Video Games

Pink Bird's power involves exploding into a gust of floating bubbles. As pink things do.

And you thought comics had it bad. It's been a banner year for video game sexual harassment—or at least video game sexual harassment awareness. The Anita Sarkeesian Kickstarter and subsequent online abuse has been well documented, and it's been discussed so much that the Times is ON it with a piece that nonetheless serves as a good round-up. This is the last frontier, as anonymity and youth add up to a culture of harassment—which spills over into the real world as when a female gamer was harassed by the captain of her own team IRL (above.) The Times says it's gone so far even video game makers are trying to do something:

Stopped by the Cryptozoic pop up at 411 Market Street and things are hopping with free zombie make-up, game demos and signings. Tonight there's a big launch party for The Look-outs. It's a good...

J. Michael Straczynski has announced the formation of a new studio which will create comics, films, TV, video games, more; also announces revival of his 'Joe's Comics' imprint for Image; next will create world peace before flying off into space, searching for more worlds to conquer.

Yet another carnival! This one, as we understand it, is set up next to the Gaslamp Hilton in that area where the Scott Pilgrim Experience once stood. It's a video game arcade set up by ShiftyLook. Details below, but the pr notes that the Shifty Look panel will feature Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub and an announcement so...add it up.

Angry Birds Space, trailer above, which offers revised physics and gameplay to the time-tested time suck, is out today! Forbes says it's a key launch for Rovio:

ShiftyLook, the Namco/Bandai webcomics portal devoted to re-presenting old and revamped games as webcomics, has announced two more properties: ALIEN CONFIDENTIAL and ROCKET FOX, both of which are being developed as games for smartphones and tablets.

Disney's Facebook-based AVENGERS ALLIANCE game is a new direction for them, Variety writes, as they are putting more effort into these lucrative, reliable social media game as opposed to the volatile console game market:

Avengers Alliance is now live on Facebook. This is basically Mafia Wars with superheroes. You're a SHIELD agent. You recruit superheroes (initially Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Black Widow) to go on missions with you. The story arc involves chasing around Hydra and meteorite fragments as you beat up henchmen and fight bosses like Whiplash and Viper.

Okay, now it's video games that are using comics to revive their dormant properties; only, fittingly, they're using webcomics, because those are two great tastes that go great together. Clever. Namco/Bandai has launched ShiftyLook with SKY KID, by Jim Zub and Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, via UDON, and XEVIOUS by Mike Costa and Mike Norton via Cryptozoic Entertainment, with a third title imminent, as shown by a big empty spot on the website. Both are old '80s console games long unseen.

As we told you EXCLUSIVELY a few weeks ago, there are a few new Angry Birds games coming along, notably Angry Birds Space, which will debut on March 22:

THE WALKING DEAD continues to be a media sensation, with a video game from Telltale Games based on the comics due for release this spring. The game just launched a new website which features a new talk show, "Playing Dead," with host AJ LoCascio chatting up creator Robert Kirkman and Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli).