Game Objects II – Zombies, Rifles and War Craft

Remember the intro to the first Resident Evil movie? We are introduced (to the sound of a stomping, gritty theme which I love) to this whole underground secret virus lab  where they are producing the T-virus, the ingredient to make zombies, let’s say. Or the Regenerate Commercial? Here it is directly from YouTube to freshen up your memory.

So after that, how would you feel about buying this… uh, Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum, from Avon?

Avon Clinical Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum

Or, as Joystiq puts it:

Via Joystiq (click on picture to link there)

But hey, that’s just a strange coincidence. I don’t assume that the folks who design the Avon product packaging ever saw the Resident Evil movie. And then again, I might be assuming too much, and that’s just where they got inspiration from 😛 On the other hand, I wonder if the asset designers for the movies inspired themselves on Avon products. Given that the Avon product was released this year that is seemingly impossible.

Here we have a toy made to the image of a Halo assault rifle. No mistake here folks, it’s quite clear where the inspiration came from.

Via Kotaku (click on picture to link)

The Halo Assault Rifle (via IGN)

And last but not least, my own finding. Last month I was walking around the Urfahranermarkt (a seasonal fair in Linz) with my new flatmate Vesela. I couldn’t resist the calling of my inner child and check out the toy stands. And then I saw this.

The Sword of The Great King War Craft

I have my doubts as to whether there is a similar item in World of Warcraft. I honestly don’t believe so. But in such an expansive game world, there might surely be something similar. So it’s not really a game asset come to the physical world, it’s a cheesy trick from some cheap toy company. Nevertheless, interesting to note how videogame culture – here represented by something so recent as World of Warcraft – is pervading so many aspects of modern life.

One of the last things I would expect to find at an Urfahranermarkt stand would be The Sword of The Great King War Craft.

Pugilistic Red Riding Hood

As I am all the time trying to find references for the upcoming Red Fable project, my friend Inês pointed out this videoclip to me (thank you so much). I was surprised to know that a song I like so much has a Red Riding Hood videoclip. And although (as Marion, who is working with me on Red Fable  said) it’s kind of cliche, it really kicks in at 2:23. Then you get the point, which could be summarized as follows:

Wolf – “Red, what powerful right hook you have!”

Red – “The better to beat the living shit out of you, you sick rapist bastard!!!”

Now that is an interesting twist to the plot 🙂 

The band is Mão Morta (“Dead Hand”) and the song is Cão de Morte (“Dog of Death”). Maybe a Bharghest of sorts? Anyway, screw me if I ever try to figure out lyrics from a guy who names himself as Adolfo Luxuria Canibal… 

As an additional, TMI closing note, all this search for Red Riding Hood stuff is making me start to have Red Riding Hood themed fantasies. Not that I’m particularly ashamed of it though 😛

So Desu Ka?

One day last Summer I went to a japanese restaurant (Izakaya, in Linz) with Dolore Piqueras. She was an exchange student at Interface Culture, we had been working on our projects to be shown during the Ars Festival and we were damn hungry. So I suggested we try out the mittagsmenu, which is cheap and plentiful but unfortunately doesn’t include any sushi. As we sat inside, there occurred an interesting ZOMG moment which I’ll hardly forget: the moment we found ourselves surrounded by mole-like (that’s what they seemed to me) creatures with big bellies, chubby boobs and proudly displaying prominent testicles.

From Wikipedia

Introducing Yen Niggurath, a “nice goat girl”

Last Friday I went with a friend to a couple of venues of the Next Comic festival in Linz. We seem to have missed the whole opening party shebang at the LKZ Ursulinenhof by more than a few hours, but I guess that I still got to see what I was menat to see: the Xoth! comic panels by Anna-Maria Jung. As I was passing by these, a quick glance triggered the “Cthulhu Mythos” part of my brain, and my gaze was instantly diverted to gaze at the cartoony Yen Niggurath…

Darth Vader VS Japanese Police

Don’t mess around with the Japanese Police. These guys are trained do deal with anything!

Via Engrish Brog

Creepiness Ensues

In the trail of the Silent Hill movie and for it’s sheer creepiness, I posted some time ago about the ghost town of Centralia. In the original game snowfall, fog and darkness are constants; in the movie the snow was replaced by ash from long-burning coal veins, in a way clearly inspired by this place.

As I was browsing through Wired today I read this short article about what is known as New England’s Dark day. The aforementioned ghost town crept to mind, as well as the tales of H. P. Lovecraft – especially given the setting of New England – of which I have become an avid reader.

“In the midst of the Revolutionary War, darkness descends on New England at midday. Many people think Judgment Day is at hand. It will be remembered as New England’s Dark Day.”

Read the rest over at Wired. And check out the Weather Doctor Almanac, from where the above picture was taken.

But wait, there’s more. Still on the creepy note, what do you think about these next two examples of advertising?

Zombies ate my Attention

Did I mention I love zombie movies?

Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, 28 Weeks Later and so many others provide such delightfully bloody movie nights and one starts to wonder… so many movies have been made about apocaliptic zombie infestations that such an event might actually come to pass. I mean, just think about it. In the meantime, some useful tips for survival.

How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse

PhD, Wii, Crossing Europe and Ars Electronica – weekly update

Now that I am feeling a bit sick, let’s have a quick update of things, starting with my first interface prototype, then lamenting not playing Wii more often, followed by a quick note on a film festival and finishing with Ars Electronica stuff.

Centralia – the smoldering ghost town

So some of you might have guessed I have some fascination about zombies, horror video games and whatnot. One of my (not so secret now) dreams is to design the first pervasive survival horror game – yes, I know, it’s definitelly a challenge not to get players believing it too much and end up killing each other, cast members and eventually the game designer.

South Park VS Scientology

Yesterday a colleague of mine pointed this one out for me. Apparently he’s also also a big fan of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park series. Isaac Hayes, who did the voices for the character ‘Chef’, left the series. Apparently one particular episode’s take on the Church of Scientology (famous partly due to Tom Cruise) was just too much for him to cope with. You can check out the story at the BBC News site.
After seeing so many South Park episodes where they make fun of everything – from religious beliefs to social and political issues and even the clichés in holywood movies – I wouldn’t expect many people to take the show seriously, let alone a member of the cast! Also, South Park could be the base for a religion someday; with all the crazy people out there with lots of influence, I wouldn’t be surprised at all…