.tiff

Happy Friday - Nano Snowman, Stuff, and Things

via The National Physical Laboratory

Thought I'd do my best to spread holiday cheer before I'm off for the next 10 days or so on vacation (a long time, I know!) This is a *real* vacation and I'm taking a break from my laptop. So, things might get a little quiet around here. But I'll be back! And since I won't be posting during that time, I'll just straight up spit out a bunch of "cool Internet hyperlinks" to junk that'll keep you entertained for a whole half a minute.

First off, that adorable little molecule of a snowman is the tiniest snowman ever, courtesy of the NPL. The little buddy is the width of a human hair, nano-constructed out of two tin beads. As the daughter of a nanotechnologist, I think [this is pretty swell].

And now, a list of other things that may pertain to your interest on a Friday afternoon:

• n0wak says "Hi"
• The LOST Underground Art Show (Scott C's "LOST Showdowns" are by far the best of the bunch)
• Robot Doppelgangers (Creepy_as_frak)
• Jack Bauer Interrogates Santa Claus
• Rammstein VS Cookie Monster
• Infinite Maru
• Usher feat. Goat yelling like a man

Finally, totally unrelated, and totally cowabunga:

TMNT IV - Big Apple, 3AM

Happy Holidays everyone!

Nothing is real anymore - Stargate Studios Reel

Edit: It looks as though they removed the video on Vimeo. Interesting. Nabbed a replacement on YouTube for now...

In a surprising demonstration of the many shows and films they've worked on, Stargate Studios demonstrates that constructing a fake cruise ship explosion is just about as easy as creating a fake stroll down a street in New York City, and probably a lot less expensive than the real thing. I literally can't believe my eyes that so many of these casual scenes are so seamlessly composed between the green screen and the computer. I guess special effects technology is moving faster than I expected. Nothing is (or needs to be) real anymore.

via I Heart Lazers

Limbo by Playdead

via The Independent Games Festival

I guess this has been in the making for a while, but Limbo by Playdead is back in the races for the IGF (Independent Games Festival) and it looks absolutely beautiful. Not much is known about the game except that it's a puzzle/platformer involving a little boy in limbo due to his sister's uncertain destiny, but the grainy black and white visuals are simply stunning. Looking forward to seeing more on this one.

Thanks Brandonnn

The Chow sibling Canabalt fiasco - my brother is a cheater

Sibling rivalries go hand-in-hand with a family of natural born gamers. So is the case with the Chow siblings, which includes Sister Chow, Brother Chow, and myself (aka Oldest Chow). But man, Brother Chow is one butt of a brother, and now Canabalt has revived one of the more passionate sibling rivalries between us in years.

The following is a summarized time line of the competition for best score, or most meters run, between my brother and I. It is best to have some knowledge of both Canabalt and the movie The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Hit the jump for the full summary, and also, I love my brother, despite the fact that I hate him for even trying to beat my score.

Another round of Universal Everything videos for MTV

MTV / Power x 1000% / Soundquake from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

After what Universal Everything did with Aol's branding, I decided to subscribe to their video feed on Vimeo. Much to my delight I discovered another recently released series of videos for MTV that are as fun and colorful as ever. The above "Power x 1000% / Soundquake" video is my favorite, but Mr. Furry has also returned with all his friends in "Pride x 1000% / Furry's Posse". Check out all the videos on Universal Everything's Vimeo channel.

MTV / Pride x 1000% / Furry's Posse from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

Mountain Maniac - Sketchbook Art and Pixel Icons

Two Fridays ago I posted about Pixeljam Game's newest 8-bit Reject for Adult Swim, Mountain Maniac, the game for all the lumberjack wannabes out there looking to rage against the mountainside (play it if you haven't yet). Thanks to Pixeljam Game's 8-bit artist (and my buddy) Rich Grilliotti, I have a little bonus material to share with you all!

Rich sent me some initial concept sketches for Mountain Maniac, displayed above. As you can see, the titular line has since had several exclamation points moved from its original version, and innocent birds in nests were always a main target for the maniac's aggression. Rich also gave me a goodie bag of desktop icons (Mac only) featuring pixel art from MM, their other Adult Swim game Pizza City, and a cow. Download here (you have to double click on the blank files to create the ones with the icons).(working on fixing this...)

Also, unrelated but BREAKING NEWS. I beat Brother Chow's score of 14,574m on the bus this morning. I am winnar again!

I ran the farthest! Top that, CHOW.

UPDATE: What a dick. He just topped my score with a whopping 17,795m. STAY TUNED.

UPDATE 2: HAH. FAKED. I am still the winner! Also, more on this later.

Lady Galaga

via jeffkatz.typepad.com

Lady Ga Ga meets Lady Galaga, "The first game that plays itself out!" 'Nuff said.

Via GeekWeek, thanks Miz G!

Sick and cloudy Friday salutations

via gamovr

Mueh. Despite all efforts to avoid the plague going around my house, I'm sick. And it's going to be cloudy and rainy for the next few days. *Grump grump*.

My plans for the weekend? Staying inside to repair my HP (laffs! euh, *sigh*), diving into my new Processing book, and booting up Might & Magic: Clash of the Heroes (by my favorite, Capy!) and PixelJunk Shooter. 

In the meantime, enjoy the wacky Govinator/Bayonetta mash-up above, and the Jay-Z/Link's Awakening mash-up by one of my readers, Aquma, below:

 

Aquma - Roc Feather

Chunk's advice to Nathan Drake: Don't piss off China

How many of you knew that the actor who played the distinguished truffling and shuffling Chunk from The Goonies is now considered one of the top 35 entertainment executives under 35 and looks like this! I didn't, nor did I know that by attending UCLA law school Chunk now has extensive legal advice to offer to various videogame characters with questionable habits.

These are all things I now know, thanks to Kotaku's clever post featuring Jeff B. Cohen answering legal questions from the Paperboy, Nathan Drake, Princess Peach and more. Check out all of the letters here, but my favorite is Cohen's advice to Mr. Drake regarding a few treasures he "collected" during his travels:

Also, please keep in mind that pissing off China is usually a mistake. They invented Kung Fu and have nuclear weapons. It is also generally a good idea to avoid legal entanglements with Turkey. Although it is a lovely country famous for its luxurious Turkish Baths it is also famous for its decidedly non-luxurious Turkish Prisons.

Thanks Bradonnn, for the tip!

Universal Everything animates AOL's new branding

AOL / Ooze from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

It wasn't hard to wonder about the intention of AOL's (rather, Aol.'s) seemingly scatterbrained rebranding, with the goldfish, pink goo, and whatnot. I still don't think I understand the logos in the context of AOL's site, but in the meantime Universal Everything (the same folks who created those delightful sequences for MTV) have made some terrific animations to showcase some colorful ideas around the new logo. The playful aesthetic is kind of wonderful, don't you think?

Hit for a few more after the jump, or head to Universal Everything for the full spectrum.

Via Brand New