Onelargeprawn
Irrational Games’ new action shooter BioShock Infinite leaves its watery home and heads to a new lofty, fantastical setting. The trip there hasn’t been smooth sailing though, with developmental delays and a small cover art crisis. Has the wait been worth it? Is it just another BioShock in the sky? Find out after the jump.
You don’t see this every day. Actually it seems that creating Steampunk mice is not all together rare, but this is certainly the first time I have seen an exposed brain being incorporated with the brass, gears, and wood that make the Steampunk aesthetic what it is.
Deciding that “every self-respecting Victorian Scientist needs a brain in a jar”, hardware designer Peter Balch set about with some mad science, cannibalizing the innards of a standard optical mouse, and using other bits and bobs to give life to his new creation. Have a look at his brain-powered Steampunk mouse after the jump.
Zack Synder’s steampunk sci-fi flick, Sucker Punch, will see an imminent release in many major countries except South Africa (we see an April 8th release). And this harrowing short may help pass the time as we count the 23 days it will take to arrive at our local cinemas.
Created by Ben Hibon, the story tells the tale of a WWII soldier from his death to his re-animation as one of the Helghan-esque zombies that the Sucker Punch team will have to mangle and mutilate on their road to freedom. The short explores the sense of loss during the soldier’s untimely transformation. Check out The Trenches below.
[via The Escapist]
First things first, what is steampunk?
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
Simple enough but add super heroes to that mix along with some talented artists and you get a selection of awesome stuff. Check out some great examples sourced from around the web after the jump.
It is said that when life gives you lemons, you should punch it in the face make lemonade (but not without a license in America as this 7-year old found out). There’s a slightly different saying in Russia, about when life gives you old weapons of war, you should make housewares.
And this exactly what 51-year-old Estonian sculptor Mati Karmin does. In the coastal zone of northern Estonia, there are reportedly loads of rusty mine shells laying around. Made in the 1950s these deep-sea mines weighed over a tonne and housed 240 kg worth of explosives and we used to destroy submarines. Karmin re-purposes these disused hunks of metal to make very functional bits of Steampunk furniture including desks, armchairs, fireplaces, swings, aquariums, chandeliers, and even a pram.
Have a look at some of his unconventional furniture after the jump.
Well this is a touch bizarre. To make her art, Australian-born Lisa Black combines the medical practice of taxidermy with the aesthetics of steampunk. It’s a rather unusual combination and it’s really amazing to see these broken, taxidermied animals whose missing parts have been replaced with little gears and screws, like the innards of a vintage clock.
In her interview with YouBentMyWookie, Black explains her motivation behind her art pieces – she believes in transhumanism which is a movement that believes in the use of modern technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics. Black tries to applies those ideologies to her animal creations.
In situations like these, I think pictures do tell a thousand words. Have a look at some of her steampunk taxidermy after the jump.
Sucker Punch is the first movie Zack Synder has worked on that is not based on existing material. Set in 1950s, Synder’s steampunk sci-fi flick follows the story of Baby Doll (Emily Browning) who has been imprisoned in a mental institution by her villainous stepfather. With a lobotomy scheduled in five days, Baby Doll imagines an alternative reality where she needs to steal five objects to escape captivity.
Fresh from Comic-Con comes a set of delectable posters for Sucker Punch complete with school girl outfits, bust-enhancing corsets, fishnets, guns, and mecha. We’re sold already. Check out the sexy posters after the jump.
The 501st Stormtrooper Legion (or Vader’s Fist) is the Empire’s official costuming organization here on Earth. Their manifesto seeks to promote interest in Star Wars, bring like-minded fans and costume enthusiasts together, and to use their resources for charitable acts.
In a similar vein to the Vader Project, the legion’s TK Project is a charity event where its members create one-off, wacky stormtrooper helmets. These helmets will be auctioned off and the proceeds go to the Make a Wish foundation.
The 501st TK Project blog keeps track of the entries thus far and we picked out a couple of our favourite designs. Have a look at the after the jump.
Fellow dude and resident office geek, Fayyaad, is playing Echo Bazaar, a web-browser game that combines elements from RPGs and social networking with a great dollop of Victorian England aesthetic.
Created by Failbetter Games, Echo Bazaar is set in steampunk Fallen London and you play as a new visitor trying to seek your fortune in this dark, foreboding world. You get a limited number of actions that you can perform on a given day, and these actions enable you to wander Fallen London, get up to mischief, or take on quests. Performing such actions have effects on your character qualities. Unluckily you being at New Newgate Prison, a jail carved into the body of an immense stalactite – it’s supposedly escape-proof. To get your adventure started, log on to Echo Bazaar using your Twitter account. If you don’t have one, simply sign up for an account.
I’m not the biggest fan of RPGs so it’s taking me a while to get into it, and if you find yourself a little overwhelmed, this wiki page might be of help. If your friends are on Twitter and playing it as well, you can keep up with their progress. To see how horribly I’m getting on, follow onelargeprawn on Twitter. Other resident blogger Lucy Furr is also touring Fallen London.
Oh, keep in mind that Echo Bazaar is still in beta so it could be a bit buggy.
[thanks for the tip, Fayyaad]
“Aaah my lady. Your grace is matched only by your boobies, err, I mean your beauty.” With an opening line such as that, you know you’re in for something special.
In this hilarious animated short from Blur Studio, a cunning war of words between two gentlemen who seek the hand of a beautiful lady, quickly erupts into an EPIC battle in giant Steampunk mecha!
Packed full of explosive action and sexual innuendo, it’s one period drama you won’t soon forget. See it below or watch it in high quality on YouTube.
That’s totally made of win, don’t you think?
[via The Awesomer]