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  Virtual Reality Makes a Comeback Using Modern Tech (and a Dreamcast Game)

  Some students from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and the Viterbi School of Engineering want you to stop controlling a video game world and start playing in a video game world. Sounds like the early 90s all over again, I know, but where these kids go right is in using test footage from Skies of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 24, 2012
• Culture

  The Futuristic Landscapes of Concept Artist Josh Kao

  Josh Kao is a concept artist and illustrator who over the years has worked with studios like EA, Irrational (BioShock Infinite) and Microsoft (Halo 4). He’s also contributed to Firefall, God of War: Ascension, Playstation All Stars Battle Royale and Black Ops II so, yeah, he’s very good at what he does. In addition to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 24, 2012
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  Ichiro Suzuki Thanks Nintendo

  After 11 seasons with the Nintendo-owned Seattle Mariners, Ichiro Suzuki was traded today to the New York Yankees. During his Japanese language press conference, Suzuki expressed his gratitude to fans and to the video game maker. Suzuki specifically thanked former Nintendo honcho Hiroshi Yamauchi and current Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata as well as the CEO…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012
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  Now This is One Hell of a Collector’s Edition, Square Enix

  Square Enix’s upcoming 3DS RPG, Bravely Default, looks gorgeous. As does its collector’s edition, which includes what for most would games would constitute the entirety of their merchandise offerings. You get the game, an art book, soundtracks, a little diorama and even a giant custom box to keep it all in. The collector’s edition is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 23, 2012
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  The Mass Effect Movie’s Script Sounds Done, But, Well…

  It’s been, oh, around a year since we last heard anything about the Hollywood adaptation of Mass Effect. While it’s easy to joke that’s because the team have had to go back and write a new ending, it seems the end (and beginning, and middle) have already been written, and quietly handed into teacher. A…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 23, 2012
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  Two Bros Hanging Out Being Hilarious On Twitter

  Ask anyone: Twitter can be a vile, negative place that turns your friends into jerks. Saying the wrong thing on Twitter can get you kicked out of shows, or worse. But it’s not all negativity on Twitter. In fact, there are some delightful tweeters out there. And of all the delightful Twitter accounts I follow,…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published July 23, 2012
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  A Child’s Sketchbook From the 1980s, Preserved For the 21st Century

  From 2012, let’s take a trip back to the 1980s, and what it was like to be a kid drawing the stuff you were into. Some of the images you’re about to see are ostensibly part of “schoolwork”, others drawings scribbled in the rear pages of a book where there was supposed to be stuff…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 23, 2012
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  A Moving Tribute To The Last Man Alive In Minecraft

  What happened to the world? Where have all the Steves gone? And will this Steve ever find happiness again? Via the wide world of Reddit comes this majestic (no, really!) video from YouTuber Kiwix86. Good stuff. I would play this game.

  By Kirk Hamilton Published July 23, 2012
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  Coming Soon: “Fistful of Rupees” – A Legend of Zelda Western

  For my last post of “Kotaku Presents,” I thought I’d be a bit of a tease… I’ve been involved in many projects lately, but my favorite, by far, has been “Fistful of Rupees,” a production by The Game Station/Maker Studios. It will be a 3-part mini web series debuting August 7th on TGS’s YouTube channel.…

  by Lisa Foiles Published July 23, 2012
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  Your Geek Chic Update: Clothing Edition

  Two weeks ago, I posted a Geek Chic Update: Jewelry and Accessories Edition, where I showed you earrings made out of computer parts, YOUtility Belts, and a necklace featuring Han Solo in Carbonite. Who knew Han’s frozen suffering would be so fashionable? This week, I’m bringing you some of my picks for geek and gamer…

  by Lisa Foiles and Kaitlin Stewart Published July 23, 2012
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  Gender-Bending: 8 Impressive Girls-As-Guys Cosplays

  Seasoned cosplayers, don’t slaughter me-I’m very new to cosplaying with only a few ensembles good enough to post on the Internet. …Actually, who am I kidding. If these guys can post their costumes on the Internet, I should be fine. From what I understand, the term “crossplay” refers to cosplayers who go to great lengths…

  by Lisa Foiles Published July 23, 2012
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  121 Short Interviews With Video Game Legends

  A group of filmmakers have launched a new project called Critical Path that sets out to be the “definitive documentary archive project” for video game culture and history. Head over to the website to see 121 different interviews with a whole bunch of gaming figures (not 121; some of the clips are repeats). Interviewees include…

  By Jason Schreier Published July 23, 2012
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  The Dark Knight‘s Christopher Nolan: Writer. Filmmaker. Game Designer?

  Director Christopher Nolan builds a lot of rules into his movies. From The Prestige to Memento to The Dark Knight, each film is an intricately created network of systems and balances, shapes and lines set in motion against one another. It can be exhilarating, but it can be exhausting. It’s certainly distinctive. The New Yorker‘s…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published July 23, 2012
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  Curt Schilling: Our Amalur MMO ‘Wasn’t Fun’

  Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios fell apart due to a combination of poor management, bad decisions, and a whole lot of missed deadlines. And Schilling says their massively multiplayer online game—which was shuttered when the studio shut down earlier this year—just wasn’t fun. This fascinating piece by Boston Magazine tells the story behind the demise of…

  By Jason Schreier Published July 23, 2012
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  An Innocent DayZ Bus Ride Turns Into A Fight For Survival

  A lot of zombie fiction seeks to explore the dark underbelly of humanity—sure, there are flesh-eating undead shambling around, but we are the real monsters. DayZ, the popular Arma II mod, captures that human desperation and darkness in an often unsettling manner Here’s a great case in point. As tends to be the case in…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published July 23, 2012
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  Do Mods and Cheats Ruin the PC Version of Skyrim?

  Many consider the ridiculous amount of mods and easy access to console commands the best things about playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the PC. In today’s Speak Up on Kotaku,, commenter Daemon_Gildas disagrees. Alright, PC-gamers, it’s time to have one of the severe down-sides of your choice of console pointed out. So, a…

  Featuring Daemon_Gildas Published July 23, 2012
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  Reviews

  McDonald’s Cone: The Snacktaku Review

  The world’s most popular fast food restaurant does many things wrong. Every day McDonald’s serves up hundreds of thousands of sandwiches that are little more than fat stacked with fat coated in fat. They attempt to replace true happiness with oil-soaked paper sleeves filled with once-healthy vegetables and meats battered beyond recognition. They created the…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 23, 2012
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  Introducing Pixel and Sprite, the New Cats in Town

  I told you there’d be cats. No one cat could possibly take the place of Rande, my unofficial writing partner of several years. So I got two. The black and white lanky one is Sprite. The pretty white one is Pixel. They are brothers, and like many brothers, they enjoy a good scrap. They also…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 23, 2012
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  The Best Minecraft Dog You’ll See Today

  This was created by dedicated Minecrafter Nathan Chatham as a tribute to Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski and his wife Lauren Berggren. It’s their dog. It’s totally adorable. (via Cliffy B)

  By Jason Schreier Published July 23, 2012
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  The Dorkly Weekly: A Kakuna Named Pikachu

  Last week we featured the premiere episode of Dorkly’s Pokémon Rusty, a series that follows the adventures of a less-than-proficient Pokémon trainer. I questioned Rusty’s choice of Kakuna as his starter Pokémon. This week he proves there’s no problem you can’t overcome by ripping a gaping hole in continuity. Kakuna cannot do what he does…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 23, 2012