Dungeon Masters, start your engines. Dungeons & Dragons, the original table-top role-playing game, is coming to Facebook.

Atari has created a new social game for Facebook called Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter.” Players can customize their own characters, find loot and fight ghastly, digital beasts.

The app looks much like a top-down strategy game — and somewhat similar to the actual style of the tabletop version.

While the game is known for long sessions and user-created narratives, Heroes of Neverwinter offers short bursts of gameplay and a largely standardized plot from the game’s creators. Fans of the slower, more complex original might decry this as breaking from the game’s root, but it’s probably a smart move to appeal to social gamers which are, for the most part, casual users who play for shorter periods of time.

The game will feature more than 50 dungeons, 40 monsters, 30 skills and hundreds of items. Gamers can play solo, recruit friends, or even become a sort of digital Dungeon Master and come up with their own mini-narratives as side quests.

Heroes of Neverwinter, which is currently in open-beta, joins a group of other games targeted to nostalgic players. Oregon Trail received a social gaming update for Facebook, and The Sims Social has been one of the top Facebook games since its launch at the end of summer.

It’s good to know Heroes of Neverwinter hasn’t foregone the traits that made its tabletop ancestor so popular. But will it be able to attract new users without alienating its base? If a sentence like: “Legions of Halflings, Dragonborn, and Eladrin will sharpen their blades and ready their spells as Facebook players around the world create their unique heroes and set forth for adventure!” appeals, this social game might just have some legs.

Will you gear up for Dungeons & Dragons as a social game? Let us know in the comments.

More About: Facebook, Gaming, social gaming

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Annoying Orange, the popular YouTube series about just that, is primed to make its way to your TV soon.

Management/production company The Collective has joined forces with Annoying Orange creator Dane Boedigheimer to create six episodes of the show, according to Deadline.

Conrad Vernon (Monsters and Aliens and Shrek 2) will executive produce the show and Tom Sheppard (Pinky and the Brain) will write it. Annoying Orange is following in the footsteps of another popular YouTube show, Fred (another The Collective project), which scored a TV movie on Nickelodeon.

Annoying Orange is already an extremely popular web series (and, now, iPhone app) — it has more than 560 million views, 50 million monthly viewers and is the eighth most subscribed YouTube channel of all time — so we wager that a TV version would be well-received by the pre-existing fan base.

We talked with Boedigheimer about what the show will entail. Check out our Q&A below:

How far along are you in the production process?

I can’t talk about placement and/or networks just yet, but we are in the preproduction stage at this point. Shooting begins very soon. Lots of really talented people are on board and it’s exciting to see all of it coming together.

What will the show look like?

At it’s core it will look a lot like the web series. We will continue to use realistic-looking animation assets, so that the Annoying Orange world resembles our own, but there will also be many kinds of other style of animation/filmmaking incorporated as well. The biggest change will be locations. Whereas the characters mainly live in the kitchen in the web series, now they will live on a fruit cart that can end up in any location at any time…whether it be space, prehistoric times, or Canada.

Will there be new characters/voices?

Yes! Lots of new characters actually. There will still be the core group – Orange, Pear, Passion Fruit, Grandpa Lemon, Grapefruit, Midget Apple, and Marshmallow (all still played by the same people), but now we’ll have other characters that live on the fruit cart with them too. We’ll also have a main human fruit cart vendor that can interact with the fruit.

Why translate a popular web show to TV?

I love challenges. Every time I do a new video online I try to incorporate something new that challenges me and forces me to learn something new. This is kind of an extension of that tactic, on a much bigger scale. Obviously the web show is simplified because you only have a few minutes to work with each episode, but with TV you have the ability to really incorporate a lot of story and open up the world these characters live in. It’s a challenge to make that kind of transition, and one that I’m really excited about. On top of that, Orange has a very respectable following online, and I think being able to create a TV show that works in tandem with the web series would be huge. You could do so many things with cross promotion and driving traffic to each medium. It’s exciting!

What has the reaction been so far?

Overall the reaction has been positive. I’ve seen a few comments here and there where people say, “Orange is getting a TV show? The world is ending! He’s so annoying!!!” And those always give me a good chuckle. You know why? Because you know exactly what the show is about from the title. It’s called the Annoying Orange. Anyone expecting a life-altering experience is barking up the wrong tree. Sometimes people just need a good laugh. Plain and simple. Fans of Annoying Orange are ecstatic to see the transition to television, and honestly, it seems like most people are excited to see what happens even if they aren’t fans, because if Orange can make a successful to jump to TV, that opens the door for many other web entities to do the same thing.

