Goichi ‘Suda51’ Suda, director of games such as No More Heroes, Killer7, and Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes on Nintendo Switch, has given us the first tease of something new set to appear during E3 next week.

We’ve known that he’s been planning on sharing something during the time of the event for a while – earlier this year he mentioned that he hoped to have “something cool to announce” – but we’ve absolutely no idea what the reveal might be. The first teaser for this reveal has been shared today and, quite frankly, we’re still none the wiser.

The tweet above seems to show a character of some sort, but we – and everyone in the replies to the tweet, it would seem – can’t figure out exactly what it is. The very same character has now shown up as Suda51’s Twitter header (left, below), and his profile picture has also changed to this never-before-seen art (right, below).

So, is this our very first look at No More Heroes 3? Could this be a brand new IP?

We’ll let you mull that one over in the comments.

Have you always wanted to start contributing to Fedora but don’t know how? Submitting a supplemental wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to start as a Fedora contributor. Keep reading to learn how.

Each release, the Fedora Design team works with the community on a set of 16 additional wallpapers. Users can install and use these to supplement the standard wallpaper. And submissions are now open for the Fedora 31 Supplemental Wallpapers.

Dates and deadlines

The submission phase opens June 3, 2019 and ends July 26, 2019 at 23:59 UTC.

Important note: In certain circumstances, submissions during the last hours may not get into the election, if there is no time to do legal research. The legal research is done by hand and very time consuming. Please help by following the guidelines correctly and submit only work that has a correct license.

Please stay away to submit pictures of pets, especially cats.

The voting will open August 1, 2019 and will be open until August 16, 2019 at 23:59 UTC.

How to contribute to this package

Fedora uses the Nuancier application to manage the submissions and the voting process. To submit, you need an Fedora account. If you don’t have one, you can create one here. To vote you must have membership in another group such as cla_done or cla_fpca.

For inspiration you can look to former submissions and the  previous winners. Here are some from the last election:

You may only upload two submissions into Nuancier. In case you submit multiple versions of the same image, the team will choose one version of it and accept it as one submission, and deny the other one.

Previously submissions that were not selected should not be resubmitted, and may be rejected. Creations that lack essential artistic quality may also be rejected.

Denied submissions into Nuancier count. Therefore, if you make two submissions and both are rejected, you cannot submit more. Use your best judgment for your submissions.

Badges

You can also earn badges for contributing. One badge is for an accepted submission. Another badge is awarded if your submission is a chosen wallpaper. A third is awarded if you participate in the voting process. You must claim this badge during the voting process, as it is not granted automatically.

This first physical retail store for Microsoft in the U.K. will open to the general public on July 11, joining other world-class Microsoft Store locations all over the world, including flagships in New York and Sydney and stores across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and online in more than 190 countries.

This store is the latest step in our almost 40-year investment in the U.K., including recently doubling the size of Microsoft’s Azure regions to help more organizations digitally transform. We’re also committed to supporting the growth of digital skills in the U.K. in partnership with computing education and youth communities.

The flagship Microsoft Store in London will be located on Oxford Circus and covers 21,932 square feet over three floors. It will feature an Answer Desk, offering a dedicated area for customers to get tech support, trainings, repairs and advice from trusted advisors on Microsoft products and services, no matter where the device was purchased, the brand or operating system. A community theater, a space for tech, coding and STEM learning, will run free, year-round workshops and programs for customers. So if you are a business owner looking for the latest tech to grow your business, a gamer who wants to join a community or show your skills in a tournament, a student wanting to brush up on coding or a teacher looking to bring Minecraft alive in the classroom, customers of all ages and abilities will be able to learn and develop their digital skills.

Those who work, live, shop in or visit the U.K. will also be able to test and experience the latest technology, products and services from Microsoft and its partners. Interactive zones, surrounded by immersive video walls running throughout the store will make this the best place to get hands-on with Surface, Windows, Office, Xbox and PC gaming, HoloLens mixed-reality and more.

The site also adds to the growing list of innovative facilities Microsoft runs in the region, including three gaming studios, the start-up hub Reactor London and the global center of excellence for the development of artificial intelligence and other computing disciplines in the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge.

