Shelly Kappe, a foundational figure in architectural education and a key voice in the development of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), has died at the age of 96. Kappe passed away peacefully on March 29, 2025, in Santa Monica, California. Born Rochelle Hope Diamond in Philadelphia in 1928, Kappe played a central role in shaping SCI-Arc from its inception in 1972. Alongside her husband, architect Ray Kappe, and a group of progressive educators, Kappe helped launch the experimental school as an alternative to traditional architectural education. SCI-Arc emphasized open dialogue, interdisciplinary exploration, and a break from academic orthodoxy; values Kappe upheld throughout her career. At SCI-Arc, Kappe served in numerous roles, including coordinating the influential Design Forum Public Lecture Series for over 15 years, leading the Evening Program, and curating exhibitions in the SCI-Arc Gallery. Kappe was instrumental in developing the school’s original ...

Got a project that’s too bold to build? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards, launching this spring! Stay updated by clicking here. Walk into a Montessori classroom, and you won’t find a front and a back. There will probably be no whiteboard wall and, certainly, no teacher’s desk monopolizing a fifth of the space. Instead, the area is open. All of the furniture, fixtures and fittings are low to the ground, and nothing’s hidden. Shelves are shallow. Cupboards are nonexistent. Tools are visible and within reach. Young people are taught that they are free to move between zones and subjects at will, without the need for permission. These are usually calm spaces, not controlling ones. And they are very deliberately designed that way. The idea that spatial design can guide behavior without dictating it is something interior designers and architects have pondered and played with for centuries. But usually to serve a goal set by the client or designer — more footfall over here, less lingering over there. Montessori, by contrast, is about encouraging individual thought and independent decision-making. The space isn’t guiding people toward an outcome. It simply makes sure they can get there themselves. 123+ Kindergarten by OfficeOffCourse, Shanghai, China | Photos by Li Huang Maria Montessori wasn’t a teacher by training. She was Italy’s first recognized female doctor, with a background in medicine, anthropology and biology. Her method was developed through direct observation, paired with structured tools she called “didactic materials” — physical objects designed to teach through repetition and touch. In the early 1900s, she began working with children from working-class families and those considered intellectually disabled. Groups who, at the time, were excluded from mainstream education. What she noticed, quickly and clearly, was that most classrooms were designed not to support children but to control them. Rows of desks. Single points of instruction. Environments built for discipline, not curiosity. She thought there was a better way. Instead of ordering children to pay attention, she changed the environment so that they could choose what to focus on. The room was broken into zones. The furniture was light and scaled to the user. Materials were out in the open, not locked away. If something spilled, it got cleaned up. If a child was ready to move on, they didn’t have to ask. The room told them what was possible. They just had to decide what to do. AKN Nursery by HIBINOSEKKEI+youjinoshiro, Akiruno, Japan | Photos by Studio Bauhaus It was a complete rethinking of what a learning space could be, and it’s still in use today. The Montessori classroom isn’t a stage for a tutor to perform. It’s a system of layout, scale and logic that individuals can inhabit in the way that suits them best. Every detail is considered, from the height of the chair and the depth of the shelf to the visibility of the tools available—not for aesthetics but for usability. Not to control the child but to give them autonomy. Fast forward a century, and interestingly, most millennials are only now starting to experience the kind of spatial autonomy that Montessori built into her classrooms from day one. Most of us grew up with national curriculums, rigid lesson plans and carpet squares for assembly, and once we joined the workforce, the message stayed the same: follow the system, stick to the schedule, and keep to your lane. The idea of designing your own rhythm or setting your own pace was treated as an exception, not the norm. Roche Multifunctional Workspace Building by Christ & Gantenbein, Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany | Photos by Walter Mair However, the pandemic upended routines and exposed how fragile those top-down systems really are. Almost overnight, the workplace lost its center. People started