Arguably, two of the biggest JRPGs of the year are Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Atlus' Metaphor: ReFantazio, with both titles receiving numerous nominations at the 2024 Game Awards. While the success of both titles shows what a great year 2024 has been for JRPG fans, there is still room for the more recent of the two titles to improve its quality-of-life features. Specifically, Metaphor: ReFantazio should look toward Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's party preset feature to enhance its ease of party management in a future update.

As COP29 attendees gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, to tackle climate change, the role AI plays in environmental sustainability is front and center.A panel hosted by Deloitte brought together industry leaders to explore ways to reduce AIs environmental footprint and align its growth with climate goals.Experts from Crusoe Energy Systems, EON, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and NVIDIA sat down for a conversation about the energy efficiency of AI.The Environmental Impact of AIDeloittes recent report, Powering Artificial Intelligence: A study of AIs environmental footprint, shows AIs potential to drive a climate-neutral economy. The study looks at how organizations can achieve Green AI in the coming decades and addresses AIs energy use.Deloitte analysis predicts that AI adoption will fuel data center power demand, likely reaching 1,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, and potentially climbing to 2,000 TWh by 2050. This will account for 3% of global electricity consumption, indicating faster growth than in other uses like electric cars and green hydrogen production.While data centers currently consume around 2% of total electricity, and AI is a small fraction of that, the discussion at COP29 emphasized the need to meet rising energy demands with clean energy sources to support global climate goals.Energy Efficiency From the Ground UpNVIDIA is prioritizing energy-efficient data center operations with innovations like liquid-cooled GPUs. Direct-to-chip liquid cooling allows data centers to cool systems more effectively than traditional air conditioning, consuming less power and water.We see a very rapid trend toward direct-to-chip liquid cooling, which means water demands in data centers are dropping dramatically right now, said Josh Parker, senior director of legal corporate sustainability at NVIDIA.As AI continues to scale, the future of data centers will hinge on designing for energy efficiency from the outset. By prioritizing energy efficiency from the ground up, data centers can meet the growing demands of AI while contributing to a more sustainable future.Parker emphasized that existing data center infrastructure is becoming dated and less efficient. The data shows that its 10x more efficient to run workloads on accelerated computing platforms than on traditional data center platforms, he said. Theres a huge opportunity for us to reduce the energy consumed in existing infrastructures.The Path to Green ComputingAI has the potential to play a large role in moving toward climate-neutral economies, according to Deloittes study. This approach, often called Green AI, involves reducing the environmental impact of AI throughout the value chain with practices like purchasing renewable energy and improving hardware design.Until now, Green AI has mostly been led by industry leaders. Take accelerated computing, for instance, which is all about doing more with less. It uses special hardware like GPUs to perform tasks faster and with less energy than general-purpose servers that use CPUs, which handle a task at a time.Thats why accelerated computing is sustainable computing.Accelerated computing is actually the most energy-efficient platform that weve seen for AI but also for a lot of other computing applications, said Parker.The trend in energy efficiency for accelerated computing over the last several years shows a 100,000x reduction in energy consumption. And just in the past 2 years, weve become 25x more efficient for AI inference. Thats a 96% reduction in energy for the same computational workload, he said.Reducing Energy Consumption Across SectorsInnovations like the NVIDIA Blackwell and Hopper architectures significantly improve energy efficiency with each new generation. NVIDIA Blackwell is 25x more energy-efficient for large language models, and the NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU is 20x more efficient than CPUs for complex workloads.AI has the potential to make other sectors much more energy efficient, said Parker. Murex, a financial services firm, achieved a 4x reduction in energy use and 7x faster performance with the NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchip.In manufacturing, were seeing around 30% reductions in energy requirements if you use AI to help optimize the manufacturing process through digital twins, he said.For example, manufacturing company Wistron improved energy efficiency using digital twins and NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform for developing OpenUSD applications for industrial digitalization and physical AI simulation. The company reduced its electricity consumption by 120,000 kWh and carbon emissions by 60,000 kg annually.A Tool for Energy ManagementDeloitte reports that AI can help optimize resource use and reduce emissions, playing a crucial role in energy management. This means it has the potential to lower the impact of industries beyond its own carbon footprint.Combined with digital twins, AI is transforming energy management systems by improving the reliability of renewable sources like solar and wind farms. Its also being used to optimize facility layouts, monitor equipment, stabilize power grids and predict climate patterns, aiding in global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.COP29 discussions emphasized the importance of powering AI infrastructure with renewables and setting ethical guidelines. By innovating with the environment in mind, industries can use AI to build a more sustainable world.Watch a replay of the on-demand COP29 panel discussion.

