Yang Qi is a concept artist working in the video game industry. Currently based in Shenzen, he's most recently worked on Asura Online, a Chinese game.

Note in some of these that, in addition to his character artwork, Qi has even dropped in mock screenshots or dioramas featuring the characters or places in question. Neat touch!

Long-time fans of the game series probably already know this, but bleak open-world shooter STALKER isn't an entirely original concept, as it's based loosely on the premise of a 1979 art film called Stalker.

There's not too much in common other than the name, but in a great piece on the New York Review of Books, Gabriel Winslow-Yost sits down and really compares the two, finding that while the game may take more than a few liberties with the source material, both are at heart still dealing with very much the same thing.

And that in an even more interesting way, the STALKER game isn't so much an adaptation of Andrei Tarkovsky's film, but of the book which in turn loosely inspired it, Roadside Picnic.

In some ways, the video games are closer to Tarkovsky's source material than to Tarkovsky. In the Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic, the science fiction book on which the movie is loosely based, the stalkers are numerous and mercenary. The elements of the Zone are many, and named, if not quite explained-there's "Mosquito Mange" and "Burning Fluff," "Full Empties" and "Black Sprays." In the film most of these are not present-Tarkovsky leaves in only one, the "meatgrinder," though his Stalker is clearly terrified of many more. But the video game returns them, and adds more: strange traps known as "anomalies," that crush, dismember, and electrocute; and "artifacts," weird little objects with supernatural properties-infinite batteries, death rays, and so on-which are the reason people venture into the Zone. (In Roadside Picnic both the anomalies and the "artifacts" are discarded alien technology; in the games they are somehow the result of the nuclear meltdown.)

Fans of the games, which were recently announced to be getting a spiritual successor of sorts, should definitely give it a read.

In the Zone of Alienation: Tarkovsky as Video Game [NYR]

Artist and toy customiser Donald "KodyKoala" Kennedy, whose work we've featured a few times here before, returns with a Sonic the Hedgehog piece that sheds new light on the term "Metal Sonic".

What's cool is that not only is the pilot a regular Sonic figure, but the big mech itself is also a figure, being posable in all the right places.

Kodykoala's Custom Sonic the Hedgehog Mech [Flickr, via Tomopop]

Man, there's been a lot of Call of Duty news tonight. Perhaps, if you don't like the series, too much. If that's you, here's a palette cleanser, in the form of a PSN game that's about swans, and paint, and pretty music.

The Unfinished Swan is based off an old tech demo that's been around for a few years now. You play it by throwing paint around an all-white world; as you do so, it reveals the world and its inhabitants around you.

Blink and you'll miss it. The Guy Fawkes mask flashes on the screen only for a brief instant, but it's there. Twice.

The iconic mug first entered pop culture in the graphic novel V for Vendetta, but has since been re-appropriated by internet collective Anonymous as well as Occupy Wall Street protesters.

That iconic mask, however, is now shorthand for hacker—and the enemy.

Anonymous has gained attention in the past few years for its protests and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against big business and Scientology. For many, the group has tinges of political activism, using their computer skills and savvy for "good".

The way that Anonymous stands for causes seems to impressed V for Vendetta's creators. After the mask appeared at last year's Occupy Wall Street protest, V for Vendetta's writer Alan Moore said, "When you've got a sea of V masks, I suppose it makes the protesters appear to be almost a single organism—this "99%" we hear so much about. That in itself is formidable. I can see why the protesters have taken to it."

The irony of ironies is that the rights to the mask are actually owned by Warner Bros. So for every mask legally sold, Warner Bros. gets a kickback.

However, the mask is being recast in a different light in Call of Duty: Black Ops II's promotional campaign. A series of documentary style clips tackle different elements of technology and warfare; in two of them, the Guy Fawkes mask appears on screen.

In a clip titled "Synopsis", Oliver North talks about his nightmare scenario, and when he says, "The enemy could be anywhere, and it could be anyone," an individual wearing a Guy Fawkes appears on screen. I don't worry about the guy who wants to hijack a plane," North continues. "I worry about the guy who wants to hijack all the planes."

In another clip, titled "When the Enemy Steals the Keys," the Guy Fawkes mask pops up again. The footage is slightly different—it's tighter, more of a close-up.

"You know, if there are guys out there who are smart enough to hack into our banks and people's personal information, then certainly, eventually, there's gonna be someone who's smart enough to hack into our aircraft," drone pilot Major Hercules Christopher says in the clip. "If you can hack a bank, you can hack a drone."

The moment the pilot says "gonna be someone who's smart enough", the Guy Fawkes mask once again appears on screen, seeming to insinuate indirectly that Anonymous members are going to be smart enough to hack drones—or even want to. And once again, the Guy Fawkes mask is cast as the enemy.