working from bedrooms and kitchen tables, and eventually from anywhere they wanted. Some returned to the office. Many didn’t. Others left entirely and took to the freelance way of life. Whatever the path, the result was much the same. People began rethinking how their lives should be structured — and who should be the one making the decisions. It’s a clear shift in psychology. When Gallup started surveying workers post-2020, a consistent pattern emerged: autonomy wasn’t just preferred, it was directly linked to engagement and performance. In parallel, environmental psychology has shown that people respond better, both mentally and physically, when they feel a sense of control over their surroundings. Now, five years on, you can see the change developing across the wider built environment, not just in our homes and offices but in all sorts of places where, not long ago, architecture was more interested in instruction than invitation. Minneapolis Public Service Building by Henning Larsen, Minneapolis, Minnesota | Photos by Corey Gaffer Take public buildings. The biggest change is in how people move through them. You used to enter a civic building and know exactly where you were meant to go. There was usually a big color-coded sign, maybe a map if you were lucky, to direct you. Now you’re more likely to find buildings laid out like frameworks rather than floor plans. No single route through. No strict zoning. Rooms aren’t named. Boundaries are suggested by a shift in floor finish, a change in light, or the way furniture sits in space. You’re given just enough to make sense of it and then you’re left to get on with it. In cultural buildings, flexibility has become paramount, but not in the usual sense. It’s more about leaving interpretation open. A stair landing can be a reading spot. A window bench becomes an individual research center; we see more people sitting on the floor against a wall because that’s where they feel most comfortable. Some of the best new projects have stepped away from over-programming. They let their visitors give meaning to a space through its use, not by dictating with signage. Architects are getting more comfortable with that ambiguity. They’re designing areas that can absorb different types of behavior without collapsing into a mess. There’s real skill in that. The Pitch by Mark Odom Studio, Austin, Texas | Photos by Casey Dunn Across hospitality, we’ve seen this happening for a while. Probably longer than most industries. The hierarchy’s gone soft. The goal isn’t to lead the guest through a series of predetermined experiences — lobby, host, table, bar, exit. Now, the idea is to create an environment that supports different kinds of interaction without over-orchestrating them. Different guests want different experiences, and to be successful, you’ve got to find out how to facilitate that. There’s more variety in seating. More fluidity between the front and back of the house. You might be ten feet from the kitchen, or perched somewhere no one needs to find you. The space, and therefore the staff occupying the space, doesn’t assume everyone wants the same thing from it. And that’s the point. In housing, open-plan layouts aren’t enough, but rooms doing five things at once is way too much. What’s changing is the underlying assumption that each room within our homes has a job, and people are there to fulfill it. Instead, architects are starting to design for potential, not prescription. You get joinery that defines but doesn’t divide. Slight changes in level. Shifts in material. Lighting that nudges one way or another. There’s structure, but it’s light-touch. The space doesn’t care how you use it, just that you can — and do. Tom Lee Park by Studio Gang, Memphis, Tennesee | Photos by Tom Harris Even in the public realm, this Montessori thinking is filtering through. The most effective urban inserts aren’t grand or didactic. They’re simple yet highly effective. It could be a broad step that’s also a seat. A covered corner that might be for waiting, chatting, sheltering or even performing. It’s low-cost, high-agency stuff. The design doesn’t tell you what to do. It gives you just enough of a framework to do something. Across all of these industries, the same change is playing out. Architects are designing less for function and more for use. This, of course, sounds obvious until you realize how many buildings are still laid out like factories. Trafficking us from one station to the next. Maria Montessori didn’t just build flexible classrooms. She built systems that supported autonomy. And now, the rest of the world is, too. Got a project that’s too bold to build? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards, launching this spring! Stay updated by clicking here. The post Montessori for Millennials: Architecture That Lets Adults Choose appeared first on Journal.

