🎮 Paint it black
Diablo art inspiration, King Tut's (board) game plan, and more...
Mornin’. What a fine day in Sextilis it is today.
Wait…sorry. I’m off by roughly 2,041 years. Sextilis is what August used to be called. “Sex” equals six, so, sixth month. You’re probably asking yourself, “But, August is the eighth month.” Not back then it wasn’t, but that’s for a whole other newsletter.
To honor Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus, the senate renamed Sextilis to August. They’d previous renamed Quintilis (fifth month) to July to honor Julius Caesar, so why not?
—Tim Leong, Eric Alt, Andrew Nusca, Marques Edge
Buffed/Nerfed
What’s up and down in the world rn.
Buffed: Taking matters into your own hands. A woman with a severe allergy bought all 48 packets of nuts on her flight to avoid a potential medical emergency. This was also my reasoning when I bought all the cookies on my last trip.
Nerfed: Bird watchers. After peacocks overran a Miami suburb (they must’ve learned from those rabbits), residents have come up with a solution: peacock vasectomies. The plan seems a little half…never mind.
Buffed: The Snakes on a Plane franchise. A bear escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an airplane, causing a delay (ya think?). I guess he really wanted some of those peanuts.
Nerfed: My computer speakers. A Virginia woman set the Guinness World Record for loudest burp at 107.3 decibels. That’s our favorite kind of loudmouth.
Buffed: Your TV queue. The 2023 Emmys will be in 2024. With nominees already announced, the award show is postponed because of the labor disagreements in the industry. The bright side: It gives us more time to catch up on our watch lists.
Burning Question: Was King Tut really a gamer?
Asked and answered.
King Tutankhamun. Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. The boy king.
And…game boy?
Contributing writer Aaron Morales walks us through the collection of games found in King Tut’s tomb.
Click here to read at your own risk.
Shameless plug: The Sweet Seat, a lewk on the bright side
Make room for The Sweet Seat, a new tasty collaboration between fashion designer Christian Cowan and Candy Crush Saga.
Can’t find a seat on the train while you play Candy Crush? Fret not—the wonderfully whimsical dress comes with its own padded, built-in seat so you can get cozy anywhere.
This limited-edition dress goes for $1,000. I may even get one for my home office. After all, you can’t put a price on fashion. Or comfort.
Behind the Scenes: The secret art influences of Diablo IV
Peek behind the curtain.
One factor that contributes to a game’s visual success is its concept art. It’s no different for Blizzard’s new dungeon-crawler Diablo IV, which is packed full of art of detailed characters and rich landscapes.
But one difference is the inspiration behind these pleasing panoramas.
Editor-in-chief Andrew Nusca spoke with Igor Sidorenko, a principal concept artist for Blizzard, about the real-world, fine art inspirations behind his epic works.
Brush up on your museum skills here.
Pop quiz, hot shot!
We all know 1982’s Pitfall! was Activision’s first mega-hit. (Just ask Jack Black.) The main character, Pitfall Harry, was a household name, and even made his way to Saturday morning cartoons.
But what was his niece’s name?
The answer will be in Monday’s edition of The Edit.
Wormhole
Click the following image and…well, we don’t want to ruin the surprise.
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So random xD