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Tag: Two

  • The Star-Studded Hollywood Premiere of ‘The Bear’ Featured Two Chicago Restaurants

    The Star-Studded Hollywood Premiere of ‘The Bear’ Featured Two Chicago Restaurants

    When The Bear needed to source seafood for its star-studded “Fishes” episode, they turned to Publican Quality Meats’ Rob Levitt.

    Levitt, who had a bit onscreen role in Season 2, says show reps asked him how to properly cook lobster. He ended up blanching them without knowing what they would be used for until he watched the award-winning episode.

    “And then I see Jamie Lee Curtis ‘cooking’ the lobsters that I cooked,” Levitt says. Curtis would win an Emmy for her role.

    As Season 3 goes live for streaming at 8 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, June 26 on Hulu, a contingent of Chicago’s restaurant community in town for Hollywood’s official premiere party for The Bear at the El Capitan Theatre. Both Publican Quality Meats’ Levitt and One Off Hospitality Group’s Donnie Madia and Loaf Lounge’s Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader, Ben Lustbader, and Cristina Gandarilla. Madia appeared on Season 2 in a scene filmed at Avec in West Loop, while Mispagel-Lustbader worked on Season 1 and famously created a chocolate cake for the show, inspired by Portillo’s. They were the only two Chicago businesses represented in the lineup. Others included Pizzeria Bianco, Chris Bianco’s famous pizzeria with locations in Arizona and LA; Night + Market, LA’s famous Thai street food specialist; and Dave Beran from Pasjoli, a French restaurant in LA. Beran started his career in Chicago, working at Mk the Restaurant, Tru, and Alinea.

    Photo by Emma McIntyre/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

    US-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-STREAMING

    Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

    Premiere For FX’s “The Bear” Season 3 - Arrivals

    Photo by Tommaso Boddi/FilmMagic

    Tyler, the Creator enjoyed the cookies from Loaf Lounge.

    Loaf Lounge is celebrating the Season 3 premiere with free slices of cake at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 27. Mispagel-Lustbader says she’s kept in touch with actor Lionel Boyce, who plays the show’s pastry chef, Marcus Brooks. The two worked closely in Season 1 as Mispagel-Lustbader shared dessert prowess: “Lionel came and said ‘hi’ to us right away, and was very kind as always!” Mispagel-Lustbader texts. “He’s been into Loaf Lounge and has been really great every time we’ve chatted and worked together.”

    The show’s producers, including Park Ridge native Courtney Storer, a food consultant on the series, and her brother — creator Christopher Storer — have leaned on Chicago’s restaurants to ensure the show’s authenticity. They returned the favor at the premiere and created an amusement park-like atmosphere with stalls built to look like Publican Quality Meats and other restaurants. Levitt was blown away that crews had somehow built a butcher shop just based on emails and photos: “It was beautiful,” he says.

    Levitt and Publican Quality Meats sous chef Kyle Huff served Italian sausage with marinated peppers — they shipped the meat to LA early because they wanted to make the sausages. They also made a crostini with PQM mortadella. Levitt says Matty Matheson, who plays Neil Fak on the show, complimented him on the latter.

    Four folks hanging out behind a counter.

    (From left to right) Donnie Madia, Heidi Hageman, Rob Levitt, and Klyle Huff poses at a stall made to look like their Chicago restaurant.
    One Off Hospitality Group

    Two folks posing outdoors, one wearing a blue top, other a tan suit.

    One Off Hospitality Group’s Donnie Madia (right) poses with The Bear culinary producer Courtney Storer.
    One Off Hospitality Group

    A table of cakes and cookies.

    Loaf Lounge partnered with local bakers at the Hollywood premiere.
    Courtesy of Loaf Lounge

    Loaf Lounge teamed with a baker local to LA, Nicole Bakes Cakes, who created the signature chocolate cake for the party. Loaf Lounge also served ruby sprinkle cookies. Rapper Tyler, the Creator was a fan: “I think he had about six and was very expressive about enjoying them!” Mispagel-Lustbader texts.

    Another highlight came from actress Gillian Jacobs, who plays Tiffany Jerimovich, ex-wife of Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie Jerimovich. The former Community star proved curious about the operation and asked Levitt questions about PQM’s methods, showing genuine enthusiasm.

