Check out the new features in the real-time rendering and look dev tool, from dedicated decal layers to low-to-low-poly texture baking.

Modern healthcare innovations span AI, devices, software, images, and regulatory frameworks, all requiring stringent coordination. Generative AI arguably has the strongest transformative potential in healthcare technology programmes, with it already being applied across various domains, such as R&D, commercial operations, and supply chain management.Traditional models for medical appointments, like face-to-face appointments, and paper-based processes may not be sufficient to meet the fast-paced, data-driven medical landscape of today. Therefore, healthcare professionals and patients are seeking more convenient and efficient ways to access and share information, meeting the complex standards of modern medical science. According to McKinsey, Medtech companies are at the forefront of healthcare innovation, estimating they could capture between $14 billion and $55 billion annually in productivity gains. Through GenAI adoption, an additional $50 billion plus in revenue is estimated from products and service innovations. A McKinsey 2024 survey revealed around two thirds of Medtech executives have already implemented Gen AI, with approximately 20% scaling their solutions up and reporting substantial benefits to productivity.  While advanced technology implementation is growing across the medical industry, challenges persist. Organisations face hurdles like data integration issues, decentralised strategies, and skill gaps. Together, these highlight a need for a more streamlined approach to Gen AI deployment. Of all the Medtech domains, R&D is leading the way in Gen AI adoption. Being the most comfortable with new technologies, R&D departments use Gen AI tools to streamline work processes, such as summarising research papers or scientific articles, highlighting a grassroots adoption trend. Individual researchers are using AI to enhance productivity, even when no formal company-wide strategies are in place.While AI tools automate and accelerate R&D tasks, human review is still required to ensure final submissions are correct and satisfactory. Gen AI is proving to reduce time spent on administrative tasks for teams and improve research accuracy and depth, with some companies experiencing 20% to 30% gains in research productivity. KPIs for success in healthcare product programmesMeasuring business performance is essential in the healthcare sector. The number one goal is, of course, to deliver high-quality care, yet simultaneously maintain efficient operations. By measuring and analysing KPIs, healthcare providers are in a better position to improve patient outcomes through their data-based considerations. KPIs can also improve resource allocation, and encourage continuous improvement in all areas of care. In terms of healthcare product programmes, these structured initiatives prioritise the development, delivery, and continual optimisation of medical products. But to be a success, they require cross-functional coordination of clinical, technical, regulatory, and business teams. Time to market is critical, ensuring a product moves from the concept stage to launch as quickly as possible.Of particular note is the emphasis needing to be placed on labelling and documentation. McKinsey notes that AI-assisted labelling has resulted in a 20%-30% improvement in operational efficiency. Resource utilisation rates are also important, showing how efficiently time, budget, and/or headcount are used during the developmental stage of products. In the healthcare sector, KPIs ought to focus on several factors, including operational efficiency, patient outcomes, financial health of the business, and patient satisfaction. To achieve a comprehensive view of performance, these can be categorised into financial, operational, clinical quality, and patient experience.Bridging user experience with technical precision – design awardsInnovation is no longer solely judged by technical performance with user experience (UX) being equally important. Some of the latest innovations in healthcare are recognised at the UX Design Awards, products that exemplify the best in user experience as well as technical precision. Top products prioritise the needs and experiences of both patients and healthcare professionals, also ensuring each product meets the rigorous clinical and regulatory standards of the sector. One example is the CIARTIC Move by Siemens Healthineers, a self-driving 3D C-arm imaging system that lets surgeons operate, controlling the device wirelessly in a sterile field. Computer hardware company ASUS has also received accolades for its HealthConnect App and VivoWatch Series, showcasing the fusion of AIoT-driven smart healthcare solutions with user-friendly interfaces – sometimes in what are essentially consumer devices. This demonstrates how technical innovation is being made accessible and becoming increasingly intuitive as patients gain technical fluency.  Navigating regulatory and product development pathways simultaneously The establishing of clinical and regulatory paths is important, as this enables healthcare teams to feed a twin stream of findings back into development. Gen AI adoption has become a transformative approach, automating the production and refining of complex documents, mixed data sets, and structured and unstructured data. By integrating regulatory considerations early and adopting technologies like Gen AI as part of agile practices, healthcare product programmes help teams navigate a regulatory landscape that can often shift. Baking a regulatory mindset into a team early helps ensure compliance and continued innovation. (Image source: “IBM Achieves New Deep Learning Breakthrough” by IBM Research is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.)Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Get ready for CORE - streaming now - http://cgcookie.com/p/core In this live stream, @KennyPhases will be creating a Geometry Nodes Aerodynamic Simulation (Particle Push)! *NEW* CORE Fundamentals: Perhaps our most ambitious undertaking yet, CORE Fundamentals, will elevate your Blender skills. All 9 courses will be released together, all recorded in Blender 4.2. Our expert instructors are working daily on the most important bundle of courses to drill down on your Blender skills and achieve your dreams as a 3D artist. 9 courses, 8 instructors, 1 epic journey for Blender Artists. CORE Fundamentals will be streaming on CG Cookie https://b3d.cgcookie.com/6y8jnv and is currently available on Blender Market https://b3d.cgcookie.com/9borh8 Stay informed and follow along as we prepare to launch CORE https://b3d.cgcookie.com/v0uaiy Free Assets (used in this video): http://polyhaven.com Kenny Phases YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/kennyphases _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "WHO IS CG COOKIE?" We are real people! (OK, maybe some of us are cyborgs - we don't ask.) CG Cookie is a small crew of Blender artists, baking fresh videos for the Blender community. 🍪 If you love what we do, consider enrolling to http://cgcookie.com to stream 100's of Blender courses with passionate Blender instructors there to answer your questions. "WHERE SHOULD I START LEARNING BLENDER?" For Blender beginners, we have a free tutorial series "Getting Started with Blender" https://rb.gy/khqdl7 "I WANT MORE CG COOKIE IN MY LIFE!" Got it. Here's where you can reach us! / cgcookie / cgcookie / cgcookieinc Want Blender news in your mailbox? Sign up here for spam-free newsletter https://cgcookie.com/newsletter #CGCookie #blendertutorial #b3d

