In one of the biggest game development Humble Bundle, the RPG Game Development Assets 2D Art, Music and Sound Effects bundle is live now.  As always it is split into tiers:

1$ Tier

• 7Souls RPG Graphics – Desert Tileset
• 7Soul’s RPG Graphics – Sprites
• Dialogue Boxes
• Inventory Sound Pack
• Japanese Bar Interior Assets
• Osaka City Game Assets
• RPG Inventory – Fantasy Battle Axes
• RPG Inventory – Fantasy Bows
• RPG Inventory – Fantasy Daggers
• RPG Inventory – Fantasy Potions
• RPG Inventory – Fantasy Spears
• RPG Inventory – Fantasy Swords
• Warrior Adventure Game Characters

15$ Tier

• 2D Characters Male
• 2D Hand Painted Mine Tileset
• 2D Hand Painted Snowland Tileset
• 7Souls RPG Graphics – Town Tileset
• Clean City Game Assets
• Dark RPG Chiptune Soundtrack Bundle
• Dwarves vs Elves RPG Sprites
• Hand Painted Extra Objects Tileset
• Japanese City Game Assets
• JRPG Character Pack
• Pixel Art Beach Tile Set
• Pixel Art Town
• Side View Animated RPG Battlers
• Spells and Abilities Icons
• Fantasy Character Bundle
• Forest Isometric Block Tileset
• Frozen Village Isometric Block Tileset

30$ Tier

• 7Souls RPG Graphics Tiles- Grasslands
• Over 80RPG Characters with Animations
• Ancient Game SFX Pack
• Elemental Magic Sound Effects Vol 1
• Elemental Magic Sound Effects Vol 2
• Fantasy RPG Items Vol 2
• Farm & Fort Tilesets and Icons
• Human Fantasy Animated Pack
• Interface SFX
• JRPG Music Pack
• Lighthearted RPG Location Soundtrack Bundle
• Lighthearted RPG Soundtrack Bundle
• Medieval RPG UI Kit
• Monster Creature Animated Pack
• Pixel Art Medieval Interiors
• RPG Music Pack – Complete Collection
• Survival Icons
• Tyler Warrens RPG Battlers Pixel Style
• MMORPG UI Kit
• Monster Creature Super Mix
• Pixel Art Medieval Fantasy Characters
• Pixel Art Medieval UI Pack
• Cute RPG UI Kit
• Pixel Art Forest Road
• Pixel Art Old Castle
• 58 Fantasy RPG Items

… yeah, this one is BIG!  The GameDev Marketplace license details are available here.  As with all Humble Bundles, you decide how your money is allocated, including (and thanks so much if you do!) to support GFS if purchased using this link.  Learn more in the video below.

GameDev News Art 2D Sale

Today kicks off the 10th Microsoft Ability Summit! With over 80 speakers, 22 breakout sessions, 20+ non-profit organizations, and product fair demos over two days, this is our first all-virtual summit that is fully open to the public. We’re excited to welcome speakers from Microsoft, industry and members of the accessibility and disability communities — many of whom have been alongside us this last decade and whose feedback has made the journey of accessibility possible.

The Ability Summit started in 2010 with a simple premise: to bring together employees with disabilities to share their best practices, pain points, and dreams. While our employee disability groups have been around since the 90’s, the Microsoft Disability Employee Resource Group was in its infancy at the time. I remember being as nervous then as I am today! Would there be value? Would people find the similarities that I was seeing across each of the groups? Would we walk away frustrated or excited? Approximately 80 people attended throughout the course of the short one-day event, and each of them said to me on the way out of the door “Jenny, we must do this again.” So, we did.

The goals of the Ability Summit have evolved over the years but remained true at the core. To bring together people with disabilities, experts in their domains, along with designers, engineering, marketeers, HR professions and nerds together to talk, share, connect and learn how we Build, Imagine, Include and Empower. To identify where we can speed up implementation of accessibility and innovation for people with disabilities – both in the company and outside of the company – on the pathway to driving for a more inclusive society. Lastly, to create best practice in how to build an accessible and inclusive event. Last year 2,500 people joined us for two days, this year – well, we’re about to find out!

