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The official Papers, Please short film has been a long time in coming , but it's finally here ... and if you're a fan of the game's grim Soviet Bloc atmosphere, you're in for a treat. The 11-minute production includes plenty of nods to the title's nerve-wracking customs checks, such as the dread you feel when you're not quite sure you should have let someone through. It also touches on the game's underlying theme -- how do you maintain some shred of humanity in a job that's frequently heartless? Be sure to turn subtitles on, by the way, as the dialogue is appropriately Russian. Nikita Ordynskiy and Lilya Tkach produced the movie alongside developer Lucas Pope. Short films for popular games are nothing new , but it's rare that they're officially sanctioned and tout the direct involvement of the game's creator. The Papers, Please short suggests these collaborations should happen more often -- it captures the essence of the game while ma...

Electronic skins might not only detect health troubles in the near future, but display them for the world to see. University of Tokyo researchers have developed an e-skin that can measure vital signs like your heartbeat and display them in real time on a skin display . The design blends a breathable nanomesh electrode and stretchable wiring with an array of micro LEDs that can output basic images bending with your body. Others know right away if you need help -- they'd just have to look at your hand (or anywhere else the sensor works) to get an idea of what's wrong. The sensor can pair with a smartphone and transmit its info to the cloud, too. There have been stretchable displays before, but they typically fall apart quickly after exposure to air and the usual stretching and twisting of your skin. The sensor itself lasts for about a week without inflammation, too, and was built using conventional circuit board manufacturing techniques that should keep the cost down. This ...