More About: annoying-orange, tv, viral video, youtube

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Attractive, visually appealing cover is probably one of the foremost step for a PS3 game company to persuade gamer for another good sale. Thus, the company must be putting a lot of effort in working their designers to create the most attractive and promising cover for their product.

That’s why we grab a chance of a post to showcase 63 purely attractive PS3 game covers for you to get inspired, and who knows, you might grab yourself a copy!

Aliens vs Predator

Nicely designed game cover with appealing color scheme and absolutely different typefaces to distinguish 2 unique species.

Alone in the Dark

Character portrait is very nice that it evokes you a will to discover the story inside the game.

Alpha Protocol

A futuristic design with awesome graphic and typography effects that make this game cover stand out from others.

Armored Core for Answer

Probably one of the most persuading cover in the Armored Core series that expects you to have the coolest 3D machinery combat experience.

Assassin’s Creed II

Well designed mysterious assassin, that’s all enough for you to pick the game up and check out its back cover for more info.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman series did exceptionally well to attract customer on its design for movie poster, so is its game cover.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Besides the attractive design, the cover designer placed nickname above each character to effectively indicate that the game would be more fun with its multiplayer mode.

BioShock

Named ‘Big Daddy’ (the big machinelike creature in the cover), this genetically enhanced human has done a really good job in attracting the gamer.

BioShock 2

The sequel of the series that showcases another type of eye cathy ‘Big Daddy’.

Borderlands

Very creative use of splatter effect, the overall design also shows how annoying would the game be.

Dante’s Inferno

Nicely blended design that catches your eyes with horrible elements.

Darksiders

Strong color scheme, strong house and strong rider, there’s no reason for this game cover to be less attractive.

Dead to Rights: Retribution

Good combination of splatter and grunge effect that expresses violent gameplay, appealing to fierce gamer.

DiRT

Grunge and splatter effect were used to increase overall messiness that grabs a lot of attention.

DiRT 2

Sequel of the series, this cover applied more ‘dirty’ elements on the design to make itself looks far more different from other, mostly neat designs.

Eat Lead

Massive use of gun elements makes the cover really appealing to wargamer, I thought it’s the sequel for the return of Serious Sam before.

Fairytale Fights

I’ve never seen Fairytale as this bloody before…and this cover really tempts me to check out what’s going on in the game.

Fallout 3

Good use of old photo effects which suits this game’s conspiracal topic, looks tasty for wargamer.

Final Fantasy XIII

Instead of using beautiful background design, Square Enix made Final Fantasy XIII’s cover to be so minimal that gamer can see how impressive the rendered game character is.

Second version of cover that shows you how detail the character rendering that you can expect from the actual game.

Front Mission Evolved

Another Square Enix’s cover design that attracts you with its cool in-game machinery model.

God of War 3

Probably one of the most eye cathy cover design, but it might be tricky for someone who’s new to the series to know that it’s the 3rd installation of the series.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue

Elegant cover design makes this series of Gran Turismo looks really gorgeous, worth a buy.

Guitar Hero: World Tour

Good job on the character design to show how crazy would the game be, rocker!

Heavy Rain

Mix of emotional character and mysterious origami makes the cover itself nice enough for gamer to check out its content.

inFamous

Infamous people with special ability doing extraordinary things are always a heating topic for gamer.

Killzone 2

Wargamer never resisted to check out this kind of cover with fierce game title and character illustrated.

LittleBigPlanet

You can’t hardly ignore to stare on this cover with one of the cutest illustrated creature in this planet!

Lost Planet 2

Impressively designed logo, characters and monster get this cover a lot of impression.

MAG

Guns, missiles, war scenes, that’re all what you need to attract wargamer.

Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor focuses solely on portraying 1 character with monochrome color scheme, which acutally makes it looks unique from other war related titles.

ModNation Racers

Another game with cute and charming characters, greatest hit for kids and girls.

Naughty Bear

You must be wondering what makes this extremely cute bear so naughty!

Another version of cover that looks bloody, yikes.

