process

////////////////////////////////////// LEGO PIXELS FROM THE MORROWS

Mr. Clay Morrow, a Teletex reader & storyboard artist from Burbank, California, writes:

"Having spent countless hours playing with Lego and then later with an NES and its pixels I've always felt a connection between the two! S&S really struck a chord with me and my kids, and it has us revisiting some old videogame systems that I had in storage."

Yes. That's right. That thing in the middle & on the right are photographs of an actual sculpture made of Lego, constructed, staged & photographed by Mr. Clay Morrow and his sons Ever & Levi. The image above provides some insight into their process - on the far left we see a digital schema created by Mr. Morrow using a free-to-use Lego construction tool on the electric computer, in the centre we see the original photograph of the Lego sculpture, and on the right we see the same photograph after it emerged from the Superbrothers laboratory in Toronto. To get a closer look at this image please proceed to look & download at S:S&S EP artwork, including wallpaper-sized images, here.

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If you'd like to design your own Lego sculptures without the need to actually purchase the occasionally expensive Lego kits, or should you may wish to simply be more precise and strategic in your purchase of the aforementioned kits, you may wish to investigate the use of a tool that comes recommended from Mr. Morrow. It's a free-to-use 3-D application offered by Lego that was used to create the rough digital schema mentioned in the paragraph above. You can download the program in its entirety here.

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For more about the Morrows feel free to go here.

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IN THE LOOP? If this  floats your boat & you'd like to stay in touch you may wish to go here.

lego

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// S:S&S EP in HD

Since its inception in 2003 Superbrothers has become known for a style of internationally recognized pictographic artwork described as 'rustic 21st century minimalism'. This artwork has enjoyed a degree of visibility in publications such as The New York Times, Wired, The Globe & Mail & the prestigious awards annual American Illustration. The essential advantage of the approach is that it can be employed to communicate effectively with color & motion without an extreme investment of time & resources.

When footage of the first I/O cinema project S:S&S EP appeared, many found the visual approach to be satisfactory, and an early build of S:S&S EP managed to win the IGF Mobile's 'Achievement in Art'.

Sadly, not everyone was so easily amused. 

While the videogame enthusiast press response following GDC has been startlingly positive, there has also been a small amount of resistance in the comments sections following these glowing news posts & articles, a handful of people expressing their antipathy towards S:S&S EP's admittedly 'retro' presentation. This is to be expected. After all, a significant percentage of the videogame-playing audience has grown accustomed to high-fidelity, intensely mimetic worlds constructed entirely using 3-D engines, presented with HD displays & surround sound.

So to appease these cry baby jerks we staffed up, invested in cutting edge middleware, improved our surface detail pipeline & began work on a complex lighting algorithm that will be able to accurately calculate the trajectory of every single ray of light. It is our sincere hope that this improved visual fidelity will more effectively communicate the core S:S&S EP experience to a broader audience.

IN THE LOOP? Should you wish to receive the Teletex Bulletin, a fancy fortnightly email broadcast with the very freshest pixels & news, you may wish to go here: teletex bulletin & twitter.

Ok, yes, it's April Fool's... still, joking aside, isn't that thing ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!? 

At this point it behooves us to relate that this HD initiative was led entirely by Mr. Clay Morrow & his team at a heretofore unknown Superbrothers research & development site in Burbank, California, who actually made that rad Lego sculpture and were kind enough to send along that super wicked photograph.

1 000 000 thx to Clay, Ever & Levi Morrow, you guys ROCK!

For more about Clay & Cindy Morrow, go here: cmsquared.net.

IN THE LOOP? If this floats your boat & you'd like to stay in touch you may wish to go here.

IN THE LOOP? If this floats your boat & you'd like to stay in touch you may wish to go here.

footage

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FOOTAGE & HYPE

So there's some footage of the S:S&S EP GDC 2010 playable build that has been bouncing around the internet. The first clip is above, the other clip & a little information can be found here: ***PROJECT. 

People seemed to really dig S:S&S EP at GDC 2010, which is a real blessing & a comfort. To get a sense for what people are saying, go here: HYPE.

The S:S&S EP team really appreciates your interest, curiosity & faith... thx! Now, however, it is time for the project to 'go dark' & cocoon for a little while.

IN THE LOOP? Should you wish to receive the Teletex Bulletin, a fancy fortnightly email broadcast with the very freshest pixels & news, you may wish to go here: teletex bulletin & twitter.

IN THE LOOP? If this floats your boat & you'd like to stay in touch you may wish to go here.

IN THE LOOP? If this floats your boat & you'd like to stay in touch you may wish to go here.