Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Into the Pixel at E3: a gallery of goodnesshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/18/into-the-pixel-at-e3-a-gallery-of-goodness/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/18/into-the-pixel-at-e3-a-gallery-of-goodness/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/18/into-the-pixel-at-e3-a-gallery-of-goodness/#commentsFiled under: , ,


One of the most overlooked aspects of E3 is a chance to look at the Into the Pixel selections from each year. These are huge pieces of art inspired by and created for different video games. They often feature much deeper looks into the games they represent, just check out this piece from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood as an example.

Our favorites are probably the simple yet fun Mokeskine-notebook from Rayman Raving Rabbids, or the Little Big Planet-esque Puzzle World Twilight landscape painting. Check out our gallery below of images from the 2007 and 2008 shows and pick out your favorite. There's some really good desktop wallpaper fodder in there if you click the high rez button.

For more Into the Pixel art, check out the galleries on their site. If you're in the Los Angeles area, the exhibition will be open to the public during this year's E for All, from October 3rd through the 5th.

Gallery: Into the Pixel @ E3 2008

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]]>artartworkconcept-artE3-2008galleryInto-The-PixeljoystiqfeaturesKevin Kelly2008-07-18T15:30:00+00:00Diablo 3 producer talks art, says 'color is your friend'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/02/diablo-3-producer-talks-art-says-color-is-your-friend/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/02/diablo-3-producer-talks-art-says-color-is-your-friend/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/02/diablo-3-producer-talks-art-says-color-is-your-friend/#commentsFiled under: ,


Diablo 3 looks to be many things, but if early footage is to be believed, dark is not one of them. It's an observation that's incurred the ire of thousands of armchair heroes expecting to return to the gritty countryside seen in previous games instead of the more colorful landscapes shown during the game's recent unveiling.

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, lead producer Keith Lee explained the game's artistic direction as emphasizing contrast, while comparing the game's visual style to Lord of the Rings. To quote Lee, "color is your friend." We guess that's true ... except if you happen to be colorblind (hey, the story might be good too!). Even so -- judging by the players who've begun to gather pitchforks in hand en masse outside the Blizzard gates -- if we were Lee, we'd be sneaking out through the back.

Gallery: Diablo III

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]]>artblizzarddiablodiablo-3Jason Dobson2008-07-02T19:29:00+00:00Guitar Hero: On Tour peripheral lends a hand to homebrew painting apphttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/guitar-hero-on-tour-peripheral-lends-a-hand-to-homebrew-paintin/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/guitar-hero-on-tour-peripheral-lends-a-hand-to-homebrew-paintin/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/guitar-hero-on-tour-peripheral-lends-a-hand-to-homebrew-paintin/#commentsFiled under: ,


We know there are probably one too many prerequisites for you to find this story truly interesting -- but if you're one of those rare DS Lite owners who recently purchased Guitar Hero: On Tour, and is also into homebrew applications for the handheld, and also fancies themselves a modern day Botticelli, then there's a new homebrew painting application with some surprising peripheral functionality that the four of you should really consider picking up.

The app in question is BassAceGold's UAPaint (v1.02), which allows the use of the On Tour guitar grip buttons for easily accessible short cuts to important tools, streamlining the digital painting process. It's a really sleek setup -- unfortunately, we're not entirely convinced that DS doodlers really need faster, more powerful methods of etching poorly-rendered genitalia into their luminescent screens.

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]]>applicationartdsguitar-hero-on-tourguitarherohomebrewnintendodspaintUAPaintGriffin McElroy2008-06-29T13:30:00+00:0038 Studios bags former THQ, EA art guyhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/27/38-studios-bags-former-thq-ea-art-guy/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/27/38-studios-bags-former-thq-ea-art-guy/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/27/38-studios-bags-former-thq-ea-art-guy/#commentsFiled under: ,

38 Studios has added a seasoned artist to its ranks, announcing the appointment of Thom Ang as the company's new director of art. In his new role, Ang will oversee the art management and direction of 38 Studios' projects, including "Copernicus," the outfit's ever-mysterious MMO undertaking.

