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“Infinity Ward are combining Zelda with Professor Layton. The twist? It's going to feature Bayonetta as an unlockable character.” “Sega are combining Forza with Minesweeper. The twist? It's being written by JJ Abrams.” Ok, I’d play those. And you? You’d want such things to exist, wouldn’t you? If only to see how bad they might be? Yeah, you would. It’s pretty much always true that the craziest rumors are the most tantalizing. And that’s why it’s so great that reason that a bunch of people—namely Sean Bell of Midnight Resistance, Matthew Castle and Chris Spann—teamed up to make the Game Rumor Generator. Game Rumor Generator trawls the collective subconscious of the game enthusiast hivemind and seems to pull out the most awesome and/or nightmare-inducing scenarios. Like this one: “Infinity Ward are combining Starfox with Journey. The twist? It's only available after 4am in France.” The very basis for the tool taps into the impulse that drives modders to do their own legally impossible crossovers. Go get some totally baseless rumors of your own at Midnight Resistance and share them below. And, everyone, we know that the next step is to have a game jam around these fake enterprises, right? Someone make that happen. GAME RUMOUR GENERATOR [Midnight Resistance] (image via GTA 4 Mario Theft Auto on YouTube)

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: E1 Salvador runs down the games that’s he finished so far this year. And AstroKid248 offers up a TAYSnacktaku review about Sonic’s corndogs. There’s a video coming, so check back later. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

New culture and maritime policy trees are great and everything, but I'm just going to nuke the planet until I win anyway.

We're livestreaming unseen footage from Naughty Dog's survival action game on Friday. Find out when and where here.

For the longest time in Japan, to be an otaku was to be an outcast. To be labeled an "otaku" was to be branded with the staple of being an awkward, obsessive social outcast, and/or potential sexual predator/criminal. While the times have changed, it appears that Japanese mass media's preconception of the "otaku stereotype" has not. Japanese subculture blog, Otakuma Economic Newspaper (おたくま経済新聞) writes how every now and then they are approached by large media outlets, including TV studios, to introduce individuals who are self-designated otaku of a particular subject that the outlets can interview. According to this site, very often, the interviewees are turned down because they don't fit with the desired "otaku image." By asking the people who were eventually turned down what sort of "otaku image" the media outlets were looking for, a bizarrely specific "typical otaku" profile can be constructed. The following list for the "typical" male otaku was compiled based on the various reasons that male nerds did not make the cut. Body type -Preferably fat or extremely skinny. Clothes Pants- Jeans or Chino pants. Suit pants are also possible. Preferably with the hems folded back. Shirts- T-shirts of button-down shirts. Generally tucked into the pants. T-shirts with characters printed on them are preferable. Belt- GI belts. Head- Preferably have a bandana wrapped around. Baggage- Backpacks. Preferably with posters and other merchandise sticking out. Glasses- Thick lenses and plain frames. Preferably showing wear from prolonged use. Fashion sense- Preferably behind the times. The worse the fashion sense, the better. Daily Routine -Regularly checks figure stores and anime stores. -Watches all currently airing anime. Preferably anime aimed towards young girls or anime with lots of Moe characters. -Lives poorly so that all money can be spent on their hobby. Food -No expensive or fancy meals. -Generally eats fast food or cheap chain restaurant food. Self-made meals are preferably restricted to simple foods like pasta or noodles. Sexual Preference -Young girls or pop idols Speech -Uses "Otaku-specific" lingo. Talents -Inside-joke based tricks -Can sing any anime theme song Personality -Sophistic -Talks to self -Unable to make eye contact -Unable to relate to "normal" people Home -Filled with figures, hug pillows and other items Relationships -Preferably single -Introduces anime characters as girlfriend/wife Basically, large media outlets want people who would pass the Creepy Geek Test. Now it could be argued that generally, the media outlets are trying to convey an extreme sort of image and require specimens that fit with their agenda. Also, many of these "stereotypical" otaku are selected for variety shows and not necessarily news programs. Even so, the agenda itself seems outdated and wrong. Currently there is an increase of singers, comedians, and celebrities in Japan who claim to be otaku, and in many cases use this fact in a positive light as a selling point. Indeed many self-identifying otaku look, act, and dress like your average Japanese citizen (so, totally normal!) and such prehistoric stereotypes serve no purpose other than to ridicule and pander to a mean-spirited sense of shadenfreude. I guess showing "real otaku" just doesn't bring in the ratings. 大手メディアが求める「オタク像」には違和感を覚える [おたくま経済新聞] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. contact the author of this post, write to cogitoergonihil@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @tnakamura8.

