There is another Humble Bundle of interest to game developers, the Mastering Animation by CRC Press bundle. This is a collection of e-books around the concept of animation, from traditional to digital, comics, manga and anime, as well as animation related subjects such as legal and writing. The bundle is organized into the following tiers:

1$

• Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation
• Animate to Harmony: The Independent Animator’s Guide to Toon Boom
• Voice Over for Animation
• Layout and Composition for Animation
• Frame by Frame Stop Motion
• How to Make Animated Films

8$

• Animation from Pencils to Pixels
• Designing Sound for Animation
• The Art of Fluid Animation
• Hybrid Animation: Integrating 2D and 3D Assets
• Reel Success: Creating Demo Reels and Animation Portfolios
• Acting and Performance for Animations
• Animated Life
• Making Toons That Sell without Selling Out

15$

• Writing for Animation, Comics and Games
• Directing for Animation
• Acting and Character Animation
• Animation in China
• The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators
• Animation: From Concept to Production
• Independent Animation
• Comics for Film, Games and Animation
• Japanese Visual Culture
• Lighting for Animation

All books are provided in PDF, EPUB and PRC(?) formats. As with all Humble Bundles you can decide how the proceeds are allocated between Humble, the Publisher, charity and if you so choose (and thanks if you do!) to support GFS using this link. You can learn more about the bundle in the video below.

Update: We can now confirm that this trial is now live in the UK as well.

Original Story [Sat 31st Oct, 2020 16:30 GMT]: Rune Factory 5 might be coming out next year, but have you played Rune Factory 4 Special on the Nintendo Switch yet? We praised this definitive version of the game, awarding it nine out of ten stars.

For those who haven’t had a chance to see what all the fuss is about, you just might be in luck. Nintendo Japan has announced it will be offering a trial of the game next week between 2nd – 8th November to all Switch Online members.

There’ll also be a sale on the game reducing its regular price by a whopping 50% that will last until 4th November.

If this is anything to go by, the same trial will hopefully be made available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers here in the west. Just recently, Japanese Switch owners got access to an Overwatch trial and sure enough, the same offer was made available locally. Some other games to receive trials in the past include Disgaea 5 Complete and Pokkén Tournament DX.

Would a Rune Factory 4 Special trial be of interest to you? Would you like to see more trials like this made available to NSO subscribers? Share your thoughts down below.

The launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons earlier this year has undoubtedly given the franchise a level of mainstream appeal it had never quite achieved before, with all sorts of companies from fast-food chains to clothing stores jumping on the bandwagon to promote their goods. Now, the adorable critters have found their way into an NFL stadium.

With the coronavirus pandemic raging on as strong as ever, elite sports facilities have been unable to welcome supporters into their grounds over the past few months. As a result, plenty of teams across a variety of different sports have been placing cardboard cutouts of fans or celebrities in their stadiums’ seats, hoping to bring some life back into the ground.

National Football League team The Detroit Lions have opted for a different, significantly cooler approach to the new trend, welcoming a number of familiar Animal Crossing faces into Ford Field:

That Mii Channel theme just makes everything better, doesn’t it?

We quite like the idea of seeing Pikachu enjoying the latest Premier League derby, or Princess Zelda getting a front row seat for the next NBA game. Here’s hoping other teams follow suit with some more video game faces to brighten up our day.

Ripstone Games has revealed that Pure Pool, described as “the definitive cue sports experience”, will be launching on Nintendo Switch on 17th November.

Pre-orders for the game are now live on the eShop ahead of the big day, with early buyers being treated to a very welcome 20% discount from the usual £12.49 / $14.99 / €14.99 price. A new trailer has been released to celebrate, giving us a look at the game’s 1080p, 60 frames-per-second gameplay in all its glory. Make sure to check that out above.

Ripstone Games’ Product Manager, Hollie Pattison, says the game “runs like a dream” on Switch:

“We’ve had an amazing reaction to our initial announcement of Pure Pool coming to Nintendo Switch. The game runs like a dream on Switch and really delivers the ultimate billiards experience on the platform. We’ve prepared a new video that shows off the game in all its glory and we hope everyone is excited to grab their Switch and play some frames on November 17th!”

The game will feature a single-player campaign, skill-based challenges, unlockable customisation options and multiple modes of pool and snooker including Killer and American 8 Ball when it arrives later this month.

Are you looking forward to this one? Let us know if you’re thinking of picking it up with a comment below.