Kotaku: Theory

Is Hunk the Third Protagonist of Resident Evil 6?

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

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Since last night's trailer debut for the newly-announced Resident Evil 6, fans have been trying to figure out the identity of the third protagonist joining stars Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield in the ambitious sequel. Could it be Resident Evil's most mysterious character? More »

Triple The Splinter Cell Heading To PS3 In HD And 3D

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST

A triple dose of Sam Fisher comes to the PlayStation 3 this March with the long-rumored release of the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell HD trilogy. He'll be joined by three times the Prince of Persia on a Blu-ray disc. More »

Why Apple's Tablet Will Include Gaming

Brian Crecente — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST

No one knows for certain what exactly will be announced at Apple's semi-exclusive, invitation-only event in San Francisco next week. But a lot of us are thinking it will be the unveiling of an Apple tablet. Here's why you should care. More »

Disjunctive Play and Otherness: Between

Maggie Greene — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Jason Rohrer (of Passage, Gravitation, and others) has put together a very different experience in his latest, Between. Hosted by Esquire as part of their 'Best and Brightest 2008' feature, it's a two-player game with a twist. In his latest Gamasutra feature, Ian Bogost takes a look at the game and the element of disjunctive play we find — a game designed to highlight just how far apart we all are, not bring us together: More »

Au Revoir, Game Shame

Maggie Greene — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Despite the fact that I spend my nonexistent spare time writing for Kotaku and being pretty immersed in the wild, wild world of "game culture," I harbor a bit of 'game shame.' OK, a lot. I've gotten a little bolder in discussing my Kotaku gig, but I still keep my love of games and gaming under wraps in most situations, unless it's apparent that I'm talking to someone who isn't going to look at me like I have three heads when I bring the topic up in anything more than a detached, academic way. Michael Abbott of the Brainy Gamer takes a look at 'game shame' and how we attempt to justify gaming — 'they make learning fun!'; 'they stimulate cognitive processes!'; 'they teach us things! Lots of things!'. And while all of these things may be true to varying degrees, he asks what's so wrong with admitting that some games facilitate play in the best, self-indulgent sense of the word: More »

Which Game Would You Unmake?

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:30:00 EST

You're all so quick to tell us which games you'd love to see made, but how about unmade? Huh? Yeeeaa-aaahhh. Not so easy. If you had the chance to go back in time and unmake one game, which would it be? Warhammer Online dev Paul Barnett's asking the question over on his blog, and boy, it's a doozey. Do you pick one for the shitty genre it spawned? For spoiling a franchise you once held dear? For plain old major suckage? Me, I'm going for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Shenmue, you came second by *this* much, with Wing Commander Arena coming in third). More »

Work and Play: A Peek Inside the Lives of Gaming's Greatest

Brian Crecente — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:00:32 EST

I've had a pet project I've been working on for years, three of them if my memory is right. It started as a simple idea: You can judge a lot from a person's desk. I bet you could judge just as much from their home entertainment system. So I decided it would be fun to try and track down some pictures from the work desks and home gaming set-ups of the people who work in and cover the video game industry. Simple right? Not so much. More »

Writers' Strike To Help Gaming?

Mark Wilson — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:20:12 EST

TV has died, with most shows out of new episodes because of the Writers' Strike. So people like Joseph Olin, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, think that video games are ready to fill the entertainment void.

If you're a fan of network programming, maybe seeing another repeat of 'Pushing Daisies' or 'Cold Case' will inspire you to finish that level of 'Ratchet and Clank Future' instead.
And then Olin doesn't miss the chance to take a shot at the film industry.
There's a much better relationship between game developers and publishers than there appears to be in terms of all the polemics between the writers, producers and studios.
And while that's probably true, is it really saying all that much?

Game Design, From Bottom-Up to Top-Down

Maggie Greene — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:00:28 EST

I've been catching up on my backlog of unrelated-but-kinda-academic gaming articles from the past two weeks, and this one from Gamasutra caught my eye - the topic is game design, but a very nuts and bolts description of the two basic approaches to designing games (that usually get blended to some degree or another). From concept to core to verbs and back again, via mechanics and context (wheeee!), it's a nice explanation of the various stages of design and how the relate to each other. Despite liberal use of the prefix 'meta-,' it's really an interesting article on putting it all together that's not particularly inaccessible - I always like to see the theories behind (actual) game design and structure, since it usually bears an uncanny resemblance to things I'm much more familiar with: More »

Are Virtual Worlds Liberating?

Maggie Greene — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 12:00:14 EST

Terra Nova has a thought provoking little piece up on the liberation (?) of virtual worlds - rather, are they liberating? Or are they just another method for dominant ideologies to be reinforced? Just a new arena for old social superstructures to be played out on a new stage? The notion of 'liberation' in some sort of all-encompassing way makes me skittish in most contexts, but there are some interesting points contained within: More »

The Chemistry of Game Design

Maggie Greene — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:30:41 EDT

Gamasutra has another essay from Danc of Lost Garden up, this one entitled 'The Chemistry of Game Design.' Chock full of visual aids and some interesting observations on game mechanics and how players learn to play a game (and master it), it's a lengthy but worthy read. In true academic fashion, he sums up his discussion of skill chains, mastery, and burnout in the last few paragraphs and tells you why all this matters (or should matter): More »

When Game Theorists Duel

Brian Crecente — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 18:00:57 EDT

Fight, fight! I love when academics dust it up over publications, its so mentally invigorating... and subtlety catty. More »