Diablo 4 Season 7, Season of Witchcraft, has arrived, bringing Diablo 3 Witch Doctor powers to the dungeon crawler. The new seasonal content features Headrotten enemies, which you will need to work with The Coven to defeat, increasing your standing with the faction. This means you'll need to partake in the revamped Tree of Whispers activities tied to the seasonal content. Completing these objectives will grant you battle pass XP and loot for each chapter completed. The final chapter includes Dorian, a pet raven.Your progress on objectives in chapters you haven't reached does track, but your progress in each chapter won't be reflected until that chapter has been reached.Continue Reading at GameSpot

In 1994, Ted Price founded the company that would become Insomniac Games, the studio behind the Spyro the Dragon trilogy, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, and Marvel's Spider-Man. In addition to running the company, Price was the e was creative director on Spyro, Ratchet, and Resistance. Now, Price has revealed his plans to step down as Insomniac's CEO and retire from the video game industry. In his place, Insomniac has promoted three studio veterans to take the reins of the company.As announced on the PlayStation blog, Ryan Schneider, Jen Huang, and Chad Dezern are the new co-studio heads of Insomniac. Schneider was Insomniac's first community director whose tenure with the company goes back to the PS2 era. Huang has only been with Insomniac for eight years, but he has also served as the company's CFO and Head of Finance in that time. Of the three, Dezern has been at Insomniac the longest--he joined in 1998--and has been the Head of Creative since 2017.In a statement shared through Insomniac's parent company, Sony, Price revealed that he made the decision to step down last year.Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Epic Games Store is continuing to offer free games throughout the year, which means plenty of players can look forward to finding quality experiences they wouldn't have picked up otherwise at no extra charge. It's very easy for people to check the Epic Games Store's free games page weekly, or daily when the mystery games roll around, and continuously pick up something to add to their ever-growing backlogs. Some titles may be repeated, offered again for the first time in anywhere from months to a few years, but others sometimes get offered for free to mark their addition to Epic's growing library.

When A24 has a new horror movie coming out, I'm interested right away. Some of the best releases from the production company include the shocking Ari Aster film Hereditary, the creepy and atmospheric The Witch, and the memorable Midsommar. Recently, the company released Y2K, Kyle Mooney's millennium story that blends horror and comedy. I love all these movies but am particularly excited about Opus, the upcoming A24 horror movie starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich. The cast also includes Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, Tony Hale, and Amber Midthunder.

There is a C++ library called TetGen. Im trying to obtain the Voronoi diagram of a tetrahedralization. I know how to get the face count, but how do I know how many vertices make up each face?

AI agents which can understand, adapt to and support each users unique journey are making online shopping and digital marketing more efficient and personalized. Plus, these intelligent systems are poised to turn marketing interactions into valuable customer research data.In this episode of the NVIDIA AI Podcast, Jon Heller, co-CEO and founder of Firsthand, discusses how the companys Brand Agents are revolutionizing the relationship between consumers, marketers and publishers. By using a companys own knowledge, Firsthand Brand Agents act as AI-powered guides that engage customers on a brands website and beyond assisting at every step of the customers journey, from finding solutions to making purchases.Drawing on decades of industry experience including leadership roles at advertising companies DoubleClick and FreeWheel, Heller explains Firsthands vision of AI as a new medium rather than just a technology.The AI Podcast Firsthands Jon Heller Shares How AI Agents Enhance Consumer Journeys in Retail Episode 242AI agents are enabling companies in the retail and consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industries to increase internal efficiency and productivity while improving customer service.Two of the top use cases for generative AI in retail are: personalized marketing and advertising, and digital shopping assistants or copilots. Learn more about AIs rapid integration across businesses in NVIDIAs second annual State of AI in Retail and CPG survey report.Time Stamps2:10 How large language models revealed a new approach to digital marketing.12:46 How Firsthand Brand Agents can use various AI capabilities beyond traditional chat.16:33 How Firsthand Brand Agents create a connected customer journey by maintaining context across touchpoints.23:57 The technical challenges in building agents while maintaining brand safety.30:10 How AI can generate unprecedented insights into consumer needs and preferences.You Might Also LikeImbue CEO Kanjun Qiu on Transforming AI Agents Into Personal CollaboratorsImbue is building software infused with intelligence through collaborative AI systems that work alongside users. CEO Kanjun Qiu discusses her companys approach to AI agents and compares the personal computer revolution of the late 1970s and 80s to todays AI agent transformation.Media.Monks Lewis Smithingham on Enhancing Media and Marketing With AIMedia.Monks platform Wormhole streamlines marketing and content creation with AI-powered insights. Hear from Lewis Smithingham, senior vice president of innovation and special operations at Media.Monks, as he addresses AIs potential in entertainment and advertising.Snowflakes Baris Gultekin on Unlocking the Value of Data With Large Language ModelsSnowflake is using AI to help enterprises transform data into insights and applications. Baris Gultekin, head of AI at Snowflake, explains how the companys AI Data Cloud platform separates the storage of data from compute, enabling organizations across the world to connect via cloud technology and work on a unified platform.Subscribe to the AI PodcastGet theAI PodcastthroughAmazon Music,Apple Podcasts,Google Podcasts,Google Play,Castbox, DoggCatcher,Overcast,PlayerFM, Pocket Casts,Podbay,PodBean, PodCruncher, PodKicker,SoundCloud,Spotify,StitcherandTuneIn.

