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Lady, Don’t Touch That Coin Block, Or You’ll…Oh, Never Mind
You see a mysterious coin block from another realm floating around the streets of Germany, you don’t just touch it. You call the Landespolizei! They’d have told this lady, for example, that touching it would put the people of Offenburg in grave danger OK, so this university project takes more than a few cues from…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
Where Do Your Video Game Bad Guys Come From?
Here’s a hint: they don’t come from countries where people speak English. Complex sat down with a number of recent shooters and plotted where on the map the game’s villains (or at least opposing force) came from. And, this may shock you, but they nearly all came from either former communist states, communist states or…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
StarCraft’s Developers Have Been More Influential Than You Might Realise!
Want to see just how influential World of Warcraft developers Blizzard have been to other video games? Check out this chart which shows where a legion of ex-Blizzard employees have ended up. While, understandably, you can see a lot of employees leaving to go work on other MMO games – at least after the release…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
The Colorful Concept Art Of Bulletstorm
Gears of War is a very brown video game series. Bulletstorm, a new game that was co-developed by the same team, is a lot more colourful, something that began right back with the game’s early concept art. Polish artist Maciej Wojtala drew these pieces of environmental concept art for People Can Fly and Epic, and…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
Screw Madden 12, Go Back To Making Indie Games!
Some men and women working for big-name developers got their start toiling away on indie games. Do you think they ever wish they could go back to those carefree days? Seeing what those carefree days involved, courtesy of comedy troupe Mega 64, the answer is “probably not”. Suck it up and get that next Call…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
The US Navy Has The Coolest Flight Simulator In The World
This is the T-45C “visual simulator” at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas. It makes my 50″ plasma look like a Game & Watch. It’s part of a US Navy pilot’s earliest stages of training: this is a simulator not of something badass, but of the humble T-45 Goshawk, a small jet the US…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
So, How Much Does It Cost To Make A Nintendo 3DS?
Unless you’re reading this from the accounts section of Nintendo, we may never know. But experts in the field can estimate, and they estimate that the 3DS costs Nintendo $101 to manufacture. If that’s correct – and even if it’s not, it’s likely to be damn close – there’s a big gap between the handheld’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
Russian Devs Blame Antiseizure Requirements for Crummy Sturmovik
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, bravely carrying the flag for the decimated flight combat genre, has released in Russia where its devoted following is complaining of crippled gameplay and terrible framerate issues. One of the game’s developers says anti-seizure controls mandated by Ubisoft, the game’s Western publisher, is the culprit. Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 -
Stay To The Right
Please, Kotaku readership, won’t you join us for some late night off topic conversation? This is the place to do it, even if you’d prefer to talk about video games. Have at it. Mr. Crecente’s out at his fundraiser, so feel free to raid the Kotaku liquor cabinet. He won’t notice. Please, take a moment…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 24, 2011 -
Fanfare — and a Green Jacket — for the Common Man [Update]
One thing you can count on in the NCAA basketball tournament, playing now, are the CBS promo spots for The Masters, full of pomp and grandeur, with Jim Nantz invoking the Tradition Unlike Any Other. That’s what makes this spot for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters so fantastic. I don’t know if any…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 -
Fight Night Champion DLC to Include Bare Knuckle Fighting
Fight Night Champion notably included bare-knuckle fighting during the prison chapters of its narrative mode, but the fighters in the main roster didn’t participate in such bouts. Now some will. The game’s first DLC extension, due out next Tuesday, adds bare-knuckle “Old School Rules” to online and offline play. Bare-knuckle boxing will play out like…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 -
Let’s Play Left 4 Dead 2 ‘Cold Stream,’ The New, Outdoorsy Zombie Campaign
Earlier this week, Valve released the beta version of “Cold Stream,” the community-made campaign coming to the PC, Mac and Xbox 360 in the next big Left 4 Dead 2 update. Let’s see what it looks like, shall we? Cold Stream is a mix of things old and new. There’s no real story to speak…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 24, 2011 -
Why Put a Cartridge in a Console When You Can Put a Console in a Cartridge
I get the feeling I’ve seen this before somewhere, and the creator, dany32412 on Instructables, himself says it was inspired by another source. That’s still a functioning Nintendo Entertainment System within a modified NES cartridge, which is a great novelty mod. The difference here is the original gamepads are supported. NES in a Cartridge [Instructables]
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 -
New Dead Island Screens Highlight Dead People, Islands
We’re not exactly swimming in new visuals of the hyped zombie getaway game Dead Island—and what we’re seeing here we feel like we’ve seen before—but another look at this undead curiosity is still interesting to us at Kotaku. Given the slow drip of new media for this horror adventure, we have a feeling we’re going…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 24, 2011 -
Here’s Who’ll Win Madden‘s Battle of the NFL Stars
The day before the Super Bowl, I handicapped the field of potential Madden NFL 12 cover stars, coming up with seven candidates and settling on Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback of the eventual champion Green Bay Packers. I buzzed Anthony Stevenson, Madden’s lead marketer, to ask if I any of my picks were on-target. “You’re close,”…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 -
Marquee
Fun Raiser | The van is unpacked. The stage set. Let’s party. (Photo: Brian Crecente) Bedtime Stories How BioShock Infinite’s Creators Are Crafting Adventure from Labor Strife, Dead Horses and the Energy of the Tea Party Some time ago, game designer Ken Levine commented wryly about the shallow pool from which video game creators get…
By Brian Crecente Published March 24, 2011 -
The Critics Agree: Sucker Punch Is A Big Screen ‘Video Game’
Sucker Punch, the new movie from director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300), opens this weekend. It’s a big budget, special effects-stuffed action adventure featuring four young girls doing battle against giant samurai, winged serpents and zombie soldiers. Critical consensus hasn’t been good. While the movie is being largely panned by critics—hovering around the 30% mark at…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 24, 2011 -
You Could Help Write The Assassin’s Creed Encyclopedia
For those of us who would like to read an Assassin’s Creed encyclopedia, please consider that the people who are making an official one are looking for contributors. Submission rules are detailed at the Ubisoft Workship
By Stephen Totilo Published March 24, 2011