Latest news with #GameoftheYear
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
We walked 630 miles & lived in a tent after losing our home – now our life has been made into film with Gillian Anderson
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHEN a dog knocked Ray Winn's last nine pounds from her hands, she desperately scrabbled down a drain trying to salvage the dropped coins. But rather than helping her, the pet's female owner poked Ray and grumbled, 'We don't have drunken tramps like you here. Get up.' 6 New movie The Salt Path starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs is based on an incredible true story Credit: Kevin Baker/Black Bear 6 Ray Winn and her husband Moth decided to wild camp as they walked 630 miles along the South West coast of England Credit: Supplied 6 The couple embarked on the journey after becoming homeless Credit: Getty It was the ultimate humiliation for the mum-of-two, who became homeless after a court repossessed the Welsh farm home she lovingly renovated with her husband Moth. The couple, who made their living running holiday accommodation from the property, were left with nothing after an investment turned sour. So with nowhere to go, they decided to wild camp as they walked 630 miles along the South West coast of England, from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset, in 2013. To make matters worse, in the same week they lost their home, Moth was diagnosed with a rare and fatal neurological condition called corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which impaired his movement. read more on movies HELL YEAH DOOM: The Dark Ages review: This cacophony of chaos is Game of the Year material Yet they set out determined to cover a distance which was the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest three times. Miraculously, Moth, 64, who had been given just six years to live at the start of the journey, felt fitter by the end of it and still goes out for walks 12 years on. 'People recoiled' Now, their incredible story of survival has been turned into a movie starring X-Files actress Gillian Anderson as Ray and Harry Potter actor Jason Isaacs as her husband. Called The Salt Path, it is adapted from 62-year-old Ray's book of the same title, which sold more than a million copies. Sitting in the far more comfortable surroundings of a central London hotel, Ray says: 'I hadn't really thought about homelessness until we came to the idea of walking that path. 'We did start out by being quite honest and saying, 'We've lost our house and we've got nowhere to go, so we're just walking'. Inside Gillian Anderson's 'Pleasure Empire' 'And people actually physically recoiled. It was shocking because, just a few weeks earlier, I'd been living an ordinary, standard life.' Recalling the woman who called her a 'tramp' in a seaside town along the way, Ray says: 'For a moment I didn't know who she was talking to. "Then I realised it was me. 'Just those few weeks earlier, she was the sort of person I might have been welcoming into our holiday accommodation, but now she had a completely different view of me.' Ray and Moth's story is one of sticking together through thick and thin. The couple, originally from the West Midlands, met in a college canteen when she was 18 and he was 20. They had two children, Tom and Rowan, and bought an old farm in Wales, which they spent 20 years doing up. Part of the property was turned into holiday lets, which became the pair's main income. But the decision to invest in a friend's company left them with nothing. After a three-year court battle, a judge decided all the couple's worldly goods, including their home, should be repossessed in order to help pay debts. All their savings had been spent on lawyers' fees and they had just £115 left in the bank. Then, in a cruel twist, a couple of days later Moth received a diagnosis for the mysterious pain he'd been suffering. Doctors revealed he had CBD, which normally carries a life expectancy of six to nine years. He had already been ill for six. Ray recalls: 'We could not take it in, because someone who had lived such a physical, active, vital life to be told that he had this dreadful degenerative illness, was almost impossible to take on board, that it could happen to him, to us. When we received Moth's diagnosis, it was as if the future melted away as well Ray "I had been with him my whole adult life. I had never for one second envisioned life without him.' The couple asked the council for accommodation, but claim they were told Moth's condition did not merit it. Ray explains: 'We couldn't prove that he would die in 12 months, so there was no accommodation available.' The couple almost lost hope. Ray says: 'It felt as if life had just ended, as if everything had been wiped out from beneath us. "And that was simply losing the house. 'When we received Moth's diagnosis, it was as if the future melted away as well.' Fortunately, their children had already left home, so they only had each other to worry about. 6 Gillian and Jason onscreen as the couple Credit: Kevin Baker/Black Bear And as the bailiffs rapped on the door, Ray spotted among their boxes of belongings a book called 500 Mile Walkies, about a man who completed the South West Coast Path. She suggested they attempt the same adventure. However, the pair quickly realised that living in a tent out of despair rather than choice made them social lepers. And they faced a struggle to get by on just £40 a week, meaning they had to ration their food carefully and would forage for berries and mushrooms. Their basic meals included dried food such as rice or pasta, with tinned tuna an occasional treat. But Ray longed for 'the basic stuff' rather than material things. She says with a smile: 'The thing I missed the very, very most was a flushing toilet.' 