Video Games

YouTube Stars Fight Back

Machinima and Maker Studios, two of YouTube's most high-profile networks, have come under fire from their own talent

5 Arcade Classics for Your iPhone

See also: *Family Fun Arcade Prepares to Close After Four Decades *10 Best Arcades in L.A. Ever get the hankering to play some classic arcade games, but, alas, you're nowhere near your arcade? Or your go-to place is Granada Hills' Family Fun Arcade, which is set to close? If you have an iPhone, yo ... More >>

Family Fun Arcade Prepares to Close, After Four Decades as a Grenada Hills Hangout

Bathed in the glow of the flashing CRT screen, Jon "Jesus" Lemerand yanks his joystick back and slaps a button, letting loose a 2-D punch. A handful of onlookers hoots and claps. It's Friday night at Family Fun Arcade, or FFA, and a motley group has gathered to play Street Fighter III: 3rd Strik ... More >>

10 Best Arcades in L.A.

See also: *Family Fun Arcade Prepares to Close After Four Decades *10 Oddball L.A. Museums Worth Seeing *10 Best Standup Comedy Shows in L.A. For those of us who grew up in the 1980s and '90s, arcades were an integral part of our childhood and adolescence. They existed inside malls and in shoppin ... More >>

Build

Michael Golamco Became Obsessed With World of Warcraft for His New Video Game Play Build

When Michael Golamco began researching Build, his play about two frazzled, lonely guys on the brink of releasing a revolutionary video game, the writer bought a book on how to program MMORPGs -- massively multiplayer online role-playing games, which you play with other people on the internet. He rea ... More >>

Joysticks

E3 Convention, Gamer Geeks' Heaven, Stays in L.A. Through 2015

Geeks rejoice. It might not be Comic-Con, but it's the "largest annual conference that the city hosts," according to L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. And the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo is staying in town for another three years (through summer 2015), despite some chatter that conventions wou ... More >>

Nathan Barnatt Never Grew Up

Check out our entire YouTube issue here. Nathan Barnatt wakes up each morning in Star Wars bedsheets. If the trap door in his bunk bed isn't buried under toys, he pops through that to greet the day. For breakfast, he'll have some candy, then go play video games. Or jump on a trampoline. Or crawl th ... More >>

Koreatown Bar Report: Blipsy Barcade

The Place: Blipsy Barcade, 369 N. Western Ave, Los Angeles; 323-461-7067. The Hours: Mon. - Sat. 4 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sun. 12 p.m. - 2 a.m. The Digs: A neon Pac-Man ghost outside the door lets you know you've arrived at the right spot. Inside, the bar area is lit up like one of those glowing video g ... More >>

The Games People Play

Machinima's Co-Op Life, a Web Series that Parodies Video Games

Amy LachatMike Monreal shoots some Gauntlet demons on the Christmas episode of Co-Op Life​ It sucks when your Christmas party is invaded by Gauntlet demons. You have to don your warrior gear, get your party guests cross-bows, and try not to shoot the food. Luckily, roommates Jake Hames and ... More >>

Tetris World Championship's Henk Rogers Answers the Question: Can Tetris Survive in a 3-D/Smartphone/Social Media World?

Ivan FernandezHenk Rogers of the Tetris Company​ "I have a feeling that colorblind people are going to have a tougher time playing Tetris," said Henk Rogers, managing director of the Tetris Company, in an interview, in the midst of explaining how colors play an important role in the game. Ro ... More >>

The Gamepad Cutting Board: Smash Garlic Like Mario (the Other One) Smashes Bowser

Firebox.comGamepad Chopping Board​ The original Nintendo controller -- so simple, so rectangular -- is a touchstone of nostalgia for many of us, a reminder of a time when two simple red buttons were all you needed to jump, shoot, and beat Bowser at Mario's own game. UK company Firebox takes u ... More >>

8 Unusual Games Spotted at IndieCade

Liz Ohanesian"Invaded!" by Jason Torchinsky​Last weekend, IndieCade, the annual event dedicated to independent games, took over a stretch of Culver Blvd. for indoor and outdoor events. Whether they're 3-D video games, iPad puzzles or physical games, the products showcased at this festival aren ... More >>

Kanye West - Call of Duty XP 2011 in Playa Vista - September 3, 2011

Lina Lecaro Kanye West​Kanye West Call of Duty XP 2011 event in Playa Vista September 3, 2011 Held Friday and Saturday at the Hercules Campus in Playa Vista (where the Spruce Goose was built), Call of Duty XP 2011 was a two day convention centered around the titular military-themed video game ... More >>

Producer Benedek On Collaborating With Dam-Funk And Making Music With Nintendo's Game Boy

Proximal Records​"Dam-Funk is just a class act." That's according to Benedek, an upcoming L.A.-based producer who just so happens to have Dam's vocals lavished all over the title track to his debut EP, the jubilant, cowbell-embellished funk work-out "That's My Jam!" The hook-up came about afte ... More >>

8-Bit Video Games and Mash-Up Art: "SUPER iam8bit" Opens in Echo Park

Shannon CottrellLeonardo da Vinci, by way of Aled Lewis​See more of Shannon Cottrell's photos in "SUPER iam8bit in Echo Park: Video Games and Art." Part of pop art's appeal comes in instantly recognizing icons from contemporary life. Andy Warhol's soup cans might've been ridiculously mundane, ... More >>

Skulls of the Shogun: Will a New Strategy Game Be the Breakout Hit of IndieCade's E3 Booth?