The U.S. Department of Energy oversees national energy policy and production. As big a job as that is, the DOE also does so much more enough to have earned the nickname Department of Everything.In this episode of the NVIDIA AI Podcast, Helena Fu, director of the DOEs Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) and DOEs chief AI officer, talks about the departments latest AI efforts. With initiatives touching national security, infrastructure and utilities, and oversight of 17 national labs and 34 scientific user facilities dedicated to scientific discovery and industry innovation, DOE and CET are central to AI-related research and development throughout the country.The AI Podcast How the Department of Energy Is Tapping AI to Transform Science, Industry and Government Ep. 236Hear more from Helena Fu by watching the on-demand session, AI for Science, Energy and Security, from AI Summit DC. And learn more about software-defined infrastructure for power and utilities.Time Stamps2:20: Four areas of focus for the CET include AI, microelectronics, quantum information science and biotechnology.10:55: Introducing AI-related initiatives within the DOE, including FASST, or Frontiers in AI for Science, Security and Technology.16:30: Discussing future applications of AI, large language models and more.19:35: The opportunity of AI applied to materials discovery and applications across science, energy and national security.You Might Also LikeNVIDIAs Josh Parker on How AI and Accelerated Computing Drive Sustainability Ep. 234AI isnt just about building smarter machines. Its about building a greener world. AI and accelerated computing are helping industries tackle some of the worlds toughest environmental challenges. Joshua Parker, senior director of corporate sustainability at NVIDIA, explains how these technologies are powering a new era of energy efficiency.Currents of Change: ITIFs Daniel Castro on Energy-Efficient AI and Climate ChangeAI is everywhere. So, too, are concerns about advanced technologys environmental impact. Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and director of its Center for Data Innovation, discusses his AI energy use report that addresses misconceptions about AIs energy consumption. He also talks about the need for continued development of energy-efficient technology.How the Ohio Supercomputer Center Drives the Future of Computing Ep. 213The Ohio Supercomputer Centers Open OnDemand program empowers the states educational institutions and industries with computational services, training and educational programs. Theyve even helped NASCAR simulate race car designs. Alan Chalker, the director of strategic programs at the OSC, talks about all things supercomputing.Anima Anandkumar on Using Generative AI to Tackle Global Challenges Ep. 204Anima Anandkumar, Bren Professor at Caltech and former senior director of AI research at NVIDIA, speaks to generative AIs potential to make splashes in the scientific community, from accelerating drug and vaccine research to predicting extreme weather events like hurricanes or heat waves.Subscribe to the AI PodcastGet the AI Podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, Castbox, DoggCatcher, Overcast, PlayerFM, Pocket Casts, Podbay, PodBean, PodCruncher, PodKicker, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.Make the AI Podcast better: Have a few minutes to spare? Fill out this listener survey.

By TREVOR HOGGImages courtesy of Focus Features.Producer/director/writer Morgan Neville has become known for his musician profiles, whether highlighting backup singers in 20 Feet from Stardom or sitting down with a legendary rock guitarist in Keith Richards: Under the Influence. What is different with Piece by Piece is that the life and career of Pharrell Williams is depicted not through the traditional documentary means of talking heads and archival footage but instead as a LEGO animated feature. Two versions were made of the documentary, with the more traditional approach used as a rough template for its animated counterpart.For a long time, documentaries were seen as just journalism with pictures. There have been people over the decades who have pushed that, such as Erroll Morris, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders. The audience is ready and hungry for it. When I get asked, Is your film a documentary? I say, Its creative nonfiction. A documentary comes with a rulebook, and Piece by Piece is deeply faithful and truthful, but is it pure journalism? No. However, thats not what I tried to do. Its cinema first. That kind of liberation is good for filmmakers and audiences.Morgan Neville, Producer/Director/WriterDirector/writer Morgan Neville describes his LEGO persona as the prefect pasty, disheveled, bespectacled documentary filmmaker that I am!It had some original and archive footage, music videos, other movie clips and some drawings to get the story in place as much as we could before we took it into animation, Neville states. I remember it being complicated. If youre basing something on a photo, do you need to license it? There is stuff like the Oprah footage, which we licensed and then basically animated it one-to-one with what the original scene is, if you look at it side by side with his performance on that show. That is maybe 25% to 30% of the film. Licensing footage was worth the cost. Making an animated film on a smaller budget, those sequences were gifts because even though they were going to cost as much as something we had made up, we didnt have the time to make it up, remarks Animation Director Howard Baker. We still storyboarded it so that the animation studios could start breaking down the scene down. If it was live-action, their heads would have exploded!Pivotal in visually translating Williams creative process was his condition called Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia where sounds appear as colors. Synesthesia was the one thing that unlocks this fantasy gear and was perfect for animation, Neville believes. That scene worked so well that when we showed it to people they said, I want to see that movie. Given a visual representation are the catchy musical beats that are the foundation of the Williams songs. I had three people who I worked quite closely throughout the show, and we felt that the film needed a LEGO hook, Baker recalls. We always had big bowls of LEGO and LEGO toys in our story room and were playing around with them. We started making these things saying, This is like this or that sound. We made a whole bunch of them, and our producers in India created them in CG. We sent them over to Pharrells company, i am Other, and they had ideas and reasons why things didnt work. Each beat ended up having a specific personality.When Gwen Stefani talked to director/writer Neville, she was already animated and quite over the top, so using her interview as actual dialogue felt natural.Some of the dialogue for Snoop Dogg came from a podcast he did with Pharrell Williams.Interviews rather than scripted dialogue drive the narrative. Whenever I was doing interviews, I would ask, What did the room look like? What did you and they say? Neville explains. In the case of Pharrells grandmother, she is gone, so he got his aunt to do the voice, but we didnt script anything. Even the banter between Pharrell and Snoop Dogg came from a podcast they had done together, and suddenly you can transform that anywhere, like backstage at the concert. There was that playfulness of being in moments more rather than just narrate