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Some Valve Art From Portal & DOTA 2

Realm Lovejoy is an artist currently working at Half-Life and Team Fortress developers Valve Software. Having helped create student title Narbacular Drop, which later evolved into what we now know as Portal, she’s also interned at Nintendo. So, yeah, dream career path right there. Among her current projects is Valve’s DOTA 2, for which she’s…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2012

Culture

E…A…Sports…These Guys Made the Parts That Say “It’s in the Game”

Even if you’ve never played a sports game in your life, EA’s intro catchphrase has become one of the most ubiquitous in all of gaming. So for Fine Art tody, we’re going to take a break from castles and giant robots to look at the people who are now in charge of the slogan (or…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2012

Culture

All of Guild Wars 2’s Incredible Art, Together in One Place

Having been in development for so long, the artists behind Guild Wars 2 had literally years to put together an immense volume of images detailing the game’s world and inhabitants. It’s all impressive stuff – so impressive it’s been featured here on Fine Art multiple times – but tonight we’re going to put it all…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 18, 2012

Culture

Candy Corn Oreos and Pumpkin Spice Kisses: It’s the Snacktaku Halloween Variety Spooktacular!

For the children and children-at-heart that don fancy costumes for a night of fun and frolicking, Halloween is October 31. For the certified snack professional, the spooky festivities begin in September, when Cadbury, Mars, Hershey and Nabisco roll out their holiday-themed candy. Hold out your bags, boys and girls. Some snack manufacturers play it safe…

By Mike Fahey Published September 17, 2012

Culture

The Week In Games: Run for the Border

The overwhelming top release this week is the highly anticipated Borderlands 2, on all three core platforms. Torchlight II at week’s end also is not to be missed. Tuesday • Borderlands 2 (360. PS3, PC) • F1 2012 (PS3, 360, PC) • Kinect Sports: Ultimate Collection (360) • Jet Set Radio (PSN) • Street Fighter…

By Owen Good Published September 16, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: That’s Justifiable

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. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Sept. 15.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 10.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by…

By Owen Good Published September 16, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘Wii U Feedback from Retailers is Extremely Strong’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Wii U feedback from retailers is extremely strong.”—Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, talking about pricing the Wii U at $299 and $349, higher than some analysts expected QUOTE | “It’s about gameplay, stupid.”—Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the Xbox and…

By Steve Peterson Published September 15, 2012

Culture

You’re Never Too Old For Giant Mechanical Death Machines

Galan Pang works as an artist at CCP’s Shanghai studio, where he’s done some amazing stuff for upcoming shooter Dust 514. The gallery below contains images both from that game and his personal works, in which killer giant mechs feature prominently You can see more of Galan’s work at his personal site and his CGHub…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Getting to the Bottom of the Akira Game That Might Not Have Sucked

For such a beloved manga and animated film, poor Akira hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to video games. Amidst the wreckage of the awful NES and Amiga adaptations of the movie, though, there always lingered the promise that a cancelled Akira project – one destined for the SNES, Genesis and Mega…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The History of Video Games Gets, Uh, Weirdly Sexual Towards The End

This bizarre little piece of animation was originally intended to serve as the intro to a German documentary about video games. The idea was to take existing characters from the history of games and “reinterpret” them, to match the series’ brief to present the everyday lives of MMO addicts. I can kind of see that,…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

A Tribute to One of PC Gaming’s All-Time Greats

Sensible Software. If you know what that means you’re probably smiling already. If you don’t, well, you sure missed out. A British studio most prolific – and successful – in the late 80s and early 90s, Sensible developed for platforms like the Spectrum, Amiga and PC, and became famous for two things: adorable little pixel…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 13, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

They Really Don’t Make Games Like This Anymore

You hear that sentence a lot, about all kinds of things, but in the case of video games – and in particular 1991 adventure game Heart of China – it’s true! The 1990s were a bizarre time for PC gaming. As the format embraced the CD-ROM, and began to hit truly mass-market levels of awareness,…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 12, 2012

Culture

Good Evening. Here’s Some Terrific Concept Art.

Simon Goinard has been doing freelance work for the past decade, with his art featuring for clients as diverse as Disney, Exxon, Camel and Aston Martin. He’s also done quite a bit of video game work, with an equally-impressive list of employers like Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Guild Wars developers ArenaNet. You can see…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 12, 2012

Culture

The Agony And Ecstasy Of The Pepperidge Farm Cookie

Over at Slate, a writer has gone ahead and eaten every kind of Pepperidge Farm cookie. He begins his article thusly: People think I’m weird because I like Chessmen. But they’re my favorite cookies, and I defend them with vigor whenever I encounter a Milano-lover who wants to fight me about it. And with that,…

By Kirk Hamilton Published September 11, 2012

Culture

In China, McDonald’s Makes Both a White Burger and a Black Burger

You are looking at a Black and White Hamburger combo. That’s right, the hamburger wizards at McDonald’s in China figured out how to make what looks like the hamburger equivalent of the black & white cookie—but needed two burgers to do it. As website TheBeijinger points out, this isn’t just a black and white burger…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012

Culture

This Isn’t Office Space. It’s Deus Ex.

Based in Montreal, concept artist Donglu Yu has worked on two of the prettiest video game properties around: Deus Ex and Assassin’s Creed. Having spent two years at Eidos, Yu moved in 2010 to Ubisoft, where she’s been working on the Assassin’s Creed series, from Brotherhood to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed III. You can see…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Nintendo Let Literally Anyone (With Money) Make Famicom Games

In 1984, Nintendo released Family BASIC, a programming suite for its Famicom (NES) console. Including a swish keyboard and data recording unit, it was designed to allow consumers to, with a little teaching, program their own basic games for the system. Including a few stock titles as templates, it was sadly never released outside Japan.…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

StarCraft Was Once a Busted Pile of Crap

Blizzard isn’t just famous for its games, it’s famous for a lengthy and considered development output. It’s one of a privileged few studios in the world that can say “we’ll release the game when it’s ready”, and really mean it. The agonising wait fans have to endure for new Blizzard games is testament to this.…

by Patrick Wyatt Published September 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

One of the Rarest Games on Earth is About The Bible

Once believed to be a hoax, vintage Atari game Red Sea Crossing has in recent years emerged as one of the holy grails of video game collecting, owing partly to the fact that it’s believe only two known copies exist on the entire planet. And also because it’s about Moses. Programmed by Steve Schustack in…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012

Culture

The Week In Games: … And a Fight Broke Out

Unless you’re looking to dance with a basketball, this week’s big releases involve a two-person tango with fists: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 or NHL 13, your choice. Tuesday •NHL 13 (PS3, 360) •Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3 360) •Double Dragon: Neon (PSN) •Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – Raven Strike (XBLA, PSN) •Transformers: Fall…

By Owen Good Published September 9, 2012