Apologies for putting words in the mouth of The Nation’s Dave Zirin, while not responsible for the above headline, does advance the argument — with the ratings success of the US Women’s National Team’s World Cup triumph as a backdrop — that there’s been a major shift in the way women’s sports are watched, including but not limited to the WWE’s development arm, NXT :
While ESPN Radio self-parody Colin Cowherd says that men are stronger and better athletes and we appreciate greatness in America and that’s why men’s sports is more fun to watch, his radio contract appears in peril because fewer and fewer people care what he has to say. While academic reports are issued that show only 2 percent of SportsCenter’s coverageis devoted to women’s sports, which is discussed there by anchors with the joy and flair of kids forced to “eat their vegetables,” more and more people are choosing to get their news from different sources if the current ones don’t meet their needs.
I was recently asked to name the five individual jocks who comprise my must-see television and, without thinking about it and without trying to make any kind of grand point or bow to the winds of political correctness, three of my five choices were women: joining Steph Curry and Bryce Harper were Serena Williams, ultimate fighter Ronda Rousey, and NXT pro wrestler Sasha Banks (seriously). Shockingly, pro wrestling, which for most of its existence has treated women like the industry was just an extension of Hugh Hefner’s grotto, is writing a script—literally—that says far more about where we are than the two-minutes-a-night broccoli serving of women’s sports delivered on SportsCenter. NXT is delivering a crew of empowering, genius women athletes like Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch who are winning over crowds and changing the expectations of what comprises greatness in the ring. It’s almost unreal to write, but the ways that crowds respond to Banks, Flair, and Lynch speaks with greater clarity about where consciousness is among sports fans than the tired highlight shows that treat athletics like a “man cave.”
This is the first human being on which DVMVGE hasn't looked completely silly and I think it's those fucking spaceship-key earrings that's doing it
Yuri is a Japanese DJ, model, and fashion buyer who we often see around the streets of Tokyo.
Her look here features a futuristic asymmetrical silver bob hairstyle, with a corporate logo print crop top from the Taiwanese underground brand DVMVGE (Damage), DVMVGE “WMD” wide leg pants, and YRU platform shoes. Accessories include die cut earrings by the Japanese streetwear brand MYOB NYC, an MYOB harness, and a silver sackpack from Monki.
Yuri’s favorite brands include DVMVGE and MYOB NYC and she likes EDM music and K-Pop. Find her on Instagram or YouTube for more information and pictures.
This boot/pants texture combo is giving me the willies
This is Kazuki, a 20-year-old engineer we recently snapped in Harajuku. He is wearing a front knotted bandana and blue sunglasses.
His mesh gradient “Smoke” hashtag jersey is from UNIF, worn with Rick Owens DRKSHDW pants, boots from Hood by Air, a pendant necklace, rings, saints bracelets and a Nixon watch.
Kazuki told us he likes shopping at the popular streetwear boutique Nubian Harajuku.
Every month, as part of the regular monthly meetings of the Austin, TX independent game community JUEGOS RANCHEROS, we do a very casual & chatty rundown of the ten or so games from the previous month for the audience, to give people — especially those outside the indie community itself — a look at what they may have missed. The featured games are both local and global, and both indie and, on occasion, a bit-bigger-budget — what binds them together is simply that they’re all amazing.
In keeping with the tongue-in-tobacco-packed-cheek tone, we call these run-downs A Fistful of Indies, which are presented here on Venus Patrol for your reference, in addition to their home on the JUEGOS RANCHEROS site.
Splatoon
Developer: Nintendo | Platform: Wii U | Get it: Here
“…a game I’ve done a complete about-face on from the time it was announced to it’s actual release — it’s completely won me over. For a game that’s ostensibly an online shooter, it’s the most positive and inclusive and friendly games I’ve ever played with strangers.
It’s one of those forward-thinking first-party Nintendo games we get once every year or two now, where it feels so much less drenched in its own conservative past & feels surprisingly ‘cool’ as hell, even actually fashionable.”
