The Omnipresence of Moai in Video GamesThe enormous human figures carved from stone that stand on Easter Island are called moai. There are 900 or so of these monoliths; the largest is 33 feet high and weighs 90 tons. The moai were erected between 1250 and 1500, and were representative of deceased ancestors, especially chiefs. Images of moai entered pop culture as a symbol of eternal strength, stoicism, and/or lack of facial expression. What does that have to do with video games? Matt Sephton says, "Moai are cool. And video games are cool." We can agree on that. And that's why you see moai in so many video games, at least 954 of them, which Stephton has listed at Moai Games. The earliest sighting of moai in a video game was in 1983, and they haven't stopped yet. This may be because of a particular fascination for moai in Japan, where many video game developers originate. Check out the list of games, which you can sort by title, year, developer, or platform. -via Metafilter​
Trailer for Canceled Spider-Man Game Leaked OnlineSpider-Man: The Great Web was a proposed five-person multiplayer with a live service foundation, only revealed last December as in development from Insomniac but already pulled from production. Way to get our hopes up, guys! But that's nothing compared to the anguish when a trailer for the game was leaked online today. We could have been playing as a team with Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man 2099, and even Venom. They would be going up against the Sinister Six villains from the Spider-Man universe all at once. The thing is, we don't really know why the game was cancelled. There are problems controlling multiple players in combat, and that may have spelled its doom. Players don't like live service. The developers may have been laid off. There could be any of dozens of reasons Spider-Man: The Great Web was shelved, but a look at the leaked trailer makes us hungry for the concept to come alive in some way, any way, if Insomniac can make it happen. Read more about the game that is not a game at Kotaku.​
Your Guide to Exploring Final Fantasy VII RebirthHave you conquered all of Final Fantasy VIII Rebirth yet? No, you haven't because getting there is all the fun. But if you are completely flummoxed about some of the features, we have help. There is more to unlock here than you've had time to explore in the ten days FF7 Rebirth has been available, and Kotaku has gone all out to guide you to those tantalizing corners of the Final Fantasy universe. Check out these guides:​Where To Find All Of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Weapons.​Where To Find All Seventh Infantry Members.​15 Essential Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Side-Quests.​How To Steal The Tonberry King’s Crown In FF7 Rebirth. ​We Need To Talk About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Ending. But take your time, and don't read all of these at once. It's too much to remember, and you don't want to take all the fun of exploring each component yourself first. You want at least ten more days of challenges ahead.
NASA Gives Us a TTRPGThe brainiacs at NASA's Goddard Space Center are letting their creative side show with the release of a tabletop role-playing game called The Lost Universe. The premise bends both time and space.A dark mystery has settled over the city of Aldastron on the rogue planet of Exlaris. Researchers dedicated to studying the cosmos have disappeared, and the Hubble Space Telescope has vanished from Earth’s timeline. Only an ambitious crew of adventurers can uncover what was lost. Are you up to the challenge?
Would You Like to Smell Your Game as You Play It?For a totally immersive gaming experience, there is now a gadget that will bring the cinematic concept of Smell-o-Vision to your game adventures. It's called GameScent AI. The $180 module releases scents from cartridges according to the sounds coming from your game, as interpreted by artificial intelligence. What scents are available so far?
A Magazine Spent Two Years Trolling One ReaderA delicious tale of spite comes to us from the delightful website Final Fantasy VIII is the Best And If You Don't Agree I Will Destroy You. The story goes back more than 20 years, and involves the erstwhile game magazine GameNOW. In its first issue after a name change and a rebranding in 2002, a letter from a reader expressed his feelings about Final Fantasy VIII: it sucked. He also complained about a screenshot from the game that the magazine used, apparently more than once. He ended the letter with:If you are going to put the same screen shot up again and again, at least put up a good one. Still, I know you will probably put it up again just to tick me off.That sounded like a challenge to the magazine staff. And they were up to it, sneaking in that same screenshot seen above into almost every issue of the magazine for the next two years! They even made a contest out of it at one point. They might still be doing it if the magazine hadn't folded after the January 2004 issue. But that was just enough to complete the final troll, which was too clever by half. See it and wonder, in the post that tells the whole story. -via Metafilter​