    Two folks posing

    Loaf Lounge’s Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader (left) reconnects with Lionel Boyce, a star of “The Bear.”
    Courtesy of Loaf Lounge

    Beyond the seafood from “Fishes,” Levitt also cut most of the steaks used in Season 2. The TV crew had specific requests, including dry-aged beef. Apparently, the show purchased a ton of product from Publican, including guanciale. Levitt’s favorite request was where to source duck prosciutto. He decided to make it himself. Those details make a difference: “It wasn’t just a prop or afterthought,” Levitt says. “The meat is treated more like a character.”

    When Levitt arrives home, Publican Quality Meats celebrate the premiere with an Italian beef special running from Thursday, June 27, through Saturday, June 29. The beef is made with top round and uses a French loaf baked by Greg Wade, the James Beard-award-winning baker at Publican Quality Bread. Caruso Provisions provide the giardiniera.

    Mispagel-Lustbader texts about a “refreshed excitement for the cake” back home and says she was proud of repping Chicago on the West Coast: “I think a lot of our regulars are feeling a sense of pride that their neighborhood spot got to shine in LA for a night,” she text. “I think we made some new West Coast friends, too.”

    Ashok Selvam

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  • Two New Hollywood Supper Clubs Show That The Genre Isn’t Purely Midwestern

    Two New Hollywood Supper Clubs Show That The Genre Isn’t Purely Midwestern

    Supper clubs have become a point of Midwestern pride, evoking a brandy old fashioned hulking slab of prime rib, or a crispy filet of fried fish. But they aren’t entirely products of the Central Time Zone.

    Credit for the first supper club goes to Beverly Hills, where a Milwaukee native opened the first supper club in the 1920s, blending aspects of entertainment, dining, and a cocktail lounge. Fans of the movie Swingers (starring Chicago-area native Vince Vaughn) will understand. Apologies for getting the Squirrel Nut Zippers stuck in your head. For those unaware, YouTube it if you dare.

    Though it’s not new in Chicago (For instance, Untitled Supper Club opened back in 2012 in River North), a pair of Prohibition-era supper clubs have recently debuted. Each is taking a swing at the genre. In South Loop, the owners of Entree, the meal kit service that debuted in 2022 inside the former home of Michelin-starred Acadia, have rechristened its space as Oliver’s, giving the area a sorely needed sit-down restaurant at 1639 S. Wabash. Neither offer relish trays, a staple at Midwestern supper clubs. Folks also won’t find taxidermy on display.

    In River North, the duo behind Mino’s Italian in suburban Winnetka has opened Charlie Martin’s at 736 N. Clark Street. At Mino’s, the group has revived an urban favorite from years ago — the take-and-bake pies Chicagoans enjoyed from HomeMade Pizza Co., a chain founded in 1997 and closed in 2014.

    Here’s a brief rundown of both restaurants.

    Oliver’s

    Velvet seating and vintage artwork meant to remind visitors of the 1930s is what visitors to Oliver’s will find. While Entree’s goal, according to co-founder Jason Weingarten was “trying to solve dinner time for busy people,” Oliver’s is to “make people happy” and to give back to a community that would constantly ask if the dining room would ever open to the public (they’ve held pop-ups and private events).

    Weingarten touts the resume of his culinary director, Alex Carnovale; he’s not bashful about mentioning his chef’s time at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry.

    Carnovale gushes about the martini, garnished with a golden Beluga caviar-stuffed Castelvetrano olive. These types of touches are meant to show customers that Oliver’s isn’t serving the same product as Entree. They have a patio, and will eventually open the entire dining room; they’ve only debuted the bar area. Carnovale expects to expand the menu when they unveil the new space. A thick burger and a roasted chicken from a notable Pennsylvania farm are some of the current headlights. Publican Quality Bread sourdough, griddled in beef fat — battered in whipped egg yolk, creme fraiche, and truffle — and served with compound butter with caramelized shallots, thyme, and garlic, is “a great way to eat some bread and butter” with a glass of wine.

