So they've enlisted the assistance of Film Roman (the same team behind Dead Space's Downfall) to oversee a Dante's Inferno animated feature. All that's known at this stage is that the film will be straight-to-DVD, will ship alongside the game and that, like the Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, will be worked on by a number of studios/artists, as "separate anime studios are being tapped to create the nine different levels of hell".

Dante's Inferno matching Dead Space movie-for-movie [Cut Scene]

One of his latest posts shows off the illustrations he did for Schizoid developer Bill Dugan's talk on developer-publisher relations at the recent IGDA Leadership Forum in San Francisco.

Turns out they're funny, pungent illustrations (including a swearword or too, warning) of how those pesky publishers and developers fight like dogs and cats living together - resulting in mass hysteria.

Torpex IGDA speech illustrations [Avellone's MySpace Blog.]

"We've seen a tremendous response to the robust parental controls offered on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, and the Xbox 360 Family Timer will continue to deliver on our promise to provide safer, balanced and fun entertainment for everyone," Bach said. "Professionally, I am proud of my division's work in this area, and personally, as a parent of three school-aged children, I know how important it is to be engaged in an ongoing dialogue with my family in order to uphold our household screen time rules."

Rice spoke to the middle-school crowd about how important it is to have balance to be successful. "I'm a Super Bowl champion and a 'Dancing with the Stars' finalist, but my most important accomplishment in life is being a father," Rice said. "I try to teach my kids that no matter what they do, they have to find a balance between work and fun. That's why it's so rewarding to join Microsoft and the PTA today to promote a healthy balance for our kids in this exciting digital age."

The 360 Family Timer should be available in early December.

Microsoft, PTA and Super Bowl Champion Jerry Rice Announce New Tools to Help Parents Manage Kids' Interactive Media Use

Xbox 360 debuts video game industry's first and only Family Timer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nov. 7, 2007 — Microsoft Corp., the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice joined forces today to unveil new parental tools as part of the second year of the "Safety is no game. Is your family set?" campaign. They include a PACT, a family contract intended to foster family discussion about screen time guidelines, as well as a new parental control feature, the Xbox 360 Family Timer. The Family Timer will enable parents for the first time to set the appropriate amount of gaming and entertainment time on the Xbox 360 for their kids, on a daily or weekly basis.

"As a leader in interactive entertainment, it's Microsoft's responsibility to provide parents with tools they can use to manage their children's video gaming and online experiences, and we have made that a priority from the very start," said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft.

Through this all-new educational partnership, millions of PTA members nationwide will receive information on the fundamentals of the campaign, which encourages a balanced approach to interactive media use and families to come to an agreement on how their children spend their screen time.

"As times change and technology advances, the role of the parent stays the same in raising a safe, healthy and successful child," said PTA National CEO Warlene Gary. "PTA is proud to partner with Microsoft to provide parents with more resources that keep them involved in their children's lives. Using the PACT will help parents and children talk about and agree on interactive media use."

The family PACT is a comprehensive, proactive approach to setting rules on media use, and asks parents and children to agree on the level of Parental involvement; the amount of Access children can have, including who they are allowed to play and interact with online; the types of Content children are allowed to play or watch; and the amount of Time children can use media. The family PACT is available for immediate download at http://www.xbox.com/isyourfamilyset.

Another all-new parental tool unveiled today is the Xbox 360 Family Timer, an addition to the console's existing set of industry-leading parental control features. Similar to its Windows Vista counterpart, the new Xbox 360 Family Timer can restrict children's activity time and can be set on a per-day or per-week basis. Helpful notifications will appear to warn the gamer that the session is nearing the end, and the feature will automatically turn off the console when the predetermined time limit has been exceeded. The Family Timer feature will be available for download via Xbox LIVE in early December.

Microsoft expects the news of the Family Timer to be received very favorably by parents based on independent* research it unveiled today that showed 62 percent of parents would welcome a tool to control the amount of time children spend using the video game consoles in their homes.