Need for Speed: Prostreet

Prostreet series’ car has always done well on grabbing gamer’s attention in its every platform’s cover.

Nier

A very realistic cover design that features promising graphics from the game.

Prototype

Despite the mutated arm, covered face is really the effective yet overused element to attract gamer.

Quantum Theory

Quantum Theory looks fantastic to play with its beautifully crafted character and weapon.

Red Dead Redemption

A game cover presented in totally different way of illustration which suits American gamer’s taste very much.

Reflex: MX vs ATV

Nice application of modern design skill on this game’s cover, which makes it absolutely different with common motocar racing game’s cover design.

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil series never failed to create terrible atmosphere from its cover design.

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition

Gold edition’s cover which features 2 of the most welcomed character in the series, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine.

Resistance: Fall of Man

The unique concept of putting a mutated human skull in the cover makes it uncommonly attractive.

Ridge Racer 7

Another gorgeous cover design for a car game that focuses more on racing car.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

The cover highlighted the battle between the holy being and evil creature, which is the kind of story that never failed to entertain gamer.

SAW

This terrible mask can probably catches your attention…and a cold breath.

Silent Hill: Home Coming

Absolutely the most horrible-looking cover among all PS3 games that summarizes the game would deliver you horror, horror and more horror.

Skate 3

An inspiring and cool cover design for skating title which always want you to act cool in the game.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Very beautiful and promising characters for a fantastic role playing game.

Tekken 6

This sequel’s cover shows that the character is far more realistic than its prequels.

The Club

Very nice use of splatter effect that converts common looking faces into very different pieces.

TimeShift

Visually impressive game title and character.

Trinity Universe

All charming characters from 3 titles gather in 1 game with extra features, looks like a must have collection for those series’ fans.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Remarkable design of character and cover that promises you amazing storyline and gameplay.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Sequel of the series which its cover design looks as irritating as the prequel.

Second version of the cover which features another irritating game scene.

Unreal Tournament III

Deadliest Unreal engine hardly disappoint gamer.

Viking: Battle for Asgard

Nicely portrayed character in a rare setting, looks nice to check it out.

Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Just look like it would be another thrilling adventure with guns and bullets.

WET

Girl is the rare appearance as a main character in shooting game, so this is probably the outstanding piece from shooting titles.

White Knight Chronicles

I would say it’s one of the most beautiful white knight I’ve ever seen, and it’s really good to put it in the game cover for aggresive attraction.

Another version of cover that showcases the better portrait of the white knight.

Reflection

So you arrived to the end of this showcase, did you get your favorite cover? Or do you have a nice PS3 game cover to share with us?

Besides, what do you think a game cover should get to attract gamer efficiently? We’re exciting to hear from your sharing!

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Stop motion film-making is a labor of love, so consider this collection of 10 amazing mini stop motion movies a love song to the format.

Encompassing music, graffiti, photography, computer gaming and even horror, these YouTube videos show off some inspiring creativity and represent hours and hours of work.

Have a browse through our top picks and then let us know your favorite stop motion movies in the comments below.

1. Stop Motion With Wolf And Pig

This much-emulated video shows just what you can create with a camera, your imagination and a papier-mâché pig.

2. MUTO a Wall-Painted Animation by BLU

Watching this “ambiguous animation painted on public walls,” you soon forget you’re seeing stitched together images of graffiti and lose yourself in the mesmerizing mutations.

3. DEADLINE Post-It Stop Motion

Bang-yao Liu’s final college project takes the Post-It notes that were haunting him over ever-approaching deadlines and makes them the star of the show.

4. T-SHIRT WAR!!

Now with a McDonald’s/Coke ad under their belts (along with, we presume, wads of cash) “internetainers” Rhett and Link live up to their made-up-word job titles with this amusing vid.

5. Punch Drysdale

Featuring another duo, this clip is the intro video for sketch comedy troupe punchDRYSDALE’s comedy videos, but it also works well as a standalone satire of modern life.

6. Monogrenade – Ce Soir

This spell-binding video accompanies Montreal group Monogrenade’s single “Ce Soir” and was created by award-winning cinematographer Christophe Collette entirely in stop motion.

7. Game Over by PES

The stop motion artist known simply as “PES” is a genius in the field with a stack of YouTube hits. This retro game themed video takes everyday objects and recreates classic titles we all know and love.

