This thing is beautiful turned on or off. You can display it proudly on your desk, or hang it up to stand in the air using the secret door on the top.
According to the Etsy creator's page:
Built with a Poplar frame, birch face, and acrylic yellow plastic triforce. The sides of the lamp are stylized with 8-bit pixelated goodness that casts great light around the room.
I'm assuming, however, that most people will not want to cough up the $95 +shipping to get one of these. Unless you're that dedicated of a Zelda fan, of course.
Game testing and QA positions can be really rough jobs, as previous lawsuits and even a webcomic attest.
Though the testing process is vital to good game development, not all developers or publishers necessarily consider their testers to be vital employees, it seems. IGN spoke with several, recently, seeking to discover where, on the spectrum between dream and nightmare, the job truly lies.
Repetitious tasks and low compensation, the first two major issues IGN delves into, are sadly endemic to many a profession. But other issues raised by the interviewed employees don't just describe unpleasant working conditions, but occasionally dangerous ones:
For Frank, this meant mandatory overtime every day. "It got borderline illegal. It got to that point when I was so tired at three or four in the morning that I passed out a couple of times. Others did too and not anyone of us disturbed that person. We just let it go for a bit and brought each other back to life when we needed to."
Can workers in these positions agitate for change or switch employers? Not often, it seems. It's a small world and temporary employment contracts work in the employers' favor:
Reuben adds, "If management doesn't like someone, they just refuse to renew their contract, thus avoiding any hassle at all. This leads to people who start asking questions about workload and length to be branded as trouble makers and their contracts are simply not extended."
"The part that really hurts is that the industry is so small that if for some reason you are let go, most companies in your area know about it and won't hire you."
The combination of low pay, long hours, tedious tasks, and poor job security would naturally seem to drive away applicants. But particularly in recent years, unemployment has been riding high and even a crummy job can be better than no job. What's more, gaming is a very popular and competitive industry, and many workers want in. The allure of "playing games all day" will always attract new employees, even into high-turnover positions.
However, as in any other industry, some companies are better to work for than others. IGN cites organizations like Blizzard and Valve that value both the QA process and the contributions of the employees who make it work. If every publisher out there felt they had the time and money to devote more resources to testing, we'd not only have better working environments out there — we'd probably have better games to go with.
Remember Rampage? The old-school arcade hit let players control giant monsters that unleashed havoc all over fictional cities, most memorably by climbing buildings and punching them into rubble.
When Warner Brothers acquired Midway after the publisher declared bankruptcy a few years ago, it also got the company's intellectual property portfolio, which included Rampage. It's been ages since gamers have been able been play as Ralph, George or Lizzie, with Rampage: Total Destruction for the Wii showing up as the last title in the series in 2006.
But the monsters of Rampage haven't entirely been forgotten. The website of graphics artist Andrew Baker shows off designs for an apparent reboot of the monster destruction franchise. On other pages of his site, Baker refers to Rampage as a Kinect title. According to the Games Credits and Resume pages on his site, Baker's worked on other Midway titles and Warner Bros, lending credence to the idea that the idea that this was a game that was actually in development.
Rampage is described as an unreleased prototype, which could mean that it's been cancelled entirely or might still see the light of day. That said, a downloadable Rampage game with gestural controls could be a fun iteration of the franchise. Guess we'll never know.
Welcome to the final Kotaku Game Club meeting on Mass Effect 3. We've spent the last three weeks talking about this game as the culmination of a gameplay promise established years ago, judging the its merits versus the two that came before for it. Today we'll be doing something a little different, venturing into an entirely new area of the Mass Effect universe: "Galaxy at War", the series' first attempt at multiplayer.
If you've never participated in a Game Club meeting before, here's the story. The Kotaku Game Club exists because no one wants to experience a game alone. Even if we're playing individually, it's always more interesting to share our thoughts and hear other peoples' perspectives. The Game Club picks a different game every month to play as group so we can meet to discuss its narrative and mechanical themes and reactions to them.
We meet on Kotaku every Thursday at 4pm Eastern, and our discussions take place in the comments section of designated Game Club posts like this one.
Here's our weekly jump-off question: Does the connection between the Mass Effect 3 campaign and its multiplayer offering strengthen or weaken the experience?
Connecting the multiplayer experience to the campaign, in its way, helps to feel the scale Mass Effect universe and the Reapers' invasion. At the same time, it also personalizes the experience - Where the campaign's war assets are just numbers, you and your squad-mates are real people that you can see and talk to.
Of course, connecting the campaign and multiplayer was also the easiest way to get players to give the untested mode a try: While it could theoretically enhance the experience, it also has the potential to ruin the magic of the intricately-crafted world.
