0927 – Thief (2014 video game)

timespace coordinates: ‘The City’, a dark fantasy world inspired by Victorian, Gothic, and steampunk aesthetics.

Thief is a stealth video game developed by Eidos Montréal, published by Square Enix, and released in February 2014 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows video gaming platforms. Feral Interactive brought the game to macOS in November 2015. It is a revival of the cult classic Thief video game series of which it is the fourth installment. Initially announced in 2009 as Thief 4, it was later announced in 2013 that the game is a reboot for the series. (wiki)

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (MINIMUM): OS: Windows Vista with Platform Update for Windows Vista / Processor: High-Performance Dual Core CPU or Quad Core CPU / Memory: 4 GB RAM / Graphics: AMD Radeon 4800 series / Nvidia GTS 250 / DirectX: Version 10 / Storage: 20 GB available space

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steam   /    The Art of Thief

0923 – Home (2009)

on youtube

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Home is a 2009 French documentary film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. The film is almost entirely composed of aerial shots of various places on Earth. It shows the diversity of life on Earth and how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the planet. The English version was read by Glenn Close.

The film was financed by Kering, a French multinational holding company specializing in retail shops and luxury brands, as part of their public relations strategy. (wiki)

Yann Arthus-Bertrand said in a TED talk that the movie has no copyright.

imdb

0896 – Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

timespace coordinates: Persian Empire 6th century BC

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 American action fantasy film directed by Mike Newell. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton as Princess Tamina, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar.

The film has the same title as the video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time developed and published by Ubisoft, and is primarily based on it. Elements from Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, the two other titles from the Sands of Time trilogy of the Prince of Persia video game franchise, are also incorporated.

The film seems to be set in ancient Persia, as the film starts with a map portending to show the expanse of the Persian Empire 2500 years ago. The film set design seems to be based on Islamic Persia. Islamic architecture with intricate use of geometric shapes and domes are shown. The cities in the film all appear to have minarets. The Allied Kingdom of Alamut, shown in the movie wasn’t established until 9th century (after Islamic Conquest of Persia). The Alamut castle was built by the Justanid ruler, Wahsudan b. Marzuban, a follower of zaydi Islam, around 865 AD. It was seized by Hassan-i Sabbah, who was the leader of the Nizārī Ismā‘īlītes and the founder of the secret order known as Assassins. (wiki)

PRINCE OF PERSIA THE SANDS OF TIME Gameplay Walkthrough FULL GAME No Commentary (1080p HD 60fps)

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imdb

0883 – Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007 Documentary)

The definitive three-and-a-half hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic Blade Runner (1982), culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.

imdb / 0072 – Blade Runner Ambience – Sounds Of The City 2019 / 0400 – Blade Runner / 0475

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869 – Cruickshank on Kew: The Garden That Changed the World (2009 Documentary)

As the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew prepare to celebrate their 250th anniversary, Dan Cruickshank unearths some of the surprising stories that shaped the famous gardens. His travels take him from the royal gardens to the corridors of power and the outposts of the Empire as he pieces together Kew’s story, uncovering tales of bravery, high adventure, passion and drama. (docuwiki)

imdb

865 – The Battle of Visby (2020 Video game)

timespace coordinates: small Scandinavian island, Gotland during the summer of 1361 / The battle of Visby

The story is told from a first-person perspective where the player takes roles of different characters experiencing the events that lead to the battle.
It is made in Unreal Engine by a one-man team.
The experience is about 1-2 hours long and focused on narrative storytelling.

steam

0864 – BioShock 2 (2010 Video game)

timespace coordinates: city of Rapture 1968

BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin and published by 2K Games. A part of the Bioshock series, it is the sequel to the 2007 video game BioShock and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360 on February 9, 2010. Feral Interactive released an OS X version of the game on March 30, 2012.  A remastered version of the game was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 13, 2016, as part of BioShock: The Collection.

Set in the fictional underwater dystopian city of Rapture, the game’s story takes place eight years after BioShock. Assuming control of Subject Delta, a hulking Big Daddy, players are tasked with fighting through “splicers”, the psychotic human population of the city, using weapons and an array of genetic modifications. The game also introduces a story-driven multiplayer mode called Fall of Rapture, which takes place during Rapture’s 1959 civil war, before the events of the first game.

SONY DSC

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(Themes) In contrast to the first BioShock‘s focus on libertarianism and Ayn Rand’s philosophies, BioShock 2 focuses on collectivist ideals. Lamb’s philosophy of altruism is based on that of Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill. “Her motto is ‘Make the world your family’ meaning force your mind into becoming loyal to the world in a way usually reserved for your child, and that’s intellectually daunting,” said Thomas. In comparison to the first game’s questions of free will and destiny, Thomas said that the player character is “almost the ultimate individual” whom Lamb goads to fulfill her goals. 

Professor Ryan Lizardi draws parallels between BioShock 2‘s themes of community versus the individual and the issues of McCarthyism and the hippie movement that occurred around the time period of the game’s setting. “As this sequel is an extension of the first game’s storylines and characters, there are direct contrasts between the extreme politics of Andrew Ryan’s objectivism and the extreme religion/politics of Lamb’s collectivism,” he writes. “Bioshock 2 specifically asks players to question all sides of debates when extreme stances are taken, and asks players to weigh their decisions in an alternate and complex history. ” (wiki)

steam // www.bioshock2game.com

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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (remastered version) MINIMUM:

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system/ OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit. Platform Update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1/ Processor: Intel E6750 Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz / AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHZ / Memory: 4 GB RAM / Graphics: 2GB AMD Radeon HD 7770 / 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 / DirectX: Version 11 / Storage: 25 GB available space / Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Device