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You may recall last April, Ice-T and Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski discussed casting opportunities for Gears of War 3, before that game was even announced. Last night, Ice let slip that he has a speaking part, but quickly retracted it. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Sega and developer Obsidian Entertainment conspire to bring you Alpha Protocol, the espionage role-playing game. Is it Mass Effect meets modern-day spy thriller? More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Our latest Game Club ends today, as we've reached the final episode of Alan Wake. Let's talk about it. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

"Gus," I say, "tell me how you feel about the term ‘apeshit.'" More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Few racing games feature exploding silos that violently alter track layouts and redirect traffic onto an airstrip, requiring you to play chicken with a cargo plane apparently transporting fireballs. But Split/Second does. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Gamers are always on the hunt for vindication. Some form of acceptance amongst the wider community. Thing is, we're so busy worrying over whether games are art, or dangerous, that we overlook a potentially larger problem: what we call them. More... View the full article

"] Kotaku has learned today that Darrell Rodriguez, president of Lucasarts, has resigned from his position, and joining him at the exit are several members of his executive team. "]More » <br style="clear: both;" /> ]View the full article

Luke updated his debunking of the Madden Curse this week, but I still think there's some correlation between misfortune and box art. And after griping robustly about a sports topic, y'all got down to business and proved me right. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Adrenaline junkies who feel the need—specifically, the need for speed—but don't have access to an actual F-14D or a deluxe arcade cabinet will be gleefully forced to settle for Sega's console port of After Burner Climax, it's 2006 aerial dogfighter. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Dead Rising 2 is a zombie game with bite – a darkly humorous exploration of the ultimate power wielded by multinational pharmaceuticals and the corruption that creates. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

I believe it was the poet Bell Biv DeVoe who said "Never trust a big butt and a smile." But one thing you can trust? Kotaku reviews. So let's review what video games, movies and hardware we reviewed this week. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Product placement in video games is nothing new, but Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is definitely taking it to another level. You're going to take it even further in this week's Kotaku 'Shop Contest. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

Snake's list of mortal enemies appears to have gotten a bit longer, as the latest issue of Famitsu reveals that upcoming PSP game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will feature a surprise crossover that we certainly didn't see coming. More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

The iPad games are live on iTunes now — more than 700 of them. We may not have an iPad, but it doesn't mean we are not excited about the following (sorta expensive) games: More » <br style="clear: both;" /> View the full article

We promised you more cosplay for the second day of PAX East, and we have delivered! Check out today's gallery for more Pokémon, Mario, Final Fantasy XIII, Fallout, The World Ends With You, and this uncanny Jerry Holkins cosplay. Today's cosplay gallery spits on yesterday's cosplay gallery, trampling it into the ground like a baby facing off against a rhino. Inventive cosplayers were out in force, and for every shot we took, another one walked by without us capturing a shot. Oh, but we will capture them. We will catch them all. Enjoy the pictures, and stay tuned tomorrow for the dramatic conclusion! View the full article

