At E3 2017, BioWare unveiled a new IP dubbed Anthem, which seeks to offer a similar experience to character-based online RPGs like Destiny and The Division. The game is a big priority for the developer and its publisher, EA, and now we’re seeing the follow-up to last month’s big reveal — a themed corn maze in rural Canada.
While other studios might resort to television ad campaigns or brain-teasing ARGs to promote their games, BioWare is opting for a day out the whole family can enjoy. A 17-acre field has been transformed into an enormous labyrinth based on the design of the exosuits worn by characters in the game.
The layout of the maze was the work of Neil Thompson, a BioWare veteran who serves as the director of art and animation on Anthem. “Never before had I worked with a medium as temperamental and as challenging as corn,” reflects Thompson in a video released by the studio detailing the project.
The concept apparently came from the game’s director, Jon Warner, who apparently “really had his heart set” on the idea of a corn maze. BioWare approached the nearby Edmonton Corn Maze, currently entering into its 17th year of operation, and offered to pay for rights to this year’s design.
“It’s a world where you can become lost with your friends,” said Warner of the maze’s relation to Anthem, quoted in a blog post on the BioWare website. “Sort of like getting lost in this maze. I mean, what better way to celebrate the growth of our new game than through corn, which also grows?”
The studio has stated that the corn maze may not be indicative of the gameplay at the core of Anthem. While the footage we saw at E3 may have made this obvious, the game’s focus is squarely on fighting aliens, rather than getting lost in an agricultural labyrinth.
It’s not quite an open beta, but the corn maze is currently the best option for anyone looking to experience Anthem firsthand ahead of the game’s release in 2018. The corn maze is now open, and will continue to welcome explorers until October 24, 2017.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.