8. Stop Motion Rubik’s Cube

As the number of videos on the topic will confirm, the humble Rubik’s Cube is ripe for some stop motion action, but none do it better than the creator of this clip with its funky soundtrack and muted colors.

9. Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

A beautiful video for a beautiful song, this video is comprised of 2,096 still frames.

10. Crooked Rot

From the deliciously dark mind of David Firth (who also gave us the Salad Fingers animated YouTube series) this video illustrates that not all stop motion is, or needs be, sweet and light.

BONUS: Ooh Yeah – Dancing Headphones

Relegated to bonus status here, as it’s not available on YouTube, Beshart’s dancing headphones are like the Jackson Five of the musical headgear world and crank out some great moves, along with a little help from a cardboard Moby.

For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

More YouTube resources from Mashable:

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- Top 10 Robot Videos on YouTube
- 10 Best “Get a Mac” Parodies [VIDEOS]
- Top 10 Wedding Dance Videos on YouTube
- Top 10 YouTube Cover Songs
- Top 10 LEGO Music Videos on YouTube

Tags: List, Lists, stop motion, videos, viral videos, web video, youtube

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News anchor fails are always hilarious, because they are a stark contrast to the usual poise you generally see from such professional figures.

Here, we bring you a catalog of spoonerisms, giggling fits and the odd swear thrown in, from a variety of hapless anchors, roving reporters and weatherpeople.

View our top ten news bloopers below and as always, we’d love to hear about your favorite clips in the comments.

1. DID SHE SAY ASS CREAM?!

Yes, she did. And thanks to the wonders of the modern world, she shall henceforth be known as the “ass cream girl.” Only joking, love — at least you’ve got really shiny hair.

2. News Anchor Fail

Yes, the suspect does have very boggly eyes that we haven’t seen the like of since we last watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but you’d think the gravity of the phrases “torso and body parts,” and “mother of two,” might keep Miss Chuckles here in check.

3. Live News Blooper – R Rated!

This delightfully random, and even more delightfully explicit, outburst comes out of nowhere. We love the cheeky chappy grin at the end as Mr. Potty-Mouth casually sticks his hands in his pockets. In his position we’d be placing them on our posterior, to protect from the butt-kicking about to be received.

4. News Blooper “Magniturd”

A 7.2 Magni-turd earthquake is serious stuff indeed, that’s pretty high up on the old Rectum Scale.

5. BBC Newsreader Blooper – FACEPALM

This gets inclusion not because the blooper was so terrible (we mean, who hasn’t confused “pay” for “pee”?) but, as the uploader of this YouTube video points out, it’s a magnificent example of a genuine, honest-to-God, live-on-TV, facepalm.

6. News Blooper – Spanked as a Kid?

“No, I wasn’t spanked as a kid per se, Bob, but I’ve seen plenty of paddle-action in my thirties…”

7. Fox Business Fail

The message here appears to be don’t go to Fox for your breaking financial news, as the team passes the Chrysler story around the studio as if it were a baby with a dirty diaper.

8. News Blooper: News Anchor Gets Lost and Confused

If you tuned in to this broadcast to learn more about Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder then you’d have been happy to see the anchor seems to be willing to give an on-air demonstration. Is this irony? We think it might be. Where’s Alanis Morrisette when you need her?

9. News Blooper “I’ve Got Gas”

We’d imagine there’s a real sense of freedom in looking America in the eye on live TV and announcing you’ve got wind. Then again…

10. Fox News Lady Slip Up

We wouldn’t be surprised if ole Shep had uploaded this clip himself, seeing his reaction to his co-presenter’s “cock”-up and his undoubted certainty that it would make it to YouTube. We’re watching you Shepard Smith…

BONUS: Zombie Kid Likes Turtles

Relegated to bonus status as the news person actually handles this as well as can be expected, this proves the ancient adage of never work with kids — or zombies.

For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

More YouTube resources from Mashable:

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- Top 10 Robot Videos on YouTube
- 10 Best “Get a Mac” Parodies [VIDEOS]
- Top 10 Wedding Dance Videos on YouTube
- Top 10 YouTube Cover Songs
- Top 10 LEGO Music Videos on YouTube

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Grafissimo

Tags: bloopers, List, Lists, News, news anchor, video, videos, viral videos, web video, youtube

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