As I mentioned above, Mass Effect is, at its core, a cumulative experience - Our emotional bond with Shepard and his or her crew evolves from witnessing some of their most meaningful life choices for hours on end. "Galaxy at War" introduces a set of non-descript characters are designed to be interchangeable and seemingly infinite in number - When you reach the character's level cap, you can "promote them" and start building a new soldier from scratch. The gameplay may mimic Mass Effect's combat, but players' fundamental motivations - to prestige and buy upgrades - couldn't be further from the spirit of the series.
Then again I enjoyed "Galaxy at War", just not the same way I enjoyed the rest of Mass Effect. It's fun in that same purely mechanical way as many other multiplayer shooters. Truth be told, I enjoyed the game a lot less when I thought that the people I was playing with, who weren't always the most pleasant bunch, might actually fight alongside Shepard and his crew.
Which leaves me wondering: Would the "Galaxy at War" experience been more enjoyable if it had simply relied on the same basic premise of "killing lots of bad guys" that other shooters do instead of trying to coerce us into emotional transference?
That's it, everybody! After today, we're done with Mass Effect 3. Make sure you post your ideas for what we should play next in the thread below. We'll let you know what the next game will be as soon we pick it.
YouTube user KSIOlajidebt doesn't know how to pronounce my name, but he figured out my Twitter handle and has convinced dozens and dozens of his fans to send me a video.
KSIOlajidebt, I've learned, has a problem.
He's a hotshot video producer for Machinima, the online juggernaut that has partnered with some 4,000 other video-creators and has, according to the Los Angeles Times, more than a billion hits on its network of videos a month.
KSIOlajidebt is a star, really, regularly posting YouTube videos of FIFA video game matches that generate more than 300,000 or 400,000 views. They go live on his Machinma-affiliated channel. He and Machinima split the revenue.
But now he wants out. "I am sick and tired of this," he says in a new anti-Machinima video he posted on his Machinima channel yesterday. His possible sources of sick-and-tiredness appear to be, as stated in the video, the concept that Machinima makes its money from YouTube users like him, that their support of smaller channels is "below par" and that, last year, when YouTube deleted his account for some reason, the people at Machinima, who he'd partnered with since 2010 and contacted for help, didn't know who he was.
He seems to be most angry about his contract, which he says lasts to the end of time. "They downright refuse to allow YouTube channels to simply leave their network." Newer contracts lock Machinima video-makers in for seven years, he says.
Through the video featured here (100,000 views overnight), KSIOlajidebt has implored his many YouTube followers to bring these issues to the attention of me, two other reporters and, for some reason the head of Call of Duty publisher Activision. He did not, however, respond to a request for comment. Judging strictly by the information publicly available on his Facebook page, KSIOlajidebt, real name JJ Olatunji, is quite young. He lists himself as attending a British prep school, graduating this year.
Many online video producers who partner with the likes of Machinima are young and they enjoy something of a second career or modern-day part-time job that earns them money for school or the pleasures of teenage life or young adulthood.
"Our program has grown to include nearly 4,000 partners around the world," a spokesperson for Machinima told me, "many of whom are now able to make creating content their full time jobs." Some of those producers even go on to earn full-time jobs at the thriving company.
The Machinima rep says departures among those 4,000 partners are rare. "Of the entire group of partners, very few have ever had problems or issues— about one or two percent—over the past two years. Our goal is to create the most robust program in the space for aspiring creators of compelling video content that resonates with our global audience."
Machinima partner videos by the likes of WoodysGamertag and AmazingFilms247 remain immensely popular, pulling in six and seven-figures' worth of views. One source familiar with Machinima partner contracts says a video-maker can earn as much as $2 for every thousands clicks on a video. That source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about these contracts, said that gaming giant IGN, which has been building its own YouTube presence will pay more than $3 per thousand clicks. (Neither Machinima nor IGN reps were able to comment about those rates by presstime, but we'll update if they chime in.)
It may well be that the IGN rates or other opportunities better than an endless or even seven-year contract may be what's really compelling JJ Olatunji to compel his fans to Tweet to me, and for one of those fans to declare that Machinima is "evil." We may simply be talking about young stars looking for a deal, frustrated that contracts they signed as teens or young adults gave more away than they realized.
"Machinima has long term agreements in place with our channel partners to monetize their content," a company rep said, "because making channel partners successful is a long term commitment for us."
One frustrated producer sounds a different note: "The fact of the matter is that we CANT speak out against them," they told me, "because they literally own our channels. Is it our fault for signing the contract? Yes. But you make the judgement whether or not a 16 year old can legitimately bargain with 'this is the only way you can make money.'"
It's not clear how tied to Machinima JJ Olatunji really is, nor is it clear if Machinima, faced with a disgruntled producer would really stick to a contract or just let them go.
But we may be seeing how a new breed of video game star here—the bedroom video producer, the big fan, the young, aspiring gamer who loves to express their love for video games in video form—shakes things up and draws hundreds of thousands of gamers to their cause.
