Oddity Central |
- Australian City to Host Real-Life Zombie First Person Shooter Game
- Reporters Travel To China to Test Fabled Melt-Proof Ice Cream
- Stunning Photos from the World’s Most Amazing Suburban Family Garden
| Australian City to Host Real-Life Zombie First Person Shooter Game Posted: 11 Jun 2012 06:46 AM PDT
If you’ve ever dreamed of starring in your own zombie shooting video game, like Left4Dead or Resident Evil, your wish is about to come true as “Patient 0“, the world’s first ”fully immersive live action real life, multiplayer, first person shooter, role-playing game” is about to take place in Melbourne, Australia. It’s no secret that we’re living in a golden age of zombies. From movies to video games and even real life events, the undead are everywhere these days, so it came as no surprise when entrepreneurs started creating all kinds of events centered around the walking corpses. So far we’ve had a zombie training camp, zombie obstacle race and even a zombie-infested mall challenge, so it’s pretty clear this kind of event is becoming very popular. A group of enterprising young Australians has now decided to take things to a whole new level and announced they are working on a real-life first person shooter game for people who wish they could just get off the couch and play their favorite zombie shooter in real life. Like I mentioned earlier, zombie-themed events are nothing revolutionary, but what these Aussie enthusiasts are trying to create has never been done before. They plan to combine laser tag games, interactive role playing, technology and, of course, zombies to create a real life game where players can actually be the protagonists of their very own zombie survival adventure. Called “Patient 0″ this unique experience will be launched on October 31st, in Melbourne, where it will run for a whole month. Depending on its success, the event will probably be held in other Australian cities, as well. It might sound funny, but for the people behind the IRF (In Real Life) Shooter project, it’s serious business. They plan on finding and dressing a location that looks like something out of a zombie video game, and adding professional-produced ambience sounds through a state of the art audio system, for extra eeriness. There will also be live HD video streaming from the CCTVs installed in the building. One thing they are working really hard on is the weaponry players will get to use in Patient 0. Anyone who has ever played laser tag knows the experience is underwhelming, so it’s not ideal for an adrenalin-packed experience like a real life zombies shooter. That’s why the guys behind the project are working hard on custom-designed M4 assault rifle replicas that look and feel like real weapons. So far they are fitted with custom electronics and software, as well as mesh-networking which will send info on health, ammunition, hits and misses of the player to servers, in order to keep scores. The are also considering adding sound and muzzle flash, and a recoil effect. The actual zombies will be played by paid actors wearing a series of sensors which will register hits on various body parts. Some will play your usual generic zombie, while other will be harder-to-kill hero zombies and even game bosses. Because, as one of the developers says, "what sort of game hasn't got bosses?". Because Patient 0 is designed as a real life video game, it will also be story-driven with multiple levels, each with its own mission objectives, including information gathering and puzzle solving. According to the project page “this first instalment in the I.R.L Shooter universe is only going to play out once, then we change the story. It's going to be up to the players to put all the pieces together, find all the hidden information and try to work out who is behind it all!”