Rare's Nintendo 64 shooter Perfect Dark gets a high-definition makeover for Xbox Live Arcade, the lovely and talented special agent Joanna Dark looking ten years better than she did in her first-person shooter debut. Is Dark still "perfect"? Perfect Dark for XBLA doesn't attempt to modernize the decade-old original beyond improving its visual fidelity and taking the offline game to Xbox Live, a chance for players of the split-screen original to test their special agent skills online in competitive and cooperative modes. The 4J Studios-developed upgrade packs in everything the original Perfect Dark offered and more, a chance for the N64 owner to play through a full story-driven single-player campaign or whack nostalgic from the comfort of their couch or across the country. The console first-person shooter has evolved leaps and bounds since Perfect Dark first demanded Nintendo 64 owners plug in their Expansion Paks two generations ago. Is it worth going Dark one more time? Loved Perfectly Quaint: Amidst the endless, detached killing of DataDyne soldiers and the run-ins with otherworldly lifeforms, the junk food blast that is Perfect Dark is still surprisingly fun to play. It can hardly be taken seriously anymore, with its outdated voice-acting and ham-fisted visuals—everyone in Perfect Dark is making a fist at all times—but that's what makes it so charming. The fluffy deathmatch, king of the hill and assassination modes fall under the "Xbox Live chaser" category of throwaway fun as does the opportunity to speed run missions for Achievements. Bang/Buck Ratio: There are few first-person shooters are Xbox Live Arcade, even fewer that offer something for the single-player fan, the multiplayer enthusiast and the something perfect for your four-player split-screen gamer. Perfect Dark HD is swimming in modes, maps, weapons and gadgets. Throw in Counter-Op mode, which lets players take control of enemy AI during campaign mode levels, and the option to burst through those same levels with multiple Joannas, and you've got yourself a deal at just 800 Microsoft Points. Hated Nostalgia Bankruptcy: If you don't harbor fond feelings for Rare's Perfect Dark of old or even Goldeneye, as I don't, expect the appeal of the XBLA version of Perfect Dark to be easily lost on you. The game has its glaring faults, from laggy online multiplayer to a hilariously outdated cinematic presentation to floaty controls that feel out of place on a more precise game pad. Add in repetitive trial and error gameplay and bland compact level design, when judged by modern standards, and you may wonder why you're playing Perfect Dark instead of, say, Battlefield 1943 or Call of Duty Classic for your FPS throwback fix. First-person shooters rarely age well, as the Xbox 360 re-release of Perfect Dark helps to emphasize. The high-definition coat of paint can't obscure the now-antiquated mechanics and game design that wowed the game-starved Nintendo 64 fan looking for a Goldeneye replacement in 2000. But even for the first-person shooter fan without a shred of nostalgia for Joanna Dark and Rare's brand of run and gun gameplay, there's something undeniably entertaining about the game, even after all these years. Phone a old friend—or send them a game invite—and see how well Joanna has aged together. It might just feel like old times. Exactly like old times. Perfect Dark was developed by 4J Studios and Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade on March 17. Retails for 800 Microsoft Points. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through single-player missions on Agent difficulty, tested all online multiplayer game types, dual wielded Klobbs to great success. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ. View the full article

After skipping the week of GDC, Speak-Up on Kotaku returns at full force, with contributions by Kotakuites The Drunken Moogle, Rear Admiral Meatwad, Raffleking, and Kyosen! Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page. About Speak-Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. That's why we have that little box on the front page of Kotaku. You know, the one with "Got something to say?" written in it? That's the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Just make sure to include #speakup in your comment so we can find it. Every Wednesday we'll pull the best #speakup posts we can find and highlight them here. Be A Good Gaming Commuter Raffleking warns of the dangers of becoming a public gaming asshole. This could happen to you! Another time, the bus was packed. Standing room only packed. A guy was sitting in the handicapped/pregnant chick seats up front playing Starcraft I on his laptop (side note: yes, Starcraft I. And there's no WiFi on the bus, so he must have been doing a comp stop. Jesus Christ, I should just stop writing now and kill myself). I assume the guy's backpack must have been pregnant, because it was occupying the seat next to him. A pregnant woman gets on the bus, and asks if she can sit down. The guy ignores her. Another gentleman asks if the guy can move his backpack so the woman can sit, and this request is also met with silence. Finally, a large intimidating dude sternly "suggests" that the guy let the pregnant woman sit, at which point the Gamer Guy lets out a groan of frustration and slams his backpack onto the ground. Lovely. Take that, chivalry! Not To Be Confused With Spatula City Kyosen suggests we all check out the Korean film Natural City. Having watched some damn fine Korean science fiction in the past, I'm sorely tempted. The cyborgs created to serve mankind have revolted, and now the military man sent on a mission to save mankind find himself torn between his duty and his love for the cyborg that serves him in the sophomore feature from Korean filmmaker Byung-chun Min. The year is 2080, and after a devastating war nearly wipes out the human race, artificial intelligence is used to create a race of powerful cyborgs. Designed to experience human emotions and created to serve only one master from the day they are born to the day their die, the cyborgs faithfully carry out their duties until a rising rebellion finds humanity's children taking their fate into their own hands. When military squad leaders R (Yoo Ji-tae) and Noma (Yoon Chan) are assigned the task of quelling the rebellion before the violence spirals out of control, R has trouble carrying out his duties as a result of his deep-rooted feelings for his own cyborg Ria (Seo Rin). That's One Tough Baby Rear Admiral Meatwad returns to Speak-Up, bringing along this sweet little baby right here. You guys are gunna hate me for this but I was laughing for a good hour and a half after seeing this image. Mmm, This Metroid Is Delicious The Drunken Moogle shows us how to drink a Metroid out of a cocktail glass. View the full article

