An interesting Genshin Impact poll has revealed the game's overall most popular character, as well as the best DPS and support picks. Genshin Impact's playable characters are the main focus of each update, which is very common for games with a gacha-based system.

Live-service gaming is in a difficult, transitional moment. Even as the sector consumes more and more millions of player hours, successful new launches are few and far between, and the frequency of shutdowns has increased. Franchises like Destiny and Overwatch have pivoted to free-to-play models in an attempt to keep their player numbers buoyant, and premium live-service games that is, games with a full purchase price, as well as some intention to monetize players over the long term are a dying breed.2024 saw two dramatic, high-profile failures in premium live service. Rocksteadys Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League flopped to a $200 million loss for WB Games, while Sonys even more expensive Concord so failed to strike a chord with players that it was unceremoniously turned off after just a few weeks. (Sony did have a live-service hit in the form of Helldivers 2, but judging from the publishers marketing efforts on the two games, Helldivers was seemingly not one that Sony higher-ups expected or maybe even wanted to take off.)Yet Blizzards 2023 release Diablo 4 is a certified hit, with big sales, a strong expansion in 2024, and apparently an avid audience. How did it buck the trend? For Rod Fergusson the famed Gears of War producer turned general manager of the Diablo franchise its because Blizzard didnt set out to make a live-service game. The studio simply set out to make a Diablo game, but Diablos breed of action role-playing game essentially demands that it be a live-service game.An ARPG is inherently a live service. The question is what you do about itRod FergussonI go back to the genre, Fergusson told Polygon in an interview conducted in November. Early on, there were these conversations. [] Is Diablo 4 a live-service game, or should we roll credits and call it? And I was like, look, when you look at Diablo 3 and the millions of people that showed up every season, whether you want it or not, an ARPG is inherently a live service. The question is what you do about it.For Fergusson, live service is an opportunity to constantly refine and rebuild a game, but only if the audience demand to keep playing emerges naturally from the game design. To me, when youre a Diablo-like, [] people are going to look to play through the campaign, but then theyre going to look to play what I call the hundred- or the thousand-hour game. They want to be able to continue this progression, they want to have the power fantasy, they want to go back to it over and over again. This is what creates the space for the developers to keep feeding new ideas in the game to keep it fresh. That was one of the things that was great, Fergusson said. It wasnt this sort of fait accompli where were like, Its in the box and were done. Were going to have the ability to improve Helltide. Were going to have the ability to add the Pit, were going to have the ability to try the Gauntlet.Theres a simple lesson here for game publishers: Dont force it. When Suicide Squad was previewed, players commented immediately that the game seemed an odd fit for a live-service framework; it didnt flow naturally from the games storyline or genre. Concord belonged to a suitable genre it was a hero shooter but it appeared to have been made to satisfy a publishers demand for a live-service game, rather than players demand for an alternative to Overwatch. The game concept hadnt come first.Conversely, Diablo 4 worked because people wanted a new Diablo game, and they wanted to play it for hundreds of hours. Its like a reversal of the classic line from Field of Dreams: not If you build it, they will come, but They will come so youd better build it.

Do you know how knives are made? Do you know how knives are made of milk?Unless youve seen this video or any others on YouTube channel kiwami japan you dont. The channel is dedicated to the art of knifemaking, but most of the videos are detailed step-by-steps of the creators successful attempts to craft real, usable knives out of materials like UV resin, tofu, bismuth, and yes, milk.The craftsmanship itself is mesmerizing and impressive, but its the enigmatic bladesmith that makes the videos so fun to watch. The creator themself who only pours water out of a vase shaped like a cow and who often goes on lengthy, experimental side quests that have little to do with the knife being made in the video has never revealed their name online. But their expertise when it comes to material science is clear, and the breadth and specificity of the equipment they use leaves you wondering why this person owns so much professional lab equipment.Its all intrigue and no answers, but thats not the point. It was sometime around 2018, on the floor of my then-group house with my roommates (because we didnt have enough couch to fit us all at once), that I saw what we lovingly call milk knife for the first time. We were getting bored of watching Vine compilations over and over. In some twist of fate (no, thats not hyperbolic), someone put this video on, and wed end up watching it thrice more together before moving out. Its become my go-to weird YouTube video to throw on at the proverbial end of the night. To adjust for 2024 attention spans, I usually crank kiwami japans videos up to 1.5x speed, since they can be quite long. The channel hasnt posted any new knives in the last couple of years, but there are plenty to make your way through in the backlog.