A 15-year digital art and illustration vet, Ang joins the Curt Schilling-founded developer from THQ, where he handled things both artsy and fartsy for more that 25 of the company's titles. In addition, he also worked on TV shows such as The X-Files, and spent time in the trenches at EA Los Angeles handing art and team management for the Medal of Honor franchise. We're still in the dark as to what the studio is up to with Copernicus, though it's good to know the company has someone on board with the chops to help steer the ship down a more artistic path.

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]]>38-studiosartcopernicuscurt-schillingcurtschillingJason Dobson2008-06-27T16:30:00+00:00Today in Joystiq: June 25, 2008http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/25/today-in-joystiq-june-25-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/25/today-in-joystiq-june-25-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/25/today-in-joystiq-june-25-2008/#commentsFiled under:

A collage of video games from Flickr user bobfoldsfive. In his words, "This here is a list of video games that I have some attachment to in some way or another. May not be the most highly rated games, but they are games that I've played and have influenced me in some way." While we're busy making our own collages, check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq hands-on: Left 4 Dead, round 2
Joystiq hands-on: Madden NFL 09
Law of the Game on Joystiq: No Freedom of Trash Talk
Poll: What's Blizzard's big WWI announcement?
Readers pick best webcomic: The Gabriel Method
Scared stiff: Why should we care about Silent Hill: Homecoming?
Wii Fanboy Weekly: June 19 - June 25

News
Super Street Fighter II XBLA beta begins today
First screens of Major Minor's Majestic March look ... Parappa-esque
Too Human video serves up co-op 'serving'
Squint at a new Duke Nukem Forever screenshot
Nintendo, Starlight partner to help sick kids
Nintendo announces new Wario Land for Wii, Kirby for DS
Limbo of the Lost developers say they were unaware of Oblivion rip-off
We can't resist new Fallout 3 screens
GTA's Hot Coffee settlement draws minimal response
Capcom licenses Unreal engine for Euro-developed title
PSP firmware 4.01 is here to fix 4.00
1Up talks Gears of War 2 multiplayer with Bleszinski
New Gears of War 2 screens and art emerge
'I am Murloc' track creeping onto Guitar Hero 3 tomorrow
Xenogears, Einhänder arrive on Japanese PSN
Microsoft brings Chobot, 'IGN Strategize' to XBL
EA: Byron regulations may delay games for UK
Check out this Gears of War 2 leaked beta footage
Conn. State Sen. Slossberg wants confirmation of GTA IV rape scene
Blood Bowl trailer channels Madden + Warcraft

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: In-game XMB features have been revealed
More alleged PS3 profile pics posted
Rumor: PlayStation phone's future in flux
Analyst: Activision a better investment than EA

Culture & Community
Use your 360 to stream Netflix
NINJA GAIDEN 2 presents: Zero Punctuation's MGS4 review
Daily Show talks campaign games

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]]>artcollagedailyrecapRoss Miller2008-06-25T23:59:00+00:00Pixeloo returns with the Real Niko Bellichttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/pixeloo-returns-with-the-real-niko-bellic/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/pixeloo-returns-with-the-real-niko-bellic/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/pixeloo-returns-with-the-real-niko-bellic/#commentsFiled under:


The artist known as Pixeloo delivers once again with his "real" rendition of Grand Theft Auto IV antihero Niko Bellic. Thankfully, Niko's character design is that of a standard human, so we don't get the abomination of Pixeloo's not-safe-for-sanity "Real Mario."

The artist says he did the piece for Official Playstation Magazine UK's latest issue. Another impressive piece by Pixeloo, and unlike Real Mario, the Real Niko won't cause us to wake up screaming for two weeks and shudder every time we even think about the portly plumber.

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]]>artgrand-theft-autogrand-theft-auto-4grand-theft-auto-ivgtagta-ivnikoniko-bellicpixelooAlexander Sliwinski2008-06-20T10:30:00+00:00Wii Spray transforms Wii-mote into grafitti spraycanhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/07/wii-spray-transforms-wii-mote-into-grafitti-spraycan/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/07/wii-spray-transforms-wii-mote-into-grafitti-spraycan/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/07/wii-spray-transforms-wii-mote-into-grafitti-spraycan/#commentsFiled under: ,


We know what you're thinking, and this isn't it. Rather than being an awesome Jet Set Radio-style game where the Wii Remote functions as a spraycan, this is actually an equally awesome art project. A student at Bauhaus University in Germany modded a Wii-mote, putting the waggle-happy components in a spraycan for an interactive graffiti project.

