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An Appraisal of “The Killing Joke”

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The Killing Joke is another book that I have mentioned in brief but not gone into depth on. Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland, it truly is a great work of fiction and one of the most influential comic books ever written. However recently there seems to be a sway of opinion on The Killing Joke, Alan Moore has publically said that he doesn’t like the book, and there has been more criticism launched at the book lately. Is it fair though? Well, that’s what I’m going to discuss heavily in my appraisal of The Killing Joke today.

For what it’s worth, I truly believe that The Killing Joke delivers on a great Batman story that adds a lot of depth to the Joker with simply beautiful artwork. The book brings depth to the Joker in a different way however, being frequently cited as an origin story without an origin, and this is certainly true. You’re presented with what you think is the origin of The Joker and just when you feel you’re finally getting to know him, and understand him, you’re hit with the bombshell by the end of the book that you really don’t know this character any better.

This doesn’t, however, make The Joker any weaker of a character. The idea of The Joker not truly remembering his past, and preferring it to be multiple choice is actually a very interesting decision. There are a number of things we could infer, such as his past being too brutal to truly remember, or that he really is just that insane.

What I feel is highly underrated, however, is the characterisation of Batman. What I love about Batman in this book is that he truly wants to help The Joker; I like that Batman isn’t only about fighting crime but also trying to reach out and help someone, that Batman is more than a vigilante and truly a hero. The fact that he doesn’t want to kill The Joker, despite knowing that one day he may well have to, actually bothers him.

The artwork is simply beautiful, Brian Bolland is without a doubt one of the finest artists ever to work in comics, he had great work on Judge Dredd and it carries over here. The imagery can be dark with the subject matter, however, and the suffering of Barbara Gordon is very disturbing. What I love most of all is the symbolism in the last few panels. The beam of light mentioned in the Joker’s final lines being shown in the puddle thanks to the headlights of a police car, going out, symbolising that The Joker will never be saved.

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Perhaps what I love most about this comic though is that while it may not feel like it thanks to the events of the book, The Joker truly does fail; in his desperate attempt to prove the world is like him it turns out that he really is the only person that crazy. He fails to drive Gordon over the edge, despite the suffering, because of his mental strength.

Alan Moore doesn’t care for The Killing Joke however, saying it’s one of the worst things he’s written and that he doesn’t say anything particularly interesting in it. While I do agree that it is far from Moore’s best work, and it doesn’t say as much as his other work, or even other Batman stories, it is iconic and shocking for a reason and while it’s certainly not the greatest Batman story ever written, it’s one that every fan should read.

Artificial Intelligence

Gaming models are created by Auctoria using generative AI

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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.

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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.”

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Syphon Filter on PlayStation Plus Premium: Dark Mirror and Ape Academy 2 Have Awards

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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?

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Comics

Beautiful New Book Teaches About the Art of Horizon Forbidden West

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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.

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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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