JANUARY: Delcy Morelos Conjures a Sacred Experience With SoilIn a dimly-lit room, the subtle scent of cinnamon and clove infused the air from two unbelievable dirt installations. On view at Dia Chelsea through July 2024, artist Delcy Morelos presented El abrazo, an exhibition of two site-specific sculptures that invite a sacred connection to soil that may have been the most surprising and satisfying experience with art in New York earlier this year.FEBRUARY: Thousands of Brushstrokes: Antonio Santns New Rug PaintingsArtist Antonio Santn presented shockingly hyperreal oil paintings that depict life-size undulating ornate rugs. On view at Marc Straus Gallery in February, each painting is a surprising illusion of a carpet in 3D space, but up close, theyre even more impressive. Painstakingly applied with a modified syringe, thousands of tiny brushstrokes demand sustained inspection and a new fascination for both textile and paint.MARCH: Frank Stellas Psychedelic Sculptures Land in New YorkLegendary artist Frank Stella continues to prove his unparalleled curiosity and capacity for reinvention. His exhibition Frank Stella: Recent Sculpture at Jeffrey Deitch in New Yorks SoHo neighborhood presented five massive sculptures with color-shifting elements that feel as if they could lift into the air at any second. The exhibition was a visual rollercoaster of surprising form, color, gravity, and scale in a space that invites multi-level vantage points.APRIL: Artist Vik Muniz Reconfigures Shredded CashVik Muniz, the master of creating unbelievable images out of unexpected things, debuted his latest series, Legal Tender, at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. on the west side of Manhattan. Included in a double-feature exhibition, Munizs work once again celebrates everyday material, ignites the imagination, confuses reality, and questions current systems of symbols and representation.MAY: Tara Donovans CD Stacks Are Ethereal Material BlissFor over 2 decades, artist Tara Donovan has transformed everyday objects in her work from plastic straws, Styrofoam cups, and toothpicks creating ethereal visual magic through highly-precise unexpected accumulations. Her May exhibition Stratagems on view at Pace Gallery in New York, debuted 11 new towering sculptures that are created from thousands of used CDs.JUNE: Splitting Daylight: Hiroshi Sugimotos Photographs of ColorIn June, Hiroshi Sugimotos series of photographs were on view at Lisson Gallery in New York City in an exhibition titled Optical Allusion. The famed photographer captures blurry abstract images of refracted daylight that, displayed alongside the real prism that was used in their creation, invites tangible experience with light and time.JULY: 2 Must-See Group Exhibitions in New York City GalleriesEvery July, most New York contemporary galleries present group exhibitions a dizzying variety of intelligent curation, unexpected juxtapositions, and exciting introductions to new artists. The galleries also switch to summer hours (closed on weekends), so available viewing time can be limited. Two exhibitions, which together presented over 60 artists, smart themes, and plenty of surprises: Mother Lode: Material and Memory on view at James Cohan Gallery at two locations in Tribeca, and Patternson view at Luhring Augustine Gallery across both their Tribeca and Chelsea locations.AUGUST: Bass and Light: 2 Must-See Installations at Dia BeaconThe always-incredible contemporary art space Dia Beacon, located just outside New York City, hosted two additional awe-inspiring installations by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Steve McQueen. Paired with the many additional world famous installations on long term view, a trip to Beacon is always worth the trip.SEPTEMBER: Liza Lous New Paintings Surprise With Thousands of BeadsArtist Liza Lous exhibition Painting at Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York debuted 12 new works made from tens of thousands of colorful glass beads that resemble brushstrokes. Its a color and texture surprise that offers more intrigue the closer you view a hybrid between paint and pixels, light and extreme physicality. Inspired by her experience viewing paint through a microscope, Liza Lou again pushes her signature material into fresh and unexpected possibilities.OCTOBER: Joel Shapiros New Sculptures Radiate Joy and Defy GravityJoel Shapiros sculptures are radiantly joyful, they defy gravity, and seem to move as you walk around them. His exhibition at Pace in New York, Joel Shapiro: Out of the Blue, was everything you want from a Shapiro with with new surprises. Presenting his largest wood sculpture to date, along with a dozen small studies and bronzes, it was a playfully intelligent experience with color, space, material, and movement that keeps you circling.NOVEMBER: Artist Olafur Eliassons New PsychoacousticExhibitionThe work of Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson has always felt like a surreal supercharge for the senses, as if somehow experiencing the strange magic of sight for the first time. His exhibition Your psychoacoustic light ensemble was on view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York with a range of perception-tripping new works, including watercolors that emulate spectral light, new color-shifting glass sculptures, and a surprising room where sound becomes visible and light feels audible. The whole thing adds up to an ethereal and wondrous dive into the rabbit hole for both the senses and the psyche.Check out the rest of Design Milks end of the year coveragehere!

Some consider gift cards not the most personal of gifts, but I say that's not the case. They allow you to get exactly what you want with no confusion, and (typically) both gifter and giftee walk away happy. But maybe you received a few gift cards for the holidays and are stumped on what to buy with them Engadget can help. Here, we've gathered some of our favorite gadgets and services of the year that are all worthy ways to spend your gift card money, from wireless mice to coffee gear to gaming controllers. Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-spend-your-100-gift-card-after-christmas-130036223.html?src=rss

Social media platform Bluesky has launched Trending Topics into beta, the company announced in a post on its platform. The new feature is one of the most-requested by users and matches a function that has been on rival Threads for around nine months, and on X (Twitter at the time) since at least 2017.The Trending section shows the top viral content on the platform, with topics like "Christmas," "Nosferatu" and "Wikipedia" (thanks to Elon Musk) currently on top. It can be found by clicking on search in both the desktop version and mobile apps, or you can disable it altogether in the settings, TechCrunch noted. Any words that you have muted won't appear in Trending topics either.Bluesky recently hit a big milestone with 25 million users, many of whom recently fled X following the US elections. Though still relatively small compared to Threads and X, users have remarked on the high levels of engagement along with the lack of bots and harassment compared to Elon Musk's platform. Other highly requested features still not implemented include bookmarks, editing, verification badges and private posts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-launches-a-trending-topics-feature-in-search-140049208.html?src=rss

The Dynabook LIFEBOOK WU5/J3 is the worlds lightest 14-inch laptop at 634 grams.

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Oracle shares have jumped 63% in 2024 and are headed for their best year since 1999, adding over $75 billion to Larry Ellison's net worth.