all of the achievements, and come back to experience the story content. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Starcraft II Arcade, as well.
Even though that content isn't the same as Starcraft II RTS game, there is a lot of content as part of Starcraft II available in the arcade for free. And that audience is remarkably large.
Is this update changing the way you guys are rolling out any of that content, like the updates to arcade, or anything on the multiplayer side?
We do a very regular cadence of releases to keep updating and extending the game. But with each release we do, we tend to focus on one player segment. So, we have some big releases that hit multiple segments, but coming up after BlizzCon, we have a big balance patch coming out that will really change the meta of the multiplayer competitive game. I think that very much speaks to that audience. And that particular one will also have a new co-op commander, new co-op map, and we've just recently done some arcade improvements. We're going to revamp the front end for the arcade, and we are going to, in future releases, continue working on that.
Last but not least, we're always just making general improvements to the overall user interface experience, and quality of life for our players.
Speaking of the new commander, this one's definitely a big change. It's basically two commanders in one. How does that work, exactly?
This is our first time trying a two-in-one format, but the two characters from the lower end question are actually married in the story, so it seemed like a logical pairing. And they have distinctive styles--they are both Terran, but one is a bit more military and precise, and the other is a bit more commando and scrappy, in terms of her style.
There are different distinct abilities associated with each commander, and by choosing the combined commander, you have availability for all of those abilities as you unlock them and as you level up.
So you can change them on the fly? Or you just have access to more of them than you would normally?
Well, I think it's access to more, but it's also just the very distinct difference between Horner's abilities and Hans' abilities as you play through.
So, they say you shouldn't mix work and romance. Is this going to change the lore at all, or the canon? I imagine it might be a strain on the relationship.
The way the story goes, Horner was playing a poker game, and he didn't know what it was he was going to win if he won. Indeed, he won, and his prize was Mira Han's hand in marriage. He wasn't necessarily a willing participant in the outcome, because he didn't know what he was going to win, so their relationship is a little tenuous, I would say. But, she's more into it than he is, but he's fulfilled his obligation. We're really not so much changing the lore, as leveraging the tone of that relationship, which is one of the more comedic elements in Starcraft II, and trying to play that up to full effect.
Going back to the game, now that you're going to have new people coming in who didn't play before. Is there any thought given to making that a friendlier process for onboarding people who maybe never played any of the Starcraft games before?
Yeah. We put some thought into the onboarding experience for players who are coming back to Starcraft II, or for players who are new to Starcraft II. We've got a bit of handholding that happens as you start the game, to establish are you new to RTS? An RTS veteran? And help kind of instruct on what the options are. Because Starcraft II, the game modes, though they're obviously all RTS, and they have a very common experience, there's a very distinct campaign way to play the game, a co-op way to play the game, and a competitive way to play the game. The way that you learn how to play each of those modes is a little bit different.
We have a base tutorial that we revamped for Legacy of the Void that I think helps onboard pretty well for campaign and for co-op. For multiplayer, there's a little bit more to learn in terms of build order, and just even how to aproach the game. There are some other tools in the game that we direct players who are coming in towards, so they can prepare themselves for whatever mode that they want to play.
Any final thoughts?
The other stuff to know about, we do have a new co-op map that's coming out, and we are looking forward to having another season of war chests, which provides content that services players for all modes, particularly competitive mode in terms of having army skins that can be applied no matter what race you are. And that, of course, does help fund Starcraft Ski Sports moving forward. Just a tremendous amount coming for Starcraft II.
Runic Games, the studio behind Torchlight, Torchlight II, and Hob, has been shut down. In a statement published on its official website studio head Marsh Lefler confirmed the news and thanked fans for their support.
"I'm sorry to say that today will be Runic's last day open. Our focus is on our family here, and helping them find a new place to call home," reads the statement. "If you are in games and looking for some of the best talent in the industry, please email jobs@runicgames.com."
For fans of the Torchlight series, Lefler said there "will be some news coming" and he also noted that "community and multiplayer services will keep running even after the studio's lights go off."
He added: "It's been over nine years since a rag-tag team of 17 developers helped open Runic Games. We've been so lucky for the community that has supported us and made us successful. Thanks to that support, we have had the chance to meet and work with the best people in the world. Our team here at Runic has released three successful games, and over that time we have seen many changes; team members got married, kids were born, but the most important thing is that we have become a family."
Runic is the second studio to be shuttered by its parent company, Chinese publisher Perfect World Entertainment. Motiga, the developer of Gigantic, announced its closure shortly before Runic. In a statement to Kotaku, Perfect World Entertainment said Motiga "has reduced the staff of its studio" but its game "will continue to be available on our platforms."
With regards to Runic, it said the decision was part of "the company's continued strategy to focus on online games as a service."
"We're grateful to the team for all of their hard work bringing incredible experiences like Torchlight, Torchlight II and Hob to life. Runic Games will remain a part of Perfect World Entertainment's portfolio of studios, and its games will continue to be available to players, as we stay committed to supporting and growing Runic Games' beloved franchises."
Cheating isn't unfamiliar in any video game, but for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, it's becoming a serious issue. So much so that the team behind the title has publicly announced its commitment to fight cheating in its massively popular title.
"As part of our efforts to foster a safe & fair ingame environment, we are deploying new measures to combat cheaters," the team said via Twitter. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the cheaters and promise to take stronger actions against them going forward."
