E3: Mirror's Edge 2 gameplay trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6PXba8X6N8
DICE finished this year's Electronic Arts E3 press conference with a trailer to the much-awaited Mirror's Edge 2. The streamlined, clean and cheerfully flow-inducing parkour game comes with polished visuals, a soundtrack that sounds a lot like Lisa Miskovsky's `Still Alive` (theme song for the first game) and an already heated debate about the representation of Asian female characters amongst hardcore Japanese gamers.
PERSONAL: XXXIV
While learning how to take photos like they curve bullets in Wanted (that, or I've finally managed to summon up spatial distortion demon fields that'll appear attached to a new Instagram update), I incidentally turned 34. I never wanted to grow older than 25, to be honest, and when someone very much like an end-level boss to me said Vancouver was a godawfully amazing place and I should really spend my 30th womb extraction day there, Skinny Puppy and William Gibson aside, I ended up by a lake where the sky was grey (good), it was cold (good) and me being a Martian was undeniable (still not sure whether it's good or bad). There's a hidden conclusion here somewhere. Four years later I'm warping space by the Thames (the whole Big Ben is an Enochian watchtower, notice how it warps tourist speech centres into ooohs and aahs and devoted, yet incomprehensible mumbling?), Vancouver's a tentacle's reach away, cEvin Key's Facebook updates mostly holler at me from Tokyo and I'm mostly bored with how things are because restricted technical evolution keeps me duller than usual, so I end up writing essays of thousand words mostly containing fuck you. Welcome to another day in the life of.
Note: also going full-on Snake Eyes over the London tech/subversive scene after my six months at Tastebuds as a community manager. Conclusions about startups, psychographic profiling, user channeling and manipulation, human shallowness, redemption and guitar/pop bands that make my heart retch up further uncontrollably retching hearts are by the bucketful.
Music? Injections of noise, amygdala waves & black glaciers - the more compatible with silence and more well-suited as soundtracks, the better. These often coincide. Ambient releases from Glacial Movements Records, Soleilmoon, Staalplaat, Raster-Noton or Tympanik. Mostly. A bit of black metal for old times' sake, always had a soft spot for Absu, Forgotten Woods or Wolves In The Throne Room and that also led to more majorly fucked up moodsetters, but I'll get back to these later. A newcomer to the fold is minimal wave - Farah's Law of Life (soundtrack for Dawid Marcinkowski's amazing interactive movie Sufferrosa) was the first hook and now Phantom Love is the next - surprise vinyl from my birthday came from TheLastLaugh Julie). Note for the detailspotters: yep, that's some promo material from La Mort Clothing right there and yep, a few lucky events led to another and I've managed to grab hold of the Mage Tarot as well. And to be honest, the Invisibles omnibus is not exactly commuter-carry material.
Loving how the London Eye actually looks like Pripyat when you look at it like that. Left out the pictures about the Thames looking like an oversized oil pond with dead pigeons... OH WAIT.
Yep that's us, Polly and me, and I'm sparing you all five days' pictures of constant restaurant-hopping - but clearly Peruvian restaurant Ceviche was the best of all (sea bass in tiger's milk is quite unbeatable!) - Polly's quite good at bringing surprises by the vatful, because vatful's a standardized dimension of quantity now - and for the interested lot - Ceviche is right next to Garlic & Shots!
Tricky question: what's the fourth book from the top?
BRAINFOOD: My Five Minutes Being A God (appears in Machete Girl 8)
Here's my lead article from cyberpunk magazine Machete Girl issue 8 a.k.a. the cyber mage issue, on how technology and magick overlap. Read the first half of the magazine on Issuu - part 2 and PDF downloads coming soon! And now, drop the reality warp drinks, pills and basslines, the warfare for the new Zeitgeist IS ON! (According to chief ed Comwedge, Machete Girl is back after a year of misdirection and lack of cyberpunk sexual drive. This is the first part of a two parter issue exploring the sigil punk method of the Cyber Mage!)
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INTERIOR DESIGN: Deus Ex, the DIY way
That's probably the best thing that happened to the Deus Ex franchise this week. Yes, it's not a recent post. That's how good it is.
GRIMES: @ Sasquatch Music Festival 2013
(Photo credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKIKQNQFnSo
CYBERPUNK: New Deus Ex game `The Fall` ... for iOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1b8k469DbY
The Deus Ex universe just got a stillbirth. Oh wait, right. Political correctness. Sacrificing street grime on investor paychecks, the new Deus Ex game, elegantly demo'd in the video above looks very much like a highly interactive ad for James Swallow's Icarus Effect. Signature yellow-and-brown, it is brazen in its looks, LEGO-like implants and its fight mechanism with the well-known takedowns - looking fiercely mild and terribly, horridly bland. Best thing about the new Deus Ex revival? Still Michael McCann's brilliant soundtrack, the OST I once claimed to be on par with Vangelis' Blade Runner score. Haven't changed my mind. Note: read my review on Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It was a while ago - sad to inform you it's sort of still very true.
