Pete Mecum

Never in my life had I ever wished that a someone would create a mashup of The Muppets and Pokémon. Having seen an amalgam of Beeker and a dugtrio, I'm glad someone else did.



See more: Pokémuppets

Fangamer’s EarthBound Kickstarter is set to end in a few days! If you haven’t checked it out yet, some really cool, unprecedented stuff is happening! The next stretch goal is actually something very near and dear to me:

A book version of my EarthBound localization comparison!

(temporary image, final book will look different!)

Believe it or not, I first started comparing EarthBound and its Japanese counterpart back in 1999!

Later, I went on to become a professional translator (see here). I also worked on unofficial projects like the MOTHER 3 fan translation. Armed with my new skills and experience, I redid my EarthBound localization from the ground up a few years ago. It was over a decade in the making and a lot of work, but I finally analyzed the game in full and in greater detail than before!

Ever since, I’ve always wanted to do a book version of my EarthBound comparison, especially since there are a lot of things I sort of skimmed over. Plus, more recently, I’ve actually met and talked with EarthBound’s head localizer, interviewed him, and even talked MOTHER 3 with him!

So this is my chance to finally make a book version of my EarthBound localization comparison and analysis! If the EarthBound Kickstarter hits my stretch goal, I’ll be able to add a lot more info and interesting trivia to create a handy-dandy book, and my dream will finally come true!

“What will be different about the book if it’s all online already?” you might be asking. Here’s a quick list:

• I’ll go back and look at stuff in the first half of the game in more detail
• I’ll cover questions and topics that have sprung up since I finished the site – I might even do a call for questions beforehand!
• I’ll discuss topics that concern series continuity
• I’ll include new insights and answers from EarthBound’s head localizer himself!

If the EarthBound book happens and if it does well enough, I’d love to make more books. For example, I’ve already started my MOTHER 3 translation notes, but I think if I could work on them for a book I’d be able to actually finish them:

And I’ve already got the groundwork laid for a full EarthBound Zero/MOTHER 1 comparison:

And of course, if the EarthBound book does well enough, I’d love to give other series the book comparison treatment if possible:

Of course, this will all only be possible if the stretch goal on this EarthBound Kickstarter gets met, and if the EarthBound localization book does well enough.

So if you’d like to help make one of my dreams come true while also getting some cool EarthBound stuff of your own, check out Fangamer’s Kickstarter!

Note: If the stretch goal IS met but you don’t back the Kickstarter, you’ll still be able to buy the book on its own from Fangamer eventually. But backers who pledge enough will get one automatically with the rest of their goodies, I believe.

 

A Canadian team calling themselves Brand & Grotesque have set up a Kickstarter page for "Blood Sport", an arduino-controlled rig that actively draws blood from a player when they take damage in a videogame. With a goal of 250,000 Canadian Dollars (which is still a lot, even when converted to real money) their goal is to make rigs that can be set up at gaming events to raise awareness for donation drives.  

 

...

This is honestly the first time that a new Super Smash Bros. game has been released and I didn't own a console or handheld to play it on. I'm considering getting a Wii U after the New Years for my kids, but there is a possibility that Santa might bring one of them a Nintendo 2DS for Christmas. So if that winds up being the case, I just might use that...if I am allowed.



See more: An Honest Super Smash Bros. Game Trailer

Pixactly is a site designed to test user knowledge of pixel count, asking them to draw boxes based on a given dimension. Users are scored across five rounds in the strangely addictive game.

via Boing Boing

League of Legends players with a clean record when it comes to chat behaviour in the 2014 season will be rewarded with a boost that increases the influence points they earn from the next four games they win. In case you’re not a LoL player, influence points can be spent to unlock new champions, runes and runebook pages in the game.

The reward is part of Riot’s broader work when it comes to the thorny subject of player behaviour. The company actually have a team dedicated to exploring how people play together online led by Jeffrey Lin, whose background is in cognitive neuroscience. They’re currently focused on dealing with cases of extreme verbal toxicity in the game.

