The Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter passed the $1 million mark, meaning all $15 backers will receive the Linux port of the final game -- but that's not all.

Harebrained Schemes added a new $125 donor level that rewards backers with the Deluxe Boxed Edition. This includes a "game disc, soundtrack disc, a mini-poster, and -- check this -- a Shadowrun Returns USB Dog Tag set, containing DRM-free versions of the game (PC/Mac/Linux) and soundtrack (and maybe one or two other surprises, too)," Harebrained writes.

There are two days left in the Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter, so if you enjoy dog tags, get on that thing now.

A Virus Named Tom is one of those under-the-radar indie titles that we've been secretly following for a while now, and we finally have a valid reason to talk about it. A Virus Named Tom is an action-puzzler from Misfits Attic following a mad scientist attempting to destroy civilization with a -- wait for it -- virus named Tom. Check out the intro trailer above.

A Virus Named Tom is now available for pre-order and beta download on Desura, and is set to launch in full version soon on Steam, OnLive and, of course, Desura.

Ever since we saw that ad for the PS9, we've been dreaming of a really cool augmented reality gaming future. The video Google produced for its Project Glass got us excited for what could be, but what video production troupe There is a Canal did with the idea is basically read our diary and create a video of what we want: Battlefield 5 played on a pair of AR goggles.

It's a future we mostly want right now – well, not now now. We should probably get in shape before running around an abandoned lot, pretending to shoot imaginary people.

"To be clear, this is R&D – it doesn't in any way involve a product at this point, and won't for a long while, if ever – so please, no rumors about Steam glasses being announced at E3." A blog post by Valve researcher Michael Abrash clears up just what CEO Gabe Newell was talking about in regards to wearable computing a couple months back – and the kind of hardware "experiences" Valve is hiring for.

In short, it's not a product announcement. When Abrash was hired at Valve, he was encouraged to find his own interesting project to work on. Seeing the rise of wearable computing as an "inflection point" similar to Quake (which pushed things like networking and 3D graphics into ubiquity), he decided that was something he, and Valve, should be ahead on.

"By 'wearable computing,'" Abrash explains, "I mean mobile computing where both computer-generated graphics and the real world are seamlessly overlaid in your view; there is no separate display that you hold in your hands (think Terminator vision)." Google is working on something similar, of course.

In other words, Valve hired a guy to do whatever at its game development company, and he decided to research a type of computing that doesn't exist yet. If nothing else, this is an indication of just how much money Valve has.

Good Old Games is hosting an Interplay 50 percent off sale this weekend, cutting the prices of 32 games right in half. Or, as we like to call it, this is GOG's "buy 16 games, get 16 games free" sale.

The sale includes Fallout 2, Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, MDK, Freespace and Invictus: In the Shadow of Olympus, for $3 each. Every title is $3, actually, making the entire bundle $96 -- a savings of $96. Yes, that's what we meant with "buy 16, get 16 free." This could also be the "buy one, get two half off" sale, or the "buy 8, get 16 half off" sale. Take your pick; any way they're all good old games for a great new price.

The sale runs from now until Monday at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Fatshark's post-apocalyptic crater-crawler is launching on PC this summer, the Swedish publisher has revealed. Krater, which means "crater" in Swedish, involves a military base hidden inside of a massive cr – okay, you get it. It's a traditional top-down RPG with a crafting system, explorable world and permanent consequences, like injuries and death.

Krater is coming to Steam on June 12 for all Windows users; Mac users will have to wait until July. Prior to launch, pre-orders will be gain access to a closed, pre-launch beta. Interested parties can pre-purchase through Fatshark's site.

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Ten-year-old Dylan Viale wanted to share his enjoyment of video games with his grandmother, who is blind. Instead of breathlessly narrating his own gameplay adventures, however, Viale downloaded the trial of Game Maker and taught himself how to make an audio-only game for her to play, the subject of a far too heartbreaking story by Kotaku's Jason Schreier.

Quacky's Quest is a maze game in which a duck collects diamonds and avoids spiders. Grandmother Sherry is able to navigate the maze by the distinctive sounds made by diamonds, nearby spiders, and solid walls. Rocks fill the space behind the player to avoid the confusion caused by walking in a space whose diamond has already been collected.

Viale designed the game with sprites and tiles (above), then turned them off for the final version, which Sherry had no trouble playing. He then entered it in his elementary school's science fair, where of course it won first place.

There are relatively few games that can be played with audio only – the Japan-only Game Boy game Soundvoyager is perhaps the most famous one. However, it's unlikely Dylan Viale knew about any of those, so he essentially invented the genre independently. That's worth a science fair medal.

This week, Kat Bailey and Rowan Kaiser have switched roles -- with Kat taking lead in this week's column focusing on the wonderful world of Western role-playing games.