Wholesome Direct 2025 - everything announced at this year's cosy indie showcase Big hops! Discount shops! Spooky pups! More! Image credit: Eurogamer Feature by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on June 7, 2025 If you're the sort who just can't seem to resist the soothing rhythms of turnip planting and interior design, you've come to the right place. This year's Wholesome Direct - which marks the fifth anniversary of the showcase - has now aired, unleashing a fresh wave of cosy games to stick on your wishlists. We've got vending machine management, adorable puppies on spooking adventures, cheese-based puzzling, geckos, goats, seasonal cemetery exploration, and a whole lot more. So if that sounds like it might help sate your idyllic yearning, read on for all the big announcements from Wholesome Direct 2025. And for more indies, you can check out our round-up of this year's Day of the Devs showcase elsewhere. Leaf Blower Co. Leaf Blower Co. trailer.Watch on YouTube Ever wished your PowerWash Simulator had a little less splosh and a little more whoosh? That seems to be the starting point for developer Lift Games' Leaf Blower Co., a game about making the untidy tidy come rain, snow, or shine, one mechanised gust at a time. It's got a story mode plus a variety to locations waiting to be blown debris-free, and if that appeals, a demo's available now on Steam ahead of its release later this year. Instants Instants trailer.Watch on YouTube Instants is a creativity themed puzzler about the intoxicating pleasures of obsessive scrapbooking. It sees players attempting to sort images into chronological order and then assembling them into a scrapbook to reveal a "heartwarming" story inspired by the way family history can be passed down using pictures. It's developed by Endflame and launches today on PC (via Steam and Epic), and Switch. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar trailer.Watch on YouTube Stardew Valley might be the face of farming sims these days, but the grandaddy of the genre - Story of Season (formerly Harvest Moon) - never went away, and another entry in the venerable series is looming. Grand Bazaar is actually a remake of 2011 DS game Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, and it's got pretty much everything you'd expect from these kind of things - including turnips to fondle, animals to rear, and locals to dazzle with your impressive root vegetable collection. The main twist is you'll be selling all this yourself by setting up shop in the titular bazar. And if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, it launches for Switch, Switch 2, and Steam on 27th August. Gourdlets Together Gourdlets Together trailer.Watch on YouTube Perhaps you're already a fan of last year's Gourdlets or perhaps you're completely new to its vegetable-themed low-stakes thrills. Either way, there'll soon be a new way to play, thanks to developer AuntyGames' Gourdlets Together. Essentially, it takes the laid-back village-building vibes of the original, slings in a bit of a fishing focus - where earnings can be spent on upgrades or accessories to decorate your island home - then lets you do it while hanging out with friends online. Gourdlets Together launches on PC later this year. Luma Island Luma Island trailer.Watch on YouTube Don't think we're done with the farming sims yet - not by a long shot! Luma Island launched last year, offering an attractive mix of crop whispering, profession-specific activities, creature collecting, exploration, and puzzle-y dungeoneering. And come 20th June, it'll be getting just a little be more swashbuckling, thanks to its free Pirates update, introducing a new profession, new Lumas, new outfits, and a pirate cove filled with mini-games, temples, traps, and treasures. It'll also bring a range of different difficulty modes to suit players of all tastes. Is This Seat Taken? Is This Seat Taken? trailer.Watch on YouTube Think you're a dab hand at the old 'awkward family gathering' seating plan challenge? Well then, this might just be the game for you. In Poti Poti Studio's "cosy, silly, and relatable" logic puzzler Is This Seat Taken?, the goal is to satisfy the demands of a particularly fussy group of chair occupiers to find the perfect spot that'll keep everyone happy - be they on the bus, at the park, or in the office. It's coming to Steam, Switch, iOS, and Android this August, and a Steam demo's out now. MakeRoom MakeRoom trailer.Watch on YouTube Here's one for the aesthetic tinkerers and furnishing fetishists out there. MakeRoom, from developer Kenney, sees players decorating a series of miniature dioramas - from cosy indoor retreats to camper vans and even forests - to fulfil the requests of adorable NPCs. You might, for instance, be tasked with creating the perfect room for cats, or a suitably moody hideout for a vampire. Then it's simply a matter of hanging drapes, plopping down plants, and even crafting furniture to bring these spaces to life and satisfy your clients' whims. It all sounds very much like Animal Crossing's weirdly compelling Happy Home Paradise expansion, so if it's more of that sort of thing you want, MakeRoom comes to Steam on 7th August. Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell trailer.Watch on YouTube The apple bell - whatever an apple bell is - has been stolen, but luckily for apple bell lovers everywhere, renowned detective Ambroise Niflette is on the case. Over the course of Topotes Studio's investigatory adventure, Ambroise - and players - will roam the village of Touvoir, interrogating its inhabitants and searching for secrets, all while using a notebook of steadily amassing leads to reveal contradictions and unmask the culprit. It all sounds perfectly lovely, but the real draw is the delightful art style, which is heavily inspired by miniatures and stop motion. Ambroise Niflette & the Gleaned Bell is eventually set to launch on Steam, but first there's a Kickstarter, which is underway now. Let's Build a Dungeon Let's Build a Dungeon trailer.Watch on YouTube First there was Let's Build a Zoo, and now comes Let's Build a Dungeon. But while developer Springloaded kept its focus pretty tight for its debut release, Let's Build a Dungeon goes broad; not only is it a playable RPG creator where you can rustle up your own worlds and quests, it's also claiming to be an entire games industry sim too, where you'll need to manage all the malarky around releasing your game - from attracting funding right through to making a profit at the other end of the process. But if all that sounds too stressful, Springloaded has confirmed - as part of its latest showing - there'll be a cosy sandbox Build Mode too. There's still no release date for Let's Build a Dungeon yet, but it's heading to Steam (there's a demo here), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Squeakross: Home Squeak Home Squeakross: Home Squeak Home trailer.Watch on YouTube What do you get if you cross adorable mice with classic grid-filling puzzler Picross? Well, this thing, obviously. Squeakross: Home Squeak Home is the work of developer Alblune, and it adds its own twist to the familiar logic-testing formula by introducing a home decorating element. The idea is each puzzle corresponds to an unlockable bit of decor - including furniture, accessories, and stickers - so you'll slowly amass new furnishings and trimmings as you give your brain a work out. Is there an in-game lore reason why puzzles equals furniture? Who knows! We'll soon find out, though, given Squeakross launches for Switch and PC (via Steam and itch.io) today. Monument Valley 3 Monument Valley 3 trailer.Watch on YouTube Ustwo Games' perspective shifting puzzle series Monument Valley has been a big old hit, amassing tens of millions of downloads since its iOS debut back in 2014 - so it wasn't a huge surprise when a third entry showed up on mobile last year. Initially, however, it was locked behind a Netflix subscription, but Monument Valley 3 - which we quite liked despite it offering little meaningful evolution for the series - is finally spreading its wings later this year. As announced during today's Wholesome Direct, it's coming to Steam, Switch, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 22nd July. Big Hops Big Hops trailer.Watch on YouTube If you immediately thought bunnies, you're wrong. Big Hops is, in fact, a frog-themed action platformer, in which players attempt to help the titular Hop find his way home. Each world he visits on his adventure promises its own self-contained story - involving everything from mountain cultists to desert ne'erdowells - all interspersed with plenty of agile platform action. You can grapple across gaps, hoist levers, rotate wheels, even pick locks - all using your tongue - and it's accompanied by some veggie-based gameplay that lets players introduce the likes of climbable vines and mushroom-based bounce pads into levels. Big Hops is currently raising funds via Kickstarter and a Steam demo's out now. Little Kitty, Big City Little Kitty, Big City trailer.Watch on YouTube Here's quicky for you. Little Kitty, Big City - the feline-focused open-world adventure from Double Dagger Studio - is getting a little bigger. That's thanks to a free content update coming to all platforms this "summer", promising new story content, a new neighbourhood to explore, and new oddball characters to befriend. That's alongside a new cat customisation feature for you creative sorts out there. Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk trailer.Watch on YouTube What's in a name? Well, pretty much everything in this case. Aftabi Games' Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk is, just as it sounds, a cosy, laidback game about managing your own vending machine empire. You'll choose where your machines go and what they sell, and hire staff to ensure they stay stocked, clean, and in working order. There's a heavy customisation element too, as you're free to decorate the areas surrounding your vending machines in order to attract new customers. Kozy Kiosk is officially referred to as an "idle simulation", and can be played both actively and passively. And if that appeals, it launches for Steam today. Winter Burrow Winter Burrow trailer.Watch on YouTube Developer Pine Creek Games' "woodland survival game" Winter Burrow was unveiled during December's Wholesome Direct, but it's back to announce it's now coming to Switch. If you missed its original reveal, Winter Burrow casts you as a mouse who's attempting to fix up their burrow and turn it into a toasty retreat from the cold. That requires exploring the snow-covered world outside, gathering resources, crafting tools, building things, making friends, baking pies, and more. Winter Burrow launches next year and will be available for Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch. Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game Tales of the Shire trailer.Watch on YouTube After multiple delays, cosy hobbit life sim Tales of the Shire is almost upon us, and developer Wētā Workshop is readying for its arrival with a brand-new trailer. It's been described as a game about "finding joy in the small moments", and features all the usual life sim activities - fishing, cooking, gathering, decorating, merrymaking - with a bit of a Lord of the Rings twist. So yes, you CAN decorate your hobbit's hole. Tales of the Shire launches for Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on 29th July. Haunted Paws Haunted Paws trailer.Watch on YouTube If your interests lie at the intersection of spooky mansions and adorable pups, prepare to have your day made. In developer LazyFlock's supernatural adventure Haunted Paws, players - either solo or with a friend - control two brave (and customisable!) puppies as they explore a creepy old house in search of their human, who's been kidnapped by sinister forces. It promises puzzles, lighthearted spookiness, and even a few emotional bits. There's no release date for Haunted Paws yet, but it's coming to Steam. The Guardian of Nature The Guardian of Nature trailer.Watch on YouTube This wholesome, hand-drawn puzzle adventure from Inlusio Interactive is all about the interconnectedness of nature, and sees players embarking on a botanical journey as the lovably be-hatted Henry. Not only does Henry know his stuff about the natural world, he's also able to change his size, meaning players can explore both above and below ground as they solve puzzles to assist nature. The Guardian of Nature launches into Steam early access today, and it's coming to Switch, Xbox, iOS, and Android too. Everdeep Aurora Everdeep Aurora trailer.Watch on YouTube If you've ever thought Dig Dug would be improved if its protagonist was a cat, Everdeep Aurora might be the game for you. It follows the apocalyptic adventures of a kitten named Shell as she explores subterranean depths in search of her mother. You'll obliterate blocks, do some platforming, play mini-games, and converse with peculiar characters as you investigate the dark secrets buried below, all without a hint of combat. Its limited-colour pixel art looks wonderful, and it's coming to Steam and Switch on 10th July. Seasonala Cemetery Seasonala Cemetery trailer.Watch on YouTube From the creators of A Mortician's Tale, the "meditative" Seasonala Cemetery is a "peaceful but poignant reflection on life and death". It's set in an expansive, living cemetery that changes dynamically based on your system's time and date. The summer, for instance, might see the world bustling with vibrant life, while the winter brings quiet and snow. You can interact with NPCs and animals, rummage through nature, learn the history of the nearby city through its gravestones, or simply relax to its ambient sounds. Seasonala Cemetery is out today on Steam and itch.io, and is completely free. Camper Van: Make it Home Camper Van: Make it Home trailer.Watch on YouTube One of (bizarrely) several camper-van-themed games currently in the works, developer Malpata Studio's Make it Home is a pretty self-explanatory thing. You've got a camper van to make your own as it journey across beautiful, idyllic landscapes. Part of your goal is to solve organisational puzzles, but there's laidback interior design too. Camper Van: Make it Home is available today, alongside a demo, on Steam. Lynked: Banner of the Spark Lynked: Banner of the Spark trailer.Watch on YouTube FuzzyBot's Lynked: Banner of the Spark is a cheerily colourful action-RPG, that's part sci-fi roguelike, part relaxed life sim. At its most peaceful, you'll farm, fish, gather materials, and build your base with help from your robot pals, but that's all in service of its more frenetic hack-and-slash action. When you're ready for some proper adventure, you can brave the wilds, battle evil robot forces with a large arsenal of weapons, and search for helpful bots to bring back home. Lynked is already available on Steam, but it's coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S too. Omelet You Cook Omelet You Cook trailer.Watch on YouTube In this chaotic cooking roguelike from SchuBox Games, you're tasked with creating the perfect omelettes to satisfy your customers' increasingly peculiar demands. That involves combining ingredients as they fly by on a conveyor belt, from the relatively mundane to the rather more dubious, in the hope of earning enough money to increase your provisions, add useful relics to your pantry, and, hopefully, please the fearsome Principal Clucker. It all looks wonderfully ridiculous, and it launches on Steam today. Milano's Odd Job Collection Milano's Odd Job Collection trailer.Watch on YouTube Milano's Odd Job Collection (known as Milano no Arubaito Collection in Japan) is coming to the west for the very first time. It follows the adventures of 11-year-old Milano as she's left to her own devices over the summer. Free to do as she pleases, she embarks on a range of odd job - from pizza delivery to milking flying cows - in order to make money and have fun. Milano's Odd Job Collection, from developer Westone, is coming to Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC later this year. Fireseide Feelings Fireseide Feelings trailer.Watch on YouTube If you've got something to get off your chest, what better place to do it than by a roaring fire in a cosy forest glade? Fireside Feelings is described as a "mental wellness experience" promoting empathy, connection, and positivity between players. Situated cosily in your