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EsportsMeet The Student And Teacher Writing The Course For Dota 101
“I wanted a game that hated me.” That was how Sean Plott, also known as “Day9” in the professional gaming world, described the allure of Dota 2. Plott had made a name for himself in the days of StarCraft, where he taught players new and old how to better themselves at the strategy game. Now,…
By Eric Van Allen Published March 16, 2017 -
UncategorizedThere’s Never Been A Puzzle RPG Quite Like Ticket To Earth
One of my favorite genre hybrids just got a huge kick in the pants, courtesy of Robot Circus’ Ticket to Earth. It combines tile matching and strategic positioning in a way I’ve never seen. Available today for iOS and coming soon to PC, Ticket To Earth is an evolutionary leap forward in the puzzle/RPG hybrid…
By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2017 - Culture
Tell Us About Your Video Game Pets
We often get attached to animals in video games. Yesterday I wrote about my sweetest, most darling friend: Raincloud, my horse in Breath of the Wild. She’s precious, I love her, and if anything bad ever happens to her I will murder everyone in Hyrule. You all seem just as obsessed with your horses as…
By Gita Jackson Published March 16, 2017 - Uncategorized
Trump Plan To Defund U.S. Arts Endowments Could Impact Video Game Programs
President Trump’s proposal to slash funding for federal arts endowments may have consequences for video games. The types of federally-funded education and social change-related games projects that have received grants in the past may need to scale down or search for other funding channels. Nothing is being cut just yet, but the President’s proposed 2018…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published March 16, 2017 - CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: Mass Effect: Andromeda Doesn’t Make A Strong First Impression
We’re hopeful that Mass Effect: Andromeda will grow on us more, but the first few hours have left me and Kirk a little cold. Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss why we’ve got mixed feelings about BioWare’s latest. We talk about the week’s news (7:04), Mass Effect (33:46), and answer some reader questions (1:05:43) on…
By Jason Schreier Published March 16, 2017 - Uncategorized
Fire Emblem Heroes Gives Me The Structure I Need Right Now
Mobile gaming is a pitfall of crude monetizations and flash in the pan games. Most people I know have moved on from Fire Emblem Heroes. But it’s become a crucial part of my day to day. Initially, Fire Emblem Heroes provided a gateway to the other games. The bright characters and their brash personas ignited a…
By Heather Alexandra Published March 16, 2017 - Uncategorized
Sources: Telltale CEO Steps Down [UPDATE]
Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner stepped down from his position this week, sources tell Kotaku. Bruner helped found the longrunning studio, which is best known for developing adventure games based on popular franchises like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones “Today I am writing to let you know that I’ll be stepping away from my…
By Jason Schreier Published March 16, 2017 -
EsportsInside The Unregulated And Scam-Filled World Of Video Game Betting
Gambling on esports matches is, right now, unsafe and unfair for bettors, just as gambling on traditional sports is. As you’d expect, people are still doing it anyway; and as you’d expect, laws and regulations have struggled to keep up. The facts, neutrally stated, are simple: In the United States, esports betting—as with sports betting…
By Maddy Myers Published March 16, 2017 - Uncategorized
Four Indie Games Launch On Nintendo Switch
For all of the hullabaloo about the Switch having a minuscule launch lineup, Nintendo’s hybrid system has actually come out stronger than most new consoles. That’s mostly thanks to Zelda, of course, but there’s also Specter Knight and now a bunch of indies coming to the Switch this week. Next time Nintendo updates the Switch…
By Jason Schreier Published March 16, 2017 -
UncategorizedPeople Are Trashing Mass Effect: Andromeda’s Animation
At the start of the year, there was minor controversy surrounding Mass Effect: Andromeda’s animations. According to fans, the Ryder, the protagonist, didn’t emote enough. At the time, Bioware chalked it up to a “facial performance bug” that they would “improve,” but now that a trial version of the game is widely available, folks are…
By Patricia Hernandez Published March 16, 2017 -
UncategorizedFirestorm Flames On In Injustice 2
As a teen I was fascinated by DC’s Firestorm, a gestalt character with the ability to manipulate the elements. Unfortunately his TV and video game appearances generally use him as a souped-up Human Torch. Here’s our first look at Jason Rusch and Martin Stein shooting fireballs in Injustice 2. Yeah, we get a little phasing…
By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2017 - Culture
Game Of Thrones Artists Worked On Horizon Zero Dawn
Karakteris a German studio who have done a lot of design work on Game of Thrones over the years. So when it came time for Horizon Zero Dawn to be populated with gruff and furry-clothed people, Guerrilla knew exactly where to turn. To be clear, Karakter didn’t conceptualize the entire game; Guerilla has its own…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 16, 2017 -
UncategorizedCapcom Might Have Put A Resident Evil 7 Conspiracy To Rest
If you’ve finished Resident Evil 7, please continue. If not, don’t! Because Capcom has commented on something that’s been bugging fans since they’ve finished the game. Spoilers ahead! At the end of Resident Evil 7, a character named “Redfield” descends out of a helicopter, takes off his mask and helmet, and says, “I’m Redfield.” Even…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2017 - Kotaku East
Burgers So Cheesy They Beg To Be Measured
In Japan, fast food restaurant Lotteria is rolling out two cheesy burgers, providing patrons with measures for them to see just how long the mozzarella stretches. According to Entabe and Gigazine, the Mozzarella Cheese Burger and the Mozzarella Cheese & Beef Burger just launched in Japan. (I believe they’ve already go on sale in South…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2017 -
Kotaku EastWrong About Ninja, Again
Ninja are mysterious. There are things we know and things we don’t. But the notion that some have about these ninja water shoes is supposedly incorrect. In Japanese, these floatation devices are called mizugumo (水蜘蛛), which literally means “water spider,” and are believed to be used while crossing castle moats. Sankei News reports that it’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2017 -
Kotaku EastFirst Look At New Devilman Anime
In spring 2018, a brand new Devilman anime is coming to Netflix. It’s called Devilman Crybaby, and here is the debut teaser. Masaaki Yuasa, who did the Ping Pong anime, is directing, and Ichiro Okouchi of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion fame is writing the script. Created by Go Nagai, Devilman debuted as a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2017