Above all else, the Ability Summit has taught us the critical importance of collaboration. It’s the key to accelerating our accessibility journey. Its why we host this annual event, and it’s also why are sharing the Microsoft Accessibility Evolution Model (AEM). Many have asked in the last few years what ‘secret sauce’ has powered Microsoft’s approach to accessibility and inclusion. There is no secret sauce, but we do manage accessibility like a business. The AEM is a maturity model built on the foundation of two existing models – one from Carnegie Mellon, and the other from accessibility specialists at Level Access. The Microsoft Accessibility Leadership Team, which spans the breadth of the company, expanded on the wisdom of these models by creating a series of dimensions with five levels of maturity. We leverage the structure to gain an understanding of our progress and build upon the dimension definitions as our learning grows. It’s a cultural model that starts with inclusion of people with disabilities, strives for inclusive design in product development, and emphasizes the skilling of employees on about accessibility and importance of authentic representation in sales, marketing, and accessibility supplier/procurement.

We also learned the importance of disability and accessibility education. Last year we created an Accessibility in Action Badge for our employees to help shine a spotlight on how technology can empower everyone. After receiving great feedback, we created a similar accessibility in action certification for other employers, nonprofits, and consumers to take alongside our employees. Get your own badge and complete the accessibility fundamentals learning path today!

During this time, it’s especially crucial to adapt to listen to feedback and to insight from the community. Over the last several weeks we have been responding to questions in a series of blogs that highlight accessibility hints, tips, and product features that can power you to work, learn and play in the stay-at-home world. We’ve had a 175% increase in calls to our Disability Answer Desk, from customers looking for assistance from experts on accessibility. We’ve also seen a huge uptick in the use of AI-powered accessibility tools, such as Immersive Reader and captioning in Office 365. While AI captions do not replace human provided captions (CART) they do offer independence, flexibility and strong quality captions thanks to the AI and machine learning behind them. I’m thrilled to share that Microsoft Teams Free edition will soon support live captions, allowing everyone to give them a try. Just last week, Microsoft Edge shared that they have committed over 150 changes on accessibility features into their open source project with the support of the Google Chrome team, and recently embedded features such as Immersive Reader, Picture Dictionary, Microsoft Translator , Read aloud and more. We also highlighted new accessibility functions coming to Windows 10, including Narrator and Magnifier improvements to provide users who are blind or low vision a better experience across applications.

One project that particularly excites me is Project Tokyo, which leverages AI and AR with the power of HoloLens to power children who are blind and low vision to develop social interaction skills, giving these kids the understanding of not just ‘who’ is at the dinner table but where, their expressions and more. Its research and early, but a beautiful illustration of everything Ability Summit stands for – bringing together people with disabilities with experts to open doors with technology.

Excited to get this show on the road – virtually! We’ve been moving fast these last few weeks to pivot to a virtual event and incredibly grateful for the support of Microsoft Teams to power this year’s summit as well as all of the non-profits, companies and speakers who will be joining us. While registration is now closed, videos will be posted on the Microsoft Enable YouTube channel!

Thank you for powering our journey, for keeping us grounded and motivated. If you need any assistance at any time, remember Disability Answer Desk is open 24/7 and all information on accessibility is at www.microsoft.com/accessibility.

Look forward to seeing how we can Include, Build, Imagine, Empower people with disabilities around the world – together. Let’s get this party started!

Apple has yet to introduce an expected “iPhone 12,” but an avid Twitter leaker is already sharing details on a next-next-generation handset that supposedly sports a quad-camera layout.

Windows 10 continues to play a key role in how we learn, live and work during these unique times, and we want to ensure a high quality and reliable experience, while also delivering you the latest innovations. In mid-April, we announced the initial availability of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update through the Windows Insider Program’s Release Preview ring, allowing us to both monitor and improve the quality of the release. Based on affirmative preview feedback, today we are pleased to announce that we are starting to make the May 2020 Update available. In this blog, we will cover how you can get the update and choose when to install, and availability for commercial organizations to begin targeted deployments.