Bach, along with PTA CEO Warlene Gary and Super Bowl champion and "Dancing with the Stars" finalist Jerry Rice, talked to more than 400 students and parents gathered at Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Washington, D.C., today, about the benefits of being a kid in the digital age and the challenges parents may face in navigating this complex new world.

The independent research sponsored by Microsoft released today asked parents a series of questions about their children's use of digital media and represented feedback from 800 parents of children between the ages of 5 and 17 who have a video game console in their home. The research showed that 45 percent of parents say that enforcing rules about their children's media consumption creates tension at home. Nearly all families (99 percent) have some rules, but less than half (47 percent) have comprehensive rules concerning access, content and time. The research revealed that only 16 percent of families actually put media-use rules in writing, and 40 percent of parents involve children in related discussions.

Rice spoke to the middle-school crowd about how important it is to have balance to be successful. "I'm a Super Bowl champion and a 'Dancing with the Stars' finalist, but my most important accomplishment in life is being a father," Rice said. "I try to teach my kids that no matter what they do, they have to find a balance between work and fun. That's why it's so rewarding to join Microsoft and the PTA today to promote a healthy balance for our kids in this exciting digital age."

Microsoft's Commitment to Families Is Ongoing

Xbox was the first video game and entertainment system with built-in parental controls for both online and offline use. Known as Family Settings, these controls allow parents and caregivers to set guidelines for which games work for them, make informed choices about content, and decide with whom their children can play online. Earlier this year, Windows Vista launched with a similar set of parental controls that allows parents to guide children's game playing, Web browsing and overall computer use. These controls help parents determine which games their children can play, which programs they can use, which Web sites they can visit — and when.

"We've seen a tremendous response to the robust parental controls offered on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, and the Xbox 360 Family Timer will continue to deliver on our promise to provide safer, balanced and fun entertainment for everyone," Bach said. "Professionally, I am proud of my division's work in this area, and personally, as a parent of three school-aged children, I know how important it is to be engaged in an ongoing dialogue with my family in order to uphold our household screen time rules."

According to Bach, with more than 13 million Xbox 360 consoles sold, the company's drive to empower parents is a core Microsoft responsibility. Last fall, the company launched the "Safety is no game. Is your family set?" national grassroots campaign (http://www.xbox.com/isyourfamilyset) with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Best Buy Co. Inc. to educate parents about the tools and resources available to help them manage their children's interactive entertainment experiences on both Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. Year two of the campaign will continue with the support of these partners and others such as the PTA.

Ape Escape Cartoons [Frederator Blogs via Toon Zone - Thanks MDawg!]

DEADLINE GAMES A/S CONCLUDES DEAL ON DEVELOPING TEN NEW VIDEO GAMES WITH EIDOS INTERACTIVE LTD.

Copenhagen, Denmark - September 11, 2007 - Deadline Games A/S has concluded a major deal with game publisher EIDOS to develop new video games. The three-year deal includes ten titles based on cartoon characters from the Hanna-Barbera studio licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The Hanna-Barbera studio is behind the well-known characters Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons and many more. The games will be developed for a variety of platforms. The deal serves to reinforce the position of Deadline Games A/S among the leading game developers of the world.

Games currently in production, combined with this new deal, create a need for significant expansion of the development capacity of Deadline Games A/S.

Why I'm so excited to hear about its return, I have no clue. ReBoot will be coming back, but now in the form of comic books and three feature films by Rainmaker Animation. In true web 2.0 fashion, creators are asking what fans want to see. Would they prefer the same (horrid) storyline and characters—complete with old voice actors and remnants of crappy animation—to finish where they left off? Our should the universe be recreated anew? If you care either way, hit up the link and vote.