The role-playing series that launched a million bad attempts at cosplay is back, with a new group of colorful characters carrying the fate of the world on their shoulders in Final Fantasy XIII. Hovering above the surface of the planet Pulse, the shell-like city of Cocoon was once a haven for humanity, but fear of powerful ancient beings known as the fal'Cie has stirred fear and unrest among the people, causing the military to respond by "quarantining" anyone who comes in contact with fal'Cie. It's during these tumultuous times that our heroes - Snow, Lightning, Sazh, Hope, Fang, and Vanille - find themselves on the wrong side of the human-fal'Cie conflict, united by a task that could mean the end of the world as they know it. It's a familiar tale, but Square Enix wouldn't fall back on common convention for its first true multi-platform Final Fantasy, would they? Loved A Beautiful Dream: By now you've seen the screenshots and videos, so I don't have to tell you that Final Fantasy XIII is a beautiful game. The world of Pulse pulses with life, from its dankest dungeon to its expansive plains. Characters move with a fluidity and grace that even extends to their mouths, as Square Enix made sure the lip-sync in the English version matched the dialogue, rather than trying to rewrite the dialogue to match mouth movement from the Japanese version, as is common practice. Let's face it, Square Enix isn't going to release a true, numbered Final Fantasy game without making sure it looks as spectacular as it can. Mission accomplished. A Tale As Old As Time: Viewing it broadly, Final Fantasy XIII's story is about a group of heroes trying to save the world from destruction, which is nothing new, especially to fans of the series. It's the strong themes woven into this tale of heroism than make the story special this time around. FFXIII is all about the power of choice, and how human beings have the power to make their own decisions, no matter how desperate and hopeless the situation may seem. Fighting against fate isn't a new concept in the role-playing genre, but Final Fantasy XIII does it with a level of polish and proficiency that makes it stand out from all the rest. At times you'll feel just as hopeless as the characters you control. Luckily this is counter-balanced by the elation you feel when they finally overcome the overwhelming obstacles placed before them. Role Call: The cast of Final Fantasy XIII started off as an assemblage of typical RPG character templates, but as the story progresses each member of my party underwent a change in character, be it subtle of profound, that won me over to their side. At the beginning of the game, the do-rag sporting Snow is your average, overconfident RPG hero, boisterous and boasting. By the time I reached the end credits, he was much the same, but the experiences I had with him during the course of the game changed my reactions to him, so it was less, "man, what a jerk," and more "oh, there he goes again, the little scamp." Even Hope, one of the whiniest characters I've ever encountered in a video game, manages to redeem himself in my eyes. My only real issue with the cast was the voice of Vanille. I always considered the Australian accent to be a little bit sexy, until Vanille opened her big mouth. Sorry, Georgia van Cuylenburg. A New Battle Paradigm: After being terribly disappointed by Final Fantasy XII's battle system for taking the control of the characters away from me, I fully expected to be similarly disappointed in XIII, which once again sees the player issuing orders through one of the three active party members. Consider me pleasantly surprised. Each character in your party has multiple roles they can fill. Snow, for instance, can be a protective Guardian, a magic-hurling Ravager, or a fierce, fist-fighting Commando (at least initially). Once you form a party of three members, you have six slots to create Paradigms, which are particular groupings of your three characters different roles, which you can switch between during battle on the fly. For example, when a boss battle starts, you might have a Guardian drawing damage, a Medic healing, and a Synergist casting beneficial spells on the party. Once you're buffed, you can switch to a trio of damaging roles in order to bring the hurt. During early chapters, the system was nearly completely unnecessary. Towards the end of the game it was indispensable. Rather than rely of a complicated series of instructions to act upon, as in FFXII, your party members rely on you to scan the creatures you fight, adjusting automatically to your enemy's strength and weaknesses. It's like playing an MMO with two other people who know exactly what you need at any given time. I found it immensely satisfying. Summoning Your Inner Strength: It wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game without summoning spells, and XIII's are more impressive than ever. I say this as a Transformers fan, so take that how you will. Each character eventually winds up with their own powerful Eidolon, which can be summoned to fight beside you in battle and then triggered to change into a vehicle, unleashing devastating attacks on