Since its major reveals about the Switch 2, Nintendo has finally been allowing fans to try out the upcoming console during its ongoing Switch 2 Experience Events. Through these, players have been discovering quite a few hidden features that will be present in launch title Mario Kart World. One of the new features, spotted by VGC’s Chriss Scullion and Andy Robinson, will allow players to race around much quicker in Mario Kart World. Holding down the hop button, traditionally used in the Mario Kart franchise to kick off drifts or jump off ramps for quick boosts, can now also provide a minor boost to players on its own. Another player, who goes by the handle mads on social media platform X, discovered one of the secret large vehicles players can get access to as they explore the open world of the game. While riding on the water, mads was able to find a giant hovercraft that could be taken control of just by driving into it. This hovercraft could also be taken on land, though controlling it out of the water seemed much more challenging. This second thing could be briefly spotted in the announcement trailer for Mario Kart World, where one of the players was able to drive into a large bus which could then seemingly be used for the rest of the race. Set to be one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World will be hitting store shelves on June 5. The game will be available for $79.99 for a digital copy, which has drawn a considerable level of backlash from fans of the kart racing franchise. Earlier this month, Nintendo of America VP of product and player experience Bill Trinen spoke about how Mario Kart World‘s pricing is justified, referring to the upcoming game as the “richest Mario Kart experience yet.” “This is a game that is so big and vast, and you will find so many little things in it to discover,” said Trinen in an interview. “And there’s still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they’re going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they’ve ever had.” Trinen also similarly spoke about the decision behind the price tag for the Switch 2 Edition releases of Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. In the interview, Trinen spoke about figuring out the value of the games when the company decides on their prices. “I think overall, our general approach is really just focus on what’s the content, what’s the value, and what’s an appropriate price based on that,” Trinen said. While Nintendo will be holding a dedicated Direct for Mario Kart World, more details about the racing game have been emerging thanks to videos released earlier this month in the wake of the Switch 2 Direct. Thanks to one of these videos, we got an in-depth look at the Grand Prix mode, which comprises of four race tracks tied together by common themes. The trailer also gave us a look at other features of Mario Kart World, including its dynamic rain and day/night cycles. Owing to the open-world nature of Mario Kart World, even the distinct race tracks in the game feel like they are connected to a much larger world that can also be freely explored by players. Not sure if anyone noticed this before, but you can now hold your hop in Mario Kart World for a boost pic.twitter.com/mK22u1NCTv— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) April 11, 2025 I got to play Mario Kart World today and found something cool :] pic.twitter.com/PXfWM560Ph— mads (@getmadz) April 11, 2025

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Reallusion has released iClone 8.53, the latest update to the real-time animation software.The release extends support for motion-capture workflows, adding support for timecode data in iClone itself, and introducing a new paid-for Timecode plugin for working with that data. It is also now possible to stream live data to iClone from Vicon optical motion-capture systems, via a new paid-for Vicon profile for iClone’s Motion Live system. But first: a quick recap of iClone’s existing motion-capture add-ons Some of the new features in iClone 8.53 are available free to existing users, while others require you to buy new add-ons, so first, here’s a quick recap of how iClone works with mocap data.The base software can import pre-recorded mocap in BVH or FBX format, but to stream in data in real time, you need the Motion Live plugin, now included free with iClone 8. Motion Live supports a range of full-body motion-capture systems, including Qualisys optical systems, and inertial mocap systems from OptiTrack, Perception Neuron, Rokoko and Xsens. It is also possible to stream in facial capture data from an iPhone or a webcam, and finger capture data from Rokoko Smartgloves or legacy Leap Motion 1 devices. Each requires its own paid-for Motion Live profile, which can cost many times more than iClone itself: the OptiTrack, Qualisys and Xsens profiles are over three times the price of the core app. iClone 8.53: a new set of features and add-ons for working with timecode metadata Most of the changes in iClone 8.53, and the new paid add-ons released alongside it, are to introduce support for timecode-based workflows.They enable iClone to read timecode data: frame-accurate metadata used to help synchronize audio and video footage, and to synchronize motion-capture data. That makes it possible to synchronize separate captures – either for multiple characters, or where face and body motion are captured separately – preventing the data streams drifting apart over time. Timecode is now supported natively