Designed to build connections with the local community, customers and businesses, this store represents a unique way to deliver on our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. A flagship store in London has long been part of our vision for our physical and digital store presence, and this opening represents another step in our journey to meet our customers – from consumers to businesses – wherever they are and deepen our connection with them. London is one of the world’s most exciting shopping destinations, and we look forward to empowering customers to explore all that is possible with Microsoft.

For more information and to keep up to date with the latest information on the U.K. store opening, please follow us @MicrosoftStoreUK on Instagram and Facebook and visit us online at www.microsoft.com.

Tags: flagship, Microsoft Store, U.K., Windows

Annual sports game releases are a staple of every video game system’s library and for the Nintendo Switch, it is no different. It typically means we see slightly improved titles year after year, including new faces, team outfits, commentary and featuring more social and gameplay features than before.

With this in mind, the next entry in 2K’s basketball simulation series has seemingly been confirmed for the Switch, after promotional materials for the “Legend Edition” were leaked online recently. The Nintendo version of NBA 2K20 is expected to be launched alongside the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC release on 6th September.

As already explained, sports series get updated every year, so this isn’t really a spoiler prior to E3. If you do prefer to kick balls rather than throw them, perhaps you would be more interested in the next entry in EA’s FIFA series, which was listed for Switch on Amazon back in May. We’ll presumably get more official announcements for both of these titles very soon.

Do you purchase these annual sports releases? Are you relieved to hear you’ll be able to get another basketball fix on the Switch? Leave your thoughts below.

You may have noticed we’ve got a new face around these parts, especially if you’re a keen follower of our burgeoning YouTube channel. Unfortunately, because we’re horrendously disorganised we haven’t done a proper introduction, so here goes: say hello to Zion, who, practically overnight, has literally doubled our video team.

Zion has already done quite a few videos already – he covered all the best couch co-op games, talked a bit about the upcoming Link’s Awakening remake and has even reviewed questionable Switch accessories – so this intro does seem a little late, but we thought you might want to hear a little more about this talented chap regardless.

He sat down with our senior video producer Alex Olney (not in the same room, unfortunately, as they are separated by this big wet wobbly thing called the Atlantic Ocean) to chat about things like games, past employment and (perhaps most importantly) how to pronounce his name. Alex and Zion will be taking our video content to new heights in 2019.

You can watch the video below, and don’t forget to say a massive hello to Zion in the comments section.

According to the old English proverb, “necessity is the mother of invention”. This roughly means that some problems are so big and obvious that people will inevitably create solutions for them – the need to communicate resulted in phones, the desire to stay dry led to umbrellas, shoes prevented feet from getting sore.

But what about those everyday problems that don’t have clear solutions? How do you see over tall people at a concert? How do you know when to add more suntan lotion during those summer trips to the beach? How do you stop bumping into people in a busy street?

With the brightest minds in the world apparently stumped, Microsoft decided to take up the challenge and try to solve these everyday issues for the benefit of people everywhere.

The company enlisted the help of Dominic Wilcox, an inventor, artist and designer, and five creative experts, who were each given a Surface Book 2 and asked to create solutions to common problems.

Hattie Newman, a paper artist, wanted to help people spend time away from their mobile phones. She designed a small dog house for your phone that would block its signal, leaving the owner free to enjoy other hobbies without being disturbed by text messages, phone calls or social media updates.

Twin sisters Eva and Marta Yarza, who run The Yarza Twins design studio, wanted to help people know when to apply more suntan lotion. The answer? Sun cream that changes colour – when it turns blue, it’s time to add more.

Tom O’Meara, an animator, tackled a problem that most people have faced – forgetting to water your plants. His idea was a plant pot with legs, which would run to find water when the plant was thirsty.

Finally, illustrator Gaurab Thakali thought of a unique way of blocking out background noise in the office and helping people to focus – a small privacy pod that sits on your desk and covers you and your laptop.

Speaking from his London workshop, Wilcox, who has been inventing things since he was a teenager and created the world’s first pair of GPS shoes, said having technology at the core of the designing and building stages can be the key to creating something that will change people’s lives.

“Technology is modern-day magic,” he said. “It can transform the everyday into something that can contain a superpower. The GPS shoes can tell you where you are and where to go. I see that as like giving someone a superpower.

“I like to use technology in a subtle way, so it’s hidden in the background. The magic of technology is what it can enable you to do but you don’t necessarily need to see it.

