Assassin's Creed Valhalla

If you haven't seen it yet here is the trailer for the much anticipated Assassin's Creed Valhalla.  

Much like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, you will be able to choose between a male and female character. The game shall also take place across multiple kingdoms, each very different in style. The co-op aspect that was rumoured has yet to be confirmed but I remain optimistic and excited. 

As a viking warrior you will take command of a clan that will clash with the Saxons in war. You will be able to shape your warrior through "advanced rpg mechanics" Ubisoft states that "With every choice you make, from political alliances and combat strategy to dialogue and gear progression, you will carve your own path to glory,"

Along with boats, outfit and settlement customisation, there is plenty to look forward to. 

MotoGp 20: Enthusiast Gamer

Motorbike enthusiast, Platinum Hunter and virtual photographer Enthusiast Gamer is back. Last week I featured him for his Days Gone shots, today a week later, we have his new work with MotoGp 20 by Milestone. 

Many virtual photographers I see of late are complaining about a "lack of games to shoot", or that the community is "too samey". To them I say try something new. Maybe racing games aren't your thing, but why not try shooting something different. Kevin has shot these racers wonderfully and with such a vibrancy. 

I could not resist showcasing these shots as they are simply stunning. One of my greatest joys and inspirations is when people shoot things outside of the current flavours on Instagram. Kevin has done just that and once again inspired me to try something new. 

For more of his work check out his Instagram here. 

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Premiere

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the full name of Ubisoft's Viking Assassin's Creed title.

A full world premiere for the game will be revealed tomorrow, Thursday 30th April, at 4pm BST time.

You will be able to watch the stream here.

Assassin's Creed Origins: Robert.mcb.Evans

Today we have the first in non-Days Gone Week showcases. I chose the virtual photography work of Robert.mcb.Evans and some of his shots from Assassin's Creed Origins. A real positive force within vp community on Instagram Robert always pays his respects to others, comments where comments are due and gives his support to other creatives. 

As a virtual photographer, like with any form of creativity, we all need a boost sometimes to get that rush of inspiration and positive energy. I have witnessed him not only do that with my personal work, but the photographs of many others too. 

Much like his outgoing personality, Robert's shots bring a tranquillity and honesty to the scenes he shoots. Above we see Bayek's humble beginnings and below we see the mighty Cleopatra contemplating her fate. To see more of his work check out his page here. 

VP Interview: Peppermint Gamer

Today we have an interview with PeppermintGamer. Both a musician and a virtual photographer. She dips into a variety of mediums to portray her love of gaming and film. Through this interview PeppermintGamer discusses her favourite games, her inspirations and gives us an insight into her musical talents. To see her music please check out her Instagram profile here, as I could not imbed the videos.

As always, I hope that you find the interview as inspiring as I did. Happy reading.

Assassin's Creed: Origins

What inspires you with your virtual photography? What is it that drives you and do you feel the photography links with your musical creativity?

Photography is all about capturing moments in time to look back on and remember. I thought that taking game screenshots is quite similar. I've already been taking screenshots here and there. But when I discovered photo mode in the Assassin's Creed games, I thought, "Why not share them on social media?" It's fun capturing fun, interesting, unique moments in games. I didn't know there was a virtual photography movement until I started seeing the tag on Instagram.

I suppose the creativity behind virtual photography has been making me feel more inspired to play more video game music and try something new.

Assassin's Creed: Origins

Out of all the games you take shots from, which is your favourite and why?

It's difficult to pick a favourite. Right now, it's Assassin's Creed: Origins. History is fascinating and I think it's awesome to be able to explore a virtual world and see what it might've been like back in ancient times. Great photo opportunities too!

Assassin's Creed: Origins

How long have you been playing the piano and do you have any other musical talents?

I started taking piano lessons at least 15 years ago, I think. I am a very musical person! I have choir, concert band, and orchestra experience too.

GRIS

In your music what/who would you say your biggest inspirations are?

Believe it or not, I completely stopped playing the piano for a couple of years because I was so tired of the stress and pressure of piano lessons. I wanted nothing to do with it and didn't think of enrolling in music when I started high school. But my friends in peer pressured me into signing up for music class and from there I kind of found love for music again. My high school music teacher was so inspiring and amazing.

AER Memories of Old

To others out there looking to express themselves more, what advice would you give them?

From an artistic sense, don't be afraid to try new things! Never say you are terrible at or can't do something and use it as an excuse. You don't have to be good at something to express it or share it. The more you practise and get feedback, the better you'll get!

A drawing by Peppermint Gamer

Now back to virtual photography. What games are you most looking forward to playing and taking shots of next?

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey for sure! I've had it for a while but I'll get to it eventually. Same for The Witcher 3! I do want to buy Metro Exodus and Plague: A Tale of Innocence as well!

Child of Light

Online Piracy risen by nearly 60%

According to the Guardian UK Piracy has risen massively during lockdown. It is during these times of self isolation and, for many, a lack of income that options become far more tantalising. This is not just a trend within the UK but worldwide as this graph from MUSO shows.

