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  The Colour Of Video Games

  Colour can be a strange and wonderful thing. Sometimes, all it’s used for is to fill in the lines, or make something appear more “real”, or more interesting. Yet other times it can be as powerful a force in our identification of a game as any character or soundtrack. So we got to thinking: can…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  Ever Wonder Who The Guy At The Beginning Of Every Valve Game Is?

  A Reddit user by the name of vism did, so they emailed Valve boss Gabe Newell. And actually got a response, if not from the big man himself. The man in question, who is displayed during the opening credits of Valve games (and can be seen in the clip above), sadly remains a mystery, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  Just Because There’s A Forest, Doesn’t Mean This Game Looks Like Alan Wake

  Folks are saying that upcoming survival horror game Silent Hill: Downpour kinda looks like Xbox 360 thriller Alan Wake. Much of the comparisons seem to steam from screenshots depicting heavily wooden environments – kinda like in Alan Wake! “I think it’s a bit odd for anyone who hasn’t even seen the game to be drawing…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  Minecraft And The G-Man, Together For Charity

  There’s currently a battle going on over on the site of the Humble Indie Bundle, where two indies who have “made it big” – Minecraft creator Notch and Garry’s Mod creator Garry Newman – are jostling to see who can donate the most money. Accuse them of showboating if you will, but since proceeds from…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  What’s It Like Fighting The Best Street Fighter Player?

  It sucks. Well, unless you’re really, really, really effing good. And even then… In this clip, Japan-based YouTube user dabu0205 is in some arcade, where his opponent is none other than Daigo Umehara (note the back of his head), perhaps best known for this. He’s a fighting game superstar. Umehara is Street Fighter character Yun,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  Turn Your Body Into A First-Person-Shooter Controller

  Novint, the folks behind that most curious Falcon peripheral, are back again with yet more hardware curios. This time, it’s the ability to turn your arm into a motion-controlled rumble pack. It’s latest device is called Xio, and Novint says it adds the sense of “touch” to gaming. “Unlike current motion control technologies out there,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  The Universe Is Beautiful When People Aren’t Trying To Blow You Up

  When a game is set in space, invariably it’s set there so you can fly a spaceship and shoot at things. Space Engine does away with all that nonsense, leaving you with just…space. Billed as a “free universe simulator”, whether you call it a game or not depends on how much you like exploring (and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  So How Much Work Went Into Duke Nukem Forever?

  Duke Nukem Forever, the game that was in development for forever, was first revealed in 1997. This year it’s finally being released by another studio, Gearbox Software, which began working on the game in 2009. “I have estimated that 3D Realms invested between 3,500 and 4,500 man-months of effort into the game, a lot of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  The Folks Behind Crummy Ports And Crappy Concerts Are Gulped Up

  Japan’s 5pb., known for Xbox 360 games like Steins; Gate and crappy Miku Hatsune concerts, is being absorbed into its affiliate company. Oh, 5pb. also has crappy shmup ports. No word if the 5pb. brand will survive. [via ソーシャルゲーム情報]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  Monkey Ball‘s Got Nothing On This

  We got our first look at gorgeous indie…racer (?) Proun last year, but the game’s developer, Joost van Dongen (one of the devs behind De Blob and Swords & Soldiers), has just released a second trailer. And it’s even better. The game’s currently shaping up for a Spring release on the PC. If you want,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  Oh Boy, It’s A Monkey Island Action Figure!

  It’s sadly not an official one, but for a custom piece, it’s not so bad! Sure, the face could do with some work (even if it is based on the original pixel art design of LeChuck and not his proper artwork), but the devil (or zombie ghost in this case) is in the details. Get…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  Make Games Or Porn? He Picked Games.

  Back before Sega game designer Toshihiro Nagoshi turned golden brown, he was just another kid from rural Japan, moving to Tokyo, trying to make it big. Originally, Nagoshi wanted to make films. “I graduated with a film degree,” Nagoshi tells website ZakZak, “but at that time the Japanese film industry was in a shambles and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  Michael Jackson’s Golden Game Boy Is Only $75!

  According to the bill of sale, this Game Boy was owned by Michael Jackson. He used it to court Macaulay Culkin. Culkin even set Tetris records on it. So $75 to call it your own is quite a steal! Or, it would were that actually the story behind this golden Game Boy, but it’s not.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  The Clever Art Of Stealing

  The quote “Good artists borrow, great artists steal” is often attributed to Pablo Picasso. There doesn’t seem to be solid evidence that he actually said it, but the quote is often misinterpreted anyway. It’s not that stealing is okay, but rather, stealing implies taking something and making it your own. What’s more, not every artist…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2011
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  Is The Entire PlayStation Network Down? [Update]

  Can you log onto the PlayStation Network via your PS3 console at the moment? We can’t, and we’re getting reports plenty of other people can’t either. Attempts to log into the PSN on consoles are being met with the error message 80710A06. While American users began reporting the issue a few hours ago, I’ve since…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  Nintendo’s First Arcade Games Were, Well, Pretty Sucky

  It’s one of those quirks of history that Nintendo, a company synonymous with colourful characters and fun video games, made its very first independent venture into the world of arcade gaming with…a board game adaptation. While 1981’s Donkey Kong and 1983’s Mario Bros. are most people’s introduction to Nintendo arcade games, the company’s first coin-op…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  Super Mario 3DS Might Be Out This Year?

  When the Nintendo 3DS was first unveiled, we were shown a bunch of trailers from games that barely even existed yet. And even then, saw nothing of a new Mario game. So it’d be sweet if it actually came out this year. But it just might, if comments by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto can be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011
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  Mobile Games Maker Sends a Message With Amnesty International App

  The iOS games studio Mobigame – best known for titles like Edge and Perfect Cell – has teamed up with Amnesty International to publish a game raising money for the human rights advocacy organization, observing its 50th anniversary this year. Bulletproof, costing 99 cents on the iTunes App Store, places the player as a political…

  By Owen Good Published April 20, 2011
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  April Twentieth

  What were we talking about? Oh, wait, we didn’t actually start talking yet. I must have been thinking of Talk Amongst Yourselves. Anyway, man, why don’t you join us in the open thread, pass some of that sweet conversation around. If you’re looking for some pot-related things to read tonight, don’t miss io9‘s great write-ups…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 20, 2011
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  Fans Vote Heisman Winner For The NCAA 12 Cover

  Alabama’s Mark Ingram, the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner, was voted the cover athlete of NCAA Football 12, whose debut trailer you saw yesterday. Ingram, expected to be a high draft pick in next week’s NFL draft, beat out candidates Nick Fairley of Auburn, Jake Locker of Washington, and DeMarco Murray of Oklahoma in a fan-voted…

  By Owen Good Published April 20, 2011