in all of iClone’s motion formats: iMotion for full-body motion, iMotionPlus and iTalk for facial animation, and iProject for lights and cameras. Basic support for timecode data in the core software iClone 8.53 itself introduces support for timecode information in pre-recorded audio, video and mocap data in a range of common file formats, including MOV, MP4, MKV, WAV, and FBX.It also makes it possible to display timecode information inside the software, and to burn it into previews and final renders. New paid Timecode plugin for editing with and exporting timecode data However, to do anything more significant with timecode data, you really need the paid Timecode plugin.It makes it possible to set a Master Clock in Motion Live so that mocap data streamed into iClone uses a consistent timecode source: at the time of writing, timecode is supported in all of the Motion Live profiles with the exception of Qualisys. It also lets you edit with timecode data, making it possible to snap clips to embedded timecodes in the timeline to line them up precisely. And finally, it makes it possible to export timecode data, both embedded in FBX files, and when using the iClone Unreal Live Link plugin to transfer data directly to Unreal Engine. New Motion Live profile for high-end Vicon optical-capture systems In addition, there is a now a new Motion Live profile for Vicon optical motion-capture systems: the gold standard for mocap for movies and AAA games.It supports full-body and finger tracking, but not facial capture; and as with the other Motion Live profiles intended for high-end work, its $1,990 price tag is much higher than iClone itself. Price and system requirements iClone 8.53 is compatible with Windows 7+. The update is free to existing users. New perpetual licenses of iClone have a standard price of $599, and include the Motion Live plugin.The new Timecode plugin for Motion Live has a MSRP of $299 for Indie artists – those earning under $100,000/year – and $1,490 for other users. The new Vicon profile for Motion Live costs $1,990. Read an overview of the new features in iClone 8.53 on Reallusion’s forum Read a full list of new features in iClone 8.53 in the online release notes Read a full list of new features in Motion Live in the release notes Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

Cool Finds Long-Lost ‘Merci Train’ Given to New Jersey After World War II Has Been Found To thank America for its support during the war, France sent a boxcar stuffed with gifts to each state. But in the late 1950s, New Jersey’s disappeared without a trace The boxcar was part of the Merci Train, which France gave to the United States in 1949. United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey In 1949, France assembled an elaborate gift to thank the United States for its support during World War II. It was known as the “Merci Train,” a locomotive with 49 small boxcars—one for each state at the time, plus one for Washington, D.C. and the territory of Hawaii to share—filled to the brim with presents. But about a decade later, the boxcar presented to New Jersey disappeared. Historians previously thought it may have been destroyed, though they couldn’t find any records to piece together its fate. Now, however, the state’s long-lost gift from France has been found. It’s slated to return home to New Jersey this spring, reports NorthJersey.com’s David M. Zimmer. The boxcar sat in storage at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City for 30 years. United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey “It’s rare for something that’s this big and this important to disappear and then reappear,” Kevin Phalon, executive director of the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, the nonprofit that plans to restore and preserve the boxcar, tells NBC New York’s Adam Harding. “Items like this don’t just pop up—it’s literally like finding buried treasure,” he adds. The Merci Train’s story begins in 1947, when the United States sent a “Friendship Train” to France in the aftermath of World War II. The Friendship Train was full of donated food, and it was primarily meant to be a symbol of goodwill between the two nations. It's not clear what happened to the boxcar after it disappeared. United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey Two years later, France reciprocated with the 49-car Merci Train. Built between 1893 and 1895, the Merci Train boxcars were originally used to transport soldiers and supplies during World War I. They were known as “40 and 8” cars because they had room for either 40 men or 8 horses. Before the journey across the Atlantic, French citizens packed them with gifts and mementos. After the Merci Train touched down on American soil, the boxcars were dispersed to states throughout the nation. New Jersey’s arrived in Trenton at a ceremony led by Governor Alfred Driscoll, according to the historical society. Afterward, the boxcar went on tour, and the gifts from French citizens were distributed around the state. The boxcar eventually ended up in the possession of a veterans’ society on Long Island, as NJ.com’s A.J. McDougall reports. The group was a chapter of the Society of 40 Men and 8 Horses—a nod to the Merci Train boxcars’ original use—but no one knows how or why New Jersey’s boxcar ended up in New York. Whatever the reason, it went missing around 1958. In 1993, the boxcar was found in a field in Tennessee. United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey Then, in 