Author: Trafficblast
The Internet Has Declared War On The U.S. Army Esports Discord Channel
The military has long had a foot in gaming, most notably as a recruitment tool with efforts like the early 2000s’ America’s Army series. The army’s gaming arm came back into the public eye this week, after the U.S. Army’s esports account tweeted “UwU” in response to a tweet by chat app Discord.
The tweet went viral, with many criticizing the army’s use of the esports initiative as a recruitment tool to target young people.
uwu pwease enwist and commit waw cwimes uwu
— jay is antifascist, pro-Black lives (@shutupfish) June 30, 2020
Soon, a new speedrun challenge spawned on Twitter where users competed to get banned from the US Army esports Discord server the fastest, Polygon reported. The server was flooded with users posting in an effort to try and get banned–while some posted classic “copypasta” text, others simply linked to the Wikipedia page for “United States war crimes.”
Most videos showed users achieving bans within 20 seconds, with the mods clearly active to keep up with the influx of new users.
The main functionality of the Discord channel has now been disabled. While it’s still possible to join the server, reacting to the rules message no longer grants access to the main chat channels–though the number of reactions continues to tick up as users attempt to join.
According to Polygon, the Discord channel was originally disabled with a message by a moderator called “UwU” reading “Temporarily disabled. Thanks for the fun tonight!” That message was later replaced with one reading “Have a bit more patience while we finalize some back end stuff in the server in order to make it an enjoyable place for you all to game. We apologize for the inconvenience to those that are legit wanting to join us. Trolls make things fun for everyone!”
As at the time of writing, the latest message in the Discord’s welcome channel simply reads “This page is intentionally disabled…”
Michael Bay’s Pandemic Thriller Faces A Snag, As Union Blocks It From Shooting
Michael Bay is making a pandemic movie–because of course he is. But the film is now facing new controversy, as one of the biggest trade unions has told its members to not work on the film.
Deadline reports that SAG-AFTRA has informed members to avoid the movie, Songbird, because it “failed to complete the signatory process and is therefore not signed to any applicable SAG-AFTRA agreement.” The production company apparently did not file the necessary paperwork regarding health and safety measures related to COVID-19.
The producers, Invisible Narratives, told Deadline that they expect this “Do Not Work” order to be resolved in due to course after it completes some paperwork.
A spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA told the site: “The producers have not been transparent about their safety protocols and that is something we obviously take very seriously.”
Songbird, which is described as a “pandemic thriller,” is said to be using an “unusual” method of filming in Los Angeles. The exact specifics around this, however, have not been confirmed, and there is no word yet on a cast for it. Bay is producing the film, with Adam Mason set to direct.
As we reported earlier, Songbird is being compared to Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield, implying that it will be found footage. It will be set two years in the future, in a world where the current COVID-19 pandemic has not dissipated, and the virus has continued to mutate beyond control.
Recompile, A 3D Metroidvania With Hacking Mechanics, Is Coming To PS5 And Xbox Series X
Recompile, a 3D Metroidvania game with a unique sense of style, is the latest title to be confirmed for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The game is not coming to PS4 or Xbox One, which makes it a rare next-gen exclusive indie title.
The game, which mixes combat and 3D platforming with physics-based hacking (and you can apparently hack and change just about anything you encounter), will feature multiple endings depending on how you place. Players will control, according to the press release, “a rogue piece of semi-sentient code, trapped in The Mainframe–a sprawling digital wasteland dead-set on deleting trespassers.”
Publisher Dear Villagers also released a new trailer to celebrate the announcement and show off how the game will look on next-gen systems, below. It features the Aoife O’Donovan song Jupiter.
The game’s PS5 version was announced alongside several other PS5 indie titles, including Worms Rumble and Maquette.
Designer Phi Dihn shared some further insights into the game’s PS5 release on the PlayStation Blog, explaining that the game is “about creating the first self-aware Artificial Intelligence.” Dihn also sings the praises of the upcoming system’s abilities, saying that “with the announcements of next gen and the recent developments in graphical rendering and real-time lighting, we’re even more excited to reveal our plans for the game.”
A release date for Recompile has not yet been set.
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Beyond A Steel Sky Releasing On PC This Month After A 26-Year Wait
Beyond A Steel Sky, which recently released on Apple Arcade, is finally nearly here for PC fans. The sequel to Revolution’s incredible 1994 point-and-click adventure game Beneath A Steel Sky releases for Steam on July 16.
The game returns players to the world of the original game, and once again has you playing as Robert Foster. Like the original, it features art from Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons, and it’s set in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk Australian city. The game is a direct sequel, with many Easter eggs for returning fans.
The Apple Arcade version features gorgeous visuals and relatively intuitive controls, but many longtime series fans are no doubt excited to play the game on PC.
The game is yet again developed by Revolution Software, best known for the Broken Sword series. A sequel to Beneath A Steel Sky was initially promised as a stretch goal in the Kickstarter for Broken Sword 5, and although the game’s pledges did not reach the goal, Revolution decided to make the game anyway.