So far, the people behind Patient 0 have already reached their $10,000 goal on Pozible, with 52 days to go until deadline. They have over $30,000 in pledges right now, and as news of their idea spreads even more, they might be looking at serious funding for their Melbourne zombie shooter. As a big fan of zombie video games, I can’t wait to see what they come up with on Halloween. All I know is it sounds pretty exciting. Tickets to Patient 0 will cost $125 per person, but there are still a few discounts available for those who pre-order. Pozible via I Started Something Australian City to Host Real-Life Zombie First Person Shooter Game was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Reporters Travel To China to Test Fabled Melt-Proof Ice Cream Posted: 11 Jun 2012 05:08 AM PDT
Legend has it that in China there is an ice-cream that simply doesn’t melt even when left at room temperature for hours. So the guys at RocketNews24 sent a report to investigate on this myth. Now, we’ve posted about some pretty special ice-cream treats, like the sinful Vice Lolly and the ice cream made from breast milk, but an ice-cream that doesn’t melt? That was unheard of, so a reporter from the Japanese wacky news site journeyed to China to uncover the truth about this legendary frozen dessert. He picked up one of these special lollies generically called “Banana” from a 7-11 but learned that the popsicle made by Nestle China can be found in pretty much any shop around the country. While you might expect a treat called Banana to actually taste like the world’s most popular fruit, this particular lolly has a plain vanilla ice-cream core encased in a sort of yellow gelatin, which the consumer can peel in order to reveal the vanilla center. It’s pretty hard to resist eating an ice-cream under the scorching Chinese sun, but the brave Japanese reporter manged to suppress his urges and carry on the unique experiment. He tears open the packaging revealing an amber-colored treat and places it on the hot pavement. Thirty minutes into the experiment, the news agent reports no signs of melting. After an hour of careful observation, he notices a clear sheen over the gelatinous peel, but no signs of melting. In total, the ice-cream was left over three hours in the hot sun, on a summer afternoon, and it did not melt. Once the sun itself gave up and drifted over the horizon, the reporter decided to see what a melt-proof ice-cream actually tastes like. But, after peeling away the yellow gelatin his hands were left covered in hot sticky vanilla soup… So can Banana be called the world’s first melt-proof ice cream lolly? Technically no, but Nestle’s idea did give birth to a myth that certainly proved very beneficial sales-wise.
Photos by Kuzo, for RocketNews24 Reporters Travel To China to Test Fabled Melt-Proof Ice Cream was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Stunning Photos from the World’s Most Amazing Suburban Family Garden Posted: 11 Jun 2012 03:50 AM PDT
Located in the small backyard of a family-owned property in Wallsall, England, is one of the most incredible-looking gardens in the world. The Four Seasons Garden may not be as large as other famous English gardens you may have visited, but it certainly makes up in beauty and charm. There are hundreds, probably thousands of breathtaking gardens all over Europe, but most of them were designed and looked-after by teams of professional gardeners, at a considerable cost. The Four Seasons Garden, created by self-taught gardeners Tony and Marie Newton, started out as a hobby, but slowly grew into one of the most popular suburban gardens in Britain. 20 years ago, the couple from West Midlands decided to transform their traditional garden into a stunning display of creative gardening. Tony hated weeding, but loved building things, while his wife Marie just loved plants, so together they set out to create Four Seasons, their version of the ideal backyard garden. Spring (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) Since they started their labor of love, the Newtons managed to squeeze over 3,000 plants into a small 180 x 55ft space, creating a mind-blowing array of colors throughout the four yearly seasons. The Four Seasons Garden includes over 200 acers, 350 azaleas, a variety of conifers and shrubs, as well as exotic elements like tree ferns, palms, bamboos and banana plants. In the last 20 years, Tony and Marie totally re-landscaped and re-planted the entire garden themselves, in their quest to create an outdoor family living space that would be exciting in all four seasons. They won their battles with weeds, created all the pathways, as well as three water features, including a cascading 17 metre stream, and even a big oriental pagoda. Spring (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) But maintaining a beautiful garden like the Four Seasons is no easy task, especially with unpredictable weather like this year, but the Newtons go to great lengths to make sure their plants survive in any conditions. This year’s late frost was a big concern, so to protect the plant life Tony and Marie ended up using anything from specialist material like horticultural fleece to tablecloths and plastic bags. Their efforts paid off as they managed to save all their plants. Spring (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) This year, the Four Seasons Garden, in Walsall, was open for visits on Sunday, June 10th, and will open its gates to visitors again, on Sunday, August 5th. The entrance fee is £3 ($4.60), and the proceeds go to the National Gardening Scheme charity. In all the years that the Four Seasons has been opened for visits, the Newtons have raised over £20,000 ($31,000) for charity. Summer (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) Summer (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) Summer (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) Autumn (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) Autumn (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) Autumn (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) WINTER (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) WINTER (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) WINTER (Photo © Four Seasons Garden) For more incredible photos of the Four Seasons Garden throughout the year, and pics of how it came to be, check out the Flickr stream Tony and Marie Newton set up. There are thousands of photos waiting to be discovered. Stunning Photos from the World’s Most Amazing Suburban Family Garden was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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