1993, curators with the National World War I Museum and Memorial found a weathered Merci Train boxcar of unknown origins in a field in Tennessee. They transported it to Kansas City, Missouri, where the museum is located. It sat in museum storage for three decades. Last year, Chris Juergens, a curator at the museum, decided to get to the bottom of the boxcar mystery. He worked with historian David Knutson to match the boxcar’s metal serial plates to archival photographs of the boxcar from New Jersey. Once they confirmed the boxcar’s identity, museum officials decided to donate it to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey so that it could return to its home state. Historians matched the metal serial plates on the boxcar with those in archival photographs. United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey The historical society is raising money to transport the boxcar to New Jersey. Once it arrives—likely this month or early next month—experts are planning to complete a full restoration, Phalon tells Smithsonian magazine. The boxcar’s exterior will return to its 1949 appearance, while the interior will be renovated to house a traveling exhibition about the Merci Train and the railroad’s role in both world wars more broadly. They also hope to get the boxcar listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. If all goes to plan, the project will be complete by the spring of 2027. It may look worn, but the boxcar is in fairly good shape, according to the historical society. It’s structurally sound, with its steel frame intact, and it still has some of its original wood. The boxcar still has its steel frame and some of its original wood. United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey Additionally, the historical society isn’t the first organization to restore a Merci Train boxcar. Other groups have conducted similar renovations, and they’ve agreed to share their techniques. Once the preservation work is complete, the historical society wants to “pick up where the [boxcar’s] story left off,” Phalon tells NJ.com. “We want to move it around and bring it places,” he adds. “The state fair, parades, air shows. It’s a unique opportunity.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Ubisoft releases open source tool to help devs tailor games for colourblind players The tool is available now on GitHub Image credit: Ubisoft News by Samuel Roberts Editorial Director Published on April 15, 2025 Ubisoft has released Chroma, an open source tool that adds colour blindness filters to in-game content in real time, helping developers tailor games for those players. Developed by Ubisoft's Quality Control team in India and announced at this week's Game Accessibility Conference, Chroma has been in the works since 2021 and was created to help developers create and test content to ensure it's accessible to affected players. The filters work without any performance impact, according to Ubisoft. Chroma simulates the three major colour blindness types: Protanopia, Deuteranopia and Tritanopia, and apparently works with all games, with no dependency on any particular engine. More than 300 million people globally are affected by colour blindness. "Chroma was created with a clear purpose – making colour blindness accessibility a natural part of the creative and testing process," said Jawad Shakil, Product Manager. "The team faced and overcame significant challenges while building it, such as real-time performance issues and finding the right algorithm to power Chroma. "By collaborating closely with accessibility experts and refining the tool based on feedback, the team created a solution that eliminated lag and inaccuracies, making accessibility testing efficient and smooth." By making it open source, the goal is to enable any developer to build games with accessibility in mind. Ubisoft's Director of Accessibility David Tisserand said, "We invite everyone to benefit from it, provide feedback, and contribute to its future development." Chroma can be downloaded here.

It's easy to think of Balatro, the ludicrously popular deck-builder that recently topped 5 million sales and carved through awards season like a hot knife through butter, as your classic overnight success story. A shining beacon of indie ingenuity that proves the only thing you need to achieve global stardom as a lone developer is a singular vision and the willpower to execute.That would be a colossal misconception.During a recent chat with Balatro publisher Playstack, communications director Wout van Halderen explains that when the company first tweeted about signing the project two years ago the post received a mere smattering of likes. In short: nobody cared.He says the company still jokes internally about the narrative that Balatro essentially materialized out of thin air when the publisher spent months carefully constructing a "Wheel of Attention" to give the project the best chance of success. What appears like a sudden ascent to fame and fortune was actually the result of a painstakingly intentional marketing campaign that acknowledged the title's weaknesses and played to its strengths.How do you sell a game that shines brightest in the hands of players?PlayStack marketing director Liz Cheng-Moore recalls how finagling a marketing strategy for Balatro was "tricky" because, although the title seems to click with players when they're able to go hands-on, the UI-heavy visuals and delicious joker-jostling gameplay doesn't lend itself