    The chef says his philosophy is not to do too much: “I think the more you touch ingredients along the way they start to deteriorate,” Carnovale says.

    The rising popularity of women’s basketball and the Chicago Sky, with stars like Angel Reese, coupled with a need for more options near McCormick Place, have Oliver’s staff excited about the future.

    “It’ll be really interesting to see what happens to the South Loop over the next couple of years as we figure out what happens with the Bears and the White Sox, specifically,” Weingarten says.

    Charlie Martin’s

    While Oliver’s owners say they’re celebrating the 1930s, Charlie Martin’s flashes forward a few decades to the ‘50s and ‘60s. The central difference between the periods is Prohibition’s end in 1933. Veteran Chicago chef Matt Williams, who worked at Hogsalt, helms the kitchen here, inside a space where restaurants like Marvel opened.

    Williams plays all the hits with an oyster bar (including a shellfish tower), crab cakes, and a whole-roaster Dover sole. There are a few steaks on the menu, from a dry-aged bone-in ribeye and steak frites.

    Partners Glenn Deutsch, Eric Fosse, and Audrey Fosse are city folks at heart, and though they opened in Winnetka, they say they yearned a return to Chicago. Eric Fosse also opened Guildhall in suburban Glencoe.

    Deutsch feels the restaurant’s “small, intimate environment” will resonate with diners. There’s a little mystery when visitors approach the entrance: “Once you walk, in you’ve found a comfortable place and unique environment.”

    There are 60 seats and plenty of red leather booths. The soundtrack is mostly jazz. The drinks are mostly riffs on classics. Charlie’s Martini is made with Sipsmith gin, St. George Basil Eau de Vie, Lillet Blanc, and extra virgin olive oil.

    Fosse is proud of the food, saying they’re weaving modern techniques into classic supper club fare. The result is “exceptional” he says.

    Ashok Selvam

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  • ‘Top Chef’ Calls Upon Two More Chicago Chefs

    ‘Top Chef’ Calls Upon Two More Chicago Chefs

    Warning: Small spoilers for Top Chef: Wisconsin, episode 6.

    As the latest season of Top Chef motors on to its sixth episode — premiering tonight (Wednesday, April 24) on Bravo — there are two developments that Chicagoans should know about.

    Soo Ahn, the chef at Gold Coast Italian restaurant Adalina, gets the call to the big show after fighting his way through the Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen, the web-only series that offers competitors a chance to appear on the original show. Adalina is hosting a watch party when the show debuts tonight. Ahn made a name for himself at Band of Bohemia, where the Ravenswood restaurant was, at the time, the only Michelin-star brewpub in the world. The restaurant closed after his departure. Since then, he’s brought electricity to the Gold Coast with Adalina with a unique Italian American menu.

    The other Chicago item shouldn’t be that big of a surprise as chef Phillip Foss of El Ideas, the funky experimental tasting menu restaurant in Douglass Park, is appearing on tonight’s show. Foss, a Milwaukee native, says he’ll be a guest chef on the episode which will feature Chaos Cooking, a type of style — a phrase coined in 2022 by Eater’s Jaya Saxena — as a new type of cooking that’s an “aggressive, weird, troll-y fusion that’s also thoughtful, being incredibly well received, and actually good.”

    Foss says he’d never heard of the term until he was approached to appear on the show. But he feels it’s a philosophy he’s embraced through the years at EL Ideas where the menu can include chicken liver Twix and a Chicago-style lobster dog. He also mentions how chaos cooking involves an element of shock. His restaurant has served foie gras and black truffle milk from a baby bottle, for example. But the biggest example might be a “cocaine” course which involves a line of coconut and lime powder served on a mirror with a razor blade and straw.

    “Though it is easily the most cost-effective item we’ve ever offered as a course, it provides exponential dividends in shock value for our guests,” Foss writes.

    Still, Foss stresses that chefs need to crawl before they walk — they can’t immediately jump into the “cesspool of chaos.” They need to learn the fundamentals first.

    Ahn joins Chicago Athletic Association chef Kaleena Bliss as the two locals left. Former MFK and Bambola chef Alisha Elenz has been eliminated.

    Watch Foss and Ahn on Top Chef: Wisconsin, debuting at 8 p.m. tonight.