According to SlashGear (because we don't speak German), the Wii Spray device allows users to virtually spray-paint walls -- presumably using some kind of sorcery. Neato, but we'd still like Jet Set Wii-dio, please (and we even figured out a name for it!).

[Via Engadget]

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]]>artwiisprayScott Jon Siegel2008-06-07T02:00:00+00:00Become immortalized in the background scenery of Fable 2http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/become-immortalized-in-the-background-scenery-of-fable-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/become-immortalized-in-the-background-scenery-of-fable-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/become-immortalized-in-the-background-scenery-of-fable-2/#commentsFiled under: ,


Don your Victorian regalia, our fanciful readers, and you may earn your place in the annals of gaming history by appearing in Lionhead's much anticipated RPG, Fable 2. Just throw on that ratty old frock coat and strike your most Quixotic pose in front of a camera being operated by a tight-lipped, non-judgmental friend. Save the resulting blackmail image as a Ye Olde JPEG, send it in to Lionhead's art department, and you could serve as a model for one of the many paintings strewn across the interiors of Albion's exotic homes.

It's a neat way to get your mug in what will no doubt be one of this year's blockbuster titles -- though you've only got until next Wednesday to submit your best Pimpernel-esque portrait. We trust you can carve out some time between the big quail hunt and the late night ether frolic to read the rules and regulations before you commit your extravagant visage to film.

Still need insipiration? Look no further than the above image of Joystiq's own Justin McElroy. If there's a man who better embodies the unflappable spirit of a colonial gentleman, we have yet to meet him.

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]]>artcontestfablefable-2fable2lionheadpaintingpimpernelportraitGriffin McElroy2008-05-30T22:00:00+00:00Today in Joystiq: May 13, 2008http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/today-in-joystiq-may-13-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/today-in-joystiq-may-13-2008/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/today-in-joystiq-may-13-2008/#commentsFiled under:

It's been a very long day, so we won't fault you if you missed any of these posts ... so long as you read through them now, of course. Eastern-European reader Ilya sent us word of this "Slavic MarioCar" (more images here). Check out the highlights for today:

Xbox 360 Spring Showcase (screenshot roundup)
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts due in November
New MS leak shows Too Human co-op
Too Human dated August 19 for North America, Aug. 29 for Europe
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise adds camera, co-op, September release
Penny Arcade Adventures hitting XBLA on May 21
See Gears of War 2, Too Human, Viva Piñata 2, Banjo-Kazooie 3 in new video
See tons of new Fable 2 screens
Too many Too Human screens (and a video!)
New Ninja Gaiden II screens are bloody, marvelous
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise screens
Gears of War 2 'Assault' screens, plus weapon-specific executions announced

EA Spring Break 2008
Joystiq hands-on: Battlefield Heroes
Joystiq hands-on: Left 4 Dead
Joystiq hands-on: Skate It

Joystiquery
An evening with Uwe Boll's Postal
Joystiq interview: Holy crap! Telltale talks Strong Bad
Massively Week in Review: May 6-12, 2008
Meet the Team: Ross Miller
The best of WoW Insider: May 6-13, 2008
Wii Fanboy reviews the WiiWare launch lineup

News
European WiiWare launch lineup
Vigil Games details Warhammer 40K MMO
LostWinds sequel already in the works
See first vids of Platinum's MadWorld and Bayonetta
Fable 2 'content complete,' 3 more Fables planned, Danish site reports
Metal Gear Solid 4 intro video sneaks out
SOE president sees more MMOs on PS3
Lego Indiana Jones demo now available for PC
Kojima: Altair costume unlockable in MGS4
Alone in the Dark shows off driving gameplay
EA records $454 million loss, despite sales of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2008
Mock TV downloads spotted in US PS3 ad
Nintendo sells 6 million Wii units in Japan

