My Nintendo App Launches

Across this blog I do focus most of my news items on PC and Playstation items. I had a couple of followers say how much they liked the news items, but how most of the time they were not very relevant to them. In an effort to correct this I shall throw in some more Nintento, iOS/Android and Xbox news when I come across it.

In Japan Nintendo has launched its My Nintendo App for both iOS and Android devices. Its been a long time coming but this app lets you check the latest Nintendo news, shop at the Nintendo Store, watch Nintendo Directs and even track your play time across your 3DS, Switch and Wii U.  Allowing those stat hungry players to salivate over their clocked up hours and the parents to help keep check of their child's potential gaming addiction. 

While there is no news on whether the rest of the world will see this app come to fruition fans are hopeful that something will see Western shores in the near future. 

Days Gone Week: Alexiou90

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.

In this showcase we have the shots of Alexiou90. His virtual photography often focuses on dynamic movement and action throughout a variety of photo mode games. In between these can be seen some shots of emotive portraiture, for more of his work check out his Instagram page here.

Days Gone Week: Gamez Photomode

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 Gamez_Photomode, his Instagram profile may only be two weeks old but it is clear hes a seasoned virtual photographer. Exploring a host of games with photo mode, he conveys emotion and drama superbly. 

To see more of his shots and to follow his VP journey check out his profile here.

Death Stranding Delayed on PC

Death Stranding shot by Leonardoxangel

Due to the global pandemic we are facing Death Stranding will not be hitting the PC until the 14th of July. This month delay is due to the slower progress as the team are working from home. The increase in development time leads to a guarantee in quality, which is after all, what we all want.

Days Gone Week: Brandon.VRS6

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.

Here we have Brandon, which you may remember from his The Last of Us Retrospective. He is what I like to call an emotive photographer. Whether it is a demon or even a faceless portrait Brandon does an amazing job at capturing the subjects emotions. All of his shots are bold, colourful and are a treat to behold. 

To see more of Brandon's work check out his Instagram here.

Days Gone Week: Artistry Impact

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.

The third in the Days Gone Week showcase is Artistry Impact and her wonderful choices of photographs. 

She mainly chooses to focus on portraits of people and animals but as you can tell from this small snippet of her work, she excels at whatever she turns her virtual lens to. Truly a gift to the community, it is no wonder she has such a following. For more of her work visit her Instgram page.

Days Gone Week: Enthusiast Gamer

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 the Enthusiast Gamer. Hailing from Belgium the trophy hunter hosts a plethora of shots from a wide variety of games. 

Often not the popular choices of photo mode games, Kevin pushes himself to shoot outside of the norm and photographs in any game that his playing. This makes even what could be considered, more outdated games stylish and vibrant. For more of his wonderful work check out his Instagram profile here.

Days Gone Week: The Inner Click

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.

The first is The Inner Click. Not only does he host a wonderful array of photos over on Instagram, but also has an astounding 961 platinum trophies in his PSN cabinet. With such dedication to his craft, he is certainly worth a follow. For more of his fantastic shots check out his Instagram profile here.

Days Gone Week

Join The Broken Road as they celebrate the one-year anniversary of Days Gone! 

"Fans around the world get to share, connect, create and discuss the game we love. You can take part in the celebration by sharing your Days Gone virtual photography, photo edits, streams, videos, fan-art, discussions and anything else you would like to add to the week. There will be interviews, giveaways, fan-appreciation videos, streams, a photo mode contest with prizes and more! Let’s show Bend Studio how much this game means to us!" - The Broken Road

As part of the weeks celebration here at VP Vibrancy I am hosting any virtual photographer's shots of Days Gone in the form of a mini showcase.

I hope you enjoy the ride! If you have shots and would like to be featured, contact me here. 

For everything Days Gone, check out The Broken Road!

VP Interview: Svid.vp

Today's interview is with Yuri aka Svid.vp. In my opinion he is the most prolific and iconic photographer of Horizon Zero Dawn, but also is by no means a one trick pony, having proven his skill set in other games as well. During this interview we focused on his love of the game, what drives him and we touch upon difficulties he has had with the online theft of his work.

Yuri, what made you delve into the virtual photography hobby and what does the hobby mean to you?

Well I started my virtual photography adventure back in 2013 when Bioshock Infinite came on PC, so I started to learn all things and adapting some techniques from my real photography into the virtual world.
In 2014 due to lack of time I quit posting and made shots from time to time for myself as wallpapers but was quiet in social media like steam or twitter.
In 2017, a close person to me passed away and that person always enjoyed my shots and I started to post again, as a reminder for me that this person really admired and loved my pictures. Ever since I keep posting and thinking: does he like this up stairs?

Horizon Zero Dawn shot by Svid.vp

Now there is no escaping the fact that you are a huge fan of Horizon Zero Dawn. How did you come to be so connected with this game and why did it become such a personal passion?

A close friend introduced me to Horizon Zero Dawn back in July 2017 and I was pretty impressed with the game so decided to buy a PS4 Pro. Ever since I love and admire the game even more each day, discovering new things and opportunities for portraits/ landscaped and such.

Horizon Zero Dawn shot by Svid.vp

 My big weakness is of course, Aloy portraits which I really love and enjoy to take. In my opinion, Aloy is one of the most beautiful female characters in a game. I really admire her character and personality as well as her beauty.