Zeros 2 Heroes [via therawfeed]

A History of Video Game Cartoons: The 1980s [AZNightBuzz.com]

The series features Patrick Warburton returning to the voice of Lok, with Hal Sparks (ug) replacing Jason Marsden as the voice of Tak himself. Expect zaniness to ensue. Oh the zaniness we will have for you.

I would have thought (zany!) that they'd want to release a cartoon series around the release of a new game, or at least close enough to one that it's still in people's minds, but perhaps I am wrong. The show's forums are already buzzing:

Umm...who is Tak? I mean, i read the mod's description, but how does everyone already know all about him and stuff! Can someone PLEASE xplain! Thanx!

NICE! I love the games. I play them all the time! The show will be sosososo kool!

Tak and the Power of Juju [Nickelodeon]

Oh, I suppose you could spend a few hours searching YouTube for Captain N episodes, but wouldn't you rather have them all at your finger tips for maximum masochism? I'll admit it's been a while since I've subjected my eyes and ears to this Saturday morning parade of brand violations, but the liberties they take with classic Nintendo (and Konami and Capcom) characters are hilariously bad.

Thanks for the pointer, Blake. Michael McWhertor

Captain N: The Game Master

Siliconera linked to the first episode of Captain N the Game Master in honor of the DVD that's coming out next year.

Megaman sounds like a congested munchkin, and the quality is horrific for the first minute or so, but after that...well, I have no allegiance to Captain N. I never saw it when it was on, so it will only be painfully embarrassing for me to watch it now.

I link this for the starry-eyed nostalgists. I do it all for you, my dears. Eliza Gauger

See the rest of the episode here [Siliconera]

According to Joystiq, the Sam & Max revival is more than just games. We're also getting the old show back, which I never saw when it aired. But after seeing the above clip, I'm TubeSocking every episode I can find, as fast as I can.

(hint: Joystiq links to a completel YouTube repository of the show in their post, but I'm not going to because the less attention it gets, the longer I'll have to harvest them before the Man yanks them all down.)

The Sam & Max show ran for 24 episodes. If GameTap keeps their promise of one episode per week, we'll have something to look forward to every week until March 22, 2007.

GameTap is giving me a hell of a lot of reasons to start using them, these days. Eliza Gauger

Sam & Max cartoon coming to GameTap [Joystiq]

Like Zelda? Comics your thing? Cartoons? We got you covered. Web site Urban Retro Lifestyle has a 196 page PDF of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past comic book as well as the Fox Kids cartoon with a brown-haired Link uttering the unforgettable "Excuuuuuuuuuse me, princess" line. Classic! Brian Ashcraft

Check Out the Zelda Clips and Download [Urban Retro Lifestyle]

Okay, so Pac-Man in a Fedora, but this cartoon is actually pretty good. Well, it was when I was five. It ran from 1982-1984 and was produced by Hanna-Barbera, the folks that brought you The Jetson, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. Hit the jump for the episode's second part. Brian Ashcraft

Thanks, Fandel!

The still at right is a cap from a Mario fan flash that protrays the ubiquitous plumber sucking cancer sticks and kicking ass to Dick Dale's Miserlou. It was sent in by the extremely enthusiastic tipper Barry, who says the "troll imps" might cry old meme.

But I've never seen it before, and a quick search for the creator's name yielded no related Kotaku archive.

I dig the art style in this quite a lot. It's sketchy and deranged without being overworked, overthought, or pretentious. It's just fun with a flipoff. Eliza Gauger

Mario Short Movie by Jeremie Duval [Extreme Funny Humor (worst site name ever?)]

Screw it, the gallery isn't showing. Click here to see Oneechanbara X screenshots.

This one was sent in by Funky J, and boy am I glad. In this charming collection of screenshots from the latest iteration of the Oneechanbara series (see gameplay from #2 here, which features a character crossover from the giant bikini babe game Florian addressed recently) The Oneechanbara X - The Devil Evolution Human, we see our main protagonist wearing nothing but a flimsy &mdash and porous &mdash item of swimwear. And a cowboy hat. It's adorable, actually.