How to get the Windows 10 May 2020 Update

To ensure you continue to have a reliable, productive experience with your Windows 10 devices, we are taking a measured and phased approach to how we offer the May Update, initially limiting availability to those devices running Windows 10, versions 1903 and 1909 who seek the update via Windows Update.

Beginning today, the May 2020 Update is available for customers who would like to install this latest release. If you are ready to install the update, open your Windows Update settings (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update) and select Check for updates. Once the update appears, you can select Download and install. (Note: You may not see Download and install on your device as we are slowly throttling up this availability over the coming weeks, or your device might have a compatibility issue for which a safeguard hold is in place until we are confident that you will have a good update experience.) Once the download is complete and the update is ready to install, we’ll notify you so that you can pick the right time to finish the installation and reboot your device, ensuring the update does not disrupt your activities. This new “Download and install” capability is available for devices running Windows 10, version 1903 or version 1909. For more information on the new user update controls and how to get the May 2020 Update, watch this video.

Semi-Annual Channel released for commercial customers

Today’s release of the May 2020 Update (Windows 10, version 2004) marks the start of the 18-months servicing support lifecycle. If you’re an IT administrator, we recommend that you begin targeted deployments to validate that the apps, devices and infrastructure used by your organization work as expected with the new release and features. Windows 10, version 2004 is available through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update for Business and the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) for phased deployment using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager or other systems management software. For information about the latest features for commercial customers, see “What’s new for IT pros in Windows 10, version 2004.” For insights on how to update, see the Windows IT Pro Blog post on feature updates while working remote. If you’re curious about Windows Server, version 2004, which was also released today, see the Windows Server Containers blog.

Keeping you protected and productive

Given all the recent changes to work and home life, we are focused on meeting you where you are and helping you adapt to these new challenges. We have often noted that being on the latest version of Windows 10 provides you with the latest features, security improvements and control. This is even more true today. The May 2020 Update offers many new features that can save you time, make you more productive and help you have fun – in addition to further enhancing your control and choices related to updates. Find out more in the “What’s new in the Windows 10 May 2020 Update” blog.

We will closely monitor the May 2020 Update experience and share timely information on the current rollout status and known issues (open and resolved) across both feature and monthly updates via the Windows release health dashboard and @WindowsUpdate. As always, please continue to tell us about your experience by providing comments or suggestions via Feedback Hub.

Steps disappear into the darkness below. Bulbs begin to buzz and flicker to life, revealing the shape of the room. A low platform extends through the center, flanked on both sides by hastily abandoned desks and consoles. Soft mechanical clicking and whirring sounds fill the air as data storage bays awaken under a blanket of dust.

Code begins to scroll across a massive collection of monitors hanging in a circular pattern in the center of the room. Random at first, the text begins to coalesce and take shape – growing to fill several of the screens with a bright golden orb that quickly scans the room before setting its gaze on the entrance. The eye of Rasputin waits.

And wait he must. The image of the Rasputin’s bunker vanishes from Dima Goryainov’s monitor as Bungie’s senior concept artist alt-tabs into a conference call. It’s 3:30 PM and that means it’s time for his team’s daily coffee break. “It’s our time to chat,” he says. “Usually we’re pretty heads down, so we try to hang out and talk about whatever’s exciting us – things that inspire our creativity.”

Finding inspiration in his peers and outside of games is something Dima is no stranger to. It’s an approach that has served him well while working on Destiny – particularly when he was tasked with designing a space in Season of the Worthy that would help players grow closer to a legendary character not known for his interpersonal skills: Rasputin, the Warmind.

A tall order, considering that at this point in Destiny’s story, Rasputin’s relationship with the Vanguard was tenuous at best. But when a new threat appeared in the skies above the Last City, a choice presented itself to both parties: work together and survive or perish alone. For Guardians, surviving meant partnering with Rasputin in a way they never have before.