'Future to embrace' Often, the couple had to relieve themselves in the bushes, and showers were a rare luxury. Wild camping is not legal in most of England and Wales, but as they could not afford official camp sites, they had to put up with locals complaining about the places where they pitched up. It also meant Ray could appear unkempt, leading to harsh criticism, as she received from the judgmental dog walker. But despite their ups and downs, the lengthy trek showed Ray and Moth that they may have a future to embrace after all, as he grew stronger day by day. Ray says: 'The moment Moth rescued our tent from the tide, we realised how much his health had changed, from not being able to put his coat on without help at the beginning of that walk to just running up the beach with a tent above his head. 'I am coming to understand the power of moving, what it does to our body, and that our bodies are capable of repairing themselves in ways we maybe don't fully understand yet.' Having to lug everything on their backs meant the couple only carried the essentials, such as cooking gear, first aid kit and clothes. Ray says: 'We left behind more or less every material thing that we owned.' But the long journey gradually helped them come to terms with losing their home. Ray says: 'The path didn't wipe it all out, it just made it possible to live with, to carry it more easily. 'As time went by, it was less about the tent, it was actually the path that really became home.' Once winter set in, wild camping became impossible and the couple found a shed to stay in. But they restarted the following summer, completing the full route. 6 The couple now live in Cornwall on a farm after the success of Ray's book Credit: Supplied Afterwards, Moth returned to university to study sustainable horticulture and landscape design and they were able to live off his student loans. Ray had written a diary of the walk for Moth and was persuaded to send it to publishers. It was a big hit in 2018 with many celebrity fans, including Gillian Anderson, who said: 'I bought Ray's audiobook and was profoundly affected by it.' Soon afterwards film-makers soon started knocking. Recalling their reaction at learning Gillian Anderson would play her, Ray said: 'I was quite shocked because she's just so perfect and beautiful and utterly glamorous. 'And I remember going into the house to tell Moth, and I think he misheard me, because he said, 'Ooh, Pamela Anderson'.' Later, watching the film with friends and family meant sitting through a sex scene where Gillian and Jason get very physical in their sleeping bags. Ray said: 'I did have to warn them. I did tell them that they were watching Gillian Anderson, not me, so that was fine.' The couple now live in Cornwall on a farm, having been allowed to stay there by a wealthy fan of The Salt Path book. They continue to do long walks, including a 1,000-mile trek three years ago through Scotland and into England. Now I don't see homeless people, I see a person whose life has taken a turn for the worse Ray Winn Moth's health has deteriorated, but much slower than medics expected. It is unclear how he has managed to defy his bleak prognosis. Ray says: 'These illnesses that come under the umbrella of CBD, they don't receive much funding because they are so rare, and so we understand very little about them.' Readjusting to normal life has not been easy, and Ray would sometimes sleep on the floor at home because it had become so familiar. Her attitude to rough sleeping has also changed, as she came to realise there are so many reasons why people are homeless. Some of the people the Winns met during their coastal journey, living in 'cars, trailers and hidden places', were workers on minimum wages. She says: 'Now I don't see homeless people, I see a person whose life has taken a turn for the worse. 'If there is anything that I hope people take from this film, I would really love it if they walked out of the cinema, and saw someone in a doorway, that they would see them slightly differently, maybe just as an individual, not a difficult statistic.' The Salt Path is in cinemas from Friday. 6 Ray said of Gillian: 'she's just so perfect and beautiful and utterly glamorous' Credit: Getty Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
GMA Network
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
'Elden Ring' live action film in the works
"Elden Ring" is getting a live action adaptation! According to a report on Deadline, Alex Garland will write and direct the film for A24 and video game company Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. No further details have been released. "Elden Ring" is an action RPG directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki with worldbuilding by "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin. It won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022. The DLC, "Shadow of the Erdtree," was nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024. A multiplayer spin-off game called "Elden Ring: Nightreign" was release earlier this May. —JCB, GMA Integrated News
