Weekend Listening: I (Kirk) went on the Idle Thumbs Podcast to talk about Far Cries, Halos, and Game Boats. We had fun.

You Can Thank Women For Dragon Age 3’s Lack Of Creepy Sex Plot

Hearing that women make a difference in game development is one thing, seeing what it means in practice is another. Recently, David Gaider—lead writer on the Dragon Age franchise—posted a blog about how having women on his writing team affected something in Dragon Age 3 The team was having a peer review about the game,…

This RPG Was First Released On Sega Genesis. Now It’s Coming To Dreamcast. (And Xbox)

When I first heard about Pier Solar back in 2010, I thought the people behind it were out of their minds. An exclusive for the Sega Genesis, a console that was discontinued in 1998? What? Are we all still living on the same planet? Then, as the project started to take shape and the role-playing…

Sounds Like Every Footstep Will Matter in The Next Game from the Creator of Braid

You take millions of footsteps in video games and the sound accompanying those movements is probably something that becomes white noise after a while. There’s a good chance that won’t happen in The Witness, though. In a post on The Witness blog, creator Jonathan Blow reveals the kind of small detail that shows an intense…

Yes, Your Choices In The Walking Dead Mattered

Now that the first season of The Walking Dead is over, it’s natural to ask the question: Did my choices even matter? Was this all smoke and mirrors, or did I really have a say over the outcome? It’s the same sort of thing raised as any lengthy, branching video game story reaches its conclusion.…

THQ’s CEO President Has Paid More Than Anyone Else for His Company’s Humble Bundle

Right now, the Humble Bundle featuring THQ games has earned more than $2.3 million, with more than 400,000 purchases. Hell, someone’s even paid over a thousand dollars for the seven titles on offer. Wait a minute, that name seems familiar… Jason Rubin is, of, course the CEO president of THQ. It stands to reason that…

Dead Space composer Jason Graves will be handling music for the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot. Cool! See/hear more here

The delightful Crayon Physics Deluxe was just released for the iPad, free for the first 24 hours. You know what to do

Indie Arcades and Wu-Tang Joust: Photos from the Motherboard Relaunch Party

Last night, Vice’s sub-site Motherboard celebrated its official relaunching the best way possible: by throwing a giant party, having Rza play and getting everyone drunk. Indie arcade-makers Babycastles were also there to bring their own brand of gaming weirdness along with the whole gang behind Sportsfriends I was in attendance and took some photos from…

ChefVille Birthday Ball Catering Order: Everything You Need to Know

While we’ve already brought you a detailed FAQ about the ChefVille Catering feature, we can now dive into much more detail with this new addition. The first Catering Order has finally rolled out in full to the game’s millions of players, and it’s called the Birthday Ball. You’ll have just two days to finish its…

Wait A Minute. Two Smart Critics Really Like The Wii U’s Allegedly Inferior Black Ops II.

Once could be an aberration. Twice? We’re approaching a trend, people. Two sharp critics have both spent some time this week saying that Call of Duty: Black Ops II is good. Better than that, one of these chaps suggests that Black Ops II might be, PC notwithstanding, best on Wii U. What in the world??…

These Are The First Non-Games To Make It Through Steam Greenlight

Today, Steam announced the third round of titles coming out of the Steam Greenlight process. Steam Greenlight, which is driven by fans voting on projects to be developed and sold on Steam, had stuck solely to games for the first two installments. But today’s roster revealed—in addition to games like Dragon’s Lair and more—a group…

Falling Hard—in More Ways than One—for a Quirky Sky Hero

The good news is you never hit the ground in Sky Hero. The bad news is that it’s not the landing that kills you every time, it’s the fall. You’ll still have a fun ride on the way down in Kokonut Studio’s quirky twist on an infinite runner that screams of game-jam origins. That’s my…

There’s a New Walking Dead Mobile Game, and It’s Brilliant

Like a mysteriously silent walker lurching out of the woods to sink its teeth into your face, Skybound’s comic book based The Walking Dead Assault came out of nowhere this morning to take a large bite out of fans’ free time. Normally when a game based on a major property arrives with little fanfare on…

Watch Nintendo’s Hardware History Come to Life in This Really Cool Animated Video

The Wii U just launched in Europe last night. And, just like the console’s U.S. launch, pictures of long lines and complaints about the long day-one update popped up on Twitter and Facebook. But good things appeared, too, like this sharp video by graphic designer Anthony Veloso. I really dig how the music and motion…

Sony Could Be Making A PlayStation Controller That Can Split In Half

Yesterday, a patent filed by Sony Computer Entertainment way back in May of 2011 was finally published, revealing designs for a new PlayStation Move controller that’s essentially a Sixaxis crossbred with the OG Move and given the power to split in twain. Combiform team, eat your heart out. The patent application (dug up by TheSixthAxis)…

Gameloft Working to Correct My Little Pony Problems

Following the tragic treasure chest explosion that decimated Ponyville, Gameloft is working on ways to keep their My Little Pony game from collapsing under the weight of the community. As it turns out, Gameloft wasn’t expecting My Little Pony players to have so many friends. Apparently I wasn’t alone in my troubles, as other players…

How Diablo III Told Me My Marriage Was Over

I like to say that the couple that games together, stays together. I’m not alone in that sentiment, either. I’m sure there are tons of couples who integrate gaming into their day-to-day interactions and manage to get along just fine. But just because I like to say it… well, that doesn’t make the statement true.…

Some great morning reading: Simon Parkin on “Who Spilled Hot Coffee” – the story behind San Andreas‘s big sex scandal.

Zynga and Facebook Dial Their Relationship Back a Notch

For the past couple of years the social network Facebook and the social gaming company Zynga have enjoyed a rather cozy relationship. Zynga games have been a substantial source of revenue for Facebook, and the game maker has relied on the network to drive millions of players to its stable of titles. It’s been a…