something with pictures. We could time travel in a way through the film, which you cant do in documentaries but easily can do in animation.Rather than making everything perfect, which is possible in animation, an effort was made to incorporate mistakes that would appear in a live-action documentary.Some of interviewees were a nature fit while others required editorial assistance when it came to timing. When N.O.R.E. and Gwen Stefani were talking to Morgan, they were already animated and quite over the top, so using their interview as actual dialogue felt natural, Baker notes. But then Teddy Riley didnt seem quite as natural; his acting felt like it might turn out to be stiff; however, it ends up becoming the character. The director is part of the cast. My mini-me is the prefect pasty, disheveled, bespectacled documentary filmmaker that I am! Morgan laughs. My hair has gotten much whiter than it was at the time. Everyone had opinions about the design of their LEGO persona to varying degrees. Because Pharrell was such a main character, it took a long time for us to get there, Baker states. Missy Elliott was involved in the design of her character, which is one of the most successful because she was in there pointing out things to do to make her feel comfortable. No Doubt was easy about their caricatures; they saw one version, gave some notes, and that was that.[W]e didnt script anything. Even the banter between Pharrell and Snoop Dogg came from a podcast they had done together, and suddenly you can transform that anywhere, like backstage at the concert. There was that playfulness of being in moments more rather than just narrate something with pictures. We could time travel in a way through the film, which you cant do in documentaries but easily can do in animation.Morgan Neville, Producer/Director/WriterA conscious decision was made not to have a production designer developing a unifying look. I wanted all the different designers to bring what they thought it should look like into the picture so all of these places end up having a natural personality that was different, remarks Baker, who was based at Pure Imagination Studios. Set and environmental designs were divided between Tongal and Zebu Animation Studios. Zebu Animation Studios and CDW Studios each did one-third of the animation, and the remainder was completed by animators hired by Pure Imagination Studios, who were already proficient in the LEGO stop-motion animation style. There were definitely studios we knew were better at certain things, Neville observes. CDW Studios was good at water, and the water effects are amazing. There were definitely animators who were good at base animation, and we gave them the close-up scenes.Daft Punk was very particular about the design of their LEGO persona.Real footage was shot of Pharrell Williams returning to his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, which in turn inspired the animation for the scene.Piece by Piece may be best described as creative nonfiction.The scene that served as a proof of concept was when high school student Pharrell Williams listens to I Wish by Stevie Wonder for the first time on a ghetto blaster.A point of reference for the camera style and lensing was Moonlight.Unlike animation, where everything is created from scratch, documentaries need to adapt to real settings and circumstances. We did a lot of things that were common in documentaries that are uncommon in animation, like montaging through space and time, Neville states. My sense is that the big LEGO movies have some giant incredible anchor sets that they live in a lot, and we were constantly skipping through space and time from location to location. The number of sets we had would dwarf what you would normally find in LEGO movie. In a way, it wasnt about building all of these amazing castles. We just need to capture the essence of different places and times. Teddys studio, Virginia Beach and New York each have a feel.Five years was spent making Piece by Piece, which is not uncommon for an animated feature.Animation allowed for a deeper exploration of the characters, such as Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams.The aspect ratio was 2.39:1. The film that I talked about the most in terms of the look was Moonlight because I love the cinematography, and it has this warm, funky anamorphic look, Neville explains. There was a unifying lens look throughout the whole film even though at times we break into these archival sections that actually have a different look. Some of the archival sections we exported from finished 4K animation onto VHS and re-imported it from VHS. I dont know if that has ever been done before! In terms of framing, we did a lot of tights and mediums because that felt cinematic.We felt that the film needed a LEGO hook. We always had big bowls of LEGO and LEGO toys in our story room and were playing around with them. We started making these things saying, This is like this or that sound. We made a whole bunch of them, and our producers in India created them in CG. We sent them over to Pharrells company, i am Other, and they had ideas and reasons why things didnt work. Each beat ended up having a specific personality.Howard Baker, Animation DirectorEarly on, a topic of conversation was the limitations of LEGO animation. A big one was dance, Neville states. LEGO figures dont bend, and there is a lot of movement in the film. We had a lot of discussions about, How do we represent dance as much as we can? Howard has a dance background and has played with this. Cracking that was a major thing for us. A 24-hour-long video of Pharrell Williams hit Happy came in handy. We watched that for many hours looking for a lot of dance references to put all over in the film, Baker reveals. Im a big believer in if you can draw it, you can probably animate it. We would draw it out and show it to the animators, and sooner or later they would give us a version of it that felt right.Getting the visual treatment were the catchy beats composed by Pharrell Williams. Here is an example of that in a sequence going from storyboard, layout, animation, ambience, lighting to final.Piece by Piece expands the boundaries of documentary filmmaking. For a long time, documentaries were seen as just journalism with pictures, Neville notes. There have been people over the decades who have pushed that, such as Erroll Morris, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders. The audience is ready and hungry for it. When I get asked, Is your film a documentary? I say, Its creative nonfiction. A documentary comes with a rulebook, and Piece by Piece is deeply faithful and truthful, but is it pure journalism? No. However, thats not what I tried to do. Its cinema first. That kind of liberation is good for filmmakers and audiences.The experience has been career-altering. Its to Pharrells credit for making this animated because animation is an emotional metaphor which allows us not be factual but at the same time make it believable, Baker remarks. You can have a singing mermaid and no one questions it. Making a story about a real persons life, then making it as emotionally visual as we get to do in animation has opened my eyes to being able to get deeper into characters and letting them tell the story. There came a point where I realized that what we do with animation is so visual and what they do now in documentary and live-action is so character-driven that I was able to bring those two things together in way that is unique and mind-boggling eye-opening.