your foes. XIII's Eidolons are unique for more than their transformations, however. First, winning them to your side consists of some of the toughest encounters the game has to offer, requiring you to poke and prod until you discover each Eidolon's weakness. Secondly, the relationship between the Eidolons and their human counterparts is much more intimate this time around. Without giving too much of the story away, the Eidolons are basically the giant, powerful embodiment of the game's theme of personal choice. It's a very clever design, which certainly wasn't lost on me. The Music Of The Crystals: I really want to hug Masashi Hamauzu. The composer behind the soundtrack of Final Fantasy X and Dirge of Cerberus outdid himself this time, creating one of the most eclectic yet satisfying video game soundtracks I've had the pleasure loudly curse over. He covers all of the bases, from blues to jazz to techno. My one issue with his score? You do not add lyrics to the Chocobo theme. That's our job. For years I've been adding my own lyrics, and I won't be told what to sing while I'm riding a big yellow bird, even if it's from a composer so obviously talented. Hated Equipment And Economy: Primitive as it may be, I miss the old RPG convention of visiting a new town, buying upgraded equipment, and then moving on. Give me a few slots to add special attacks to my weapons, and that's as complicated as I need it. Instead, Final Fantasy XIII presents me with a weapon and item leveling up system, in which I use bits and pieces found in chests, looted from enemies, or purchased from stores to raise the experience level of my weapons and accessories. It's not a bad idea, per se, but the execution is definitely lacking something. It takes a lot of items to raise your equipment's levels, to the point where it almost doesn't make sense to raise the experience of anything other than the character's weapons and a few select accessories. I wound up spending my entire game using the second weapon I acquired for each character, leveling them up to max and leaving them there. I never acquired a weapon that the game's auto-equip felt was more powerful than that. So instead, I found myself selling weapons for Gil (Final Fantasy money), which seemed to be in incredibly short supply. Very few creatures in the game drop actual money, so I earned the majority of my spending cash selling weapons found later in the game, in order to afford the phoenix downs (resurrection items) I needed to make it through. The Sudden Grind: You may have heard complaints about the linear nature of Final Fantasy XIII, but after the first few chapters it starts to grow on you. It grew on me so much, that towards the latter part of the game, when Square Enix dumps you out on a giant, rolling expanse and tells you to go have fun doing quests randomly scattered about, I felt lost. It didn't help that until just before that point, the game was relatively easy. The game doesn't so much have a difficulty curve as it does a difficulty brick wall that you'll slowly climb by sending your party to die against powerful monsters again and again until you finally start living again. The final level of the game was absolutely brutal. I Miss Towns: It's a personal preference, and not really a fault of the game, but I miss stopping at a new town between long stretches of fighting, talking with the locals, hanging out at the inn for a bit, checking out the shops, and generally resting up at a safe haven where you don't have to worry about a battle around every corner. And while I am on the subject, placing a save point / store every five feet doesn't make up for that. I have more than 50 save games, and I never saved at the same spot twice. Square Enix has been continuously evolving the Final Fantasy series since before Square Enix existed. Since the release of Final Fantasy XI, also known as Final Fantasy Online, I've found myself rejecting that evolution. I didn't want an online Final Fantasy, and I certainly didn't want the strange mix of turn-based and action role-playing game I was handed in Final Fantasy XII. For a while there I even pondered the fact that maybe this was a natural progression, and I had simply outgrown the series. It just wasn't for me anymore. I wouldn't say that Final Fantasy XIII has completely renewed my faith in the series, but it has shown me that Square Enix's experimentation with the classic role-playing conventions I had come to expect from the Final Fantasy can produce something fresh, new, and highly enjoyable. The company may have made a few missteps in terms of pacing, and they continue to try out new equipment systems that are far more complicated than they need to be (see The Last Remnant), but as a whole, Final Fantasy XIII is step in the right direction for the fabled franchise. Final Fantasy XIII was developed and published by Square Enix and released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 9th. Retails for $59.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played the game to completion. Final playing time: 51 hours, 33 minutes. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ. View the full article