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Sony may update PS3 firmware for GTA IV problems
Analyst: US software sales up 70% in April
Kojima's next project hinted at during MGS4 press event
Rumor: 360 slimming down in 2009

Culture & Community
Mario spotted in new Banjo-Kazooie trailer

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]]>artcardailyrecapmariopaintslavicRoss Miller2008-05-13T23:59:00+00:00Check out indie art game 'The Graveyard'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/04/check-out-indie-art-game-the-graveyard/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/04/check-out-indie-art-game-the-graveyard/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/04/check-out-indie-art-game-the-graveyard/#commentsFiled under: ,


We're of the sound opinion that not enough games let you control feeble old women on the verge of death. Thankfully, here comes The Graveyard, an art game by IGF-winning developer Tale of Tales, which places players in the role of an elderly woman visiting a cemetery.

The game is incredibly short and simple, but gorgeously rendered, and features a somber, original song as an interlude to the "gameplay." The free version is only a trial, and you can pay a measly five dollars USD for the full game. The only difference? In the full game the old woman may die.

[Via TIGSource]

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]]>artindietale-of-talesthe-graveyardScott Jon Siegel2008-04-04T14:20:00+00:00Weighted Companion Cube mid-Portal in Torontohttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/25/weighted-companion-cube-mid-portal-in-toronto/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/25/weighted-companion-cube-mid-portal-in-toronto/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/25/weighted-companion-cube-mid-portal-in-toronto/#commentsFiled under:


A leftover from last week, but too great not to share. Posterchild is a "street artist" creating public installations in the city of Toronto. His latest and greatest: two Weighted Companion Cubes (as seen in little-known video game Portal) entering and exiting a portal. Or is that exiting and entering? And, yeah ... it's really just one WCC then, right? Note: you can figure out where the "companion" Companion Cube is through visual hints in the portals. Video embedded after the break.

[Thanks, everyone!]

Look - Weighted Companion Cube blue side
Look - Weighted Companion Cube orange side

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]]>Artcompanion-cubePortalValveWCCChristopher Grant2008-03-25T22:00:00+00:00GDC08: Hands-on Inchwormhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/gdc08-hands-on-inchworm/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/gdc08-hands-on-inchworm/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/gdc08-hands-on-inchworm/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Bob Sabiston, creator of the rotoscoping software behind A Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly wanted to draw and animate on his DS. So he wrote his own application, Inchworm. He says, "[It was] sort of a passion project, something we really want to see on the DS." In between his GDC meetings to find a publisher, I sketched through the latest build of the tool.

Even though Inchworm is closer to Painter than Mario Paint, it's still fun for dabbling. Artists use the stylus to scribble out stills or cels. Top-tier tools that I'd expect in Photoshop even filter down to this level, including layers, opacity settings, alpha channels, selections, and onion-skin animations. Sabiston also intends to add smear brushes to blend paints and sound effects for animations.
As small as the DS screens feel and with so many tools on-screen, I still intuitively navigated through all of Inchworm's options. I sketched on the touchscreen and used the move tool to drag the page for more room. I could also zoom in to tweak blown-up pixels, but I couldn't zoom out past the one-to-one size. The top screen keeps the entire view available at the same time, but a zoomed-out angle for drawing might be added.

Still pictures can be about as big as 1,024 by 1,024, although limits are being determined. Standard DS cartridges have little room to save, although users should be able to keep a handful of those stills and a few 256x192-pixel animations of about 100 frames stored at the same time. But when the room is filled, the DS can upload saved files directly to the Inchworm site. Users can also download files back to a DS for more work.

I was also interested in using full-quality documents in further production on my computer. But Inchworm should be a great art application for people who only want to sketch and animate on a DS. Here's hoping it finds a publisher soon.