Affordable Space Adventures
Developer: KnapNok Games & Nifflas | Platform: Wii U | Get it: eShop
“…designed in part by Nifflas — who you might know for games like Night Sky and Knytt & will recognize as a master of quiet atmosphere — that’s basically what this is, as well: a journey through a ruined, abandoned planet…
The twist is that you’re piloting this ship here — and by piloting, I mean you’ve literally got a touchscreen panel that controls your engines, your scanners, your landing gear — all of which you’ve either got to multitask yourself, to maneuver past the planet’s defense systems, or which you can task out to a bunch of your friends and all work together, sort of like a less metaphorical version of Spaceteam…”
Dolly
Developer: Blake Wood | Platform: Windows | Get it: itch.io
“…for a first game it’s super clear that its developer has already got some super strong sensibilities… the game pulls a bit from Super Meat Boy mixed with touches of Shadow of the Colossus and graphic designers like Olly Moss…
This’ll take you about 10 minutes to play through, but it’s very well worth it…”
Strawberry Cubes
Developer: Loren Schmidt | Platform: Windows | Get it: itch.io
“…a beautifully glitched-out half-remembered dream of a platformer, there’s an incredible amount of good things happening here which reveal themselves to you the further you press yourself into them…”
Her Story
Developer: Sam Barlow | Platform: Windows/Mac/iOS | Get it: Steam / App Store
“…at its core it’s a murder-mystery desktop simulator game, where you piece together a story 20-30 seconds at a time, by keyword-searching through about an hour of interrogation footage.
The clips in turn give you ideas for new search terms and keywords, and you essentially fall face-first down a non-linear rabbithole of a story that you’re keeping together entirely in your own head, with a number of twists and turns along the way that are enormously rewarding to stumble into.
This is absolutely the most interesting game I’ve played so far in 2015, and one of my highest recommendations for absolutely anyone. …”
Aisle
Developer: Sam Barlow | Platform: Web | Play it: Here
“…and actually, as a bonus game — while the creator of Her Story is best known for his work on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, if you loved Her Story, go seek out this interactive fiction game he did all the way back in 1999, which features as unique an approach to storytelling.
The basic premise is that you’re in a grocery store, about to pick up a package of pasta, when you notice a woman down the aisle who for some reason feels familiar. From there you’ve got one move you can make to tease more out of the story, whether that’s talking to the woman, or looking at your inventory, or picking up the pasta, or turning around and walking away.
At that point the game is over and starts again, so the only way to piece this scenario together is to play that one move out over and over — it’s a great, small piece of experimental fiction…”
In this timeless blog, a veteran FPS dev takes a deep look at what goes into creating levels with a sense of visual composition -- and how you can guide players to experience your gameplay best. ...
Natasha Genet Avery: Amuro may have been going for “70s influenced 90s R&B and hip-hop and 80s dance beats” but those first synth jabs took me right to early Passion Pit — anthemic, explosive, giddy. The chorus ascends to celestial heights when Amuro nails a surprising interval (“shi-i-INE,” “ri-i-IGHT”). [8]
Iain Mew: Its touch is more assured than golden, but almost exactly a decade on from Amerie’s “1 Thing” is a good time to record something that sounds like “1 Thing” after its prospective couple have been together for ten years. [6]
Maxwell Cavaseno: This would be such a monstrous jam if Namie Amuro didn’t ravage notes within her throat. Such a good song, wasted on star-power. [5]
Edward Okulicz: The horn stabs jump out of the speakers and make such an impressive introduction that I expected to turn around and see Amuro descending an enormous gold staircase into my living room. The “we got the touch/it’s golden” section towards the end drags a bit, but the chorus is confident and celebratory. [8]
Alfred Soto: “Golden Touch” sports some of the relentlessness of “1 Thing,” with the way the brass is mixed complementing Amuro’s chalky tones. [6]
