Fully Charged: Museum reimagines paintings as Minecraft maps, Jolla tying to fund 3.5G Tablet, and the new Star Wars trailer remade with Lego

Tate spins art into Minecraft maps

No doubt aiming to better engage younger audiences in classic art – while undeniably creating some pretty amazing new artwork in the process – the Tate museum is converting eight classic works of art into playable Minecraft maps. That’s thanks to a new initiative called Tate Worlds.

And they’re not just simple recreations of what’s seen in the image: they’re explorable worlds with areas inspired by the themes of the artwork or even their creation process. Tate worked with top Minecraft modders to design the maps, which look simply stunning in the trailer above. And the maps are totally free to download and play in the current version of Minecraft on PC or Mac.

Two maps are out now under the concept of “Cities,” based on Andre Derain’s The Pool of London from 1906 and Christopher Gevinson’s Soul of the Soulless City from 1920, respectively. The remaining maps are due out in 2015 with the themes "Play," "Destruction," and "Fantasy."

[Source: Tate via Engadget]

Jolla Tablet 3.5G version possible

The Jolla Tablet has taken Indiegogo by storm, hitting its crowdfunding goal in two hours last month and thus far raising US$1.375 million (about £881,000) as of this writing. But Jolla has larger ambitions, and if it can pull in quite a bit more money from backers, it’ll add a 3.5G connectivity option for a US$30 (£19) upgrade.

Jolla says it’ll need to reach US$2.5 million (£1.6 million) before offering that choice, and with nine days left in the campaign, it’ll take a pretty major surge to pull it off. The 3.5G (or HSDPA/3G+) option would be offered in Europe first, with an eye to expand its availability elsewhere.

Luckily, more feasible stretch goals are in sight: if the campaign hits US$1.5 million (about £960,000), the Tablet will support 128GB microSDHC cards (it currently supports 32GB ones), and if it reaches US$1.75 million (about £1.12 million), split-screen support for apps will also be added.

[Source: Indiegogo]

The Force Awakens trailer remade with Lego

It was only a day after the first Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer that intrepid YouTubers had recreated it, scene by scene, using Lego bricks. Of course, the connection between brands is already quite strong, thanks to the physical kits and the bestselling games based on them. But die-hards didn’t wait around for the eventual official Episode VII collaboration.

The most widely-spread thus far comes from Snooperking, with more than 1.9 million views as of this writing, and it’s probably the most charmingly lo-fi of the bunch. But a couple other notable ones popped up around the same time, including the one above from FinalFeature and another from ZachFB Studios. Check ‘em all, pick a favorite, and share like crazy.

[Source: YouTube]

Odeon’s latest Screen Unseen tonight

If you’re looking for something to do this evening and are up for anything, consider hitting up an Odeon cinema for its latest Screen Unseen promotion. Drop £5 on a blind ticket and you’ll see an “unmissable up-and-coming film” tonight before its impending official release.

Last time, at the first-ever Screen Unseen event, the film ended up being the well-reviewed Nightcrawler starring Jake Gyllenhaal almost two weeks before its launch, so that’s a pretty good omen. No clues on what tonight’s flick will be, but it’s airing in 95 cinemas across the UK, so it might be worth taking the risk if you’re near one.

[Source: Odeon]

About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.