CONTRIBUTORS. Melissa Compton: Editor and Creator of Norwich Nights Magazine. Melissa’s other credits include: writing reviewing for Cardiff Times Magazine, published Poetry, and writing the: Cardiff, Let’s Talk Theatre blog before relocating to Norwich to write full time in Norwich. Beth Banks: Sub-Editor at Norwich Nights Magazine. Beth is a promising 3rd year student at Cardiff Metropolitan University studying English and Creative Writing with the best command of the English Language we have seen. An aspiring poet and Editor and has just been accepted to study her MA in English and Creative Writing. Zena Leech-Calton: Food Feature Writer. Zena runs Love Norwich Food, has became a good food blog-ger after her many years of experience in the food industry. If you would like to be a contributor, get in touch with us. Website: https://norwichnightsmagazine.com or Email Norwich-nightsmagazine@outlook.com
COVID-19 STATEMENT: OUR PLANS DURING AND MOVING FORWARD. Here at Norwich Nights Magazine, we felt now was the right time to detail the impact the current health crisis will have for the magazine and how we intend to survive and move forward. All members of the team work remotely so our day-to-day activities have not been greatly impacted. Our editor has chosen to selfisolate due to pre-existing health conditions for the 12-week period recommended by the government. We have no concerns regarding our print copies which our usually delivered wrapped in plastic and then wrapped in cardboard. We are delaying our plans to make the magazine available in local shops to reduce handling concerns at this time.
CONTENT As with all small businesses, we are adapting the content of the magazine so you may notice a few differences. This will include such as the removal of the diary pages. With theatres having to close and restaurants and pubs moving to delivery and take-away services, we decided to remove the diary pages for the time being. There will be less reviews for the same reason. We are seeing this as an opportunity to explore more content areas. The magazine will still be full of all the great content you’re used to. It will just be more tailored to the growing situation. ADVERTISING We always seek to offer the best quality for money with our services. Due to many businesses suffering during this time, we have revised our advertising prices. We wanted to be able to offer rates for the whole of 2020 and so, our editor has spent a lot of time doing profit and loss predictions to find the best rates to offer for the rest of the year. So, we have scrapped box adverts and our rates now start at £15.00 per issue, with a range available from half-page adverts to the back cover. However, we are still limiting our advertising to a quarter of the magazine and will review the rates in January 2021. That’s all for now. We want to wish everyone all the best in this difficult time. Stay well and safe; be kind, be sensible and thank you for all your support. Love Norwich Nights Magazine.
Zena’s Food Corner: exploring Gluten-free baking. Gluten free offerings have certainly increased over the last decade. With more and more restaurants offering alternatives, you can enjoy a whole afternoon tea totally gluten free all over Norfolk. Plus, the cakes and bakes are super tasty now – I remember my first gluten free cake was tasteless. I have a slight intolerance to gluten which seems to get worse the later in the day – especially if I’m given cheap white bread. I can consume artisan sour dough bread until the cows come home – and often do! But it’s not just gluten free flour that’s used. It’s often a tasty mix of gluten free alternatives that make all the difference in that final baking goal – the taste. Gluten & Wheat Free—Flour Alternatives.
Amaranth Flour – made from the seed of the same named plant. Sometimes known as Elephants ear, African, Chinese or Indian Spinach flour. High in protein.
Arrowroot Flour – made from its root as the name suggests. Used mainly as a thickener as it turns clear when heated.
Banana Flour – made from unripe green bananas. With a taste more like bran than bananas. It’s suggested to use 25% less banana flour to plain flour.
Brown Rice Flour – more nutritious, higher in fibre and heavier than white with a nutty flavour. Expect products to be denser. Use fresh and in date for best results.
Buckwheat Flour – Buckwheat is not wheat but from the sister plant of rhubarbs - made from the seeds. It’s very distinct, slightly bitter and nutty – I prefer to mix with gluten free plain flour.
Chia Flour – from ground chia seeds, known as a superfood. The flour absorbs more liquid so increase by 10% also increasing the baking time. You can make the flour by processing the seeds – all but expensive.
Gram / Chickpea Flour – a rich yellow colour, nutty and dense. Used extensively in Indian cuisine.
