"Escarface" - A Senior Heist Short

Over a game of Scrabble, two grannies come to the realization that some drastic actions must be taken to activate their trip to their favorite stool museum. The word 'Braquage' gets spelled out (French for 'stickup') and their plan goes into effect to raid a bank in order to get what they need in this fun CG short about a pair of truly unlikely robbers.

Co-directed by Eva Navaux, Burcu Sankur, Vincent Meunier, Lionel Arnold, Dario Sabato, Pierre plouzeau for their Supinfocom graduation project.

"When Marnie Was There" - A First Look At Studio Ghibli's Upcoming Feature

Studio Ghibli's next project will feature Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Arrietty) resuming the directors post in this adaptation of Joan G. Robinson's novel by the same name. This premiere trailer seems to indicate that this will be another understated feature following a trend that the studio has adopted since 2008's Ponyo, which was probably their last 'fantastical' feature. Not that we mind, The Wind Rises (2014) was probably one of the best movies the studio's ever put out. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Anna hasn't a friend in the world - until she meets Marnie among the sand dunes. But Marnie isn't all she seems...

An atmospheric ghost story with truths to tell about friendship, families and loneliness. Anna lives with foster parents, a misfit with no friends, always on the outside of things. Then she is sent to Norfolk to stay with old Mr and Mrs Pegg, where she runs wild on the sand dunes and around the water. There is a house, the Marsh House, which she feels she recognizes - and she soon meets a strange little girl called Marnie, who becomes Anna's first ever friend. Then one day, Marnie vanishes.

Worth Checking Out - "Gods Will Be Watching"

Seriously developers, keep the point-and-clicks coming, they're only getting better! Deconstructeam's Gods Will Be Watching is an interesting and brutal take on the point-and-click adventure formula, putting players in the midst of multiple moral dilemmas. Every choice you make has consequences, and as seen by the above trailer, some of those consequences are a bit brutal. 

The narrative based puzzles in Gods Will Be Watching aren't to be taken lightly, as each choice will directly effect you and your team. What's interesting is the game's focus on you and your teams relationship, creating tense moments that will force players to decide to save the lives of your team members or the lives of thousands more.

Gods Will Be Watching is an incredibly intriguing take on moral choice in games, and while it's difficult to judge the game's focus it's characters the in-game choices shown provide plenty of potential for experimentation for different outcomes. Gods Will Be Watching is set to release on steam July 24th. If you're interested in giving the demo a go, check out their website over here.

The Character Art of Warashiz

(via)

Not much can be found in terms of info for the Japanese artist, Warashiz, but what can be found is an amazing assortment of character portraits. With part cyberpunk and part pure punk style, Warashiz's collection of characters is a damn awesome thing. Made up almost entirely of female characters, Warashiz's style, while unique, holds a vibe similar to that Jamie Hewlett's Tank Girl with a bit of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell tossed in for good measure.  

If you're in need of a little inspiration to get you the motivation needed to keep up the art Warashiz's pixiv, is an awesome evolution of their style and artist ability. Starting from a relatively limited color palette to the bright and colorful work found in this post, Warashiz has grown immensely as an artist. After the break is more of Warashiz's work, take a peek!

"Fight!" - A Stop Motion Beatdown

Last year Emma de Swaef and Mark James Roels directed an awesome felt stop-motion trailer to introduce the 2013 Festival National du Film d'Animation, based in France.  Two rotund men wrestle to victory, but end up finding some common ground.  It's short, simple, to the point, yet I can only imagine the work put into it, as is the case with all stop-motion work.  The use of felt was a great touch, something not seen often.

"When You Broke My Heart"

For all it's bright colors, and whimsical, stylized design, the animated short "When You Broke My Heart" is sad tale indeed.  A king of sorts is left by his queen, due to his gaming.  He sets on a quest to win her back, but of course, comes across obstacles on his way.  It's another fantastic animated short from a group at Supinfocom.

Doprah - "Stranger People"

Surreal pop duo Doprah hail from New Zealand, and they seem to be set to make some waves with their very distinct, 'sinister pop' vibes. The eclectic sound of this two person outfit, comprised of John Marr and Indira Force brings to mind the ethereal vocal style that made artists like Bjork so memorable.

The music video though is a different story altogether, offering what appears to be a warped take on Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's already unsettling Ponponpon music video and J-pop tropes in general. The final result could be best summed up as open to your own interpretation. If Doprah's curious sound piqued your attention, you can check out their EP over on their Bandcamp.

Robogal's Cute Mixtape - Something On Your Nose!

(Via)

Monday, meh. Animals amusing me, not so meh. Some say they were made for our enjoyment, while others will heartily disagree. You can argue intent, but the outcome is still the same: They bring a hell of a lot of joy, and a harmless balancing act is no except. Usually left to the always-wanting-to-impress dog, we have found a few fun exceptions (whether they cared for it or not, is up to debate).

Check out more nose tricks after the break!

"Mother Brain's Revenge" By Leigh Flurry

(Via)

Created for Streets Of Beige's 16 Bit Brawl exhibition, UK based illustrator Leigh Flurry created this most excellent tribute to arguably the best Metroid ever (In the side scrolling category). Featuring the likes of Mother Brain, Craid, Crocomire, Phantoon and all the other bosses in Super Metroid, his tribute is quite an eyeful.

