Elden Ring’s Pot Boys became internet stars well before the game even launched. The stout anthropomorphic amphora tickled the fancy of fans when they appeared in the game’s trailers, and players have been excitedly tracking down the rotund receptacles since first setting foot in the Lands Between.
Not content with merely admiring them from afar, talking to the friendly Pot Boys they meet on their travels, or smashing them to pieces in-game, many Elden Ring players have shown their love for the ceramic characters by recreating them in miniature form.
The Elden Ring subreddit has become a shrine for fans to show off their model Pot Boy creations. They’ve rallied the game’s community, not around its shared affection for FromSoftware’s intricate open-world design, but its love for the game’s cast of cute crockery.
Take a look at this 3D-printed model of Alexander, the Iron Fist - one of the more notable Pot Boys you’ll encounter in the game - that’s been painted up, weathered, and even applied to a base.
The Redditor painted and posed the model after printing the resin miniature using a home 3D printer, and bought the design online . That’s not uncommon. There are a few ready-to-print 3D files floating around the internet that let you cook up your own Pot Boy at home.
Another Redditor used a 3D printer design to create this diorama.
This hobbyist, meanwhile, created a Pot Boy that’s closer to an action figure than a Warhammer model, complete with a removable lid.
And then, there are those who’ve gone in an entirely new direction, like this Redditor who crocheted their own pot companion.
When will the Pot Boy craze end? Who knows, but Elden Ring fans have been doing this for months, and it doesn’t look like they’re about to stop.
Analysis: the mascot Elden Ring needs?
FromSoftware’s games may not strike you as the kind of titles that lend themselves to mascots. Their punishing difficulty doesn’t usually put you in the right frame of mind to start making friends. But they’re no strangers to iconic characters, whether that be the Onion Knight in Dark Souls or the unfortunately named Fat Official in Demon’s Souls.
Margit, the Fell Omen might take the mantle of the most recognizable character in Elden Ring, but surely the Pot Boys are a close second. It’s not hard to see why. As well as looking incredibly silly, they’re also some of the only NPCs in the game that don’t immediately try to kill you. That’s always a good start to any friendship.
If you’re not captivated by them, check out our Elden Ring weapons guide to find the best tools with which to crack them open, or read our Elden Ring bosses guide to prepare yourself for the journey ahead.
A new Starfield developer video has been released and it touches on the development team's ambitions for several elements of the game, including its factions, its companions and its NPCs.
Titled ‘Made For Wanderers’, the five-minute behind-the-scenes video features a discussion between Game Director Todd Howard, Design Director Emil Pagliarulo, Lead Quest Designer Will Shen and Lead Artist Istvan Pely, interspersing their discussion with new concept art for the game and even a very brief, actually moving clip .
Throughout the video, the team touches on ideas of player immersion and freedom, with Emil Pagliarulo describing Starfield as “a giant open world for the player to do whatever they want” and Istvan Pely citing a need to “embrace the chaos”.
This starts from the higher level of the game’s overall RPG mechanics, with Todd Howard saying that "it's nice with Starfield to go back to do some things we didn't do. The backgrounds, the traits, defining your character, all those stats." Howard says he believes that “people are ready for something that does a lot of the things that older hardcore RPGs, something we used to do, doing those again in a new way."
It also extends to the NPCs and companions with whom the player will interact throughout the game. Istvan Pely touches on the team’s aim of realism, saying that while Bethesda have “always allowed the player to create really interesting, unique characters”, this time they’ve “definitely, severely leveled up. The tech is based on scanning of real world models, similar to the photogrammetry we do in our landscapes. We’re kind of applying the same thing to our people as well.”
This realism is part of the immersion, with Pely adding, “it’s not just the appearance of your player and all that, but we want the personal interactions with all NPCs, other characters in the game, to be as impactful as possible. And for that you have to believe these are real people, you’re a real person, and you’re interacting with real people.”
Aside from how players feel about other characters, Howard says that "Something we really leaned into on this game: how those other characters felt about you."
Pely adds, "That’s probably my favourite part, like when you’re exploring and then your companion makes some comment off the cuff about something that you’re checking out or something that just happened. That just feels so perfect for immersion. It’s just so believable, you think it’s a real person."
It’s in the segment discussing companions that we get to see that aforementioned actual moving clip. It shows a robot called VASCO who greets players by saying "Hello, Captain. How may I be of assistance?"