to conventional trailers.Related:Van Halderen explains Playstack initially tried cutting together a trailer focused on gameplay but found it lacking. When that didn't work, a voiceover was added that still didn't quite hit the mark. Next they dialed in on the jokers themselves. Even then, there was something amiss and visuals alone couldn't showcase the buzz of piecing together that perfect run.Playstack realized it had to fail fast and pivot. "I think the next best thing to playing Balatro is watching someone else playing Balatro and seeing the genuine reactions that they're having to the gameplay," says van Halderen. "You see the enthusiasm."The publisher placed streamers in its sights, but rather than blindly pitching to the biggest names in the biz, chose to start small and expand methodically.Van Halderen explains Playstack was "super specific" in its initial approach. He saw overlap with other popular deck-building and "highly-mechanical" titles like Slay The Spire, Super Auto Pets, and The Binding of Isaac. The next question, then, was who are the top streamers playing those specific games?Related:After compiling a finely-tuned outreach list, it was time to start pitching with the knowledge that, at the very least, Balatro would likely pique their interest—and crucially, the interest of their viewers."I would have loved it if Markiplier played our game—but I had no evidence that would be the case. He eventually did around a year later, which was amazing, but if you put all of your eggs into that one basket you're not going to get a lot of results," says van Halderen."But if you pitch to 300 smaller streamers you'll get the same kind of numbers and a lot more word of mouth. You get all those communities who are now saying 'oh, my favorite streamer played so I'm going to download it and now I want to chat with out players'—so we're building community at the same time."He explains that burgeoning community will likely be vocal on social media and other platforms like Discord or Youtube—and may even encourage other steamers they follow to play the game. It creates a seemingly organic groundswell of positivity that is actually the result of a laser-targeted marketing campaign.Never underestimate the power of a vocal communityVan Halderen says cultivating that digital word-of-mouth was a "hugely powerful tool," because it enabled the publisher to start pitching media on the project from a position of strength.Related:"Once community members are talking about it, I can go to media outlets and say 'check out this game, look at the traction it's getting. I can show you that people are clicking on articles.' I'm very aware that media is not out there to sell my game. I get my coverage, you get your clicks. So we're both happy," continues van Halderen, who notes that data generation is also vital when courting the press."If people are hungry for more information [...] we can answer questions like 'how long are people playing? How many people are playing?' We would see that thousands of people were spending six to eight hours just on the demo, which is huge. So if I go to press and say 'hey, we got 100,000 downloads on the demo and look how much they played,' then the SEO gears start turning and they will start to think 'maybe there's something here. Maybe we'll do a guide and a few thousand people will click on that.'"It's at this stage the "Wheel of Attention" comes into focus. The media feeds into the influencers. The influencers feed the community. The community stokes more conversation. The marketing cycle begins to reach fever pitch.Both van Halderen and Cheng-Moore say Playstack initially expected Balatro to reach a six figure sales milestone—and that wasn't a modest estimate. They were both convinced early on that Localthunk's passion project had the juice.Now, with over five million players and counting, it's fair to say those original estimates were wide of the mark. Their marketing plan, meanwhile, was bang on the money.

Polaroid’s new Flip camera can prevent unwanted surprises when an instant photo develops. Using a new scene analysis feature, the instant camera warns you when the image you’re framing is overexposed, underexposed, or when there’s potential focus issues before you press the shutter button — all through a red LED warning light in the viewfinder that’s impossible to miss. The camera will be available on April 29th through Polaroid’s online store for $199.99 and from other retailers on May 13th. If you’d rather not wait that long, you can become a Polaroid member by creating a free account on the company’s website and then purchase the camera starting today.A small screen on the back of the Polaroid Flip’s pop-up flash displays the current shooting mode and remaining exposures. Image: PolaroidThe Polaroid Flip resurrects a folding design that was first introduced in the early ‘80s. The flash, which folds down to protect the lens and block the shutter button when the camera’s not in use, is the most powerful the company has put on one of its modern instant cameras. It’s bright enough to illuminate subjects over 14 feet away, but its intensity can be adjusted so as not to overexpose subjects that are closer.The camera features autofocus capabilities courtesy of a sonar sensor, but unlike the pricey Polaroid I-2 that will set you back $599.99, the new Flip doesn’t feature a continuous focus system with lens elements that move forward and back. It instead relies on four fixed lenses, each with their own sweet spot (0.65, 0.85, 1.2, and 2.5 meters away), on a wheel that rotates them into place based on measurements from that sonar sensor. Compatible with Polaroid i-Type and 600 instant film, the Flip includes a replaceable rechargeable battery that’s charged with USB-C and connectivity with the Polaroid mobile app over Bluetooth. The app isn’t necessary, but it unlocks additional functionality including full control over the camera’s exposure settings, a self timer, and the option to shoot double exposure images.See More:

Astro Bot fans have all heard the story of the creation of the sponge power-up, but did you know developer Team Asobi also prototyped even wackier powers, like a coffee grinder and a roulette wheel?We didn't, until IGN attended GDC 2025, where Team Asobi studio director Nicolas Doucet gave a talk simply titled, "The Making of 'ASTRO BOT'". In his talk, Doucet went in-depth on the process of creating the PlayStation mascot platformer, including showing off a number of early prototype images and cut content.Doucet began his talk by talking about the initial pitch for Astro Bot, which was written in May 2021, just a few months after Team Asobi began prototyping it. According to him, there were 23 different revisions of the pitch before it was shown to top management. Their pitch was apparently initially given as an adorable comic strip showing off the main pillars and activities of the game. Clearly, it was a success.A slide from Nicholas Doucet's GDC talk, The Making of 'ASTRO BOT', showing a comic book explanation of the game's pitch.Next, Doucet explained how the team generated ideas. The answer, unshockingly, is a lot of brainstorming, but what Team Asobi did was form small groups of 5-6 people that mix individuals from different disciplines together. Everyone wrote or drew ideas on individual sticky notes, leading to this absolutely incredible brainstorming board image:Another slide from the talk, showing sticky note brainstorms from Team Asobi.Not every idea made it to the next phase, prototyping, Doucet said. In fact, only around 10% of their brainstorms actually got made. But that was still a lot of prototyping. Doucet went on to talk about the importance of prototyping all sorts of things, explaining that everyone on the team was encouraged to prototype ideas they had. This included departments outside of game design, such as an example where audio designers made a theater inside Astro Bot to prototype haptic controller vibrations that corresponded to different sound effects, such as the different ways a door can open and close.Another slide from the talk, showing a sponge prototype alongside concept art of Astro Bot becoming a sponge.Prototyping was so important to the Astro Bot team, Doucet said, that a few programmers on the team were reserved to prototype things that had nothing to do with platforming. That's where Astro Bot's sponge mechanic came from - they prototyped a sponge that squeezed dry using the adaptive trigger, it was fun, and it became a part of the game.Another slide from the talk showing various prototype activities that were made for Astro Bot.Doucet shared the above image, which included a number of such prototypes that were made, but never turned into Astro Bot mechanics, alongside those that did. You can see the balloon and sponge, which were used, alongside prototypes of what looks like a tennis game, a little walking wind-up toy, a roulette wheel, a coffee grinder, and several more.Later in the talk, Doucet also discussed how levels were selected and designed around certain mechanics. The goal, he said, was for every level to have unique gameplay of some kind and never feel too similar to another level. While that doesn't mean that Astro Bot could never use the same power-up on more than one level, Doucet said that the expression of it had to be different enough each time to make the level feel unique. For instance, he showed some images of a cut level themed around bird flights that was cut due to reusing Astro Bot's monkey power-up in ways that were a bit too similar to the level Go-Go Archipelago, as well as another level in Astro's Playroom that had a similar power. "In the end, it was decided that the overlap was not healthy enough to create variety, and we just cut this level entirely," he said. "We'll never know if that level would have been popular. But in hindsight, I think it's a good thing that we got to spend that time elsewhere."Another slide, showing a cut level from Astro Bot alongside two other implemented levels.Finally Doucet closed the talk by talking about the game's final scene, and yes, this is Spoilers if you haven't finished Astro Bot yet. Read on at your own risk.In the final scene of Astro Bot, the player reassembles a broken Astro Bot using limbs and assistance from the other gathered bots. According to Doucet, originally the player was just handed a completely dismembered Astro. No head, no limbs, just the torso. But Doucet said that this made some people "really upset", so they went with the slightly more intact version we see in the existing game.A clip from Doucet's presentation showing the original ending of Astro Bot.Doucet's talk included a number of other interesting nuggets and tidbits about the development of Astro Bot. We've spoken to him in the past multiple times about the development of Astro Bot, a game that we gave a 9/10 in our review, calling it "A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation."Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