… [visit site to read more]

I miss having cats. Four years ago, I left home and became a professional itinerant, leaving my felines in the care of rich strangers. Today, I am bereft of cats and so, you shouldn’t take me as an unbiased source when I say, “Oh, god. Cat Petting Simulator 2014 is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time.”

… [visit site to read more]

Fear not, people who’ve been getting confused or offput by alphas and betas and premium betas: Elite: Dangerous is in for a full release (complete with a more affordable price) on December 16th.

Dear me from two years ago: hey, Elite 4’s coming out in a few weeks. Betcha never expected that, eh?
… [visit site to read more]

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.

As I remember it, Sanitarium was quite difficult to get hold of once upon a time. I played the demo that I found on a coverdisc but didn’t see a copy of the full game until around a year after release. The psychological horror adventure has been available on GoG.com for a while now and has just been released on Steam, so if you’ve heard the name but never played the game, there’s no excuse not to find out what all the fuss was about. It’s an unusual piece of gaming history with a cultish reputation that perhaps exaggerates its quality, but it’s still worth peeling the bandages back to look at these old scars.

… [visit site to read more]

By now, you’re probably mature and wise enough to know that Jaws was just a movie, and that sharks don’t really behave like that. You probably do feel safe going back in the water. Sharks don’t toy with prey or trick it, you now know, you clever thing. Ah. You might have missed research and observations over the past few decades that no, some sharks are actually dreadful sneaky things. Some herd prey, some distract targets so others can strike, and some simply swarm.

Bear in mind while playing Depth, which launched yesterday, that the sharks vs. divers multiplayer murderfest might be a glimpse of what will happen if you enter any water deeper than a puddle.

… [visit site to read more]

Sanitarium is Now Available on Steam and is 40% off!*

Originally released in 1998 for PC and Adventure Game of the Year Winner, this timeless point-and-click horror game is a must-have for adventure game fans.

Featuring a rich, complex plot set in an intense world where a very thin line separates reason from madness, Sanitarium is a masterwork suitable for point-and-click beginners, experts and everyone who enjoys captivating storylines and horror games. Sanitarium was recently voted one of the scariest games of all time.

*Offer ends November 5 at 10AM Pacific Time

jilliantamaki:

It’s that time of the year again… when I start seeing this comic crop up all over the place! (It’s from 2011.)

HOW MANY YEARS IN A ROW CAN I SHAMELESSLY REBLOG THIS STUPID COMIC? Until you guys stop eating it up like a trick-or-treater on a bowl of mini chocolate bars. -JT, 2014

I guess I've just been mature for my age, because this is has always been the way I've made new friends, as long as I can remember.

Oh, and as with any comic from Mr. Lovenstein their is a bonus panel. So, make sure to head on over to Mr. Lovenstein, rollover the comic and see what it is.



See more: How to Make Friends as an Adult

METAL SLUG X is Now Available on Steam!

“METAL SLUG X”, a masterpiece in SNK’s emblematic 2D run & gun action shooting game series, still continues to fascinate millions of fans worldwide to this day for its intricate dot-pixel graphics, and simple and intuitive game controls. One of the most highly praised titles in the series among Metal Slug fans for its refined balance and game volume, heads out to the Steam gaming platform!
MAIN FEATURES
・ARCADE MODE (MAIN MISSION):
Play the original arcade version of “METAL SLUG X” from Missions 1 to 6, and fight your way through the battlefield to foil General Morden's new coup attempt!!

・MISSION MODE (STAGE SELECT):
Play your favorite stages at will and train alone or with a brother-in-arms on the missions you have unlocked so far!

・MULTIPLAYER:
Connect to Steam and clear missions with friends far away via Online Co-Op Play.
Find a fellow countryman or foreign ally and let the mission begin!

Last week, Nvidia’s unstoppable NDA force ran up against the immovable object that is Week in Tech’s Thursday slot. Now it’s all out in the open and we can take in just what Nvidia has achieved with its new high performance Maxwell graphics. And not at an altogether offensive price either, at least for one of the new 3D chipsets Nvidia wheeled out last Friday, the £250 / $320 Nvidia GeForce GTX 970.