Scottish Sun
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
DOOM: The Dark Ages review… This cacophony of chaos impales itself firmly as a Game of the Year contender
HELL YEAH DOOM: The Dark Ages review… This cacophony of chaos impales itself firmly as a Game of the Year contender Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LIKE a beloved old pet dog, DOOM: The Ages is impossible to put down. It's a demonic drug, a hit of horrifying annihilation that makes you want more and more. Because it slays more than Taylor Swift in a glitter hat factory. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 Hell hath no fury... like a Doom Slayer with loads of guns Credit: Bethesda Softworks Care must always be taken when trying to improve a cult classic - and the original Doom rightfully belongs among the icons of gaming history. So it's a huge relief to see that idSoftware has not only been respectful in making this DOOM, they've also been really smart. But is The Dark Ages the best game since the original release? Hell yeah! 10 There's an impressive array of weaponry to dispatch demons with Credit: Bethesda Softworks First off, there's a more involved plot than previous follow-ups like DOOM (2016) and 2020's DOOM: Eternal. Read more Gaming News WHIPS DON'T LIE Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is out on the PS5 and is a rare gem You play the heavy-footed Doom Slayer called upon by the Night Sentinels of Argent D'Nur and the mysterious Maykrs in their battle against the dark forces of Hell. Your job? To save humanity. The Maykrs have a strange hold over the Slayer who gradually starts to think, and fight, on his own terms. Previous follow-ups to this mega franchise were decent nods to the original but they weren't truly great games. They lacked what makes a DOOM game utterly brilliant - an intense, mind-blowing run-and-gun experience which takes your breath away. Literally. The Dark Ages, however, achieves this in bundles. 10 The 22 chapters are bold and intense Credit: Bethesda Softworks Because you become so engrossed in dispatching the multitude of enemies spawning all around you that you forget to breathe. I lost count of the times where I finished a chapter (there are 22 to smash through), let out an exhausting breath… and noticed that I was two feet away from my gaming chair. Such is the intensity of The Dark Ages. 10 Jumping into a giant mech suit feels like Power Rangers but, you know, better Credit: Bethesda Softworks It's not just a blast and dash game either. This time round you have to be more tactically astute in your demon-slaying ways. The sheer number of enemies that bear down on you during battle is daunting, but this just increases the adrenaline rush you get when your planned destruction works. This immersive action results in hours lost wiping the floor with growling Pinky Riders and horrible Hell Knights. 10 Plan your battles wisely as you'll need to be smart as well as sharp Credit: Bethesda Softworks The arsenal is as kick-ass as it is clever. And each new weapon brings slightly different whoops of joy as you learn more about what can be achieved when you pull the trigger. For example, the Impaler is brilliant for headshots and once you get your upgrades to a certain point, it can then slow down time to get the perfect hit. 10 Enemies vary in difficulty and there are some cool close-up melee options Credit: Bethesda Softworks The Shredder can dispatch hordes of Imp Stalkers all at once and again, use your upgrades wisely, and it can auto-charge to a more destructive ammo when following a melee attack. 10 Saving humanity has never been so exhaustively exhilarating Credit: Bethesda Softworks But id Software's addition of a shield is a masterstroke - this can rip through multiple foes or deflect attacks. It's upgradable too and becomes an essential tool at your side. That is until you get the ball and chain - talk about an epic flail! Each chapter is gorgeous in its detail and impressive in scope. The map is easy to read and offers a clear pathway to cute collectables, gold chests and secret areas you won't want to miss in your 20+ hours of the game. 10 A banging soundtrack helps immerse you in the depths of Hell Credit: Bethesda Softworks Even the soundtrack is gloriously DOOM-esque. A head-banging barrage of heavy metal which delights the senses when blasted through decent headsets - I couldn't help but ramp up my Turtle Beach Stealth 700s to complete the experience. It all makes for an epic romp in Hell - you won't just dip your toes in the Lake of Fire, you'll want to go skinny-dipping and plunge in head-first. 10 A deep plot gives DOOM: The Dark Ages an extra edge over predecessors Credit: Bethesda Softworks The Dark Ages is intense - a cacophony of chaos that impales itself firmly as a Game of the Year contender. 10 A dragon! Yes, you can ride a dragon Credit: Bethesda Softworks
Daily Maverick
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the surprise masterpiece no one saw coming