The issue of Game Informer blowing the lid off Valve's Portal 2 is now in people's hands, and those people are scouring it for details. Most important of which is confirmation the game is going to be available on Mac. Not the world's greatest surprise, what with Valve's not-so-subtle teasing last week, but the thing with teasing - and not outright announcing - is that official confirmation still has to come somewhere down the line. And Game Informer's preview of the game looks to be just that. According to scans from the latest issue, in the details section of the mag's preview, Mac is clearly listed under the "platforms" section, alongside PC and Xbox 360. Should make airport lounge wait times on my Macbook a lot more enjoyable than they are at the moment. While you let this news soak in, why not read up on everything we know so far about Portal 2. [thanks everyone who sent this in!] View the full article

Blizzard has revealed the male model of Diablo III's wizard class, sporting a look that many late 70's, early 80's rock stars would have given all of their chest hair for. First the female monk, then the female barbarian, and now this guy, the male wizard. Comparing concept art to concept art, the male wizard in Diablo III is showing just as much, if not more skin than his female counterpart, who made her debut during BlizzCon 2008. My goodness, has this game really been in development this long? Of course, when you look at the in-game model, seen below, the male wizard is covered from head to toe in clothing and armor, while the female version still has her arms and neck exposed. I hope there's an outfit that looks more like the sexy rock god concept art, as that's how I plan on rolling in Diablo III. Now we just have to wait for the female witch doctor, and then Blizzard can release the game! Pretty please? View the full article

PlayStation Network reality show The Tester enters its second week, with just nine contestants vying for a Sony Computer Entertainment America QA testing job and no hope for cancellation. The newest episode "Communication Breakdown" is now live. Let's watch! For those who may have missed last week's debut episode, two contestants were eliminated, the bevested Barmy, booted for his low score and evil vibe detected by judge Hal Sparks, and the mysterious Roni, who may have simply been too tender for such a vicious competition. Who will be eliminated this week? And what profanity from guest judge David Jaffe will be bleeped? Follow along in our liveblog, download the episode (they're free!) and make sure you've set your personal preferences to Reality Show Mode. Just watch your words. There are a couple of Testers in the Kotaku comments ready to give you a piece of their mind. The Tester #2 View the full article