Coconut Flour – a light coconut flavoured high fibered flour – use 10-15% more liquid in replacement flour recipes.
Coffee Flour – made with the discarded cherry fruit. Not at all coffee tasting, high in fibre, potassium and iron and low in fat.
Cornflour – milled from the endosperm of the corn kernel used mainly to thick-en sauces but also used mixed, like in tempura batter.
Cornmeal / Maize Flour – Ground from the whole corn kernel. Rich yellow and sometimes grainy – you can also buy fine.
Hemp Flour – Store in the fridge. Made from the hemp seed with a mild nutty flavour.
Lupin Flour – made from a bean from the same family as the peanut plant. Rich in protein, fibre and low in fat – not suitable for those with a peanut, soya bean or legume allergy.
Millet Flour – from the grass family. Mainly used to thicken or in African flat breads and griddle cakes, not very good for baking and desserts.
Oat Flour ?*? – Not suitable for all Celiac’s* due to avenin, similar to gluten – plus the oats need to be certified wheat free (some farmers crop rotate or grow wheat next door) Increase liquid by 5 – 10% in recipes and store in the fridge once opened – check dates.
Potato Flour – with a short shelf life, this is not potato starch flour. Potato flour is dense & tastes of potato.
Potato Starch Flour – a lot like cornflour in texture and colour with a light pota-to taste.
Quinoa Flour – ‘Keen-Wa’, a cousin of spinach and beetroot. Ground for the seed. First used by the Incas – a healthy flour.
Sorghum flour – Sorghum grain is similar to millet – used in Africa to make flat breads and porridge.
Soya Flour – Good flavour, high in protein with a nutty taste. Store in the fridge once opened – check the date.
Tapioca Flour – made from the root of the cassava plant. Not good for baking but good as a thickener and in other dim sum / Chinese recipes – that re -quire that chew texture. Stores well.
Teff Flour – made from a North African cereal grain related to the grass family. High in nutrition & used in flat breads.
White Rice Flour – Good shelf life if stored in an airtight container, bland in flavour, light and white – but perfect to mix or add to richly flavoured ingredients.
Gluten Free Flour – Gluten free does everything plain flour will do or add gluten free baking powder to make self-raising. It simply doesn’t taste the same as regular flour so you need tricks to make it tastier until you get used to it. For best results mix it or add extra flavour. For instance if your using gluten free for Yorkshire puddings add flavours like herbs, horseradish, mustard powder, spices etc
Ground Nuts – Not for those intolerant and not an actual flour but great as an ‘up to 50% mix’ with other flours used in recipes, especially baking and pastry making. You can grind your own – all nuts have their qualities or buy almond for the best baking flavour.
Flours not to use in gluten free baking –
Bulgur / Brown / Plain / Self- Raising /Strong / Bread (cake) / Durum / Granary / Wheat / Wholemeal / Kumut / semolina / Spelt / Triticale / Wheaten Cornflour / Oat Flour* (see above) / - - - Baking Powder (buy Gluten Free)
By Zena Leech-Calton www.lovenorwichfood.co.uk
Zena’s Recipe Cards: Gluten Replacements in Baking Breads and Cakes = for every cup of gluten free flour 120 grams / 5 oz.
½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum 1 teaspoon chia seeds 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder 1 teaspoon guar gum 1 teaspoon gar agar powder Tip – use half as much in biscuits.
PASTRY Alternatively use a pasty recipe but replace the flour with gluten free plain flour adding ½ teaspoon xanthan gum and an egg yolk to bind – with enough water or milk to mix to a smooth dough. If you can get away with it, don’t roll as gluten free pastry is more likely to break up, instead using it as a paste and moulding it into the case with your fingers. If you have to roll out it out, try to do so between grease proof paper.
Gluten Free Pastry 1 cup brown rice flour 2 tablespoon Tahini (sesame seed paste) 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 60g / 2oz sesame seeds water to bind
Simply mix together with enough water to form a soft but not soggy dough ball.
Almond Paste 125g softened butter 100g caster sugar 150g ground almonds 2 large eggs - beaten 60g plain flour
Cream the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Stir in the almonds then beat in the eggs slowly. Then stir in the flour – work by hand into a dough. Cover in cling film and rest in the fridge until needed, allow 15 minutes to soften before rolling.
