Guest Editorial

In Real Life

While My Guitar Controller Gently Weeps

7:00AM February 2, 2012 | Matt Gilgenbach

As both a game developer and a gamer, I am sad to see the guitar controller fading into obscurity. Guitar controllers are a fun and unique interface to control games, but unfortunately, it seems as though their time may have passed. I reject that. More »


In Real Life

Why I Don’t Feel Welcome At Kotaku

3:40AM November 29, 2011 | Mattie Brice

As part of an ongoing discussion on Twitter and on The Border House with Mattie Brice about Kotaku‘s openness towards minority sexualities (or perhaps just minority issues in general), I asked her to write a piece we could put on the site explaining why she doesn’t feel welcome around here. More »


News

The Problem With War Video Games

4:00AM November 10, 2011 | Nina Huntemann, PhD

On Monday night I attended a Modern Warfare 3 launch party at a national video game retailer. I was particularly pleased with the diversity of the crowd. I was not the only lady in the house! I spoke with students, an investment banker, a librarian, a building manager, mums, dads, kids, etc. More »


In Real Life

Passing The Buck In A Culture Of Dismissal

9:00AM November 4, 2011 | Nicole Leffel

This weekend I had the good fortune to attend NYU Practice, a fantastic in-depth conference on game design. I was repeatedly surprised at how clever the solutions were to the presented challenges. The lessons were both insightful and, more importantly, applicable as a game designer working for a social games startup. The NYU Game centre really hit the ball out of the park, and I can’t wait to attend next year. More »


In Real Life

This Gaymer’s Story

9:00AM October 28, 2011 | denis farr

Because it needs to be said, I only speak for myself. Trigger warnings for suicidal thoughts, sexual violence, homophobia, child abuse, life. More »


In Real Life

Sexism, Character Design, And The Role Of Women In Created Worlds

8:45AM October 21, 2011 | latoya peterson

There are many things I expect to see in a panel called “East Meets West, Art Direction for a Worldwide Audience”. I expected to hear Isamu Kamikokuryo, the art director for Final Fantasy XIII-2 discuss how Japanese artists focus on creating new worlds, Norse mythology and its influence on the game, and drawing inspiration from Cuba for some of the beautifully rendered backgrounds. More »


News

The Worst Music Video Games Ever

7:00AM September 27, 2011 | Scott Steinberg

Music games aren’t what they used to be, and in some cases, the world is safer for that. Video game expert Scott Steinberg and author of the new digital book “Music Games Rock”, tells us what the seven worst music video games of all time are. More »


News

Gamification Is Here To Stay (And It’s Not Bullshit)

4:30AM August 24, 2011 | Gabe Zichermann

Gamification is a polarising and divisive topic with many proponents and vocal sceptics and cynics. But it is not bullshit. Gamification is real and its benefits are tangible. Gamification is here to stay. More »


Nintendo

Never Count Nintendo Out

2:00AM August 23, 2011 | Chris Pruett - Robot Invader

If there are any universal rules or golden constants by which the game industry is governed, one of them is surely this: Never count Nintendo out. More »


News

Gamification Is Bullshit

8:00AM August 11, 2011 | Ian Bogost

In his short treatise On Bullshit, the moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt gives us a useful theory of bullshit. We normally think of bullshit as a synonym-albeit a somewhat vulgar one-for lies or deceit. But Frankfurt argues that bullshit has nothing to do with truth. More »