Given that they're all caps, heavily abbreviated and infused with slang, we figured the Conversation Hearts Valentine's candy would be a natural medium for gamers used to text-chatting in the same way. And we figured right. Here are the 20 best 'Shops from last week's call for entries and with that, we can officially bust a cap in the ass of Valentine's Day. Danocamera supplied two Mola Ram/Flaming heart 'Shops, one using the Indiana Jones villain's LEGO minifig. I preferred the one selected here, as it just looks more ridiculous. Mass Effect 2 is still on everyone's minds, supplying inspiration to Kyosen and Alex Thepirate Loughan. So, here are your honorees. Check back tomorrow at 11 a.m. for the next assignment. akblank Alex Thepirate Loughan boopadoo bugashi CanIReallyBeTheHero Cyrian Danocamera etheris falsoman kobun kyosen mentuss orionsaint rouken Snaffle J. Bean Spatula Swordfyre tigerhobs Viic Viper zcorpion View the full article

Forget boxes of chocolates, flowers, and stuffed animals. Those are gifts you should be exchanging every day. No, for me, Valentine's Day is the kind of day where you and your loved one go out and get Final Fantasy tattoos. Long-time Kotaku readers might have been here when I got my first Final Fantasy tattoo, the Black Mage. It was my first tattoo ever, and the pain, while intense, was something I could overlook in the interest of body art. Then I had our readers vote for the next, which resulted in Fighter on my opposite arm, a fine companion for the Black Mage, no matter what Brian Clevinger might think. Readers might also remember my girlfriend, Emily, from my article on my EverQuest addiction from back in the day. We're still together, and as we proved yesterday, still capable of being painfully romantic. Since we're both inked, we often joke when passing by the local Psycho Tattoo in Sandy Springs, Georgia, that we should stop whatever we're doing and just get more tattoos. Failing to come up with anything one might consider a normal Valentine's Day activity, I decided it was time to do just that. As my Fighter needed some touch ups, I went with the Red Mage this time around, so our tattoo artist, Justin, wouldn't have to mix too much. As was the case with the first two tattoos, the line work was excruciating, but the end product was glorious. Emily, being some sort of mutant woman crafted just for me, chose a Black Mage Chocobo from Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon. She opted to put it on the back of her leg, so she could "hum the Chocobo theme song and run really fast." As you can see from the images, Justin works just as well with traditional art as he does with pixels. So now we both have fresh tattoos. I'm heading back next Sunday to get Thief, to balance my arms out, and Emily is pondering White Mage Chocobo on her other leg for the same reason. It was definitely a Valentine's Day I will remember for the rest of my life, every time I look down at my hairy, inked arm. The only downside? Fresh tattoos and cuddling do not mix. You've been warned. View the full article

When we last checked World of Warcraft subscriber numbers in December of 2008, the game had 11.5 million. In March, Vivendi According to Blizzard's Mike Morhaime, today's numbers are exactly the same. Has the mighty MMO plateaued? During Activision's calendar year 2009 conference call today, Blizzard top dog Mike Morhaime spoke of the stability of the company's flagship title, World of Warcraft, and he wasn't kidding. Talking numbers, Morhaime revealed that the game currently had approximately 11.5 million subscribers, "about on par with last time we announced." The only problem is, the last time they announced was in December of 2008, following the release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, which should have caused a spike in numbers. Perhaps it did, but the spike faded without the company saying word one about it. At the time of the previous announcement, I questioned why the company had decided to announce half a million more than the 11 million they announced in September of 2008. Perhaps a decline in new subscriptions was behind the incremental update? Things look even bleaker if you take into account a Vivendi statement from March of 2009. During a conference call, Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy said, "We started the year with 12 million subscribers for World of Warcraft, which is a good base." If those numbers are correct, then the population has actually dropped by 500,000 since early 2009, though without official numbers from Blizzard we're suspecting the Vivendi executive may have rounded up a bit. Now mind you, WoW subscriber numbers are culled from all over the world, and with China currently having issues with getting The Burning Crusade expansion reviewed, much less Wrath of the Lich King, a great many players in that region could be backing off until the smoke clears. Could that account for the stagnant numbers, or are players just growing weary of the game, five years after its explosive release? Either way, we'll be keeping a close eye on those numbers in the months to come. With Cataclysm refreshing the starting content, perhaps we'll see a large influx of new and old players, coming to see how the face of Azeroth has changed. View the full article