By Zena Leech-Calton www.lovenorwichfood.co.uk
THE COCONUT MILK LATTE FROM COSTA!
Allergy Free Coffee—I have been searching for a good dairy free coffee for a while and, apologies to the friend who brought me an oat-milk flat white coffee at a local outlet recently. Unfortunately, my reaction was natural displeasure, so I was happy to find out Costa are using coconut milk which I am a bit of a fan of. This latte from Costa is perfection. It’s velvety smooth and goes down easily, the slight hint of coconut doesn’t overpower the coffee and the drink wasn’t particularity sweet either. If anything, this drink comes very close to Costa’s regular latte - it’s just smoother and creamier with a slight hint of coconut. In short, this drink tastes as great as it looks and is my ideal dairy coffee alternative and cold day treat. Here’s hoping we see coconut milk used more in coffee shops in the future. Available from Costa Coffee—Prince of Wales Road, Norwich.
FOOD DELIVERY LIST. COFFEE, TEA AND OTHER BEVERAGES. GIVE US SOME BEANS – Norwich. Still offering online ordering and delivery for your coffee needs during this crisis. https://www.giveitsomebeans.co.uk
The Tea Junction – Castle Quarter, Norwich. Are still operating via their online shop offering delivery. See the website for details: https://thetjunction.co.uk
Food:
We have been admiring Sam’s Cafeteria Instagram feed for a little. We’re between the hours of 10 – 4pm anything from their menu can be ordered for home delivery in addition to this they also offer fruit, vegetables, salad, and fresh bread and granary baps Tel: 07985504466 to order. Delivery fee applies: £1.00 within 3 miles of Suffolk Square NR2 2AA £3.00 over 3 miles.
The one Food Company – Norwich, provides a chef focused meal delivery service call Chef Ben on 07590561919 or see their Facebook page for details: https://www.facebook.com/theonefoodcompany/
Off Seasons – are offering a Sunday roast delivery service and are now adding Thursdays too, booking in advance is essential. 07539 393445 See their Facebook Page for details: https://www.facebook.com/OffSeasonsNorwich/
The Fish & Chip Shop Norwich based in Magdalen Street Norwich, have altered their opening hours to 4.30 – 9.30pm are providing online ordering for collection or delivery. All deliveries are contactless and for collection they request no more than two customers enter the shop at a time. See their website for details: https://www.thefishnchipshop.com/
Dominos North – 29 Augustine’s Way, Waterloo Road are still taking online orders for contactless delivery. https://dominos.co.uk
The Norfolk Deli continue to sell a selection of products including fruit and vegetables to wine, provide online ordering and delivery see their website for details. https://www.norfolk-deli.co.uk/
As you know we don’t do huge listings here at Norwich Nights but in order to give you a few options we put together this list both EDP and Love Norwich Food have both compiled longer lists should you require them. We will just finish by saying, stay positive, stay healthy stay indoors. Should you need to go out for shopping, The CO-OP in the train station is open and well stocked, as is Tesco on Prince of Wales Road, Anglia Square has some shops open such as Iceland etc although one of the Fruit and Vegetable stores is only opening on the weekend. Check out your local Farm Shops such as Blofield Farm Shop, 58 Yarmouth Road, NR13 4LQ Tel: 01603715232 who also offer delivery.
All images are for illustration only.
BOOKS WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH! Beyond the Margin is the second novel of Jo Jackson, a Shropshire writer. Her first, Too Loud a Silence, was published in 2016. Is living on the edge of society a choice? Or is choice a luxury of the fortunate?
Joe, fighting drug addiction, runs until the sea halts his progress. His is a falter-ng search for meaningful relationships. ‘Let luck be a friend,’ Nuala is told but it had never felt that way. Abandoned at five years old, survival means learning not to care. Her only hope is to take control of her own destiny. The intertwining of their lives makes a compelling story of darkness and light, trauma, loss and second chances.
