Hideki Kamiya's "artistic spirit would die" had he stayed at Platinum GamesPlus the meaning behind new Okami studio Clovers.Image credit: Clovers News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Dec. 16, 2024 Hideki Kamiya has stated if he'd continued working for Platinum Games his "artistic spirit [would] die".The former Platinum vice-president has launched a new studio with another former Platinum employee, Kaneto Koyama, as discussed in a new interview with Japanese outlet denfaminicogamer.The pair have set up Clovers, which will develop a sequel to the much-loved Okami, originally developed by Kamiya at Clover Studio.Okami sequel - Project Teaser TrailerWatch on YouTube"This is purely my personal opinion, but I thought, 'If I continue working here, my artistic spirit will die'," said Kamiya on his reasons for leaving Platinum last year (via machine translation)."I can understand the way PlatinumGames is as a company and its logic, and I was in the position of vice president myself, but as an individual named Hideki Kamiya, I was unable to embrace that way of thinking."As vice president, Kamiya was "field-first" at Platinum Games - he described himself as the muscle and CEO Atsushi Inaba as the brains."The signals sent from the cerebrum are essential for muscles," Kamiya continued. "At the same time, those signals must be reliable for muscles. Until then, I had received those signals, trusted them, and worked to maximize my own strength...but with regards to the future direction of Platinum with Inaba at the helm, I was no longer able to place my trust in them and exert my strength as a muscle."Kamiya has been quite vocal about his decision to leave Platinum Games, previously stating there were issues of "trust".He then launched a YouTube channel where he discussed his next project. "I already have a clear idea in mind," he said. "I would like to translate this vision in my head into a full proposal as soon as I am able to do so. And of course, I also have an idea of what I can do to make the project a reality. But if you ask me specifically what kind of game it will be, all I can say at this stage is, 'It'll be a Hideki Kamiya game'."It's unclear if that project is the new Okami sequel, announced as in-development at this year's The Game Awards last week. Teaser artwork for the Okami sequel | Image credit: CloversIn this new interview, Kamiya and Koyama explained the Clovers name of the new studio. It's been interpreted as "C lovers", with four Cs relating to the four leaves of a clover.Only three Cs are set in stone though: challenge, creativity, and craftsmanship. The fourth C is for employees to decide upon themselves.In a previous interview, Kamiya stated Okami's sales were a "huge failure" and that had the game been more successful Clover Studio probably would have continued.Little is known about the new Okami game, beyond the above teaser image.

Black Myth: Wukong producer on The Game Awards top prize snub: "I came all the way here for nothing!"Still won two awards.Image credit: Game Science News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Dec. 16, 2024 Black Myth: Wukong producer and Game Science CEO Feng Ji has posted a lengthy statement following the action game's apparent snub for the top prize at this year's The Game Awards."The games nominated this year were all exceptional, but honestly, I still can't figure out what the criteria were for Game of the Year. I feel like I came all the way here for nothing!" he wrote in a post on Weibo (translated on reddit).Black Myth: Wukong did come away with the Best Action Game and Players' Voice awards, so he didn't leave empty handed.Black Myth: Wukong - Confront DestinyWatch on YouTube"Since last night, I've seen a lot of strong dissatisfaction and frustration in players' comments - often expressed humorously or ironically, which made me laugh," the producer continued."I completely understand these feelings and share the frustration, because behind these emotions lies not pain or malice, but dignity and confidence."Feng Ji even admitted he wrote his Game of the Year acceptance speech two years ago, "only to never get the chance to deliver it".It's unclear how joking he has been in his statement, especially considering the machine translation, but some have read it as rather salty. Eurogamer has contacted Game Science for further comment.The producer continued to express his confidence in the game and his hopes the success of Black Myth Wukong is the beginning of a new wave of high-quality, engaging games from Chinese developers.Former Sony Santa Monica writer Alanah Pearce shared in a stream she witnessed a person from the Game Science team crying in the audience when the game didn't win. "It clearly meant a lot to them, they did an amazing thing, but I did find that surprising," said Pearce.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Black Myth: Wukong lost out to Astro Bot for the Game of the Year award, which also won Best Game Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, and Best Family Game. Balatro and Metaphor: ReFantazio also came away with multiple awards.An update for Black Myth: Wukong released last week ahead of the awards, finally bringing a much-requested map, as well as a boss rush challenge mode.Its Xbox release is still unknown.