Check out a breakdown of all the individual elements of Mother Brain's Revenge after the break, and you can view the rest of the entries for the Streets Of Beige exhibition over here. Enjoy!

"Diner Danger" - A Tale Of Modest Dogs, Tomato Sandwiches And Cannibal Lizards

Every once in a while desert dogs just want a tomato sandwich, but sometimes encounters with desert lizard bikers with a hankering for human BBQ inevitably gets in the way of fulfilling that desire. Tom Hunter's graduation short is absolutely top notch, and it actually felt like I was watching a pilot for an as of yet undeveloped Adult Swim show (That I'd absolutely watch).

Thomas Hunter created this short while attending RMIT in Melbourne, and has since gone on to work on projects including Adventure Time, Yo Gabba Gabba and a handful of pilots for studios including Adult Swim and Federator.

"Happy Unhappy"

Created by Jean Liang over the course of 8 months at Sheridian College, Happy Unhappy follows the ups and downs of a cat during his everyday routine. Every accident, rejection and moment which reminds him of his current situation ultimately leaves a mark. And once those marks add up to a certain point snapping is the only way out.

The geometric look of the environments and characters brings back memories of David O' Reilly's work, who's definitely inspired an entire generation of animators with ground breaking shorts like The External World.

"BEACON" - A Sci-fi Roguelike With Body Horror?

(Via)

I've been an avid admirer of indie developer Monothetic ever since they released their first non-commercial mod project Black Snow in 2012. With its hope-crippling atmosphere and Carpenter-esque horror aesthetic, I've been patiently chomping at the bit to see what this young studio has to offer for their first commercial title. It looks I won't have to wait much longer as Beacon, a sci-fi horror Roguelike, is tentatively slated for release later this year. The game sounds like your average top-down action RPG, with one exception...

As in all Roguelikes, when you die in Beacon, you’ll be sent back to the beginning of the game, losing any weaponry and items you might have picked up along the way. However, rather than losing it, the DNA you harvested in that life is sent back to your personal clone bay (one of the few pieces of your ship still functioning), and spliced together with your own for your next life. This adds a level of  permanence to Beacon, as each subsequent life will stack more harvested DNA on top of what you had before, resulting in stat augmentations and (in extreme cases) full-fledged physical mutations. Be warned, however; not every mutation will be a positive thing.

If implemented correctly, this DNA element could result in a slew of compelling gameplay variations. A top-down action game that rewards trial-by-fire tenacity à la Diablo and Hotline Miami, balanced with a permanent trait bonus system that becomes deadly if left unchecked? Sign me up. Check out more of the mock-up concept art after the break!

Luke Parker's Cyborg Ninja Covers Are Amazing

(via)

Luke Parker is a UK-based comic artist whose pulp comic-infused illustrations proudly take after the dark angular aesthetic of Mike Mignola. He's also an avid Metal Gear fan, having completed a series of comic covers dedicated to Gray Fox, Olga Gurlukovich, and the ever-evolving Raiden.

The attention to detail and visual callbacks are proof of not only a love for the history of the franchise but the cultural maturation of comics as an artistic medium. The yellow frayed edging, the layers of wear-and-tear scratching, the "Luke Paker" comic code stamp. Not to mention the hilarious Metal Gear quotes embossed on the cover. There's a lot to love about this series. Poster-size prints are available through GameTee. Check out the rest of the series, including some sick-looking variants, below the break!

The Art Of Hooook

(Via)

Hooook, aka 오우진 (Ohwoojin) is a South Korean illustrator with a fantastic painterly style prevalent throughout his work, mixed with a moody aesthetic that emphasizes selling an atmosphere above all else. His work is filled with mythological overtones with pieces dedicated to mermaids, minotaurs and shape shifters, although none of these pieces present these concepts in a way that's familiar.

Quite opposite, there's an dark overtone to all his work- Characters faces are buried in darkness, subjects have their backs turned to the viewer, and an unnatural light seems to occupy the spaces that these creatures inhabit. Yet those choices are what make his retreading of such familiar concepts so refreshing..Simply presenting them in a different light goes a long way. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

"The Gunfighter" - One Very Meta Western

The Gunfighter is a fun, tongue in cheek and very meta short directed by Eli Kissack, exploring the concept of what would happen if a protagonist all of a sudden was able to hear his narrator. Especially for anyone who's played The Stanley Parable, the entire short film becomes a matter of protagonist choices becoming inevitably driven by this voice.

While it starts off like a relatively tame saloon showdown, the narrator chooses to hilariously turn this affair into a very awkward, personal airing of everyone's dirty laundry. Featuring the smoky vocals of Nick Offerman, who depending on your outlook is either a straight shooter or plain out villainous in his homewrecking intent.

Glen Keane's "The Duet"

Legendary Disney animator Glen Keane (Tangled, Paperman) worked with Google on a project called Duet, as part of their Spotlight Stories initiative. Duet tells the story of Mia and Tosh, and how their individual paths in life weave together to create an inspired duet.

Created in collaboration with Motorola, Spotlight Stories is a creative endeavor intended to offer users a completely new, and creative way of interacting with their phones using technology like augmented reality, smart sensors and animation to create an all new narrative experience.

A very curious experiment, although I'm most interested in figuring out how the companies involved intend to apply the knowledge gleaned from this experimental project on a broader scope.