Monthly Archives: March 2019
Emilia Clarke Survived Two Brain Aneurysms During Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, best known for portraying Daenerys Targaryen, survived two rounds of brain surgeries while filming the early seasons of Game of Thrones.
Clarke revealed this information in a personal essay published by The New Yorker, where she described the events that could have ended her life. After filming of the first season of Game of Thrones, Clarke was exercising at a gym when she suddenly became ill.
"I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill,” said Clarke. "Meanwhile, the pain—shooting, stabbing, constricting pain—was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged... To keep my memory alive, I tried to recall, among other things, some lines from Game of Thrones."
Valve Reveals Steam Library Update, New Events Feature
Valve's next big updates to Steam are a new events feature and a formal landing page for user's game libraries with an overall redesign, Valve announced at GDC 2019.
“A lot of the emphasis of the things we’re working on right now in terms of features for both developers and customers are really for the way games are being built and played today,” Valve UI designer Alden Kroll said. “So, more live service games that need better communication channels with their players, for example.”
That communication channel comes in the form of Steam’s new events page, which you can see in the slideshow below. Events are categorized by major and minor events and show things like broadcasts, big game updates, tournaments, and even things like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s weekly challenges. Event information can show up on things like game wishlist notifications. Kroll said this will help give context to why recommended games are relevant.
Reports Suggest Walmart Is Exploring a Game Streaming Service
The retail giant Walmart has reportedly been in talks with developers and publishers for a few months with a view allegedly to launch its own video game streaming platform.
Anonymous sources familiar with Walmart's plans have spoken to USG about the endeavour, saying the idea allegedly has been in the works since earlier this year, with Walmart supposedly continuing the conversation with various contacts at GDC.
The news follows in the footsteps of Google's game streaming platform, Stadia, unveiled at the company's GDC 2019 keynote.
The X-Men Movies That Probably Won’t Happen Now (and a Few That Will)
For even more on the Disney Fox Deal, be sure to check out all the movie and TV show properties Disney is getting from Fox. Or catch up on how Disney is now the most powerful studio due to the merger, and what Disney taking over Fox could mean for the TV landscape.
Some $71.3 billion later, Disney now owns most of Fox. And yes, fans, that includes the X-Men! Of course, the question now is what does this Disney/Fox merger mean for the merry band of mutants. Will they be rebooted in the MCU and meet the Avengers? Will they continue to exist as their own universe of characters? Will Deadpool show up and mess everything up?!
PlayStation Now: Discover What to Play With Our Handy Tool
With a sprawling library of over 750 titles to choose from, PS Now is basically every PlayStation fan's dream. However, navigating the sea of available titles in search of what to play can be a bit daunting. Well... that's where we come in!
Check out our handy PlayStation Now tool, which allows you to sort the service's lineup of available titles by genre, review score, and platform.
Google Stadia’s Controller Is Surprising Because of How Normal It Is
During my time speaking to Google's Phil Harrison about the Google Stadia reveal, I got to actually see and hold the Stadia controller. And the biggest surprise about it was that, for a controller paired with a streaming platform aiming to spark a revolution, it feels so familiar.
I didn't get to play anything with the Stadia controller but holding it felt immediately comfortable and recognizable. It had the rough shape and grip of a Nintendo Switch Pro controller with the symmetrical analog stick layout of a PS4 DualShock 4 controller. There's a nice heft to the controller, getting close to that indescribable dream controller weight midway between a hollow piece of plastic and a smooth rock.
Amazon’s The Dark Tower TV Series Casts Its Leads
Sam Strike and Jasper Pääkkönen have been cast as Roland Deschain and The Man in Black, respectively, in Amazon’s The Dark Tower television series based on Stephen King’s novels of the same name.
Reported by Variety, the pilot for this series adaptation is currently in the works, and will detail how Roland became a gunslinger, and portray his first encounter with The Man in Black, who goes by many aliases, including Marten Broadcloak and Randall Flagg.
Strike is known for his recent work on the Syfy series Nightflyers as well as Mindhunter and EastEnders while Pääkkönen is recognized for his roles in Vikings and BlacKkKlansman.
We’re Reacting to Google Stadia On the Latest Game Scoop Podcast
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week we're discussing Google's new Stadia game streaming platform, The Division 2, and more. Tune into Game Scoop! Episode 522 here. That one link will get you to wherever you like to listen.
Listen on:
Game of Thrones: Season 8 Poster Revealed
HBO has revealed the poster for Game of Thrones' eighth and final season, and it's a smart mash-up of two of the show's most striking images.
What initially seems to be the pointy chair everyone seems to want so much reveals itself to be a dragon - or the other way round, if you see the eyes first:
The question is: is this a clue? There are a couple of characters we know who are a little more dragon-related (and just, you know, related) than others - is this a hint that we'll see a Targaryen retake the seat at some point?
The ‘Pay-Per-View’ of Godzilla Battles Is Coming
Back in the summer of 2017, I visited a secret underwater base where hundreds of people were hard at work. This was one of the clandestine installments run by the monster-studying organization Monarch, and the scientists and personnel on hand had one primary task: waiting and watching for signs of the greatest monster of them all. The king of the monsters -- Godzilla!
Of course, in actual fact I was in Atlanta on a soundstage where the huge Monarch set was standing, a series of corridors and chambers that simulated a high-tech base built into the side of an underwater mountain range. Filled with computer monitors displaying details about suspected or known monsters, and featuring a giant window that will offer Monarch scientists a view of the depths of the sea and -- as the trailers have shown us -- of monster passersby, this set is, in a word, sick.