customisable camp, you're able to answer questions on a range of topics, taking part in conversations between people "separated in space and time". Conversations aren't live, and there's no direct interaction with others, but the goal, according to developer Team Empreintes, is to "share experiences, express your emotions, and be a part of a caring community". It launches today on Steam. All Will Rise All Will Rise trailer.Watch on YouTube Well here's something you don't see every day. All Will Rise is a "narrative courtroom deck-builder", in which you and your team take a corrupt billionaire to court, accusing them of a river's murder. That involves accumulating cards and using them to engage in conversation battles, attempting to charm, intimidate and manipulate those you meet around the vibrant city of Muziris. "Obey a dead river god's summons - or defy them," developer Speculative Agency explains. "Pass information to violent ecoterrorists - or maintain your pacifist ideals. Convince a corporate stooge to testify for you - or blackmail him with sensitive information. Your choices will determine the [city's] fate." All Will Rise is currently crowdfunding, but it's aiming to launch on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. Gecko Gods Gecko Gods trailer.Watch on YouTube It's hard to go wrong with a gecko, which immediately gives developer Inresin's Gecko Gods a bit of an advantage. What we've got here is a "serene lizard-sized puzzle-platformer" set on a beautiful archipelago, in which its tiny protagonist clambers across forgotten ruins, solving puzzles as they go. There are secrets of a lost civilisation to uncover, hidden paths, and more, all of which you'll be able to explore for yourself when Gecko Gods launches for Switch, PS5, and Steam later this year. But if you're an impatient sort, a Steam demo is available now. One Move Away One Move Away trailer.Watch on YouTube If you quite fancied the idea of Unpacking, but thought it had far too much 'taking stuff out of things' for its own good, you might enjoy Ramage Games' One Move Away, which is basically the inverse experience. Here, you play as three different characters, starting with a young girl in the 1980s, gradually learning more about them as you pack their belongings away ready for another chapter in their intertwining lives. All this plays out in first-person across 20 levels, and if that takes your fancy, a Steam demo's out now ahead of a full launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Heidi's Legacy: Mountains Calling Heidi's Legacy trailer.Watch on YouTube As you've probably already guessed, Heidi's Legacy: Mountains Calling takes inspiration from the classic children's stories. Which is why it's something of a surprise to learn its protagonist is called Adèle. Regardless, this is a game of grumpy old men, goat management, and alpine wandering, where you'll explore the beautiful countryside with your bleating pals, foraging for herbs, mushrooms, and more in a bid to help the nearby village. You can unlock abilities that open up more of the world, and chat to the locals in branching conversations'll that impact their lives. And as for those goats, they can provide milk, cheese, and wool. "Will you embrace slow living," asks developer Humble Reeds, "or push for bolder change?". Heidi's Legacy is coming to PC "soon". Hotel Galatic Hotel Galatic trailer.Watch on YouTube In Hotel Galactic, you're responsible for the running of a modular hotel on a strange cosmic island, which you'll customise and optimise in order to provide guests with the perfect stay. There are resources to manage, a workforce to build, and more, as you cater to the demands of your ever-growing colony, all with assistance from your ghostly Grandpa Gustav. There's a bit more to it than that, though, and the whole thing's framed by a tale of love and vengeance that's conveyed through some lovely anime-inspired art and animation. Hotel Galactic launches into Steam early access on 24th July, with consoles to follow, and a demo's available now. Out and About Out and About trailer.Watch on YouTube If it's serene forest meandering you're after, then look no further than Yaldi Games' Out and About. It's a "cosy foraging adventure" focused on exploring nature and identifying real-life plants and fungi. You'll cook recipes, make herbal remedies, and help rebuild your community after a devastating storm, all while hopefully learning a bit of botanical knowledge you can take out into the real-world. Out and About looks to be aiming for a 2025 release on PC, with a console launch to follow. And if it's piqued your curiosity, you can test out a Steam demo now. Discounty Discounty trailer.Watch on YouTube Forget the farm life; how about managing your own discount supermarket in a small harbour town? That's the premise of Discounty from Crinkle Cut Games, which sees you designing and organising your shop, managing stock levels, working the checkout, and striking trade deals. You'll make friends, navigate local drama, and expand your empire, but that doesn't mean you have to play nice. After all, can you really become filthy rich without making a few lifelong enemies along the way? Discounty launches for Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on 21st August and, yup, a demo's available now on Steam. Islanders: New Shores Islanders: New Shores trailer.Watch on YouTube We're big fans of developer GrizzlyGames' minimalist city builder Islanders around these parts, so news publisher Coatsink was developing a sequel earlier this year came as a pleasant surprise. It is, if you're unfamiliar, a game about attempting to squeeze as much onto a procedurally generated island as possible, maximising building synergies and minimising penalties to get the highest score. New Shores sounds like a gentle finessing of the formula, rather than a radical reinvention - it's got a sandbox mode as well as a high score mode now, alongside new power-ups called "boons" - but that's okay. The big news is it now has a release date and is coming to Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam on 10th July. Collector's Cove Collector's Cove trailer.Watch on YouTube VoodooDuck's Collector's Cove might be yet another farming game, but it does at least have a unique twist. For starters, your farm is on a boat endlessly sailing the oceans AND it's powered by an adorable sea monster who you'll need to forge a bond with. As you set out on a tranquil adventure across the water, you'll farm, fish, craft, and personalise your surroundings, sometimes stopping off at passing islands to catalogue their unique flora. Collector's Cove doesn't have a release date yet, but it's coming to PC and a Steam demo's available now. Town to City Town to City trailer.Watch on YouTube Fans of minimalist railway game Station to Station might want to pay attention here. Town to City is developer Galaxy Grove's follow-up to that earlier puzzler, sporting a similar voxel art aesthetic and vibe. This time around, you're charged with building quaint picturesque towns by placing shops, houses, amenities, decorations, and more - all in a bid to please your residents and encourage more to move in. Eventually, you'll have multiple towns under your care, helping the whole region grow and thrive. Town to City doesn't have a release date yet, but you can play a demo on Steam. Fishbowl Fishbowl trailer.Watch on YouTube And finally for the big, non-montage reveals, it's Fishbowl, a coming-of-age tale told over the course of a month. Developer imissmyfriends.studio describes it as a "warm and cozy story about living in isolation, nurturing friendships and understanding grief", and it's all focused on 21-year-old video editor Alo as she works from home while mourning her grandmother. As the days tick by, you'll video call loved ones, work to assemble videos, do care tasks, and solve puzzles to unpack your grandmother's belongings - recovering childhood memories as you do. There's no release date for Fishbowl yet, but it's coming to PS5 and Steam.