It'll likely be scooping several Game of the Year awards toward the end of 2025, and for good reason, as Expedition 33 shows that you can make waves in the industry without needing to cater to as broad an audience as possible. Tomorrow comes, and we continue. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shouldn't be this good. On paper, a traditional turn-based RPG with souls-like influences fused into its design, a relatively short time-to-complete playtime, and a decadently French direction sounds like a recipe for chaos. Somehow, though, developer Sandfall Interactive has managed to combine all of its ideas into a harmonious experience with its debut effort. It says a lot when the end result is so good, so exquisite in its execution that it even manages to overshadow the likes of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, a game released a mere two days before its release. To put it simply, Expedition 33 is both a revelation and a love letter to a bygone era of gaming. Full of elegant art direction inspired by France's Belle Époque period, a rock-solid cast of characters to fall in love with, and gameplay that keeps your eyes glued to the screen, Expedition 33 pays homage to the past while forging its own path forward. Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith in Expedition 33. Every year sees a new cursed number appear, leading to an event known as 'the gommage' in which everyone of that age turns to petals and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more people are erased, while doomed expeditions set out to her continent in a futile attempt to stop her. Players are quickly introduced to Gustav in Expedition 33, who leads a party to stop her or at least pave the way forward for the next expedition, with members grimly reciting a mantra to remind them that they're fighting for tomorrow. Expedition 33's story could have easily wallowed in the nihilistic despair of its premise, but Sandfall Interactive makes certain to inject a sense of optimism and enthusiasm into its tale, introducing players to layered characters brought to life by a cast of acting heavyweights. Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Andy Serkis (Andor), and Ben Starr (Final Fantasy 16 and noted appreciator of Final Fantasy 8) bring their A-game to Expedition 33, while the rest of the game's small but talented cast is fleshed out by the likes of Jennifer English, Kirsty Rider, and Shala Nyx. Like the best turn-based RPGs, Expedition 33's story is one of twists and turns, heartbreak and triumph in a world that you can't get enough of. There's a painterly quality to everything; a rich canvas to explore and interesting characters to meet throughout the game, but it's also an adventure that feels fantastic to play. Applying the souls-like label to any game will most likely turn off a portion of the audience, but to its credit, Sandfall has managed to cleverly make these gameplay ideas complement the core RPG experience. Whereas other studios would haphazardly bolt these ideas onto their product to quickly cash in on the gaming zeitgeist, Expedition 33 is so in touch with these mechanics that you can't imagine it not having them after you've spent a few hours with the title. The genius here is that Expedition 33 is essentially two different games whenever you initiate combat. There's a heavy JRPG influence, as basic attacks and spellcasting are combined with broader ideas and unique character movesets. The mage Lune, for example, can stack up elemental stains that can be consumed to increase damage, while Maelle combines ballet with fencing arts to weave in and out of stances that offer various advantages. These moves also have a light smattering of quick-time events woven into them, keeping you more engaged with the action as it unfolds on the screen. But when it's the enemy's turn? That's when you need to lean forward on your seat and prepare to test your reflexes. From Software's Sekiro is the best example of what to expect here, as you'll need to dodge and parry attacks from the opposition. Getting the timing right allows you to avoid damage and even follow up with a counterattack, and as you venture further into the game, more interesting wrinkles on the combat present themselves to the player. The combination leads to thrilling enemy encounters, and even if you find yourself grossly outgunned, a few well-timed parries can turn the tide of battle and net you a hard-earned victory. Another layer to this system are Pictos, items that can be equipped to buff attacks. Spread across the game, Pictos allow for some incredible experimentation and buildcrafting. Expedition 33 players have come up with some jaw-dropping builds since the game was released, and while it has been significantly nerfed, there's still a build that can be used to turn Maelle into a walking extinction event. Take that, horrible robo-mime bastard who is a headache to face at first. There's more to the game than just a rip-roaring yarn of cancelling the apocalypse and outfitting your crew with stereotypically French outfits and baguettes, of course. Expedition 33 is a masterclass in keeping players engaged, as even the art of grinding out some extra XP feels worthwhile thanks to the head-turning gameplay. I could go on about its stellar soundtrack, French New Wave cinematic influences, and the nuanced approach to character development, not to mention the sheer grandeur of the boss battles that you'll experience. But that would do the game a disservice, because the best thing about Expedition 33 is that it's constantly surprising – offering a journey that you'll want to undertake without being too informed of what awaits you. DM Released on 24 April, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. It's also playable with Game Pass.
