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  A Final Fantasy Tattoo, in Memory of a Fallen Soldier

  Last June, the brother-in-law of reader Taylor was tragically killed in action while serving in Afghanistan. He had been due in September to return home and join Taylor in getting tattoos. While he never made it back, Taylor decided to go ahead and get a tattoo done anyway, only now it would be done as…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  The Most Amazing Playgrounds You’ve Ever Seen

  Danish company Monstrum may sound terrifying, but they do amazing work, building children’s playgrounds across Europe that look more like fantasy arenas than the dirty old contraptions most of us grew up with. Founded in 2003, Monstrum takes playground design very seriously, building with things like Siberian larch, Robinia wood and birch plywood, which the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  From Pro Gamer to Pro…Poker Player?

  It’s a question proper athletes face all the time. What do you do when you hang up the cleats/boots? Well, if you’re Griffin “Flush_Entity” Benger, former pro Counter-Strike player, you make the move from video games to online poker. Which sounds a little random, seeing as one involves furious mousework and fast reflexes while the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  Game of Thrones’ Intro Replaces Gears With LEGO

  It’s, um, not quite as slick as the official HBO version. It’s definitely not as well lit. But the combination of craftsmanship and charm still makes this worth a watch. Just remember, dudes building LEGO with a stop-motion camera are a little slower than fancy computer graphics. I love the soundtrack. It’s like Game of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  This Guy Created Angry Bird’s Physics and All he Got Was This Lousy Sweatshirt

  A few years ago, in 2006, Erin Catto created some code called Box 2D. It was a simple, free physics system the “math-obsessed PhD gamer” came up with in his spare time and gave away for free. A year later, the iPhone was released. And suddenly his convenient, effective little code for implementing realistic physics…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
• Culture

  It’s the End of the World as This Concept Art Knows it

  Ioan Dumitrescu is a Romanian concept artist who does mostly freelance work in the video game industry. While you’ve likely never played some of the games he’s worked on, like World of Mercenaries, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying some of his amazing artwork. You can see more of Ioan’s art at his CGHub site…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  This Action Figure Will Make You a God Damned Sexual Tyrannosaurus

  There just aren’t enough Jesse Ventura action figures in the world. And while the very top of my wishlist would have to be a piece based on Running Man’s Captain Freedom, seeing this Predator figure is almost as good. Built by toy creator Count Chocula, he’s a combination of custom sculpted parts and cannibalised pieces…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  Sham Kickstarter Project Found Out, Closes Down

  When the whole Kickstarter thing blew up earlier this year, there was always a very quiet suspicion. That amidst all the nostalgia and indie enthusiasm, someone would use the service to try and rip people off. Well, looks like we’ve got our first scammers. A Kickstarter fund for a game called Mythic: The Story of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  Obiwan Kenobi Arrested, Charged With Hit & Run, Yes, This is a True Story

  A 37 year-old man from Roseville, CA by the name of Obiwan Kenobi has been arrested and charged over a four car pile-up on a motorway last week. Seems Kenobi, while driving, came across some cars backed up on the road. While trying to change lanes, he hit two of them then sped off, which…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012
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  Brand New Dark Knight Rises Trailer Needs More Gary Oldman

  I mean, there’s some in there, sure. But it could always do with more. What there’s plenty of, though, is Catwoman.

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The 1970s Movie That Looks Just Like a Video Game

  In 1976, a short film called C’était un Rendez-vous was released in France. It ran for ten minutes. And if you’ve ever played a driving game you’ll probably want to watch it. There’s no real plot or anything to it, at least not until the end. It’s just a guy driving a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  Video Game Books Used to be Amazing

  If cheap magazines or dummy’s guides to dummy’s games are the only exposure you have to video games and the world of words on paper, I’m sorry you weren’t gaming in the 1980s, when you would have been treated to some of these I shared one of them a few weeks back, but seeing a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2012
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  You’re Through, Soup Nazi. Pack It Up.

  Hi there Kotaku. It’s Monday, and so here we are doing another open thread. Here are a few things from around the ‘nets for you guys to read and talk about. HBO renews ‘Girls’ and ‘Veep’ for second seasons – I just watched Veep and it’s funny! Recommended. Dentist gets revenge by pulling ex’s teeth…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 30, 2012
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  Looks Like the Next Black Ops Is a Little More Modern

  Call of Duty developers Treyarch have only ever made games set in the past. Whether that be the Second World War or the Cold War, doesn’t matter, their games have never seen the 1990s, let alone today. But that looks like it’s set to change with the next game in the series. What will surely…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2012
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  Epic Games’ History Unfolds in This Graffiti-Covered Stairwell

  From 1991’s ZZT to Gears of War, the history of Epic Games is sprayed across the walls of one particular staircase in the company’s North Carolina offices. This wonderful series of graffiti from artist Sean Kernick was probably the most delightful aspect of my visit to Epic Games’ headquarters last week. I started at the…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 30, 2012
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  Let’s Be Careful With The Child-Murder, Ok?

  Is there anything worse than killing a child? It’s one of the most reprehensible things a person can do. Not just in real life: Along with Golden Retrievericide, child-murder is one of the most double-secret-ultrabad things a character can do in a movie, book or video game. The murder of a child can be an…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 30, 2012
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  No One Wins a Car In Oprah’s New Game

  Game designer and champion Jane McGonigal advocates games as a tool for making the world a better place. She has a book and a pile of research explaining all of the ways in which games can be beneficial for players’ physical and mental health as well as for the wider world. So now, it seems…

  By Kate Cox Published April 30, 2012
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  SSX’s New DLC Tries to Recapture the Tricky Glory Days

  The Mount Eddie DLC hits tomorrow for the recently rebooted SSX and promises to honor all your fond memories of video game snowboarding from the last console generation. So, does it live up to the hype? You can judge for yourself by watching these two videos. In them, I take the retro versions of Elise…

  By Evan Narcisse Published April 30, 2012
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  New Metal Gear Rising Trailer Is Like An Acid Trip Gone Bad

  I just… don’t know what I’m watching. I’ve watched this new Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance trailer three times already and I still have no idea what’s going on. It’s like that weird video from Lost. Or pretty much anything from the Metal Gear Solid series. Enjoy. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is slated for later this…

  By Jason Schreier Published April 30, 2012
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  Even Our Best Video Games Can’t Predict What Kim Jong-Un Would Do To Win a New Korean War

  It is curious that there are far more games on a Soviet invasion of West Germany that never happened than a Communist assault on South Korea that actually did. It is even more curious that there haven’t been more games on a Second Korean War, given how volatile the region is. The Demilitarized Zone between…

  Michael Peck Published April 30, 2012