Price: £7.99 Available from: www.amazon.co.uk And signed copies direct from the author http://
At first, I wondered if the profound impact that this book had on me was because it was so very different from the books I usually choose to read. But no – its impact was all down to the fact that it’s a stunning piece of writing. It explores the lives of two people, and their stories and view-points alternate. The writing is simply wonderful – every word carefully chosen, the natural world vividly described and detailed, atmospheric and full of striking images, reflect-ing the emotional turmoil of the characters. It is never anything but wholly real, conveyed with exceptional insight and a sensitivity that is deeply affecting. Without question this will be one of my books of the year. Extract from a review by Being Anne (Feb. 2020) https://beinganne.com/2020/02/ review-beyond-the-margin-by-jo-jacksonjojackson589-rararesources-blogtour/
BOOKS, BOOKS,BOOKS LET WILD WAVES ROAR Will Love survive the Storm of Life? A NEW NOVEL BY BIRTE HOSKEN It has been three years since Carbis Bay-based author Birte Hosken published her first novel PETROC’S CHURCH. Birte’s second book entitled LET WILD WAVES ROAR – Will Love survive the Storm of Life? is now on the market. The novel is entirely self-published and is available in Kindle version and paperback. LET WILD WAVES ROAR is another novel set in Cornwall, however not quite as close to the author’s home as the previous story. This new fast-paced romantic novel is about car sales executive Robert Cunningham who is suffering a midlife crisis. With his marriage on the rocks, he hopes that a new position in Devon will help to solve his problems – but an unexpected inheritance throws his existence into turmoil until he makes a life-changing decision.... LET WILD WAVES ROAR in both Kindle version and paperback is available to purchase on Amazon at £3.99 and £6.99 respectively.
THE HAUNTING OF HATTIE HASTINGS BY AUDREY DAVIS SOME PEOPLE WON'T LET A LITTLE MATTER LIKE DEATH STAND IN THEIR WAY … A terrible tragedy leaves Hattie Hastings widowed and heartbroken. But her late husband isn't about to take his de-mise lying down. Torn between delight and frustration, Hattie struggles to convince friends and family of her ghostly predicament. Then there's also the small matter of best friend Cat's ex-husband trying to worm his way back into her life. And Hattie's mum is battling her own demons … Packed with humour, teenage angst, dubious dates and bittersweet romance, prepare to laugh (and cry) at a contemporary romantic comedy described as 'brilliant', 'hilarious' and 'a great feelgood read.' Price: £8.99 Available from www.amazon.co.uk as well as Ap-ple Books.
YOU BENEATH YOUR SKIN BY DAMYANTI BISWAS. LIES, AMBITION, AND FAMILY. It’s a dark, smog-choked New Delhi winter. Indian American single mother Anjali Morgan juggles her job as a psychiatrist with caring for her autistic teenage son. She is in a long-standing affair with ambitious Police Commissioner Jatin Bhatt – an irresistible attraction that could destroy both their lives. Jatin’s home life is falling apart: his handsome and charming son is not all he appears to be, and his wife has too much on her plate to pay attention to either hus-band or son. But Jatin refuses to listen to anyone, not even the sister to whom he is deeply attached. Across the city there is a crime spree: slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid. And as events spiral out of control Anjali is horrifyingly at the centre of it all. In a sordid world of poverty, misogyny, and political corruption, Jatin must make some hard choices. But what he unearths is only the tip of the iceberg. Together with Anjali he must confront old wounds and uncover long-held secrets.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Damyanti Biswas lives in Singapore, and supports Delhi's underprivileged women and children, volunteering with organizations who work for this cause. Her short stories have been published in magazines in the US, UK, and Asia, and she helps edit the Forge Literary Magazine. She was recently awarded The Fay Khoo Award in Penang, Malaysia. You can find her on her blog and twitter. Her debut crime novel You Beneath Your Skin is an Amazon bestseller, all author proceeds of which will support the education and empowerment of women at Project WHY and Stop Acid Attacks. Price:£8.56 Available from Amazon.com Website: Damyantiwrites.com @damyantig: on Twitter Damyantiwrites: on Facebook
The Aspie Author. I was the child that struggled to fit in, but no-one knew why; the child who could tell you every-thing that had been going on around them all day, but couldn’t remember what the lesson was about; who heard the teachers instructions, but still didn’t know what to do and got told off for not listening. And I was the child who hid when the vacuum cleaner came out at home, even in their teens - My name is Elizabeth Jade. I’m a children’s author and animal lover living in the UK, and this is my story. I was born in North Yorkshire in 1998 and moved to Somerset when I was quite young. My parents had always accepted my uniqueness and even took me out of school in favour of child led learning when school was making me ill all the time. I started writing when I was fourteen, around the time I began to struggle with depression and anxiety. After several years, my mother insisted that I see someone about my mental health.