Just over a year ago, we launched our first dedicated remote play device, PlayStation Portal remote player, with an aspiration to deliver a console-quality gaming experience on a handheld device. PS Portal was an ambitious product for us, and we have been delighted by the positive response from our fans and to see that our vision has resonated with the community.Today were pleased to announce a new system software update for PS Portal that will begin releasing starting later today (Europe release begins Wednesday), which will introduce refinements in the audio experience, including:Speaker audio output adjustment to make the volume lower when the audio level is set to minimumYou will now be able to adjust settings of your PlayStation Link device from the PS Portal Settings menu, allowing you to optimize the volume and sidetone volume.This update will also include a beta version of a new feature that many fans have been asking for support for cloud streaming on PS Portal. When the update is live, PlayStation Plus Premium members will be able to participate in a beta for cloud streaming on PS Portal, allowing select PS5 games in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog* to be streamed directly from our servers, even without a PS5 console.Since Cloud Streaming (Beta) on PS Portal is still an experimental offering, the features available during the beta period may change over time and may not reflect the final experience.Lets take a deeper look at what you can expect in this beta:Features available during the BetaStream select PS5 games in the PlayStation Plus Game CatalogOver 120 PS5 games from the PS Plus Game Catalog, including Dave the Diver, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvels Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Monster Hunter Rise, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, will be accessible on PS Portal via cloud streaming*Streaming up to 1080p/60fps**DualSense wireless controller features, including haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, speakers, touchpad (emulated on the touch screen for PS Portal), and motion sensor***PlayStation Plus Cloud storageSave data and game progress can be stored up to 100GB and will be automatically synced with your PS5 console, making it easy to switch seamlessly between local and streaming gameplay, and between multiple devices.Cloud Streaming (Beta) for PS Portal will be available through the PlayStation Plus Premium plan, which is offered in the following locations:Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.How to access Cloud Streaming (Beta)To access the beta, you will need the following:PlayStation Portal remote playerAn account for PlayStation Network****An active PlayStation Plus Premium membershipAccess to broadband internet Wi-FiTo establish a cloud streaming session: requires minimum 5Mbps of upload and download speedsTo stream at 720p: requires minimum 7 MbpsTo stream at 1080p: requires minimum 13 MbpsOnce the beta is available, you can access the beta by updating your PS Portal to the latest system software and completing the following steps:Open Quick Menu and access Settings on your PS Portal.Select the Cloud Streaming (Beta) buttonSwitch the Cloud Streaming (Beta) toggle on (this will be off by default).After youve enabled Cloud Streaming (Beta) in the settings menu, you should see a new option on the Home screen of your PS Portal that allows you to access games via cloud streaming. The beta option can be turned off any time, and your Home screen will revert back to the standard version once the option is turned off.Features not included in the BetaAs we are in the beginning stages of publicly testing cloud streaming on PS Portal, some features will not be available, such as Game Trials, streaming games purchased on PS Store, system features such as Party voice chat and game invites for select games, Create button, 3D audio, and in-game commerce.Additionally, the streaming games playable on PS Portal are limited to PS5 games, and PS4 games/PS3 games are not supported.We are always listening to your feedback, and we look forward to seeing many players participating in the beta!*Titles available in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog varies over time, region/country and plan. See https://www.playstation.com/Plus for details and updates on PlayStation Plus offerings. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose at purchase until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms**Individual game performance will vary based on the specific game being played, and the quality of connectivity in your network environment.***Haptic feedback and adaptive trigger features are only available when those features are supported by the game being played.****Cloud Streaming (Beta) is not available for child accounts.

