Mobile architecture puzzle game Monument Valley could be the perfect video game to make into a Lego set. It may not be as popular as DC Comics or Minecraft, but many of the award-winning 2014 game’s geometric structures already look like they could have been made using Lego pieces.
It turns out the game may finally get a shot at a building toy tie-in, thanks to a fan-designed Monument Valley Lego set submitted to the company’s Lego Ideas community platform. Created by Lego Ideas user Isometry, the set proposed designs allowing players to build four different levels from the game, “The Garden,” “The Labyrinth,” the “Water Palace,” and “Halcyon Court.” According to the description, the level plans would feature interactive elements, including “rotating walkways” and water wheels. The set would also include character pieces — not mini-figures — based on protagonist Ida, the magical crow, and totem.
So far the set has garnered more than 1,300 supporters through the site, which is a good start, but a far cry from the 10,000 endorsements needed to garner direct consideration from Lego. Design proposals that amass enough public support are reviewed by Lego’s designers and marketing team to determine whether or not they would make viable products. Perhaps more importantly, Monument Valley developer Ustwogames tweeted their support for the project last week.
Would you love a Monument Valley themed LEGO set?! Support this fan idea and it may happen! https://t.co/10tfiG90xf pic.twitter.com/ALXk6VEJDc
— ustwo games (@ustwogames) February 5, 2016
For surpassing 1,000 user votes, the Monument Valley proposal has more than a year to get the support necessary to warrant an official review. If you like the idea, you can support the design by voting for it on Lego Ideas. If you haven’t tried the game yet, Monument Valley is available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
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.