The -Minus World did a brilliant rundown of 30 among the worst, capturing "gamers" in various states of rigor mortis and/or douchebaggery. They're using wrong controllers, unplugged consoles, or assume that gamers like to overgel their hair and dress up like hipsters before starting up a deathmatch.

Like that one above. Hey, here's a great idea, let's have one friend "talking smack" to his shamed pal! "Hey, man, you suck! I totally 'pawned' you!" "Yeah well, you're lucky I don't shove this party bowl of pretzels up your ass." Yeah, great look guys! Wait, why is the goddamn TV not on?

The 30 Most Obnoxious [and Expensive] Gamer Stock Photos [The -Minus World]

Just a little heads up to those of you who read Digg and Kotaku and maybe have seen the "Kotaku steals photos" story floating around out there. Here's the full story.

The owner of a site we linked to a few months back, also using a cropped version of their pic, emailed me yesterday to let me know we had used his pictures without his permission or authorization.

I sent the info on to HQ and then headed out to spend the rest of the day setting up for our Child's Play fund raiser in Denver. Hours into the fund raiser, the emails starting rolling in pointing out the story that, I can only assume, the site owner had written, saying we had stolen his images.

This morning I got a hold of the site owner and we were able to resolve the issue. Now back to nursing my Child's Play fund raiser hang over.

Alter Ego is a cool concept book, presenting the phenomenon of the contemporary avatar-the virtual characters gamers choose and design to engage in 3D worlds online. Portraits of gamers from the United States, Europe, China, and Japan (including leading figures of the gaming world) are paired with digital images of their alter egos, graphically dramatizing the gap between fantasy and reality.

For all of you who are closet Second Lifers, this might be the book for you. As well as the beautiful photographs, the book is also full of gaming terminology as well as gamer's profiles. Because it was an exhibition, some of the photos are available to look at online through the BBC News website here and here.

Note that even though these are highly-stylized photographs, they are posing in such a way that does not resemble Fall Out Boy. Kim Phu

Alter Ego Portraits [Boing Boing]

One of the great things about writing for Kotaku is all of the strange, completely unsolicited stuff we get sent to us via email. Take for instance these two photos. Someone, I have no clue who, decided to send them to me via their cellphone with no explanation. So of course, I can't help but post them with the same amount of explanation. I can't help it, it's like a Pavlovian response. Brian Crecente

Thanks Ben

Either Mega Man is running low on cash or Carwashman is one of Dr. Wily's new robot masters and the Suds Cannon is instrumental in defeating Backhoe Man. Or something creative like that.

This amusing copyright violation-slash-fan tribute was spotted in Vancouver by reader Chris, whom I am thanking on this very slow news weekend.

And, WTF, Vancouver? "We Only Use Canadian Water"? US water not good enough for you? Don't make us come up there! Michael McWhertor

Major Nelson, John Porcaro and team are hanging out at ground zero as Microsoft gears up for their pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference.

Porcaro says he's in the workroom near the stage. Hmm, I wonder if he can see Mike and Brian Ashcraft? Say "Hi" for me. Make sure to check back in a few minutes for their attempt at liveblogging the event. It sounds like Internet connection is sketchy at best there, so not sure how this is going to work. More pics on the jump.Brian Crecente

Tokyo Game Show Preparations [Gamescore Blog]

This is fascinating to me: a set of step-by-step construction photos from the team that put together the life-size Illidan sculpture for Blizzard's E3 booth this year.

8 weeks ago I was hired by Blizzard entertainment for the second time to make a display mannequin for their booth at the E3 videogame convention at the Los Angeles convention center. The character is called "Illidan" from their game, World of Warcraft.

Many of you may have heard of this game. There are about 6 million subscribers world-wide that paid $50 to purchase the game and then pay an additional $15 a month to play it online. That's a lot of clams per month. Needless to say, this company is making bank!

I was sent a painting of the creature as a guide and went to work. The specs I was given is as follows:

overall height: 9' to the tip of horns.

Wingspan: 16'

base: 3'x7'

glowing eyes, handpunched hair, costume and glowin the dark tatoos.

I think the construction photos are actually more impressive than the pics of the final piece, although I couldn't quite say why. I also wonder where the beast ended up. Someone's office, perhaps? Held in reserve for quick eBaying when this whole WoW thing becomes obsolete and Blizzard has to liquify? Eliza Gauger

Thanks, Zhien.

More Here [MySpace]

I was in Berlin for the world cup a couple of weeks ago, and couldn't resist rolling that giant Katamari.

