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The Best Video Game Concept Art Of 2012*

Seeing as I post a Fine Art feature almost every day, it’s only right that we take a minute to honour some of the best concept, production and promotional art the world got a chance to see in 2012. Due to the nature of the field—one in which art can be locked away for years—and…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 30, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: Development Hell

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published Dec. 26. Read more of Penny Arcade Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Dec. 24. Read more of…

By Owen Good Published December 30, 2012

Culture

This Week Year in the Business: ‘Someday We’ll Be Living in the Matrix’

A look back at what happened in the business of video games in 2012. QUOTE | “Someday we’ll be living in the Matrix.” – Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talking about the huge aspirations some game developers still have and why today’s games “suck” by comparison to where they should be QUOTE | “No sex please,…

By Steve Peterson Published December 29, 2012

Culture

Halo & Aliens Are A Lot Closer Than You Think

I’ve lost count of the actual number of times Aliens have been pitted against someone in a comic. It’s surely enough that it doesn’t matter any more, and we can just throw them in the ring against anyone. I mean, if they can fight Batman and Robocop, then surely Master Chief—who fights in space for…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2012

Culture

Everyone In Far Cry 3 Looks Absolutely Crazy. Everyone.

The images you’re about to see are the work of Bruno Gauthier Leblanc, an Ubisoft artist who we’ve previously featured for his contributions on Splinter Cell: Conviction Today, though, we’re looking at things a little more tropical in nature. Namely, his work on Far Cry 3 As you can see, many of these designs made…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 27, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: The Blame Game

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published Dec. 21. Read more of Penny Arcade Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Dec. 17. Read more of…

By Owen Good Published December 23, 2012

Culture

Presenting Your New Sunday Comics Lineup

Last week you voted on the lineup for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics feature. The roster going forward will be: Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Manly Guys Doing Manly Things by Kelly Turnbull. Brawl In The Family by Matthew Taranto. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Nerf This by Scott…

By Owen Good Published December 22, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: Every Publisher is Guilty of Making a Glorified Add-On Pack

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “You want to avoid the appearance of a glorified add-on pack and every publisher is guilty of that at one time or another.”—Ubisoft marketing exec Tony Key talking about the pitfalls of having annualized a major franchise like Assassin’s Creed and…

By Steve Peterson Published December 22, 2012

Culture

A Black & White Look At Diablo III

Jean-Baptiste Monge is an accomplished fantasy illustrator, whose sketchbook style makes his drawings look as much like field journal entries as works of art. Monge was one of the artists who worked on Blizzard’s Diablo III: Book of Cain, an art book and guide for the action RPG released late last year In the gallery…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 21, 2012

Culture

This Artist Is Paid To Draw Star Wars Pictures All Day Long. So Jealous.

If you’d asked me as a kid what my dream job would have been, getting paid to draw pictures of Star Wars would have been right up there. So yeah, Amy Beth Christenson has quite the day job. A former senior concept at Lucasarts for over a decade, she now works at Lucasfilm, and since…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2012

Culture

Aren’t You Guys A Little Short To Be Stormtroopers?

The art you’re seeing today comes from Daryl Mandryk, a freelance concept artist who has worked with EA on games like Need for Speed, Def Jam and SSX, and more recently on the Turok and Tron franchises. You may have seen him on Kotaku previously for that Tron stuff, but today’s gallery encompasses all of…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 19, 2012

CultureSplitscreen

Here’s a Dinosaur-Riding MMO You Can Play in Your Browser Right Now

Why are you sitting on your ass reading a website when you could be sitting on a dinosaur while wearing a cowboy hat and shooting lasers? Why do I even have to ask a question like this? Dino Storm is a free-to-play browser-based massively mutliplayer online role-playing game in which thousands of players wander about…

By Mike Fahey Published December 18, 2012

Culture

The Only Way Rotting Zombie Flesh Can Look “Pretty”

We’ve featured the art of Morgan Yon here on Kotaku not once, but twice. Today, a third time. Why? Because it’s too good not to, that’s why. This latest batch is from Yon’s work on ZombiU, Ubisoft’s Wii U launch title set in a post-apocalyptic London. In case you couldn’t tell it was post-apocalyptic London…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Toys R’ Us’ Christmas 1996 Catalogue Is A Historic Wonderland

Ah, 1996. The future, as the front cover of Toys R’ Us’ catalogue so boldly states, is here! Or…was there. And it was only really there for some of the systems involved (sorry, Sega Saturn!) I love looking at these things. Not for the general nostalgic rush, but to see the individual games highlighted. Of…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2012

Culture

The Knights of New Vegas

Feargus Urquhart was freaking out. He and his team at Obsidian Entertainment were about to take one of the biggest steps in the company’s history—launching a Kickstarter for a brand new video game—but something was wrong. The button to start up their crowdfunding page had turned grey. Nobody could click it. And the Kickstarter was…

By Jason Schreier Published December 17, 2012

Culture

The Week in Games: Little Things Mean a Lot

Small things stand out the most in December, when games publishing comes to nearly a dead stop in observance of the holidays. Tomorrow sees Street Fighter X Mega Man, a free, fan-developed crossover observing the 25th anniversary of the Blue Bomber. Tuesday offers downloadable content drops for Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Battlefield 3.…

By Owen Good Published December 16, 2012

Culture

Tell Us the 10 Comics for Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics Makeover [UPDATE]

Last week we opened up nominations for new additions to our Sunday Comics feature. Seven candidates satisfied the standards we put down for inclusion, so I am delighted to present them to you for your consideration in our 10-comic weekly feature. UPDATE [Dec. 16]: Voting on our new Sunday Comics page has concluded. We’ll announce…

By Owen Good Published December 16, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: If a Tree Falls …

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Legacy Control by Javis Ray published Dec. 11.—Read more of Legacy Control Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Dec. 10.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by…

By Owen Good Published December 16, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘Retail’s Worst Nightmare is Coming True’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Retail’s worst nightmare is coming true.”—Former GamesIndustry.biz editor Rob Fahey, talking about the horrible year game retailing had in 2012 and what the future holds as digital takes over QUOTE | “We’ll be able to compete with any AAA game out…

Steve Peterson Published December 15, 2012

Culture

26 Terrific Pieces of Halo 4 Concept & Promotional Art

OK, so this should be the last batch of art from Halo 4 we showcase here on Fine Art. Hopefully. Maybe. While we’ve done a lot over the past few weeks, it’s hard to resist when the artists involved keep sharing their work, and that work keeps being some of the best you’ll see in…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 14, 2012