Becoming the stuff of legend is no easy feat. But its entirely appropriate that a compelling and complex tale about vengeful vampires has not only lasted as long as it has, but triumphantly arisen from its resting place.From its popular 1996 debut, The Legacy of Kain series has a long-standing history across PlayStation, from introducing memorable characters to pioneering in 3D game design. So, with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered on its way to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Blood Omen 2 coming to PlayStation Plus Classics, its the perfect time to dig up the details on why The Legacy of Kain series has endured. As a bonus, the original developers join us to recall some relevant anecdotes on the wayPlay VideoA new gameplay video showcases Raziels otherwordly abilities in The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered.Im super proud of the way we wove our time travel plot throughout the games writing time travel stories is hard! Amy Hennig, Design Manager (Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain), Director and Lead Writer (Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2, Legacy of Kain: Defiance)1996 Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain PlayStation Silicon Knights/Crystal DynamicsAction-adventures took a turn for the macabre as The Legacy of Kain series introduced us to the shadowy world of Nosgoth. Blood Omen set the tone with Kain seeking a cure for his vampiric curse, only to slip deeper into a moral abyss.Engaging hack-and-slash gameplay mixed with magic, shapeshifting, and puzzle-layered exploration cast an intoxicating spell encased by a smart and gripping story that laid the groundwork for all that followed. So it was no surprise that the triumphant debut of the titular vampire lord was met with a craving for more. Only three years later, that craving was satisfiedIt was one of the best-looking games for PlayStation. Daniel Cabuco, lead enemy artist (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver); lead artist (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2) and art director (Legacy of Kain: Defiance)1999 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver PlayStation Crystal Dynamics/Eidos InteractiveIf Blood Omen began the crimson-stained lineage for the series in 2D, Soul Reaver took up the trail and innovated it into fully formed 3D. This time the consequences of Kains actions are directly in your hands, assuming control of the iconic Raziel, a former vampire lieutenant slain by Kain. Resurrected into a wraith, Raziel is given his mission by The Elder God to destroy Kain and restore the now-broken wasteland of Nosgoth to its former glory.The evolution into 3D allowed the series to push the boundaries of its presentation even more, especially when teamed with the already captivating narrative, which allowed players to travel between the material and spectral realms.The writing, dialogue, and incredible voice acting all took things to the next level, says Cabuco. At every point the artists, designers, musicians, and engineers asked themselves how they could make the experience better. It was an incredible moment in time where every aspect was firing on all cylinders.Its a sentiment shared by the games chief of engineering, Scott Krotz: The streaming technology we developed was great, and I think we only had one loading screen in the entire game once getting into it. The combination of solid gameplay and technology, a dark world full of interesting lore, a great story and characters, and amazing voice actors all came together to make it a pretty special game.The amazingly well directed cinematics with lip sync were simply mind blowing. Monika Erosova, head of development (Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered)2001 Soul Reaver 2 PlayStation 2 Crystal Dynamics/Eidos InteractiveAfter Soul Reaver introduced the iconic Raziel, its sequel vastly expanded on his human past, traveling through time to reveal Nosgoths secrets which have immense repercussions on not only Raziel and his home, but Kain as well.Between its combat, puzzles, and exploration, Soul Reaver 2 successfully elevated much of what made its predecessor so well received, but a particular spotlight fell on its story and characters. Amy Hennig masterfully interconnected Raziels journey back to Blood Omen, says Erosova. I enjoyed exploring the world in different eras.Soul Reaver 2 was originally supposed to be on the original PlayStation, but our team was determined to use the power of PS2 to elevate the games graphics and animation, reveals Amy Hennig, who worked as design manager on Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and director and lead writer on Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance. We ported the game onto the new hardware in a matter of weeks.2002 Blood Omen 2 PlayStation 2 Crystal Dynamics/Eidos InteractiveIn a smart connection to the time travel chaos of Soul Reaver 2, the series went back to its roots in Blood Omen 2 by exploring an alternate timeline set after the events of the very first Blood Omen. This gave players a chance to enjoy Kains undead life again, aside from his antagonistic turn in the Soul Reaver games, layering a now rich and involving lore.While paying homage to its vampiric roots where Kain is able to feed off enemies or civilians to replenish his health, novel gameplay elements like weapon durability kept the combat and challenge fresh.2003 Legacy of Kain: Defiance PlayStation 2 Crystal Dynamics/Eidos InteractiveAfter two games each where we played as Kain or Raziel, it was perhaps inevitable that wed get a chance to control both characters in the same game which is where Legacy of Kain: Defiance swooped in. Given we were revealing crucial things about our characters motivations and the world that shaped them, it was critical for us to make Kain and Raziel dual protagonists, and to cut back and forth between their playable chapters, explains Hennig.Using different abilities helped differentiate between the bitter enemies in terms of gameplay, while the story offered the now expected and satisfying philosophical pondering on determinism and morality to resolve Kain and Raziels blood-stained conflict.We wanted to tell a great, complex story with flawed but compelling characters in a captivating and original world, says Hennig. Its incredibly gratifying to see how formative and indelible these games and stories have been for our audience.Youll be able to get a taste of the series lasting legacy when Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Blood Omen 2 arrive on PlayStation Plus Premium November 19, and when Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered hits PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on December 10.

