Angela Quinton

Kickstart historical killing-spree “Dreadline” & play a werewolf girl who collects human hearts

Last May I posted about Eerie Canal‘s game Dreadline, an action/RTS mashup in which you play one of several monsters (including a werewolf) who time travel to the scenes of historical catastrophes in order to kill all of the victims who were just going to die anyway. At the time, the game was in development and scheduled for a Q1 2013 release, which is basically now. Since I’m writing this post instead of playing the game, and given the category this post is in, you can probably guess where this is headed, but I’ll let the Eerie Canal team explain:

What was originally going to be our quick-turnaround/low-risk/easy-breezy/genre game evolved into a completely original game that is far more exciting, but also far more challenging to build. Now that we’re ready to really get down to building this thing, we’re out of cash. We have enough of it up and running to know that it’s going to be ridiculously fun, and we can’t wait to finish it.

They’re hoping to raise $167,000 on Kickstarter, which seems like a lot of money to more mortals like you and I, but consider this: Eerie Canal is two dudes who’ve worked a ton of games for giant publishers, who want to take the best of what they’ve learned and make something informed by their own (sick and twisted) sensibilities, and who really know what this sort of thing costs. From the KS page:

Dreadline is currently slated to be an English-language, single-player, PC release that will be completed around August of 2013. The plan is to have 9 playable monsters and 7 calamities. We have estimated that it will cost us $167,000 (minus the take of Kickstarter, Amazon, and our prizes) to get Dreadline out the door. It’s quite a bit less than what other game projects of this size have asked for since we’ve been self funding for over a year now.

But we would love to offer more. We want more monsters, more calamities, multiplayer monster fights, Mac port, iOS port, more languages, or anything else YOU may want. We don’t want to put up a table of new features that could be rolled out yet, because we would first like to hear from people like you.

So, the Eerie Canal guys have the experience, the creativity, the tech (they even built their own game engine, called ‘shoe_gazer’), and the will. They just need the cash! If you want to play this game as much as I do, go contribute something to their Kickstarter project. To entice you, here’s a graphic they created that shows what some of the rewards are:

Angela Quinton Jan. 4th 2013

Animated Gotye turns werewolf in backdrop video for “What Do You Want?”

From the official Gotye web site:

The visuals for our live performances of What Do You Want? were created by an incredible animator from Australia called Lucinda Schreiber. Created with coloured paper and stop-time animation techniques, it’s a beautiful piece, hope you enjoy.

The song is from Gotye’s 2003 debut album Boardface. Musically it’s not quite the earworm that Somebody That I Used to Know is, but then, that’s like saying that mint tea isn’t quite the calmative that heroin is. It’s a cute video that makes me think of the Land of the Dead musical scenes from Corpse Bride, and the gripe I had about its somewhat repetitive nature is obviated by the fact that it’s meant to be shown on a screen behind a band playing the actual song.

Angela Quinton Jan. 3rd 2013

Immortal’s “Hellhound” design might be my new favourite werewolf mask

Reader Joseph sent me a link to Immortal Masks‘s silicone “Hellhound” design while I was in my holiday-induced coma. Holy shit. It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t look at it until just the other day – if I’d seen it before Christmas I probably would have returned everyone’s gifts and spent the money on one of these instead.

I think I’m in love! The Hellhound is available in four styles: Brown, Arctic and Grey ($550) or Lycan ($1,100, with NFT hair that’s hand-punched at the edges – link to the “get Andrew one of these” donation fund to follow). Check out the official demo video from Immortal below, and keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates… apparently they’re getting ready to release “monster sleeves”, so you can have Hellhound arms and hands to match.

Angela Quinton Jan. 2nd 2013

Is this one-eyed schoolgirl a werewolf? Support the short film “Howl” to find out

“Howl” is a UK-produced short film in which schoolteacher Karen Crawshaw “unravels the mystery behind the odd relationship between her new pupil and a stranger with a dark secret.” It’s being shot in Surrey this February, and it’s the most well-organized “indie” production I think I’ve ever been asked to help publicize. They’ve got their cast, location, gear, storyboards, creature FX and basically everything else figured out, and they’re using Kickstarter to raise the remaining £2,000 they need to pay for the project.

Director Jamie Sims emailed me a few months back to see if I might be able to recommend a UK-based maker of creature prosthetics, and while I wasn’t able to help much in that regard (I live in a Canadian city where they’re making at least one Hollywood werewolf picture a year and I can’t even get a foot in that door), I can share some more details from Howl’s Head of Marketing Ben Cowan:

The film hopes to regenerate interest in the horror/monster genre through combining metaphorical parallels between a common evil within society (child abuser/paedophilia) and a traditional creature of nightmares. Using this, the film explores both adult and child fears.

We are currently releasing production videos and concept art on both our Facebook page and our website, that will allow followers to feel a part of the action, and also feel a part of our production team, embarking on the filmmaking journey as we do too.

At the time of this post, the Kickstarter campaign had less than £800 to go with 19 days left, and there are some really interesting perks available, including two pieces of world-building bonus content:

Ministry of Defence Classified Dossier

In July 2010, Scotland Yard ran an investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Karen Crawshaw. Upon reading and analysing the events described in the late Miss. Crawshaw’s diary, Scotland Yard concluded that the case be passed onto the Ministry of Defence. The investigation is ongoing and strictly classified, but a number of restricted dossiers have surfaced online.

Karen Crawshaw’s Original Diary

Locked away in the vaults of the MOD for a number of years, very few have read Karen Crawshaw’s original diary from 1994. Handwritten, she describes the strange occurrences in the village of Chillum and beyond, including the bizarre behaviour of Eleanor Stagg as she grew up. The diary has seen some wear over the years, but still retains the various ink splodges and sketches by the original owner within.

