This week the FBI finally bagged the notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, after he had spent nearly 16 years on the lam. We're gonna try to get topical here for the latest Kotaku 'Shop Contest.
Yes, given this theme and the headline, Pokémon are fair game. But the overall gist of this exercise will be to bring to justice some of video gaming's more notorious characters.
I'm sorry that I can't offer a news photo of Whitey Bulger, or a perp walk, to start you off. Our photo services don't include your humorous remixes in our license. However, you're all smart 'Shoppers, and can use Google image search to find something suitable. Given how much we've seen of Lee Harvey Oswald, I'd be surprised if that picture does no make a reappearance.
Do so, and then put a game character in it. The best entries will be ones that make the characters look as ridiculously guilty as possible. You may also flip the premise and put Whitey in a game. My final advice: Think magazine cover, especially Time's red X, which recently made a reappearance.
You know the rules: The 20 best will get rounded up and published at the end of next Saturday. Meantime, I and the rest of the starred commentariat will approve and promote as many as we can so folks can see them and pass judgment.
This is your no-frills step-by-step procedure to participation in the Kotaku 'Shop Contest.
1. Create your 'Shop.
2. Upload it to a free image hosting service. I suggest imgur. It's stupid simple. No account is necessary.
3. This is very important: You must use the URL of the image itself. In imgur, this is the second URL it gives you after you upload the image. It's under "Direct Link (email & IM)"
4. At the beginning of the comments roll, click "Start a New Thread"
5. To the right of your name, select "Image."
6. Paste the imgur URL in the image URL field. It's the field that says "Image URL."
7. You can add editorial commentary if you want, but then just hit submit and your image will load. If it doesn't, paste the image URL as a comment.
8. This is important: Keep your image size under 1 MB. It will not upload to comments if it is over that size.
As an added inducement, I want to let you know I do star commenters who send in worthy/funny submissions - whether or not they're chosen for the final 20. This may not happen immediately. I usually start rounding up a gallery by the middle of the week. This is my subjective call, but I do want to recognize as many contributors as possible, and show gratitude for making this such a popular feature on weekends.
Now, Gentlemen, start your 'shopping!
(Top photo by Getty. Do not use it)