5 June, 2025 In this series, Clare Dowdy speaks with design studios that are 30+ years old, to find out some of the secrets behind their longevity. Michael Johnson set up his London-based brand consultancy Johnson Banks in 1992. From Duolingo to Pink Floyd, Cancer Research UK to the Royal Astronomical Society, the studio works with “people who want to do big things.” He sat down with Clare Dowdy to discuss what he’s learned over the past 33 years. Michael Johnson How did Johnson Banks come about? My 20s were very turbulent: eight jobs in eight years, a lot of different countries, different cities, learning on the job. My last job – at Smith & Milton – was relatively settled, I was kind of running a corporate design department. I had a client there, Tom Banks. After I left, he also left his role at Legal & General with the projects I had been working on, and we used that as a basis for the company. That was 1992, the back end of a recession. For a couple of years, everything was fine. Then we started having “creative differences.” And the pressures of running a tiny design company are substantial. So we parted ways in 1995, but I kept the name. Johnson Banks’ symbol for the V&A’s William Morris show At that time, we weren’t really in the branding world. For a decade, we were very distracted by getting on the graphic design map, trying to win D&AD awards, doing lovely stamp projects. And then we started to get some cultural projects: the V&A and the British Council. I started to think, OK, now we’re beginning to show what we can do. When and why did you start thinking seriously about your strategy offering? When we started to get into the branding arena, I knew we were underpowered in terms of the strategic thinking. I may have thought that I could do it, but it takes a bit to persuade clients when you’re 35, with hair almost down to your knees. If you’re up against important-looking people who can field a few grey hairs, you’re going to lose that pitch. So we partnered with strategic companies like management consultancy Circus, and followed that model for much of the 2000s. That led to the Shelter rebrand, and a few other quite big branding projects followed. Johnson Banks’ visual identity for Shelter Eventually we realised that we could do the strategy ourselves. I had sometimes been a little frustrated by the work that my strategic partners – naming no names – were doing. It sounds a bit mean, but sometimes I would get this 90-page PowerPoint document from them, and I’d put it on my designers’ desks, and their faces would go blank. I think that 20 years ago, there was still a bit of the idea that you’ve paid £100,000, so here’s your huge document. We slowly realised that if we were in control of the process, and were involved all the way through, then that jump out of the verbal brand to the visual brand could be much better managed. How did you rethink your strategy offer? The penny dropped in the mid-2000s when we worked with Save The Children. At the time, and I don’t think they’d mind me saying this, Save The Children were a bit of a basket case. They were associated with WI fairs and cake baking, and they had a royal as their patron – they were nothing like what they are now. I realised we needed to work out what they stood for before we did any design. I did this huge chart, and stuck it on a wall at the client’s office. And I said, it strikes me that there are strategic choices that you have got to make as a comms team about where you want to take the Save the Children brand. Johnson Banks’ poster for Save the Children That was an incredibly productive meeting, and also it helped us realise that before we got anywhere near the design, we needed to sort this out. I know that sounds like really basic stuff now. I didn’t trust my instinct for a decade or so, but in that Save the Children meeting, a light bulb went on for me. Once you’d worked out how to do strategy in-house why didn’t you scale up? A lot of companies would have done that. That’s how companies grow, and can end up quite quickly at 60 people. We have nearly always been around six to eight people. Because I could bridge that gap between the verbal and the visual, it meant we didn’t need to add people. And I’ve discovered over the last 25 years, that with a really good account director, Katherine Heaton, and me, and a design team, there is a heck of a lot that we can do. So we stayed small and partnered with filmmakers, animators, cultural specialists. Post-pandemic, a lot of people have adopted that hub and spoke model – we did it 20 years ago. Probably twice a year we’ll lose a pitch because of our scale. But conversely, with some clients you can sell in the fact that they’ll always deal with Michael Johnson. They’re not going to be handed down the chain, because there is no chain. Johnson Banks’ logos for Jodrell Bank Alongside this direct contact with you, what’s your main selling point? It seems to be that we think pretty hard about stuff. We almost never jump into design. A lot of thought goes into what we do, sometimes way too much. Sometimes our projects are incredibly difficult, gargantuan, intertwined and really hard to unpick. That’s a slightly poisoned chalice, because then people go, gosh, well, if they could unpick that, then they could unpick our Gordian knot. For example, we’re working on a major London university brand at the moment that has over 60,000 staff and students, 11 faculties, and hundreds of centres and institutes and departments, and we’re trying to navigate a way through. How did you work out what you wanted to specialise in? Sometimes you can get sucked into something that you just don’t want to be doing. By the end of the 1990s, Johnson Banks had got a reputation for doing annual reports. Part of me quite liked doing them because there was an interplay between words and pictures. And we were getting senior level access to clients, which makes you feel a bit better, because you’re having an interface with chief executives. But then I was thinking, hang on, we’re in danger of getting stuck here, because of course, they’re cyclical. And the death of the annual report – and the death of print – was coming over the horizon, with the internet. Johnson Banks’ Annual Report for Polygram (1995) Since then, my interests have changed. I do not have any interest any more in doing awful blue chips or terrible fintechs. I want to apply all the comms and the branding that I’ve learned to people who could really use it – not-for-profit, culture, education, philanthropy. You know, doing good. How did you build up this not-for-profit work? You lean into the referrals you’ll inevitably get within silos where you want to be referred. I learned this from Mary Lewis of Lewis Moberly. We were pretty close in the 1990s and she always said that referral business is the best business. Over 85% of our clients are not-for-profit – most design companies have a 20-80 split between non-profits and commercial clients. I never liked that ratio, what you might cruelly call ‘the Robin Hood principle’ – we are going to steal from our luxury car account and give to the charity. We did do a bit of that for a while. We did an airline in 2009/10 at the same time we were doing charities. I would justify that with the Robin Hood principle, but I just felt more and more uncomfortable with that. Johnson Banks’ campaign visuals for Cancer Research UK As our percentages went up and up in not-for-profit, eventually I said, look, we should just tell people this is who we are, and this is what we do. It was obvious anyway, so let’s be explicit about it. A few people said we were crazy, that we’d never get any work. But the reverse has been the case. We’re