Category Archives: Technology

The Batman Miniature Game Is Getting an App for iOS and Android

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Knight Models has revealed an app is in development for the Batman Miniature Game. An app has been wanted by the community for some time and it looks like this app delivers everything you could want. The app will be available for free.

In development for iOS and Android, the app combines all of the character cards compatible with the third edition of Batman Miniature Game. Knight Models also announced they will update and improve character cards periodically through the app to improve balance in the game.

The Batman Miniature Game app will allow players to create lists as well as feature character cards, abilities, and weapons. Players will also be able to keep track of the wounds suffered and ammunition spent firing their weapons.

In the app you will be able to:

  • Recruit crews
  • Check character cards
  • Check/manage equipment
  • Customize objective decks
  • Fully interactive cards to read details/information
  • Access rules

With the app, there also comes a big change to the Batman Miniature Game. Releases will no longer include cards. There is now an Objective card pack. Cards will be available until they’re exhausted and then they will no longer be packed in with miniatures. Cards will still be uploaded digitally to their site so those that do like to print cards can continue to do so.

The Batman Miniature Game app is in development and will be tested by the community. No date for release has been given.

Heavy Metal and Golden Apple Collaborate on WonderCon VR Experience

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Heavy Metal

Golden Apple Productions, the publishing and production arm of famed LA comic book shop Golden Apple Comics, is launching Golden Apple VR, a first-of-its-kind Virtual Reality space where fans around the world can connect with creators and IP, 365 days a year. Golden Apple VR launches this Friday (3/26), corresponding with pop-culture convention WonderCon, which has gone virtual this year. Golden Apple VR will livestream convention panels in a virtual space Friday and Saturday and host an exclusive VR Q&A in conjunction with legendary sci-fi/fantasy comic magazine, Heavy Metal. A post-panel Industry Mixer will cap off the events on Saturday.

When the pandemic changed the way fans engage with creators and IP, Golden Apple Comics owner, Ryan Liebowitz, saw an opportunity to not just give fans a unique, safe space to engage with their fandom, but also to fix a growing industry concern. “There’s been a problem for years where fans only have a few times and places a year where they can engage in public fandom. The aim of Golden Apple VR isn’t just to create a virtual hangout space because of the pandemic. We want to broaden the scope and reach of any convention, signing, promotion and pop culture event to the entire world.”

Instead of a handful of conventions that are often geographically inconvenient, Golden Apple VR brings “the Con” to you. Added Liebowitz, “Only 150,000 people can go to San Diego Comic-Con and the badges and hotel rooms sell out in less than ten minutes. With Golden Apple VR, an infinite number of people from around the world can meet up online. Instead of reaching a finite amount of people, cons could reach millions.”

Golden Apple VR will launch with two “environments”: one space is a scale replica of their flagship comic shop on the corner of Melrose and LaBrea in Hollywood, and the other space, accessible through a portal in the back of the virtual comic shop, is The Promenade, a virtual outdoor public gathering area, similar to what fans would experience at a physical convention. In The Promenade, fans from anywhere in the world can gather for a watch party of livestream panels from WonderCon, show off their virtual avatars, and geek out with like-minded fans.

Inside the virtual Golden Apple Comics shop, fans can peruse the shelves of comics, just like they would at their physical store. For now, fans can just touch and look, but in future updates, virtual patrons will be able to purchase physical comics and merchandise from the shop or any environment inside Golden Apple VR. Eventually, brands and creators will be able to set up virtual shops that can be open any day of the year. And environments like The Promenade can be easily re-skinned for targeted events, like the launch of the latest Funko POP! or a Marvel watch party. Liebowitz notes, “The potential is endless.”

Golden Apple VR was brought to life by Kari Dietrich from digital strategy firm, Partikle, and Big Rock Creative, experts in the social VR space and founders of BRCvr, an official Burning Man Experience, which won the firm this year’s Producer’s Guild of America Innovation Award. “When I saw BRCvr, I felt that something amazing could be started for the comic fans and industry professionals,” said Dietrich. “Together with Golden Apple, we look forward to growing the virtual experience for one and all.” Producer’s Guild of America Innovation Award this year.

Through the Burning Man VR Experience, Athena Demos of Big Rock Creative has seen firsthand the power of connecting fans in a virtual space. “At the height of the pandemic, we welcomed over 90,000 visitors into 200 worlds created by 100 artists. Since then, in partnership with Microsoft’s AltSpaceVR platform, we have seen exponential growth in reach and cross-cultural connections by adding seven additional languages, customized interactables, and integrations with passionate brands.” When it came to selecting the right passionate brand to partner with for the launch of Golden Apple VR, Heavy Metal was an obvious choice.