    Ashok Selvam

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  • Don Pablo’s, Uptown’s Chilean Empanada Stop, Is Closed

    Don Pablo’s, Uptown’s Chilean Empanada Stop, Is Closed

    Don Pablo’s Kitchen & Bakeshop, a Chilean empanada shop so popular that it utilized Tock, the platform used by upscale restaurants like Alinea, to sell food, has closed in Uptown. Founder Pablo Soto tells Eater that’s he’s searching for a location in the suburbs.

    Don Pablo’s, named for Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet and activist Pablo Neruda, closed on December 31, just over a month before its second anniversary at 1007 W. Argyle Street. “Our lease was up and [we] decided not to renew,” Soto writes in a text message. “Uptown wasn’t the right place for us and we are working on moving to the North Shore.”

    Oddly, a move to suburban Chicago (Soto floated the possibility of Wilmette in an Instagram comment) would bring Don Pablo’s story full circle, as Soto and his wife, Julie Morrow-Soto, originally launched the bakeshop in May 2021 as a virtual operation in Glenview. They even intended to unveil a permanent location in Evanston until they discovered the space they’d chosen would need significantly more rehabilitation than anticipated. That turn of events brought the couple to Uptown, where they opened Don Pablo’s in February 2022 on Asia on Argyle, the neighborhood’s bustling Vietnamese-dominated corridor.

    Chicago’s hospitality scene isn’t short on empanada options plenty of top-notch renditions of regional varieties that hail from Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Belize, the Philippines, and beyond. After the 2012 closure of Rapa Nui in Irving Park, however, it became challenging to find Chilean empanadas in local restaurants. Chilean empanadas are larger and more rectangular than their South American peers, and both baked and fried versions are ubiquitous throughout the country.

    Stay tuned for news of Don Pablo’s new suburban location.

    Naomi Waxman

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  • Embracer has sold Gearbox — and Borderlands — to Take-Two for $460M

    Embracer has sold Gearbox — and Borderlands — to Take-Two for $460M

    Troubled gaming conglomerate Embracer announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell Gearbox Entertainment, the studio behind the Borderlands games, to Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two for $460 million.

    The deal makes a lot of sense; Take-Two has been the publisher for Borderlands through its 2K Games label since long before Gearbox was acquired by Embracer in 2021. In its press release, 2K said the next Borderlands game was in active development at Gearbox.

    As part of the deal, Take-Two acquires the Borderlands franchise and its spinoff series Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, as well as the Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem series. The studios acquired by Take-Two are the Gearbox Software mothership in Frisco, Texas, as well as Gearbox Montréal and Gearbox Studio Quebec.

    “As a significant long-term Embracer Group shareholder, I believe in the strategy for the Embracer Group going forward and am completely convinced that this transaction is the best possible scenario and an obvious net positive arrangement for Embracer Group, for Take-Two and, of course, for Gearbox Entertainment,” said Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford. “My primary interest is always Gearbox, including our talent and our customers. I want to personally ensure fans of our games that this arrangement will ensure that the experiences we have in development at Gearbox will be the best it can possibly be.”

    Embracer is hanging on to a few parts of the Gearbox empire: Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (which well be renamed), including the publishing rights to the Remnant games and Hyper Light Breaker; Cryptic Studios, the massively multiplayer specialist, with its games Neverwinter Online and Star Trek Online; and support studios Lost Boys Interactive and Captured Dimensions.

    Though Gearbox Publishing San Francisco is still under Embracer, the company confirmed to Polygon that it has laid off an unspecified number of employees “not tied to the development” of Gearbox games. The layoffs appear to impact marketing, communications, and other portions of the company.

    “The Embracer Group will continue to report on their restructuring program that impacted some parts of Gearbox today that are not tied to the development of Gearbox Software games,” a spokesperson told Polygon. “Thank you for granting us the space to remain focused on our people and in our handling of the situation with compassion and manage the process, balancing between our present duty and a commitment to our future.”