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereFor many players, myself included, walking through the zone from mission to mission is one of the best parts of Stalker 2. While there is a paid fast travel system in Heart of Chornobyl, some players who dont vibe with the games unforgiving nature have been craving a proper fast travel option.Created by modder Iopsi, the new Stalker 2 Fast Travel Anywhere mod allows you to avoid paying guides for their services. Instead, once the mod is installed, players can simply click a spot on the games substantial open-world map and zip there without a moments notice.Fast Travel Mod for Stalker 2Uploaded to Nexus Mods earlier this month, the new Stalker 2 mod has been downloaded by thousands of players in just over a week. At the time of writing, the modification for GSC Game Worlds open-world survival game has been downloaded over 10,000 times.The Fast Travel Anywhere mod does exactly what it claims to do. Using the in-game PDA, players can now mark a location they wish to travel to and warp there without any fees attached. The new mod uses coordinates marked on the in-game map to warp players to the approximate position in-game. However, sometimes this may result in players being stuck in a wall.Players using the mod have reported issues with the add-on not taking them right to where they want to go. However, this may be due to a development quirk where the player location and the map cursor are not one to one with each.Of course, this isnt the intended way to play any game in the Stalker franchise, although Stalker 2 does have the biggest map in series history. Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl may have major issues with its broken A-Life system, but traversing its vast world on foot is still one of the best parts of the game.Theres nothing like trundling through the Zone, scraping past patrols of rival stalkers and wandering into an emission. While fast travel might be a fun addition for those who dont want to spend hours slowly exploring, it does remove one of the best parts about actually playing Stalker 2.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylPlatform(s):PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Adventure, RPG, Shooter, Survival HorrorSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Chinese developer Game Science did something extraordinary in 2024, releasing the first major Chinese AAA game across PC and console. While Black Myth Wukong was nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, PlayStations first-party platformer Astro Bot took home the win.According to ex-Sony Santa Monica developer and front-row attendee of The Game Awards, Black Myth Wukong developer Game Science responded to their loss with tears, being visibly upset at their loss to the platforming game.Black Myth Wukong devs cryIn a recent livestream, ex-games journalist, former Funhaus star, Cyberpunk 2077 voice actress, and ex-Sony Santa Moncia writer Alanah Pearce revealed that the team behind Black Myth Wukong were unhappy at their loss during The Game Awards 2024.I was in the front row this year, Pearce said. It was my first time being in the front row. I was like, Wow, thanks Geoff, great seats. But being in the front row means that you can see all of the actually important people.Pearce explained that she was sat with the first-party PlayStation crew in the same row as the rest of the Game of the Year Award nominees teams. As the Game of the Year award was announced with Astro Bot as the winner, the team representing Black Myth Wukong burst into tears.The Black Myth Wukong team, I dont know which person on the team, was crying when Astro Bot got Game of the Year, she revealed. I could see him, just looking down the line, which is the first time Ive ever seen anything like that because generally everyone is just like, the Game Awards dont mean that much, but, yeah, the Wukong team were crying when they did not win.Pearce explained that the award clearly meant a lot to the Black Myth team and admitted that they did an amazing thing. She explained that the team were definitely upset that they didnt win which is also fair. However, the whole event took her by surprise after multiple years of attending the awards.Devs wrote their acceptance speech years before releaseFollowing the events of The Game Awards 2024, Game Science founder Feng Ji took to Chinese social media platform Weibo to discuss the situation with fans. In the posttranslated via Google Translate (sorry), Ji explained that he has already written the teams Game of the Year acceptance speech two years ago, long before the game released, and was upset by the result.The games nominated this year are all excellent, but I really dont understand the selection criteria for this years Game of the Year. I came here for nothing! the developer said.The speech for the annual game was written two years ago, but it was not used, Ji revealed. During development of this game, many colleagues were not as optimistic as I was. They may have played too many intermediate versions, so they inevitably felt that this game still had too many flaws and it was unlikely to be launched on time One of my main jobs in the company is to constantly comfort them that we have done a good job.Black Myth Wukong was just one game in a list of other great titles. Alongside the brilliant Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the fantastic Astro Bot, the indie hit Balatro, Metaphor Refantazio and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Black Myth should be proud to stand alongside such amazing games. Maybe Black Myth 2: Wukong Harder can take the win whenever that releases. Black Myth: WukongPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, RPGSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Blender Reel: ESE Club/Studio 2024 By Bart on December 16, 2024 Video Here's a great showcase of Blender work by a group of middle and high school students from Japan.Hello everyone! We are a group of junior high school students who will be introducing video works and tutorials created using 3DCG creation tools such as Blender. All of the first-year students will graduate and become members of ESE-Studio.This video is a ShowReel summarizing their work in 2024.Hat tip to Dampuzakura for sharing this.