In Fields of Mistria, there are quite a few romanceable characters that you can woo by giving gifts to. Youll run into these characters in your day-to-day and those wanting to rush to that romance will need to know exactly what to give them.It should be noted that while there are romance candidates who will speak a bit flirtily to you, there is currently no dating or marriage in this early access stage of the game. Romance candidates have special cutscenes that unlock once you reach a certain number of hearts with them, but thats it for now. More cutscenes, dating, marriage, and even having children are all features planned for future updates.As of the patch 0.12.0 update, you can invite romance candidates to the Shooting Star Festival on Summer 28 if you have four or more hearts with them, but you cannot progress past having six hearts with them. (Note that in order to do this, youll need to complete the Beautification Project quest first.)Below we list out all of the available romance options in Fields of Mistria, as well as some of the easiest-to-get early-game items to give them to win them over. Note that our list is not a complete list of their liked and loved items, but rather a list of the items that you can obtain earlier than other items.Fields of Mistria marriage candidates and easy giftsAs of this writing, there are 10 romance candidates in Fields of Mistria, though more have been teased to be added later.AdelineAdeline is effectively the one in charge of Mistria, being the daughter of the barons of the town. Shes the one who sends you tasks to help restore the town.Early in the game, you can give her tulips (spring) and peaches (summer), to boost your relationship with her. You can forage tulips around the map and peaches grow on a tree in The Narrows.She loves peaches and cream, which is made from peaches (foraged during summer), milk, and sugar. (Her brother, Eiland, also likes peaches and cream, so stocking up on them would help for both of them!) She also loves coffee, which you can buy from Balors cart or the Sleeping Dragons Inn for 100 Tesserae, depending on their stock for the day. You can also buy it from Darcy during the Saturday Market.BalorBalor is a cunning traveling merchant who helps you ship out your items.Early on, you can give Balor rubies, which are found in the early floors of the mines (floors 1-19). He also likes sapphires, and emeralds, the other gems found in later floors.For a slightly more advanced gift, he also loves perfect versions of the above gemstones, like perfect rubies, perfect sapphires, and the like.CelineCeline is a gentle girl who studies plants and loves nature. Shes also the daughter of the general store owners.Celine likes flowers, making her one of the easiest characters to build a relationship with. She likes every flower you can forage, including lilacs, tulips, dandelions, and daisies which you should find tons of in spring and summer.She loves hydrangeas, which grow commonly during the summer on the Eastern Road map, east of Mistria.EilandEiland is the son of the towns barons, and hes more focused on archaeology than his sister. Hes often helping out at the museum.Unfortunately, Eiland is one of the harder marriage candidates to sway as he really only likes and loves cooked foods. He likes candied strawberries, which you can cook using strawberries (grown in the spring) and sugar. You can also buy them from Balors cart randomly for 250 Tesserae.Eiland loves strawberry shortcake, which doesnt unlock as a recipe until quite a bit later, but you can buy it from Balors cart and the Sleeping Dragon Inn randomly for 600 Tesserae each.HaydenHayden is your neighbor to the west of your farm who also owns a farm. He specializes in animal care and youll buy animals through him.All that said, Hayden likes most animal byproducts, including eggs, cow milk, butter, and cheese all items you can get pretty early on if you start ranching animals.Hayden loves the perfect versions of the above products, meaning that giving him gifts that he loves is a little bit harder, but once your animals start producing things like golden eggs and golden cow milk, you should be able to win over his heart easily. Once you start collecting shiny beads from caring from animals (requiring you to unlock the Currency of Care ranching skill), you can trade these beads to the chicken statue by Haydens house for a chance to get these golden items, which will help you get them much earlier than you would normally.JuniperJuniper is a sorceress who runs the bathhouse in mistria. She also helps you figure out some of the mysteries behind the towns magic (or lack thereof).She likes witchy things, like frogs and mushrooms. The easiest things to obtain to give to her are red toadstools, which can be obtained from killing the red mushroom enemies on the early floors of the mines (floors 1-19). She also likes monster powder, which also drop from mine enemies.On the flip side, Junipers loved items are a bit harder. The earliest recipe that you can cook up for her that she loves is moon fruit cake, which unlocks after you complete a request for Juniper in which she asks for moon fruit. Moon fruit is only foraged during fall, so stock up while you can. She also loves crystal roses, which are a foragable found in the deep earth section of the mines (floors 41-59).MarchMarch is a bit of a grumpy pants and hes the towns blacksmith. Youll see him and his older brother frequently around town.Hes yet another marriage candidate that is pretty simple to appease to he likes ores and ingots, which you should have plenty of if youve been in the mines. Any of the ores and ingots will work.He loves perfect ores, like perfect copper ore, so if you have extra, you can use those, too.ReinaReina is the daughter of the inn-owner and she helps her family run said inn. Shes the head chef at the inn and shes a bit of a foodie.Most of her likes involve food, but she does appreciate some of the more simple ingredients, like cheese, flour, rice, and sugar. That being said, youll need the mill unlocked to process milk, wheat, rice stalks, and sugar cane, respectively or you can buy sugar for 115 Tesserae from the general store.Reina is yet another candidate that mainly takes interest in food, so her loved items can be hard to obtain. The earliest recipe that you can get is cabbage slaw, which requires cabbage (grown in spring) and fennel (foraged in spring). She also loves breaded catfish, which isnt too bad to make once you unlock the recipe via the notice board quest.RyisRyis is a carpenter/woodworker who helps you build barns, expand your house, and any of that good stuff.His liked items are pretty simple and easy to obtain: wood, clay, and stone. If youve cleared out the debris on your farm even a little bit, you probably have lots of this stuff, so you should consider giving some to Ryis if you want to win his heart over.Most of Ryis loved items are golden versions of food and animal byproducts, but he also loves hard wood, which you can get from axing those huge stumps you see around Mistria (and on your farm). You will need at least a copper axe to cut these, though.ValenValen is the town doctor, who you actually wont see very often as long as youre playing it safe and going to bed by 2 a.m.Shes a bit harder to appease with her liked items. The easiest thing to give her is seaweed, which can be found by diving in the ocean on those dark bubbling spots that show up. She also likes dandelions, which can be foraged during the spring.Just like some of the others, her loved items are mostly cooked dishes. We recommend deep sea soup, which is made from three items you can find on the middling floors of the mines (floors 21-39): jade dulse, mines mussels, and underseaweed.

