If you missed our review of Joshua Viola's surreal, violent sci-fi/horror novel The Bane of Yoto,be sure to drop by and find out more... it's a fresh and memorable tale of biomechanical warfare that ranks among my favorite reads of 2012. It's also noteworthy for the revolutionary “transmedia” approach to the story taken by publisher FiXT – a company already well known for distributing cutting edge electronic music, including long-time FEARnet fave Celldweller (alias Klayton, the founder of FiXT) whose music is also an integral component of the Bane of Yoto experience. The story and music span multiple media platforms, most notably an ongoing comic book series for mobile devices. Yoto's latest conquest is good news for Android users, thanks to the recent launch of the app on the Nvidia Tegra platform. The comic series incorporates the “Dreamotion” process, which takes numerous layers of traditionally generated 2D illustrations and artwork and brings them to life in a fully responsive 3D world.
“I personally was never impressed with comic apps I’d installed, so I wanted to approach that world in a different, revolutionary way,” says Viola, a former professor of Game Art and Design who currently works as Art Director for Leviathan Games. “It’s all responsive to movement. When the user rotates their device, the world comes to life. The characters on screen animate and move as you are looking through every little detail in 3D... and all without glasses.”
For a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the app's creation, check out the clip below, which also features some new music by Celldweller...