Culture

​The Dream, And Horror, Of A Bacon-Scented Alarm Clock App

Nothing gets a red-blooded American going in the morning like the smell of bacon on a skillet. Unfortunately, actual bacon requires a fair bit of work to get started. What if you could set your alarm clock to wake you up with the simulated smell of bacon? What if, indeed. I initially had a hard…

Chips Ahoy! Ice Cream Creations: The Snacktaku Review

I eat a lot of cookies. Really, it’s kind of a financial burden. One that just got worse when I walked into the grocery store and saw four new varieties of ice cream-themed Chips Ahoy, which I immediately bought and ran home to try. Chips Ahoy! (the exclamation point is technically part of the name)…

Track: We Move Lightly | Album: Lumiere | Artist: Dustin O’Halloran Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Huntin’ Deer Ain’t Like Dustin’ Crops, Boy

Alastair Mclauchlan is an artist at Rockstar, where he’s worked on games like Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto IV and its expansions. You can see more of Alastair’s work at his personal site and CGHub page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can…

I Want These “Milk And Cookie Shots” Right Now

How did it take humanity this long to come up with this perfect idea? “Milk and cookie shots” are the creation of Dominique Ansel—you know, the same person who came up with cronuts (a donut fused with a croissant)? According to Eater, the idea came after Ansel ate an Oreo cookie with milk for the…

Track: Torches | Album: IV | Artist: The Bronx Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Space Guns, Come Get Your Space Guns

Stephan Williams is a senior 3D artist at Carbine Studios, the team working on sci-fi MMO Wildstar. We recently saw some great 2D Wildstar art from Garrett Hanna; this stuff is of the 3D variety but has all the colour you’d expect from a game that’s setting out to burst people’s eyeballs. You can see…

When Every Nintendo Game Looked The Same (And Was Better For It)

Outside of budget lines, video game box and disc art these days is a unique and varied art. No two games’ presentation looks the same. But for a short time, right back at the beginning of their days in the home console market, Nintendo bucked this trend. And it’s a shame they never stuck with…

The Best Games For Non-Gamers

If you know nothing about gaming, but you’re curious, what should you play first? If you’ve played hours of Candy Crush and you’re looking for something better, what’s the next step? Here are some suggestions for the best “gateway games”. This is just a list of examples based on some games that my own non-gamer…

Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger Cook Bacon On A Tank

When Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a sandwich, he makes the Steak & Egger sandwich. Here’s the thing about the Steak & Egger sandwich: it has so much protein, it could kill probably kill a man. But as always, the food showcased in Epic Meal Time is not the sort of thing anyone should try to eat…

The Unlikely Future Of Ordering At Pizza Hut

The first thing this concept video for a fully interactive tabletop Pizza Hut touch ordering system gets wrong is imagining a future where people still dine in at Pizza Hut. I have not sat down at a Pizza Hut in more than a decade, back when I worked out of an office in Alpharetta, Georgia,…

The Very Sneaky Art Of Thief

So, the new Thief kinda sucks. Shame, but then, this isn’t a feature about AI programming, or level design. It’s about art, and the art for the game was great. A little monotonous, perhaps, since everything is dark and busted, but then this is a Thief game, not Katamari Damacy. All the images you’re seeing…

The Week in Games: Humble Folks Without Temptation

This week we’re going down to South Park to have ourselves a time. Other releases include the next episode of The Walking Dead: Season Two and hot damn, some simulation farmin’, hell yeah. Tuesday, March 4 South Park: The Stick of Truth (PC, PS3, 360) The Walking Dead: Season Two—Episode Two: A House Divided (PC,…

Sunday Comics: Served With a Smile

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published Feb. 28. Read more of Penny Arcade Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Feb. 24 Read more of Awkward Zombie Brawl In The…

This Week in the Business: They Are the 0.15 Percent

STAT | 0.15%—Percentage of mobile gamers that provide 50% of the revenue for free-to-play games, according to analytics firm Swrve; this was taken from data for January from tens of millions of mobile game users Elsewhere in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Every year there are fewer and fewer…

I Don’t Think Hearthstone Is Actually This “In Your Face”

Tyson Murphy is a character artist at Blizzard, where he’s worked on the Diablo and World of Warcraft series. You can see more of Tyson’s work at his personal site and CGHub gallery To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click…

​Ask Dr. Nerdlove: How Do I Make Friends?

What’s up, Kotaku? Welcome to the latest installment of Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only advice column dedicated to helping make nerds sexy and the world a little more geek-curious. Before we get to your letters, I want to give a gratuitous plug: I’ve written a book! If you’ve ever been mystified by dating and wished…

The Beards, Beaus & Bad Guys Of BioShock Infinite

We’re on a bit of a BioShock Infinite runat the moment. Sue me, the game had some fantastic concept art. Today we’re looking at Robb Waters’ stuff. Robb is an Irrational veteran who has worked on everything from System Shock (he designed SHODAN!) to Freedom Force (I’ve sprinkled some comic-style goodness below) to the BioShock…

Track: When it Rains | Album: Largo | Artist: Brad Mehldau Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Baskin Robbins Is Releasing Ice Cream Dolls in Japan

In Japan, March 3 is Girl’s Day (雛祭り or “Hinamatsuri”). It’s a doll festival. To celebrate, Baskin Robbins is releasing a set of five ice cream “dolls.” Delicious! Here is how the real dolls are displayed during Hinamatsuri. The dolls represent the Emperor and Empress—as well as their attendants. And now, in ice cream form,…