The team at Bungie knew that Rasputin being open to an alliance was only half the equation – the easy half. Getting Guardians to trust him with their lives would be much harder. It required heavy lifting from writers, designers, engineers, and artists like Dima. And so, the task of making the most powerful military intelligence ever created a little more personable began.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

Dima has a unique style – a blend of graphic design and concept art that can be found throughout Destiny 2. From signage hanging on walls to the logos and iconography representing fictional organizations and foundries, it’s an aesthetic that has become inextricably linked with Destiny’s world building.

He explained that entering the game industry from a different direction began with the choice to major in graphic design and digital media instead of game art at the University of Advanced Technology. “The game art program was focused on taking direct inspiration from games and translating that into assignments. That seemed totally legitimate, but I felt that doing a program like graphic design would give me a more unique skillset. I was always interested in graphic design, industrial design, architecture, and comic books – things outside of games that I wanted to bring into concept art.”

Among the areas outside of games he draws inspiration from, he finds the dark and mysterious style of medieval design appropriate for Destiny. “A lot of it has this occult feeling to it,” Dima said. “The way it’s drawn is naive, like they’re not paying attention to anatomy, but it still works. I feel like that fits in a dark fantasy space opera.”

He also admitted a few personal influences he tries to not overuse. “I’m from Russia and I like to use things from my childhood that inspire me. Old Russian fairytales like Koschei the Deathless, Ilya Muromets, Baba Yaga, and many others. The summers I spent exploring the forest and the countryside in my great grandma’s village were a huge influence. I think I’m constantly trying to get back to that feeling I had when I was a kid.”

It’s the kind of goal that often results in work that feels tangible.

“Maybe it sounds cheesy,” Dima said. “But I credit that time with having an interest in stories about searching for adventure and mystery in different worlds. It’s why I became so interested in the world of Destiny and why I can’t believe I get to contribute to its development.”

A KINDER, FRIENDLIER WARMIND

When it came time to create the look of Rasputin’s bunkers, the request from the Design team was straight forward. They already had the gameplay systems in place and needed an area where players could communicate with Rasputin – a space that could evolve over time.

Dima had a very specific mood in mind. “On my reference board, I have a photo of Deckard’s apartment from Blade Runner,” he said. “I knew that was the feeling I wanted. It’s a dark-lit, super intimate, quiet place where players could go and hang out. I like moments in our game where you have silence. Where you’re not being shot at and you have a moment to relax and take a breath. I wanted it to be a space that you would like to be in even if you weren’t doing the mission or grinding the content.”

He thought back to one of his favorite games that had a similar vibe. “Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one of my favorite games of all time,” he said. “If I was in between missions, I could go back to Adam’s apartment and just sit and listen to the music and absorb the ambience – I wanted the Destiny version of that space.”

As pleasant as that sounded, it presented an interesting puzzle since the story called for Rasputin to be in this room with the player. And it’s one thing to make a space feel safe and inviting. It’s an entirely different thing to make that space feel comfortable when there’s a huge digital eyeball tracking you from the center of the room. Dima and his team worked to try and find subtle ways to make Rasputin less intimidating.

“Usually when you see Rasputin, he’s really far away in that massive chamber,” said Dima. “But in Season of the Worthy, the small bunker is a new place where you can be one-on-one with him as he slowly opens up to you while you learn more about him.”

Dima credits Bungie Senior Art Lead, Rob Adams with the idea to bring players physically closer to Rasputin. “It was Rob’s idea to bring Rasputin so low to the ground that you could come up to the screens and be face-to-face with him. Even a lot of the lighting decisions came from how close you’re able to stand to him. Drawing parallels between your physical and emotional distance was intentional.” Form followed function.

RASPUTIN GOES RETRO

Beyond resonating emotionally with the player, there needed to be an in-universe reason for the design of the room. So before putting pen to paper, Dima asked the question: Why did this bunker exist before players found it?

“As soon as you walk in, you understand that place was used for something,” Dima said. “This room had a purpose and a function – it wasn’t just made for gameplay. I had the idea that these bunkers were where Seraph researchers would speak with Rasputin and decode his communications.”