Before we get into offering our perspectives about Ted Prices long-planned and extremely well-deserved retirement, we want to sincerely thank everyone who has checked in with Insomniac about the state of our employees and Burbank studio during the terrible Los Angeles-area fires. The fires have devastated the communities around us. We continue to focus on supporting each other and communicating daily with Sony Interactive Entertainment to provide the latest information and resources to everyone affected.Sharing the news that Ted is retiring from Insomniac Games is still just as emotional to type as it has been to think about. The three of us Chad, Jen and Ryan have worked closely with Ted for many years. Hes not just our leader, hes our longtime friend. And a great one at that. Ted will be missed for so many reasons.One of the great things about Ted is his ability to inspire everyone around him to grow. Ted has also set the ultimate example of how to not just say the right thing, but to do it too. Both with our games and how we behave as leaders and as a studio.Seeing how Ted operates for decades has prepared us to take on the challenge of stepping into Teds enormous, canoe-sized shoes. None of us can nor should try to be like Ted though we must stay true to ourselves and our own leadership styles. However, its safe to say well often think to ourselves, What would Ted do? as part of our individual and collective decision-making process.Now youre probably wondering, Well, who exactly are yall and what should we expect from you going forward? We want to share a bit more about ourselves, along with some insight into how were envisioning our role as co-studio heads.View and download imageDownload the imagecloseCloseDownload this imageI started my Insomniac career during the PlayStation 2 era in studio marketing and communications, quickly shifting my role to become Insomniacs first community director and helping establish the role within the PlayStation ecosystem. I joined Insomniacs senior leadership team several years ago and have held multiple studio roles including Head of Franchise Strategy & Studio Relations. In that role I partnered with teams within and beyond Sony Interactive on how and when we talk about our games, including in-game creative integrations. More recently, Ive served as Head of Brand & Leadership Strategy, which means Im ensuring through communications, coaching and culture development that what Insomniac says to the world about itself and our games matches what we believe and how we act inside Insomniac.Outside of work, I play games with my family almost nightly. We enjoyed completing Astro Bot and Lego Horizon Adventures over the winter break. I also love cycling (road and gravel). Ryan Schneider, Co-Studio Head, Insomniac Games I joined our incredible studio eight years ago as CFO and Head of Finance, and our team has had my heart ever since. As part of our leadership team, I directly support our development teams across all titles, overseeing project planning, production strategy, business operations, resource planning, and co-development partnerships. Together with the best team in the world, weve shipped 12 games since my first day, and Im super excited about the unforgettable experiences well bring to players in the future.Before joining Insomniac Games, I was a senior finance executive, providing strategic and financial leadership to global tech and entertainment businesses.Im passionate about driving innovations that elevate our studio and community. Outside of work, I support Glendales neighborhood libraries and love playing games with my kids. Over the holidays, I immersed myself in Astro Bot and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered-and loved those unforgettable adventures. Jen Huang, Co-Studio Head, Insomniac GamesOne afternoon, I picked up a copy of Spyro The Dragon for Research purposes. I was floored by its charm and attention to detail here, clearly, was the work of a team at the top of their game, and I wanted to learn their secrets.I joined Insomniac in 1998. Since then, Ive had the honor to contribute to five generations of PlayStation as an Environment Artist, Art Director, Studio Director for the Durham studio, and starting in 2017 as the Head of Creative. As a senior leader, I support the creative, story, and research teams across all titles to help ensure that our games ship with a uniquely Insomniac vision and a high degree of polish.So what secrets did I learn? Mainly that magic happens when talented people build on each others ideas even as they challenge each other to advance their craft. In my new role, Im excited to work with Ryan and Jen to continue Insomniacs tradition of creative collaboration. Chad Dezern, Co-Studio Head, Insomniac GamesOur shared intention is to preserve what has made Insomniac special for 30-plus years while exploring how we can strategically evolve to succeed for decades to come.Well continue prioritizing our studio culture, built around transparency and collaboration. We strive for a workplace where employees can do the best work of their careers.What does all this mean for our players and fans? Were going to keep making the games you love, while taking care of the people who make them. This aligns with our studio vision of making a positive and lasting impact on peoples lives.View and download imageDownload the imagecloseCloseDownload this imageWe know this is big news and probably a lot to absorb. Ted is an industry legend, responsible for launching and creative directing three iconic PlayStation franchises in Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, and Resistance: Fall of Man. Back-to-back-to-back. Hes helped guide us through every single PlayStation console generation and much more.Ted has also laid the foundation for Insomniac as one of the industrys all-time most successful studio leaders. Now, its up to us to help Insomniac thrive long into the future. Thanks to Teds guidance and leadership, we are ready.