With in the past few years, the Guy Fawkes mask has become inseparable from Anonymous, and, in turn, from hackers. Not all hackers are good. Not all are bad. And for a group like Anonymous, free flowing and ill defined, it's difficult to pin down who is a member and who isn't. Anonymous is more of a concept than a card-carrying group per se.

Yet, that group—that idea—is now being dragged through the mud via comments directly and indirectly aimed at the Guy Fawkes mask. Those who wear the mask are the enemy. Those who wear the mask are hackers.

Oliver North is right: the enemy could be anyone. It could be me. It could be you. It could even be the folks on TV, trying to sell you a video game.

As much as this sounds like a Red Dead Redemption marketing stunt, it's a real thing.

Police in Texas are on the lookout for a man believed to be on a GameStop-robbing spree, hitting as many as five stores in the state.

Having robbed a store in Haltom City at gunpoint, they believe he's also the man responsible for the hold-up of GameStop stores in Watauga, Roanoke, North Richland Hills and Hurst as well.

In addition to appeals from Police for information, GameStop itself is offering $5000 for information leading to his arrest. He's pictured above, so if you feel like ripping this off the screen, stuffing it in your vest and riding off into the sunset to get your man, go knock yourself out, cowboy.

GameStop robber suspected in series of DFW holdups [Star Telegram, thanks Kyle!]

The Halo 4 live action web series announced earlier this week is already filming, on the campus of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.

Reader xxxblank just so happens to attend Simon Fraser University, and says the film crew has been transforming various parts of the grounds into something a little more futuristic.

The university's official line on the "renovations" is as follows:

The film is called Sleeper, the story of a young man in a futuristic military academy who struggles with his destiny as a soldier-and with an alien invasion.

An adorable cover story, but the giant UNSC murals and Spartans carrying Halo rifles kind of give the game away.

Seeing as the series' plot is about Master Chief "inspiring" a young cadet, guess this is the cadet's academy!

In case you haven't seen it already, Oliver North is now selling video games. And fear. It's a step down from illegally selling weapons, true, but it's still raising eyebrows.

Go on, take a look at these clips. They're part of a "documentary" released by publishers Activision to coincide with the reveal of the latest Call of Duty blockbuster, Black Ops II.

You'll notice, hey, there's Oliver North. Using his name, his brand, and a strong dose of fear, to talk about war. Well, not really. To help sell a video game.

How North is viewed today largely depends on your knowledge of history and your political alignment. Conservatives may think North is a popular political commentator. Others will say, you know what, the guy is practically a war criminal.

Either way, here's the facts: Oliver North was the bagman for a harebrained and illegal plan to sell arms directly to Iran in hopes the transaction would free hostages. He's alleged to have been heavily involved in drug trafficking. He only avoided serious punishment because he was granted immunity in exchange for testimony. The "Iran-Contra" scandal he was so knee-deep in helped make the Reagan administration the most indicted presidential adminstration in history, a distinction that stands to this day.

He's had somewhat of a career renovation since then, especially in recent years (and amongst those who call him "Author Oliver North" or "War Correspondent Oliver North"), but that's papering over some very illegal cracks. The guy has a sustained record of doing some very bad shit, all set in the same murky context as the game he's now helping sell.

This makes his employment for this commercial not just a commercial decision, but a political one. While nothing he says in this "documentary" is inherently political in itself, the fact remains North is a talisman to some in the Republican party, and in the context of this game - about covert military operations - he is instantly recognisable. Something Activision's marketing team would surely have been aware of.

What does this say, then, about the market for a game like Call of Duty? Does Activision really believe its core market is so full of gun-crazy, right-wing types that it feels entirely comfortable employing Oliver North as someone to help sell the game? That those fans will think, "hey, here's a guy who knows about war", and not, "hey, here's a disgraced veteran who dragged America's name through the mud"?

Of course it does. It's exactly what it's banking on.

Which is why this is so messed up. This is like G. Gordon Liddy being roped in to help sell Hitman. It's fundamentally gross.

So, how about that Black Ops II trailer? Pretty explosive stuff. Now that you know more about the game itself, I thought it might be fun to go through some image-grabs from the trailer, just to tell you what I'm seeing there and how it lines up with that I saw of the game last week.

Here's the cockpit of a VTOL, one of the vehicles in the game.

More VTOLs. See how they soar!

The end-result of a successful mission, this went down in-engine and was appropriately bombastic.

The name I assigned to this image is "Building Exploding." I leave it to you to determine why that is.

The name of THIS image is "Building Exploding 2." Really, this should have been the first one, since it's a better picture.

Here is a CLAW unmanned tank wrecking some shit.

Another, better shot of the CLAW. These will be controllable in the Strike Force game mode, and doubtless in the rest of the campaign as well.