on our sixth environmental project. If you say this is what we want to do, and this is what we will do for you, then I think, funnily enough, clients find that very helpful. How did you build up to bigger projects? Let’s take education. We’ve done three or four really interesting campaigns for universities and now we’re in the position where we can do university rebrands, and have won a top 10 global university. But it has taken 15 years of education work to get to that point. I may not have thought that it would take quite so long to persuade people that we could do their identity. But education is a very conservative sector, and moves slowly, like museums and galleries. If you’re small, you can afford for a sector to move slowly, whereas bigger agencies need a pipeline. I’ve watched dozens of companies get to this critical point where they’ve grown and grown and then they’ve just fallen off the cliff because they’ve been feeding the monster. To help with that, agencies often add a new business person. No-one ever talks about this, but a new business person costs around £50,000. The rule of thumb, in my world at least, is that you have to take that salary and triple it with turnover to pay that salary. So you need £150,000 worth of projects to pay for the new business person before you’ve made a penny. So to make a profit, the new business person has to bring in over £200,000 of work. And if this person can do it, which is not guaranteed, then the company has to scale. It’s so easy to get caught on a treadmill. What else has helped you stay in business so long? We’ve always led with the thought behind the idea, not the way it looked. Because I was always much more interested in the idea behind something, I think that has helped us not get sucked into the visual, to use the type face du jour, the colour that everyone else is using. And it’s understandable, because graphic designers want to do stuff that their peers really like. But paradoxically the trick, in my opinion, is to try and zag away from the trends. Create a new trend yourself. Johnson Banks’ globe symbol for the COP 26 climate conference Design disciplines in this article Industries in this article Brands in this article What to read next Neville Brody on clients, education, and his unexpected OBE Graphic Design 30 Jan, 2025

Replicube A game by Walaber Entertainment LLCDev snapshot: Godot 4.5 dev 5By: Thaddeus Crews2 June 2025Pre-releaseBrrr… Do you feel that? That’s the cold front of the feature freeze just around the corner. It’s not upon us just yet, but this is likely to be our final development snapshot of the 4.5 release cycle. As we enter the home stretch of new features, bugs are naturally going to follow suit, meaning bug reports and feedback will be especially important for a smooth beta timeframe.Jump to the Downloads section, and give it a spin right now, or continue reading to learn more about improvements in this release. You can also try the Web editor or the Android editor for this release. If you are interested in the latter, please request to join our testing group to get access to pre-release builds.The cover illustration is from Replicube, a programming puzzle game where you write code to recreate voxelized objects. It is developed by Walaber Entertainment LLC (Bluesky, Twitter). You can get the game on Steam.HighlightsIn case you missed them, see the 4.5 dev 1, 4.5 dev 2, 4.5 dev 3, and 4.5 dev 4 release notes for an overview of some key features which were already in those snapshots, and are therefore still available for testing in dev 5.Native visionOS supportNormally, our featured highlights in these development blogs come from long-time contributors. This makes sense of course, as it’s generally those users that have the familiarity necessary for major changes or additions that are commonly used for these highlights. That’s why it might surprise you to hear that visionOS support comes to us from Ricardo Sanchez-Saez, whose pull request GH-105628 is his very first contribution to the engine! It might not surprise you to hear that Ricardo is part of the visionOS engineering team at Apple, which certainly helps get his foot in the door, but that still makes visionOS the first officially-supported platform integration in about a decade.For those unfamiliar, visionOS is Apple’s XR environment. We’re no strangers to XR as a concept (see our recent XR blogpost highlighting the latest Godot XR Game Jam), but XR platforms are as distinct from one another as traditional platforms. visionOS users have expressed a strong interest in integrating with our ever-growing XR community, and now we can make that happen. See you all in the next XR Game Jam!GDScript: Abstract classesWhile the Godot Engine utilizes abstract classes—a class that cannot be directly instantiated—frequently, this was only ever supported internally. Thanks to the efforts of Aaron Franke, this paradigm is now available to GDScript users (GH-67777). Now if a user wants to introduce their own abstract class, they merely need to declare it via the new abstract keyword:abstract class_name MyAbstract extends Node The purpose of an abstract class is to create a baseline for other classes to derive from:class_name ExtendsMyAbstract extends MyAbstract Shader bakerFrom the technical gurus behind implementing ubershaders, Darío Samo and Pedro J. Estébanez bring us another miracle of rendering via GH-102552: shader baker exporting. This is an optional feature that can be enabled at export time to speed up shader compilation massively. This feature works with ubershaders automatically without any work from the user. Using shader baking is strongly recommended when targeting Apple devices or D3D12 since it makes the biggest difference there (over 20× decrease in load times in the TPS demo)!Before:After:However, it comes with tradeoffs:Export time will be much longer.Build size will be much larger since the baked shaders can take up a lot of space.We have removed several MoltenVK bug workarounds from the Forward+ shader, therefore we no longer guarantee support for the Forward+ renderer on Intel Macs. If you are targeting Intel Macs, you should use the Mobile or Compatibility renderers.Baking for Vulkan can be done from any device, but baking for D3D12 needs to be done from a Windows device and baking for Apple .metallib requires a Metal compiler (macOS with Xcode / Command Line Tools installed).Web: WebAssembly SIMD supportAs you might recall, Godot 4.0 initially released under the assumption that multi-threaded web support would become the standard, and only supported that format for web builds. This assumption unfortunately proved to be wishful thinking, and was reverted in 4.3 by allowing for single-threaded builds once more. However, this doesn’t mean that these single-threaded environments are inherently incapable of parallel processing; it just requires alternative implementations. One such implementation, SIMD, is a perfect candidate thanks to its support across all major browsers. To that end, web-wiz Adam Scott has taken to integrating this implementation for our web builds by default (GH-106319).Inline color pickersWhile it’s always been possible to see what kind of variable is assigned to an exported color in the inspector, some users have expressed a keen interest in allowing for this functionality within the script editor itself. This is because it would mean seeing what kind of color is represented by a variable without it needing to be exposed, as well as making it more intuitive at a glance as to what color a name or code corresponds to. Koliur Rahman has blessed us with this quality-of-life goodness, which adds an inline color picker GH-105724. Now no