Interacting with characters will, however, involve more than them talking at the player; the video touches on a “persuasion minigame”. Taking inspiration from the old Oblivion system, this conversation system isn’t one where there’s “definitely a right thing to say”, hopefully adding to a sense of player choice and immersion.
As well as individuals, players will interact with various factions through the game and they’ll have the option to join them. There are four factions mentioned in the video: the idealized space republic of the United Colonies; the “space western” Freestar Collective; the corporate Ryujin Industries; and the piratical Crimson Fleet. Even within these factions, the team emphasise player choice, with Pagliarulo describing an opportunity for espionage in the Crimson Fleet.
“The cool thing about Crimson Fleet is what if you’re a good person and you want to be a good player? And you don’t want to play as a bad guy?” says Pagliarulo. “You can side with pirates, or you can report back to your superiors and be this space cop type of thing. So it lets you be a good person and still play with the bad guys.”
Starfield’s release date is still slated for November 11 2022, which is drawing ever closer. When Starfield does launch it'll be playable on PC and Xbox Series X , with a day one release on Xbox Game Pass .
Analysis: It’s a drip feed
This marks the second episode in Bethesda’s 'Into the Starfield' video series and offers us further insights into what Bethesda is aiming to do with Starfield and how intends to achieve those aims.
With eight months to go until the game’s scheduled release date, we’ve seen plenty of intriguing concept art and, with the steady drip-feed of little details, we’re slowly beginning to put together a picture of the game.
With that small glimpse of VASCO, it feels like the next big step is going to be some more footage from the game. We expect it’ll be another few months before we get that, though. In an AMA on Reddit , Todd Howard has previously highlighted summer as a key time to show Starfield.
We’ve recently seen reports (via VGC ) that Microsoft and Xbox could be planning to hold an “E3-style” showcase in June. If that’s something that goes ahead, it feels possible Starfield could be one of the stars of the show.
Microsoft has provided an update on a number of upcoming features for its suite of productivity and collaboration software , designed to help support the demands of hybrid working .
In conjunction with its latest Work Trend Index report , Microsoft has clarified the release windows for new facilities spanning Microsoft Teams , Outlook and other services, on which TechRadar Pro has previously reported.
However, the company also announced a handful of brand new features, including new meeting room hardware, tools to assist with virtual presentations and an addition to the newest Microsoft 365 service, Loop .
Microsoft 365 for hybrid working
Since the start of the pandemic, Microsoft has worked doggedly to turn collaboration and video conferencing platform Teams into a central hub for working, by rolling out a variety of feature updates and new integrations designed to create synergies between its apps.
Now, with many businesses shifting towards a new working model as offices reopen, the company is making a series of tweaks that better align its software with the hybrid working era.
In December, we reported that Microsoft was developing a new feature for Outlook that would allow users to specify whether they will be attending a meeting in-person or online, called Outlook RSVP. Microsoft has now confirmed the feature will become available at some point in Q2, 2022.
Separately, TechRadar Pro reported on a new video call layout coming to Microsoft Teams, which is supposed to enable more equitable hybrid working meetings by bringing remote participants eye-to-eye with those in the office. The feature is now available in preview, with “enhancements” to arrive later in the year.
What's new, Microsoft?
Microsoft also had a few surprises in store, however, the most notable of which is perhaps a pair of updates designed to improve the online presentation experience.
In the coming months, Microsoft will integrate recording studio and cameo, two PowerPoint features that allow users to record and add a video feed to their presentations, respectively. And second, the company unveiled a feature called Language Interpretation for Microsoft Teams, which lets human interpreters dial into a presentation to provide live translation for international attendees.
The company also took the opportunity to announce a new AI-powered business webcam for the Surface Hub 2, which offers intelligent framing and image optimization, and two touch-enabled displays from Neat and Yealink. Microsoft says the third-party devices are undergoing certification for Microsoft Teams Room and should be available to purchase in Q2.
Finally, Microsoft revealed plans to integrate portable Loop components into Outlook, which will supposedly help employees “brainstorm and complete action items” without having to switch apps. The functionality is already available with Teams, and members of the Office early access program can now sample Loop components in the Outlook email client too.
“Whether it’s creating more engaging meeting experiences, enabling collaboration with external partners, or giving you the flexibility to work where, when and how you want, these new features address the new expectations people have for the workplace,” wrote Nicole Kerskowitz, VP Microsoft Teams.
“While so much has changed about work, one thing remains constant: people are at the center. With technologies like Microsoft Teams supporting people, we can make hybrid work really work by bringing everyone - and everything - together.”
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