Kotaku: Book

From Yale To Persia: Read the Private Diaries Of Gaming's Renaissance Man

Jordan Mechner — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:30:00 EDT

In 1985 Jordan Mechner was a student at Yale riding high on a mix of euphoria over the surprise success of his first video game, Karateka, and trepidation over the idea of turning that success into a career. More »

EA Enlists Ex-SAS Operator to Pen Battlefield 3: The Russian

Mike Fahey — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:40:00 EDT

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In a world flooded with video game novelizations, only one man has the background to develop the back-story of RU Special Forces operator Dima, one of Battlefield 3's playable characters. That man is not Sean Bean, but he was played by Sean Bean, which is pretty much the same thing. More »

How Virtual Cog-Driven Machines Made Game Of Thrones Awesome

Brian Crecente — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT

Inspired by ancient self-operating machines and driven by clever computer animation, the opening credits for HBO's Game of Thrones is packed with Easter eggs and miniature marvels. More »

Rage the Book Hits in August

Brian Crecente — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:29:31 EDT

Del Rey and Bethesda Softworks have teamed up to publish a novel based on id's upcoming Rage game. Penned by Matt Costello, here's the official blurb of the book due out Aug. 30: The world was doomed and only some of the population could be saved. That was what the scientists were saying, at least. So the best and brightest were gathered and put into stasis deep beneath the surface of the Earth—buried so that man could live. When Lt. Nick Raine emerges from his Ark, he finds the human race has not been wiped out. And people, as resilient as they are, are scraping together a new world from the rubble of the old. This was not what anyone in the Arks expected—a new society where might is right, mutants plague the Earth, and "friend" is a term for the person who hasn't stabbed you in the back. More »

Playing To Wiin Offers More Than Wii Puns

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:00:00 EST

Nintendo is gaming's comeback kid. Just when everybody counted them out with the GameCube, the Kyoto-based game maker fired back with the hugely successful Nintendo DS and the Wii. But there's more to the Cinderella story than that. More »

Halo: Cryptum - The First Full Chapter

Greg Bear — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

THE FORERUNNER STORY-the history of my people-has been told many times, with greater and greater idealization, until I scarcely recognize it. More »

Hull Zero Three - An Excerpt

Greg Bear — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST

Author Greg Bear isn't just a one-time Kotaku guest columnist and a prize-winning science fiction author. He's also the guy working on the origin story for the entire HALO universe. More »

Tearing the Sky - An Excerpt

Brian Crecente — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST

The former head of the Game Developers Conference and current Electronic Arts indie headhunter just published his first science fiction novel, Tearing the Sky. More »

The Cutest Okamiden Book Cover and Marker Ever

Brian Crecente — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:00:00 EDT

Found over on the e-Capcom online store for Capcom Japan, this adorable little soft book cover includes a button, picture of Chibiterasu's cub face and a bookmark that looks like his tail. More »

Apple Patent Turns Your Games Into Comic Books

Mike Fahey — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:20:27 EDT

Imagine finishing a video game like Mass Effect and then having a personalized comic book generated featuring the decisions and tactics you used while playing. Apple has already imagined it, and they've got the patent application to prove it. More »

Cosplaying In Paris!

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Paris is truly a world class city. The French are wonderful people. Know what else is wonderful? Cosplay. More »

StarCraft II Heaven's Devils Book Review: Humble Beginnings

Mike Fahey — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Before Jim Raynor was the leader of his own paramilitary organization, blazing across the galaxy righting wrongs and fighting the good fight, he was the son of dirt farmers on a Confederate fringe world. More »

How Erotic Games Learned To Cry

kotaku — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:40:00 EDT

In the new book Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential, our very own Kotaku Senior Contributing Editor Brian Ashcraft and co-author Shoko Ueda explore how Japanese schoolgirls have changed Japanese society. More »

Bayonetta Book Opens Wide

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:00:00 EDT

The pistol-heel-wearing heroine of self-titled action game Bayonetta is getting an art book. It's on sale! Let's have a look. More »

How To Be A World Of Warcraft Guild Leader, Now In Convenient Book Form

Mike Fahey — Sat, 08 May 2010 14:00:00 EDT

If leading a large World of Warcraft guild seems like a fun way to spend your free time, then you should probably check out Scott F. Andrews' The Guild Leader's Handbook to see the hellish task it really is. More »

Does For the Win...Win?

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Groups of massively multiplayer online gamers from around the world band together to form...unions. No, wait, stay with me! More »

Cosplaying Around the World Looks Like This

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

The logical follow-up to otaku rooms? Cosplay. More »

Another Dead Space Prequel, Only This One You Read

Mike Fahey — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:20:02 EDT

Acclaimed writer B. K. Evenson delves into the history of the Church of Unitology and the origin of the mysterious "Black Marker" in Dead Space: Martyr, a prequel to Visceral Games' sci-fi horror spectacular. More »

Japanese Housewives, Online Gaming Addicts

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:00:00 EDT

A small percentage of Japanese housewives lose themselves in torrid love affairs. An even tinier percentage become heavily addicted to online games, a new book claims. More »

The Game Fiction Dilemma: Knights of the Old Republic vs The Sands of Time

Noah Wardrip-Fruin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EDT

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Excerpts from the book Expressive Processing. Reprinted with express permission of the author. More »

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Review: A Muddled Mess

Brian Crecente — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST

Turns out that Percy Jackson isn't a trouble maker with dyslexia and ADHD, he's just the son of Poseidon, and you know how those demigods are. More »

Look At These Otaku Rooms!

