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Why You Should Start Reading Comics

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Ah, this has been an experience.

This piece marks the end of comic book month, my first ever month writing at GeekReply and my first ever themed month, and I’ve done a lot in this time. As of my next article I will have set quite a few records and accomplishments in a very short period of time.

Believe it or not, this is something I have never done before, and if you’d told me last year that I would publish 100 articles in a month for a website and be the first person to ever do it, and do it in my first month writing for a website, and I’d do it all writing about comic books which I absolutely love I’d have said:

“Hell yeah I could do that!” – Although it would have entirely been bravado.

So for my last entry in comic book month I’m going to talk about what comics mean to me and why you should get into them.

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The wonderful thing about comic books and graphic novels is that they are fantastic for people that want to read but have trouble reading full books. Things like dyslexia are no joke and it makes a lot of people, young and old, feel stupid that they have so much trouble reading. It can also be immensely frustrating if you really want to be able to read stories but have a great difficulty. This is part of why comic books are so good, they blend a visual medium with an medium requiring imagination one, blending novels and pictures in a way that you are able to read but not be overwhelmed, and see images but not be limited to imagining what those images look like in motion.

There have been many people who I’ve known that have had a lot of difficulty reading but found that graphic novels not only got them into reading at a steady pace, but also built up their confidence and reading skills to go on to read full length novels without pictures.

As a kid I didn’t particularly like reading fiction, I read non-fiction books only, about prehistory, about animals and nature and I didn’t understand the point of reading about something that never happened, it didn’t make sense to me why people would read about make-believe. I was about seven. When I reached a much older and wiser nine, I began to read the Chronicles of Narnia and thus began my love of writing and reading fiction, as well as non-fiction.

It is amazing how much reading fiction can broaden your horizons to new concepts and ideas, and help you shape your own opinion of the world through metaphors and depictions of events and philosophies through character and story.; The perspective that fact-only books could never give you. It gives you the freedom to be completely immersed in a story regardless of whether it’s a feature length fantasy epic like The Lord of the Rings or the dark, gritty western-esque comic book world of Preacher.

Comic books are in my opinion no different from any other novel in terms of quality, they can both offer different things, but while novels can often be very intimidating to less experienced readers, graphic novels can offer an easier way in, but you are not reading watered down content. Comic books can be as dark, gritty, edgy and thought provoking as any novel., Which is a huge part of why I love the medium so much for being so accessible.

Comics are something that anyone with some time and patience can get into, however without a doubt the most difficult part is knowing where to start. Join me for my 100th article this month, where I’ll be talking about the best starting point for those wanting to get into comics.

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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Comics

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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