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]]>a-scanner-darklyartbob-sabistonds-paintgdcgdc08inchwormmario-paintpaintpaintingsketchwaking-lifeZack Stern2008-02-22T01:00:00+00:00GDC08: Into the Into the Pixel afterpartyhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-into-the-into-the-pixel-afterparty/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-into-the-into-the-pixel-afterparty/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/21/gdc08-into-the-into-the-pixel-afterparty/#commentsFiled under:


What do you do after you've seen a collection of game-related art, like, say, the 2008 Into the Pixel exhibit? If your answer is "Go see a funk band reputedly featuring the bassist from Whitesnake," you're probably one of these people, because that's what happened at the afterparty. About 50 people and a fraction of Whitesnake were packed into the tiny but lovely Otis Lounge to celebrate game art having been shown.

It sounds funny, but the funk was completely rocking. If that's the appropriate term. What do you call good funk music?

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]]>artgdc08into-the-pixelJC Fletcher2008-02-21T12:00:00+00:00Jim Preston: games as art debate is meaninglesshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/12/jim-preston-games-as-art-debate-is-meaningless/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/12/jim-preston-games-as-art-debate-is-meaningless/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/12/jim-preston-games-as-art-debate-is-meaningless/#commentsFiled under:


Are games art? It's a question that comes up more and more, as the medium slowly grows out of its awkward, teenage years. EA producer Jim Preston thinks the debate is a meaningless one, as he explains in an incredibly well-thought-out feature on Gamasutra.

Preston takes his time to remind of us the state of art in general, and how art is continuously judged by its relative place in culture: a urinal can be art if Marcel Duchamp says so, and places it in an art gallery. Since it's all a matter of perspective, Preston argues that we shouldn't be bickering with Roger Ebert over whether games can be art, but instead spending our time improving the medium, and awaiting further artistic recognition from the community at large.

Makes sense to us. We'll stop waiting by the mailbox for our invite to the arty party, then.

[Image via this post]

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]]>artroger-ebertrogerebertScott Jon Siegel2008-02-12T09:00:00+00:00The surreal Nintendo artwork of Jimi Benedicthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/09/the-surreal-nintendo-artwork-of-jimi-benedict/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/09/the-surreal-nintendo-artwork-of-jimi-benedict/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/09/the-surreal-nintendo-artwork-of-jimi-benedict/#commentsFiled under:

We love unique, video game inspired artwork just as much as the next guy -- our weary-spined copy of "i am 8-bit" can vouch for that. However, we also love our preserved, cherished memories of our NES era heroes. These two feelings conflict when looking at Jimi Benedict's surreal video game art -- our inner Andy Warhol loves Benedict's incredibly unique and lovingly detailed portraits, but the traditionalist in us prefers not to think of Link as a gap-toothed, Sloth-faced dwarf.

You can see both full portraits after the jump, but to see the rest of Benedict's art (including what appears to be a mock-up title screen to the lesser known NES game Obama: Take the Power Back), you'll have to go to his website -- a swirling vortex of complete madness and totally rad drawings.

[Via DSF]



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]]>ArtIam8bitJimiBenedictJimiyolinkmariopaintingsurrealzeldaGriffin McElroy2008-02-09T11:00:00+00:00"Paper" Mario comes to life in art projecthttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/07/paper-mario-comes-to-life-in-art-project/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/07/paper-mario-comes-to-life-in-art-project/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/07/paper-mario-comes-to-life-in-art-project/#commentsFiled under: ,


Dude. Remember that time we went to Tim's house and got like TOTALLY baked off his special stash and we busted out the NES and we thought the controller was, like, making the TV move around the room? Do you? Man, that thing was REAL. I like totally saw it on the internet man!

Man, I'm telling you I'm SO not high right now. This thing was REAL. It was, like, on this motorized track or something, so when you pushed the buttons on the d-pad the whole TV, like, slid down this track. But there was this Mario level in the background, so it was like the paper Mario cutout on the TV was REALLY moving through the level. Like REALLY. Dude, you could even make Mario jump and hit motorized boxes with mushrooms and stuff. By the way, Tim scored some awesome mushrooms this weekend. You got to try them, man.

Man, don't even try to tell me I'm imagining this thing. I've got the video right here below the break. You watch it while I go scrounge up some Cheetos, man. I've got some serious munchies.