I have to say that my experience with CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Ser-vice) was not at all pleasant, but it was here that the possibility of Asperger’s was first explored, leading to my diagnosis just before I turned eighteen. People have never made sense to me. In fact, I still make a habit of avoiding contact with them as much as possible. I’ve always had a natural connection to animals and have volunteered at a number of animal rescues in my area. I believe animals make far more sense than people. That’s probably why the main characters in my current books are wolves and huskies, and why these stories are told through the eyes of the animals themselves. Although the Akea series is primarily aimed at children age 7 to 11, it has been enjoyed by older children and adults, and read to younger children by their parents. I had no idea the influence autism actually had on my writing until after I’d published my first children’s book, Akea – The Power of Destiny, in 2017. Several people commented on the parallel between Akea’s journey of discovery and my own. Akea is born into a family of huskies, but there is something different about her and she soon realises that her true destiny lies beyond the relative safety of her sled dog family. Akea begins the story feeling out of place where she should belong, overcomes obstacles, and ends up fitting in where she stands out the most. In the same way, I’ve had to overcome obstacles and feeling that I didn’t fit in, but now I understand it’s okay to be different and I have found my place in the world as an author.
Akea – The Power of Destiny came into existence purely by accident. Like many people with autism, I get easily overwhelmed with too much information, so rather than have written character profiles, I prefer to have visual ones. I search the internet for photos that ‘feel right’ for my main characters, and I keep these in front of me when I’m writing. While searching for a dalmatian picture for a story I planned to write, I came across one of a dalmatian with a husky. It felt as if the husky was telling me her own story and I felt compelled to write it down. Incidentally, the dalmatian story was never written. I was so inspired by the story arc that I went on to write the sequel which was pub -lished in December 2019. Akea – His Mother’s Son takes up the story sometime after Akea’s rise to Wolf Queen at the end of the first book. Akea’s world turns up -side down when humans raid their home, scattering the pack and capturing her hybrid son, Salvador. The dual narrative enables the reader to feel both sides of the experience of loss and change, and to watch Salvador grow from a wayward cub in-to a confident and resilient adult with an unusual talent. One reviewer said, “Elizabeth Jade perfectly captures the atmosphere of life as part of the wolfpack and its many challenges. Her stories remind me of Jack London’s ‘Call of the Wild’ and she not only has a knack for creating realistic and powerful characters, but a talent for describing the wild settings they inhabit with a natural confidence that is quite charming.” I found his words so encouraging. I’m currently working on the next five books in the Akea series. I’m fortunate to be able to jump in and out of each of these books without getting confused. I’m a compulsive multi-tasker anyway. I’m usually researching, writing and watching random YouTube videos at the same time. I think this is one of the advantages of having a form of autism. One of the disadvantages of autism is my difficulties with people. I can’t handle the usual school’s visits or author events that many authors use to reach their target audience. This makes marketing a bigger challenge for me than it already is for most authors. Although my books are available online, I am proud to have them on sale in a number of independent bookshops in the UK and I am grateful for their support. I have included my autism diagnosis in the author bio on the back of my books and mentioned it in various newspaper articles and guest blogs in the hope it will in-spire others. I’ve also donated copies of my books to the Somerset Autism Collection at my local library. In fact, Akea – The Power of Destiny was the first book in the collection to celebrate the achievement of someone with autism rather than supporting them with it. Many of those on the autistic spectrum understand what it means to be different. For us to be true to ourselves undoubtedly requires a certain amount of courage. For me, having Asperger’s and mental health issues can make life a real challenge, but with the right support, I was able to make my dream of becoming an author come true.
Links Website – https://www.elizabethjade.org Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ AkeaWolfStories/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AkeaWolfStories Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ akeawolfstories.author/ Amazon USA - https://amzn.to/2Rm43sO Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/2rOipYk Good Reads – http://bit.ly/2t2bITz YouTube Trailers, and dramatic read-ings from book 1 - https://www.youtube.com/channel/
LISTEN TO LOVE— VAL PORTELLI It’s a collection of short stories with a romance theme, but not in the traditional ‘Happy Ever After’ sense.