Speaking last night at The Art History of Games symposium in Atlanta, Doom developer John Romero talked about the "masters" the game industry should look to for help creating games today. Which industry figures could make Romero their bitch? The first thing that Romero made clear during his talk, titled "Masters Among Us," is that John Romero should never follow three scholars discussing art in games on stage. It's not that Romero's talk wasn't informative and enjoyable; it's just that after hearing Ian Bogost talk for an hour, bringing the proceedings down to Romero's level was a bit jarring. Once he hit the stage, he went through a list of people he considered to be the "Masters" of the game industry, much like Mozart is a master composer. "Mozart was a great person who lived a long time ago and made some great music," Romero begins. "Today we only have 10% of his output. We'd learn more if we had more." More than just a group of people whose work we should admire, Romero suggests that these are people we should study, turning to them when the limitations of present-day game development bring us down. Right now out masters walk among us in the game industry. It's not so old...a lot of our masters from the early 80's are still here. It's important to learn from them." Let's look at the industry figures Romero considers masters. Nasir Gebelli Nasir Gebelli is an Iranian programmer who was instrumental in the early 80's creating games like Space Eggs and Gorgon. At one point he made nine games in one year, typing directly into a mini assembler. Romero is impressed. "He had to keep an entire game in his head. To be able to keep it all in your head with no source code is on a crazy genius level." Gebelli eventually moved to Japan, where he went to work for Squaresoft, programming Final Fantasy I through III.<br clear="all"> Bill Budge Bill Budge worked with some early 3D programming, but his main contribution to the industry was the Pinball Construction Set. Building off his Raster Blaster pinball game, Budge delivered a set of tools that allowed anyone to create their own pinball table. "People had never seen a program this complicated," says Romero.<br clear="all"> Mark Turmell Mark Turmell is best known for his work on games like NBA Jam, Smash TV, Total Carnage, and Space Invaders clone Sneakers. Romero says he's a guy that's not too difficult to get in touch with.<br clear="all"> Dan/Dani Bunten Next Romero moved on to industry figures that are no longer with us, starting with M.U.L.E. creator Dan Bunten, who later in life underwent a sex change to become Dani Bunten. "Dan created many of the blueprints for today's games."<br clear="all"> Bill Williams "There are no pictures of Bill Williams," says Romero, and try as I might, I can't prove the man wrong. Best known for his Atari computer games, including Alley Kat, Salmon Run, and Necromancer (pictured), Williams' work was lauded for its skill and artistry.<br clear="all"> Gunpei Yokoi The creator of the Nintendo Game & Watch series and father of the Game Boy, Gunpei is "the guy who Shigeru Miyamoto learned from." "Gunpei had a theory of design - that great games don't have to come from insane technology." It's a theory Nintendo has proven true again and again.<br clear="all"> Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson The co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons, and grandfathers of the role-playing game. "Remembering these people is very important," is all Romero has to say.<br clear="all"> Sid Sackson An acclaimed designer of board games, Sid Sackson's family, not understanding his work, sold all of it off after Sackson passed in 2002. Thousands of games were lost to collectors and auctions, they're examples lost to those who could learn from them.<br clear="all"> Sid Sackson's example is a tragic one, but it drives home Romero's final point. "Between genrefication, software API's, and ESRB ratings, we are limiting ourselves. We need to go back to our masters and see what they would have done with (game design). People who worried more about play than polygons. "I believe these people should be studied and their data warehoused. We need to go back to the beginning of the industry to learn as much as we can...We need to do this before this knowledge is lost. We don't want what happened to Mozart to happen to our masters." Romero might not be the most accomplished public speaker, but the man knows how to bring a point home. View the full article