    For Embracer, the sale of Gearbox — one of its most prized assets — is the next step in a deep cost-cutting and restructuring process the company began last year after a reported $2 billion deal fell through. As part of its restructuring, Embracer laid off at least 900 people. Prior to its financial difficulties, the Swedish group, which began life as Nordic Games, had been on a wild acquisition spree that included the purchase of board game giant Asmodee, Square Enix’s Western studios and franchises including Tomb Raider, and the media rights for The Lord of the Rings.

    Embracer also announced Thursday that it had completed the sale of another of its biggest studio groups, Saber Interactive, which it acquired in 2020. Saber’s founder Matthew Karch bought back the main Saber Interactive studio and several subsidiaries for $247 million, while Embracer retained Metro developer 4A Games, Aspyr, and others. Saber has the right to acquire 4A and pinball specialist Zen Studios within a certain time period, although publishing rights for the Metro games will stay with Embracer’s subsidiary Plaion. Saber is reportedly still collaborating with Embracer on the troubled remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

    Update: This story has been updated to include news concerning layoffs at Gearbox Publishing, along with a statement from the company.

    Oli Welsh

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  • ‘Dune: Part Two’ Instant Reactions

    ‘Dune: Part Two’ Instant Reactions

    This is not hope! This is the Midnight Boys! They bring you their instant reactions to the hotly anticipated Dune: Part Two (8:14). They talk about the blockbuster masterpiece and how they think it should stack up with the likes of the sci-fi greats and what makes this film so memorable.

    Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman
    Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal
    Social: Jomi Adeniran

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts

    Charles Holmes

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  • Moms in the ER

    Moms in the ER


    Maybe the ancient ritual will help. Checked on her two hrs ago. Got worried and went back to check on her again since she went to the hospital friday. Now im waiting in the ER as the condition i found her in was much worse. Anybody got some cat memes i can disassociate with? Ill update later today.



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  • ratty keyed shocking

    ratty keyed shocking


    ratty keyed shocking. I saw a post about a follow tubby getting ripped in two years. There was a debate in the comments on if he was using roids or not. This is

    ratty keyed shocking. I saw a post about a follow tubby getting ripped in two years. There was a debate in the comments on if he was using roids or not. This is

    I saw a post about a follow tubby getting ripped in two years. There was a debate in the comments on if he was using roids or not. This is me losing 43kg and 4 pant sizes in 6 months just following what I heard from a free audio book I got called bigger leaner stronger. 100% natural going to the gym 3 days a week. Not looking for thumbs just trying to help show natty vs not.



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  • What the ****

    What the ****

    I advertised this cutting board on discord and it sold within two hours for 50. Because it’s engraved with a 15th century spell to cause someone to fall in love with you. The idea is you color some of jt with your blood, then make food for the person you want to fall for you

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  • Books, movies, vinyl, and more are buy two, get one free at Target

    Books, movies, vinyl, and more are buy two, get one free at Target

    Target is hosting one of the best promotions we’ve seen yet during Black Friday — and that’s saying something, given how good these early Black Friday deals are. Through Nov. 25, virtually all books, movies, and music in the retailer’s catalog are buy two, get one free. Just add three items to your cart, and the least expensive item is free. The only exceptions are pre-order items and new releases that came out this week.

    There is a wide array of products that are eligible during this sale, including 4K movies, manga box sets, art books, and vinyl, so we’ve rounded up some recommendations from each category we think you’ll like. However, if you’re not moved by our picks, you can head over to Target’s Black Friday deals page to check out the wares yourself.

    Target book deals

    • A hardcover, leatherbound box set of the Game of Thrones saga is on sale for $62.16 (was $85).
    • The hardcover collection of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes is currently available for $225. The three-book set features every Calvin and Hobbes cartoon penned by Bill Watterson from 1985 to 1996.
    • Normally $219.99, you can currently find the 35th Anniversary box set of Akira on sale for $127.99. The clever clamshell case holds six hardcover volumes of the manga in addition to the Akira Club art book and an embroidered patch sporting the iconic pill design.
    • The three-book Silo Series by Hugh Howey (the very same stories that inspired the Apple TV Plus show) is currently on sale for $40.99 (was $60).
    • While they aren’t exactly game-ready references, The Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurers Collection is a great, stat-block-free, introduction to the world of D&D. The four-book box set is currently on sale at Target for $23.49 (was $32.99).
    • The $99.99, 11-volume box set of Chainsaw Man is currently on sale at Target for $59.99.