The developer's post on Steam mentions that the battle against cheating isn't going to end overnight, but it does want to see it to an end. The goal is to ban cheating players, but maintain a fun and safe environment for those who are simply enjoying the game as is. The next step in the team's cheat-combating endeavor is a patch coming next week to help assist with cheating detection. Feedback from players is also being requested as the team creates its anti-cheating system.
As part of its BlizzCon opening ceremony, Blizzard has revealed a variety of new content coming to Overwatch. That includes a new map called BlizzardWorld which, as the name suggests, is essentially an amusement park themed around Blizzard's various games.
If you've played any of the games, you'll immediately recognize at least one area. There's a section that resembles World of Warcraft's Stormwind, a Hearthstone tavern, Naxxramas, Flight to Duskwood, a Protoss base, a Heroes of the Storm arcade, and much more. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun for Blizzard fans.
BlizzardWorld will be playable at BlizzCon this weekend, but it won't launch in the live game until early 2018. However, those willing to jump onto the Public Test Realm on PC will be able to try it for themselves "very, very soon," according to game director Jeff Kaplan.
Before announcing what's next for World of Warcraft, Blizzard announced something old. World of Warcraft Classic allows players to dive into a legacy version of the game before it received countless updates and expansions, answering a very popular request from fans.
Unfortunately, details were very light on how this will work. Besides the name and a promise that it's coming, Blizzard had little to say about WoW Classic. Production director J. Allen Brack described it as a "larger endeavor than you might imagine," which is perhaps an acknowledgement of fans' attempts to provide a playable version of vanilla WoW.
Brack described Blizzard's goal as reproducing the experience from the original game, but without any of the launch issues players encountered all those years ago. Whether mechanics or any aspects of the game will change, how Classic is accessed, and many other questions remain unanswered. Brack discussed it only briefly, and the studio rolled a video that showed major cinematics from the game's many expansions being played in reverse.
A pair of new Heroes of the Storm characters have been announced at BlizzCon. Blizzard showed off a new cinematic trailer for the game that brings together one new addition from Overwatch and Warcraft--Hanzo and Alexstrasza.
According to Blizzard's Kaeo Milker, Alexstrasza is a ranged Support who can heal allies and transform into a dragon using her trait, Dragon Queen. Hanzo, meanwhile, is a ranged Assassin who can both take out enemies and serve as a scout.
Also coming to HotS are some other major updates to the way the game itself plays. In addition to voice chat and a refined camera, Blizzard said it plans to provide performance and laning improvements, a rework to how stealth functions, "evolved" mechanics, and more. All of this will be included as part of the 2018 gameplay update, which Blizzard will detail as BlizzCon continues. Milker also noted that we'll see "performance-based matchmaking" that better accounts for your skill level.
There's much more to come from BlizzCon. In addition to the HotS news, we've also learned that StarCraft II is going free-to-play, with players gaining access to a substantial chunk of the game without paying a dime. We'll report back as more news is shared; you can see everything announced in our roundup of the biggest BlizzCon 2017 news.
To cap off its Overwatch panel at BlizzCon today, Blizzard revealed a series of new skins coming to the shooter. A handful of these are particularly notable, as they are themed around Blizzard's other games.
A total of eight new skins were shown off, most of which are of the Blizzard game variety. These include a version of Roadhog based on Diablo's Butcher, while Zarya gets a take on Diablo's Barbarian. Maybe the most on-point of the bunch is Widowmaker's new Nova skin. You'll notice that a few of these--Reinhardt and Mei's--are based on previous cinematics. The Reinhardt one is based on the just-released story video put out today, while Mei's gives her the look from the emotional Ecopoint video. You can see all of these in the gallery below.
These skins won't arrive until early 2018. Thankfully, they won't be restricted to a limited-time loot box. Instead, they'll be available right in the standard, base loot box, allowing you to earn them throughout the year (or purchase them outright, provided you save up enough Credits).
This wasn't the only Overwatch news that Blizzard had to share at BlizzCon. We also learned about the new Overwatch hero Moira, who is a hybrid Support character who can heal in a much different manner than anyone else. We also got a look at the new BlizzardWorld map, which is essentially a theme park featuring many of Blizzard's games--Overwatch being a notable exception, as that would get a little weird.
Blizzard released an Overwatch short featuring the rocket-hammer wielding Reinhardt, and it was emotional. Titled Honor and Glory, it shows the fateful battle at Eichenwalde where Crusader leader Balderich von Adler was defeated, as well as a glimpse at a younger, more arrogant Reinhardt coming to terms with a harsh lesson.
The short clocks in at just over seven and a half minutes and manages to tell the sad, yet uplifting story of a pivotal moment in Reinhardt's career as a Crusader. Watch it in the video above.
Blizzard released this short as part of the shooter's segment during the opening ceremonies of this year's BlizzCon. It also recently revealed the game's next map, which is a Blizzard theme park called Blizzard World.
With the announcement of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft's new expansion called Kobolds & Catacombs comes a multitude of new cards. The major new addition is Dungeon Run, a rogue-like single-player mode, where you explore a dungeon, defeating bosses, and collecting loot.
The expansion also adds a new keyword, Recruit, which summons a random minion from your deck. Additionally, you'll see a new type of Legendary card, Legendary weapons, which will be available for each class. Finally, treasures are a new type of card exclusive to Dungeon Run; these are too powerful to include in regular decks and thus can only be used against the AI.
Each time you defeat a boss in Dungeon Run, you'll earn new cards. Click ahead to get the first look at some of the new cards you can expect to get as you progress, as well as some standard collectible cards from the expansion.
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