This July, the manga version of Neon Genesis Evangelion is ending its long run. The final entry in Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga version will appear in an upcoming issue of Young Ace. The manga began in December 1994. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

After playing Saya no Uta – The Song of Saya this past week, I’ve been thinking a lot about horror games. And when it comes to me personally, I have to accept that all my life I have been a complete wuss when it comes to the horror genre. While watching a horror movie or playing a horror game, I am usually okay—probably thanks to my endless string of curses breaking up the immersion. However, when I am lying alone in bed later that night, I know that the real horror is about to start. I have what you might call an active and gruesome imagination, and I am more than capable of scaring the crap out of myself. So with its graphic images and disturbing plot developments in mind, I knew what lay around the corner for me thanks to The Song of Saya. But did those little night terrors continue for long? No, they did not. To explain why, let’s look at my experience with a well-known horror movie. Back in college, I got two free tickets to see the American version of The Ring. I had no idea what kind of movie it was but I decided to take my girlfriend to see it. Incidentally, I loved the movie—but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t constantly haunted by an irrational fear of TVs for the next several months. In fact my fear of that movie persisted somewhat over the next few years, even as I watched the Japanese version and its sequels. However, upon watching the prequel film, Ring 0: Birthday, my fear completely evaporated. Why? Because while in the other movies Sadako is the villain, the Ring 0 casts her as the protagonist. She is an incredibly sympathetic character: a girl with powers she doesn’t understand trying to live a normal life. Of course, that doesn’t stop the other characters in the film from actively trying to ruin her life. So by the time evil Sadako appears near the end of the film, we are cheering her on, rooting for the deaths of all the characters who wronged her. The film establishes Sadako as such a sympathetic character that forcing people to watch a video of weird imagery seems like a small price to pay for the sins committed against her. My contemplation of The Song of Saya, brought me to a similar understanding of Saya and Fuminori as they can be seen by the player in a same light as Sadako. By seeing why they are raping/murdering/eating people in a slow, step-by-step progression, we in turn support them despite knowing that their actions are immoral. Being on the monster's side is not unique to Japanese games, however. Both of the Batman Arkham games have you play a similar role. While Batman is a superhero to us, this is only because we know what is going on with his backstory—we know his fears and hopes as well as his motivations. But to the criminals who have no such information, he is an unkillable horror monster on par with Saya or Sadako. He strikes from the shadows, picking them off one by one like a creature hungry to dine on their sins. And that is why once you see the person behind the “monster,” fear simply evaporates. In other words, it's hard to fear what you understand on an emotional level. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. To contact the author of this post, write to BiggestinJapan@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan.

Instead of shelling out for plastic surgery, one mother in South Korea decided she could make her daughter beautiful through things like massaging her child's face. With a spoon. This week on popular Korean show Martian Virus, the mother discussed how she thought, even as a baby, that her daughter was ugly, worrying that the infant took after the father. She even suffered from postpartum depression. The mother worried that her daughter was going to have a rotund face. In much of Asia, many do not consider large, round faces attractive. So starting when her daughter was two years old, the mother decided to begin a massage routine to mold the child into the beautiful daughter she so wanted. The mother began her daughter's face, so that it would become "smaller" and the girl's chin would become "pointed". She also started massaging her daughter’s legs so the limbs would grow straight, instead of bowlegged. To improve her daughter's skin, the mother makes a skin pack from chicken feet. The idea is that it has lots of collagen and is a "beauty food" in parts of Asia—which is apparently a myth. And to give her daughter double eyelid folds, the mother "massaged" the child's eyes with a chilled spoon for twenty minutes at a time. The mother's beauty regimen has continued for her daughter, now a teenager, on a daily basis for sixteen years, apparently.　 In Asia, there are beauty treatments for women that supposedly help them achieve the figure they desire through massage therapy, but nobody does that kind of thing on children. And the spoon trick is also surprising people in Asia—it seems incredibly extreme. If the show's name didn't already tip you off, please note that Martian Virus features guests that people in South Korea find incredibly unusual. Heck, the program once featured a guy who married a pillow and a grown baby woman (more odd guests here!), so don't even assume everything on it is even real. This mother is certainly not the norm in South Korea, so likewise, don't assume that, either! Online in South Korea, the "facial reconstruction mother" is causing an array of reactions—from commenters happy to see the mother's devotion to her daughter to commenters flabbergasted by the whole thing. This episode of Martian Virus even spread online to neighboring China and Japan, where there are those who don't realize what kind of show Martian Virus is—and, of course, use this episode to make sweeping statements about South Korea. All this being said, spoons are for eating, not for massaging your kid's face. 화성인 '얼굴개조맘'…"딸 얼굴은 내 손으로 만들었다" [Segye] 母亲用手为女儿“整容” 用勺子做出双眼皮 [中国新闻] 화성인 얼굴개조맘 “성형수술 없이 딸 외모 바꿨다” 주장 [MBN] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

