Kotaku: Required Reading

Gears Of War Novels Get New Author

Mike Fahey — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:40:00 MDT

How very odd. Back in January we reported that Steven L. Kent, author of the Clone series and The Ultimate History Of Video Games would be penning a series of novels based on Gears of War, but now Del Rey has announced an entirely different sort of clone author for the series. Karen Traviss, who wrote the excellent Star Wars: Republic Commando series of novels. No offense to Mr. Kent, but my excitement level just kicked up a notch.

“Playing Gears of War is a kick-ass experience,” said Del Rey editor Keith Clayton, “And the Gears of War books should remain true to the spirit of the game. I’m happy to announce that the marriage of Karen Traviss and chainsaw bayonets is a match made in heaven—or hell, if you happen to be a Locust drone.”

The first novel, Gears of War: The Battle Of Aspho Fields will go on sale October 28th, exploring the relationship between Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. Let's just hope there's no kissing involved. Hit the jump for more info.

EPIC GAMES AND DEL REY ANNOUNCE NOVELS IN THE GEARS OF WAR VIDEO GAME UNIVERSE

NEW YORK, NY – July 21, 2008 – Epic Games, Inc. and Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today that Del Rey will publish three novels set in the gritty world of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Gears of War video game series. The first novel, GEARS OF WAR: THE BATTLE OF ASPHO FIELDS, written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss, will go on sale October 28, 2008. The Gears of War 2 video game, the highly anticipated sequel to the genre-defining third-person shooter that won over 30 game of the year awards, will be released worldwide exclusively for the Xbox 360™ on November 7, 2008.

In GEARS OF WAR: THE BATTLE OF ASPHO FIELDS, the last human stronghold on Sera braces itself for another onslaught from the Locust Horde, as ghosts come back to haunt Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. For Marcus — decorated war hero, convicted traitor — the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up an agonizing secret he's sworn to keep. As the beleaguered soldiers of the Coalition of Ordered Governments take a last stand to save humankind from extermination, the harrowing decisions made at Aspho Fields have to be relived and made again. Marcus and Dom can take anything the Locust Horde throws at them — but will their friendship survive the truth about Dom’s brother Carlos?

“After finishing the first Gears of War game, players were left wanting to know more about Delta Squad and the events leading up to Emergence Day,” said Epic Games’ president Michael Capps. “This trilogy of novels opens up whole new worlds of storytelling opportunities, and will add even more context to the upcoming comic book series, game sequel and motion picture. We loved Karen Traviss’ work on the Republic Commando series, and we can’t wait to get her Gears book to our fans.”

“Playing Gears of War is a kick-ass experience,” said Del Rey editor Keith Clayton, “And the Gears of War books should remain true to the spirit of the game. I’m happy to announce that the marriage of Karen Traviss and chainsaw bayonets is a match made in heaven—or hell, if you happen to be a Locust drone.”

The Violent Gaming Book To Buy Your Parents

Mike Fahey — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:20:40 MST

After several years of reading contradicting reports on the effects of violent gaming on children, I've come to the conclusion that there is no real research we can trust. What can we do? Exactly what the mainstream press does - pick the one that comes to the conclusion we want! In this case, it's "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games", by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, two researchers at Harvard who decided to publish their 2007 findings in a book aimed at reassuring parents that their kids won't become violent psychopaths by playing Grand Theft Auto. Why is their study better than the ones that reach opposite conclusions? Says Dr. Olson:

Until now, the most-publicized studies came from a small group of experimental psychologists, studying college students playing nonviolent or violent games for 15 minutes. It's debatable whether those studies are relevant to real children, playing self-selected games for their own reasons (not for cash or extra credit!), in social settings, over many years. But media reports and political rhetoric often ignore that distinction.

So how did the Harvard study differ? They polled over 1200 children between two states, asking them about their reasons for playing video games with an eye on how those motivations were different between different subgroups, such as children that showed signs of attention deficit disorder and depression. The findings indicate that many children see video games as a way to work out their aggression in a safe environment, or to help them feel less lonely and isolated. Poor lil guys.