Thomas Inskeep: Obviously the synth stabs harken to “Crazy In Love”/”1 Thing,” but there’s more to this than those. Amuro’s vocal is assured and confident and sexy, and the production on this uptempo R&B banger just keeps pushing and pushing. And those synth stabs are superb, of course. [8]
Patrick St. Michel: Japanese radio tends to play the first verse and first chorus of a song before cutting it off, fearful that someone out there will just record the single instead of running over to Tower Records to spend $10 on it. Accordingly, one major criterion for determining a “song of the summer” — the number of passing cars blaring said tune — doesn’t really apply. “Golden Touch” only needs a commercial-break worth of time, though, to assert itself. Namie Amuro’s greatest skill has always been her ability to adapt to new styles, and after years of “hip-pop” and bad Jamaican accents, she finally got around to making a big confetti cannon of a pop song. Every few beats burst like fireworks, and it all builds up to the best hook Amuro’s ever come across, and she makes the most of it. This just sounds like summer to me, big and hopeful and joyful and simple but effective. Twenty seconds of this could get a car heading to a beach singing along. [10]
Scott Mildenhall: All that WAH WAH WAHing might get a bit WAH WAH WAH annoying when this is in heavy rotation, but in moderation it’s a vital jolt in what is otherwise a song going through the motions. There is vigour with that, partly provided by what must be 2015’s first “Coco Jamboo” ripoff in the chorus, but if that stops Pitbull from releasing his then it could yet be a drawback. [6]
Will Adams: Owing some of its nimble charm (and horn stabs) to Cher Lloyd’s “I Wish,” “Golden Touch” is one of those singles that needs not do more than radiate light to be a surefire summer soundtrack. But it was the “Make me shi-ee-ii-ee-ii-iiine!” line that got me, that unexpected upward leap in the melody confirming “Golden Touch” as having the extra edge of memorability going for it. [8]
Cédric Le Merrer: The beat is a laid back Rich Harrison and if that doesn’t sound like your idea of a good summer jam, I’m sorry for you but I’ll be over there making a mojito pitcher. [7]
We spotted these two 16-year-old students in Harajuku. Their matching hamburger shoes easily caught our eye!
Rukako is pictured to the right, with a San to Nibun no Ichi oversized t-shirt. Her canvas bag is from Seto Ayumi’s fashion brand Aymmy in the Batty Girls and her burger shoes are from Candy Stripper. She is also wearing a ring from Spinns and pins from Aymmy in the Batty Girls (her favorite brand). Rukako is a fan of Little Mix, and you can find her on Twitter and Instagram for updates.
Hinata is the girl with the cap, pictured here to the left. She is wearing a Betty Boop t-shirt from San to Nibun no Ichi with a Nadia mini skirt. Her canvas bag is from Aymmy in the Batty Girls and her burger shoes are Candy Stripper (matching Rukako’s). Her choker is also from Candy Stripper, and her cap is Aymmy in the Batty Girls. Hinata’s favorite place to shop is Candy Stripper, and her favorite band is Creephyp. Follow her on Twitter for more information.
If you look closely, you can see Hayden Christensen laying on the side of that volcano.
When Out There hit the App Store last year, it was already one of the year’s best games. Developer Mi-Clos Studio figured they could do better, and thus was born the Omega Edition of Out There which arrived for iOS and Android earlier this week.
Arriving as a free update for current owners, the Omega Edition adds more of what we already loved about the original: over 50 new interactive stories, new endings, new aliens, and new spaceships. The most striking addition to Out There, however, is the graphic overhaul. The original Out There wasn’t a terrible looking game–simple, perhaps–but the Omega Edition looks downright dreamy.
There’s more, such as better localizations and more music from Siddhartha Barnhoorn, but all you really need to know is that the game is bigger and better and it didn’t cost you a thing.
Now, if you haven’t tried Out There yet, you can snag it for iOS Universal or Android for only $5. Check out the Omega Edition trailer after the break.
I just love Nathalie Lawhead's work. It's not only that she's one of my very favorites doing digital art that recalls old shareware and the early web, but her projects—like the Tetrageddon Games freeware arcade, or the jarring, comically-gruesome Froggy— seem to focus on one of that aesthetic era's most interesting contrasts.
