Comics
X-Men (1990 Series) | Top 10 Comic TV Show Recommendation
Welcome back to my fun little list of comic based TV shows that you should give a watch. These aren’t necessarily my favourites, just ones that I would recommend if you’re a fan of comic books and their adaptations.
And we’re back to cartoons again. X-Men was part of the same Saban distributed universe that brought us Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man cartoons however X-Men was probably the most adult which is to be expected coming from the subject matter of the comics they were based on.
It was a show that didn’t really focus on the powers of the characters and had more focus on the personalities. We had Jubilee, who was unaware that she was a mutant, Cyclops who continues the long tradition of Cyclops being a dick, The Beast being a hopeless romantic so on and so forth. The show even focused on the romance between Gambit and Rogue that can’t quite work due to Rogue not being able to touch anyone, something that the movies touched upon with her relationship with Ice Man, but never quite got across as fully.
This is the kind of character focus that I felt its successor series were lacking, especially when one of the biggest themes of the X-Men was discrimination and no episode I thought got it better than “Beauty and The Beast” in which Hank McCoy (aka The Beast) falls in love with his blind patient but her father is a mutant hater who hates the thought of a mutant treating his daughter, and the fear that the woman would reject him if she knew he was a mutant. The episode ends well for Hank but still helps the audience understand just how much discrimination the X-Men face on a day to day basis that leaves them questioning why they fight to save humanity when humanity doesn’t even recognize them as people.
Also just like the Spider-Man animated show X-Men explored stories taken from the comics including: Days of Future Past, The Phoenix Saga and Dark Phoenix Saga that made for a particularly epic, serialised third season.
The show had a lot of overlap with the Spider-Man cartoon (which in turn had some crossover with Iron Man) but never to the extent where you needed to see both to understand what was going on and while it does cause some inconsistencies that we see in the Marvel comic universe such as, why are mutants never mentioned in NYC it does add depth to the world in the same way the DC Animated Universe did.
Recommended Episodes: “Beauty and the Beast”, “Days of Future Past” “The Phoenix/Dark Phoenix Saga”
Links to previous entries:
Batman
Spider-Man
Smallville
Artificial Intelligence
Gaming models are created by Auctoria using generative AI
Aleksander Caban, co-founder of Polish VR game developer Carbon Studio, noticed a major problem in modern game design several years ago. He manually created rocks, hills, paths, and other video game environment elements, which was time-consuming and laborious.
Caban created tech to automate the process.
In collaboration with Michal Bugała, Joanna Zając, Karolina Koszuta, and Błażej Szaflik, he founded Auctoria, an AI-powered platform for creating 3D game assets. Auctoria, from Gliwice, Poland, is in Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2023.
Auctoria was founded on a passion for limitless creativity, according to Zając in an email interview. It was designed to help game developers, but anyone can use it. Few advanced tools exist for professionals; most are for hobbyists and amateurs. We want to change that.”
Using generative AI, Auctoria creates various video game models. One feature generates basic 3D game levels with pathways, while another converts uploaded images and textures of walls, floors, and columns into 3D versions.
Like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, Auctoria can generate assets from text prompts. Or they can submit a sketch, which the platform will try to turn into a digital model.
All AI algorithms and training data for Auctoria were developed in-house, according to Zając.
She said “Auctoria is based 100% on our content, so we’re not dependent on any other provider.” It’s independent—Auctoria doesn’t use open source or external engines.
In the emerging market for AI game asset generation tools, Auctoria isn’t alone. The 3DFY, Scenario, Kaedim, Mirage, and Hypothetic startups create 3D models. Even Nvidia and Autodesk are entering the space with apps like Get3D, which converts images to 3D models, and ClipForge, which generates models from text descriptions.
Meta also tried tech to create 3D assets from prompts. In December, OpenAI released Point-E, an AI that synthesizes 3D models for 3D printing, game design, and animation.
Given the size of the opportunity, the race to market new solutions isn’t surprising. According to Proficient Market Insights, 3D models could be worth $3.57 billion by 2028.
According to Zając, Auctoria’s two-year R&D cycle has led to a more robust and comprehensive toolset than rivals.
“Currently, AI-based software is lacking for creating complete 3D world models,” Zając stated. “3D editors and plugins offer only a fraction of Auctoria’s capabilities. Our team started developing the tool two years ago, giving us a ready-to-use product.”
Auctoria, like all generative AI startups, must deal with AI-generated media legal issues. Not yet clear how AI-generated works can be copyrighted in the U.S.
However, the Auctoria team of seven employees and five co-founders is delaying answering those questions. Instead, they’re piloting the tooling with game development studios like Caban’s Carbon Studio.
Before releasing Auctoria in the coming months, the company hopes to raise $5 million to “speed up the process” of creating back-end cloud services to scale the platform.
Zając stated that the funding would reduce the computing time required for creating worlds or 3D models with Auctoria. Achieving a software-as-a-service model requires both infrastructure and user experience enhancements, such as a simple UI, excellent customer service, and effective marketing. We’ll keep our core team small, but we’ll hire more by year’s end.”
Comics
Syphon Filter on PlayStation Plus Premium: Dark Mirror and Ape Academy 2 Have Awards
Even though trophy support for older games on PS Plus Premium isn’t always great, you can always count on Sony’s first-party games to have it.If you like collecting these digital trinkets, you’re in luck, because today’s big PlayStation Plus update includes two classic games that can now be used to earn Trophies.
Each trophy list for Ape Academy 2 and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror includes the platinum cherry on top. You can look at their respective listings here and here if you’re interested.
The list for Dark Mirror appears to be quite simple—you can basically earn them all by finishing the game. The trophies in Ape Academy 2 appear to be a little more complicated, requiring you to complete particular objectives in card battles and advance to specified rankings. Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem too difficult, so we’re looking at a couple of quite simple platinums.
Ridge Racer: Type 4 is this month’s other premium classic game; sadly, it does not offer trophies. But it makes up for it by being a complete banger.
However, will you be obtaining some of these trophies with a nostalgic flavor?
Comics
Beautiful New Book Teaches About the Art of Horizon Forbidden West
This year, Sony produced some truly outstanding work, releasing four high-profile games on the PS5 and PS4 (not to mention the numerous PC ports). The earliest of these, Horizon Forbidden West, arrived in February of 2022 and got the year off to a strong start. One of Aloy’s sophomore journey’s greatest strengths, among the many other things we like about it, is its excellent art direction. The Art of Horizon Forbidden West allows you to now delve deeply into the game’s visuals.
This coffee table book, which was published by Dark Horse Books, contains 200 pages of concept art and developer commentary. It provides an inside look at the process used to develop engaging characters and settings, and Forbidden West is certainly not lacking in either.
There will be two editions of the book: standard and deluxe. Both are hardback books, with the deluxe edition having pages with metallic edges and a unique slipcase. These are now up for pre-order and will go on sale on April 25, 2023.
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