It took 20 years for Children of the Sun to become an overnight success

Children of the Sun burst onto the indie scene like a muzzle flash on a dark night. Publisher Devolver Digital dropped the game’s first trailer on February 1, showcasing frenzied sniper shots and a radioactive art style. A Steam demo highlighting its initial seven stages went live that same day and became a breakout hit during February’s Steam Next Fest. Two months later it landed in full and to broad acclaim. This explosive reveal and rapid release timeline mirrors the game itself — chaotic but contained, swift and direct, sharp and bright. Though it feels like Children of the Sun popped into existence over the span of two months, it took solo developer René Rother more than 20 years to get here. René Rother As a kid in Berlin in the early 2000s, Rother was fascinated by the booming mod community. He spent his time messing around with free Counter-Strike mapping tools and Quake III mods from the demo discs tucked into his PC magazines. Rother daydreamed about having a job in game development, but it never felt like an attainable goal. “It just didn't seem possible to make games,” he told Engadget. “It's like it was this huge black box.” Rother couldn’t see an easy entry point until the 2010s, when mesh libraries and tools like GameMaker and Unity became more accessible. He discovered a fondness for creating 3D interactive art. But aside from some free online Javascript courses, he didn’t know how to program anything, so his output was limited. “I dabbled into it a little... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-04-18 19:45:11 UTC ]
News tagged with: #soundtrack collaborator #band nadja #similar droning #slowcore vibe #casual message #nice experience #proper word #psychedelic clarity #super spontaneous #necessarily knowing #eventually lead #required work #— chaotic #— visuals #major publishing #libraries

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Italy: Bologna Children’s Book Fair Names 2024 Illustration Winners

Easily one of the largest illustration competitions in the world, Bologna Children's Book Fair's Illustration Exhibition has 79 winners. The post Italy: Bologna Children’s Book Fair Names 2024 Illustration Winners appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-01-22 20:48:14 UTC ]
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Call of Duty didn’t top the yearly sales charts for one of the first times since 2009

Just like death and taxes, you can usually rely on a Call of Duty game to top the sales charts each year. The various entries in Activision’s warfare simulation franchise have mostly done just that, going all the way back to 2009. This year’s a bit different. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-18 19:16:41 UTC ]
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Illustrated Edition of THE HUNGER GAMES Coming Later This Year

Scholastic has announced that an illustrated edition of THE HUNGER GAMES is coming out later this year. Here are the details. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-01-18 16:47:28 UTC ]
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Morgan Entrekin on ‘That 30-Year-Old Hanging Out’ at Frankfurt

Grove Atlantic CEO and publisher Morgan Entrekin talks about the value of Frankfurter Buchmesse for young professionals. The post Morgan Entrekin on ‘That 30-Year-Old Hanging Out’ at Frankfurt appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-01-18 16:07:13 UTC ]
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Katherine Min was ahead of her time. Four years after her death, her second novel proves it

Katherine Min's Korean American debut novel was ignored. After she died in 2019, publishers worked to put out her second novel, 'The Fetishist.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-18 11:00:57 UTC ]
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Religion Book Sales Up 1.2% in October, 7.1% Year-to-Date

Sales of religious print books remain solid through October, offsetting slow digital sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The best tech support helplines for seniors (according to my 73-year-old mom)

Engadget readers like yourself are probably more tech savvy than the average person. That means you may get roped into helping older family members with email woes, new phone setups, or deciphering if a message is legit or a phishing scam. In my family, I’ve become my mother’s unofficial IT... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-15 14:00:13 UTC ]
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Following a Successful 2023, B&N Aims to Open 50 Stores in 2024

Barnes & Noble followed up sales increases in 2022 with more gains in 2023 and CEO James Daunt said the bookseller is "entering a period of significant growth." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix and Hulu pick up TV Golden Globes as Succession dominates

The 2024 Golden Globes represented a return to normalcy after a year dominated by strikes in the entertainment industry. Streamers continued to get recognition for their shows, with Netflix, Hulu and Max picking up a combined 12 television awards. Max (formerly HBO Max) won the most awards,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-08 10:25:14 UTC ]
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OverDrive Reports Another Record Year for Digital Library Circulation

Library users worldwide borrowed some 662 million e-books, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines, OverDrive reps announced in a release this week, with 152 library systems reporting more than a million digital checkouts in 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: 'Lunar New Year Love Story' by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham

Gene Luen Yang and artist LeUyen Pham’s new YA graphic novel 'Lunar New Year Love Story' is a charming, funny, supernatural tale of teenagers navigating romance and tough family issues in the Asian American community. An eight page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Jilly Cooper is made a dame in new year honours list

Bestselling author and journalist is ‘incredibly bowled over’ to receive DBEJilly Cooper has been given a damehood in the new year honours list for her services to literature and charity.The 86-year-old bestselling author and journalist who was awarded a DBE said she was “delighted, bewildered... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-29 22:30:17 UTC ]
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Most Parents Want School Libraries for Their Children–But With Restrictions

95% of parents believe every school should have a library, but 60% also believe those libraries should have restrictions. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-12-20 13:21:21 UTC ]
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2023 was the year the economics of tech caught up with reality

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[ Engadget | 2023-12-18 15:30:52 UTC ]
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Chose the Next Book Cover of the Year 

It’s the festive season, which means our fourth annual book cover tournament begins today! We had a tough job winnowing the hundreds of thousands of book covers published this year to the best 32 designs, so we need your help to crown a winner via an interactive poll on our Twitter and Instagram... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-12-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The 10 Most Popular Lit Hub Stories of the Year

The literary world may have a complicated relationship to popularity—see every literary novelist’s love/hate (and almost always unrequited) relationship with the bestseller list—but the internet does not. Simply: it’s good to be read, and so we thank you, our readers, for consuming, commenting... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-18 09:52:49 UTC ]
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Five years and 2m copies later, self-published author lands UK book deal

Norfolk-based crime writer JM Dalgliesh topped the Amazon and Kindle bestsellers before being signed by a traditional publisher In 2018, JM Dalgliesh was a stay-at-home father when he sent his first crime novel to six literary agents, only to receive polite rejection letters – or no response at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-17 09:00:23 UTC ]
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