What I mean is the loneliness: The jangly animations, bright colors and surreal, unexpected surprises of the early web's Wild West play space are even more interesting juxtaposed against the fact that as a user in that age I was basically seeking artificial life, or companionship. Lots of us were, and Lawhead's artwork does incredible stuff with that creation space.
With Electric Love Potato, Lawhead offers you an inappropriately large digital potato that throbs, looms and chirrups in the corner of your display for as long as you let it run. "Desktop assistants" once promised a sort of personal vitality to our workspaces—I remember summoning occasionally-animated characters from EVA to hang in a corner and blink at me. The Electric Love Potato has a sort of unsettling, unpredictable air, hovering over startling backgrounds and acting essentially strange:
Q: My potato is beginning to "creep me out". What can I do?
A: If your potato is causing you discomfort simply shake the window. You can do this by mousing over the potato, and grab the draggable bar (part of the window that appears).
This will jolt the potato causing it to re-think what it is doing.
If you enjoy the random and divine, Lawhead is included in our Offworld feature "The Divine Witches of Cyberspace", which explores the art of fortune-telling games and apps. If you nurture a special disgust toward desktop assistants, definitely learn about RadOS, and try to outwit its vile submarine sandwich-friend.
"Dolly is an artistic minimalist platformer where you are tasked with exploring the mysteries of this strange world to ultimately discover its dark truth." - Author's description
This is Ayano, a 21-year-old girl who works at the VeLo/vetica hair salon in Harajuku. You might remember her from some previous snaps.
The short-haired blonde is wearing a resale t-shirt, suspender shorts, long jacket, with a fringe bag from United Arrows, and rocking horse shoes from Tokyo Bopper’s Belly Button. Her cap is from CA4LA.
Ayano mentioned Tokyo Bopper is her favorite place to shop and that she’s a fan of Judy and Mary. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram for more details.
You Must Build a Boat is a game about matching tiles as fast as you can so that monsters won’t kill you, and tricking out your adventure boat.
Despite the title, most of the game is spent not boat-building, but fighting your way puzzles—or puzzling your way through fighters. In order to gain gold, brains, brawns, and other resources, your tiny character must descend into dungeons and battle his way out by shifting tiles into matching lines while jaunty chiptunes play in the background.
Your little pixelated man automatically sprints across the top of the screen until he encounters an obstacle like treasure chest or monster, and then in order to continue running you’ll have match up three or more of the right tiles: keys, swords, magic staffs. But there’s no time to dawdle. If you’re too slow, as you often will be, you’ll slowly get edged off the left side screen until you lose.
The game, however, has different take on this; every time your turn ends, it announces:
As silly as it sounds, it’s kind of nice to be told that you’re constantly winning, and thanks to the constant powerups and tiny successes sprinkled throughout You Must Build a Boat, you always feel like you’re getting better even when you’re constantly dying. This forgiving attitude is a nice antidote to the relentless pace of the game, which can feel pretty frantic when you find yourself boxed in by an encroaching monster and all you seem to have are goddamn keys. It also makes me feel more inclined to open the game while I’m waiting for the bus and just run through a dungeon or two. After all, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen: I’ll win?
If you’ve ever played the RPG puzzle game 10,000,000 by the same developer, this is all going to look very familiar; in that game, you were an adventurer trying to battle your way out of a dungeon; here, you’re sailing free on the sea in the titular boat, possibly after you have escaped from that dungeon.
Over time, you make your way to new locations, face new challenges, and recruit monsters who assist you on your quest to build the sickest boat. Although the game available on Mac or PC, it’s much better as a mobile game on iOS or Android. It’s $2.99, so go build a boat, already.
A lot of video games are about explosions. Wattam, the latest game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, has a very different take on blowing things up, one that focuses on joy, discovery and surprise.