60 Minutes OvertimeAI was used to turn a teen's photo into a nude image. Now the teen is fighting for change to protect other kids.Fake nudes generated by AI causing real harm Francesca Mani was 14-years-old when her name was called over the loudspeaker at Westfield High School in New Jersey. She headed to the principal's office, where she learned that a picture of her had been turned into a nude image using artificial intelligence.Mani had never heard of a "nudify" website or app before. When she left the principal's office, she said that she saw a group of boys laughing at a group of girls that were crying."And that's when I realized I should stop crying and that I should be mad, because this is unacceptable," Mani said.What happened to Francesca ManiMani was sitting in her high school history class last October when she heard a rumor that some boys had naked photos of female classmates. She soon learned that she and several other girls at Westfield High School had been targeted.Schools face a new threat: "nudify" sites that use AI to create realistic, revealing images of classmatesAccording to a lawsuit later filed by one of the other victims through her parents, a boy at the school had uploaded photos from Instagram to a site called Clothoff, which is one of the most popular "nudify" websites. 60 Minutes has decided to name the site to raise awareness of its potential dangers. There were more than 3 million visits to Clothoff last month alone, according to Graphika, a company that analyzes social networks. The website offers to "nudify" both males and females, but female nudes are far more popular.Dorota Mani and Francesca Mani 60 Minutes Visitors to the website can upload a photo, or get a free demonstration, in which an image of a woman appears with clothes on, then appears naked just seconds later. The results look very real.Clothoff users are told they need to be 18 or older to enter the site and that they can't use other people's photos without permission. The website claims "processing of minors is impossible," but no one at the company responded when 60 Minutes emailed asking for evidence of that in addition to many other questions.Mani never saw what had been done to her photo, but according to that same lawsuit, at least one student's AI nude was shared on Snapchat and seen by several kids at school.The way Mani found out about her photo made it even worse, she said. She recalled how she and the other girls were called by name to the principal's office over the school's public address system."I feel like that was a major violation of our privacy while, like, the bad actors were taken out of their classes privately," she said.That afternoon, Westfield's principal sent an email to parents informing them "some of our students had used artificial intelligence to create pornographic images from original photos." The principal also said the school was investigating and "at this time we believe that any created images have been deleted and are not being circulated."Fake images, real harmMani's mother Dorota, who's also an educator, was not convinced. She worries that nothing that has been shared online is ever truly deleted."Who printed? Who screenshotted? Who downloaded? You can't really wipe it out," she said.The school district would not confirm any details about the photos, the students involved or disciplinary action to 60 Minutes. In a statement, the superintendent said the district revised its Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying policy to incorporate AI, something the Manis say they spent months urging school officials to do.Francesca Mani feels the girls who were targeted paid a bigger price than the boy or boys who created the images."Because they just have to live with knowing that maybe an image is floating, their image is floating around the internet," she said. "And they just have to deal with what the boys did."Dorota Mani said that she filed a police report, but no charges have been brought.Yiota Souras is chief legal officer at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Her organization works with tech companies to flag inappropriate content on their sites. She says that while the images created on AI "nudify" sites are fake, the damage they can cause to victims is real."They'll suffer, you know, mental health distress and reputational harm," Souras said. "In a school setting it's really amplified, because one of their peers has created this imagery. So there's a loss of confidence. A loss of trust."Fighting for change60 Minutes found nearly 30 similar cases in schools in the U.S. over the last 20 months, along with additional cases around the world.In at least three of those cases, Snapchat was reportedly used to circulate AI nudes. One parent told 60 Minutes it took over eight months to get the accounts that had shared the images taken down. According to Souras, a lack of responsiveness to victims is a recurring problem the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sees across tech companies."That isn't the way it should be. Right? I mean, a parent whose child has exploitative or child pornography images online should not have to rely on reaching out to a third party, and having them call the tech company. The tech company should be assuming responsibility immediately to remove that content," she said.Yiota Souras, chief legal officer at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, speaks with Anderson Cooper 60 Minutes 60 Minutes asked Snapchat about the parent who said the company didn't respond to her for eight months. A Snapchat spokesperson said they have been unable to locate her request and said, in part: "We have efficient mechanisms for reporting this kind of content." The spokesperson went on to say that Snapchat has "zero-tolerance policy for such content" and "...act[s] quickly to address it once reported."The Department of Justice says AI nudes of minors are illegal under federal child pornography laws if they depict what's defined as "sexually explicit conduct." But Souras is concerned some images created by "nudify" sites may not meet that definition.In the year since Francesca Mani found out she was targeted, she and her mom, Dorota, have encouraged schools to implement policies around AI. They've also worked with members of Congress to try and pass a number of federal bills. One of those bills, the Take It Down Act, which is co-sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz and Amy Klobuchar, made it through the Senate earlier this month and is now awaiting a vote in the House. It would create criminal penalties for sharing AI nudes and would require social media companies to take photos down within 48 hours of getting a request.More from CBS NewsAnderson CooperAnderson Cooper, anchor of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," has contributed to 60 Minutes since 2006. His exceptional reporting on big news events has earned Cooper a reputation as one of television's preeminent newsmen.