    Target graphic novel deals

    • Thought to be in permanent retirement, Calvin and Hobbes author Bill Watterson returned with his first original work in over 28 years, The Mysteries. A hardcover copy of The Mysteries is currently available from Target for $16.57 (was $19.99).
    • Normally $39.99, you can currently find the first and second volumes of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Omnibus for just $31.99 each at Target. Each hardcover book features a collection of short works by Matt Groening and a variety of other talented illustrators.
    • Dune is an amazing work of science fiction, but it can be a bit dense. However, the three-volume graphic novel adaptation cuts through some of that with some excellent illustrations courtesy of Raul Allen and Patricia Martin. The first two volumes, Dune and Muad’dib, are each currently available from Target, with the final volume launching in June.

    Target art book deals

    • The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983 is a massive 604-page tome containing concept art, set photos, and script pages to provide insightful commentary on the original Star Wars trilogy. The paperback version is available for $32 at Target.
    • Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie is a two-volume, hardcover compendium of McQuarrie’s work, showing off his conceptual paintings and costume designs, along with several exclusive illustrations and commentaries on each piece. This box set is currently on sale at Target for $210.99 (was $300).


    Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie

    Prices taken at time of publishing.

    This two-volume compendium of McQuarrie’s work shows off his conceptual paintings and costume designs, along with several exclusive illustrations and commentaries on each piece.

    • A hardcover-bound visual collection of the complete works of Studio Ghibli is currently on sale at Target for $22.49 (was $34.95). The 160-page book features concepts and stills from 26 films from the house of Miyazaki.

    Target movie deals

    • The Fifth Element is essential viewing for sci-fi fans who also get a kick out of anything that has Bruce Willis in it. Target is currently offering the 4K Blu-ray version of The Fifth Element with a Steelbook case for $29.99.
    • The 4K Blu-ray version of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, the inaugural animated feature starring The Dark Knight (that still really holds up), is currently available from Target for $23.49.
    • The 40th anniversary edition of Ridley Scott’s earliest hit, Alien, is currently available in 4K Blu-ray format from Target for $18.99.
    • The summer’s pinkest existential crisis caught on film, Barbie, is now available in 4K Blu-ray format from Target for $24.99.

    Target music deals

    • The quintessential Danny Elfman opus, The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack, is currently available on vinyl from Target for $29.97.
    • I can’t tell you what the plot of Tron Legacy was, but I can tell you that Daft Punk provided nothing but bangers for the soundtrack. Right now, you can get the original soundtrack on vinyl at Target for $24.99.
    • It’s difficult to point to a singular work of composer John Williams, but The Empire Strikes Back is inarguably one of his best. This single LP captures the majesty of the National Philharmonic Orchestra in the way only vinyl can. Currently, you can pick up this soundtrack from Target for $29.99.
    • Hans Zimmer, the composer responsible for the scores for countless epic films, teamed up with the Odessa Orchestra and Choir to record some of his most famous pieces for a vinyl set. The four-LP vinyl box set available from Target includes pieces from Gladiator, Dune, Interstellar, and more.
    • Inarguably the pinkest album of the year, the Barbie soundtrack pressed onto bubblegum-colored vinyl is available from Target for $27.99.

    Alice Newcome-Beill

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  • Overwatch 2’s Mauga always had two guns — but it took time to get them ‘just right’

    Overwatch 2’s Mauga always had two guns — but it took time to get them ‘just right’

    Blizzard revealed the latest hero to join the ever-growing roster of its shooter Overwatch 2 at Blizzcon 2023. During an interview at the convention, Polygon got more details about Mauga, what players can expect from him, and the process of creating a new tank.

    “Mauga is a damaged-based tank, and how he sustains himself and his team is through damage,” said lead hero designer Alec Dawson. He was designed based on his weapons, with his abilities centered around doing as much damage as possible. The designers hope this focus on damage will make him more appealing to new players.