The stories were inspired by song titles and cover everything from ghosts and unicorns to revenge and dementia. Price: £2.00 Available from Amazon.co.uk as a kindle download.
THE DOG-WALKING CLUB —LIZ HINDS Every dog walk brings new drama into the lives of these dogs and their people. For Jock the Scottie, Benji the spaniel, Pixie the boxer, Mitzi the poodle and Bassett the … all sorts, walking each day with their friends is a dream come true. And it changes the lives of widowed Sybil who’s spent a lifetime hiding her secret sorrow, hopeless-with-women Jon who’s wandering almost unwittingly into an affair, freelance photographer Jemma who is at every wedding but her own, and Maggi who is frantically trying to save money to visit her family in Australia. And for longsuffering Angela a nasty shock turns into a new start in disguise for her and her husband – and their love life.
Price: £7.99 Available from Amzon.co.uk
My First Theatre Experience: The Railway Children—1980’s The image is taken from a newer tour of the production I saw but let me take you back… way back. So, it’s late 1980’s (yes, I’m old!) and I’m invited on a family theatre trip that would change my life forever. From the tickets arriving to the icecream parlour that formed our pretheatre trip, the buzz around this event was just unbelievable. I mean, they widely publicised that they intended to run a steam train straight through centre stage - it just wasn’t done back then. Thinking back, I’m pretty sure 11-year old me didn’t believe the claims. Next came the warning of “-if you’re in the front rows, expect to get wet.” “Don’t worry,” I was told in response, “We’re in the 3rd row.” It turns out that 3rd row really isn’t that far back at the Birmingham Hippodrome, especially not when they’re using water and glitter on stage.
Despite getting a bit wet, this was the single most luxurious experience of my life. The theatre was everything I imagined it would be - grand, stunning and beautiful. We were ushered through to our seats as I was still taking in these surroundings (Yes, this was my Hogwarts). The show itself was specular, costumes perfectly in period with the original story and truly breath-taking performances from the cast. Then the thing we had all been waiting for happened; the train was making its entrance. I remember the noise. That came first. Then the gushes of steam filled the stage and, as the mist slowly cleared, a majestic train charges through centre stage as if by magic. Now, by this age I had already figured out acting wasn’t my strong suit, but absolutely nothing could stop me from becoming obsessed with costume and the technical side of theatre. ‘How did they do that?’ became the question to filter my every thought. I wanted to know how it all worked: who designed the sets; how did they get costumes from previous periods; and how do you get involved in the behind the scenes of this wonderful new world. All I truly knew the answer to was ‘Where had I caught the theatre bug?’ It might not have been the usual way for people to fall in love with theatre, but even after so many years the events still feel like a dream. Although my behind-the-scene days are long behind me, watching theatre of all kinds is still one of my favourite things to do. Reviewing shows and performances lets me share the wonder and love created with you all.
SO REAL LAUNCHES THEWORLD’S FASTEST, COMPLETELY GAME-READY PLAYABLE ASSET PRODUCTION TOOL.
Norwich Nights were invited to attend the launch of SO REAL DIGITAL TWINS AG, showcasing the results of their patented scanning and conversion technology.
The event has now been cancelled due to the ongoing health crisis. Instead, we have put together this article to share this exciting new technology with you.
So Real
The company So Real is based in Switzerland, and was co-founded by Ian Ravenshaw Bland, CEO and Charles Fukiger, COO and Chairman. So Real’s slogan is clear; they want to “make the world smaller.” The company creates digital twins of everyday objects completely game ready in a relatively short time span. As gaming graphics get more and more sophisticated, we can’t wait to see the impact this new technology will make on the gaming industry and developers alike. As Kelly Vero Head of Game Development explains below they even add dents, rust and scuffs to ensue the finished image appears exactly as it would it everyday life, and while we believe the biggest impact on the industry is going to be the speed at which these items can be produced. Here at Norwich Nights we are very excited about this technology and are hoping So Real Digital Twins re-organise their AG showcase once the current health crisis is resolved.
Kelly Vero, Head of Game Development, SO REAL DIGITAL TWINS AG commented, “We are super excited to be at GDC, decimating traditional production methods with our game-changing playable asset production tool".