For Heavy Metal CEO, Matthew Medney, making the leap into VR has been a long time coming. “Both Heavy Metal and Golden Apple are in the business of magical worlds, and have been for over 4 decades. Moving from the magic of pages to VR Voids is something we’ve published countless times, in numerous variations, most notably in Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep. It is crazy to see now, all these years later, this fictional construct starting to seep into our everyday life. As I always say, all science started as fiction.” During the exclusive Heavy Metal Q&A, fans from around the world can meet and interact with George C. Romero (The Rise, Cold Dead War), Blake Northcott (SYNAP$E, Echoes From the Void), Brendan Columbus (Savage Circus) and Medney himself (Beyond Kuiper, Dark Wing).

Golden Apple VR is accessible through AltSpaceVR, the world’s largest social VR gathering platform. After creating a free account, fans can access the roster of all Golden Apple Events through the AltSpace Events tab or by going to this site. And fans without a VR headset can still enjoy the events from their PC/Mac or smartphone.

Omar Spahi embraces NFT with the comic Xenoglyphs

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Omar Spahi

Indie comics creator Omar Spahi has announced that his comic series Xenoglyphs will be released in single-issue format first on Rarible.com, making it the first full comic book story released as a one-of-one digital collectible.

As a comic book indie creator embracing the emerging NFT platform and technology, Spahi hopes to change the way indie creators use technology to generate income and broaden their fanbases.

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, which means that unlike bitcoin, it cannot be traded for another identical token. Each NFT is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece, and if you trade it, you are trading it for another completely different collectible. It’s the one-of-one approach that makes Spahi’s plan unique, in that the rarity of the item – historically speaking – is something that is typically appealing to collectors of comics.

I strive to be groundbreaking in this space, it’s not just for myself, but for the comics community at large. There are many misconceptions about this technology and much to learn in the days ahead, but the potential rewards for creative participants on a project like this are undeniable.

Unlike the printed comic market, which usually cannot sustain a one-of-a-kind product, the NFT model allows us to offer something that is truly distinct and unique to a collector. If you just like the artwork, we will make digital prints available to anyone who wants one, but the collectible itself is limited to one.

As NFT collectibles are traded and resold, the potential for increased value only grows. This means a writer or artist can be paid on an NFT comic at potentially higher rates than through traditional channels. We don’t intend for this to replace direct market comic distribution, but it certainly levels the playing field amongst indies and corporate publishers.

We’re on the precipice of a new era of collectibles, and I feel Xenoglyphs has a chance of appealing to people through Rarible.com who have never read anything in this format before. And for those who have, this is a chance to be the first collector to own a full comic book in this format.

Spahi sees strong potential here for putting power into the hands of artists and writers. The long lifecycle and trading and reselling potential of an NFT collectible has opened up new earning opportunities, and the stakes are much higher than in physical media.

Spahi’s Xenoglyphs is the story of best friends Steven and Dom as they try to stop Anubis, the master of evil, from collecting all nine elemental stones, known as Xenoglyphs.

If someone holds a stone they control that element. For example, if someone holds the Water Stone they have the power to control all the water around them.

You can bid on Xenoglyphs at Rarible.

Xenoglyphs

Toybox and Warner Bros. Consumer Products to Develop a 3D Printing Toy Range

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Toybox

Toybox, the 3D printer for kids of all ages has partnered with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to provide their customers the ability to print Warner Bros’ iconic and fan-favorite IP characters. Toy Box fans will now be able to print items based on; DC, Cartoon Network, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, Friends, Seinfeld, and classic movies such as Polar Express and Elf.

Customers will be able to buy a range of toys starting with DC’s Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman by purchasing Toybox Bolts, an online currency unique to the Toybox platform. This is a first of its kind licensing agreement with a major studio that allows customers to print their toys at home…no two-day shipping or trip to the store needed.

Toys available to print at launch will be Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman action figures with nine points of articulation, Batarangs, Batman’s Batcave computer, Batmobile, Batman disc launcher, Bat-Signal, Justice League disc launchers, Daily Planet building; with additional items to follow.

Build a 3D World for Dungeons & Dragons in Under a Minute with Cartographr

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Cartographr

Two NYU graduate students, Joanna Liu and Rivelle Levine, were doing their thesis research on tabletop gaming and realized a gap between the current gaming tools and players’ dream tools. They set their minds to make a dream map-creation tool that is one step closer to the future vision of a holographic tabletop. The result is Cartographr, a social media platform that provides a more affordable and more immersive experience for tabletop role-playing gamers. Powered by Augmented Reality technology and shareable user-generated content, the app makes collaborative virtual world creation seamless by using intuitive drag and drop gestures, on the devices players already own. Users can manipulate complex digital 3D environments in real space with a single finger. The Kickstarter is live​.

Cartographr is designed for both in-person and remote gameplay. When players are in-person, the tool uses Cloud Anchor AR technology,  allowing multiple players to see the same virtual objects, at the same physical location, at the same time. Game-stores of the future can use this technology to create their own dungeon for players to visit and explore in-person. When players are remote, the experience is very similar to Roll20, but in 3D. Everyone can load the map on their own table and see changes in real-time. All players can also access features such as fog of war, dynamic lighting, distance tracking, and music integration.

