• Culture

  Dota 2’s Character Art is Like Magic Candy for the Eyes

  While the game’s not out yet, Valve’s sequel to the super-popular WarCraft mod already gets a thumbs up from this feature for its gorgeous character art. It’s being used once or twice a week to accompany the reveal of new characters and/or features for the game, and seeing as it hasn’t been plastered all over…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  The Games Industry’s Biggest Influence at the Moment is Apple, Apparently

  At least, that’s what around 1,000 games industry employees reckon, as the results of a survey for the London Games Conference show. Attendees for the upcoming event were asked who they think the most influential people were, along with the most influential products. Note they’re not being asked their favourites, or the most important (whatever…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  It’s Dangerous To Gamble Alone! Take These

  Last year, Nintendo, who started out as a hanafuda maker, released several sets of Mario playing cards. This December, Nintendo is releasing another themed deck. This time, Zelda Priced at ¥1,050 and out this December in Japan, the decks feature art from four Zelda games. The spades are The Legend of Zelda, the hearts are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Someone is Turning the Crysis Engine Into a…Sports Game!

  Crysis developers Crytek’s proprietary engines are always impressive, but for some reason or another aren’t often used by other studios. Or when they are, they’re used for shooters. Not this time! A Swedish developer by the name of Poppermost is working on a game called Snow, which is a skiing/snowboarding title that, like EA’s Skate…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  An Example of Sexual Harassment? Grand Theft Auto

  Sexual harassment is awful. Many people—often politicians, it seems—say things or create situations that make others uncomfortable. So Bolt insurance agency created a chart explaining “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”. Specific examples include: “Constant and repeated requests for a date or unwanted flirting”, “Unwanted jokes, gestures, comments and repartee”, and “Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Gearbox Thinks Duke Nukem Reviews Weren’t Fair

  Duke Nukem Forever was, I thought, an absolute disaster. I was not alone in this. Yet Gearbox co-founder Brian Martel thinks the game’s poor reviews weren’t a consequence of the game being terrible. They were because reviewers were somehow unfair to the game. “There were [review scores] towards the high and things towards the low,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Don’t Let a Little Thing Like a Sex Video Slow You Down

  During the 1990s, when Neon Genesis Evangelion exploded in popularity, voice actress Yuko Miyamura was along for the ride. Like many other voice actresses, she wasn’t merely someone who read lines, she was an idol. Fans worshipped her. That is, until the unthinkable happened: A porno. In Japan there are, generally speaking, idols who are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Report: Assassin’s Creed Gets a Movie Deal That Even Spielberg Couldn’t

  Last month, it was reported that Sony and Ubisoft will soon sign an Assassin’s Creed movie deal. From the sound of it, this is no normal movie deal. Ubisoft apparently has control over everything, from the budget to the script to the actors to even the release date. According to one studio exec, Ubisoft even…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  The First Grand Theft Auto V Rap Wants to Drive a Wind Turbine

  British rapper Dan Bull, who you may have heard of before, was so moved by the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V he went and wrote a track about it. Part literal description, part wishlist, it certainly makes the trailer worth watching a second time. Especially if you like the Fresh Prince You can…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  If You Get Modern Warfare 3 Early, Don’t Play It Online (Yet)

  There are stores that are, have been and will be selling Modern Warfare 3 early. If you managed to get hold of a copy, good for you! Just be warned, there might be a downside to your early purchase. Microsoft’s Stephen Toulouse has hit Twitter to warn those already in possession of the game that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Buggy Torso Man Will Make You Say, “Oh Shit!”

  Glitches and bugs are a part of life when games launch. Since they can be patched via download, don’t think of them as negatives, early adaptors, but features. Delicious features that can provide enjoyment. Kotaku reader Silverhold found this this glitch in Uncharted 3, which at first was a floating shotgun coming straight at him.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Kinect + GlaDOS is Slightly Terrifying

  Who needs a hostile little mobile phone when you can drop Portal’s malevolent artificial intelligence onto a PC and have her watch you via Kinect? Corey Thomas has rigged up his Kinect camera’s voice recognition to not just operate his PC, but to snap back at hi with canned lines from GlaDOS. The implementation isn’t…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Borderlands Fan Passes Away, Honoured as Borderlands 2 Character

  Michael John Mamaril sadly passed away last month at the age of just 22. Being a big Borderlands fan, Michael’s friend Carlo thought a nice way to remember him would be to have the game somehow pay tribute. Borderlands developers Gearbox did this and then some. The game’s loud-mouthed robot assistant, Claptrap, has recorded a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The Wonderful, Shady World of Knock-Off Nintendo Consoles

  The Nintendo Entertainment System, and its Japanese sibling the Famicom, were two of the most successful video game consoles to ever be released. Which led to a lot of, let’s say, imitators. OK, no, let’s say complete unlicensed rip-offs. But we’re not here to tut tut and point fingers. Today, we’re going to celebrate some…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  DC Universe Adds 120,000 Players After First Free-to-Play Day

  Shifting to a free-to-play model yesterday, DC Universe Online opened the gates to the freeloading hordes. More than 120,000 signed up for the MMO said John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment. That figure’s for the PC, though. No word yet on PS3 enrollments. Smedley also touted figures for number of users logged in,…

  By Owen Good Published November 3, 2011
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  Layoffs at Gameforge Jeopardize Free-to-Play Star Trek—Infinite Space

  Today, Gameforge, the German-based publisher of browser-based video games, laid off 100 workers in a restructuring that canceled two games and threatens its biggest property, Star Trek—Infinite Space In a message to Star Trek—Infinite Space Fans, the game’s development team said that plans for the game’s beta are “currently on pause until further notice” as…

  By Owen Good Published November 3, 2011
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  Quality Time With My Friend Salad

  Greetings Kotakueers, and welcome to the thursday night open-thread. We’re getting into the thick of things now; big games are dropping right and left, and it’s getting harder and harder to keep up. What better way to blow off some steam than sitting back and engaging in healthy conversation with your fellow man? Here now,…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published November 3, 2011
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  This Sure Looks Like the Title Screen to the Next Alan Wake

  Earlier today we got confirmation that the next Alan Wake will indeed be downloadable, and that more details will be revealed at the upcoming Spike Video Game Awards. Back in May, Kotaku ran a rumor from the site XBLA Fans that the next Wake game would be called “Alan Wake’s Night Springs,” and that it…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published November 3, 2011
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  Assassin’s Creed Turns to Sports Stars to Tout Its Stats

  For me, the big question is not why NFL running back Adrian Peterson, NBA point guard Derrick Rose, or MMA fighter B.J. Penn are stumping for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. For me, the question is “Where the hell do I get one of those hoodies.” You can contact Owen Good, the author of this post, at…

  By Owen Good Published November 3, 2011
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  Harmonix Isn’t Doing Too Bad (For Not Making Shooters)

  A couple of weeks ago, Dance Central and Rock Band studio Harmonix was being advised—by someone from the company that sold it off—to make “the world’s first immersive shoot-’em-up,” using Kinect. Today, the firm reported it is doing juuuuust fine by sticking to the rhythm genre. Florian Hunziker, Harmonix’s chief operating officer, expects $100 million…

  By Owen Good Published November 3, 2011