The game takes place on the last cube-shaped chunk of an exploded Earth, where the only living creature is a green, cube-like person known as The Mayor. He soon discovers that the world around him isn't as lonely as he thought, but full of sentient clouds, lawnmowers and trees that can do all sorts of things: hold hands, poop, and have dance parties. The game is about making friends, making those friends interact in unexpected ways, and then blowing them up.
Developed by Funomena, Wattam is full of the distinctive whimsy you remember from Katamari Damacy, although it's a far more free-form game rather than one with specific goals. After you stack your vertical party of pals, who can be everything from coffee cups to turntables to sushi, you make them explode, sending your characters soaring into the sky like colorful flares. That attracts more characters—whom you can name after your real-life friends—and can expand the level.
"One of the things Keita says about the game is that the world is full of different kinds of people," said Funomena CEO Robin Hunicke at the recent E3 event. "If we were all the same shape, if we were all just blocks, it would be pretty boring. On this planet, what causes the most explosions between people are the differences between people... our religions, our color, even our favorite games. But if we were able to see past our differences and work together to create awesome things, wouldn't the world be a better place?"
The idea of Wattam was originally inspired by Takahashi playing blocks with his then two-year-old son, who wondered what it would be like if the blocks came alive, and how they would connect to each other. The original prototype for the game was created by Takahashi and his friend Vikram Subramanian, and the word "wattam" is a portmanteau of the words for "making a loop" in the languages they speak, Japanese and Tamil.
Since the release of Katamari Damacy in 2004, Takahashi has designed innovative playground equipment (canceled for budgetary reasons), new games like Noby Noby Boy and Tenya Wanya Teens, and a 3D version of Pac-Man at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City.
Last night, Dylann Roof walked into a Charleston church, sat for an hour, and then killed nine people. Roof’s crime cannot be divorced from the ideology of white supremacy which long animated his state nor from its potent symbol—the Confederate flag. Visitors to Charleston have long been treated to South Carolina’s attempt to clean its history and depict its secession as something other than a war to guarantee the enslavement of the majority of its residents. This notion is belied by any serious interrogation of the Civil War and the primary documents of its instigators. Yet the Confederate battle flag—the flag of Dylann Roof—still flies on the Capitol grounds in Columbia.
The Confederate flag’s defenders often claim it represents “heritage not hate.” I agree—the heritage of White Supremacy was not so much birthed by hate as by the impulse toward plunder. Dylann Roof plundered nine different bodies last night, plundered nine different families of an original member, plundered nine different communities of a singular member. An entire people are poorer for his action. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this act—it endorses it. That the Confederate flag is the symbol of of white supremacists is evidenced by the very words of those who birthed it:
Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth...
This moral truth—“that the negro is not equal to the white man”—is exactly what animated Dylann Roof. More than any individual actor, in recent history, Roof honored his flag in exactly the manner it always demanded—with human sacrifice.
Surely the flag’s defenders will proffer other, muddier, interpretations which allow them the luxury of looking away. In this way they honor their ancestors. Cowardice, too, is heritage. When white supremacist John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago, Booth’s fellow travelers did all they could to disassociate themselves. “Our disgust for the dastardly wretch can scarcely be uttered,” fumed a former governor of South Carolina, the state where secession began. Robert E. Lee’s armies took special care to enslave free blacks during their Northern campaign. But Lee claimed the assassination of the Great Emancipator was “deplorable.” Jefferson Davis believed that “it could not be regarded otherwise than as a great misfortune to the South,” and angrily denied rumors that he had greeted the news with exultation.
Right or wrong. God judge me, not man. For be my motive good or bad, of one thing I am sure, the lasting condemnation of the North.
I love peace more than life. Have loved the Union beyond expression. For four years have I waited, hoped and prayed for the dark clouds to break, and for a restoration of our former sunshine. To wait longer would be a crime. All hope for peace is dead. My prayers have proved as idle as my hopes. God's will be done. I go to see and share the bitter end….
I have ever held the South were right. The very nomination of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, four years ago, spoke plainly, war—war upon Southern rights and institutions….
