Luke Plunkett

The Real History of the Triforce

It’s one of the most iconic designs in the history of video games: three golden triangles combined to form a single larger one. The Triforce. The object that lies at the heart of The Legend of Zelda The thing is, Nintendo didn’t come up with the design. It’s been around for almost 1000 years The…

Here’s Some Leaked Footage of Battlefield 3 In Action

Upcoming multiplayer shooter Battlefield 3 is currently in closed alpha, with participants forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement promising not to leak any footage. Like that was ever going to hold. Two clips have surfaced today, courtesy of a YouTube user, of the game’s multiplayer mode (the PC version, of course), showing some of the…

This Video Game Art Packs Twice the Infamy

We featured the art of Bjorn Hurri (Total War, Steampunk Star Wars) only a few weeks ago here on Kotaku, but since then he’s been given the all clear to release a ton of content from his most recent project, inFamous 2 Like Wesley Burt’s art for the same game (which we’ve also shown you),…

Magic: The Gathering’s Creator Is Working on a Video Game (about Cards!)

There’s no shortage of video games that are essentially card games running on a computer, but few have the pedigree of upcoming browser title Card Hunter. New indie studio Blue Manchu is headed by Australian Jon Chey, co-founder of Irrational Games and a man who’s worked on games like BioShock and Freedom Force. Also on…

This is Some Serious Role-Playing

This isn’t role-playing as you generally associate it. There are no levels or perks here. Instead, this is role-playing in the strictest sense of the word, as a bunch of gamers act out the roles they’ve assumed in-game. This is footage from a British ArmA II group, who not only went to the trouble of…

Xbox.com Now has Games for Your Browser

Presumably as part of the coming together of Games for Windows and Xbox.com, you can now play four free “trial” games (ie demos) on the Xbox 360’s homepage, right in your browser, no install necessary. The games are Plants vs Zombies, Bejeweled 3, Zuma’s Revenge and Text Twist 2. [Xbox]

The Super Hard Gay Brothers

Often, the cosplay we feature here on Kotaku skews towards exquisite costumes or pretty ladies. Because, well, that’s what’s generally the best we can find. Today, we’re flipping the tea table. Trying something different. A recent spread in internet magazine/art/thing Muto features gay cosplay, like a sexy black Mickey Mouse and the hardest, gayest Super…

Wario Helps Show This Developer the Money

Tiburcio de la Cárcova, co-founder of social games studio Atakama Labs, doesn’t sell things at a cash register. His games go out over the internet. Meaning a sale isn’t as satisfying as seeing cash in the hand! So he built this awesome Wario Robot (with help from his daughter!) to help make everything seem a…

How Many People Play as Femshep (and How Many Create Their Own Hero?)

Since the Mass Effect series lets you not only select the gender of your character but also customise their appearance, it’s interesting to find out some statistics behind the choices people make when forging their story. Speaking with VG247, BioWare’s David Silverman says that 18% “of everyone who plays Mass Effect” uses the female version…

The Mysterious Team Fortress 2 Space Program

Earlier this week, a Team Fortress 2 update quietly added a bizarre new feature: several crashed rockets, which can now be seen smoking in the distance of several of the game’s maps. There’s no explanation for the rocket’s appearance, just the fact they’re there, and that when yanked from the game’s code we find they’re…

There Are Uncharted Action Figures (and One of Them Looks Awesome)

Cast those shitty Uncharted toys from your mind. At Comic-Con, Sony will be showing off the real deal. In all, there’ll be three different sets of Nathan Drake toys on show in San Diego: these vinyl pieces we first showed you back in 2009 (and which have subsequently been rebranded from Uncharted 2 toys to…

You Could Actually Download Atari 2600 Games (on an Atari 2600!)

Xbox Live Arcade is credited with popularising the notion of downloading console video games. Other consoles, like the Genesis, offered them a lot earlier, albeit with limited success. The CVC GameLine did things even earlier. We’re talking 1983 earlier. And while it all ended in disaster, the ashes of the venture would bizarrely lead to…

Hojo Gallery

MapleStory: Thief Edition is a Two-Dimensional Adventure

MapleStory, the blockbuster Korean MMO game, has turned up on more platforms than just the PC. It’s on the Nintendo DS, for example! It’s also available on Apple’s iOS platforms. There are two MapleStory games on the iPhone, but today we’re looking at the original, MapleStory: Thief Edition. Why? Because I just picked it up…

The Video Game Art of Christian Lorenz Scheurer

You probably don’t know him by name, but you’d know him by his work: Christian Lorenz Scheurer has provided concept art for movies like The Matrix, Titanic and The Fifth Element Which is all well and awesome, but we’re more interested in the work he’s done for video games. Scheurer has been involved in a…

Team Fortress 2 Looks Great as a Retro Arcade Game

You like Team Fortress 2? You like the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game? Watch this. It’s Team Fortress 2 as a side-scrolling, beat-em-up arcade game. If you’re wondering why the whole thing looks so awesome/authentic, that’s because it’s the product of Eric Ruth, who has already give us retro demakes of games like…

Science Is Teaching Kinect To Use a Lightsaber

A team of researchers at Stanford University are living the dream: they’ve used Kinect and a robot arm not to cure disease or solve the energy crisis, but to build something for lightsaber practice. The Kinect camera is able to track the movement and placement of a human opponent, with the arm programmed to respond…

The Next Time You Slag Off Call of Duty, Bear This in Mind

Some wise words from a man who knows a thing or two about both first-person shooters and making a ton of money. [Doom Creator Fires Back [IndustryGamers]

Where Minecraft Meets Okami

Ever since it popped up this morning, people have been quick to say that Aaron Bishop’s Lords Of Uberdark looks a lot like Minecraft. The fact Minecraft’s creator helped spread the word may have contributed to that. While Lords Of Uberdark (which at the moment is little more than some alpha code and ideas) is…

It’s Nearly Time for EVO 2011, Fighting Game Fans

EVO 2010 was a blast. So EVO 2011, the world’s biggest fighting game tournament, should also be a…blast? Kicking off on July 29, EVO 2011 is a three-day celebration of all things fighting, with the tournaments just one part of the draw. For those who just want to check out the latest games, there’ll be…