Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms Videogame Teaser Trailer and Art Updates

0627NewsIdleChampions_DnD_HdrImgv2By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

When considering I have been a playing a lot of Codename Entertainment‘s Crusaders of the Lost Idols lately, the thought of how this fantasy themed side-scroller can become more challenging crossed my mind. The game play is simple: kill monsters for experience points to level up the characters and buy better equipment so they can walk through a dungeon unscathed. The harder part is in how to arrange the party of warriors so the team can dole out the most damage.

I am definitely curious in looking at this Victoria, BC based company’s next game, Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. Will it be the same game, or be better? Crusaders on Steam is in beta for a long time, and I suspect that’s because the producers have been testing this version out for some time, before deciding to finally wrap it around a franchise property for wider appeal. This fantasy realm developed by Ed Greenwood is beloved amongst role playing gamers for its rich world, and to see it brought to life (again) in a video game is exciting.

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The Video Game Cars 3: Driven to Win Races In Before the Film

CARS3_LOGO_BLACK_AND_RED_BACKGROUND_1497048413

Hot on the heels of the coming Disney•Pixar film, Cars 3, on Friday (Thurs night in select markets), Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media today announced Cars 3: Driven to Win is now available in the Americas for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch™ and Wii U™.

This game by Avalanche Software wants to deliver is the world-class competitive racing game inspired by the upcoming film by providing an entirely new interactive experience that is thrilling to play alone or with friends and family. Players can race as Lightning McQueen, Cruz Ramirez, Jackson Storm and other beloved characters while mastering the tricks, skills and combat techniques needed to become the Ultimate Champion.

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What can I see from the NFB at the Annecy 2017 Festival?

annecyBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

If I only had the riches, I’d go to France in high style to enjoy the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which takes place from June 12 to 17. There’s tons of special events and programming being offered.

After watching Captain Underpants, I’m interested in learning about the difficulties involved in translating printed artistic material to film. Acclaimed Canadian artist/director Robert Valley has a panel, From Graphic Novels to Animated Music Videos and Short Films, which I feel will be very insightful.

National Film Board of Canada

And representation from Canada is not limited. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will have a press conference, which will take place on June 14 at 10:30 a.m., and be presenting many animated shorts, a VR experience for attendees to enjoy (Blind Vaysha is being previewed in this medium), highlighting a retrospective on Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, and be placing four film in competition. For the latter, I have seen a few of the pieces, and I am anxious to learn who will stand out when animation aficionados will have their eyes and ears about the news coming out of this show.

Also, the nerd in me wants to know what the next animated Marvel Entertainment piece, Ant-Man, will look like. Animators Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach will be talking about their work in this series.

Can someone buy me a plane ticket, please?

From the Press Release, the details revealed are:

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Reopening “Code 8” to Crowdfunding & Expanding it to Release 2019

maxresdefaultBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

When not busy with CW’s Arrow, Stephen Amell and cousin Robbie (in other projects) are having fun in the independent movie scene. Fans do not see them working together often, and I for one am curious in how the 2016 crowdfunded sci-fi thriller, Code 8, will expand from a short (available on Youtube, or continue reading to view here) into a full-blown movie set to release in 2019. Principal photography has begun in Toronto.

The original product offers fantastic social commentary worth examining. The feature-length version will no doubt add to it, but kicked up a notch with some top notch special effects work.

People interested in helping further the budget can contribute on Indiegogo.  The original campaign reopened (so folks can own the DVD/Bluray of the original short or obtain a few of the perks like t-shirts, hoodies or autographed scripts) as production continues until mid-July, 2017, with a release (handled by Elevation Pictures in Canada) in 2019. with XYZ Films handling foreign sales.

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