This country was formed for the white, not for the black man. And looking upon African Slavery from the same stand-point held by the noble framers of our constitution. I for one, have ever considered if one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation. Witness heretofore our wealth and power; witness their elevation and enlightenment above their race elsewhere. I have lived among it most of my life, and have seen less harsh treatment from master to man than I have beheld in the North from father to son. Yet, Heaven knows, no one would be willing to do more for the negro race than I, could I but see a way to still better their condition.
By 1865, the Civil War had morphed into a war against slavery—the “cornerstone” of Confederate society. Booth absorbed his lesson too well. He did not violate some implicit rule of Confederate chivalry or politesse. He accurately interpreted the cause of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, men who were too weak to truthfully address that cause’s natural end.
Moral cowardice requires choice and action. It demands that its adherents repeatedly look away, that they favor the fanciful over the plain, myth over history, the dream over the real. Here is another choice.
Take down the flag. Take it down now.
Put it in a museum. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861-2015. Move forward. Abandon this charlatanism. Drive out this cult of death and chains. Save your lovely souls. Move forward. Do it now.
1. "Aymmy in the Batty Girls" 2. That fucking alien head tattoo 3. I've been searching for a pink Nadia Harajuku sweatshirt in a US men's large for like three years and I think I have to admit to myself that they do not exist
Hiromi – who we’ve snapped her several times before – work at the popular Nadia Harajuku boutique. When we met her this time, she had bright red hair under a Pepsi cap.
Her t-shirt is from Ayumi Seto’s fashion brand Aymmy in the Batty Girls, paired with a G.V.G.V. quilted skirt, an American flag tote bag from American Apparel, and Vans sneakers. She’s also wearing tattoo necklaces and tattoo bracelets.
Developers of the original Animal Crossing shed light on their inspiration for the game and their struggle to fit it into a neat genre in interviews freshly translated and published by Shmuplations. ...
Developer Nina Freeman takes the stage at GDC 2015 to talk about making 'personal' games like How Do You Do It? -- and how to handle player feedback on these highly personal experiences. ...
Hip hop writer and Stones Throw affiliate stocking rap tapes and more in Oakland
Wire writer, Cocaine Blunts founder and hip hop journalist Andrew Nosnitsky and rap tape collector 12 Man Rambo have opened a record shop in Oakland, California. As might be expected from such a team up, Park Blvd Records & Tapes looks to have a sizeable stock of rap tapes, as well as vinyl and CDs.
Park Blvd Records & Tapes can be found at 2014 Park Blvd, Oakland, California. It is open Tuesday–Sunday from 12–7pm. An online shop is in the works. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
We met these friends in Harajuku recently and they agreed to pose for a few street snaps. Here is what we found out about them:
The girl in the right is Chan Ri. She is wearing items from Milklim Harajuku, including a “cotton candy” sweatshirt, polka dot skirt and pastel hearts backpack. Her black and white creepers feature hearts and she accessorized her hair with a winged heart clip. Chan Ri is on Twitter, if you want to look her up.
YMC is the girl pictured to the left. She’s a college student and she’s 19. Her rabbit t-shirt is from Milk Boy, worn with a biker jacket and jeans from Sex Pot Revenge. She accessorized with a Sex Pot Revenge studded bracelet and studded shoulder bag, a black watch, and tall heeled lace-up boots. Look her up on Twitter for regular updates.
In this timeless blog, a veteran FPS dev takes a deep look at what goes into creating levels with a sense of visual composition -- and how you can guide players to experience your gameplay best. ...
This excerpt from Gabe Durham's terrific book on the game Bible Adventures lays out the backstory on one of the most unusual FPS games ever made. ...
Developers of the original Animal Crossing shed light on their inspiration for the game and their struggle to fit it into a neat genre in interviews freshly translated and published by Shmuplations. ...
Developer Nina Freeman takes the stage at GDC 2015 to talk about making 'personal' games like How Do You Do It? -- and how to handle player feedback on these highly personal experiences. ...