Here's the protagonist hopping into the cockpit of a futuristic anti-aircraft gun.

Some VTOL dogfighting—not all of the VTOL segments are on rails.

The view from inside of one of the flying drones during a Strike Force mission.

This is how your character issues controls to drones in the single-player campaign. You don't assume direct control of them; rather, you issue waypoints and commands on the fly.

One of the unmanned drones that attacks LA. Oh, how our hubris has turned against us!

A great shot of some more drones. The evil-looking bastards.

Frank Woods, who tells the story of Black Ops II. Not looking so hot, Frank. I guess you're pretty old at this point.

Hey, it's a guy in a gas mask! Maybe it's Ghost's cousin or something.

So yes, horses. Look at the pretty horses. There will be horses in this game.

Also, soldiers.

Also, exploding terrorists.

Sometimes, the horses and the helicopters will meet.

Here's a shot of the drone attack on LA, which seems to be what kicks off the story.

Okay, now we're just into some glory-shots of LA being destroyed. Let's keep on moving...

...more LA destruction...

...and more, also a shot that sort of makes me want to play Vice City...

...Oh hey! It's Nelson. This is the guy that I have a fair hunch is played by Michael Rooker.

Here's Nelson looking at some serious wreckage. Man, look at all that wreckage.

An overhead shot of a tactical strike—unclear whether this is from the campaign (likely) or from Strike Force.

Soldiers. America. Why We Fight. Freedom. Oorah. Oscar Mike.

More or less the entire squad of a Strike Force operation—aerial drones, ground drones, and an armed squad of soldiers.

Frank Woods is scared! Don't go! Don't leave him!

...That's when the cobras come.

Last week, I headed down to visit with Treyarch in Santa Monica to get an extended look at Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Our visit was entirely hands-off, and consisted mostly of a series of in-game demos of missions from the single-player campaign, as well as a new open-ended single-player mode called "Strike Force." The in-game missions were mostly set during a drone attack of Los Angeles, but we caught a few glimpses of other sections, as well.

Rather than write a huge narrative preview, I thought I'd just cut right to the chase and list as many facts about the game as I could.

I almost hit Stephen's standing record of 50, but fell just short. Oh well! There's a reason he's the boss.

Here now, 48 facts about Call of Duty: Black Ops II. From single-player to Strike Force all the way to Multiplayer and Zombies. (Less info on those last two, unfortunately.) Buckle up. Let's start with...

The Story

• The game's story will jump between two timelines, with the primary one set in 2025. "Most" of the game will be set in 2025.
• It is a direct sequel to Black Ops.
• We will find out definitively what happened at the end of Black Ops—presumably, Mason didn't actually kill JFK, given that he's out in the field in Black Ops II. But who knows?
• The second timeline will be set in the late 80's near the end of the Cold War.
• The story will be narrated by Black Ops character Frank Woods, now an old man. Apparently he didn't die at the end of Black Ops after all.
• In the 80's timeline, players will take on the role of Black Ops protagonist Alex Mason.
• In 2025, players will take on the role of David Mason, who is the son of Alex Mason. The father/son relationship will play a part in the story. Hello daddening of video games!
• In the game's fiction, there is a second Cold War happening between China and the US due to the scarcity of Rare Earth Elements used to make tech devices and military weapons.
• The story is based on a real-world possibility, as China (according to the folks at Treyarch) currently controls 95% of the rare earth elements in the world. Topical!
• Many of the real-world hooks are inspired by P.W. Singer's Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century.
• A good deal of the 1980's action will take place during proxy wars in Central America. Tropical!

• 

  
  
• Game Director Dave Anthony hinted that we may find out more about "imaginary" Viktor Reznov. "He was essentially a figment of the player's imagination," Anthony said.

  "Or was he?" Studio Director Mark Lamia chimed in, playfully. "Will we find out more about that?" asked Anthony with a smirk.

  
  
• David Mason (the son)'s callsign is "Section." Which is kind of a cool callsign.
• The villain will be a man named Raul Menendez, who in 2025 is pitting the Chinese and US governments against each other by hacking into their drones and other robotic weapons.
• The 1980's missions will chronicle what started Menendez on setting his current-day plans in motion.
• The story is was written from the ground up by Dark Knight and Batman Begins co-writer David Goyer. Goyer joined the first Black Ops part of the way through. He wanted to "create a memorable villain" with Menendez.
• Menendez has hacked into the US's unmanned drones and unleashed an attack on Los Angeles. In the mission we saw, a fleet of drones were destroying buildings in downtown LA.

• 

  
  

• ---

• There will be at least one female soldier in the game, a pilot named Anderson. She laid quite a bit of waste during the entire LA mission.
• The president in 2025 is also a woman, and appeared in the LA mission.
• David Mason's sidekick is a soldier named Nelson who appears to be played by Michael Rooker of Mallrats and The Walking Dead fame.
• The game will be using full-body performance capture to place its actors in the game; the tech demo I saw demonstrated both male and female actors captured with the sort of clarity we've come to expect from games using full-performance capture. James Burns will be reprising his role as Frank Woods, of course.

