It's interesting to me

[67445d3513b62fox]

Just a friendly reminder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-x78afiSZU

[67445d3513d75Kolya]

I watched Covenant a few days back. I was bored. They do the same Oh it's an alien planet that we know nothing about but the air seems breathable so let's all take off our helmets! thing again.
Just like Prometheus the plot felt like some comic book writer had tried to cramp as many cheap scares and twists into it as possible without any regard to logic, while still rehashing the original film. I mean there's a hundred ways a parasite can gruesomely use a host's body. But sure, let's have it explode out of his chest again. Haven't seen that one before. It was a shit show and the final twist was so predictable you could see it coming half way through. But worst of all it made me feel absolutely nothing.

[67445d3513f21icemann]

Covenant is better than Prometheus, but still has some very stupid bits. It's the movie that made me realise that often it's better not to know the origins of something. Having the answer worked out later can completely ruin it.

[67445d3514010fox]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO0TUESAL5Y

[67445d3514169Kolya]

Yeah, that sums it up. Then again it's even worse.

After watching Covenant I felt so numbed by its bullshit that I went: Okay, I might as well watch Alien vs. Predator now, it can't be much worse.

And frankly it wasn't. It was just cheaper, but at least it had a plot one could follow.
One of its plot points is that Mr. Weyland the head of Weyland-Yutani, whom we've never met in the previous movies, is deadly ill but still personally embarks on what's easily a suicide mission, just so he can meet some aliens and get killed.

If that sounds familiar, it's because Prometheus reused that plot line from the cheap knock-off monster crossover movie to create a costly knock-off monster movie.

[67445d3514244icemann]

The second AvP movie is better.

[67445d35145deKolya]

Cyberdogs - marketing vs reality

US Army trials augmented reality goggles for dogs - BBC News
The goggles could let handlers direct their dogs from a safe distance, the army says.

[67445d35146f0Kolya]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh_vASjvYQE

[67445d35147f2Kolya]

A reminiscent making-of Tremors 30 years later. It's not revelatory or anything, but it's nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpCSCQJEmnk

[67445d3514a16icemann]

Watched a documentary / interview with Laz Rojas, which is a name I do not expect anyone here to have ever heard of. I only know the name because he was behind all of the "Wolfendoom" total conversion series for Doom 2. It turns out that the guy is SUPER talented. As in, the type that excelled great in anything he tried. He wanted most to get into acting and directing professionally, and put together a 4 hour movie, with him directing, starring and acting in all roles in it (as a portfolio piece, to showcase his talent in order to get a job in the industry). That's unheard of. Anyways, he never got a chance anywhere. Told he'd never get a job in the industry. Reminds me of Tommy Wisea in a way. Except that he's actually very talented.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pI24MkekW8

The world can be a horrible place sometimes. All depends on your point of view into what is "good" of course, but to have been great at modding and then good at directing and acting is an odd combo. Worth a watch completely taking the Doom side of it out entirely, and just examining how even those with talents in things can often still get nowhere. Later in life he was a victim of identity fraud, losing everything he had, and has been living homeless with his mother ever since. Sad tale. If you've watched and really enjoyed the movie "The Disaster Artist", then the above video is one I'd recommend watching.

[67445d3514b98Kolya]

WorkAdventure allows you and your friends (or colleagues) to walk around this Zelda-inspired landscape and when you get close to another person a jit.si powered video chat opens and closes when you leave their vicinity. Could be a fun tool for remote workers.

https://workadventu.re
[2020-10-16 20_21_07-Window.png expired]

[67445d3514ccafox]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR5rKr-p6lc
(Four Lions - check it out, if you haven't seen it already -> Segue...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqUsiV8LPkM

[67445d3514e2fKolya]

A documentary about how the Great Pyramid was built and how the king's chamber was sealed so perfectly.
(Spoiler: No one was buried alive.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NCK99mQUxw

Short version: https://vimeo.com/26769564

[67445d3514f4efox]

Telly Savalas was the man!

It will always be mind-boggling to think what they were able to do with so little in terms of tools. My step-grandfather was a respected egyptologist and I kind of regret not coming along to one of his anual excavation trips although he invited me several times before he passed away.

[67445d3515029Kolya]

Why didn't you go?

[67445d3515166fox]

I had different reasons everytime but I guess you could boil it down to having not enough interest in his work and wanting to spend the time with something that was more my definition of fun. I never really had his work confused with that Hollywood-idea of an archeologist, you know. I'd be much more interested in accompanying him and his students today but also not for more then a week or two though.

This was him "in action":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4v9fcDsqOQ

[67445d351525aKolya]

He doesn't even have a bullwhip. So lame. 

[67445d35153c1Nameless Voice]

But he makes up for it by having a really cool slightly-ruined tomb.

[67445d351568ffox]

He doesn't even have a bullwhip. So lame. 

Tell me about it! Every christmas... 

[67445d35157e0Kolya]

Croteam (Serious Sam, The Talos Principle) has been bought by Devolver Digital (Miami Hotline, Ruiner)
https://devolverdigital.com/propaganda/croteam-and-devolver-got-hitched

[67445d3515922icemann]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6grwdMemV1o

15 minute gameplay trailer for Scorn is up. This looks really interesting. Strong Geiger / Croninberg vibes.

[67445d3515abbKolya]

Looks convincing enough, but I don't see anything original. I read an interview with the director (article in German) where he denies a conceptual overlap with Alien, which he calls a haunted house horror, while Scorn is to be about Entfremdung (alienation) - so basically body horror I would guess from the gameplay.
That's fine but not new either. And it seems to lack contrasting elements or normalcy, or even any context. Just constantly walking around a Gigeresque mutation would get old pretty quickly. But that seems to be exactly what they plan. The director speaks of wanting to keep the player in a permanent state of fear.

[67445d3515c15icemann]

That was present in the demo as well. That had checkpoint saves only, which I was strongly against and rallied for a move to manual. Devs were quite adamant about sticking with it, but then in the above video there was a mention of a new save system so hopefully they've changed it.

Biggest other issue with the game is that its just so otherworldly that its often a complete mystery on what to do, and what is and isn't a usable object. Still quite like the look regardless. Looks like something out of a Tool music video.

Levels certainly need more open-ness and less linearity.

[67445d3515cfdfox]

Apart from the saminess, the weapon rubs me the wrong way. Looks oh so alien but behaves like standard shooter fare.