Industry luminary Ian Bogost demonstrates why I put the words “industry luminary” in front of his name, with this beautiful answer to a nagging Facebook survey question.

16-Bit Characters Fit Perfectly In Real-Life Environments

Mixing old video game sprites with real life is not one of the most difficult artforms, but if you’re creative enough the results can be immensely atmospheric, just as the latest pieces from deviantART user Victor Sauron show. Duke Nukem in the night shot above is awesome, but check the rest below. The roller coasters…

Wii U Arkham Origins Won’t Have Multiplayer, But Will It Cost Less?

Holy smaller video game, Batman! Warner Bros. has confirmed that the newly-revealed multiplayer modes for Batman: Arkham Origins won’t be included in the Wii U version of the game. As spotted by Eurogamer and IGN, the official press release accompanying the multiplayer announcement indicated that Arkham Origins‘ multiplayer modes will only be available on PS3,…

Definitely butter a guy up before you bring him crashing down

Cranston, the kinda-Ostrich-thing, invited himself over to my palace yesterday. He immediately told me how great my life is. Thanks, Cranston! It’s because I put green things to the south of my home. Like my trusty desert cactus. Are you talking shit about my cactus? Oh yeah, you’re definitely talking shit about my cactus. Have…

EA Sports’ First Amendment Defense in College Lawsuits Shot Down Again

For the second time, a federal appeals court has struck down a key defense Electronic Arts has used in its long-running legal fight against college athletes who say their likenesses have been used in EA Sports video games without their permission. Electronic Arts had claimed a First Amendment right of artistic expression in how it…

Where BioShock Infinite‘s Been and Where It’s Going

Even though he just announced DLC that will bring players back to the iconic undersea metropolis of Rapture, Ken Levine says he doesn’t feel trapped inside the BioShock franchise. In so much as there’s a template for Levine’s signature first-person games, he says it he’s not interested in re-using it “unless I think of an…

Moneysaver: Next-Gen Pre-orders, Humble Bundle, Hundreds, Recettear

Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of price decrementation. Take a look, and you’ll see, widespread price deflation. If you want to save on paradise, simply read this post and do it, whatever you want to buy, click through it. Want all the best deals? There’s nothing to it. It’s definitely a…

Who’s Angrier: Call of Duty Fans Or One Direction Fans?

Last week, a patch hit Black Ops II that enraged some unreasonable Call of Duty fans so much, they started sending death threats to the game’s design director, David Vonderhaar. While unfortunate, it’s also not the only recent case of enraged fans spewing ridiculous threats at something. Yesterday, men’s fashion and style magazine GQunveiled the…

The Number One Rule For Changing Your Villagers’ Greetings

You must, by all means, make them say something stupid. Olivia, the gossiping cat, asked me to change her greeting recently. I came up with something that I think feels suitable for her. Sounds good to me so far, Olivia. Oh, the best of friends, Olivia. I think you’re pretty accurate there, Olivia.

Watch Wayne Brady Pretend He’s In Grand Theft Auto

On last night’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? (now hosted by the excellent Aisha Tyler) Wayne Brady was tasked with pretending he was a character in a Grand Theft Auto game. For improvising off the top of his head, he did a pretty good job—even throwing in a Hot Coffee reference for good measure. It’s…

Nintendo’s Brighter Gaming Future

Amid much ado about Nintendo’s high 3DS sales and low Wii U sales, we’ve also got an updated chart of game release dates from the House of Mario. This one shows the major releases for both Nintendo consoles, though it surely omits most of the surprise downloadable releases the company loves to dole out. What…

The Best Tower Defense Game On iOS Gets New Content Tomorrow

Kingdom Rush is basically my favorite game on iOS, so it made my week to hear news that Frontiers (the “sequel” that is essentially just more Kingdom Rush) is getting more levels and heroes tomorrow. Trailer above. You can check out Kingdom Rush: Frontiers on iOS for $2.99. I strongly recommend it.

PS4 Vs Xbox One: A Hypothetical Graphics Comparison

Maybe you’re burning to know how the PS4 and Xbox One’s graphics will stack up against each other. Maybe the way each console handles lighting, textures and detail will be what makes you pick one over the other. Sadly, we don’t even know when the next-gen machines are coming out. But, hey, you could conceivably…

Moneysaver One-Shot: Your New TV’s

Slim bezels, slimmer prices. We’ve got a slew of sets for you to choose from today, and as our own Corey Foster of Deals.Kinja put it, these are “Black Friday level” prices, especially that Westinghouse. Here’s the current Moneysaver • LG 60″ 120Hz LED 1080p TV ($800) | Best Buy via Deals Kinja • Westinghouse…

The Porsche of the Board Game World

“Part of our brand,” explains the sonorous French voice on the phone, “is coming from the fact we do very few things. Porsche is the most successful car company in the world from the business standpoint, but they do very few models… we take the same approach in the board game business.” Yes, board games.…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Seething Hatred shares some insights on how games can strengthen your mind. ClockworkDefinition offers up opinionated takes on which video game sequels deserve to exist and which ones don’t. And HokutoAndy relays the thoughts of the man who infamously collided with Phil Fish now that…

Here’s An Incredibly Novel Way To Handle Text-Based Adventure

From Simogo, the creators of the surreal Year Walk, Device 6 is a text adventure, a puzzle game, and a mystery rolled into one. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Here’s a description from the game’s website: DEVICE 6 plays with the conventions of games and literature, entwines story with geography and blends puzzle…

The 3DS and Its Strong Lineup Push Nintendo to a Profit

While the Wii U’s sales may be a stark disappointment to Nintendo, it still found hope in its handheld lineup, with particular thanks to the western release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Sales of the 3DS and its titles helped boost the company to a profit in the first quarter of its fiscal year. The…

Sequel to Classic Warcraft Song Will Overwhelm You With Nostalgia

Both the World of Warcraft community and the game they play have changed a lot over the years. Just how much? Well, an out-of-nowhere revamp of Ian Beckman’s much-loved fan video runs down the changes, featuring every class from the game. No Oxhorn this time, only over- and underpowered characters (and autotune). That’s the World…

It’s Thugs vs. Thugs vs. Batman In Arkham Origins’ 3-Team Multiplayer

If you told me they were making multiplayer for a Batman game, I’d tell you that I want to play as Batman himself. I’d want to take down thugs controlled by other players, and I’d want to do it in the most Batman way possible. And what do you know, that’s just what the upcoming…