“It’s nice to see the creators using technology to tackle real problems. Putting your phone in a box when you get home is a nice idea, it would be a moment of peace; while remembering to water my plants is definitely a problem for me as I regularly forget.”

As well as guiding and mentoring the five designers, Wilcox also used his Surface Book 2 device while “looking around for the little problems that we all have”. The two-in-one device became his sketchpad, and along with his pen and dial, he shaped his ideas for a coat that contained indicators and a pair of periscope glasses.

“When you’re walking along the pavement and someone’s walking towards you, you often don’t know which side to go to avoid them; and they don’t know which side to go, either. So, you both end up doing this little dance,” said Wilcox, who has a degree in graphic design and studied at the Royal College of Art. “I’ve made a jacket that has left and right indicators built into it, so you can press a button to make an arrow flash. It offers a bit more clarity without having to speak.

“I got another idea after going to a gig. I was standing and watching the music, and when I looked behind me I noticed a very small lady who couldn’t see anything on stage. I went home and created a wearable periscope that uses mirrors to help people see over things. It’s very lightweight and easy to use.”

All the solutions were showcased on the Microsoft stand at the D&AD Festival, one of the leading design events in the world, which was held in London recently. Celebrating the best in craft, creativity and culture, speakers included director Danny Boyle, musician Professor Green and presenter Lauren Laverne, while attendees took part in workshops and masterclasses from the world of advertising, art, design, fashion, film and more.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller, which makes it easier for people with limited mobility to play videogames, was awarded the prestigious Black Pencil in the Product Design category on the final night of the festival.

The groundbreaking controller has been recognised for its ease of use and simple design – the aim of most inventors. Wilcox added that his Surface Book 2 was a great example of this, as well as a huge help during his work over the past few months, as it allowed him to make connection between the words and drawings that he placed on the screen.

“Anything that shortens the time from having an idea to visualizing it is better for any creative person,” he said. “I do a lot of drawing, and the fact that you can just draw straight onto the screen is very quick and handy. It means I can keep the flow of creativity going rather than it being stopped and started. The Surface Book is very instinctive, it’s an all-in-one package, which is useful when you just having a quick, convenient idea. You can type something, then draw something, then adjust that. You can get your ideas out of your mind and turn them into something visual very quickly.

“You can also take the Book with you wherever you go, and the screen is detachable, which is nice if you don’t want to take the whole thing with you. It’s also handy that the pen magnetises to the side on the Book, because I’m always losing pens.”

As the three-day D&AD Festival drew to a close for another year, Wilcox pondered the future of design, and how technology will play a major part in creativity. After all, the next generation is growing up surrounded by gadgets and digital information.

“One of my projects is working with young inventors,” he said. “When I look through their drawings, there is a lot of technology in there; probably more so than when I was growing up.

“However, I think humans will always want to sense the human touch in something, so I think there’s value in technology and craft coming together. You can see that today with 3D printers. There is this coming together of the two sides in order to help creative people make their ideas become reality.

“That will lead to an increase in the demand for bespoke and customised items. I think technology is going to enable us to have our own versions of things, something unique, and to be able to adapt and customise items in the way that we want to.

“For example, I designed a stained-glass driverless car. That was a combination of a very old tradition and new technology. The idea was that technology will enable us to be very safe, so there will be no vehicle collisions. If that’s the case, then cars can be made from any material; they could even be handcrafted.”

While the reality of wooden cars remains a way off yet, there are other, smaller problems that today’s technology is helping to solve. Wilcox, Newman, O’Meara, Thakali and the Yarza sisters may have just used Surface Book 2 to make many people’s lives a lot easier. Mobile phone dog house, anyone?

Tags: D@AD, design, inventors, microsoft, surface, technology

Over the years, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference has showcased plenty of creativity and innovative new technology. But has it ever played host to muddy pigs, chickens raining from the sky, or a very tiny Lydia Winters? The answer, of course, is a resounding “muddy-what-now?”, which is why we’re so excited about this year’s WWDC!

So what exactly happened today? We gave you the first-ever look at Minecraft Earth in action! This brand new mobile game, bringing the world of Minecraft into our own universe through the almost-magic of augmented reality, was announced on May 17. Since then, speculation about how it actually works has been running wild in the community. How can you interact with your builds? Will the game feature the fan-favourite, coarse dirt block? And if my real-life out-of-control dog runs right into my beautiful new Minecraft house, will it collapse?