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What Would a 19th Century Portal Gun Look Like?
This. Needing an accessory for her steampunk Chell costume, DeviantArt user batman-n-bananas set about building a steampunk Portal gun. The results of which are here, and which are damn impressive. Like all the best models, it’s made of the remains of many random, strange things. Like teapots, pianos, hair gel pots, antique clocks, an old…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Retailer Sends Copies of Madden Instead of Mass Effect 3. Whoops.
Sounds like “some” customers of online retailer Newegg who pre-ordered a copy of Mass Effect 3 didn’t get what they paid for. They got a game, delivered on time, only it was...Madden 12 An email sent by the outlet reads: We’re contacting you today regarding your recent purchase of the Mass Effect 3 Xbox 360…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Save Your Screen’s Universe With Awesome Mass Effect Wallpaper
Artist Ricky Linn has, in a fit of excitement over the release of Mass Effect 3, drawn these great little homages to the cast and crew of the Normandy. Given the art style and their original dimensions, I thought it was only fair to resize them into wallpapers. One for your desktop, the other three…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Culture
The Razor-Sharp Art of Johan Wahlbäck
Swedish artist Johan Wahlbäck works for SouthEnd Interactive, the guys behind last year’s delightful ilomilo. But you won’t find any art for that cute little game here. What you will find are a stack of awesome pictures of men with swords, men with bigger swords and other images associated with bludgeoning and stabbing, some of…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
It Takes a Download of Trillions to Hold Sales Back (Well, Not Even That)
Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson says a lot of things. Some of them interesting, others regrettable. As with most humans! This, about piracy, is one of the former. I’ve always found it interesting that it’s usually independent developers, those whose livelihoods are most closely associated with the success of their games, that are always the…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
New Rainbow Six Game Loses its Top Men
Usually, when a studio is developing a new game, it has top men working on it. Top. Men. But Ubisoft’s upcoming Rainbow 6: Patriots is a temporary exception, as four of its top men have reportedly been “removed” from the project. Not fired from the company, just removed from this game. Those men are Creative…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
“Beer Soaked” Homeless Guy Crashes Suda Interview, Lasts Ten Minutes
According to a report on CVG, a Game Developers Conference session with No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda (pictured) got a little strange yesterday when a homeless man (not pictured) joined Edge for an interview. “There were plenty of drinks flowing at the event so nobody took much notice that this second ‘journalist’ was heavily…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
The Tiniest Little PlayStation You Ever Did See
Sebastián Vargas has a fetish for tiny things. Tiny PlayStations, tiny Game Boys,you name it, if it’s a tiny video game console, he’s got it. These are Japanese gashapon pieces, all of them for old consoles and handhelds, all photographed wonderfully by Vargas. If you like tiny things as much as he does, check out…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Winners of the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards
Here are the winners of the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards, announced tonight at GDC 2012: Best Game Design: Portal 2 (Valve) Innovation: Johann Sebastian Joust (Die Gute Fabrik) Best Technology: Battlefield 3 (DICE) Best Handheld/Mobile Game: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (Capy Games/Superbrothers) Best Audio: Portal 2 (Valve) Best Downloadable Game: Bastion (Supergiant Games)…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallAn Inspiring, Sad Interview With the Father of Video Games
If you care about the history of video games, at all, and would like to hear from one of the founding fathers of the medium (who is, remember, a total badass), then please, watch this video interview with Ralph Baer. At times it’s fascinating. Inspiring, even. There’s one point, though, where I actually teared up.…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhy Peter Molyneux Leaving Microsoft is a Very Good Thing
So, after a decade working almost exclusively with Microsoft for Xbox consoles (and occasionally the PC as well), Lionhead founder Peter Molyneux has called it quits, and will soon be joining British start-up 22 Cans (or Twenty Toucans, if you prefer). It’s a sad day for Microsoft, who bought Lionhead in 2006, but as we’re…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
I Had to See This, and Now You Do Too
And then Luke got eaten by spiders. That’s the town of Wagga Wagga, where recent floods have made millions of arachnids that would otherwise remain safely hidden underneath your bed or in your shoes take to the skies in a majestic display of oh god, I am going to throw up in fear. Luke is…
By Mike Fahey Published March 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe PlayStation Vita Somehow Makes Augmented Reality Look Amazing
This is augmented reality, but not as you know it. Usually, AR in video games is a tedious gimmick, reliant on either incredibly simple, overlaid images or specially-made cards being placed in specially-designated positions. But Sony’s PlayStation Vita can now do proper, three-dimensional AR all on its own. No tricks, no cards. All it needs…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedAfter Five Crummy Games, Marvel Wants No More of Sega
“No current plans” is politespeak for “this ballgame is over.” And that was the reply given by Marvel’s senior executive responsible for video games production, when asked what the future holds for the publishing label and Sega. “There are no current plans for additional Marvel games to be published by Sega,” T.Q. Jefferson told The…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedFez Creator Says Comics and Games Can Expand Your Brains
“Hi, I’m Phil Fish and I’m here to talk about Japanese games.” Referencing the controversy over his recent remarks, the Fez designer’s opening line during the Indie Soapbox got big laughs. But, his remarks at the GDC 2012 session actually dealt with comic books, a medium that originated in America, and the conceptual connection between…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Nearly 6 Million Years of World of Warcraft Healthy for Players’ Brains
A number of recent research studies conducted on games and gamers have found a generally positive trend in the effect that gaming has on players’ brains, the Wall Street Journal reports. Not only is World of Warcraft good for senior citizens brain function, it’s good for a lot of other groups as well. Some of…
By Kate Cox Published March 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedHow Do You Make a Super Mario Game At a Time of National Tragedy?
Most of Koichi Hayashida’s talk at the Game Developers Conference today about making the most recent Super Mario game for Nintendo was silly. Some of it was even a joke. Until he got to the earthquake. March 11, 2011. Japan’s worst natural disaster in ages. He was in the fifth floor of a building in…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedYou Lived to See the Day When the Cubs Finally Win the World Series
I was on a six-hour flight back from Washington last week and struck up a conversation with my seatmate, a woman who was, literally, a brain surgeon from Arizona. She asked what I do, and I told her, and she asked me what value sports video games provide that playing an actual sport does not.…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Who’ll Win the First Round of Madden‘s Cover Contest (I Think)
EA Sports yesterday completed its announcement of the field of 64 candidates for the cover of Madden NFL 13, and opened voting today in its joint promotion with ESPN. Having tried to predict the entire field before it was announced (I went 38 for 62), I’m now going pick who wins the play-in round. How…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2012