Word around the campfire is that this game is an endless zombie brawler in the style of Dynasty Warriors, but with a lot more upskirts and flying trachea.

While the mucous membranes of the genital area, and follicles of the nipples are important areas to protect, I venture that spandex is an inferior barrier and furthermore, that the face must be guarded as well.

In the wake of the "games make you pregnant" comments thread debacle, in which some truly ignorant statements were made, I felt it important to address the issue of safe zombie-bashing.

I have long wondered how the heroes of zombie films can get away with walking among highly contagious undead without becoming infested with the "Z-virus". Though I am more fond of the theory that like toxoplasmosis and the gordian worm, the zombie germ is some sort of a mind-controlling parasite.

But back to the issue at hand. How to walk, and fight, among the undead without inadvertently contracting their shambling gait and myopic cravings?

Answer to this question, plus a larger version of illustration at right, after the jump.

Simple. Full-body protection.

The latex (or in a pinch, vinyl) catsuit is flexible enough for everything from cringing and wailing to shotgunkata, and hides none of your delicious curves. In fact, a well-tailored catsuit can go a long way towards hiding cellulite, less-than-perky breasts, or a few extra pounds in the stomach area. And it is absolutely impermeable by pus, mucus, saliva, blood, and any other Z virus-bearing bodily fluid that is not strongly acidic or laced with rubber-devouring nanobots.

And if you keep it nice and lubed, their dull human teeth will slide right off with a squeak.

To better assist my flying monkeys in visualizing this, I have included a diagram.

This is Dii, named such because when she was wee, her parents thought it was funny that she was fat, and called her Gordita. The nickname stuck, as they do, so she's a little sensitive about her weight. This getup makes her uncomfortable. She's all grown up and thinned out, and now she works in the mall's "adult novelty" shop to pay for design college.

Her gear includes: pink catsuit with waterproof zipper and hood (pilfered from the "apparel" section), backpack for carrying inventory (like rubber cement and duct tape for on-the-go repairs), hockey stick (from Jock n' Go), dust mask (Hungerdunger & McCormick Hardware), and she's about to acquire a fine denim vest.

Now if only there was some way to develop this into a Dead Rising mod... Eliza Gauger

Get your own full-body catsuit here [Imp of Satan]
Official Site for Oneechanbara X [D3P.co.jp]

MarioKart goes Zen in one of my favorite Annecy entries evarrrr. Gorgeous animation with a delightful ending. Thanks to reader Rustybret for reminding me about this one; it's been sitting on my HD for a while but Kotaku hasn't seen it yet so it's mine all mine! Moo hoo ha ha!

I would dig an actual game based on this little thing. Get on that, would ya?

I wish I could link it right in here but it's not on YouTube, so you will just have to click with your lazy, cheeto-encrusted fingers.

UPDATE! A kind reader cured my Flash-ignorance.

Console Wars [SomethingAwful]

Earthworm Jim creator Doug Tennapel is the sort of man I admire, while I simultaneously fear the possibility that I will end up like him. He goes into detail about this duality in a new interview over on Gamasutra.

They're spending so much that now they're making $30 million games. Big business is big business, and I think some of the smaller mom-and-pop shops got closed down or bought out, and again, I think it was kind of because the gamers weren't even in it for the art of gaming. They wanted to sell their company and make big stocks to swell up the company to 70 people and try to unload a bunch of cash.

Just look at his portrait over there. If that is not a man who is deadly talented and pays dearly for it, I dunno who is. Jim is this vague spectre from my childhood, a standout amongst a milling herd of forgettable platformers. What's sad is that so many of these cartoonists end up mushing along at Nickelodeon, pumping art and comedy into properties that are largely ignored, or at least pigeonholed into the "children's entertainment" heading. Eliza Gauger

More on Earthworm Jim for the PSP, art in video games, and an assertive jadedness in the complete interview. [Gamasutra]