“With SO REAL XR, 'what you see is what you get' - you don’t have to spend days or weeks adding everyday bumps and scuffs to objects, we deliver exact 3D objects as you see in the real world - completely game ready". “Our end-to-end solution takes just days – or in some cases hours - to produce a digital twin of your object. SO REAL XR is going to be a complete revelation for developers, and the XR industry.” As explained above, their ability to add details such as dents, rust and other physical blemishes ensures the finished image appears exactly as it would in everyday life. While this is already something extraordinary and innovative, we believe the biggest impact on the industry is going to be the speed at which these items can be produced. Here at Norwich Nights, we are very excited about this technology and are hoping So Real Digital Twins re-organise their AG showcase once the current health crisis is resolved.
STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town Launches 10th July on Nintendo Switch™
We are delighted to tell you that Marvelous Europe Limited have announced the launch of STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town! This is a complete remake of the Game Boy Advance classic, FRIENDS OF MINERAL TOWN; and will launch physically and digitally on 10th July 2020 for the Nintendo Switch within Europe and Australia. This long-awaited return to one of the most beloved entries in the original farm/life simulation franchise, known in Japan as Bokujo Monogatari, is also the first mainline title in the series to be released for the Nintendo Switch platform. Reimagined with high definition visuals and brought to life with improved controls and character engagement, STORY OF SEA-SONS: Friends of Mineral Town on the Nintendo Switch will let fans of the series revisit the charming world of Mineral Town, while also introducing it to a new generation of farmers. In this peaceful setting, players will grow crops, take care of animals, and build relationships with villagers. In addition to the release date, Marvelous Europe Limited can also confirm that STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town will launch with English, French, German and Spanish text localisation when it releases. Those eager to learn more about the world of STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town, as well as retail pre-order availability, can check the official website for the latest updates.
Key Features: ▪ Rediscover one of STORY OF SEASONS’ most beloved entries: This Nintendo Switch remake of the classic game preserves the compelling gameplay, colourful characters and rustic charm of the original 2003 Game Boy Advance release. With buttery-smooth HD visuals and a heart-warming reimagining of the iconic locale, series veterans and newcomers will soon find themselves welcomed by the gentle rhythms of Mineral Town. ▪ Live the simple life in Mineral Town: Tap into the power of nature as you breathe life back into your grandfather’s farm, tending crops and raising live-stock to earn your keep. With more than 20 varieties of crops to grow, and animals ranging from alpacas to angora bunnies, no day is the same as seasons cycle and new skills await.
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Forge friendships with the townsfolk and win their hearts: Mineral Town is full of friendly faces willing to help you find your feet in your new hometown. Get to know the locals and learn their stories as you go about your daily life, and you might even find love along the way!
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▪ Activities galore for days off from the farm: Whether it’s high-tailing in horseraces, catching a champion trout or showcasing your culinary creativity, the busy calendar full of festivals means that there’s never a dull day in Mineral Town. If you’re looking for a quieter time, take yourself away to the local hot spring, delve deep into the mines, or seek out the seasonal secrets of the town.
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Published in Europe and Australia by Marvelous Europe Limited, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town for the Nintendo Switch is available to pre -order from selected retailers with further information available through the official website. This game has been rated PEGI 12, USK 0 and PG.
Games to look out for this month. GranBlue Fantasy Versus Finally, the wait is over! GranBlue Fantasy Versus comes to PlayStation 4 in Europe on 27 March 2020. We just can’t get enough of the stunning graphics of this arcade player. set in a world of skies, Gran travels with a winged companion, Vyrn, and Lyria, the mysterious girl who saved his life. During the battles, the graphics excel and are outstanding. Plus, the game has a dragon who has a roar of revival which is proving to be a favourite moment amongst gamers. Players can play off or online in this 12 player game.
Let the battles commence! Price £49.99 Available from Amazon, GAME, 365 Games, The Game Collection, Simply Game and Base.
Final Fantasy VII The Remake After years of fan requests, Final Fantasy VII The Remake will finally be available on 10 April 2020. It will be purchasable from Game with options starting from £49.99. We’re curious; how much do you love Cloud Strife?