PS: Just found this great interview with McCann about the DE:HR OST.
44 abstract, futuristic & cyberpunk Android games that have the Edge
Hey hey neon walkers and glitch babes - haven't you seen a summary of all the cyberpunk-related games on Android? Good, because I haven't, either. Time to change that, then - from virus splicing to implant surgeries, bank hackings to lightcycle grid races, here's a list of 44 abstract, futuristic & cyberpunk Android games that have the Edge. Mostly casual. Mostly.
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PERSONAL: laptop décor
I usually make a lot of friends furious when I deface my laptops with stickers. The last one I wrote Damage Report on was covered with Angelspit, Psylo, Ant-Zen and a home-made Barbelith one with a fairly vibrant Enochian Aemeth sigil that's attributed to Queen Elizabeth's court magician John Dee - my new one was dressed by Angelspit, Amelia Arsenic's Miss X Laboratories, Stickerbomb Monsters (bought at Magma Books) and stuff I found by spending half an hour with Redbubble's cyberpunk sticker inventory.
Do you have stickers that I need, might need or should need? Get in touch.
SOUNDBITS: Richard Chartier & Yann Novak – Undefined
Undefined is a truly somber work. If extreme drone and minimalism are your thing, then you’re in for a treat. Oscillating in the mid-range frequencies, the tones remind me of a Tibetan singing bowls or reverberating crystal wine glasses. At times a higher pitch will enter the stereo-field, cycling between the channels, simulating a self-inflicted tinnitus via its sonic hallucination. (read Headphone Commute's amazing review / recommendation piece here & buy Undefined here)
LINKBOX: Bookmarks for 2013-05-19
"I wrote a story for Hiversaires, but about halfway through development I decided not to show it. In my early testing I realized that people were trying to figure it out and making up their own stories. For me that was much more enticing and interesting than just spelling everything out. When I realized that there would not be an explicit story, that aspect turned out to work really well." (Aliceffekt about his game Hiversaires on indiegames, photo by Jeriaska)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_onv9-fHoEc&feature=youtu.be
Max Keiser of Russia Today drops by to explain the genesis and implications of the digital currency Bitcoin, why The Federal Reserve and the banking system should apologise to the people for manipulating interest rates, how Warren Buffett is complicit in the Mexican drug trade by purchasing Wells Fargo, and Max's crazy times in the 1980s as a New York City stockbroker by day and punk-rock party animal by night. (via londonreal.tv)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQLeNiNTtbc
That's just the weirdest and cheesiest Nine Inch Nails mashup I've ever heard, Trent basically rickrolled on his 48th birthday?
Bacon udon from Skankynavia via Zeta, the flatmate of ROCK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMYl1w09Wz4&feature=youtu.be
Features on these issues provide subjects for discussion and enhance the conversation on Talking Germany. This time we're looking at how the Pirate Party's recent ballot box successes have added to the challenges of finding common positions and translating them into a comprehensive political program. We'll also discuss the Pirates' opposition to the planned global anti-copyright violation pact, ACTA. And we'll ask her about the role-playing games she enjoys in her free time. (more info on dw.de, coming via comwedge of machetegirl)
TRAILER: Europa Report (coming this July)
http://youtu.be/cbw9hlBnG74
EUROPA REPORT follows a contemporary mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa to investigate the possible existence of alien life within our solar system. When unmanned probes suggest that a hidden ocean could exist underneath Europa’s icy surface and may contain single-celled life, Europa Ventures, a privately funded space exploration company, sends six of the best astronauts from around the world to confirm the data and explore the revolutionary discoveries that may lie in the Europan ocean. After a near-catastrophic technical failure that leads to loss of communication with Earth and the tragic death of a crewmember, the surviving astronauts must overcome the psychological and physical toll of deep space travel, and survive a discovery on Europa more profound than they had ever imagined.
Revolvermag premieres stream version of Skinny Puppy's `Weapon`
Interested in the new Skinny Puppy album? After launching paragUn and saLvo, here's the streaming version by courtesy of Metropolis Records and Revolvermag.
140: a minimalistic platformer based on synaesthesia
Entry number 666 to the 15th Annual Independent Games Festival is 140, a minimalistic sidescrolling platformer by Playdead's Jeppe Carlsen who designed the puzzles for indie noir marvelhouse platformer game Limbo.