...Otherwise this full-page ad in Britain's Metro newspaper is going to look very silly indeed. While a 2013 release for the United States is a certainty, there have been fears that, like was the case with the PS3, Europe would get Sony's latest console a few months late. Hopefully this means that isn't the case. Image [SuicidalSteve @ NeoGAF]

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, who is sidelined with an illness, sent out word to One Piece readers, apologizing for making people wait for the next issue. In the statement, he seemed in good spirits and really wanted folks to read the "new development" in the upcoming One Piece. Good to know! To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

One assumes a simple Windows folder wouldn't be the most terrifying thing in the world. You'd be wrong.

I've got a lot of toys and statues on my "good bookshelf", but I'm also a man with small kids, and who has normal people around to his house to visit. So no, I won't be buying this giant, hideous Resident Evil bust. Even though deep down I kind of want to. Recreating RE3's Nemesis down to the...neck tendons, it's "life-size". Which might go part of the way to explaining why it's $800. RESIDENT EVIL: NEMESIS LIFESIZE BUST [Hollywood Collectibles, via Toyark]

The next Call of Duty game, Ghosts, will be the first to appear on an entirely new generation of hardware. Despite this, it's still built on an engine that's over ten years old, though the game's developers would like you to think otherwise. Sure, the engine has been heavily modified since then - Modern Warfare 3 vs Quake III isn't even a contest - but as any Call of Duty fan can attest, there are places, especially when it comes to the geometry of levels, where the engine is kinda showing its age. Infinity Ward’s animation lead Zach Volker tells OPM “When we’re talking about a new engine we’re talking about upgrading significant systems within in that engine. We’re not talking about throwing it all away and saying we’re starting from the ground up”. The reason they're still using the same engine, as opposed to an all-new one, is about what you'd expect given the annual release cycle of the series. "[It's] impossible to develop a new engine from the ground up in a two year cycle”, he says. “What we do is we say, ‘okay what are the things that are significant and that we would say that are encompassing of the engine or its visual quality?” he adds. “Are those being upgraded in a significant way? Alright, then I think that warrants that we’ve got a new engine on our hands”. Well, no, you don't. A new engine is a new engine. As he explains, the decision to stick with the old one makes complete sense, especially when you consider that most copies of this year's game will still be sold on "old" hardware. Not sure why they need to stretch the label to make up for that. Hopefully next year's game can make the break. Be nice to see what the series can do with some new horsepower under the hood. Call Of Duty Ghosts next-gen engine explained: “We’re talking about upgrading significant systems, not starting from the ground up” [OPM]

It's back to Star Trek Online as Jeff continues flaunt his lifetime subscription to the staff.

It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future. What's your game called and what's it about?

Bam fu is a two-, three- or four-player game on one device where you tap on pebbles - a fancy word for the buttons in this game - as quickly as you can to make them your color. Other players are trying to do the same and the colors change in a cycle, so the pebbles will definitely not stay on your color for long. The game goes on with you trying to reclaim your pebbles as fast as you can, until all, or almost all, pebbles are your color. That's when you win.

What's the coolest aspect of Bam fu?

We think that the coolest aspect of the game is that you can play it with everyone. Any gender, age or language; literally everyone!

The rules are so simple that it doesn't take more than a second to get them. In fact, we are yet to find a player who doesn't skip the the tutorial. Plenty of thought has gone into small details to keep things simple. For example, we are using the fingers on the hand to count your points, so it's immediately clear that you play to five.