Yesterday's Champions League quarterfinal pitting AC Milan against Barcelona resulted in some light-hearted support from the Milan fans in the San Siro stadium.
Seen above is an AC Milan-supporting Pac-Man chasing after the ghost that sports the Barcelona colors. Although the good vibes and fun Pac-Man demonstration didn't result in any points—as the game ended in a draw—it's definitely fun to see sports fans showing off their gaming fandom, too.
The banner reads "Let's Eat Them!" You can find more pictures of the AC Milan Pac-Man ready to eat the Barcelona ghost over at sports news channel Yahoo! Sports.
Could a role-playing game like Final Fantasy work as an episodic series like Lost?
That's the driving question behind Tempus Chronicle, an upcoming Facebook RPG by a group of developers called Tista Games who say they want to make a game with characters compelling and relatable enough to keep you coming back week after week for more. Speaking to Kotaku in an e-mail, Tista CEO Aunim Hossain said their goal is to "tell a story that does as good a job at building great characters" as games like Final Fantasy VI and television shows like Lost.
"We combine the best of both worlds—a video game medium that lets you get involved and play through the plot combined with a TV show medium that lets us selectively focus on different characters to show a more complete picture," Hossain said.
Every Tuesday at 6pm, you'll be able to access a new episode of Tempus Chronicle. The rest of the week, you can play the game and discuss the story with your friends on Facebook and other message boards. It's a neat idea that could cultivate a loyal and passionate group of dedicated fans—if it's good.
Like everybody and their mother these days, Tista Games has launched a Kickstarter to support this project. They want to raise a whopping $200,000 to fund "a full season" of 24 episodes. Though they plan to launch the game whether or not they meet their goal, Hossain says that funding will allow Tista to release the whole thing for free.
The story revolves around two boys who figure out how to use their pocket watches to travel through "time gates" not unlike Chrono Trigger. They open a time gate to search for their missing mother, eventually finding themselves on the ill-fated Titanic cruise liner in 1912. On the ship, they meet up with other time travelers and try to figure out just how the hell to get out of there.
"We think that Facebook games have the potential to evolve into a much better gaming platform. And we want to be at the forefront of the Facebook gaming revolution."
"Along the way, the boys will... learn about the secrets of time travel and learn to control it, they'll each fall in love with very different people, they'll be separated from each other, and they'll search for their mother," Hossain said. "We have a lot of other twists and turns that we're excited to present to you."
Sounds interesting, no? If this game can successfully blend the cliffhanger-packed addiction of a series like Lost with the charm that made classic titles like Chrono Trigger so appealing, it could really be something. Although I'm not a huge fan of the art style they use in their Kickstarter video (a cookie if you can spot the placeholder art from Final Fantasy VI), I love the idea of an ongoing weekly RPG series that feels like a TV show.
"In our episodic medium, like Lost, we will be able to really flesh out our characters," Hossain said. "We'll have episodes that focus on one of the characters and show their histories, motivations, and insecurities."
And Hossain knows what some of you are thinking. A Facebook game? No way in hell am I touching that. But he says this will be different than most Facebook games you've seen.
"Admittedly, Facebook games have historically been focused on the casual market and have utilized very limited (and tedious) mechanics," he said. "But we think that Facebook games have the potential to evolve into a much better gaming platform. And we want to be at the forefront of the Facebook gaming revolution."
It won't use any sort of energy mechanic, Hossain says. You'll be able to play as long as you want. And you won't have to invite your friends to get ahead. The game won't spam your wall or continuously ask you to post things on your news feed.
"We want you to feel as though you're playing a real old school RPG that happens to be on Facebook," he said. "We're creating the old school JRPG that we've been dying to play, we're releasing it on Facebook to revolutionize the way games are made on that platform, and we're hoping to pioneer a new genre of weekly scheduled episodic games."
The fate of the Warhammer 40,000 MMO has been revealed: It's no longer a Warhammer 40,000 MMO. THQ has announced Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium has been "refocused" as a single-player action game with multiplayer elements, a change that brings with it substantial layoffs at developers Vigil Games and Relic Entertainment.
Originally thought canceled due to financial troubles at THQ, the publisher assured fans that the massively multiplayer game was still in development, though the exact nature of that development was left up in the air. In any case, it didn't seem like the company was in any shape to maintain a big budget MMO game.
And they weren't. In a press release issued today Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ, revealed game-changing plans for the project.
"As previously announced, we have been actively looking for a business partner for the game as an MMO. However, based on changing market dynamics and the additional investment required to complete the game as an MMO, we believe the right direction for us is to shift the title from an MMO to a premium experience with single and multiplayer gameplay, robust digital content and community features."
Disappointing, to say the least.