Haunted Temple StudiosScreen shot of Skulls of the Shogun​Check out our E3 2011 category for more coverage from the show. See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's slideshows, "E3 2011: Day One" and "E3 2011: Day Two." It's not all about big-name companies like Activision, EA and Capcom at E3. Mu ... More >>

L.A. Noire: Perspectives From a SoCal Historian

Live Review: Video Games Live's E3 Performance at Nokia Theatre

Shannon Cottrell​See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's slideshows, "E3 2011: Day 1" and "E3 2011: Day 2," and read more about Video Games Live in Liz Ohanesian's post, "Video Games Live: The E3 Event That's Open to the Public." Video Games Live, which performed its 200th show at Nokia Theatre ... More >>

Sucker Punch

Brigitte Burdine, Top Video Game Director, Killed By Hit-And-Run Driver In Marina Del Rey

FacebookMarina Del Rey video-game director Brigitte Burdine was killed by an at-large hit-and-run driver last night​Updated after the jump with another picture of Burdine, a video clip and messages from friends, family and co-workers. Originally posted Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. R.I.P. Brigitte Bur ... More >>

Nightranger: Gamer Gauche

New World Record (We Assume) For Speed Consumption of KFC Double Down

The "sandwich" that keeps making headlines continues to do so. We found this video via Kotaku.com of two Activision video game testers having a KFC Double Down speed eating contest in the break room. The winner managed to put down both fried chicken breasts, both strips of bacon, both slices of chee ... More >>

NVR-NDR Brings His Video Game-Styled Epic to the Dance Floor

Liz Ohanesian​[tlr] is a musician for the geek culture generation. As the bassist for Romak and the Space Pirates, he's released an album on a flash drive and referenced memes. With his latest endeavor, NVR-NDR, the L.A.-based musician tackles video game culture with a sound that incorporates ... More >>

Images for the Post-Video Age

Director Keith Schofield Makes Viral Video Stars

Oren Peli: Ghost Writer-Director

Paranormal Activity creator wants to be as mysterious as his surprise hit movie

The Holy Grail of Gaming: $17,500 for the World's Most Collectible Game Cartridge...And That's the Cheap Price

Would you spend $17,500 on a video game? An old video game? This guy did. He bought a gold (painted) Nintendo World Championships cartridge. It is considered "The Holy Grail of Gaming" to collectors of video games. JJ Hendricks bought the thing on eBay. It was listed for $25,000 so it seems he got ... More >>

Fast & Furious: Made-for-VG Movie

No. 4 in this Vin Diesel series should have gone straight to Xbox

SxSW Scene: Metallica Sets Up Shop at Four Seasons

View live photos in the "Metallica Thrashes Stubb's" slideshow. On Friday afternoon, the four members of arguably the world's most famous heavy metal band flew into Austin, Texas, from San Francisco to promote a new music video game called "Guitar Hero Metallica." For the press conference, they set ... More >>

Neil Hanburger? I hate that guy!

The Amazing Hunt: Sci Fi gives Chase, for Race heads who might like their reality TV even more like a video game

Pilot episode takes place at Port of Los Angeles

Selling Out With the Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins for Corporate Cash

Super Boll

In a web exclusive, our conversation with the Postal director continues

Uwe Boll Goes Postal

Notorious German director spars with his critics, makes an intentional comedy

Giant Joystick Lands in Echo Park

If you Google the phrase "Giant Joystick," one of the first names that comes up isn't a well-endowed porn star, but artist Jason Torchinsky, who actually built a scale-model of the classic Atari 2600 controller, except at 15x the size of the ones we had as kids. Dozens of people showed up at M ... More >>

Whorelore: The Magical World of Warcraft Porn

Welcome to a dusty fantasy land of deep-throating elf ears, masturbating trolls, and chain-mail-wearing porn stars. by Bonnie Ruberg, Village Voice Pornography director Dez is standing on an outdoor set in the L.A. hills, on the first nice day in months. He's surrounded by actresses who're naked ex ... More >>

The King of Kong's Rival Arcade Gamers

No quarter

After the Rapture

Interactive spiritual warfare in Left Behind: Eternal Forces

Electric Meals

uWink Media Bistro

Mario's Furniture – Version 2

Mime Talkin'

E Is for Excess

God Free

The Military Games People Play

And the artists who play right back

Making Very Nice With Tiny Tim

Killer Games

The return of World War II

Fanboys and Cheesecake

Living Nightmares