We have also made the game accessible to colorblind players, which was a challenge for a game than distinguishes between players by color. This is why the pebbles were designed to point toward a player's corner.

Unrest is a most unusual game. There are no fail states, for one. The story continues if you fail. It's also an RPG that takes place in ancient India—which, I don't know about you, but that's not a place I've ever visited in a game. The Kickstarter video promises a lot of unconventional ideas, actually. Unlike most games, you won't have combat for the sake of having combat. From the Kickstarter page: Instead of meaningless combat encounters with dozens of enemies in every area, combat encounters will be few and unique, such as a knife fight for food in an alley, a duel between homeless humans and Naga (and more!) in a style similar to Sid Meier's Pirates. Importantly, violence will have consequences on the state of the world - too much bloodshed and you might just tip the city over the edge. That, to me, sounds enticing. Most games have a knack for giving me small existential crises as I think about the hordes I regularly tear down and how much time that padding takes away from me—and any game that gets rid of inconsequential battles feels like a godsend. They're so rare! Unrest isn't the prettiest game, but the ideas seem to make up for that. The Kickstarter page for Unrest can be found here.

Is it Gif? Or is it Jif? Someone should write a song! Oh look, someone did. That someone is musician Jonathan Mann, who recorded this song "Don't Say GIF" after GIF-inventor Steve Wilhit set the internet ablaze by announcing that his invention is meant to be pronounced "Jif," like the peanut butter. Is it gif? Or is it Jif? Or does it really not matter? Weigh in on this crucial, epoch-shifting debate here or over in TAY. (Via Laughing Squid)

In a recent Kickstarter update, developer Roundthird announced that its draw-your-own-game app Pixel Press will launch for both Android and iOS devices, once its funding goal of $100,000 is met.

Originally announced as an iOS exclusive, Pixel Press will now debut for Android in 2014 if funding succeeds. Roundthird will ramp up production for a simultaneous iOS and Android launch in December of this year if funding reaches a newly announced stretch goal of $125,000.

To create platforming challenges within Pixel Press, players start by drawing level layouts on printable graph paper. These layouts can then be imported and made playable by uploading a photo of the finished design. The app is aimed at students wishing to enter game development; a $40 "teacher package" reward tier includes multiple copies of Pixel Press and access to online educational resources.

Currently, Pixel Press backers have pledged over $33,000, as 21 days remain in Roundthird's funding campaign.

Let us once again reflect on the beauty that comes with limitation. These blocky renderings of world-famous superhero characters manage to convey just what works about each character design, despite the lack of detail that Cyclops, Superman or Spider-Man are usually drawn with. And they leave you craving the next logical step, which would be to see how they'd animate and feel in an actual game. For me, the Superman and Spider-Man drawings bring back memories of those characters' Atari 2600 games. Looking back, it's amazing how simple alternating pixels made you believe that Kal-El was zooming through the sky or the wall-crawler was dodging the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs. Of course, players' own hungry imaginations helped. And it's that quality–the imagination of artist Ercan Akkaya–that makes these pixel heroes so cool. Head over to Akkaya's site to see the full set. Pixel Superheroes [Ercan Akkaya]

The Shishkebab is one of the more ridiculous melee weapons in Fallout—I mean, it's a freakin' flaming sword! And GreekGadgetGuru built one like it, in real life. The thing looks crazy dangerous. If you're the impatient type, skip to 2:50 in the video to see the thing in action. Now, compare his creation with the Shiskebab in the game (image via Gameranx): Not an exact replica, but it works similarly and mostly looks the same. I wonder if GreekGadgetGuru wrote up some schematics? I have a super mutant problem at current, you see. V2.0Flame Machete FallOut Shishkebab MUST SEE!!! [GreekGadgetGuru]

Which would you rather play? I think I'd go for Ghost Dog, because not only is the idea of a Call of Duty Dog game fantastic, this mock cover by Redditor Auto_aim1 is also excellent.

A new Retro Game Music bundle is underway, where you can get a bunch of classic game music for minimal bucks. Myst, The 7th Guest, Jazz Jackrabbit and Duke Nukem join a list of other notables, some of which have never been previously released.