Anime director Naoko Yamada knows her way around stories about music. She directed more than 40 episodes of K-On! and worked as series production director for Sound! Euphonium, both shows about high school students in bands. (A light music band and a concert band, respectively.) When both those series got spinoff movies, she worked on those as well, including directing K-On! The Movie and the Sound! Euphonium film Liz and the Blue Bird.So her newest movie, The Colors Within also about a group of teenagers who form a band isnt a huge narrative leap for her.But The Colors Within coming to IMAX for a one-day preview on Jan. 23, ahead of a Jan. 24 theatrical release is less about the music and more about three lonely teens who come together. Its a quiet, contemplative movie where most of the driving forces are subtle and understated, made evocative by the animation, which is mostly grounded save for an occasional, deliberate splash of color.[Ed. note: This post contains slight setup spoilers for The Colors Within.]The movie follows high school student Totsuko Higurashi, who has a type of synesthesia where she sees particular emotions and people as colors. Shes drawn to her classmate Kimi Sakunaga, whose color manifests as a beautiful light blue. (In fact, Totsuko is so distracted by Kimis lovely hue that when Kimi tosses a dodgeball at her in gym class, Totsuko forgets to dodge, and it smacks her in the face.) Totsuko is dismayed when Kimi drops out of their all-girls Catholic school, but she finds her again, now working in a bookstore. As they make small talk, a boy named Rui (who has a calming green aura) approaches and asks whether theyre in a band.Flustered, Totsuko claims they are. Although she awkwardly backtracks, Rui and Kimi decide they want to join this nonexistent band. The three of them end up meeting in an abandoned church that Rui quietly maintains in his free time. Rui collects instruments, but particularly loves the theremin. Kimi plays guitar, and Totsuko gradually learns the piano and tries her hand at songwriting, specifically trying to capture how Kimi and Ruis colors make her feel.Unlike K-On! or Bocchi the Rock!, another series about unlikely bandmates coming together, The Colors Within doesnt focus as much on the trials and tribulations of learning their instruments, or the band trying to make it. They do play music together, with each of them taking a stab at songwriting. But the driving force isnt the bands success. Instead, the band is a vehicle for these three characters coming together, slowly opening up to one another.Kimi hasnt told her grandmother that she dropped out of school, for instance, and shes still ashamed about that. Rui hides his love of music from his mother, who expects him to become a doctor and continue operating his small island towns clinic, as his family has done for generations. Totsuko sparks to both of them in a way she doesnt with her other classmates. All of them hide the band from their other connections for various reasons, but its clear they find a refuge with each other that they dont have with anyone else.What makes The Colors Within work so well is how the naturalistic animation combined with the specific set-pieces and situations create such a distinct feeling and atmosphere. There are just so many gorgeous, evocative moments where the movie lingers: Kimis forlorn reflection in a set of Newton balls; the slightly fuzzy city lights behind Totsukos hand as she waves goodbye to Kimi; Ruis sneakers on the snow-covered steps of the church, shifting as he calls his mother. All the small details contribute to a feeling of soft loneliness that slowly lessens as the characters grow closer and closer.That grounded naturalism also lets Totsukos moments of color shine. Whenever she experiences something particularly powerful or catches sight of someone particularly memorable, the movie shifts to gorgeous streaks and swirls of color. It isnt overdone: Yamada uses this device just enough to emphasize particular moments that might not even seem big to the outside eye. To Totsuko, though, seeing those swaths of color indicates something special.When these three lonely teenagers find solace in each other, they in turn find the strength to open up to others. Even then, those confessions, for lack of a better word, arent big dramatic moments, but subtler, more realistic interactions. The big school festival Totsuko and the band play in what would be a tense, substantial climax in most anime stories is simply a celebration of the music they make together and the friendship theyve found through it. That all hits even harder because of the way their closeness slowly builds up throughout the movie subtly, softly, and barely there, until its impossible to ignore.The Colors Within will be released in IMAX theaters on Jan. 23 and hits wide release in America on Jan. 24. Special NYC screenings with director Q&As start Jan. 21.

