Comics
Why I’m All About Ash Vs Evil Dead
I’m what you’d call an “Evil Dead” superfan. I’ve watched the various incarnations of this marvelous cult series on numerous occasions. Bill Warren’s “Evil Dead Companion,” about the making of the film, has a special place on my bookshelf. On several occasions, I flew across the country or across town to meet Bruce Campbell at horror conventions and screenings. One of my prized possessions is an autographed “Evil Dead” poster, which ironically bears no likeness of the chainsaw-wielding, oft-put-upon antihero whose signature graces it.
Of course, as enamored with the brainchildren of Messrs. Raimi and Campbell as I am, I’m not a fool. We’ve been waiting a long time for “Ash Vs Evil Dead” to rear its mutated, white-eyed head. Too often fans have been disappointed with the end results of filthy lucre grabs or the results of jaded old filmmakers revisiting their launch pads—we’ve all seen the damage done to the “Star Wars,” “Godzilla,” and “Texas Chainsaw” franchises. Nonetheless, I admit that my heart began to pound after hearing that the Ash vs Evil Dead series would actually continue.
So, what are we in for this time? According to the description, the Ash vs Evil Dead series will be a return to the generally mundane life of Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell—duh). After spending the last thirty years shirking adulthood and his demon-fighting past, it seems he’s suffering from a bit of survivor’s guilt. When those frisky Candarian Demons return to raise more hell, he reluctantly pulls out the old Olds (which is especially amusing since Oldsmobile, as a brand, is now undead), the boomstick, and that good ole chained appendage.
This time, though, he’s not alone. Ash is joined along the way by an idealistic and encouraging young immigrant Pablo Simon Bolivar (played by Ray Santiago) and a sweet young woman who’s been warped by her dealings with the Deadites, Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo). More exciting still, Lucy Lawless returns to Raimi-TV as the enigmatic anti-Deadite quester, Ruby. She’ll be joined by an ex-cop hunter in her employ—sort of—as well as a few other familiar (Mimi Rogers) and fresh faces who pop in and out of the series.
Still, a few concerns linger: Will a middle-aged Ash provide the same borderline sadistic splatstick fun as his twentysomething counterpart? According to a recent interview with Sam Raimi, the Ash vs Evil Deadseries will retain the basics, even if Mr. Campbell has passed the spring chicken phase. Additionally, original film writers Sam and Ivan Raimi have returned and along with Tom Spezialy, will be penning most of the episodes, with input from Campbell. And yes, the concept of a wisecracker and his partners cruising the country in an old car and killing monsters does sound reminiscent of another popular TV show. But said paranormal show, and many others since “Evil Dead’s” inception, owe a debt to Ash and his demon-slaying series.
Since each of the 10 episodes of Ash vs Evil Dead season one will be packed into 30 minute blocks, the action will be relentless, the characters will be able to develop, and the demon heads will stack up rapidly—as we’ve come to expect from Raimi and company. It may not be Shakespeare, but Ash Vs Evil Dead is almost guaranteed to be a fun, snarky romp through a Deadite-infested protohell. And, despite all the inherent nostalgia and zombie-chopping madness, it will be interesting to see Ash finally have to grow up and face his demons.
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.”
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?
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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