[Via Engadget]

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]]>artDudeFamicomhighMariomovingNESPaper mariopaper-marioPaperMariosuper-mario-bros.Kyle Orland2008-02-07T18:55:00+00:00Burnout Paradise art style inspired by rock album?http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/burnout-paradise-art-style-inspired-by-rock-album/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/burnout-paradise-art-style-inspired-by-rock-album/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/burnout-paradise-art-style-inspired-by-rock-album/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


We're not going to spring for a paternity test, but just putting these two side by side is enough to convince us that there's at least some relation between Burnout Paradise's slick cover art, and this 2000 album by rock group Karate.

In fact, we're willing to go out on a limb and state that the album art for Karate's "Unsolved" is most likely the genesis of Paradise's radical aesthetic switch. Even the colors bled into the cars' shapes are identical. Now, all that's left to find out is if Paradise's mother hung out at dockside bars.

[Thanks, Greg K]

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]]>artburnoutburnout-paradisecriterioneaea-gamesthis-isnt-newsScott Jon Siegel2008-01-14T07:00:00+00:00(1) Paint a Wii (2) Sell it for $250 + tax (3) Buy a Wiihttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/26/1-paint-a-wii-2-sell-it-for-250-tax-3-buy-a-wii/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/26/1-paint-a-wii-2-sell-it-for-250-tax-3-buy-a-wii/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/26/1-paint-a-wii-2-sell-it-for-250-tax-3-buy-a-wii/#commentsFiled under:


While this doesn't answer the question we're guessing most people have about procuring a Wii - that being, "Where the crap can you find one?" - it does help out the starving artists amongst you with the slightly more sensitive topic of: "How the crap did you afford one?"

While it's not for us to judge your chosen profession and its financial rewards (we'll leave that job up to the millionaires in the comments section), we are here to share interesting video game info. Take the case of WantsForSale.com, a site run by two NYC-based artists who simply paint things they want and then sell those paintings to pay for the pictured item. For example: painting of Wii is sold for $270.92 (that's $249.99 + 8.375% NYC sales tax) which, in turn, is used to purchase a Wii. As for the buyer, we're guessing the painting ended up as some poor kid's last-minute Wii replacement gift.

"Open it, son. Look, it's a Wii!"

"I hate you, Dad."

[Via Gaming Steve]

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]]>ArtWantsForSaleChristopher Grant2007-12-26T22:45:00+00:00FlOw dev discusses blossoming new projecthttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/flow-dev-discusses-blossoming-new-project/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/flow-dev-discusses-blossoming-new-project/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/flow-dev-discusses-blossoming-new-project/#commentsFiled under: ,

If the Tokyo Game Show trailer was any indication, flOw developer Thatgamecompany is not shying away from abstract projects. Speaking at the Montreal International Games Summit (via Gamasutra), TGC President Kellee Santiago explained how music played an important role in the the initial development phases of Flower. Two musical pieces were commissioned to set the tone of the project, according to Santiago, to "get everyone on the same page... doing sample audio tracks to evoke the emotion [will] keep everyone's work consistent."

Details about Flower itself are rather scant, aside from confirmation that at least part of the game has to do with growing flowers. Said Santiago, Flower involves the "possible emotional impacts of the feeling of growing a flower, and possible interactions as the sun." The title is due out on the PlayStation Network sometime in 2008.

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]]>abstractartflowflowerpsnthatgamecompanyRoss Miller2007-11-29T11:20:00+00:00Ubisoft on Assassin's Creed art directionhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/22/ubisoft-on-assassins-creed-art-direction/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/22/ubisoft-on-assassins-creed-art-direction/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/22/ubisoft-on-assassins-creed-art-direction/#commentsFiled under: , ,


While we're quite excited about Assassin's Creed, we're worried the game can't possibly live up to the gorgeous concept art and character design (not to mention lofty game design goals) they've been showing off. Take this nearly two-thousand word feature on the CGSociety's website - with dozens of beautiful concept art images - looking at the art direction of the Ubisoft title: The beautiful Crusades-era architecture of cities like Damascus and Jerusalem and the striking assassin Altair are already visual hallmarks of the current generation of games, even if the actual game is still a relative unknown.

[Thanks, Anton]

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]]>artAssassinsCreedUbisoftChristopher Grant2007-10-22T13:44:00+00:00