Is the 970 the new no brainer, the default weapon of choice for any of you lot with around £250 / $300 to spend on graphics? As I write these words, yes. Nvidia really has produced something very special. But then I’m writing these words roughly 24 hours before you’ll read them and by then it’s just faintly possible Nvidia’s main rival AMD might very well have buggered things up for me with its own announcement. Again! It was ever thus in the graphics card silly season…oh, and we have a little update on AMD vs Nvidia in the battle for virtual reality rendering supremacy. … [visit site to read more]

Blizzard usually throw a birthday party for World of Warcraft, but are really indulging their love of pomp and nostalgia as the MMORPG hits double digits. WoW’s 10th anniversary celebrations will bring a level-100 version of the classic Molten Core raid and a new PvP battleground based on old favourite murderzones Tarren Mill and Southshore. Having a bash at those will get players special mounts and gear, but even simply logging in during the festivities (between November 21st and January 5th) will get you that adorable molten corgi pet up there.

… [visit site to read more]

Burn the heretic! Oh, they already have. The latest game to throw off the absurd and malfunctioning shackles of the multiplayer infrastructure/DRM that was (and how good it feels to use the past tense) Games For Windows Live is Relic’s stout RTS/ARPG mash-up Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2. The sting in this redemption song is the loss of LAN and direct connect support.
… [visit site to read more]

Robin Williams is gone from this world, having passed away on August 11th, 2014, at the age of 63. But instead of mourning the loss of a comic genius, let's celebrate a kind, funny person who gave everything he had to this world.

 

1. He would call up Steven Spielberg during the filming of Schindler's List to cheer him up

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You always hear people quoting or associating something in modern times with George Orwell's 1984, but Aldous Huxley's Brave New World seems to be a lot closer to the truth. At least that's what my friends on Facebook and Twitter lead me to believe.



See more: Amusing Ourselves to Death

DCS: F-86F Sabre, all new content for Unknown app is Now Available on Steam and is 10% off!*

Fly the legendary F-86F Sabre that was the most capable western fighter of the early- to mid-1950s. This swept wing, single engine jet was the most important western aircraft of the Korean War and often tangled with Russian-made MiG-15s over the infamous “MiG Alley”. It was a hard struggle not only for the Korean sky, but also between two excellent aircraft builders of the East and West. In addition to its primary role as an air-to-air fighter, the Sabre could also carry bombs and air-to-ground rockets to attack ground targets.
Key Features of the DCS: F-86F Sabre:

• Unmatched flight physics that allow you to truly feel what it's like to fly this legend
  
• Highly detailed six-degrees-of-freedom cockpit
  
• Interact with cockpit controls with your mouse
  
• Fully modelled weapon system
  
• Accurate F-86F Sabre model, squadron markings, and weapons
  
• Detailed modelling of the F-86F Sabre instruments, weapons, engine, radios, fuel, electrical and hydraulic systems
  
• Battle the MiG-15, the Sabre’s nemesis

*Offer ends August 15 at 10AM Pacific Time

Okay so who is this?

A Grim Fandango poster that I worked to death (no pun intended…okay, it was kinda intended, whatever). Had to abandon this one because no matter what I did it just never worked how I wanted it to. I think the initial comp had promise but it all just fell flat after that. C'est la vie.

Maybe one day I’ll revisit this idea. The “sprouted” skulls are pretty cool at least. That’s something.

Unfortunately, Bowser was not very good at dancing games. So he wound up kidnapping Princess Peach in the end, regardless.

Here's a little more of this artist's work animated:





See more: If Bowser Never Kidnapped Peach…

In a double-whammy of announcements, livestream site Twitch have revealed two big changes that are unpleasant but unsurprising. First, they’re adding tech to scan and automatically mute saved videos using copyrighted music (not live streams). But hey, that’ll be less of a problem than you might expect! They’ll also soon start wiping past broadcasts after as little as two weeks, no longer saving them forever, and limiting highlight clips to two hours–so you’ll have less for them to mute.

Given rumours that Google are looking at buying Twitch, one might casually remark that putting legal ducks in a line and cutting expenses are investor-pleasing moves.

