Keeping It Unreal

Explores Black representation in fantasy genres and comic books Characters like Black Panther, Storm, Luke Cage, Miles Morales, and Black Lightning are part of a growing cohort of black superheroes on TV and in film. Though comic books are often derided as naïve and childish, these larger-than-life superheroes demonstrate how this genre can serve as the catalyst for engaging the Black radical imagination. Keeping It Unreal: Comics and Black Queer Fantasy is an exploration of how fantasies of Black power and triumph fashion theoretical, political, and aesthetic challenges to—and respite from—white supremacy and anti-Blackness. It examines representations of Blackness in fantasy-infused genres: superhero comic books, erotic comics, fantasy and science-fiction genre literature, as well as contemporary literary “realist” fiction centering fantastic conceits. Darieck Scott offers a rich meditation on the relationship between fantasy and reality, and between the imagination and being, as he weaves his personal recollections of his encounters with superhero comics with interpretive readings of figures like the Black Panther and Blade, as well as theorists such as Frantz Fanon, Eve Sedgwick, Leo Bersani, Saidiya Hartman, and Gore Vidal. Keeping It Unreal represents an in-depth theoretical consideration of the intersections of superhero comics, Blackness, and queerness, and draws on a variety of fields of inquiry. Reading new life into Afrofuturist traditions and fantasy genres, Darieck Scott seeks to rescue the role of fantasy and the fantastic to challenge, revoke, and expand our assumptions about what is normal, real, and markedly human.

Introduction: Fantastic Bullets -- I Am Nubia: Superhero Comics and the Paradigm of the Fantasy-Act -- Can the Black Superhero Be? -- Erotic Fantasy-Acts: The Art of Desire -- Conclusion: On Becoming Fantastical.

This book provides valuable information for all salespeople seeking to become better at their profession those seeking a higher level of success. The Thirteen Virtues is different from most books on selling, because it deals less with the sales process (getting the prospect to say yes) and, instead, emphasizes the entire spectrum of fundamentals required to be a well-rounded professional. Some of the fundamentals covered in the book include: The importance of a cheerful attitude The connection between confidence and humility The importance of character The two components of business trust Five ways to build enthusiasm The connection between effort and success How to be proactive How to plan for success Three ways to improve time management Four ways to increase empathy Seven listening techniques The importance of trust in relationships Persuasive communication Eleven conversation techniques The customer's buying process Four closing techniques Flowing with objections Handling rejection In addition to understanding these time-tested fundamentals, the reader will be given a unique method of internalizing them. This book is a must read for all sales professionals.

Get to grips with building the foundations of an RPG using Unreal Engine 4 About This Book Utilize a mixture of C++, Blueprints, and UMG to create a role playing game (RPG) efficiently Create reusable code chunks and elements that can easily be integrated into other games A cost effective, step-by-step guide to building and customizing an entire framework for your RPG Who This Book Is For If you are new to Unreal Engine and always wanted to script an RPG, you are this book's target reader. The lessons assume you understand the conventions of RPG games and have some awareness of the basics of using the Unreal editor to build level. What You Will Learn Program gameplay elements in C++ in Unreal Create custom game data for entities such as players and enemies Create a turn-based combat engine Design menu systems and blueprint logic Create an NPC and dialog system Integrate equipment and items Develop the foundations of a saving and loading system In Detail Now that Unreal Engine 4 has become one of the most cutting edge game engines in the world, developers are looking for the best ways of creating games of any genre in the engine. This book will lay out the foundation of creating a turn-based RPG in Unreal Engine 4. The book starts by walking you through creating a turn-based battle system that can hold commands for party members and enemies. You'll get your hands dirty by creating NPCs such as shop owners, and important mechanics, that make up every RPG such as a currency system, inventory, dialogue, and character statistics. Although this book specifically focuses on the creation of a turn-based RPG, there are a variety of topics that can be utilized when creating many other types of genres. By the end of the book, you will be able to build upon core RPG framework elements to create your own game experience. Style and approach You will follow a series of lessons detailing the elements that contribute to an RPG. By the end of the book, you will have considerably leveled up your ability to make your own game

Mastering the Art of Unreal Engine 4 - Blueprints takes a concise, clear, informative but fun approach to developing Unreal Engine 4, without touching a single line of code. By using this book, you'll be creating various small projects completely in blueprint. From this book, you'll be equipped with the know-how you'll need to create the game of your dreams. On top of mastering the Blueprints system in Unreal Engine 4, you'll also learn the secrets behind getting the most out of the beast of an engine.

A phenomenon in Britain, this passionate collection of 500 contemporary poems has tremendous appeal for poetry lovers and novices alike.

The Official, Full-Color Guide to Developing Interactive Visualizations, Animations, and Renderings with Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) was created to develop video games, but it has gone viral among architecture, science, engineering, and medical visualization communities. UE4’s stunning visual quality, cutting-edge toolset, unbeatable price (free!), and unprecedented ease of use redefines the state of the art and has turned the gaming, film, and visualization industries on their heads. Unreal Engine 4 for Design Visualization delivers the knowledge visualization professionals need to leverage UE4’s immense power. World-class UE4 expert Tom Shannon introduces Unreal Engine 4’s components and technical concepts, mentoring you through the entire process of building outstanding visualization content–all with realistic, carefully documented, step-by-step sample projects. Shannon answers the questions most often asked about UE4 visualization, addressing issues ranging from data import and processing to lighting, advanced materials, and rendering. He reveals important ways in which UE4 works differently from traditional rendering systems, even when it uses similar terminology. Throughout, he writes from the perspective of visualization professionals in architecture, engineering, or science–not gaming. Understand UE4’s components and development environment Master UE4’s pipeline from source data to delivered application Recognize and adapt to the differences between UE4 and traditional visualization and rendering techniques Achieve staggering realism with UE4’s Physically Based Rendering (PBR) Materials, Lighting, and Post-Processing pipelines Create production-ready Materials with the interactive real-time Material Editor Quickly set up projects, import massive datasets, and populate worlds with accurate visualization data Develop bright, warm lighting for architectural visualizations Create pre-rendered animations with Sequencer Use Blueprints Visual Scripting to create complex interactions without writing a single line of code Work with (and around) UE4’s limitations and leveraging its advantages to achieve your vision All UE4 project files and 3ds Max source files, plus additional resources and links, are available at the book's companion website.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "Part horror tale, part mystery, part romance ... utterly fantastic.”—O, The Oprah Magazine • The bestselling, award-winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad brilliantly conjures a world from which escape is impossible and where the keep—the tower, the last stand—is both everything worth protecting and the very thing that must be surrendered in order to survive. Two cousins, irreversibly damaged by a childhood prank, reunite twenty years later to renovate a medieval castle in Eastern Europe. In an environment of extreme paranoia, cut off from the outside world, the men reenact the signal event of their youth, with even more catastrophic results. And as the full horror of their predicament unfolds, a prisoner, in jail for an unnamed crime, recounts an unforgettable story that seamlessly brings the crimes of the past and present into piercing relation.