The book, due out in April, also features chapters about parents themselves, as well as one chapter dedicated to explaining why all of the other studies are inaccurate, looking at how other researchers define aggressions, the games used, size of focus groups, etc.

As I said, I don't trust any of these studies at this point, but if you've got a parent worried about your game play habits or hell - even if you are a parent worried about your children's video game playing, nothing is quite as reassuring as having a big book by doctors on your beside table.

Hit the link below for a full interview with author Dr. Cheryl K. Olson at Game Couch!

Interview: Dr. Cheryl K. Olson co-author of Grand Theft Childhood [Game Couch via Game Politics]

Dead Space Gets Comic Book Prequel

Mike Fahey — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:20:08 MST

EA wants to give the story of their upcoming space horror adventure Dead Space a bit more punch, so they've teamed up with Image Comics to create a comic book prequel series for the game. The Dead Space comic book features art by Ben "30 Days Of Night" Templeton and words by comic book writer and novelist Antony Johnston, and tells the story of a doomed deep-space mining colony that - as deep-space mining colonies are want to do - accidentally mines up some evil. They should have gone with skinning. You never skin evil. Ahem. The six issue series kicks off on March 3rd, with a special edition of the 1st issue being made available this weekend at the WonderCon in San Francisco. Hit the jump for a full-size shot of the cover, as well as the ever helpful press release!

EA AND IMAGE COMICS ANNOUNCE DEAD SPACE COMIC SERIES WITH BEN TEMPLESMITH AND ANTONY JOHNSTON Limited Edition First Issue Only Available at WonderCon in San Francisco
Chertsey, UK - February 21, 2008 - Electronic Arts and Image Comics today announcd a new comic book series based upon the upcoming original survival horror video game; Dead Space™. This new six-book series set in the Dead Space universe will be written and illustrated by Ben Templesmith and written by Antony Johnston.

The Dead Space comic is the prequel story for the game. This series tells the gut-wrenching tale of a deep space mining colony that unexpectedly pulls an ancient and vicious alien life force from the dark rock.

The first issue will be on comic store shelves from March 3rd (£TBC) each. However, a limited edition version of issue #1 with exclusive cover art will be available at this week's WonderCon in San Francisco. In addition, Ben Templesmith and Antony Johnston will be signing the first issue of the Dead Space comic at the convention on February 22nd & 23rd at the Electronic Arts/Image Comics booth where the first 25 people each day will receive a free copy.

"The world of Dead Space has such a deep storyline that it's easily adaptable to other mediums," said Executive Producer of Dead Space, Glen Schofield. "We love the fact our story is being told across multiple forms of media, providing different experiences to different audiences, which all lead to the same dark place."

Ben Templesmith is an Australian commercial artist best known for his work in the American comic book industry - most notably Fell with writer Warren Ellis, published by Image Comics, and 30 Days of Night with writer Steve Niles published by IDW Publishing. The 30 Days of Night novel provoked a bidding war between film studios for the movie rights when the story was pitched a second time with Templesmith's artwork. Ben has been nominated for multiple Eisner Awards three years in a row for his comic work. He has also created book covers, movie posters, trading cards, and concept work for film.

Antony Johnston was born and raised in the Birmingham, England area and is the author of thirteen graphic novels, including Stormbreaker and Point Blanc (adapted from Anthony Horowitz' best-selling Alex Rider novels), The Long Haul, Julius and Three Days in Europe. He writes two ongoing serials, the sci-fi epic Wasteland and the children's fantasy Texas Strangers. He has adapted many of Alan Moore's prose stories to comics, written for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre comics license, and is the only other writer to have penned a story for Greg Rucka's award-winning Queen & Country series. He also writes novels; his debut Frightening Curves won the 2002 American Independent Publishing Award for Best Horror. His second novel, Stealing Life, was published in 2007.

Under development at EA Redwood Shores, Dead Space ships Fall 2008 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system and the PC. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. More information about Dead Space is available at www.deadspacegame.com.