Other cool game mechanics include: a single button to change from tabletop-sized miniature view to life-size in-person view, the ability to turn on and off dynamic grids for terrain, and the ability to transition from third to first person view.

Traditional miniature artists are also excited about this tool because of its promise of scanning physical 3D minis into the app and a creator market that gives individual artists the chance to sell their 3D work in a groundbreaking, new way. 

The application will be available on both iPhone and Android for free when launched, plus an additional web-browser view. The Kickstarter campaign will give backers the opportunity to score some exclusive digital packages at a lower cost and also some cool merchandise, such as a “mimic” T-shirt that comes to life with AR. 

Read AWA Studios on Demand on Global Comix

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AWA Studios titles

We revealed two weeks ago in our weekly roundup that Artists Writers & Artisans (AWA) Studios has made its titles accessible to readers digitally through Global Comix, a new digital reading and distribution platform. An official announcement was made today of the partnership.

In less than a year, AWA Studios has unleashed titles with an impressive caliber of talent behind them, such as The Resistance by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato Jr.; Year Zero by Benjamin Percy and Ramon Rasonas; American Ronin by Peter Milligan and ACO; Bad Mother by Christa Faust and Mike Deodato Jr.; and Grendel, Kentucky by Jeff McComsey and Tommy Lee Edwards.

Comic book readers can now enjoy issues for free.

ALIEN and Forbidden Lands RPGs Launched on the Foundry Virtual Tabletop

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Taking another step into the world of virtual tabletop roleplaying, Free League Publishing has released its multiple award-winning RPGs ALIEN and Forbidden Lands on the Foundry platform. The Foundry modules are available as stand-alone digital products or in print and virtual bundles.

For the official ALIEN RPG (Gold ENNIE winner for Best Game 2020), the Starter Set, the Core Rulebook, and the Destroyer of Worlds cinematic scenario pack are now all available as Foundry modules, via the Free League webshop.

Alien RPG Foundry

For retro-fantasy survival RPGForbidden Lands (winner of four ENNIE Awards 2019), the core rules as well as the Raven’s Purge and The Bitter Reach campaign modules are both available on Foundry. This is the first official release of Forbidden Lands modules on a virtual tabletop.

Forbidden Lands Foundry

All the released game modules on Foundry are fully integrated with the VTT platform with online maps and diagrams, player handouts ready to share, and more. The Foundry modules are offered at a low introductory price, to invite previous owners of the physical products to try the virtual modules as well. For newcomers, the print & virtual bundles offers both in a competitive package.

A Foundry base license is required to use the VTT modules.

More games from Free League will be launched on Foundry and other virtual tabletop platforms in a near future.

Asmodee Digital games are coming to SquareOne

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Asmodee has announced that it has licensed its Asmodee Digital games to SquareOne. SquareOne is a new gaming system that blends board games and video games into one device.

SquareOne launched on Kickstarter in November and went on to eventually raise $219,755 from 380 backers.

It’s currently available on Indiegogo where it has raised an additional $237,773 from 404 backers. Expected to ship in December 2021, you can get the SquareOne Asmodee Edition for $649.

Valiant Entertainment Joins Forces with GIT Corp. & dDominium for Digital Collectibles

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Valiant Entertainment is working with GIT Corp. and dDominium to release brand-new Blockchain digital collectibles featuring characters from the Valiant Universe. This team-up between companies will produce all-new digital collectibles and autographs for Valiant fans to own and enjoy.

The popularity of blockchain collectibles and artwork has grown significantly over the past few years, featuring officially-licensed collectibles from top sports and entertainment properties. Blockchain provides true ownership of digital goods by allowing collectors to easily access, transfer, and prove ownership independent of any single entity — even if the original producer of the collectible goes out of business.

More information about the upcoming Valiant digital collectibles will soon be revealed.

Kindle Unlimited & comiXology Unlimited See Nearly 600 New Kodansha Additions

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Kodansha Comics has expanded their availability on comiXology Unlimited and Kindle Unlimited to include an additional nearly 600 manga volumes to the Amazon-powered comics, graphic novel and manga streaming services.

These additions which include volumes from manga series like Attack on Titan Before the Fall, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Gleipnir, Chihayafuru and more, join the 400+ manga titles already part of the streaming service. On top of that, select full series, like anime-inspiring manga, A Silent Voice, Inuyashiki, and Kiss Him Not Me, are now available for fans to read from start to finish. And as an added benefit fans can read many of these additions in Guided View, a proprietary technology that provides an immersive and cinematic, panel-to-panel reading experience.

Kodansha comiXology Unlimited

ComiXology Unlimited now offers over 25,000 comics, graphic novels and manga for just $5.99 a month with a 30-day free trial. Kindle Unlimited offers over 1 million titles, thousands of audiobooks, and select current issues of popular magazines for just $9.99 a month with a 30-day free trial.

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