If you’d like to start 2013 off with some charitable giving in support of a short werewolf film, give Howl a look!

Angela Quinton Jan. 1st 2013

Take a note, Twiddle

Well, I’m all grown up now! I watched The Wolf Man for the first time last, and I did it in good company. I won’t bore you with a review of the film – that would be like reviewing Super Mario Brothers 3 – but I will say that I liked it a lot more than I expected to. It’s amazing that so much of what we consider to be canon in werewolf lore came from Curt Siodmak’s screenplay. As I said in the livestream chat and then on Twitter, I think the 2010 remake could have been significantly improved by emulating the original’s economy (and by including Twiddle).

Much of the hour’s entertainment came from watching the movie with an audience on Synchtube. I’m not a fan of MST3K, but there’s something to be said for sharing a cheesy movie-watching experience with a bunch of like-minded smart alecks. It’s something I’d like to do again, maybe as often as once a month, so if you missed tonight’s viewing (or participated and enjoyed it), maybe keep the evening of Friday, December 28th open.

Angela Quinton Nov. 29th 2012

Classic film werewolves enact some justice on this gory “Breaking Jacob” T-shirt from Fright Rags

Courtesy of Werewolf News reader Stuart, here’s a limited edition Fright Rags t-shirt guaranteed to please werewolf fans. The Breaking Jacob shirt features AWIL’s David Kessler, classic Wolf Man and classic Teen Wolf literally disembowling Twilight’s Jacob Black. It’s inaccurate in the sense that I’m not included in the design – despite my having been involved in Jacob’s demise – but it’s gory and oh so very right.

Wearing this shirt will help you properly calibrate your friend-zone! Here’s how:

Put it on and go about your day.
Anyone who reacts to it with horror and/or revulsion is not a person you need in your life. Shun them.
Anyone who points and cheers and/or proffers a solemn high five is more than a friend – truly, they are your brother or sister.

Breaking Jacob is available from Fright Rags for $21.95, and once it sells out, it’s gone!

Angela Quinton Nov. 23rd 2012

SRA discontinuing Extended Registration Certificates and ID Cards

Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew, and running the Supernatural Registration Authority is definitely a bone too tough to gnaw through on my own. That’s why I’m discontinuing the part of the SRA that involves me having to physically make and ship things. If you’d like to receive in the mail a certificate or a photo ID card proclaiming your status as a registered werewolf (or one of several dozen other non-human entities), you have until Sunday night to place your order.

The SRA will continue to exist, and I’m going to create a self-service option for people who want to register and then print out their own detailed certificate (the one I mail people, not the free one everyone gets). The current set-up just takes too much time to maintain – time I’d rather spend finding things to post here on Werewolf News.

Werewolf News readers can use promo code STFUVAMPIRES to get 15% off, because you guys and gals are awesome.

Angela Quinton Nov. 20th 2012

Watch me watch 1941’s “The Wolf Man” for the 1st time on the next full moon

Regardless of the damage this may do to my credibility as “the Werewolf News guy”, I can’t keep this inside any longer: I have never seen the 1941 classic werewolf movie “The Wolf Man“. Ever. Not even 30 seconds of it. I’m sorry.

This is an egregious failing on my part, and I have no excuse, other than a distaste for the “classic wolf man” aesthetic (I just can’t abide that DA haircut). As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for Craig J. Clark’s outstanding Full Moon Features series here on Werewolf News, my knowledge of werewolf movies prior to the 1980s would be non-existant. I hope you can forgive me for this failing. If you can still tolerate my uneducated words, please read on to learn how I intend to rectify the situation.

The next full moon falls on Wednesday November 28th. On that day, at 6 PM Pacific / 9 PM Eastern, I invite you to watch The Wolf Man with me in real time.

Synchtube is the venue, and in addition to my participation in the built-in chatroom, I will be live-tweeting my comments and reactions. By making my education on that auspicious Werewolf Wednesday a public event, I hope to regain the trust and respect of the several half-dozens of people who are horrified at this gap in my lycanthropic experience. Join me, won’t you?

Angela Quinton Nov. 9th 2012

Get your snuggle on with this Squishable werewolf

A Facebook friend (hi, Amurana!) shared an extremely cute link with me this morning: Squishable.com’s squishable werewolf! Squishable makes spherical plush critters which are designed to be snuggled upon with a will, and I don’t mind telling you that if I had this Werewolf, I would go Hug Bot on it. It was designed by RMCAD illustration student Tera S. as part of Project Open Squish, which seems to be a contest organized along the lines of how Patch Together runs. Squishable’s site is frustratingly vague about the contest’s timeline, or what it means for an entry to be marked “In Process”, but a post on the Squishable Facebook page says “The Werewolf from last month’s round made it into prototype thanks to your votes!”, so chances are good the design will be available for purchase soon. You can enter your email address on the Werewolf detail page to receive an email when it’s ready.

Angela Quinton Nov. 8th 2012

Adorable werewolf-themed Android mascot figurine by Dead Zebra

When he’s not adding new beasties to Creatures In My Head, Andrew Bell runs Dead Zebra, Inc., which makes and sells miniature figurines of the little green Android mascot. Right before Halloween he announced a limited-edition werewolf collectible which “hails from a day and age when vampires didn’t sparkle and werewolves played basketball”. The figurine is now on sale for a very reasonable $10.00, and is highly adorable.

As a non-partisan iPhone / Mac user, the only thing keeping me from buying this is the knowledge that if I did, my roommate – who’s a zealous Windows / Android guy – would totally smirk at me. That’s all he’d do… and that’s enough.

Angela Quinton Nov. 7th 2012