matter where the color is declared, users will be able to immediately and intuitively know what is actually represented in a non-intrusive manner.Rendering goodiesThe renderer got a fair amount of love this snapshot; not from any one PR, but rather a multitude of community members bringing some long-awaited features to light. Raymond DiDonato helped SMAA 1x make its transition from addon to fully-fledged engine feature (GH-102330). Capry brings bent normal maps to further enhance specular occlusion and indirect lighting (GH-89988). Our very own Clay John converted our Compatibility backend to use a fragment shader copy instead of a blit copy, working around common sample rate issues on mobile devices (GH-106267). More technical information on these rendering changes can be found in their associated PRs.SMAA comparison:OffOnBent normal map comparison:BeforeAfterAnd more!There are too many exciting changes to list them all here, but here’s a curated selection:Animation: Add alphabetical sorting to Animation Player (GH-103584).Animation: Add animation filtering to animation editor (GH-103130).Audio: Implement seek operation for Theora video files, improve multi-channel audio resampling (GH-102360).Core: Add --scene command line argument (GH-105302).Core: Overhaul resource duplication (GH-100673).Core: Use Grisu2 algorithm in String::num_scientific to fix serializing (GH-98750).Editor: Add “Quick Load” button to EditorResourcePicker (GH-104490).Editor: Add PROPERTY_HINT_INPUT_NAME for use with @export_custom to allow using input actions (GH-96611).Editor: Add named EditorScripts to the command palette (GH-99318).GUI: Add file sort to FileDialog (GH-105723).I18n: Add translation preview in editor (GH-96921).Import: Add Channel Remap settings to ResourceImporterTexture (GH-99676).Physics: Improve performance with non-monitoring areas when using Jolt Physics (GH-106490).Porting: Android: Add export option for custom theme attributes (GH-106724).Porting: Android: Add support for 16 KB page sizes, update to NDK r28b (GH-106358).Porting: Android: Remove the gradle_build/compress_native_libraries export option (GH-106359).Porting: Web: Use actual PThread pool size for get_default_thread_pool_size() (GH-104458).Porting: Windows/macOS/Linux: Use SSE 4.2 as a baseline when compiling Godot (GH-59595).Rendering: Add new StandardMaterial properties to allow users to control FPS-style objects (hands, weapons, tools close to the camera) (GH-93142).Rendering: FTI - Optimize SceneTree traversal (GH-106244).Changelog109 contributors submitted 252 fixes for this release. See our interactive changelog for the complete list of changes since the previous 4.5-dev4 snapshot.This release is built from commit 64b09905c.DownloadsGodot is downloading...Godot exists thanks to donations from people like you. Help us continue our work:Make a DonationStandard build includes support for GDScript and GDExtension..NET build (marked as mono) includes support for C#, as well as GDScript and GDExtension.While engine maintainers try their best to ensure that each preview snapshot and release candidate is stable, this is by definition a pre-release piece of software. Be sure to make frequent backups, or use a version control system such as Git, to preserve your projects in case of corruption or data loss.Known issuesWindows executables (both the editor and export templates) have been signed with an expired certificate. You may see warnings from Windows Defender’s SmartScreen when running this version, or outright be prevented from running the executables with a double-click (GH-106373). Running Godot from the command line can circumvent this. We will soon have a renewed certificate which will be used for future builds.With every release, we accept that there are going to be various issues, which have already been reported but haven’t been fixed yet. See the GitHub issue tracker for a complete list of known bugs.Bug reportsAs a tester, we encourage you to open bug reports if you experience issues with this release. Please check the existing issues on GitHub first, using the search function with relevant keywords, to ensure that the bug you experience is not already known.In particular, any change that would cause a regression in your projects is very important to report (e.g. if something that worked fine in previous 4.x releases, but no longer works in this snapshot).SupportGodot is a non-profit, open source game engine developed by hundreds of contributors on their free time, as well as a handful of part and full-time developers hired thanks to generous donations from the Godot community. A big thank you to everyone who has contributed their time or their financial support to the project!If you’d like to support the project financially and help us secure our future hires, you can do so using the Godot Development Fund.Donate now

FX’s The Bear returns to Hulu for a fourth season on June 25. This season will once again test Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and the rest of The Bear crew as they try to push their restaurant, and each other, to be the best they can be. The original docuseries Call Her Alex arrives on June 10, following podcast host and media mogul Alex Cooper as she prepares for her first tour. This docuseries also tells the story of how Cooper went from the host of a successful podcast to the CEO of a media empire, all within six years. Here’s everything that’s coming to (and leaving) Hulu in June. Hulu New Releases – June 2025 June 1 Adam (2019)Alien (1979)Alien 3 (1992)Alien Resurrection (1997)Alien vs. Predator (2004)Alien: Covenant (2017)Aliens (1986)Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012)Before Midnight (2013)Betsy’s Wedding (1990)Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)Big Eden (2000)Big Fish (2003)The Big Hit (1998)Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)Blue Jasmine (2013)Boy Meets Girl (2014)Breakin’ All the Rules (2004)The Bronze (2016)Bubble Boy (2001)Bugsy (1991)Cedar Rapids (2011)The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010)Cold Pursuit (2019)Cyrus (2010)Daddy Day Care (2003)Death on the Nile (2022)Deja Vu (2006)Delivery Man (2013)Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)Edge of Tomorrow (2014)Elena Undone (2010)Freddy Got Fingered (2001)The Girl Next Door (2004)Grown Ups (2010)Grown Ups 2 (2013)Happy Gilmore (1996)The Heat (2013)Hitchcock (2012)Hurricane Bianca (2016)Idiocracy (2006)Independence Day (1996)The Joy Luck Club (1993)Just Go With It (2011)Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)Let’s Be Cops (2014)Loving Annabelle (2006)Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018)Mamma Mia! (2008)The Mask (1994)Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (2015)Mirrors (2008)The Namesake (2007)A Perfect Ending (2012)Pineapple Express (2008)Predator (1987)The Predator (2018)Predator 2 (1990)Predators (2010)Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (2016)Prometheus (2012)Reno 911! Miami: The Movie (2007)Sordid Lives (2000)28 Weeks Later (2007)The War of the Roses (1989)We’re The Millers (2013)Working Girl (1988)You Don’t Mess With The Zohan (2008) June 3 I’ve Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved My Farm-Related Skills: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)The Quiz With Balls: Season 2 PremiereSo I’m a Spider, So What?: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Wise Man’s Grandchild: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Yuri on Ice: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Presence (2025)June 4 The Great House Revival: Complete Season 5June 5 National Anthem (2023)June 6 Not Her First Rodeo: Complete Season 1Predator: Killer