Mont Saint-Michel, France (byRudy Denoyette)

Mont Saint-Michel, France (by Rudy Denoyette)

Series: The Secret World Impressions

I punched that motherfucker. Then I lit him on fire. My organization sent me here to find out why the island had been lost. What no one told me was that the entire island from the woods I came through when I arrived to the seaside town were overrun. Sitting down to play The Secret World is a lot like sitting down to a game of VTM:Bloodlines or Deus Ex: Human Revolution. However, ammo isn't a concern, the model is third person instead of first, and now instead of a vampire or a cyborg, you're a gunslinging wizard. My character doesn't actually sling a gun just yet. Firemuscles chose to learn how to use fisticuffs to defend myself, fisticuffs and fire spells. I might have gone with another name, but among he other antiquated things in TSW is that you can only have a unique handle. I was going to be Nightfire, Whitefire or several other cool handles for a fiery wizard. All taken. So fuck you, RP server, fuck you and say hello to the reckless Firemuscles. The game launched into dx11 which tore my graphics card to shreds, but reverting to 9 looks just as sexy to me, and it's actually playable. But, as I was saying, island full of zombies. Zombies who are getting punched and lit on fire. The mission I chose was to look for missing persons. I found one of em alive, in bye church, where the local priest had hallowed the door- the flesh bags running after me were slain promptly upon crossing the threshold. I was glad to see that, we're dealing with monster and magic and nothing we were ever trained for. I don't need or want a mutagenic virus. Being Firemuscles is pretty cool. When you shoot a firebolt at a rotting, flesh eating monster, you get a Fire point. Your Fire points are used to make your bigger, badder cookouts happen. One has to build one's way up to a cataclysmic fireball. Same goes for punching zombies. After Firemuscles beats on theme enough, he works up a little rage meter. His other, heavier punches deal damage governed by how much "fuck you" bar he's worked up. The missions make sense, and there's enough grim and shadows to keep you on edge, even as Firemuscles. Eventually, I ran into bigger, beefier zombies- the fire station was crawling wit buff zombies with fire axes. Naturally, Firemuscles had to show them both who was bigger and badder as well as who really controlled fire. These zombies had a special attack and were harder to kill, learning how to fight them was a treat. I made my way through the town. Most if he people I went in to rescue had been turned. It was more of a mercy killing mission than a rescue, and that felt appropriate, but I kept holding of hope I'd find more survivors. I didn't. Then, I got down by the coast. There was a thing there. Humanoid, but not a man, nor do I think it ever was one. In place of an arm, it had on one side a wicked spike. I threw fire at it, and to my surprise it shot purple bolts back at me before closing the distance. So I punched that motherfucker. Then I lit him on fire.

I like Aron Flux because it predicted, contrary to other cyberpunk-esque genre pieces, that the future would be a world of smart-flesh, not crude metal grafts.

London designer creates 3D-printed, regenerative running shoes from protocells || The Verge

At the Wearable Futures conference, London designer and researcher Shamees Aden debuted a running shoe prototype that will put your worn out kicks to shame. The shoes, a conceptual product which he developed with University of Southern Denmark professor Martin Hanczyc, are 3D printed from a synthetic biological material that can repair itself overnight.

The running shoes are the product of Aden’s study of protocells. The basic protocell molecules are not themselves alive, but can be combined to create living organisms. Mixing different protocells creates different properties, and allows them to be programmed to behave differently depending on heat, light, and pressure. The shoes’ unique construction allows them to be 3D printed to the exact size of the user’s foot, so they would fit like a second skin. While running, the shoes would react to pressure and movement, providing extra cushioning when needed.

"The cells have the capability to inflate and deflate and to respond to pressure," Aden tells Dezeen. "As you’re running on different grounds and textures it’s able to inflate or deflate depending on the pressure you put onto it and could help support you as a runner."

(via London designer creates 3D-printed, regenerative running shoes from protocells | The Verge)

Still looking for BGM for the Karthus vid, found one I dig for Lux tho.