    The team wanted to ensure his abilities felt good when using both chain guns, but they also wanted to make sure players couldn’t “wipe people out immediately.” To combat that, Mauga has a big spread on both of his guns. At the same time, this makes him a threat in close quarters. “You don’t want to play with Mauga up close unless you know you’re going to take him out,” said Dawson.

    Mauga’s Overrun charging ability makes him virtually unstoppable, even against sleep darts. “He uses it to get where he wants to go,” said Dawson. For a nice cherry on top, whenever Mauga directly hits an opponent while using Overrun, he’ll slam them to the ground, stunning them while other nearby opponents will be sent flying.

    Image: Blizzard Entertainment

    Mauga’s ultimate, Cage Fight, creates a zone that traps opponents and blocks healing from the outside of it. What makes his ultimate even more dangerous is that Cage Fight stays active even if Mauga dies. Support hero Lifeweaver can pull Mauga out of the ultimate, but the enemy players will still be trapped inside until the ability runs out.

    Even though he’s a tank, Mauga can do more damage than some DPS heroes, said Dawson. To counter that, opposing teams can attack Mauga while he’s reloading or has burned through his abilities. “He’s such a big body that he really needs support. He needs a high healing output to keep him up at times.”

    When it came to creating Mauga, the dev team worked closely with a culture consultant team to ensure the studio displayed him in a way that would be respectful to the Samoan community. “We worked with a traditional tattoo artist from the Samoan culture to guide us. We tried to get as authentic as possible and as close to real as our engines could handle. And it turned out great,” said hero design producer Kenny Hudson.

    Tank fighter Mauga stretches out his chest and flexes, his yelling face upturned towards the sky

    Image: Blizzard Entertainment

    When Mauga was first being tested, the team originally had one iteration where his right gun only dealt critical damage to enemies in the air to help tanks fight flying-based heroes. As time went on, the team scrapped that, and now the right gun deals critical damage whenever an enemy is set on fire first with his left gun. But the idea to have him use two big guns was something the dev team always intended to do. “We always kinda knew that he was going to be a tank with two big main guns, and we wanted to make them just as important and just as useful to players as the other one. We didn’t want one to outshine the other,” said Hudson.

    One of the challenges the dev team faced was making the visual cues noticeable to players when Mauga uses his Cardiac Overdrive ability, which allows Mauga and his team members to heal whenever they damage an opponent. So the dev team revisited an old idea where Roadhog’s ability would heal everyone around him. This helped them find the “sweet spot” of not overwhelming the player with too much going on screen. “We don’t like throwing things away. Even if it doesn’t work out for a certain hero, it can come back later on for another one,” said senior test analyst Foster Elmendorf. To help further prove their point, Elmendorf explained how Mauga’s ultimate was originally D.va’s, which involved her making “a dome of lasers.”

    The team has been working on Mauga for some time. Originally, he was supposed to be released in season 2 instead of Ramattra, “but the team really wanted to take some more time to get the kit just right,” said Dawson. Pushing Mauga back allowed the dev team to polish him up and ensure his abilities played smoothly with one another.

    Luis Joshua Gutierrez

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  • Auckland CBD aggravated robbery spree: Two in custody following early-morning robberies – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Auckland CBD aggravated robbery spree: Two in custody following early-morning robberies – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    A police spokesperson said staff received four reports in which people had been assaulted in the Auckland CBD on Saturday morning. Photo / Dean Purcell

    Two people have been arrested following four aggravated robberies in Auckland this morning.

    A police spokesperson said staff received four reports in which people had been assaulted in the Auckland CBD on Saturday morning. No one suffered serious injuries, the spokesperson said.

    The incidents were between 1.30am and 1.50am in the Wellesley St and Federal St area.

    “In the final incident, a vehicle was unlawfully taken. The vehicle was observed by police soon after on Mount Albert Rd and tracked by Police Eagle helicopter as it fled. Police deployed road spikes on Stoddart Rd, Mount Roskill, and the vehicle came to a stop. Two men ran but were quickly arrested”.

    Advertisement

    Advertise with NZME.

    A 25-year-old man was due to appear in Auckland District Court today facing aggravated robbery charges.

    A 23-year-old man is due to appear in Auckland District Court on October 2 facing aggravated robbery and dangerous driving charges.

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

    MMP News Author

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