Business Insider
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Gaming Industry is calling for Renaissance: How illustrator, designer and game creator is reshaping the global stage
Monsters, zombies, vampires, dark souls wandering the dark halls, prophets of doom and gloom - you name it, he drew it. Several generations of PlayStations, XBox, Microsoft Windows games feature the characters drawn by Dmitry Parkin, an award-winning illustrator, designer, and game creator who started his journey in a provincial Russian town. Almost three decades in the game-developing industry won Dmitry Parkin wide acclaim and various awards varying from many Games of the Year to Best RPGs, Best Art Direction, Best Storytelling, and even the Most Violent Game to Make It Past Aussie Censors. Whatever best-selling post-apocalyptic-world action role-playing video game you are choosing in PlayStore, it is highly likely to feature his characters or images. Monster Darlings Reaping Awards His pensive paintbrush created the Ghost of Tsushima, Mortal Shell, Metro: Exodus & Last Light, Fallout 3, Doom 4, The Order: 1886, Aliens, Halo: The Master Chief Collection to name a few. Some, like the open-ended Fallout 3 with its flexible character-leveling system, marked a major shift in the series by using 3D graphics and real-time combat, replacing the 2D isometric graphics. It is still considered one of the greatest video games of all time, with 18 international awards it got coverage by many national media: CNN, BBC, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter etc. Others, like Ghost of Tsushima, became the first American game to earn the Famitsu 's Game of the Year award. Some (Aliens: Colonial Marines) revamped the old film classics like James Cameron's 1986 film Aliens; others (Order: 1886) won rewards for outstanding visual effects in a real-time project. His games bring about nostalgia, allowing one to have the first impression the second time. Much like his Mortal Shell released in 2020 that many reviewers claimed to resuscitate the same emotions experienced when they played the good old Dark Souls. Hitting 1,6 million views on its YouTube debut trailer and thus being nominated as the Best Trailer of Gaming Awards 2020, Mortal Shell sold over million copies by 2023 ploughing in the gross revenue of about $29 mln. It was nominated for Best Debut Game at The Game Awards 2020. With a well-established reputation in the industry and extensive expertise in character art, Sony extended Dmitry a job offer and facilitated his relocation to work on Ghost of Tsushima as a Senior Character Artist. In two and a half years, the game was officially released, becoming an overnight sensation. It sold over 2.4 million copies within the first three days. As of 2023, the game had generated an impressive $397 million in total revenue. Not only that. Ghost of Tsushima received 38 nominations and won 26 awards, including some of the most prestigious honors in the industry — Best Art Direction, Outstanding Character Design and Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Best Visual Art and Audience Award Winner, and it was just in 2020 alone. Even four years after release, Ghost of Tsushima continued to dominate the market. In May 2024, it was the best-selling game in the U.S., reaffirming its status as a modern classic. How can a man have his thumb in all those many pies? Where does that creative passion come from? Allure of the Dangerous The answer is simple. 'I never went with the flow, yet created the waves by myself', says Dmitry. The wave started with a ripple. Staring at the shallow waters of a small river, the young Dmitry was mesmerized by newts slowly paddling by, weirdly crawling crustaceans, slimy leeches and hissing snakes. 'All those amphibians evoked thoughts about the ones living in constant danger, the coldness and the darkness, hunting some and hiding from others, all those spiky shapes and wriggly tails were scary, hypnotizing, and irresistible', describes Parkin. Vivid illustrations found in the home library encyclopedias nurtured the passion for studying the structure and the movement of those unearthly-like creatures. The inexplicable allure of death and fear drove him to explore the mechanisms and images that cause these emotions. In general, it formed the foundations for the perception of fear, death, domination, the cruelty of nature where one animal eats another, the incomparable suffering of the devoured compared to the feeling of satiation of the other, there has always been a feeling that there is something wrong with it. 'Reading Nietzsche and listening to the deafening rumble of dense bass-and-drum metal rock solidified the idea that art should challenge and evoke emotions, otherwise, it is a meaningless doodling', explains Dmitry Parkin. Not by Art Alone Born and raised in Saratov, a city in the Russian 'midwest', Parkin could have become a local Banksy, drawing graffiti on the grey city walls. Yet, being inspired by H.R. Giger's works, he would have added more to Saratov's blues if his monsters had ever appeared there. Instead, he dived into polishing his techniques, experimenting with materials in the dire quest to discover a formula, a combination that would trigger a certain emotion. 