The relationship with the Narrative team immediately became apparent. “We work together as much as possible,” Dima said. “Sometimes Narrative will come up with ideas for a design or how a graphic should speak to specific elements. Other times, I’ll pitch something visual and it’ll end up working into the fiction.”

In this case, the fiction spoke directly to what excited Dima’s about Destiny. “Since these bunkers were from earlier versions of Rasputin, I knew that they were going to feel older technologically and that’s a big part of what Destiny is to me. Obviously we have holograms, but it’s not really super sleek Iron Man stuff – everything is tactile. Everything in Destiny feels like it has a history behind it and that it’s been touched. That’s way easier to do with physical things like screens and buttons.”

Dima leaned into the look of this older age and drew from his interest in industrial design. “There’s a single speaker in the room that Rasputin used to talk to the researchers,” he said. “The big cluster on the ceiling has all these cables, sensors, and cameras that point to the center of the room allowing Rasputin to see the person speaking to him. And as they’re speaking, there are people sitting at consoles recording everything that Rasputin is saying – decoding and storing it. So when you walk into a bunker, you start to understand the background of the Seraph researchers that made Rasputin.”

TURNING ON THE LIGHTS

The bunker is filled with elements that contribute to the atmosphere of the room while also adding to the story. Some flourishes, Dima admits, were added simply because he was looking for an excuse to design them. “I really wanted to have this analog map with physical bolts that light up,” he said. “But I kind of did that for me, because I really wanted it.” And why not? After all, who hasn’t fantasized about playing with a giant Lite-Brite?

“I didn’t really think that the map was going to get much of a reaction or that anyone was going to pay much attention to it. But from what I’ve seen, a lot of people have gravitated towards it and started speculating on what it might mean. People have messaged me and told me that it’s their favorite part of the bunker, so that was kind of cool.”

Inspiring elements continued to come from peers across the studio. One from Senior Artist, Eve Campbell and the Environment team instantly became one of Dima’s favorite things in the bunker.

“They made the screen effects look really cool when you’re talking to Rasputin,” he said. “The way he moves on the screens and tracks you across the room. It’s meant to be this intimate space that’s really comfortable but there’s this degree of uneasiness with him silently and constantly watching you. Even if you jump up and down his eye moves up and down with you.”

Instances like this, where creative partnerships resulted in something unexpected, kept surfacing. “Over time, we’ve evolved the collaboration process and it feels really organic,” Dima said.

Throughout his five years at Bungie, Dima has worked alongside peers invested in building living breathing worlds. Speaking with him leaves the impression that if you work with passionate people, a good idea – like a warmly lit bunker with a giant glowing eyeball – never stays hidden forever.

Are you a fan of Action RPGs?  Today join others and dive into the world of Minecraft in a brand new experience.  No mining, no crafting, just dungeon crawling style combat as you loot and scoot to the next pack of enemies as you fight to gain strength to take on the Arch-Illager!

Minecraft Dungeon allows you to play how you want.  There is no class system to limit you and you’re allowed to make any build you can come up with.  The sky is the limit!  There is a bit of something for everyone.  If you enjoy melee pick up a sword or an ax and charge headfirst into a pack of zombies.  Take up a bow if you want to hang back and take calculated aim at your enemies at a safe distance.  Pick up enchants and fight enemies in ways not possible in normal Minecraft.  Fight fire with fire, freeze your enemies with your ice, or maybe you rather steal the souls of your enemies to use against them.  Have fun, share your builds, but most importantly have fun.

If you’re interested in picking this up just head over to minecraft.net if you play on Windows and navigate to the Dungeons page to purchase your copy today.  Not playing on Windows or prefer another method?  Minecraft Dungeon is also available on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch.  Play alone, play local co-op with up to 4 players or even play online with others.

While we don’t have a specified section for Minecraft Dungeons, feel free to discuss in Minecraft: Discussions and share your builds, tips, and secrets you may find!