D&D Creatures Created By A Neural Network Are Weird

Dungeons & Dragons is full of mixed up creatures like owlbears, which are half bear and half owl, and perytons, the deer-headed eagles of your dreams and nightmares. D&D creatures generated by a neural network are even weirder. Janelle Shane, a research scientist who works with neural networks, has generated a whole host of new…

Great Minds Think Alike In Dragon Ball FighterZ

It’s like synchronized martial arts. In last night’s Dragon Ball FighterZ finals at Thaiger Uppercut 2018, two players who both ran Adult Gohan figured out that they were fighting with a similar set of tools. When two hits collide like that, it’s referred to as a “clash,” and it’s been around longer than you might…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Everyone Loves Boats

Sea of Thieves is out now, and we’re finally able to sail the high seas. What other characters might be getting their boat on now? There’s something about the allure of boats. I’ve spent a lot of time cruising around in my own personal sailing vessel in Assassin’s Creed IV, and Geralt’s little single-person boat…

The Main Game Dev Advocacy Group Is Wishy-Washy On Unions

Here at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, there’s an increasing momentum for the action that game developers have whispered about for decades: Unionization. In the wake of crunch, layoffs, and heavy burnout in the video game industry, developers are taking to Discord and Twitter to whisper about what it would look like to…

Sunday Comics: Mood Matrix

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published March 19. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published March 22. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Dragon Ball Super‘s Last Episode Just Aired And Oh Man

Today Dragon Ball Super’s last episode aired. There is a movie hitting theaters this December, so more Dragon Ball is coming, but for now, it’s over. Note: This article might contain spoilers. If you haven’t seen the last episode, you can watch it on Crunchyroll The general consensus seems to be that the last episode was…

Sunset with a Stranger. Dumaguete City Philippines. By Martin Tan. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Well-Timed Rocket League Respawn Thwarts Goal Attempt

Rocket League is a game with very little randomness. It’s mostly about the physics of rocket-powered cars slamming into giant balls. But during today’s Rocket League championship series matches, the one aspect of randomness in the game made a surprise appearance: respawning. When your car is hit hard enough by a player, it gets demolished…

Father and Son Bond Over Excellent Cities: Skylines Project

A dad and his 7-year-old son are creating a city together. Separated by a river, they build in isolation. One day, maybe, each side will connect up with the other. When I was a kid, the best shot that I had of playing a game with an adult was a wholesome game of checkers or,…

Dota Pro Breaks Record By Playing 108 Different Heroes

Kuro “Kuroky” Salehi Takhasomi broke a record yesterday by simply picking a single hero, and he continued to widen the lead today. Among the 115 heroes currently in Dota 2, Kuroky has played 108 of them at least once in a competitive Dota game. Over the last few days, Kuroky has played a number of…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: A New Challenger Appears, Winners!

Image editing brings the best out in everyone, and we’ve had some truly amazing entries centered on bringing different characters together so that they can, well, fight each other. Last week I asked you to put some new fighters in the arena together, and I was not disappointed. There were so many good ‘shops that…

Korean League of Legends Team Dealt An Emotional Loss On Road To Playoffs

In League Champions Korea, the potential fate of two team’s playoff hopes came down to a single match and a very emotional outcome. KSV has not had the easiest road to travel in the League of Legends Korean championships. After a strong start to the year, the team started slipping in the standings. For the…

Rollercoaster Tycoon Park Puts Attendees On The Path To Enlightenment

A Rollercoaster Tycoon player has created a horrifying trial for their park attendees. Only those who find enlightenment will escape. For some reason, people love to use Rollercoaster Tycoon as an elaborate torture device. We have ‘coasters that are so long that riders die of starvation before the loop finishes. The same player created The…

The Weekend In Esports: So Long, Stage 2

We’re almost halfway done with the Overwatch League’s inaugural season. While this stage had its fair share of highs and lows, the real standouts for me are the two teams who will be vying for the third spot in the stage playoffs this weekend: the Philadelphia Fusion and the LA Gladiators. The Fusion got off…

This Week in the Business: The Real Problem With Switch Ports

QUOTE | “Switch is not as powerful as a PS4 or Xbox One. Everyone knows that. But the difference isn’t as big as the general perception would have you believe.” – Abstraction Games CEO Ralph Egas says the studio’s biggest challenge in porting Ark: Survival Evolved to the Switch was not processor power, but getting…

We Played A Mystery Game While Trapped In A Coffin

The Alt.Ctrl.GDC exhibit at Game Developers Conference shows off a selection of games that use wild, weird, sometimes gigantic control schemes. Nathan Grayson and I took a tour of the booth this week, which all culminated in me getting inside an actual coffin. Well, an IKEA dresser on its side painted black. But still. You…