Cecilia D'Anastasio

Indie Games’ Most Cryptic Mystery Apparently Just A Frog Fractions Teaser

One of the most cryptic, arcane mysteries in indie games has led its investigators to videos of the Frog Fractions developer tasting soups. Frog Fractions is an “edutainment” Flash game with an upcoming sequel that, many now think, the years-long mystery is teasing. For a year, a collective called the Game Detectives has been unraveling…

Watch Dogs 2 Will Patch Out ‘Particularly Explicit’ Genitalia [UPDATE]

Watch Dogs 2 is all about grit, but players didn’t expect to see realistic male and female genitalia on NPCs. That’s right—flaccid, full-detail, unabashed genitalia. In a video game. Woah. You can look, but you can’t repost—at least using the PlayStation Network. A player who uploaded explicit screenshots of Watch Dogs 2 genitalia using PlayStation’s built-in…

Throughout its four iterations, Super Smash Bros. has changed more than its frame rates. YouTuber Master 0f Hyrule put together a video showing how Mario’s, Donkey Kong’s, Captain Falcon’s and other Smash mainstays’ “Smash” attacks have evolved over the last 16 years.

Over 400 U.S. theaters will screen Spirited Away to celebrate the film’s 15th anniversary from December 4th to 5th. After the screenings, the short comedy Ghiblies: Episode 2 will air.

Meet The Guy Making Arcade Cabinets For Indie Games

Mark Kleback knows that, when gamers think of arcades, they think of ‘80s nostalgia titles like Pac-man and Q*bert. He’s been there—from his Brooklyn workshop, Kleback told Kotaku that he still fondly remembers hours spent railing on his local roller rink’s X-Men cabinet. His vision for the future of arcades is different. Kleback hand-builds arcade cabinets…

Dungeons & Dragons Can Work With Just Two People

The shadow of last week’s devastation hung over this weekend, and to cope, I turned to my favorite tool for escapism: Dungeons & Dragons. On short notice, though, my partner and I didn’t have time to gather a whole party. But god damn did we want to play. He had read through the 5th edition…

Guy plays Overwatch‘s Genji With Wiimote Sword

You’ve never seen Genji like this. Louis, a 24-year-old game developer in Texas, recently rigged up a sword-shaped Wiimote to control Genji’s sword in Overwatch Using Bluetooth, Louis connected his Wiimote to his PC. A program called Touchmote lets him use his Wiimote like a PC mouse and, “with a little computer science magic (and…

Two German-based directors made an anime opening for the Nintendo Switch, inspired by Transformers.

One-Dimensional Dungeon Crawler Continues To Get Bigger And Brighter

Line Wobbler isn’t how most gamers picture a dungeon-crawler. It’s a long LED strip stretching down from the ceiling connected to a spring-based joystick—more installation art than video game. Its developer, Robin Baumgarten, didn’t expect his niche little project to gain much traction in the gaming community. A physical thing, a few dozen copies of…

People Are Still Competing To Beat A Mini-Game Record In Smash Melee

The Super Smash Bros. Home-Run contest always felt like a joke. Ha-ha, the developers must have thought, Let’s have a mode where you hit a bag with anime eyes with a bat across a field Pass the Asahi. Where is the drama? The art? On Tuesday, these questions were answered when HRC typo, a Super…

Five Anime Pets That Almost Make Things Better, But Not Really

Anime isn’t real. That’s why, in anime, I find that there are so many joyful things. Reality isn’t always fertile ground for the more pure comforts we find in anime. Today, the deranged worldview of a reality television star has been legitimized as a reflection of American values. For many, it can feel like there…

It’s Real Hard Making An Indie Game In Cuba

It will take game developer Josuhe H. Pagliery thirty minutes to load this article in Cuba, where he’s making an indie game. Savior is an artistically ambitious 2D platformer where the protagonist, Little God, realizes it is in a “collapsing video game.” And the challenges Pagliery and his partner Johann Armenteros must face to develop…

Overwatch‘s New Arcade Mode Wants To Make You A Better Team Player

Overwatch’s new “Arcade” mode wants to make you a better team player. Announced at BlizzCon last week, the mode features five ways to play Overwatch that will make you a versatile teammate in a way that maining Bastion will not, ever. Arcade mode is currently available on the PTR and is comprised of “1v1 Mystery…

Why People Are Hyped About A Male Figure Skating Anime

Yuri on Ice!!! features one of the most tender male-male relationships ever seen in anime. And fans are going nuts over it. Yes, it’s the first male ice skating sports anime. Characters’ animated movements are sharp and its skating choreography has been praised by real skaters. But if you ask fans why they’re so enamored…

Overwatch‘s Arcade Mode Will Balance Quick Play’s New Single-Hero Limit

Overwatch will soon get a new “Arcade” mode, Overwatch’s Game Director Jeff Kaplan announced at Blizzcon today. It offers five new and—ever-changing—ways to play Overwatch and will be available on the PTR early next week. Now that Quick Play will get a single-hero limit on Monday, I say, burying the lede, this is where you’ll…

Who is Sombra? Blizzard just released her origin video, which describes how she became one of the world’s best hackers after investigating the Mexican government, as well as greater Overwatch universe conspiracies.

Blizzard Reveals Sombra, Finally

Today, at BlizzCon, Blizzard unveiled Sombra, Overwatch’s newest hero. The announcement comes after apparently endless wild goose chase for information about her that has left fans exhausted. Sombra is a stealth hacker offense hero who infiltrates other players’ heroes. “Her hacking can disrupt her enemies, ensuring they’re easier to take out, while her EMP provides…

New York Times Publishes Intense Game About Voter Suppression

Yesterday, the New York Times released The Voter Suppression Trail. The politically-charged Oregon Trail-inspired mini-game has players fight off long lines and intimidating “observers” to finally vote and describes certain hurdles some voters will face on November 8th. In the game, you can go vote as a white programmer from California, a Latina nurse from…

RimWorld‘s Queer Women Controversy, Explained

All is not well in RimWorld, the popular space colonist simulator released in July. Yesterday, a Rock, Paper, Shotgun writer opened up RimWorld’s code and published some surprising revelations about how sexuality factors into its gameplay. RimWorld’s developer, in response, has gone on a tear, denying that the game mirrors the “sexist expectations of romance”…

Getting Charged By Overwatch’s Reinhardt Sucks

Charged by Overwatch’s Reinhardt? You’re in for a wild ride, my friend. Maybe halfway through that ride you’ll realize what’s happening and feebly struggle, smashing buttons as if anything could help you. Nothing can. Maybe your impending doom is quite obvious to you. Your eyes deaden in anticipation. Your fate is assured. Smile: The receiving…