GameSpot will have a review of Beyond A Steel Sky live closer to the game’s PC release.
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Deals: RTX 2070 Gaming Laptop $1399, 30% Off 25″ 1ms 240Hz GSYNC Monitor
There are some excellent deals today for PC gamers. Today’s best gaming laptop deal is an MSI GL65 RTX 2070 for only $1399. It was available briefly last week but went out of stock quickly. The GTRacing Gaming Chair, which we rated the best budget gaming chair of 2020, has been marked down to the lowest price we’ve ever seen. Finally, there’s a killer Dell 25″ monitor, arguably the best 25″ gaming monitor on the market, at a supremely low price. Check them out here.
App users: Don’t see the deals below? Click here.
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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends 25% of his pay on stuff he posts.
Halo Developer 343 Industries Shares Images Of Their Pets, And They Are So Cute
A lot of people are now working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Being at home means more time to spend with your pets, and the same is true for the developers of Halo.
A new blog post from 343 Industries showcases many fine furry friends that belong to the developers of Halo Infinite and The Master Chief Collection. There are many adorable cats and dogs, along with a couple of horses, birds, and lizards. Some of the developers also own chickens and a pig.
You can see all of the adorable creatures here on 343’s website. Two pugs, Buddy and Gyoza, are actually contributing to Halo Infinite, as 343’s audio team recorded their sounds for use in the game.
Halo Infinite will be properly shown off during the Xbox 20/20 event in July, and that’s a big deal because Microsoft has shown precisely no gameplay whatsoever from the title. A cinematic trailer was trailer released in June 2019, but that’s all we’ve seen so far. Halo Infinite, which is a launch title for the Xbox Series X, is the first mainline new Halo game since 2015’s Halo 5: Guardians.
In addition to Xbox Series X, Halo Infinite will be released on the regular Xbox One and PC.
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Andy Serkis Records New Audiobook For The Hobbit, And It Sounds Fantastic
Book company Harper Collins is making a new audiobook for The Hobbit that is read by none other than Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the movies.
The announcement of this new version comes after Serkis did a marathon reading of The Hobbit for charity back in May. For this new audiobook, Serkis is donating his payment to the Disasters Emergency Committee, and Harper Collins UK is matching it.
You can listen to a snippet from the recording below. It’s a delight, which really should be no surprise given that Serkis has such a phenomenal voice.
The 7 hour 40-minute audiobook will be released in September.
Originally released in 1937, The Hobbit from J.R.R. Tolkien is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. It tells the story of an unassuming Hobbit, Bilbo, who embarks on a wild journey where he fights trolls and even a dragon. The actor who played Bilbo in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings series, Ian Holm, recently passed away, and tributes for him poured in from across Hollywood and beyond.
The Twilight Zone “Downtime” Season 2 Episode 2 Breakdown & Easter Eggs!
Greg Thomas and Ryan Schubert are back to break down all the ins and outs of Jordan Peele’s much anticipated second season of The Twilight Zone. In Season 2, Episode 2, newly promoted hotel manager Michelle (Morena Baccarin) feels like she’s on top of the world, but any cause for celebration is short lived when the nature of her reality is called into question.
Greg and Ryan break down the plot, list the Twilight Zone references and Easter eggs, and give their overall thoughts and reactions to “Downtime”.
EVO 2020 Has Been Cancelled
This article references accusations of sexual assault.
EVO 2020, which was to be an online tournament in 2020, has been cancelled. Earlier, it was reported that EVO CEO Joey Cuellar was being placed on administrative leave following several accusations of sexual misconduct. Now, the event will no longer go ahead, and Cuellar will no longer be involved with EVO.
In a statement released to Twitter, it has been announced that Tony Cannon is taking over as CEO, and that he is “prioritizing greater accountability across Evo, both internally and at our events.”
Evo Online has been cancelled, and refunds will be issued to all players who have purchased a band. Furthermore, a donation will still be made to Project HOPE by the event organizers.
This announcement follows numerous publishers pulling out of EVO following these allegations, including Bandai Namco (publishers of Tekken 7), NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat 11) and Capcom (Street Fighter V).
Commentators, including James Chen and Maximillian Dood, also declared that they would not be a part of EVO 2020 as long as Cuellar was still associated with the organization before the cancellation.
According to a statement by Twitter user PyronIkari (who only goes by Mikey), Cuellar had engaged in inappropriate and predatory behavior with underage boys during the mid-to-late ’90s.
Cuellar has addressed matters in a brief statement on his Twitter account, before the event’s cancellation, in which he seemed to be trying to distance himself from accusations. “I was young and reckless and did things I’m not proud of,” he says, claiming to have grown and matured “over the past 20 years”.
This comes as several high-profile fighting game community members, particularly those within the Super Smash Bros. scene, have been accused of sexual misconduct with minors. This includes pro gamers D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, Cinnamon “Cinnpie” Dunson, Richard “Keitaro” King, Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada, and others.