Two arrested after 'hazardous drone operation' near Boston airportEPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockFile photo of a plane taking off from Logan International Airport in BostonTwo people have been arrested after allegedly conducting a "hazardous drone operation" near the airspace of the US city of Boston's main airport, police said.Robert Duffy, 42, and Jeremy Folcik, 32, were arrested on Long Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands, on Saturday night.They were charged with trespassing and police said they may face further counts and fines over the drones, which were "dangerously close" to Logan International Airport.Their arrests follow a series of drone sightings across the US north-east in recent weeks. Police have given no indication that the sightings are connected to these arrests.Police said the incident in Boston occurred at 16:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Saturday when a police officer detected a drone operating "dangerously close" to Logan International Airport.Police said they identified the drone's location and tracked the operators' position to a decommissioned health campus on Long Island. Because of the drone's proximity to an airport, FBI counter-terrorism agents helped the investigation.What we know about the mysterious drones buzzing over New JerseyWhen officers arrived on the scene, police said three people attempted to flee, two of whom - Mr Duffy and Mr Folcik - were apprehended. A drone was discovered in a backpack carried by Mr Duffy, police said.The third suspect is believed to have fled the island in a small vessel and has not so far been found.It was not immediately clear whether Mr Duffy and Mr Folcik had legal representation. Police said they were yet to be arraigned. US government officials have been seeking to reassure residents of the north-east that no national or public security threats have been identified in the hundreds of drone sightings.Flying objects have been reported in states including New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts, but most of the sightings have been in New Jersey.Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News on Sunday the federal government was working in "close co-ordination" with state and local authorities on the issue.He said it was "critical" they be given the ability to counter drone activity under federal supervision.Mayorkas said the rise in drone sightings could be down to a change in federal law last year that allows the aircraft to be flown at night."That may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk," he said.He also said he knew of "no foreign involvement" in drone sightings around the US north-east.New York Governor Kathy Hochul has called for Congress to grant states more powers to tackle the drones, which forced runways at Stewart Airfield in the state to shut down for about an hour on Friday night. She said on Sunday that federal officials were sending a drone detection system to New York.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has requested that the technology also be sent to New Jersey.

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Global Goblin GrindDiablo 4's final event of the year has the entire community chasing Treasure Goblins for some cool rewardsDiablo 4 is just about ready to wrap up 2024, and it's going to do so with a very on-theme event.Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment. News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on Dec. 16, 2024 Diablo 4 is ending whats been its best year yet on a high note with one final event thats going to involve all players. Rather than the usual style of live event, this one features multiple tiers that can only be unlocked through the communitys collective effort.The goal of this one is to kill as many Treasure Goblins as possible all across the games Sanctuary world map.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The Slay Ride to Hell event has five tiers in total. The more Treasure Goblins the Diablo 4 community kills, the higher through the tiers we all get. With every tier reached, all players will be able to claim reward caches from the Goblin Square in Kyovashad, and Vessel of Hatred owners will get more caches.It all kicks off tomorrow, December 17 at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm UK. The event will continue into the new year, before it wraps up on January 2.The requirements may initially appear a bit high, but considering that millions of players will be contributing to the goal, its likely going to go by very quickly. If tiers 3-5 are reached, the in-game shop will have some limited-time cosmetics, too. The final tier is, obviously, the one we all want, because it rewards a Resplendent Spark - one of the rarest items in the game. Don't let him portla out! | Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment.Blizzard is also bringing back a number of live events to run alongside the big Treasure Goblin chase. Mothers Blessing, which boosts XP and Gold earned, will be active December 17 to January 2. The bonus, as always, stacks with elixirs and any other Urns you may have activated in the battle pass.To make things even more interesting for new and lapsed players, the Spiritborn trial will return December 19 - January 3, giving anyone who does not yet own Vessel of Hatred a chance to try out the new class. You can only take it up to level 25, but that should be enough time to experience the expansion. All your progress carries over, too, should you decide to buy it. As for those who played Diablo 4 in the past and want one more reason to pick it back up, the Winback Booster is available for up to two characters in the Eternal Realm, instantly boosting a character to level 50, unlocking all Altars of Lilith, and even granting you a gear set to match a certain build.