Sony is looking to purchase Japanese media conglomerate Kadokawa, according to two anonymous sources who spoke with Reuters. This acquisition could have major implications across industries, as Kadokawa owns publishers in print media, anime, and gaming. It may create stronger international opportunities for tabletop designers impacted by potential U.S. tariffs and the EUs soon-to-be-implemented general product safety regulations. However, with a few years of big name acquisitions and mergers that have led to unprecedented layoffs across the gaming sector, and Kadokawas recent history of scandals of its own, its unclear what impact the potential purchase may have on the up-and-coming Japanese tabletop industry.The acquisition comes after the increasing popularity of analog gaming of all kinds in Japan. While tabletop might be only a fraction of what Kadokawa has to offer, according to a report by the Tokyo-based Yano Research institute, the Japanese domestic market for tabletop games and card games doubled from 54 billion yen (approximately $382 million) in 2018 to 115 billion yen ($814 million) in 2022, with that number only projected to increase in the years since. Tabletop games of Kadokawas intellectual properties like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Bloodborne each crowdfunded at least $3 million. These campaigns, run by Steamforged Games and CMON respectively, highlight the buying power of the international tabletop ecosystem especially when paired with popular IPs. This rapid growth also inspired Kadokawas recent acquisition of Arclight, one of the biggest players in Japans tabletop industry.Arclight, which launched in 1998, was initially created to organize the Japan Game Convention and has been publishing tabletop games since 1999. After opening its first retail store in 2003, it began importing international games and localizing them for a Japanese market. In 2010, Arclight took over management of the triannual Game Market, another large analog gaming convention, which had previously been operated by an all-volunteer team.In April 2024, Arclight announced it had been acquired by Kadokawa a company which, two years prior, saw its founders son step down as chairman after a bribery indictment connected to the Tokyo Olympics. In Kadokawas announcement, Arclight president and CEO Kosuke Fukumoto said for the analog games industry to continue its trajectory of growth, it is necessary to expand overseas and link with IP, and that Kadokawa had the capabilities to enable that growth. In the same announcement, Kadokawa chief publishing officer cited Kadokawas long history of publishing analog games, invoking their release of Sword World in 1989 and the Japanese tradition of light novels, which stem from early RPG replays. Kadokawa believed that the acquisition would have a minor impact on Arclight, and that its business operations will remain unchanged even after this share transfer.Two months later, Kadokawa was hit by a ransomware cyberattack that leaked a quarter of a million peoples data. The Russian-linked hacker collective BlackSuit claimed responsibility for the attack. With only seven months between the initial purchase and potential sale, mired down by the attack, its unclear how consistent those business operations can stay if Sony does follow through with this acquisition. From one perspective, the influx of capital and resources could be a boon to the nascent industry as it develops ties outside of the U.S.-dominated tabletop industry by focusing on developing popular IPs. From another, more cautious one, the secondary acquisition of Arclight by a major media conglomerate could conflict with the companys stated objectives. Rather than simply pursuing product sales and profits, a translated version of Arclights website says, we aim to expand our business performance by expanding human communication, and thereby contribute to the profits of not only our company but also society.

As I sit down to write this article, I cant help but marvel at the incredible changes sweeping through our industry. For the first time in my career, I feel like were no longer limited by our technology but by our imagination. Well, almost. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the web design landscape in ways we could only dream of a few years ago, and Im excited to share with you how its supercharging our productivity across various aspects of our work.AI Is A Partner, Not A CompetitorNow, before we dive in, let me assure you: AI isnt here to replace us. At least, not for a while yet. There are still crucial areas where human expertise reigns supreme. AI struggles with strategic planning that considers the nuances of human behavior and market trends. It cant match our emotional intelligence when navigating client relationships and team dynamics. And when it comes to creative thinking that pushes boundaries and creates truly innovative solutions, we humans still have the upper hand.But heres the exciting part: AI is becoming an invaluable tool thats supercharging our productivity. Think of it as having a highly capable intern at your disposal. As the Nielsen Norman Group aptly put it in their article AI as an Intern, we need to approach AI tools with the right mindset. Double-check their work, use them for initial drafts rather than final products, and provide specific instructions and relevant context.The key to harnessing AIs power lies in working with it collaboratively.Dont expect perfect results on the first try. Instead, engage in a back-and-forth conversation, refining the AI output through iteration. This process of continuous improvement is where AI truly shines, dramatically speeding up our workflow.Lets explore how AI is reshaping different areas of our industry, looking at some of the many tools available to us.AI In Design: Unleashing Creativity And EfficiencyIn the realm of design, AI is proving to be a game-changer. Its particularly adept at:Collaborating on layout;Generating the perfect image;Refining and adapting existing imagery.Take AI in Figma, for instance. Its become my go-to for generating dummy content and tidying up my layers. The time saved on these mundane tasks allows me to focus more on the creative aspects of design.Generative imagery tools like Krea, which uses Flux, have revolutionized how we source visuals. Gone are the days of endlessly scrolling through stock libraries. Now, we can describe exactly what we need, and AI will create it for us. This level of customization and specificity is a game changer for creating unique, on-brand visuals.Relume is another tool Ive found incredibly useful. Its great for a collaborative back-and-forth over designs or