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These are interesting times. Thanks to Kickstarter, projects that I never thought would see the light of day are getting a chance to prove themselves on their own terms. Who ever thought that Tim Schafer would get a chance to make another adventure game? Or that Shadowrun would get another shot after the mediocre cross-platform 2007 FPS?

That's why I'm writing here today, rather than my usual space at the JRPG column. Long ago, I played the pen-and-paper RPG Shadowrun with a group of friends, though not always successfully. Since then, both the setting and the system have stuck with me in any number of ways. So as you can imagine, the thought of a new computer role-playing game (CRPG) based on the series is exciting.

First, the setting. If you've ever played Deus Ex: Human Revolution – or watched Blade Runner, for that matter – you'll know what you're in for with Shadowrun. The big twist is that magic is suddenly a part of everyday life on this version of earth; an earth where cybernetically-enhanced dwarfs, elves, and trolls freely roam. A little silly maybe, but I've always been struck by the power Shadowrun has to unite those who enjoy both fantasy and science fiction – which is sometimes tougher to do than you might think.

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EA already has a script for a Need for Speed movie, courtesy of sibling writing duo George and John Gatins, known for their work on Hugh Jackman vehicle, Real Steel. And apparently Paramount, Warner Bros. and Sony are interested in plunking down the millions it'd cost to get Need for Speed on the starting line.

Variety says that Paramount is the current leading potential financier, but EA is still open to other bidders. If EA ends up securing funds for the Need for Speed film, we wonder which game the movie would be based on? The most recent franchise entry, Need for Speed: The Run? How about Need for Speed: Undercover? It already has Maggie Q in it and we're pretty sure she was in a movie once.

If you're cool with a little freeware/open-source jargon ("free-as-in-freedom"), we encourage you to check out the Liberated Pixel Cup.

Creative Commons, the Free Software Foundation, and OpenGameArt, three organizations naturally concerned with the free transmission of culture, are partnering to make the world a better place for free game development. The contest is taking place in two phases: first, participants are encouraged to create new game art usable by anyone (as long as they attribute the source), and upload it to OpenGameArt.

Then, all that art will be used to make games, between July 1st and July 31st. Prizes will be awarded for standouts in both categories. It seems pretty likely you'll be able to download and play all the games from the contest as well, given that, you know, "free software" business. If you don't want to participate artistically, you can do so financially, by donating to the style guide artists and prize fund. Consider it an act of ironic charity.

Total Mass Effect 3 sales for its launch month of March were 1.3 million units across Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, the NPD informed Joystiq. The number covers purely new physical retail sales, so no digitally distributed product on PC or PS3 is tallied.

Although the NPD doesn't publicly share sales breakdowns by platform, Microsoft executive Aaron Greenberg did share that Xbox 360 sales for the space opera were 943K units for the month.

Mass Effect 2 had over a half-million sales on Xbox 360 during its debut month, with another quarter million the following month. We've contacted Electronic Arts for further clarification on Mass Effect 3 sales data.

Update: "We think the monthly NPD reports are a very poor indicator of the industry's performance given the proportion of digital sales – including digital downloads via Origin, DLC, mobile and social games and much more – that are not captured in their reports," John Reseburg of EA's corporate communications told Joystiq. "Taking these reports as an accurate snapshot of the industry today is a dangerous assumption."

Hong Kong-based action game Sleeping Dogs will launch at retail on August 14. Publisher Square Enix announced the game's launch date this morning alongside news of three separate pre-order bonuses tied to three separate retailers: Best Buy, GameStop, and Amazon.

Should you choose to go the brick-and-mortar route, Best Buy is offering the "Georges St. Pierre Pack," which features a trio of GSP-related gear and moves (his "signature flying punch," for instance). GameStop is similarly offering a slew of in-game content, dubbed the "Police Protection Pack. As you might imagine, it comes with a variety of police officer-themed gear. Finally, Amazon has the "Martial Arts Pack," which ... well ... you get it at this point, right? For full listings of all the gear, head past the break.

Oh, and if you're a PC gamer wondering what your fancy pre-order bonus is, know that Square Enix hasn't forgotten about you: "Exclusive content for the digitally downloadable PC version of Sleeping Dogs will be announced at a later date," the press release reads.

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Yes, there are employees at Valve right now who are working on some form of gaming hardware. What that gaming hardware is, however, remains to be seen. A job listing discovered by Engadget this week offers more clues as to what that hardware could be, specifically pointing to job skills like "hardware design, prototyping, testing, and production across a wide range of platforms."

Getting more direct, the "electronics engineer" position entails working "with the hardware team to conceive, design, evaluate, and produce new types of input, output, and platform hardware." Wait, platform hardware? That sounds an awful lot like the Steam Box rumors we heard earlier this year (rumors that were later semi-shut down).

But don't get your hopes up just yet – just because Valve is experimenting with different types of hardware doesn't mean that it's looking to produce a piece of consumer hardware any time soon. We've reached out to Valve for further clarity, but aren't expecting much beyond silence.