'Eventually, it was acrylic or pencil that let add more layers in post-processing hence making the image more complex and allowing hiding technical nuances, brush strokes or touches to get away from the feeling that it was a drawing', he said. Back in the 1990s, when he was 14-15, Dmitry met a friend who was into programming, they started hanging out together — the guy programming, Dmitry drawing basic visuals for the games. This was the dawn of the era of the first 3D editor software, the best time to dive into the unknown and grow. Dmitry mastered some software, plunged into several projects which brought handsome pocket money for a schoolboy; he had got a solid portfolio and 4 years of working experience by the time he left school. Dmitry never studied design or art in high school. After graduating from school he made an attempt to study programming at a polytechnical university in his hometown but soon dropped out. 'Soon I realized that university lectures were too boring for me. On the other hand, drawing and creating my own gaming worlds enchanted me', Parkin recalled. Starry-eyed and passionate, he got project after project usually without test assignments, his works being the best proof of eligibility. The Way to the USA Building up his technical expertise, Dmitry made a perfect partner for programmers as few could do both - create art for the game and help develop it. The first job in Moscow in the early 00s was with a publishing house Buka where Dmitry worked as an artist, not limited by narrow frameworks. 'Working there, I realised the power of freedom and eventually moved to freelance which allowed taking up more projects. I went really global in the mid 00s, doing jobs for XBox, Microsoft, Sony, indiebrands, etc.', he says. By the time Parkin engaged in 3D graphics professionally, he had chiselled his art techniques and style — the fundamentals for any creator. Digital tools are just tools to enhance one's technical prowess, it is the idea and the message that gets the project skyrocketing. And sometimes luck. Hardly could Dmitry fathom when he agreed to participate in Liquid Development 's startup project, that it would turn out to be the Fallout 3 game he was signing up for. It was his favourite game, now being part of the art team, it felt legit. Winning the War of GameDev Dominance Winning 2008 Dominance War 3 was like 'fire meet gasoline'. 'In the art world, a benchmark for fame is not the amount of paintings you produced, but the amount of replicas and 'spin-offs' you generated', explains Parkin. The Imrod character after the personal award of 2008 Dominance War 3 became the most popular and replicated character, often copied by 3D artists. The original version was made freely available and became often used for various tests and demonstrations, indie game projects, youtube tutorials and even SIGGRAPH 2008 presentation. That victory brought an avalanche of job offers. When the focus within the game industry shifted to creature design, character art and 'digital sculpture', Dmitry's full potential became unleashed. The early passion for amphibious creeps coupled with advanced technical expertise raising the detail and quality to a new level helped to get as close as possible to hyper-realism, and become a key element that set the trend in the modern (at that time) game industry. Over years, he has been putting skins on, adding light, assembling the settings in games, reviving somewhat lame code into sturdy demos that went viral overnight and generated millions of views. Some games like Mortal Shell became great career boosters as working there he combined art and art-directing, thus getting the ultimate freedom of expression. 'I once did what turned out to be a life-saving project for Playstack who was virtually on its last legs and looking for a flagship project that would champion a good market share', recalls Parkin. With his vast portfolio of monsters, Dmitry happened to find himself in the eye of the storm, always trendy, regardless of the fleeting fashions in the industry. There has always been a place where he belonged. Dmitry's creed is to create characters with a mission, vision and message. Quite a refreshing view on the over-commercialised game-developing industry that churns out gazillions of games 24/7. 'The generic games developed now are mostly like a stack of books on a railway station stall - identical bland time-killing amusement. The industry is calling for Renaissance bringing about something tangible, real, savoury and wholesome. Everybody is getting tired of the trite eviscerated visuals and ideas that lack finesse and, most importantly, message. There is no art in it. The much-hailed AI cannot provide a valid substitution for human creative spirits. It might in the future, but now it is up to a human with a solid set of art skills to generate the ideas and navigate the art projects from concept to fruition', Parkin shares his thoughts about the industry development.
