This is one of many original production cels from the film for sale at Ralph Bakshi’s website.

I won’t be able to resist buying a tablet once this becomes standard.

I stumbled upon this low-quality shot from one of my favorite scenes in Ralph Bakshi’s LOTR at random some time back. The VHS look reminds me of the extremely grainy video recording I used to watch over and over when I was a kid. Good memories.

I love this shot so much. It’s the perfect representation of all that’s special about AC.

I’ve wanted to play this since 1995.

Since it’s once again in the news, I’ll go against my better judgment and chime in…

‘Are games art?’ is a stupid question, because the answer is so very simple:

Anything that’s created can be art. Whether or not it is simply depends on the attitude and mindset that goes into its creation. If it’s approached in the way that an artist approaches a work of art, then for good or bad, it’s art, and vice versa. Ultimately, then, only the creator can truly know whether or not the creation is art, rendering any outside debate meaningless.

There are lots of people involved in the creation of most games, just like movies. And in the majority of both cases, it’s safe to say that many of those who are guiding the projects are doing so with the mindset of artists, as are many who work with them. So it would be accurate to say that art is often what results. Bad art, in most cases, but technically still art. By that standard, who knows, Madden might even be art. Ask the people who made it.

Roger Ebert can speak his mind, and people can get riled up and fire off pointless rebuttals or try to specify which games are art (ICO!!! SOTC!!! REZ!!!) and which aren’t, but the fact of the matter is that the debate is pointless. All it shows is that both sides lack an understanding of what art is in the first place, because otherwise there would be nothing to talk about.

I love Wii Sports Resort. And when I was playing it one day a few months back, I suddenly realized exactly what I wanted the next Wii Zelda to be: A Zelda game in the style of WSR, both in terms of visuals and gameplay. Link would look just like a Mii, the game world would match the look of Wuhu Island, etc. You might think I’m crazy, but trust me, it would be fantastic. It might look a little like the (awesome) Zelda 64 tech demo.

It made perfect sense in that instant because I realized that virtually everything you do in Wii Sports Resort has (or could have) a direct parallel in Zelda. It’s almost as if the former was a trial run for the latter. And now that Skyward Sword has been revealed, it’s pretty clear that this was the case after all, which is great news. Minus, of course, my oddball dream for the game’s look, but that was never going to happen anyway.

On a related note, if you can wade through this mammoth account of E3, there’s a nice first-hand take on the Zelda-WSR connection in the ‘Tuesday’ section.

My favorite dragons ever.

Every time the VC seems to be going the way of the dodo, Nintendo goes and adds something awesome out of the clear blue. This time it’s Mario Tennis, which was one of my favorite N64 games. I’ve been longing to play it again for ages, and I think I’ll download it tonight. There’s never been such a ‘pure’ Mario sports experience.

This has always been one of my favorite McQuarrie paintings. Lots of hi-res images here.

It’s now open to everyone. My GV number is the only telephone contact I use in the US, and together with the Android app, it’s just about the greatest thing ever. There are still quirks, but the amount of control it gives you over your ‘phone’ (a concept the service is essentially redefining) is beyond awesome. It all feels remarkably natural. Highly recommended.

Jody from 4cr just turned my attention to a great write-up by Jeremy Parish.

On a related note, I had the misfortune of seeing the TV spot for Call of Duty: Black Ops the other day, and I seriously could not believe the level of pure, utter stupidity on display.

But hey, that’s maturity!

I really enjoyed this article.

Of all the awesome things revealed at E3 this year, nothing excites me like this.

The daily 4cr email threads are full of nostalgia. Just before E3 began, a little discussion popped up among the crew that I really related to, and I thought I’d share it here.

Shaun: This is going to sound weird, but I really miss the longing for new games I had in the 16-bit era sometimes.

Evan: That doesn’t sound weird at all. I think the last game I did that with was Super Mario Galaxy. And before that, it was probably Brawl. But it’s so different than when we were younger. I remember how devestated I was when I heard that Mother 3 was canceled…

Jody: I still get really hyped over Nintendo stuff.

Nick: I get hyped in the moment for Nintendo stuff… but then often lose interest by the time the game comes out.

Evan: Same. I get REALLY hyped up over new consoles though. 3DS is basically the only thing that I’m seriously interested in this e3.

Nick: Same… that’s the only reason Im still in LA. Otherwise I would have started my new job today. Haha.

Shaun: I’m super hyped for Nintendo. So hyped I MIGHT CRY.

(That’s Nick Luckett, by the way — not me.)