of Killers: Film PremiereBorat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation … (2006)Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)Hot Shots! (1991)Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)Shallow Hal (2001)The Ringer (2005)June 7 Gypsy’s Revenge: Complete Season 1I (Almost) Got Away With It: Complete Season 3Kids Baking Championship: Complete Season 12Murder in the Heartland: Complete Season 1Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing: Complete Season 1Sister Wives: Complete Season 12June 8 Scream (2022) June 9 Beyblade X: Season 1B Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! June 10 Call Her Alex: Complete DocuseriesAnd Then We Danced (2019)Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)June 11 The Snake: Series PremiereGran Turismo (2023)June 12 The 1% Club: Season 2 PremiereJune 13 Atsuko Okatsuka: Father: Special PremiereAbsolution (2024)June 14 90 Day Fiance: Complete Season 590 Day Fiance UK: Complete Season 2Guy’s Grocery Games: Complete Seasons 32 & 33I’d Kill For You: Complete Season 3Joel McHale: Live from Pyongyang (2019) June 16 My Happy Ending: Complete Season 1 (Sub)Black Christmas (2019)June 17 SALLY (2025)Skincare (2024)June 19 The Quiet Ones (2024)June 20 The Bravest Knight: Season 2BOut Come the Wolves (2024)June 23 Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything: Documentary PremiereHelck: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)My Instant Death Ability is Overpowered: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)My Isekai Life : Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)June 24 Survive (2024) June 25 FX’s The Bear: Complete Season 4June 27 F*ck Marry Kill (2024)June 29 The Bachelor: Complete Seasons 27 & 28June 30 Boonie Bears: Time Twist (2024)Texas True Crime: Complete Season 5The Actor (2025)Leaving Hulu – June 2025 June 1 Christmas with the Campbells (2022)June 2 The Amazing Maurice (2022) June 4 Intrigo: Dear Agnes (2019)June 8 Indemnity (2021)June 10 Here Before (2021)Warhunt (2022)June 11 Intrigo: Samaria (2019)June 13 The Worst Person in the World (2021)June 17 Ted K (2021)The Ledge (2022) June 22 The Burning Sea (2021)June 24 Big Gold Brick (2022)Gasoline Alley (2022)June 25 The Desperate Hour (2022)June 30 Transfusion (2023)

Even as children, we in the U.S. learn that June brings good things—warmer weather, ice cream trucks, and most significantly, summer break from school. As an adult, all of those things still matter to me (substitute summer break for outdoorsy weekends), but the arrival of summer produce has crept up to the top of my June list of good things. In this monthly article, I take a look at the fruits and veggies coming into season and some incredible ways you can use them. Let’s dive into June's offerings. Why seasonal and local produce is greatLong distance shipping for out-of-season produce is convenient, but there is usually a price to pay with literal higher prices or lesser quality (or both). Using seasonal produce is a step toward supporting smaller farms situated somewhere closer to where you live rather than a monoculture farm somewhere far away. A big, healthy harvest with shorter shipping distances likely means a cheaper price tag for you. And hopefully the produce exhibits the best possible flavor profile since it doesn’t have to travel great distances to arrive at your market. Buying local and in season means you’ll possibly see a greater variety of tender greens and delicate fruits that don’t travel out of state well. Those little strawberries that pop up at the farmers market are so juicy and delicate you’d never see them packed up and shipped out across the country—they’d be turned into jam before they got a chance to leave. Go to those summer farmers markets downtown and reap the benefits of the juiciest summer fruit.  What’s in season right nowYou’re probably seeing it already, but everywhere from tiny produce markets to big box grocery stores are growing fuller with the very beginnings of summer produce glut, and the prices are dropping. Personally, I’m celebrating the low berry prices with morning smoothies. (If you’re a fruit smoothie-enthusiast like I am, here are a couple great blenders that might interest you.) For those who are growing their own food, keep up with our Home and Garden section for tips.The new produce coming in for June:ApricotsSweet Cherries (not quite yet for tart cherries)StrawberriesBlueberriesRaspberriesBlackberriesBeetsBroccoli Cabbage Garlic scapesGreen peasMustard greensZucchini & summer squashSay, "au revoir" to:AsparagusArugulaRampsParsnipsProduce in peak season:Beet greensLettuceRadishes and their greensRhubarbSpinachTurnipsChardSnap peasSnow peasNote that your specific region may be warmer or cooler, or farther away—so don’t worry if floods of strawberries haven’t arrived yet, or if you still have loads of wild ramps growing in the yard. Nature will do its thing, and we’ll continue trying to keep up.What to cook with your spring bountyFruitsJune is the beginning of having all the fun you want to have when it comes to recipes. Let’s start with fruit. We’re looking at loads of berries for the next few months and the beginnings of stone fruits, so I recommend warming up those ovens. I know that sounds too hot, but think of the pies! Cherry pies, Strawberry-rhubarb, apricot and blackberry, blueberry-goat-cheese tarts—you simply must make some. To help you along, here’s my fail-proof way to lattice pie crust, and my best advice on preventing soggy fruit pies. They’re well worth a read if you’ve had trouble in the past.If you’d rather be stuck in a room with a pack of wild 7-year-olds than make a pie, OK fine. Make a fruit trifle with leftover cake, stuff delicious biscuits with summer fruit and whipped cream, and why not take a crack at your own homemade berry ice cream. I made vanilla bean ice cream with a swirl of fresh raspberry compote and I felt pretty damn pleased with myself. If you’re shopping for affordable ice cream machines, I just tested and reviewed this Cuisinart.As I mentioned, fruit smoothies always welcome a handful of frozen berries. I should mention (and I’ll say this again at the end of the season): Freezing your berries is the best way to reduce waste. (Here’s the best way to freeze fruit.) If you’re using berries to top yogurt or granola, there’s no need to freeze it, but if you’re baking with fruit, making jams, or blending smoothies, freezing is extremely helpful. Pop the fruit in the freezer in the container it came in (hull strawberries first, and halve the big ones). After a few hours, they’ll be solid and you can dump them into a zip-top freezer bag for easier freezer storage.Vegetables All the cruciferous veggies are going strong right now, so go ahead and get that fiber. Use shaved broccoli and cabbage in a salad. Wilt spinach, chard, or mustard greens down in a hearty soup. My absolute favorite thing to do with summer zucchini is to make Thai kai jiao. You can use different vegetables in this dish, but zucchini is my all-time favorite. You also can’t go wrong with grilling big, fat planks of summer squash and drizzling them with a light vinaigrette. Got lots of crisp lettuce? Well, you can always bulk up your warm salads or do what I do and add it to every sandwich. Bacon, egg, cheese, and lettuce. Meatball parm sub and lettuce. Peanut butter and—OK, maybe not that one. Pay special attention to the fleeting produce like rhubarb, ramps, and scapes. They’re around for just a blink so grab them up. Try roasting your rhubarb with strawberries for a sweet, tart, and caramelized treat. Enjoy the best of June produce, and hopefully we’ll get a peek at tomatoes at the end of the month.