Art

Google Maps art magnifies our impact on Earth

Earth -- unlike perhaps any other planet out there -- provides a mostly hospitable home for humankind. Yet we seem to have opted for unsustainable growth instead of preservation.

At least that's the message in photographer David Thomas Smith's "Anthropocene" exhibition, which Smith describes as a visual examination of global landscapes transformed by the actions and activities of humanity. Each of the 12 prints in the collection derives from thousands of screenshots, which Smith captured from Google Maps and metamorphosed in Photoshop.… Read more

EA treading into social networking territory?

Gaming company Electronic Arts has come out with something totally new -- a free music and photo social networking app called Vue.

No, it's not a social network focused game. It's simply a social network.

The question is -- why did a gaming company create a social networking app? It's not yet entirely clear. According to Venture Beat, it is a "low-budget exploratory project" started by EA Partners group.

The premise of Vue is to find songs on music services like Spotify and Rdio, pair them with personal photos, and then share the package with … Read more

Disney shuttering LucasArts, moving to licensed games model

Disney has shut down LucasArts, the video game arm of the Lucas entertainment empire, laying off its staff and ceasing its development of two forthcoming "Star Wars" games.

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games," LucasFilm said in a statement. "As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have … Read more

Cheat your way to the top in many different games with ArtMoney SE

We've all needed a hand to beat a tough level or quest in a fun game. If only you had that awesome armor or weapon you've been dying to acquire! ArtMoney SE will take the grunt work out of leveling up your character to get it. It can give you free money, health, or experience in several different games. It requires plenty of modding know-how to use, though.

The program has to tinker with settings files in your game of choice to give you more of what you want. That means it's not likely to work with … Read more

Video games meet Little Golden Books

We've seen some pretty gosh-darn adorable fan art, but L.A.-based illustrator Joey Spiotto's take on Skyrim, Portal, and BioShock takes the biscuit.

Using the art of classic Little Golden Books, Spiotto (aka Joebot) has managed to visually explain the affection and nostalgia that gamers will have for these game titles in the years to come.

"As the sun sets on this current generation of video games, I've been thinking about some of the classic games that people will still (hopefully) point to years from now and hold them up as games that made a … Read more

Don't lie down on this computer-parts carpet

If you laid out all the electronics components you've ever owned on the floor, what would it look like?

Maybe something along the lines of Federico Uribe's "Tapete" (carpet). It's fashioned out of thousands of discarded computer and other electronics components.

The Miami-based conceptual artist uses objects from daily life in sculptures that evoke animals, plants, and human figures.

His work "Everybody Gets Screwed," for instance, features busts of people including Marylin Monroe made out of all manner of screws. … Read more

Congratulations, you are now paint

SAN FRANCISCO--You are the blob. And you are the paint, too, if you let the art collective here known as Anticlockwise Arts have its way with you.

Last night at the Academy of Sciences' weekly NightLife event, the group debuted a new project called "Watercolor Walls" that mixes basic tech tools and audience participation to give new life to your stodgy old silhouette.

As one of the nearby DJs spun remixes of pop hits from the likes of Justin Timberlake, the crowd of more than a thousand walked, strutted, and shimmied between Watercolor Walls' camera and projector and a 15-foot-tall screen on its way from one end of the museum to the other. Using infrared light, the camera and projector would outline the silhouettes of people moving in front of the screen -- but there was more to it. … Read more

The 404 1,237: Where Robert Greene 'Masters' The 404 (podcast)

- Robert's Web site, PowerSeductionandWar.

- A Reddit AMA with Robert Greene.

- Follow Robert Greene on Twitter.

Episode 1,237

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High-resolution Battlefield 4 screenshots leaked

If you're starving for information about Battlefield 4, three new screenshots found on EA's Web server might whet your appetite.

CNET confirmed the authenticity of the screenshots after downloading the files from an insecure EA Web directory associated with the official Battlefield blog. In comparison with its predecessor, BF4 appears to contain massive upgrades, especially when it comes to textures and draw distance, as well as considerable improvements in the way soldiers and weapons appear. … Read more