Even more disappointing is the downsizing at Vigil Games and Relic Entertainment that comes as a result of this decision, the two internal THQ studios losing 79 and 39 full-time employees respectively.
While countless MMO fans just lost faith in THQ, THQ still believes in Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium.
"Because we believe strongly in the high-quality and vast creative work that is in production, this is the right decision for both our portfolio and for gamers devoted to this powerful property."
The hour is nearly upon us—Molyjam 2012 begins tomorrow. Molyjam 2012 is, of course, the game-design jam based on the wacky ideas of Peter Molydeux, the twitter evil-twin of famed game developer (and real human) Peter Molyneux.
I've already shared which of his ideas I think would make for fun game prototypes, but starting tomorrow and going through to Sunday, it'll be time to see what everyone else thinks. Each jam will likely have its own schedule, but the San Franciscio/East Bay jams will begin on the evening of Friday, March 30th through Sunday, April 1st.
Even since last week, the event has added more locations; the number is currently at 28. 28 different locations! Contact information for each location can be found hat whatwouldmolydeux.com, but as of this post, the locations include:
San Francisco
NYC
Seattle
Boston
Los Angeles
Orlando
Las Vegas
Phoenix
Austin
Lexington
Malmo, Sweden
Dieburg, Germany
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Melbourne, Australia
Brighton, UK
London, UK
Montreal, Canada
Sydney, Australia
Munich, Germany
Lisbon, Portugal
Toronto, Canada
Dundee, Scotland
Monterrey, Mexico
Tel Aviv, Israel
Christchurch, New Zealand
Helsinki, Finland
Guadalajara, Mexico
It sounds as though they're running out of space at a lot of the events; The San Francisco space is full, with people setting up ad-hoc team meetings around it so that they can participate. So, if you're a creative or game develop-y type in one of those areas, or you'd simply like to get with some friends and participate remotely, you can get in touch with organizers via the main page and keep up with Molyjam news via the news page.
I'll be keeping tabs on the San Francisco event this weekend, and will report back with tales of the weird, the wacky, and hopefully the truly inspired games that people come up with.
You might not want to sell or give away your Xbox 360 any time soon. Not without taking a hammer to the hard drive.
Even restoring your console to factory settings won't remove some of the data it stores, according to an ongoing study from researchers at Drexel University. And with a handful of common tools, hackers and modders can dig into a system's hard drive and excavate your credit card number or other personal information.
Speaking to Kotaku in a phone interview today, researcher Ashley Podhradsky said Xbox publisher Microsoft is doing a "disservice" to its customers by not doing a better job of keeping personal data protected.
"Microsoft does a great job of protecting their proprietary information," she said. "But they don't do a great job of protecting the user's data."
Podhradsky, along with colleagues Rob D'Ovidio and Cindy Casey at Drexel and Pat Engebretson at Dakota State University, bought a refurbished Xbox 360 from a Microsoft-authorized retailer last year. They downloaded a basic modding tool and used it to crack open the gaming console, giving them access to its files and folders. After some work, they were able to identify and extract the original owner's credit card information.
We reached out to Microsoft for comment on this issue, but as of press time, they have not yet responded.
Podhradsky isn't even a gamer, she says. For seasoned modders and hackers, the process might be even easier.
"A lot of them already know how to do all this," she said. "Anyone can freely download a lot of this software, essentially pick up a discarded game console, and have someone's identity."
So what should you do if you want to get rid of your Xbox 360 but you don't want your personal information compromised? Podhradsky recommends detaching your 360's hard drive, hooking it up to your computer, and using a sanitization program like Darik's Boot & Nuke to wipe everything out. Just reformatting the system isn't enough.
"I think Microsoft has a longstanding pattern of this," Podhradsky said. "When you go and reformat your computer, like a Windows system, it tells you that all of your data will be erased. In actuality that's not accurate—the data is still available... so when Microsoft tells you that you're resetting something, it's not accurate.
This thing is beautiful turned on or off. You can display it proudly on your desk, or hang it up to stand in the air using the secret door on the top.
Game testing and QA positions can be really rough jobs, as previous 
Remember Rampage? The old-school arcade hit let players control giant monsters that unleashed havoc all over fictional cities, most memorably by climbing buildings and punching them into rubble.
Yesterday's Champions League quarterfinal pitting AC Milan against Barcelona resulted in some light-hearted support from the Milan fans in the San Siro stadium.
Could a role-playing game like Final Fantasy work as an episodic series like Lost?
The fate of the Warhammer 40,000 MMO has been revealed: It's no longer a Warhammer 40,000 MMO. THQ has announced Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium has been "refocused" as a single-player action game with multiplayer elements, a change that brings with it substantial layoffs at developers Vigil Games and Relic Entertainment.
What would Molydeux? We're about to find out.
You might not want to sell or give away your Xbox 360 any time soon. Not without taking a hammer to the hard drive.