When Sam Wilson flew onto the screen last February in Captain America: Brave New World, he had everything you’d expect from the Sentinel of Liberty. There was the star-spangled suit; the unparalleled hand-to-hand combat abilities; and of course he had the shield, given to him by Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame. But there’s one thing that Sam (Anthony Mackie) lacked, which also set him apart from his predecessor: the super-soldier serum. And for veteran scribe Rob Edwards, one of the screenwriters on Brave New World, that makes all the difference. “Sam did not take the serum. That’s one of the big challenges to writing the character, but it winds up being a great thing,” Edwards tells Den of Geek. “It would be very easy for him to take the serum and run through walls and all kinds of things. But his superpower is not strength. His superpower is heart. It’s the fact that he knows he cannot fail. He knows there is no A-minus for Sam Wilson’s Captain America.” For Edwards, that unconventional superpower sets Sam apart from Steve, but not from the rest of the MCU. Rather, Edwards argues, it ties him to the franchise’s beginning. “That brings us back to where we were at the beginning of the MCU with Iron Man. These people are mortal. You punch him, he’s going to hurt.” Letting the hero get hurt runs contrary to the logic of even a movie like Brave New World, as the movie’s audience includes kids. But Edwards, whose screenwriting credits include Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog, knows how to keep kids scared and interested. “Kids aren’t afraid to be scared,” Edwards declares. “They go to Disneyland or a haunted house, and they go down a wild runaway car or underwater, stuff like that. And kids like it!” “I remember overhearing a five-year-old kid at a screening of The Princess and the Frog who said, ‘Everybody says I was going to be afraid of Dr. Facilier, but I’m brave!’ And the listener goes, ‘Yeah, me too!’ I think kids like that. Walt Disney himself had the huntsman coming in with an axe in Snow White. We’re scared for a little while, but we get through it. It’s cathartic and it’s wonderful. You’ve got to give kids credit for being able to see the movie for what it is.” That’s a lesson Edwards keeps in mind for his latest project, the animated film The King of Kings. Directed by animator Jang Seong-ho, a veteran of Korean classics such as Park Chan-wook‘s Joint Security Area and Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet!, The King of Kings is an adaptation of an adaptation, bringing to the screen the Charles Dickens book The Life of Our Lord. The King of Kings doesn’t shy away from some of the nastier parts of the Christian Gospels either, including the slaughter of the innocents, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the death of Lazarus. But for Edwards, that’s all part of the good news that is the Easter story. “The story always promises you that it’s going to be okay,” Edwards says. “Things might get scary, but in three days, something’s going to happen. Happy Easter! That’s the best part: that it’s dark for a little while and then you have this explosion of happiness.” Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Of course Edwards and Jang do get some help in The King of Kings by drawing on a master writer in Dickens. The English scribe would tell the story of Jesus to his children every Christmas and retained a fatherly tone even when he wrote The Life of Our Lord, assuring his kids as he described scary material. The King of Kings replicates this approach by having Dickens (Kenneth Branagh) narrate the story to his son Walter (Roman Griffin Davis of Jojo Rabbit), effectively placing the two next to Jesus (Oscar Isaac). “We make the story entertaining all the way through by using Walter as a surrogate for the kids,” Edwards explains. By focusing through Walter, who would rather hear stories about King Arthur than go to church, The King of Kings avoids preaching at its audience. “If you watch The Matrix, if you watch The Golden Child, if you watch any of these ‘Chosen One’ movies, they’re very much based on the story of Jesus,” Edwards points out. “So why not go to the OG?” The idea of tracing the story through history appealed to Edwards, a self-described “research junkie” who has done deep dives for all of his projects. “The way you learn to tell stories at Disney and Pixar is that you do a lot of research. So I know more about green tree frogs than anyone. I know a lot about pirates because of Treasure Planet. And you have to do a lot of research in the Marvel Universe. I love just sitting there with books and books and spending days and weeks diving into things, trying to find a method to tell the story.” Of course seeing a movie do well is also fun for Edwards, as in the case of the $413.7 million-grossing Captain America: Brave New World. “I’m very proud of the movie, very proud of the way people are reacting to it. People keep going back week after week, and it really warms my heart.” And what of Wilson’s heart, the thing that makes him the latest in a long line of chosen ones and makes him the Captain America of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars? According to Edwards, heart will make Wilson a hero for the ages. “Sam’s mortality is what’s going to take him into the next phase,” he declares. The King of Kings and Captain America: Brave New World are now playing in theaters worldwide.