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Probably The Biggest Thing On Video Game Inventories Ever Written
Inventories in video games? They matter. Rob Sherman, creator of interactive fiction Black Crown, explains why in painstaking (and painful) detail, weaving together a disastrous real-life hiking expedition, ownership, possessions, poetry, F2P, inhumanity, and how games get it all wrong. An absolutely amazing read
By Nathan Grayson Published April 9, 2014 -
Link(s) To The Past: Revisiting Last Year’s Big News Today
Link(s) To The Past is a new weekly feature in which we look back at least year’s big news and analyze how far we have (or haven’t) come.This week Microsoft’s Adam Orth told people to “deal with” always-on consoles, BioShock Infinite got us talking, and rumors painted a troubling picture of Doom 4 Microsoft’s Adam…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 8, 2014 -
Luftrausers‘ Nazi Controversy Isn’t Censorship. It’s A Discussion
Giant Bomb‘s Patrick Klepek wrote a great piece about the Luftrausers Nazi kerfuffle, in which people pondered if the arcade-y shooter is about playing as a super cool, er, Nazi. Developer Vlambeer politely disagreed and explained its intentions, but also acknowledged the complaint as valid. That’s basically amazing. I highly recommend that you read Klepek’s…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 7, 2014 -
Why Those Dumb Buzzfeed Quizzes Are Actually Great Video Games
I don’t remember how long I’ve been here. Has it been minutes, hours, months? I’ve lost all track of time. Oh gosh, have I forgotten to feed my cat? Do I have a cat? I’ve been laying in bed procrastinating contributing to society in any meaningful way for hours. Actual hours. The culprit? Those insidious,…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 4, 2014 -
Culture
Gaming Journalism’s Most Exciting Project
Cara Ellison’s excellent “Embed With” (geddit?) series chronicles her experiences temporarily living with various gaming luminaries. The latest entry focuses on occasional Kotaku writer and Videoball/Ziggurat mastermind Tim Rogers. It’s brilliant stuff. Required reading, if you ask me.
By Nathan Grayson Published April 4, 2014 -
I Nearly Passed Out In Public Playing A Video Game, And It Was Amazing
There were people. Everywhere. Don’t get me wrong: there are always people everywhere, as this is planet Earth and it is tremendously overpopulated. I suppose what I mean is, I was acutely aware that I was surrounded on all sides, exits blocked, walls of yammering humanity looming like mountains. That kind of everywhere. I desperately…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 3, 2014 -
Welcome To TMI! Ask Me Anything
Hello! TMI is a new branch of Kotaku that I’ll be running. What is it? Well, it’s something of an experiment in disclosure, storytelling, interviewing, and a bunch of other stuff, and I’d like you to join me. I’m Nathan Grayson, and my hope is to tell you more or less everything that happens to…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 2, 2014 -
‘Making Games Is Easy. Belonging Is Hard’
I am acutely aware of the fact that my heart is beating. Hard. Deirdra Kiai, sole creator of adventure game Dominique Pamplemousse, has briefly paused between thunderous bellows of their #1ReasonToBe GDC panel speech and the room is pin-drop silent. Am I scared? I think I might be scared. The atmosphere of the room is…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 1, 2014 -
The Indie Game Reality TV Show That Went To Hell
A reality TV show about some of the best indie game developers in the business competing Iron-Chef-style to make amazing games? Sounds like a great idea, right? You’d think so, but this story does not, unfortunately, have a happy ending. According to a report on Indie Statik (and corroborating testimonials from Depression Quest creator Zoe…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 31, 2014 -
See How Far Virtual Reality – And Valve, And Oculus – Have Come
A couple years ago, I sat down for an in-depth chat with new Oculus Chief Scientist Michael Abrash. Back then, he was at Valve and John Carmack was at Doom creator id. Now they’re both at Oculus, which is insane. How times change. Give it a read here
By Nathan Grayson Published March 28, 2014 -
How Can We Prevent Sexism, Racism, And Homophobia In Gaming?
Mass Effect designer Manveer Heir has a few (very good) ideas. I had a lengthy chat with him about gaming culture, diversity, and the role of creators in making games and companies better for all involved. Go check it out.
By Nathan Grayson Published March 27, 2014 -
VR’s Most Impressive Space Game Is Even Better Without Enemies
As I strapped on an Oculus Rift and the looming enormity of EVE Valkyrie‘s space engulfed me, I realized something was wrong. “Hey,” I thought, “where are all the enemies?” For the uninitiated, EVE Valkyrie is an Oculus-Rift/PlayStation Morpheus-exclusive (because people don’t understand the definition of “exclusive” anymore) virtual reality space shooter. Traditionally, this means…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 27, 2014 -
I Conducted One Of The Final Pre-Facebook Oculus Rift Interviews Ever
They grow up so fast. Last Friday I sat down with Oculus Rift wunderkind Palmer Luckey to discuss the future of VR. He spoke candidly about why he doesn’t feel threatened by Sony’s Morpheus and, most tellingly, Oculus’ responsibility to help make great VR games. The full thing is over at RPS. In light of…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 26, 2014
Nathan Grayson
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