The trailer for Independent Games Festival nominee, upcoming rhythm platformer '140' by Jeppe Carlsen has just been released. 140 is a challenging minimalistic platformer with abstract colorful graphics. Rhythmic awareness is required to overcome obstacles controlled by an energetic, yet melancholic electronic soundtrack by Jakob Schmid. The game is nominated for Excellence in Audio in IGF 2013, as well as getting honorable mention in Technical Excellence. (press release from joystiq)
`Riddick` debut trailer rolls out, full of desert porn, Sackhoff and Pitch Black
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDxDEjDMreA
Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he’s encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty. The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won’t leave the planet without Riddick’s head as their trophy.
Director: David Twohy
Release: 9/6/2013
Studio: Universal Pictures
Starring: Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Jordi Molla, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Bokeem Woodbine, Dave Bautista, Conrad Pla, Raoul Trujillo, Nolan Funk, Keri Hilson
Post-BSG Katee Sackhoff, a solid dose of Pitch Black and random monsters with nothing but claws? Sure. The Riddick franchise finally gets an overhaul by David Twohy and it's finally not in the unlucky vein of urban retro-desertpunk-futurist Chronicles of Riddick. Join me in a London IMAX in September. (thx Riplakoidase!)
Warren Ellis `Science Gangster` T-Shirt: get one while you can!
Barely controlled and rarely safe, science has sent us to collect her protection money. Enjoy making your friends run screaming from your radioactive perforation mechanism!
Image is about nine inches wide and professionally silk screened in light blue glow-in-the-dark ink on 100% cotton black shirts. Brought to you by Warren with design by Ariana.
This came in via Warren's newsletter and if you need help with tee brand and how they fit - here's a helpful article on Customink.com about Hanes, American Apparel and Gildan, I went for American Apparel just because it's a tad less heavyweight. (Get the Science Ganster teeshirt from Diesel Sweeties!)
This is how Detroit's Robocop statue will look like
The RoboCop statue has been in the works for a couple of years now, having raised money on Kickstarter after the mayor originally shot down the idea. (Understandably, since the city has more important things to spend its budget on right now.) The photo below isn’t of the completed statue — the 10-foot figure still needs to be cast in bronze — but it’s “basically how the final product will look,” according to MLive (via Badass Digest).
If you're interested in what's happening to the Robocop franchise now apart from the Kickstarter-founded Robocop statue, head over to Slashfilm - extra words of wisdom there about a Frank Miller graphic novel and Jose Padilha's remake! (via Slashfilm)
Free download from new Skinny Puppy album 'Weapon'
"With the theme of a full circle return to our electronic roots and equipment, everything seemed right, and like the buzz of something new it brought us back," Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key tells Rolling Stone. (head over to rollingstone.com for the new track saLvo)
This is easily the best track so far from new SP album Weapon available on the webs of the inter from May 27th (`paragUn` was available earlier via Metropolis Records) - streaming previews and their rips floating around really divided fans - and I'm not willing to make a stand without giving it a full week of listening.
Slicingupeyeballs.com claims `stands as a commentary on “the concurrent glorification of the gun culture and simultaneous horror at the devastation guns can cause` - really looking forward to a SP album reflecting on issues of actual politics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kUCatOT1D-Q
New trailer for Ghost in the Shell: ARISE [border 1: ghost pain] emerges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hulAZGTEY3c
In 2027, one year after the end of the Fourth Non-Nuclear War, the guttural town of New Port City is plagued with one mass tragedy after another. Enter Public Security Section's Daisuke Aramaki to lead an investigation along with Batou better known to the criminal scourge as "the man with the eye that does not sleep." Running parallel to this investigation is the military's clandestine 501st Secret Unit, which happens to count Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg, wizard-level hacker amongst its many members. Also investigating these events is the Niihama Prefectural Police detective Togusa. When all three investigations cross paths, secrets will be revealed and terrible truths unearthed. (via comicbookmovie.com)
The Ghost in the Shell universe gets a four-part OVA prequel (50 minutes each) about the very early days of Section 9 and how Motoko Kusanagi ended up how she is in her thermoptic camo at the very beginning of the visionary GitS movie. Part 1, Border 1: Ghost Pain gets a limited cinematic release in Japan, on June 22, 2013 and there's a currently ongoing manga entitled Ghost in the Shell: Arise ~Sleepless Eye~ in Kodansha's Young Magazine. (here's some more merch and background info for you, Wikipedia page is actually full of great extra info as well - I'm quite sad though that Atsuko Tanaka, the voice of the Major got replaced - but then again, a young Major probably sports a different personality and mindset - or not, we'll see quite soon)
MUSIC MONDAY WK 2013/20: Sun In Aquarius / The Teknoist / Headhunterz
Not that I wouldn't start rubbing new music into your face all day every day, but here's just three longer podcasts I have to share with you. The artwork collage above belongs to Sun In Aquarius' new graphic studio Matik Design - although I got to know him through Enig'Matik Records, a brilliant storehouse of glitch-infested ambient/tech electronica and now he has a new podcast out (for Headphone Commute which is a must for you if you're into ambient). Then there's The Teknoist's bloody brilliant tongue-in-cheek new mixed-bowl podcast I Wanna Be Like John Peel and as a closure, Hard With Style, Headhunterz's monthly hardstyle compilation. Eat these and I'll bring you more soon.
