Cover system

A cover system is video game gameplay mechanic that allows a virtual avatar to avoid dangers, usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover behind obstacles, for purposes of attaining protection from enemy ranged or area effect attacks, such as gunfire or explosions. Similar gameplay elements can be traced back to as early as 1986, in Rolling Thunder. Later games which refined the system include Bonanza Bros., Blackthorne, Time Crisis, Metal Gear Solid, WinBack, Police 911, Splinter Cell, Kill Switch, Gears of War, Uncharted, Mass Effect and Vanquish.

Definition

In gaming, a cover system lets a player character use stationary or moving obstacles to avoid damage. To be considered a cover system, there must be some physical interaction with the source of cover and the avatar. This means standing behind an object, as in traditional shooter games, while strictly speaking would be classified as taking cover, does not qualify as an actual cover system. Some first-person shooters such as Soldier of Fortune bridged the gap somewhat by allowing players to lean to the sides, allowing the avatar to lean out from behind objects to survey the environment or open fire on the enemy, without fully moving their own bodies into the open. In addition, the player character must have the ability to move in and out of the covering objects' proximity, leaving points of vulnerability to the player. This excludes the exclusive use of portable shields as a cover system, though they may often be used to supplement a stationary source of cover, as seen in video games like Army of Two, and Gears of War 2.

Cover (film)

Cover is a drama thriller film starring Aunjanue Ellis, Razaaq Adoti, Vivica A. Fox, and Leon. The film was produced and directed by Bill Duke and open at selective theaters on February 22, 2008.

Plot synopsis

A woman accused could be either a killer or a victim in this psychological drama from director Bill Duke. Valerie Mass (Aunjanue Ellis) is a God-fearing housewife and artist who one day finds herself in a situation she never imaged possible—being questioned on murder charges by no-nonsense police detective Hicks (Lou Gossett Jr.) and Simmons (Clifton Davis), a district attorney eager to close this case.

As Valerie repeatedly insists she's not a murderer, she tells the story of the last several months of her life. Valerie's husband, Dutch (Razaaq Adoti), is a psychiatrist with a practice in Atlanta who was offered a high-paying job by his old friend Monica (Paula Jai Parker), who works at a hospital in Philadelphia. Dutch takes the job and Valerie dutifully follows, and she seeks solace in the women's support group at local church.

Lid (container)

A lid, also known as a cap, is part of a container, and serves as the cover or seal, usually one that completely closes the object. A lid is often a type of closure.

History

Lids have been found on pottery dating back as far as 3100 BC. Ancient Egyptian canopic jars with lids held the organs of mummified bodies as early as 2686 BC. The coffee lid market is valued at roughly $180 million. An estimated 14 billion lids were sold in 2009 in the United States.

Some containers such as tubs or jars now have a plastic film heat sealed onto the container: this is often called a lidding film.

Cultural references

The word is used metaphorically, as in "keeping the lid on the secret" and "flipped his lid".

An old saying that you never have to put a lid on a bucket of crabs (because when one gets near the top, another will inevitably pull it down) is often used as a metaphor for group situations where an individual feels held back by others.

An old Yiddish saying, that "every pot will find its lid" refers to people finding an appropriate match in marriage.

Inferno

Inferno may refer to:

Literature

Music

Albums

Inferno (horse)

Inferno (1902–1919) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. He has been called "Canada's first great racehorse" by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Background

He was owned and bred by distilling magnate Joseph E. Seagram, who in 1906 was voted president of the Ontario Jockey Club.

Inferno was out of the mare Bon Ino, who was owned and raced by Seagram and had won the 1898 Queen's Plate. Inferno's sire was Havoc, a stallion who ended his career as the sire of four King's Plate winners. Havoc was a son of Himyar, the Champion Sire in North America in 1893 who notably also produced U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Domino. Inferno was a very raucous horse and was a danger to his handlers.

Racing career

He was conditioned for racing by New Jersey-born trainer Barry Littlefield. In 1905, the three-year-old Inferno won Canada's most prestigious race, the King's Plate. That year, he also finished second in both the Toronto Autumn Cup and the King Edward Gold Cup. In 1906, he was again second in the Toronto Autumn Cup but won the Durham Cup Handicap and the first of three consecutive King Edward Gold Cups. The following year, Inferno won his second King Edward Cup plus the Toronto Autumn Cup, and in 1908 he won his second Durham Cup and made it three wins in a row in the King Edward Gold Cup. In addition, his owner joined the Whitney family and other wealthy American elite in bringing horses to compete during the fashionable summer racing season at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inferno raced until age six and was part of Joseph Seagram's stable to race at Saratoga, where he won two important handicaps.

List of Soul characters

A comprehensive list of characters from the Soul series of fighting games produced by Namco.

Overall conception and development

The Soul series is a weapon-based fighting game franchise developed by Namco Bandai's Project Soul division and consists of eight games: Soul Edge, Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur Legends, Soulcalibur IV, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny and Soulcalibur V. Set in the 16th century, the plot of the games revolve around Soul Edge, a cursed sword able to possess its wielder and devour souls. Its sprit is called Inferno, and his avatar/host is called Nightmare. Soul Calibur, a holy sword and Soul Edge's antithesis, also has a spirit called Elysium.

Characters

With each character, their weapon was decided upon before other aspects were. The design was then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. Once established, appearance and movement were fleshed out by the team's concept artist and rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on the character. The completed model was then animated by a motion capture artist working directly with the team. During this phase the team additionally worked with the story creators, refining the character's own role in the plot as needed throughout development. In the course of the series, two characters have been an exception to the process: Johan Druer, a berserker exclusive to the Soulcalibur Japanese player's guide, and Necrid, a character co-produced with Todd McFarlane that appears in Soulcalibur II.

Freaks

Freaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film in which the eponymous characters were played by people who worked as carnival sideshow performers and had real deformities. The original version was considered too shocking to be released and no longer exists. Directed and produced by Tod Browning, whose career never recovered from it, Freaks has been described as standing alone in a subgenre of one.

At 16, Browning had left his well-to-do family to join a traveling circus: he drew on his personal experiences for Freaks. Because of his success as the director of Dracula, he was given a considerable leeway for a major studio's first horror film: this and the fact he was working in Pre-Code Hollywood enabled a unique production. In the film, the physically deformed "freaks" are inherently trusting and honorable people, while the real monsters are two of the "normal" members of the circus who conspire to murder one of the performers to obtain his large inheritance.

Plot