Every JRPG fan’s pet peeve is this: You go into a weapon shop and start browsing, only to find a list of names with no other information or context. The only way to know whether those new weapons are better than your current ones is to guess. Here, now, is a compelling explanation for that…
Last week, I tried to get a game running on my computer. Something was weird. I went to Google and found a very specific list of instructions for how to fix it. A few minutes later, I’d solved the problem. If you have spent any time with PC gaming, you almost certainly have your own…
In February, publisher Square Enix surprised everyone with the release of Chrono Trigger on PC, leading to a rollercoaster of emotions as fans first grew elated to have new access to a classic game, then disappointed when they saw what it looked like. Today, the publisher says it’s hoping to change that. “We have been…
What happens when you spend a ton of money on your indie game and then nobody buys it? This postmortem of Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is worth reading for its candor. “So far, I have made $0 from the game.” (Note: Kotaku staff writer Gita Jackson wrote for the game.)
It’s been nearly a decade since designer Chris Hecker announced the subterfuge multiplayer game SpyParty, and it’s been even longer since he first started working on it. In just a week, short of a meteor strike or other cataclysm, SpyParty will finally hit Steam. Well, technically the April 12 Steam release of SpyParty will be…
StarCraft’s visual style was once very different, and if not for a spectacular demo for a horrible game called Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3, we might still remember it as purple Warcraft In a great piece over at The Ringer, journalist Ben Lindbergh details the making of StarCraft, which came out 20 years ago. The…
Would you play a video game that reacted to being streamed? One that could be influenced by audience reactions? On Kotaku Splitscreen, we explore the possibility. Last week in San Francisco, we spoke to SOS designer Ian Milham about what it’s like to develop a game that’s heavily integrated with Twitch, and what he wants…
On today’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we unwind from GDC and talk about games we’ve been playing recently: Far Cry 5, A Way Out, Red Dead Redemption, and the SNES Classic. Listen hereor via your favorite podcast provider.
If you were working on one of the most anticipated video games in the world, would you tell your children about it? That’s a parenting challenge most of us don’t have to face, but Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard is in a category of his own. “[My youngest] was like, ‘Okay, when is Elder…
When Tina Sanchez applied for a job at Call of Duty maker Infinity Ward, the first thing they asked was: “How do you feel about death threats?” That and more stories from the world of Call of Duty on a new Kotaku Splitscreen Last week at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, we talked…
SAN FRANCISCO—Without his mask, Yoko Taro looks like anyone else at the Game Developers Conference. He has a thin grey beard and wears a black hoodie with short, flowing sleeves that wouldn’t seem out of place at Hogwarts. His head is shaved, and his face is round, but otherwise he doesn’t resemble the giant Nier…
The Curse of Monkey Island came out on Steam and GOG last week, and I’m pleased to report that, 21 years later, it’s as great as I remember. Although the third Monkey Island isn’t spoken of as fondly as the first two games—in large part because it was directed by Larry Ahern and Jonathan Ackley…
If not for the director of SimCity selling his company to Electronic Arts, we might not have Psychonauts, Broken Age, or anything else from Double Fine. Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, the full story. Last week at the Game Developers Conference, Double Fine boss Tim Schafer won a Lifetime Achievement award for his decades of work…
There’s been a lot of talk in recent weeks about fairness and transparency in the video game industry. On Kotaku Splitscreen, we speak with a studio head who takes things to the extreme, paying every employee the same exact wage. Last week at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, we interviewed Tanya X. Short,…
If you have ever wanted to dress up like a goth kid and eat dozens of sopapillas, South Park: The Fractured But Whole’s new downloadable content is for you. From Dusk Till Casa Bonita, which came out last week for $12, adds a new class, a new party member, and a new area to the…
Here at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, there’s an increasing momentum for the action that game developers have whispered about for decades: Unionization. In the wake of crunch, layoffs, and heavy burnout in the video game industry, developers are taking to Discord and Twitter to whisper about what it would look like to…
Ni no Kuni II is out today, and it’s easy enough that you probably won’t need much strategy to get through the story. But it’s also got some unique systems, including an elaborate kingdom-building feature that can be a little overwhelming. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of the whole…
It can be difficult, as a jaded adult, to appreciate a great fairy tale—one where the hero always wins and naivety is a character strength rather than something to grow out of. So it is with Ni no Kuni II. But if you can look past this game’s more childish tendencies, you’ll find a fairy…
SAN FRANCISCO—In a small room yesterday inside the massive Moscone Center meeting complex, roughly 200 people crowded around a large table to conduct a challenging conversation about working in the video game industry. There was a single microphone, chauffeured from person to person by a sprinting staffer working the Game Developers Conference, which is running…
“You’re a rabbit now; you’re a kid now” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but Splatoon almost went there. Nintendo’s stylish shooter once starred bunnies, and before that, tofu blocks. During a panel at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today, Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami gave a presentation on how he and…
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