The popular and expandable Unmatched action tabletop system just launched two new entries that fans of The Witcher will probably love. Depending on which $49.95 set you get, Realms Fall or Steel & Silver, youll add the sorceresses Triss and Yennefer to your roster, or the most kickass father-daughter duo in Geralt of Rivia and Ciri. These games come at the perfect time, launching shortly after the official reveal of The Witcher 4, which features Ciri not Geralt as the main playable protagonist.The minis, cards, and accessories included with each set are fully compatible with the larger collection of Unmatched games. As an example, you can combine the world of The Witcher with the Slings and Arrows set. A fight with swords and magic against the almighty pen seems a bit unfair, but well let you see how it shakes out against Shakespeare, as well as other tragic heroes from his timeless work.Each of these sets include three characters represented by detailed minis, plus a deck full of attacks and defenses that are catered to each characters respective abilities and personality. Each character has a unique twist that keeps gameplay fresh. In the case of The Witcher sets, Geralts gear cards in the Steel & Silver set ensures hes equipped to take down any sort of opponent, while the Realms Fall set lets you pick whether Yennefer or Triss is the hero or sidekick, with your choice informing what kind of abilities each has up their sleeve.If you want both games in one convenient package, Restoration Games has you set with a $100 set that includes a bonus figure of Geralt sitting in a bathtub. Its a nod to a scene from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that became a meme thanks mostly to PC Gamers ceaseless use of the image.

At first glance, the tiles in Unika Vaevs newest collection, Folded Poetry, look like typical geometric acoustic solutions. Yet this series of three pieces, designed by Eliza Redmann, were inspired by the sculptural artists experiences after a car accident changed her life forever.Redmann, founder and principal of Folded Poetry studio in Durham, North Carolina, had recently completed her graduate studies and was working as an architectural designer. Yet the collision in 2018 left her with a traumatic brain injury and altered her career trajectory. She could no longer spend an extended period reading or doing other visually demanding work while sitting at a desk, which used to be second-nature activities to her. She knew she had to pivot, but still wanted to channel her imagination and bring her ideas to an enriching endeavor. Just because youre disabled doesnt mean that youre not creative, Redmann says.During the added isolation of the pandemic, Redmann began experimenting in short increments of time, which was less taxing on her nervous system. She made modules via a computer software program, and then printed, cut, and assembled three-dimensional forms. She then posted the unique arrangements on Instagram and soon received an enthusiastic response from followers and commissions for a variety of installations followed.When she was introduced to the team at Unika Vaev, it became clear that a collaboration would be ideal, with the modular artworks seamlessly adapted to commercial-grade acoustic products. The three styles she created not only absorb sound waves, but also visually mimic disorientation. Redmann, for example, sees swimming or undulating patterns when she looks at a brick wall, tile floors, or striped shirts.Diad is the first-ever Folded Poetry design that Redmann created during the earliest days of the pandemic. The diamond-shaped symbol of her brand, Diad, represents her exploration, utilizing paper sculptures to capture her journey. The tiles include four directionally scattered surfaces for total acoustic enhancement.Offering maximum wall coverage, Hexad features six distinct surfaces and surrounding facets that scatter as well as absorb sound waves. Pieces can also be joined together to create custom wall artworks of irregular undulating geometries.At once simple and perplexing, Triad includes three directionally scattered surfaces, and it is the smallest of the three tiles in the collection. It can be arranged in dense side-by-side configurations or interspersed with spaces to create different looks. Made from PET felt, the tiles are available in a range of colorways and Wilsonart printed surfaces.The collection is a deeply personal one for Redmann, which she hopes will give others greater empathy for those with different challenges, apparent or not. Through my art, I am giving the viewer a glimpse of the world I move through with an invisible disability, she adds.Eliza Redmann of Folded Poetry \\\ Photo: Matt RameyFor more information on the Folded Poetry collection, visit unikavaev.com.Photography courtesy of Unika Vaev.