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Sam And Max Back In Print

Mike Fahey — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:00:49 MST

Telltale games is now taking preorders for the reprint edition of Sam and Max Surfin' the Highway, the 1995 paperback collection of Steve Purcell's comics that - alongside the 1993 LucasArts adventure - launched a failed cartoon and eventually led to the episodic adventures we know and love today. The book contains all of the original material plus 25 pages of extra content, including promotional material for the upcoming DVD release of the animated series! The book comes in two flavors: a $19.99 paperback shipping at the end of this month and a $49.99 limited-edition hardback signed and dated by Steve Purcell due out in the Spring. Order before the 29th of this month and you'll get a code good for a free copy of Sam & Max: Ice Station Santa, the first episode of Season 2 of Telltale's adventure series. Having an extremely dog-eared copy of the original in a place of honor on my bookshelf, I cannot recommend Surfin' the Highway enough. Go buy now.

Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway Preorder Page [The Telltale Store]

Women's Murder Club Goes Casual

Mike Fahey — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:20:36 MST

James Patterson's best-selling book series Women's Murder Club is going interactive! Hot on the heels of the ABC television series based on the series, Patterson is teaming up with Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen, whose casual development company Oberon Media will be creating what they hope to be a series of casual murder mystery games. By coupling the female-dominated casual gaming market with the equally female-dominated book buying market, Patterson hopes to have a huge success on his hands.

So I think the market for what we're doing — games that are more sensitive and are centered on character, not shooting — will be monstrous. I have a huge audience ... which is something ABC discovered when 'Women's Murder Club' debuted and it was their biggest premiere on a Friday night in four years."

Patterson then floated away on his overly inflated ego, tossing books down upon his adoring fans below. Did you know he came up with the slogan, "Toys R Us Kid"? The man is some sort of god.

Patterson pursues video game murders most casual [The Hollywood Reporter]

Gears Of War Gets Novel Prequel

Mike Fahey — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 08:20:45 MST

If you were wondering what exactly happened to Marcus Fenix before the events that transpired in the blockbuster Xbox 360 hit Gears of War, you might be getting a little more insight come August, as Del Rey readies Steven L. Kent's Gears of War - The Pendulum Wars: The Battle of Aspho Fields. The first in a planned trilogy of prequel novels for the game, the book will presumably cover the Pendulum Wars - a series of skirmishes between human countries that led to COG taking over the planet. The trilogy is being penned by Steven L. Kent, author of The Ultimate History of Video Games as well as his own series of Clone novels, which centers around a future where the Earth's colonies throughout the galaxy are policed by a clone military. Let's just say the series is in very capable hands, as long as Kent can get the right balance of steroids-to-profanity going.
Gears of War Pendulum Wars The Battle of Aspho Fields [Amazon.ca via NeoGAF]

Hellgate - A Novel Purchase

Mike Fahey — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:00:14 MST

When I first played Hellgate: London during the late stages of beta, I was somewhat less than impressed. I loved the concept and the graphical style, but the gameplay seemed kind of empty and hollow to me for some reason. Then one day will wandering through a local bookstore I picked up a copy of Hellgate: London Exodus, the first in a series of game-based novels by Author Mel Odom, whose name I recognized from several books in the Shadowrun series years ago. The story chronicles the early days of London's invasion, following templar Simon Cross as he seeks to avenge his father's death at the hands of demons that he once refused to believe in and the rise of the sorcerous Cabalists to power. After reading through the 466 page story I immediately went out and purchased the game, and found myself enjoying it more than ever. Having immersed myself in the fiction, suddenly the game seemed much more developed and interesting to me.

For me this stressed the importance of a strong background story to the immersion of a video game. Having read many game-related novels over the past few years I can say that with few exceptions, I always enjoy the game more once I know details on the back story and the characters that lived through the game's events.

So what do you guys think? Has a novel ever convinced you to purchase a game you otherwise weren't too keen on? How important is story outside the frame of the game itself?

The Book Of The CCG Of The MMO

Mike Fahey — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:40:52 MST

More accurately it's the coffee table art book of the collectible card game of the massively-multiplayer online role-playing game of the real-time strategy game, but headline space is at a premium these days, what with the war and all. Upper Deck and Blizzard have banded together to create 'World of Warcraft: The Art of the Trading Card Game', which features over 300 full-color works of art that has appeared in the CCG over the past year, available in January. You'll find artwork from names like Greg Staples of Judge Dredd and Todd McFarlane of running your franchise into the ground fame.