And there's Chris, exerting himself with Sisyphean toil against the Prince of All Cosmos' plaything. Way to go, Chris!

For the record, this ain't no Katamari, or it'd have more cows stuck to it. Berlin's full of impressive, wonderful art works like this. Walk around Berlin sometime and you'll notice 6's spray painted everywhere. It's all the act of a single man, whom I once quizzed about the significance of 6. Like most artists, he simply rambled incoherently for thirty minutes, then wandered off with a dazed look... as did I. Florian Eckhardt

Chris Rolls Katamari! [Flickr]
Previously: Katamari Sculpture Stuck in Berlin

When I was 16, my best friend tried to convince me to get a tattoo of Tweety Bird holding a shotgun glaring menacingly with bloodshot eyes. He swore this summed up in one indelible image my entire personality. He may have been right, but I demurred. He then suggested that I get a urinating Calvin flipping the bird tattooed on my left buttock, just like on the mud flap of a truck. Maybe it was just something about the way he earnestly suggested I get a micturating six year old tattooed on my ass, but that was the day I became officially creeped way out by his friendship and we stopped being B.F.F.s.

Still, it could scarcely have been as stupid as some of the video game tattoos we've been seeing lately. First, this tattoo on the shoulder of a dumpy Eve Online player, which looks like he got it at a combination tattooing school and clown college. And now, this guy's overly elaborate Castlevania tattoo.

I'm really not sure Dracula's supposed to look that smuggly effeminate, guy, but I'll admit, it could just be you posing half-naked in front of the bathroom mirror that makes me think homoeroticism. Florian Eckhardt

orgiamidildo's Castlevania Tattoos [Flickr]

When I'm not sniffing out Kotaku stories, I spend most of my time online the same way you do: cruising for porn. Imagine the little frisson of pleasure that went through me when I spied the following subject in the tips@ mailbox: "NES Homo-eroticism?"

"G...gaymers?" I faltered, my quivering cursor hovering, unclicking, over the words. "Can it truly be?"

But no, it was for naught. For as the (female) photographer points out: "That is my super hot boyfriend!!!!!!!!!!!! (the one on the right)". These rugged young men are fakes. Fauxmos. And one is taken, at that.

What a tragedy. My "I Love Yaoi" babydoll t-shirt is damp and clingy with my tears.

Thanks for the link, Ryan! Eliza Gauger

The whole set can be found here (worry not; there's a man-nipple here and there, but no sack) [Flickr]

Although Eliza and I have since smoothed out our differences with a beefy handshake and a night at the strip club, our brief conflagration in the McDonald's Interactive thread has infected Crecente and Ashcraft with rabid, Street Fighting bloodlust. Right after 'manly snuggle', this is our second favorite way of settling our arguments here at Kotaku Tower.
FLORIAN ECKHARDT

More Chalkboard Street Fighting Photos

This is the closest any gamer is ever going to get to resting his hand on Samus' sublime, imminently smackable ass.FLORIAN ECKHARDT

Me and Samus [Flickr] (via Cathode Tan)

Be A Guitar Hero Hero Gallery

The improbably named Rakka Deer sent us a link to her great Flickr photoset featuring some enthusiastic and charming attempts at immortalizing classic game characters in cupcakes and pies. Not only she baked the chain of Centipede cupcakes above (or to the right, I guess... this new widescreen template is so damn unpredictable), but a Pac-Man cupcake, a Space Invaders apple pie and Tetris cookies.

Oh! And Katamari Cake! A woman who can bake and plays video games? Love of our life, fire of our loins. - Florian Eckhardt

If you can't get enough of what you're missing, Clubskill has posted up an attractive photo gallery of the outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Are those some bitching stairs or what?

Clubskill E3 2006 Photo Gallery [Clubskill]

Hit the jump for the amazing photos and then let us know which are you favorites?

Do these guys look like they are having fun with the Revolution controller or what? Swhishing their tiny ivory Nintendo brand nunchukus around a recent photo shoot, Ubisoft's Red Steel team demonstrated first hand exactly how awesome it is going to be to start jumping up and down on your couch and pantomime swinging a samurai sword.

Check out how white, soft and beautiful that controller is. Like Kirstin Dunst's inner thigh, it just begs to be stroked. Click the link for the full size images.

Red Steel Revolution Photo Shoot (via 4CR)

Japanese site Game Watch Impress has a bunch of Game Developers Conference photos up. Looked over each very carefully, trying to find Crecente. No luck. You'd think one would be able to at least spot his facial hair.

More Pics Here [Watch Impress]