• 

  
  

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  The Gameplay

• From what I saw in several demo sections set in a burning, futuristic LA, drones are controllable in combat and will play a large part in the game. Players have a drone-controller on their wrist in the game, and can use it to assign targets and waypoints.
• There will be horses, and horseback-riding, during at least one sequence in the 1980's. They even went so far as to bring a horse into the motion capture studio.
• At one point in the demo, the player jumped into a futuristic anti-aircraft gun and shot down enemy drones.
• Vehicle segments will be back, including one piloting a futuristic VTOL airship. Part of the VTOL mission was mostly on-rails, but the second part involved free-flying and dogfighting with drones.
• The Black Ops II story will be branching—it will feature choices and variable outcomes. Wait, what? Yep.
• At one point, players had an option to either grab a sniper rifle and cover their squad, or rappel down to join up with them. Presumably that choice leads to a slightly different gameplay experience—this looks like one of the smaller of the choices offered in the game.
• A large part of the branching will be due to Strike Force, which is a brand-new game mode featuring tactical, open-ended gameplay in sandbox-style levels.

• 

  
  

• ---

  
  

  The New Game Mode: "Strike Force"

  An in-depth look at Strike Force can be found here.

  
  
• Strike Force missions will be woven into the core single-player campaign, and will present themselves as various black ops missions available around the globe.
• Players won't be able to play all of the strike force missions in a single playthrough.
• Strike Force is currently only included in the campaign and isn't a separate mode. It won't allow for multiplayer but, at some point down the road, could be fleshed out. "Things like Zombies originally started as unlocks," said an Activision representative after we followed up to make sure. "We're not taking the option off the table."
• Depending on the outcome of a given strike force mission, the story will change. "You're going to choose a mission," said Lamia, "and that's a branch for the story. Say there's three missions out there—you're not going to go back and play all of them; the story goes on. If you die on a strike force mission, you die in the story."
• Going on that, it would seem that the playable characters don't feature in the Strike Force missions.
• Strike Force allows players to control squads of troops, giving follow/hold commands with the shoulder buttons.
• Strike Force also allows a zoomed-out command view via an unmanned aerial drone that lets you to set waypoints for your units to achieve shifting goals.
• Strike Force will allow you to control (at the very least) armed aerial drones, armed land-drones, and unarmed aerial drones in addition to being able to hop to the viewpoint of any of the soldiers in your squad.

• 

  
  

• ---

• The strike force missions will unfold organically but will be written into the story—in that way, they'll function somewhat like a single-player version of the multiplayer in Mass Effect 3.
• I think I heard Kiefer Sutherland voicing one of the squad members in Strike Force, but I'm not sure. Consider this a Kiefer! Rumor!

• 
  

  Multiplayer

• Multiplayer director David Vonderhaar relayed that the new approach they are taking is "One size does not fit all." That means, he said, that there is no one way to play a Call of Duty game. So, they're pulling back features like create-a-class, killstreaks, and other features and reexamining them, challenging their assumptions of "what cows are sacred."
• Multiplayer will take place entirely in the year 2025—there will be no multiplayer missions set in the 80's.
• They are taking the E-sports community very seriously. In part, that means that they're focusing on making the game more fun to watch as a spectator. Hopefully that means super cute, colorful uniforms!

  

  
  

• ---

• Online Director Dan Bunting took us through a tech demo of the upgraded graphics; while lighting upgrades and tech aren't usually the most interesting topics, what they were showing looked great. As they put it, they are aiming for "PC quality graphics running at 60 FPS on a console." The illusion was quite convincing.
• We saw two unpopulated multiplayer maps: The first map we saw was a naturalistic map located in a village in Yemen.
• The second map was called "Aftermath" and was set in a ruined downtown LA, presumably after the drone-attack that we saw in the demo.

• 
  

  Zombies

• Zombies will definitely be back in Black Ops II, and will feature all new modes that are more fleshed-out than ever.
• "There will be more zombies and more modes; just more."
• The zombies are "In the multiplayer engine." "If you think about all of the things we can do with our multiplayer engine," Lamia said, "You can start to think about how we might be looking at this." Okay then!
• Zombies are the only confirmed co-op aspect of Black Ops II. The campaign and strike-force modes do not appear to feature co-op.

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And that's that.

48 facts about Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The final two facts will be made available as DLC.

(Just kidding.)

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Everything We Know About Call of Duty: Black Ops II

We've seen the amazing new Call of Duty, and we can't wait to play it on November 13. Today, we're telling you all about it...

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