for quickly putting together designs for smaller sites. The ability to iterate rapidly with AI assistance has significantly sped up my design process.And lets not forget about Adobe. Their upcoming tools, such as lighting matching for composite images, are set to take our design capabilities to new heights. If you want to see more of whats on the horizon, I highly recommend checking out the latest Adobe Max presentations.AI In Coding: Boosting Developer ProductivityThe impact of AI on coding is nothing short of revolutionary. According to a McKinsey study, developers using AI tools performed coding tasks like code generation, refactoring, and documentation 20%-50% faster on average compared to those not using AI tools. Thats a significant productivity boost!AI is helping developers in several key areas:Coding faster;Debugging more efficiently;Automatically generating code comments;Writing basic code.To put this into perspective, AI now writes 25% of the code at Google. Thats a staggering figure from one of the worlds leading tech companies.Tools like Cursor AI and GitHub Copilot are at the forefront of this revolution, offering features such as:AI pair programming with predictive code edits;Natural language code editing;Chat interfaces for asking questions and getting help.Ive personally been amazed by what ChatGPT 01-Preview can do. Ive used it to build simple WordPress plugins in minutes, tasks that would have taken me significantly longer in the past.AI In UX: Enhancing User Research And AnalysisIn the field of User Experience (UX), AI is opening up new possibilities for research and analysis. Its allowing us to:Conduct user research at scale;Analyze open-ended qualitative feedback;Query analytic data using natural language;Predict user behavior.Ive found ChatGPT to be an invaluable tool for data analysis, particularly when it comes to making sense of analytics and survey responses. It can quickly identify patterns and insights that might take us hours to uncover manually.Tools like Strella are pushing the boundaries of whats possible in user research. AI can now perform user interviews at scale, allowing us to gather insights from a much larger pool of users than ever before.Attention Insight is another fascinating tool. It uses AI to predict where people will look on a page, providing valuable data for optimizing layouts and user interfaces.Microsoft Clarity has also upped its game, allowing us to ask questions about our analytic insights, heatmaps, and session recordings. This natural language interface makes it easier than ever to extract meaningful insights from our data.AI In Copywriting: Elevating Content Quality And EfficiencyWhen it comes to copywriting, AI is proving to be a powerful ally. Its helping us:Transform poor-quality stakeholder content into web-optimized copy;Brainstorm value propositions and create high-converting copy;Craft compelling business cases and strategy documentation;Write standard operating procedures.Notion AI has become one of my go-to tools for content creation. It combines the best of ChatGPT and Claude, allowing it to draw upon a wide range of provided source material to write detailed documentation, articles, and reports.ChatGPT has been a game-changer for improving the quality of website copy. It can take user questions and bullet-point answers from subject specialists and transform them into web-optimized content. Ive found it particularly useful for defining value propositions and writing high-converting copy.For refining existing content, the Hemingway Editor is invaluable. It can take the existing copy and make it clearer, more concise, and easier to scan essential qualities for effective web content.AI In Administration: Streamlining Mundane TasksAI isnt just transforming the technical aspects of our work; its also making a significant impact on those mundane administrative tasks that often eat up our time. By leveraging AI, we can streamline various aspects of our daily workflow, allowing us to focus more on high-value activities.Here are some ways AI is helping us tackle administrative tasks more efficiently:Getting our thoughts down faster;Writing better emails;Summarizing long emails or Slack threads;Speeding up research;Backing up arguments with relevant data.Let me share some personal experiences with AI tools that have transformed my administrative workflow:Ive dramatically increased my writing speed using Flow. This tool has taken me from typing at 49 words per minute to dictating at over 95 words per minute. Not only does it allow me to dictate, but it also tidies up my words to ensure they read well and are grammatically correct.For email writing, Ive found Fixkey to be invaluable. It helps me rewrite or reformat copy quickly. Ive even set up a prompt that tones down my emails when Im feeling particularly irritable, ensuring they sound reasonable and professional.Dealing with long email threads or Slack conversations can be time-consuming. Thats where Spark comes in handy. It summarizes lengthy threads, saving me valuable time. Interestingly, this feature is now built into iOS for all notifications, making it even more accessible.When it comes to research, Google Notebook LLM has been a game-changer. I can feed it large amounts of data on a subject and quickly extract valuable insights. This tool has significantly sped up my research process.Lastly, if I need to back up an argument with a statistic or quote, Perplexity has become my go-to resource. It quickly finds relevant sources I can quote, adding credibility to my work without the need for extensive manual searches.Conclusion: Embracing AI For A More Productive FutureAs I wrap up this article, I realize Ive only scratched the surface of what AI can do for our industry. The real challenge isnt in the technology itself but in breaking out of our established routines and taking the time to experiment with whats possible.I believe we need to cultivate a new habit: pausing before each new task to consider how AI could help us approach it differently. The winners in this new reality will be those who can best integrate this technology into their workflow.AI isnt replacing us its empowering us to work smarter and more efficiently. By embracing these tools and learning to collaborate effectively with AI, we can focus more on the aspects of our work that truly require human creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking.If youre feeling overwhelmed by the rapid pace of change, dont worry. Were all learning and adapting together. Remember, the goal isnt to become an AI expert overnight but to gradually incorporate these tools into your work in ways that make sense for you and your projects.