THE GONE HAPTICS: William Gibson reads first chapter of his new novel The Peripheral
They didn’t think Flynn’s brother Burton had PTSD but that sometimes the gone haptics would glitch him, they said it was like phantom limb, ghosts of the tattoos he had worn in the war, put there to tell him when to run, when to be still, when to do the bad-ass dance, which direction, what range, so they allowed him some disability for that, and he lived in the trailer by the creek. An alcoholic uncle had lived there before, a veteran of some other war, their father’s older brother.
There's a relatively recent video out there with William Gibson at the New York Public Library, reading the first chapter (entitled The Gone Haptics) of his upcoming novel The Peripheral, and what you just hopefully read in the blockquote is the first sentence. Or the first few, depending on how exact the transcript is. The Gone Haptics also confuses me, bringing me back to wasp nets, military implants and post-war trailer reality oozing Agrippa and that's a good sort of confusion, something very similar to the feeling when I first read Neuromancer when I was thirteen. Go figure.
Inside, the trailer was the color of Vaseline, LEDs buried in it, bedded in Walmart amber.
This video comes from IO9 and if you want more, hop on to the NYPL event page where you have an hour-long video of the whole event (with downloadable audio, video and transcript links) that's going to give you some great insight on Gibson's life and also some teasers on The Peripheral - two timelines shifting in the book, one being cca thirty years from now, the other terribly far ahead, consequently very hard to write? As I said, watch the whole thing.
NERO HOMME: Slutpunk interview with Actually Huizenga
'I give you a few pages to fill and give me something great,` says Sophie Rotas, queen bitch/empress for fashion mag Nero Homme and I love this game, complete creative freedom gives me a hard-on and it ain't different this time. We've gone switch with divine slut extraordinaire Actually Huizenga and interviewed each other, basing our questions on Tarot trumps, making it all sound like sex, smut, art and magick. Our interview in its entirety is printed in the first issue of Nero Homme - here's a longer teaser for you and here's their Facebook page for more info on launch dates, stockists and great weird fashion art. This comes from a couple of months back - teaser just found me once again and I couldn't resist the repost allure.
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PLANETDAMAGE S13E02: The Damage Report PDF (and other signs of life)
Since late last week my debut book Damage Report has been available free for download, all DRM-free, in PDF format, with an extra ninth chapter missing from its print version. Unfortunately for English speakers, it's only in Hungarian. Worry not, though - there are some wonderful people I'm teaming up with on the English translation/proofreading and when it comes out (should be at the end of this year, if all goes according to plan), it'll also have some updates on the current state of things, cultural references and whatnot. I've finalized the manuscript last January and however much Damage Report is a freeze frame moment on our current lives and possible futures, it was outdated the very moment I stopped working on it.. update time again.
If you read Hungarian or have Hungarian friends who you think would enjoy this monstrosity of a gonzo fiction blog novel with its 444 pages of future re/search, porn and batshit craziness (as likers and haters both call it), give this a go. Newscasts already appearing on Origo and Cink.hu.
Also on the PD bandwidth: still researching stuff for Book Number Two, this is a hydra. Also researching and learning designwork: mostly infographics and Processing. The new Dose issue is also in the works. I don't know how I have time for this all. Going back to Satie, Cage, Varèse and Scriabin, also re-listening most of the suicidal black and post-black metal albums in a very obscure corner of my Google Music account - and randomly trying to keep this blog alive. If you want more regular content feeds (or more like, a continous neon piss streak of information, head over to my Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook accounts.
Have a great new upcoming whatever.
Always,
The Damage
LOOT FOR THOUGHT: Future Glitch Art Porn
I call the overlap of the personal microenvironment and the comfort zone a bubble. Bubbles are best maintained by porn high-intensity intellectual stimuli. This week I've managed to sink my teeth into a ludicrous amount of great stuff - go and sample them yourself.
- IdN v19n5: Interactive Design
- IdNv18n3: Glitch Issue
- Alan Moore's V for Vendetta
- Neal Stephenson's Confusion
- Now You See It, Now You Don't
- VJ: Audio-Visual Art + VJ Culture
- Interplay Interactive Design
FETISH: Horse Gas Mask
Without further ado - horses and gas masks. Sent in by @dawe_ who thinks this is a "damage combo breaker". Indeed it is.