E3 is almost here, a merry time of hype and trailers and demos and of course, press conferences. From June 10—13, video game publishers from around the world will descend on Los Angeles like a swarm of eager beavers, ready to try to sell us on the next big thing. Yes, beavers. A massive swarm of beavers. Kotaku will have all hands on deck to cover the big event, with reporters on the ground in LA and writers in the home office working around the clock to bring you comprehensive coverage of the show. And as usual, that show is preceded by a raft of big press conferences, all of which will be streaming right here at Kotaku. For your planning consideration, we've put together a schedule of those conferences. (If you want to sound like a cool industry insider, you can call them "pressers.") (You don't have to, though. Purely optional.) Since the shindig is in Los Angeles, all times are noted in Pacific Time, so add or subtract the appropriate number of hours for your respective timezones. THURSDAY, JUNE 6 Konami Pre-E3 Show 10:00 AM PST MONDAY, June 10 Microsoft 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST Electronic Arts 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM PST Ubisoft 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM PST Sony 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM PST TUESDAY, June 11 Nintendo 7:00 AM PST In addition to all that, publisher Square Enix will be streaming all week from their spot on the show floor. We'll update this post with new information should any of that change. The easiest way to follow along with Kotaku's E3 coverage will be to follow the Kotaku E3 2013 tag. Let's get ready to do this thing; don't forget to pack a lunch.

Payday 2, the Overkill-developed crook sim, is set to launch in August. The news comes at the end of the trailer above, which teases a new web series set to start in two weeks.

We have yet to see any actual Payday 2 gameplay beyond a brief teaser issued in March, but feel free to case our gallery of in-game shots below. Payday 2 - which adds classes and a contracts database on top of its predecessor's core robbery mechanics - is planning its heist on Steam, PS3 and Xbox 360. Pre-orders are open on Steam right now and all who sign up early will get an in-game loot pack.

Daredevil #26: Serious shit happens in this latest issue of Matt Murdock’s comic. Daredevil runs around scared senseless after getting his butt handed to him last issue by a physically superior doppelganger, terrified that he won’t be able to help Foggy Nelson his best friend’s battle against cancer. The reveal of the mastermind behind the psychological and physical attacks on Daredevil is a great one and further invests you into seeing how things will pan out. But the standout moment in this issue comes from a moment in the back-up story where Foggy goes to speak to a group of kids who are also fighting cancer. The way that Mark Waid and Chris Samnee weave the grim undertones of the main story—cancer as an impcable foe that you need friends to help you beat—with a more innocent use of superhero symbolism in the additional tale pretty touching. It’s a cliché that superheroes keep their identities secret to protect their loved ones but this issue drives home the fact that those friends and family members need more than safety. Sometimes, they need emotional support. Sometimes, they give it back. Fantastic Four #8: Superhero comics get frustrating in how they treat their status quos. Either the powers-that-be hold on so reverentially to The Way Things Have Always Been or they rush in to Change Things Up for a momentary spike in interest. But the recent shift with Ben Grimm’s character that Jonathan Hickman’s run established—where he gets to be human again for one week a year—has been a great tweak that strengthens the inherent sadness of the Thing’s plight. This issue has echoes of the classic Lee/Kirby stories but adds a more personal touch to the essential Thing conundrum, where a big-hearted guy feels cut off from the people that he loves. Ben goes to great lengths to re-visit people and places he loves in this issue and while the plot will read as familiar, it’s the subtext of past regrets and time tickling away that makes it more of a tearjerker. Great stuff. What about you? What sequences or covers from this week's comics made your eyeballs happy? Share ‘em in the comments below. To contact the author of this post, write to evan@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @EvNarc

If ever there was a Monster Hunter gesture that deserved a dance-party video, it was the Prance. And so the guys at Explosive Alan have given us this excellent montage of pitch-perfect prancing, taking their MH characters on a tour through the world of games, cinema, television and beyond. They even stop off at the Xbox One announcement. Prance away, you prancing fools. (Thanks, Cara)

Due to poor reception, Facebook is squelching the sale of the HTC First through carriers EE and Orange.

Just weeks after a dust-up involving the banning and reinstatement of Image Comics’ Saga #12, digital comics distributor Comixology has once again pulled dozens of comics with explicit content get pulled from their iOS app, Comic Book Resources reports.

The good news is, it'll only take 30 seconds of your life to decide for yourself.

Zombies chasing motorcycles and swimming in fish tanks, telling guys where to go pee and free Angry Birds Space.