Mobile Masters Invitational Features Phone Games And Questionable Posture

This is one case where being on your phone mid-match might not get you in trouble with the refs. Amazon is hosting the Mobile Masters Invitational in Newark, and through today and tomorrow, teams will compete in several different competitive mobile games. Competitors use mobile devices, either phones or tablets, rather than controller or mouse-and-keyboard…

Overwatch‘s Confusing Reporting System Is Making Trolling Worse

When a player reports an abusive teammate in Overwatch, the most common response is rarely fear, regret, or even an apology. It’s “go ahead!” Overwatch’s reporting system is opaque, like any game’s, but word on the street is that it’s toothless. As someone who spends roughly 10 hours a week playing Overwatch, I’ve seen toxicity…

This terrific Alice cosplay is by Rayi. Photo by So Say We All

Seahawks Linebacker Cassius Marsh Competes In Magic Tournament, Gets Wrecked

Cassius Marsh is known for tackling ball carriers as an NFL linebacker, but the Seattle Seahawk had an unlucky go last weekend playing another game he loves, Magic: the Gathering Marsh was invited as a special guest to last weekend’s Grand Prix Las Vegas, a five-day Magic fest featuring Magic artists, vendors, cosplay, and three competitive…

Hardcore Destiny Players Will Get Emblems In Destiny 2

We’re just two-and-a-half months away from Destiny 2, a video game that I cannot wait to play obsessively and complain about even more obsessively. But what will I get to bring over from the first game? Emblems, as it turns out. Among other surprises. Destiny fans have been bracing for the loss of their weapons…

Celebrate Sonic‘s 26th Birthday With A Little Traveling Music

Just in time to kick off Sonic the Hedgehog’s 26th year, the folks at Overclocked Remix release Speeding Towards Adventure, a free 23-track album celebrating a quarter of a century that went by in a blue blur. The great thing about the Sonic franchise is that no matter how good or bad the games released…

Gainax Loses Lawsuit, Must Pay Hideaki Anno’s Studio $900,000

Last year, Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara sued Gainax of Evangelion fame for unpaid royalities. A Tokyo District court has ruled in Anno’s favor, with a judge ordering Gainax to pay the full 100 million yen (around US$900,000). Anno co-founded Gainax in 1984 with fellow students he met at Osaka University of Arts, including current Gainax…

Cops Deliver Awkward Update On Controversial Shooting Death Via Destiny Livestream [Update]

In addition to regular channels, the Seattle Police Department has a unique approach to communicating with the public. On Twitch, they play Destiny and talk about everything from graffiti to protests to their own investigation processes. Recently, however, they used it to give an update on the controversial shooting of Charleena Lyles. Lyles, a black…

Japan’s Fighting Robots Are The Future Of Sumo

Tiny battle robots facing off in a small ring, knocking the crap out of each other. The future of sumo is now. Since 1990, this yearly robot sumo competition has been held in Japan. The Japan Times, where I am a columnist, reports that starting in 2014, international teams have been invited to battle. Via…

An Insider’s Look At Working In The Anime Business

So you dream of moving to Japan and making anime. But what’s it really like? Just ask Thomas Romain. Born in France, the 39-year-old Romain moved to Tokyo in 2003 to work as co-director and art director on a French-Japanese anime series called Oban Star-racers. “This was a show originally created by a friend, Savin…

The Black & The White

Riana Møller is an artist from Denmark who in addition to working in games has also written and illustrated her own comic book You can see more of Riana’s work at her ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a…

Mighty Gunvolt Burst Is A Mega Man-like That Lets You Make Your Own Bullets

Me (Tim Rogers) and Stephen Totilo played Inti Creates’s new Mega Man-like retro shooting platform action game Mighty Gunvolt Burst yesterday on a live-stream. We delved into the game’s core system: bullet customization. Unlike in, say, an Actual Mega Man Game, in Mighty Gunvolt Burst you pick up various little trinkets and items which contribute…