Films and hit shows such as Contagion and Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness have been huge draws for streaming services in recent weeks, and for illegal websites that host pirated copies.

“For the last three years of data, we’ve seen film and TV [piracy] in every single territory in the world spike at the weekends,” said Andy Chatterley, Muso’s chief executive. "The company now sees even more weekday film piracy by U.S. users than it previously did on weekends," he said.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness

The top pirate sites in the U.S, U.K, Germany, France, Italy and Spain served 50% more ads to users in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter, according to White Bullet Solutions Ltd., a London-based company tracking the advertising that supports intellectual property theft.

While Netflix and other streaming sites are having to reduce the quality of their streams to allow for the increased demand, many pirate streaming sites are still offering high definition viewing. 

"Netflix said it added more than double the number of subscribers it forecast in the first quarter, and Walt Disney Co. said it had 50 million subscribers to its Disney+ service on April 8, from 28.6 million in early February. It had told investors last year that it expected 60 million to 90 million signups by the end of fiscal 2024." - Wall Street Journal

In response to this increase social media companies have cracked down of streaming by banning certain URLs, while Europol warned customers that black market streaming can open you up to forms of cyber attack. Meanwhile police forces worldwide have been arresting people behind the piracy. 

With an increase in piracy and peoples desperation the chances of downloading harmful software has increased along with door to door and phone scamming of the elderly and vulnerable. 

Stay smart, stay safe. 

Animal Crossing: Fan Art

Maybe its lock down or perhaps it is just that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is simply that addictive and awesome. Fans have already put together some amazing content. 

KK Slider has always been the subject of a lot of affection in Animal Crossing. Fans over on Twitter have redrawn album covers to feature the popular virtual icon instead. 

Here are a handful below, to see more check out the #kkredraw here. 

As a little bonus here is Toto's Africa, reworked as an instrumental:

Days Gone Week: Focal Disposition

Over at The Broken Road it is Days Gone Week. Here on VP Vibrancy I am hosting a showcase of virtual photographers Days Gone work.

To close the week we have the work of Focal Disposition. He is a constant inspiration to myself and many others. His portraiture work is really shows off the high definition textures of the games that he photographs. The choice of subject angle and lighting are always well considered and spot on. To see more of his work check out his Instagram page here.

Days Gone Week: Sim Neil

Over at The Broken Road it is Days Gone Week. Here on VP Vibrancy I am hosting a showcase of virtual photographers Days Gone work.

To go alongside Kevin McAlister's interview we have the shots of @sim_nell_vp, Vice President of the Mongrels. Her shots really portray the raw emotion within the game and get across the highs and lows the characters go through on their journey.

VP Interview: Kevin McAlister

As you know this week is Day's Gone Week over at  The Broken Road. For some time I have been an avid follower of VikingDad aka Kevin McAlister the man behind this community event. He is a virtual photographer and blogger who solely focuses on the Days Gone and President of the Mongrels community. I always admire such focus, having spent years and hundreds of hours solely on Skyrim myself. 

Throughout this article we will find what drives his ambition and vision.

Hi Kevin, I am thrilled that you took the time to answer my questions here for the virtual photography community. My first question is what makes Days Gone such a standout title, for you but also in gaming in general?

Days Gone stands apart from other games on a personal level because of the story. The story resonated with me because the characters felt real. They had real emotions, real tribulations and behind all the darkness and chaos of the world lied the core themes of family, hope and trust. When you play this, you start thinking about how you would react if the world became like this. What actions would you take? How far would you go for your loved ones? Its games like this that get you thinking outside of the game itself.

Days Gone was ambitious and moved toward a new way of storytelling by creating this brand-new world, interwoven story lines and interactive open-world that comes for you at every angle. There are story moments in the game that players will remember for a long time. The technical feat that Bend Studio pulled off by having 500 Freakers on the screen at one time is something that hasn’t been done before. Days Gone is the start of what could be a long living PlayStation franchise and deserves to be mentioned in the top tier of games.

What drove you to start a blog focused solely on Days Gone?

The simple answer is, I just fell in love with the game. When I first created the blog, I just wanted a place to write and share my short stories within the Days Gone world. I also noticed that there wasn’t another outlet that focused solely on Days Gone, so I thought creating my own little corner could fulfill my own hunger for more of the game. As the blog became more known, it evolved to more than just writing short-stories and I started to include topics on the game, interviews from the team at Bend Studio, a gallery displaying my virtual photography and more.

How have you found the reception to what you have done so far?

Let’s just say I never imagined that this blog would have gotten this far. When I created this last June, I didn’t have a following on Twitter (maybe 25 followers?) and I didn’t have an Instagram. I was writing for myself because I was having fun with it. Days Gone is also where I first started the virtual photography art form. With the mesh of the blog, photos and posting my love for Days Gone it grew to lengths I didn’t expect. So, in less than a year I went from 25 followers to now almost 2000 with a blog that continues to have people visit it daily. However, numbers are not the measure for success. I just appreciate people reading my stuff, liking my photos and talking about the game to other like-minded people. I am blown away by the support I receive from Bend Studio, the virtual photography community and people not getting sick of me posting about one game! Also, I hold a monthly Days Gone virtual photography theme called VPDaysGone and each month I receive 100+ photos from the community and even a year after its release, I just get so happy that people still participate in it. As long as I keep having fun with it (as I am) I will continue and that is the type of reception that I focus on.

Having read your blog I was drawn to your interviews with Jeff Ross, Nathan Whitehead and Paul Deakin. How did it feel to be talking to some of the talent behind the games creation?

It was so cool and a little surreal honestly. Jeff Ross was my first interview, and this was the start of my continued relationship with Bend Studio. Being a small creator, you get lost behind the big voices of the gaming world, but Bend Studio took time to respond to me and gave me a chance. That I am very thankful for. I do this out of pure love for the game, so when developers take time out of their busy schedule to answer some of my questions I really just appreciate being able to interact with them and learn more about the game. 

Within the communities that you are part of is there any one you would like to give a shout out to. Perhaps people that have been somewhat a pillar of the community or helped you on your journey?

The two big communities I am apart of and love very much is my Days Gone community and virtual photography community. Without the support of these two, my blog and photos would not be seen. They have all been so friendly and supportive of me since I began this journey last year and it makes social media so much fun. I have a long list of people I would like to give a shoutout to, but we could be here awhile! Instead I’ll just mention a few. One of the first virtual photographers I came across was @dotpone. I never knew virtual photography was even a thing until I saw some of his shots. From there, I explored a whole community of people who share the same interest. @musa_warrior_vp was another VP I came across early on. It was always a pleasure interacting with him and he always showed me nothing but support and love. In my Days Gone community, I must give a shoutout to my Vice President of the Mongrels, @sim_nell_vp. Its fun being able to nerd out together about the one game we love, ask for advice on each other’s photos and to have someone like me to help keep the Days Gone community together.

Like anyone who takes the time to look at your blog, I have read the short stories you have written so far. Do you plan on writing more and what is it that draws you to create your own narrative within the world?

After I finished Days Gone, I was captivated by the story and characters as I said before. The game does a great job at setting world-building pieces throughout the world from environments, NERO recordings, collectables, and a starting point of two years after the world went to hell. All of this creates a sense that there is a bigger world at play here than what you are just doing with Deacon St. John. It reminds me of The Walking Dead and how they are building their own universe by creating spin-off shows, novels, video games and even movies. There is so much that can be explored and told through stories in this brand-new world of Days Gone. I began writing a few years ago and fell in love with creating my own stories. The more I play the game the more ideas I come up with, so yes you can definitely expect more stories down the road.


What is next for The Broken Road?

The Broken Road is just getting started! I do have a long-term plan in mind for the blog to evolve and improve. I constantly come up with more ideas. Being a perfectionist, my mind never stops! One thing that can be expected for the future at some point are more videos. The written format plays to a certain group of audience, so adding in additional content for people to consume is always a bonus. I have a couple more ideas that I don’t want to share quite yet, but I can say that when Days Gone 2 gets announced you will want to keep an eye on The Broken Road.

You can follow Kevin on both Twitter and Instagram. You can also join the Discord where Days Gone fans get together and talk everything and anything about Days Gone. Hope to see you on the broken road!

Days Gone Week: PigslaschDerMann

Over at The Broken Road it is Days Gone Week. Here on VP Vibrancy I am hosting a showcase of virtual photographers Days Gone work.

Pigslasch's virtual photography is always pleasing to the eye. Whether it is a military agent poised for the kill or a serene camp scene, his use of vivid colour and softness of his black and white shots are wonderful. 

Across his Instagram profile there is a wide range of landscapes and portraits throughout a variety of photo mode games. To see more of his work, check out his Instagram page here.

Days Gone Week: Dragngirle Gaming

Over at The Broken Road it is Days Gone Week. Here on VP Vibrancy I am hosting a showcase of virtual photographers Days Gone work.

Today we have a showcase from Dragngirle Gaming, a beautifully varied virtual photographer that turns her focus to one game at a time. Whether the game has an in built photo mode or not she shoots it regardless, creating a wonderfully diverse array of photos. 

Through these shots alone we can see the varied subject matter, but check out her profile here for a wide variety of landscapes, portraits and so much more.

Classic Carlos in RE3

It is times like this where I am in awe at the modding community. Resident Evil 2 was pumped full of so many amazing mods and now we have daily more and more arriving for Resident Evil 3. There are those modders out there that charge for their work. You could debate either side of this argument until the sun goes down and rises again.

Today saw the release of Classic Oliverira 1999 by DarknessRvaltier.
. You can go and download him for free here for PC. I cannot believe how well he has been realised. being a huge fan of the original it made my heart skip seeing this. 

Also if you fancy using a mod inspired by Julia Voth's face (The face capture actress from the 2002 remake of Resident Evil). You can download that here. 

The mod also by DarknessRvaltier, giving us the options and content we wish Capcom did. On his Nexus page you can also find Jill's classic outfit, playable characters: Chris and Claire Redfield, Nicholai, Mikhail and Dino Evil 3 for those wanting to relive their Dino Crisis Days.