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A Team Fortress Musical Worthy of Valve
Of the many, many splendid films we’ve seen made with Valve’s new Source Filmmaker tools, this one is my favorite yet. YouTuber burningfajitasalt (nice!) has put together this video to accompany Ken Ashcorp’s lovely song “Just One More Hat,” a musical tribute to the many hats of Team Fortress 2. In the video, the scout…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 5, 2012 -
Kotaku Melodic Starts Now
Greetings, readers and listeners, and welcome to another week’s Kotaku Melodic. We’ve got some great music for you, so sit back, turn up your speakers, and enjoy the tunes. As always, for more about Kotaku Melodic and all of our past posts, check out the Kotaku Melodic main page
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 5, 2012 -
The Terrifying ‘Slenderman’ Goes from Meme to Free Horror Game
Let us never underestimate the internet’s ability to come up with freaky crap. The vast reach of the web creates mysteries as often as it dispels them, and sometimes those mysteries are truly scary. The “Slenderman” is a longstanding horror meme based on the mythological archetype of a tall, faceless man who appears in the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 5, 2012 -
There Are No Good Decisions In The Walking Dead‘s Fantastic Second Episode
I know this dance. I’ve been here before, I’ve seen this play out. I know how it’s all going to end, and for that, I hate this game a little. See, I’ve read The Walking Dead—I know what this world is like. I know that you can’t win, that safety is an illusion, that nothing…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 4, 2012 -
I’m Busy, You’re Busy, We’re All So Fricking Busy
I tell you what, working full-time at Kotaku is one mother-effin busy job. I’m busier than I’ve ever been. When people ask me how I am, I always say “Good! Busy. But good!” This article at the New York Times comes directly at the idea of being “too busy.” We say we’re busy for a…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
May The Thread Be Opened
Hi, gang. Last night, we ran the first off-topic forum (as opposed to post). I went through it this morning— I saw a lot of people doing regular discussion, and it seemed like several folks were wondering why have a dedicated off-topic forum in addition to Talk Amongst Yourselves. That’s a perfectly good question, and…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
S*** Just Got Real in Valve’s Movie-Maker
We’ve already reached the point at which Valve’s Source Filmmaker is generating too many awesome movies to watch, let alone share. But let’s live in the bubble a little bit longer so that we can experience the awesomeness of this re-creation of Michael Bay’s finest moment: The “S*** Just Got Real” scene from Bad Boys…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
I Would Kill For This Limbo-Meets-Calvin and Hobbes T-Shirt
I liked Limbo a lot. I love Bill Watteron’s timeless comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. And so I would do things, ungodly things, for this T-shirt from Nowhere Bad, which combines the two things in a manner so fantastic that I can’t believe no one’s done it before. Fortunately, I don’t have to do ungodly…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
This Article About ‘Why Girls Suck at Gaming’ Is Either Clumsy Satire or Crazy Sexism
There has been a lot of discussion of sexism and gaming lately, here at Kotaku and elsewhere. And now, the website Airborne Gamer has entered the fray with… just about the most ill-conceived and ridiculous article yet. Or is it all a joke? God only knows. Titled “This is Why Girls Suck at Gaming,” the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
You Can Ask the Head of Nintendo Anything, and You Ask Him This?
When Nintendo has a shareholder meeting, their shareholders can come in and ask just about anything. They’re shareholders! Such is their right. At the most recent meeting, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked about all manner of things, from the Wii U’s online plans to its multiplatform future. But the most burning question of all…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
Some More Ways Video Games are Like Porn (And Sex)
Yesterday, we ran a pullquote from independent game designer Eric Zimmerman in which he discussed some of the similarities video games have with porn. “Mainstream AAA videogames operate on principles akin to porn,” Zimmerman tweeted. They are “highly repetitive activities premised on visceral pleasure and spectacle.” He went on to offer some elaboration, at least,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 3, 2012 -
5 Ways The Legend of Korra Went Wrong
Last Friday, I wrote a short post about how I was disappointed with the first season of The Legend of Korra. I kept it pretty short and sweet, but enough people seemed interested in the subject that I thought I’d expand on why I felt the show’s first season fell short. As I mentioned last…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 2, 2012 -
Here Now, Kotaku Off-Topic
Hi there. I’ve been in charge of the “Off Topic Thread” for a little while now, and it’s gradually morphed into something a bit different than it was when I started. Given that we’re all getting used to our new Kinja-Ninja Kimbra-Nimbra discussion system, it seemed like a good time to simplify and reorganize our…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 2, 2012 -
How Mainstream Video Games Are Like Porn
Video games are very popular. So is porn. If you ask game designer, Metagame co-creator and NYU Game Center founder Eric Zimmerman, they have some fundamental things in common. Today, Zimmerman tweeted the above one-liner, pointing out that both games (particularly mainstream blockbusters) and porn center around repetitive activities premised on “visceral pleasure and spectacle.”…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 2, 2012 -
Fake Gamer of the Week: Girl Who Stores Game Controllers In Her Underwear
We’ve all been there, Girl Who Stores Game Controllers In Her Underwear. Sometimes, it gets really hot outside. You’re sitting in your apartment in your underwear, playing some video games to make the sweltering afternoon go by faster. You get up to pour a glass of ice water, but the controller you’re holding is getting…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 2, 2012 -
Let’s Take a Look at the Cool New Limbo Special Edition
Limbo was one of my favorite games of 2010—a game that combined atmospherics, smart puzzle design and a wicked sense of humor into something dark, harrowing and distinctive. It was a breakout hit for its developer, Playdead, who have recently been able to buy themselves back from their investors and become fully independent. To celebrate,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 2, 2012 -
Watch This Guy Beat All of Diablo III‘s Toughest Bosses With His Eyes Closed
Some have said that Diablo III is too easy. Power-gamer Athene is among those people—to demonstrate this, he went ahead and beat each of Diablo III‘s toughest bosses in a matter of seconds But of course, that wasn’t enough. So, he’s made a new video of himself beating all the same bosses (on the most…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 2, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Let’s Settle This Once and For All: Genesis Aladdin or Super NES Aladdin?
It’s time. It’s time to settle this. A while back, I got into a HEATED EXCHANGE with Kotaku columnist Lisa Foiles about her flagrant proclamation that the Super Nintendo version of Aladdin was superior to the Genesis version of Aladdin I did not remember this to be the case—from my recollection, the Genesis version was…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 30, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThings Sure Got Steamy (And Sandy) in This Insanely Cheesy Atari Commercial
Oh, where to begin with this bit of gaming nostalgia. This commercial for the Atari 5200 is just all kinds of amazing, featuring the beach, surfing, hot girls in bikinis, and some hot! Joystick! Action! Seriously, I kind of wish video game commercials were still this joyfully dorky. I ALSO wish I could play video…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 29, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallGet a Load of This Super-Hot Game of Thrones NES Game Cartridge
Last week, I wrote about the 72 Pins collection of amazing custom NES art, done in a classic style and affixed to real NES cartridges. They looked plenty cool in pictures on the 72 Pins site, but I didn’t anticipate that they’d be so cool-looking in real life. The people behind 72 Pins were kind…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 29, 2012
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