… [visit site to read more]

Evolve is the monster hunting co-op shooter from Turtle Rock, who were previously responsible for Left 4 Dead. In a big (perhaps) to prove that slow and steady does indeed win the race, TR have announced that the game will be emerging into view several months later than initially planned. October 21st was the precise date that everything was supposed to be ship-shape and ready to roar, but evolution cannot be rushed. It’s end-point can, however, be fixed at another specific date in the future – this time it’s February 10, 2015, which is the day before my birthday. Do I want to be eaten by beasties to celebrate the creakiness of my carcass? When I remember how much I enjoyed Left 4 Dead, I’m half-way convinced.

… [visit site to read more]

Lucy (2014)

In a freak accident, Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is exposed to a chemical which allows her to use more than 10% of her brain, until she achieves the next level of human evolution at 100% brain capacity.

Tagline. “Human beings were given 100% of a brain. What would happen if we used more than 10% of it?”

Trivia

• Director Luc Besson came under fire for perpetuating the myth that humans only use 10% of their brain. Besson shot back, saying he “could not hear 100% of criticism.”
• The title “Lucy” is a reference to a partial Australopithecine skeleton found in Ethiopia. This is alluded to in the movie by characters mentioning the fact more than eighty times.
• After reading pseudoscientific literature to prepare for her role, Scarlett Johansson was reportedly 10% brainwashed.

Incorrectly Regarded as Mistakes

• Needing money to escape the country, Lucy contacts a Nigerian prince who deposits $16,300,000 in her checking account. Oddly, he does not require that Lucy pay the traditional $3,000 bank transaction fee first. However it is possible that the Nigerian prince is an old friend and owed her $16.3 million as a favor.
• Lucy knocks a gangster’s tooth out which flies into a full bottle of Coke. In the next scene, the tooth is still clearly intact. The bottle may have been filled with Diet Coke, which may not have any tooth-dissolving properties.
• A police detective picks Lucy out of a lineup despite never having been an eyewitness to her crimes. He may have used his pineal gland and its vestigial sense to grant him the “sight beyond sight” all humans have access to if they avoid fluoride.
• The kid at the police station eats Pop Rocks and drinks soda, but never explodes. It is possible the explosion happened off-camera.
• During the bar fight, Lucy breaks a mirror by throwing an attacker’s hunting knife through it. Though she does not appear any worse off following this, it could be said that the dangerous events of the movie are unlucky enough to denote the beginning of a seven-year period of bad luck.
• After the revelation that Lucy is worried she’ll pass on her omnipotence to a child if she were to get pregnant, she recklessly has unprotected sex with the CIA agent assigned to her. However, the careful viewer will realize that she did take aspirin, an effective natural birth control method, beforehand.
• Though it seems like a miracle, Lucy manages to lose her belly fat using one weird old tip.

Memorable Quotes

Police Officer. This is her dossier. She’s wanted for murder. Her name is Lucy.
Rookie. Like the partial Australopithecine skeleton from Ethiopia?
Police Officer. That’s right. That skeleton held one of the first clues that hominids walking upright actually preceded the evolution of a larger brain pan.
Rookie. Huh, guess that would make Lucy on the forefront of what we know as human evolution.
Police Officer. Do you mean Lucy the partial Australopithecine skeleton? Or the perp?
(Both Rookie and Police Officer turn to look at the camera, grinning wryly. The unblinking camera look lasts 85 seconds.)

Professor Norman. (played by Morgan Freeman) The brain only operates at 10%. The brain of a woman, perhaps 5 or 6%. She’s got nowhere to go but up.

Lucy. We have to disable the security cameras or they’ll be here in minutes.
CIA Agent. There’s no way to the control room from here!
Lucy.  Forget the control room. I just evolved a chromosome that can hack binary using air currents.

Interpol Chief. Give it up, Lucy! You’re surrounded. Come out with your brain and hands up!
Lucy. (to a cat) I need someone to distract them. I wish you could help me, kitty cat.
Cat. (via subtitles) I can. All cats have the ability to understand human speech, we just lack vocal chords to speak back.
Lucy. And I just unlocked the DNA cell for language.

Luc Besson. Hello audience, I am Luc Besson. I hope you learned something from all the facts in my movie.