"World of Warcraft is a global phenomenon that boasts a large base of people who not only actively play the online game and TCG, but who also really enjoy the artwork in the games," said Tim Muret, Vice President of Upper Deck Authenticated. "We wanted to release a book for these players as well as celebrate the great work of these artists."

I just wish they had announced this before I bought over 1,000 cards worth of a game I've played twice, just to look at the pretty pictures.

UPPER DECK ENTERS THE PUBLISHING WORLD WITH BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® TO RELEASE FIRST-EVER HARDCOVER BOOK SHOWCASING ARTWORK FROM AWARD-WINNING WORLD OF WARCRAFT® TRADING CARD GAME
'World of Warcraft: The Art of the Trading Card Game' Will Be Available at Major Retailers in January 2008

CARLSBAD, Calif.- Upper Deck and Blizzard Entertainment® today announced the January 2008 release of a new hardcover book titled World of Warcraft®: The Art of the Trading Card Game, which will feature artwork created for the highly popular World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (TCG). Published by Chronicle Books, the 288-page, 11"x9" book will include more than 300 full-color iconic pieces of art featured during the first year of release of the World of Warcraft TCG.

World of Warcraft: The Art of the Trading Card Game will feature a collection of sketches, paintings and finished artwork highlighting a selection of World of Warcraft's most valiant heroes, devastating spellcasters and bloodthirsty creatures created by some of today's top fantasy artists. These artists include Todd McFarlane (Spawn), Greg Staples (Judge Dredd), Zoltan Boros and Gabor Szikszai (InQuest Gamer magazine's "Artists of the Year" recipients), Marcelo Vignali (Disney Animation), and Todd Lockwood (Forgotten Realms), among others.

"World of Warcraft is a global phenomenon that boasts a large base of people who not only actively play the online game and TCG, but who also really enjoy the artwork in the games," said Tim Muret, Vice President of Upper Deck Authenticated. "We wanted to release a book for these players as well as celebrate the great work of these artists."

Insightful forewords are given by Blizzard's Senior Art Director, Samwise Didier, and Art Lead Glenn Rane. Jeremy Cranford, Art Acquisitions Manager for Upper Deck Entertainment, provides the book's introduction.

Based on Blizzard Entertainment's hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), the TCG allows players to experience the action and adventure of World of Warcraft in a new format. Released in October 2006, the TCG's premiere set quickly became the hottest and most-sought-after trading card game in the industry, prompting UDE to print additional quantities to support the overwhelming demand.

World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG in the world, with more than 9 million subscribers playing the game in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Europe, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. In World of Warcraft, players assume the roles of legendary heroes and interact with thousands of other players online as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast realm. Whether journeying together or fighting against one another in epic battles, players form friendships, forge alliances, and compete against enemies for power and glory.

For more information on World of Warcraft: The Art of the Trading Card Game, log onto www.upperdeckentertainment.com.

Assassin's Creed Novels Assassinated

Mike Fahey — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:40:12 MDT

In a post on his personal blog, Steven Barnes has announced that his planned trilogy of books based off of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed have been canned. According to Barnes, descendants of the original Ismaili Hashashim sect visited Ubisoft and demanded their ancestors be treated with more respect.

Next thing we knew, they wanted to remove all religious references from the book. I guess the Crusades were about shoe size or something. Then they hired an expert to vet the book. Curious that they hadn't thought about that before, eh? And finally, they wanted to send the book to the Agha Khan's people for their suggestions. By this time, Marco was thoroughly disenchanted. The book was turning into puree of bat shit, and I was no longer amused. The whole three-book project died.

I am seriously bummed, as Steven Barnes collaborated with Larry Niven on the Dream Park series of sci-fi novels, which featured a futuristic form of live action role playing game. The three novels, Dream Park, The Barsoom Project, and The California Voodoo Game rank among my favorite sci-fi novels of all time, so I was really looking forward to Steven's journey into the AC universe. Still, I guess if you deal with an ancient sect of hired killers and come out with only a botched book deal you can't complain all that much.

Why Even Care? [Dar Kush - Thanks TnS!]