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There’s a Feature-Length Documentary About Mass Effect 3’s Ending
You’d think, if told there’s an 84-minute documentary on the ending of Mass Effect 3, that it’d be the result of some crazed fans, crackpots spending most of that time exclaiming breathlessly into a cheap microphone. You would also be wrong, because this thing is great It’s basically a very in-depth examination of the various…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
The Great League of Legends Cosplay Extravagaza
The 2012 ChinaJoy Cosplay extravaganza was especially extravagant in this case, as an entire stage is decked out with League of Legends cosplayers. It’s not just the quantity that’s impressive, it’s the quality of said quantity. Also of note? The prolonged pose-holding. These cosplayers are serious A few weeks back I made a concerted effort…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
If Only They’d Actually Released an All-White NES
I’ve got a basic rule when it comes to consumer electronics: the white the better. The white PS3, the original Xbox in its rare white, the DSi in glossy white, the new white 360, they all look great That’s just my tastes, though. Artist and advertising man Andrew Miller has a different reason for emphasising…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
This Might be the Greatest Zombie Game Ever Made
I don’t like most zombie games because, well, they’re not really zombie games. They’re action games using the texture of a walking corpse as your opponent. From Resident Evil to Left 4 Dead, they don’t really capture the essence of a good zombie yarn like Dawn of the Dead or The Walking Dead manage. So…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
Pokémon Onesies are Dangerously Close to Furry Pyjamas
This range of onesies – you know, those awesome little suits babies get to wear – are fashioned in the style of Pokémon. And they’re available for grownups. An Etsy seller called All for Onesies makes these to order, meaning you can pick your favourite Pokémon, pay up and soon you’ll be spending your time…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
A Documentary About People Drawing Pictures of Their Favourite Nerd Heroes
“Fan art is often the viewer’s reaction to the show projected onto the character”. Not a bad summary, that. This short PBS video examines the world of fan art, and just why people feel the need to spend their time and energy drawing amazing images of characters who someone else aready created and drew. Refreshingly,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
Culture
The Concept Art Behind The Avengers
Pardon this brief interruption to our regular video game concept art schedule, but I figured a movie that’s on track to be one of the biggest of all time – and one starring a whole bunch of awesome superheroes – was worth the detour. This art is the work of Nathan Schroeder, for whom The…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallDo Classic Sega Arcade Games Make you Want to Buy Burgers?
I’m not American, and I don’t live in America, so my familiarity with Sonic (apparently a drive-in burger chain) is limited. I am however very familiar with classic arcade racer OutRun, which Sonic is tapping into with this retro-infused commercial. Sonic Drive-Thru Guys / Out Run Commercial [PatrickScottPatterson]
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Japanese Box Art vs Western Box Art
As a box art fetishist, this might be the best website I’ve ever seen. It’s called Box vs Box, and its purpose is to compare the box art of Japanese video games and their Western counterparts. Sometimes it’s a straight Japan vs US matchup, other times it’s a three-way royal rumble, with PAL games joining…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
RIP Maurice Sendak, Creator of Where the Wild Things Are
This has been a brutal year for many people’s fondest childhood affections. First Star Wars visionary Ralph McQuarrie dies, then French comics legend Moebius passes away, and now we have the sad news that Maurice Sendak, the creator of children’s stories such as Where the Wild Things Are, has died at age 83. Sendak will…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
Um, You Can’t Build an MMO For the 3DS’ Browser, Can You?
Asked straight up most people’s response would be “no, stupid”, especially since it doesn’t have java or flash. Where you or I would see that as an impediment, however, the folks behind Project Triniate see it as a challenge. While crude, it appears they’ve got the basics up and running, and while you may never…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
Zynga Likes to Act Like it Owns the Word “Ville”
Social gaming giant Zynga, the team behind FarmVille, is taking a French developer to court because it released a game called PyramidVille “Facebook users are likely to believe, erroneously, that PYRAMIDVILLE is a member of Zynga’s ‘VILLE Family of Games,” Zynga’s complaint says. It then admits that it doesn’t actually own the rights to the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
Today’s Best Video Involves Heroes Landing Beautifully
If you do’t know what a three-point landing is, it’s when someone jumps, or falls from a great height and lands not just on their feet, but with one hand helping to break the fall as well. It’s not exactly a textbook safe landing, but it does look rather heroic, which is why you’re about…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
Why I Play Mount & Blade
Because it gets me, that’s why. To be specific, this is from a tutorial sreen for Mount & Blade: Warband’s Napoleonic expansion, which has all the tea, flutes and muskets you could ever want in a multiplayer shooter. Here’s the recently-released expansion’s trailer. It’s as fun as it looks. Provided you can stomach the reload…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
Culture
The Wonderful Place Where Diablo III Meets Robots
Phroilan Gardner spent a few years at Blizzard as a concept artist, working on stuff like World of Warcraft and Diablo III, as well as spin-off projects like trading cards and novels. He’s not there anymore, but his art – and the stuff he’s come up with since – lives on! Gardner, who now works…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
This Apple Robot Can Kill With an iPad
This is AP-PEL “Steve J” Caesar, a tribute to the late Apple co-founder put together by toy company threeA. It’s based on a piece in the company’s existing World War Robot line. It is not screwing around. AP-PEL ships with all kinds of tips of the hat to both Jobs and Apple, from a Mac…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
See What a Cosplay World Record Attempt Looks Like
In October 2011, Wisconsin set a cosplay world record by gathering 425 people together in the one spot, all of them dressed up as someone else from a video game. It’s a record that didn’t stand for long. The world mark is, pending an in-the-mail approval from Guinness, now held by Melbourne, Australia, with 470…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
Holy Crap, This Transformer Toy Can Transform Itself
No more weird instruction manuals, no more bleeding thumbs, no more broken Transformers. This custom figure from Japan transforms itself. Just like a good robot should. It was designed by Kenji Ishida and JS Robotics, and while it won’t win any awards for its looks, it wins two awards from me, one for the transforming,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Before Menu Screens, we Adjusted Consoles With Buttons
These wonderful shots are courtesy of Bleeping Relics, and show the control boards of a trio of old Pong consoles. These old analog systems weren’t adjusted via menu screens or fancy UI systems. If you wanted to change something, well, there was a button right there on the console. Bleeping Relics [Flickr]
By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2012 -
It’s Time to Take These Old MMO Games Out Back and Shoot Them
From the disappointment over The Elder Scrolls Online to the steep decline in subscriber numbers for Star Wars: Old Republic, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the time of the traditional MMO is drawing to an end. It’s not done. There are still ten million people playing World of Warcraft, for example, and millions more…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2012
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