Horizon Zero Dawn shot by Svid.vp

Out of all the subjects and scenes you photograph, which is your favourite and why?

There are a lot of styles out there but the most iconic for me is portraits.
Getting closeups, using depth of field and the environment in the world in your favour to create the ultimate portrait is always a joy. I really love taking the shadow versus light portraits that make the character really stand out to make the most out of it.

Horizon Zero Dawn shot by Svid.vp

Now being such a prolific and standout virtual photographer, you have drawn the attention of many. Sadly this means many of your shots have been taken and used by others. Can you tell us a little about this journey and how you dealt with it?

This is pretty complicated topic to discuss so i'll try to make it simple. Legally, I can't really do much about it as a virtual photographer. Involving lawyers and taking legal actions is time consuming and because in most cases, the action is international, there is additional costs for it.

The best and the easiest way to battle this situation is just to place a watermark on your screenshots on tricky places so they can't crop it. The problem is, it ruins the shot and sometimes can make it look ugly. I just place it on the corner and hope for the best. But I have to note the awesome vp community that cares about each other, report thieves and are supportive and for that I'm grateful.
People should be inspired from other's work, not stealing. Learning from each other rather than steal other's work and claim as your own.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider shot by Svid.vp

Now back onto a more positive question. How much would you say Horizon Zero Dawn has changed your life?

This is the game that actually made me start posting again, but this time even on Instagram and Twitter. Most of the time I used flickr but because it's the number 1 source for theft I prefer to use the others as Instagram's community and Twitter are much more friendly.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider  shot by Svid.vp

Thanks to this game I have also met some amazing people and partners and I'm thankful for.

The game also changed my point of view in regards to virtual photography and made me to pay attention to all details in game. Sometimes the smallest things can make a huge difference in terms of composition and the overall capture.

Horizon Zero Dawn shot by Svid.vp

Aside from Horizon Zero Dawn what other games do you like to take shots in and why?

Except Horizon Zero Dawn, I shoot on my PC in games like Tomb Raider, Metro series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and games that have either Ansel by Nvidia or any 3rd party injectable camera (or mods for it) Keeping an open mind to test my skills in new games all the time.

Metro Exodus shot by Svid.vp

Finally the inevitable question: What are your thoughts on the rumoured sequel? What do you hope is contained within it and how could it beat the original in your eyes?

I'm really optimistic about the next game and I hope to see improvements like, bigger map, more weapons and outfits to fulfil my passion for Aloy closeups.

Horizon Zero Dawn shot by Svid.vp

Retrospective: The Last of Us

The third in my horror retrospective series is Brandon on the PS4 exclusive that took the gaming world by storm: The Last of Us. All of the photographs throughout the article were taken by him, to see more of his work check out his Instagram page. 

The Last of Us for me, was and still is one of my favorite horror games to date.  The game starts you off in such an eerie setting, that it's kind of indescribable, post apocalyptic maybe?  The raw emotions that were introduced in the beginning, eventually chaining themselves along with the many unforgettable npcs you encounter through your journey, is phenomenal.

I have followed this game from the first time it was announced to today.  It has been one of my go to horror games to say the least. The originality of the infected are also something to behold. From the recently infected humans , to the fully covered with 'no sign of humanity left' clickers and bloaters.

Fun fact:  The game's infection is actually a real life fungus, the same effect it has on humans in the game, it has on different species of insects and arachnids, scary right?  No worries though, there has never been any instances of the cordyceps fungus infecting humans in real life ever recorded.

The Last of Us will always be to me, one of the best games ever to hit the gaming market. If you have yet to play this game this you are dreadfully missing out.

The Reason For the Nintendo Switch Shortage

In times of hardship it is always nice to see people doing good deeds. During this Covid-19 Pandemic we have seen much kindness. People all over the world entertaining us online, gestures of goodwill and companies giving us free content to help ease our lock down. 

Sadly on the other side of the fence we have the people who capitalise on others suffering. From cold heartless mass hand sanitiser purchasers to people mass buying Nintendo Switches. 

I was disgusted to find out that the shortage of Switch consoles is not down to a shortage of supply, but actually down to a bot called "Bird Bot".  The bit's creator originally invented it as an open-source programme to buy trainers as soon as they came back into stock on the market. Now it has developed into a large community of global re-sellers that use it to bulk buy products as soon as they come into stores. 

A haul of Nintendo Switches purchased with Bird Bot, intended for resale.
Image sourced via Motherboard

There is even a Discord community that lists their successes of their purchasing, some of them doubling their money in resales. 

In a time where families struggle to find entertainment and distraction under lock down, I feel this kind of rampant greed should be punished. If not legally at least within society itself. 

For a deeper look into this issue, see the article over on Motherboard.

Stay at Home: Game Craft For Free

A new sandbox building game from the creators of Robocraft, is now available for free during these hard times. 

From the 17th to the 24th of April PC users can download  Gamecraft for free. Within the game players build complete working games from blocks and parts without the need to code, using one of the most powerful sandbox building engines on the market. Build games in minutes and publish them to the cloud for others to play with the click of a button.

Click Here to get your copy!