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Yes, yes, look. More »

Metro 2033 Trailer Paints A Bleak Picture

Mike Fahey — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:20:00 EDT

The announcement trailer for THQ and 4A Games' post-apocalyptic shooter Metro 2033 sets the stage for what could very well be mankind's last stand. More »

Interactive iPhone Game Gets... Book Deal

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Well, the "game" is an interactive audio adventure, so don't be too surprised. More »

Cosplay Fever Preps To Hit Bookstores

Brian Crecente — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EDT

Cosplay Fever, set to hit UK stores later this month, documents the growth of cosplay in the UK with more than 300 photographs of costumed fans. More »

Mega Man History Book Cancelled

Owen Good — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:00:00 EDT

Mega Man fans might have been looking forward to "Mega Man: Complete History," which Barnes & Noble had listed for pre-order earlier this year. Publisher Chronicle Books told Go Nintendo the project has been scrapped. More »

Celebrate EverQuest's 10th With A Coffee Table Book

Mike Fahey — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:20:00 EDT

First announced at CES earlier this year, The 10th Anniversary EverQuest Collector's Edition coffee table book is now available for purchase at Sony Online Entertainment's store, or on my recliner. More »

More Details On God of War Comic, Books... Knife?

Brian Crecente — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:40:00 EDT

This October, God of War die hards will be able to get their hands on the United Cutlery replica Blades of Chaos and the first of six issues of the new comic series from DC Comics. More »

The Dragon Quest IX Guide Book Sales Tally Is In

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT

We know how Dragon Quest IX the game did in Japan. It did great, selling 2.3 million copies. But how did Dragon Quest IX the guide book do? More »

Closer Look At Monster Hunter CG Art Book

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

To mark the 5 year anniversary of Monster Hunter, Capcom has released Monster Hunter CG Art Works, a book about, well, the CG art in MH. More »

Glimpse at Guinness Book of World Records Gamer's Edition 2009

Brian Crecente — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST

With entries for professional gaming, top selling games in history, the history of hardware and Guitar Hero, the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition looks to be a must have for fans of gaming. More »

The Art That Launched a Thousand Games, Now a Book

Brian Crecente — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:00:59 EST

You can argue whether games end as art, but there's no debating how they start. Behind every shooter, every action title, every role-playing game is an artist's imagining, bits of art meant to inspire. More »

Read A Short Bit of Arcade Mania Right Now

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Excerpts from the arcade book I wrote Arcade Mania appear in the latest issue of Japan's numero uno English language mag Metropolis. The book will be out in North America and Europe in late December. It's already out in Japan, and we held a launch event in Tokyo last month. There were many Kotaku readers there, and Kotaku readers are lovely people! You can read my post about the book here. While the excerpts offer a hint at how a few chapters read (such as the crane games and sticker picture chapters), the book's official site does a nice job of giving a feel of how Arcade Mania looks. More »

Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centers

Brian Crecente — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:00:38 EDT

Earlier this year Ashcraft emailed me to ask if I would write one of the forwards for his upcoming book on Japanese arcades. I jumped at the opportunity, mostly because it gave me a chance to get my hands on the book's galley. I'm a huge fan of Ash's writing and was dying to see how it read in book form. More »

Yokai Attack! In My Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword?

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:40:00 EDT

That's a screen from DS title Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. Maybe you've seen it, maybe not. It refers to a book on monsters called Yokai Attack!. That's a real book! Look, it exists right here — they wrote it. See, when ninjy translators Matt Alt (a "robot otaku") and Hiroko Yoda (a Facebook revolutionary) localized the game, they translated the original Japanese text and an "encyclopedia of yokai". But, when they saw the final product, they noticed that the game's localization director Andrew Szymanski had changed it to Yokai Attack in honor of Alt and Yoda's book. More »

The Art of Star Wars The Force Unleashed

Brian Crecente — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

With the Star Wars The Force Unleashed approaching, Lucas Arts sent along a copy of their new book about the game. More »

Inside the Making of Gears of War 2 Book

Brian Crecente — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Is Virtual Sex Really Cheating?

torif — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:40:40 EDT

With all the talk about sexuality in games following the Mass Effect drama, it's interesting to see discussions centering around purposeful sex in games, such as Second Life. Author Tim Guest's new book, Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds, takes a close look at the alternate lives, including sexuality, lived by people in Second Life. He spent months investigating virtual worlds and the people who inhabit them, from part-time virtual escorts, to a very serious virtual hitman, and many other personalities. In a Q&A with Nerve.com's Screen Digest, Guest reveals some of the interesting questions of morality, legality, and love that arise from the experience: More »

Get Your Art in New UDON’s New Street...

Nirolak — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:16:06 EDT

Get Your Art in New UDON’s New Street Fighter Art Book!

Kent to Pen Gears of War Novel

Brian Crecente — Thu, 31 May 2007 15:00:52 EDT

VH1's Harold Goldberg unearthed a little gem today while nosing around some book sites: It appears Steven Kent will be writing a book based on Gears of War for Del Rey books. More »