Culture

30 Years Later, One Man Is Still Trying To Fix Video Games

Chris Crawford owns 29,216 small plastic beads. Each bead is one of eight colors, and there are 3,652 beads in each color group. One bead represents a single day in Crawford’s life. Each color group, therefore, represents one decade. The yellow beads are his childhood. The black beads are his teens. The greens are his…

What The New Lara Croft Could Have Looked Like

Brenoch Adams worked for years as a senior artist on Eidos’ Tomb Raider reboot. While you’ll see pieces from all over his portfolio in this showcase, what’ll probably be of most interest are the pieces from early in Tomb Raider’s development, showing what the new/old Lara Croft could have looked like. The middle image is…

Disney Characters Without Their Beards Are Frightening

People sure do like to mess around with Disney characters. We’ve seen the princesses as Final Fantasy characters but, even after that, seeing all the old, bearded characters from classic Disney movies without their essential hair just confuses me. This funny redesign, made by Annie Erskine, would probably have ruined the childhood of a lot…

My, Samus, You Look Different

Lee Souder is a cinematic artist who has worked for studios like Treyarch, Sony Santa Monica, EA and Pandemic. He also, in his spare time, has some ideas on what Nintendo’s Metroid series should look like. What you’ll see below, then, is a combination of both his professional work, along with the Metroid stuff. You…

Today, The Inventor Of The AK-47 Died

Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of perhaps the world’s most famous firearm, passed away today at the age of 94. He leaves behind a somewhat complicated legacy. Born in 1919, he was a tank commander in the Second World War, but in his spare time was also a keen inventor. While spending time in a…

Track: Godzilla | Album: Godzilla (EP) | Artist: Fu Manchu Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

There Are Special Effects Artists In Video Games Too, You Know

In the movie business, there are artists who design things, then there are special effects artists who blow them up, light them and get them wet. It’s no different for video games. While this feature usually promotes concept art – it’s very pretty, after all – it’d be unfair not to also acknowledge the tireless…

The Week in Games: PS4 Pinball and Spartan Assault

By God, we are going to wring every last new game out of this year if it’s the last thing we do. And sure enough there are a couple of digital releases worth a look this Christmas week. But the hay is in the barn for 2013, folks. That’s why the Steam Holiday Sale is…

Sunday Comics: It’s the Thought That Counts

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best in video game webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published Dec. 16. Read more of Penny Arcade Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Dec. 16. Read more of Awkward Zombie…

This Week in the Business: $200 Million Pledged for Kickstarter Games

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … STAT | $200 million—The total amount of money that’s gone towards game projects on the crowdfunding website since the beginning; games account for 22% of all projects. QUOTE | “We don’t think it is out of the question that the title could wind…

The New Robocop Should Have Looked Like This

Furio Tedeschi is a 3D artist who has worked in both video games and motion pictures, on projects like Halo 4, Pacific Rim, Star Wars and Silent Hill. He’s currently at McFarlane Toys, working on action figures. You can see more of Furio’s work at his Behance page and CGHub profile To see the larger…

I’ll Be Honest, That Head Doesn’t Look Very Comfortable

Gavriil Klimov is a concept and 3D artist who has worked for clients like Kojima Productions, Treyarch, Blizzard and Pixar. You can see more of his 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 save them as wallpaper),…

Track: Tropea | Album: EP | Artist: Kaleida Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Killer Art From Uncharted, The Last Of Us & Magic: The Gathering

Eytan Zana is a concept artist who works at Naughty Dog, where he’s worked on both the Uncharted series and the studio’s latest title, The Last Of Us. He’s also done some Magic: The Gathering art. So chances are if you’re reading this site you’ve seen something he’s done in the last five years! We’ve…

36 Years Of Console Prices, Adjusted For Inflation

If you thought the PS4 and Xbox One’s launch prices were expensive, well, they kinda were! But not as expensive as the NES. Or Neo Geo. Or Saturn, Or PlayStation, or Atari 2600. Reddit user Auir2blazehas run historical console launch prices through an inflation adjustment calculator (which normally use dollar strength and the cost of…

Track: Black Shuck | Album: Permission to Land | Artist: The Darkness Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

The Neverending Story Gets A 21st Century Makeover

As wonderful as it is, as timeless as it threatens to be, The Neverending Story is still very much a product of the 1980s. So let’s take a moment to imagine what it might have looked like if it had been made in 2014, instead of 1984. These aren’t from an official project; just a…

The Last Thing You’ll Ever Eat

Turducken? Turducken is nothing. Behold Cthulken. Or Craturktopus. Perhaps Turkrakon. Whatever you call this dark combination of turkey, crab legs, bacon and Elder God, it is the one true Last Supper. Reddit’s doc_birdman, along with numerous unnamed agents of chaos lurking in the shadows, shared this image with the internet over the weekend. It’s been…

Guns, Snow And A Sword Through The Heart

Mohammed Mukhtar is an artist at British studio Playdemic, but he’s also done work on various mods for games like Half-Life 2 and Unreal Tournament. You can see more of Moh’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…

The Week in Games: The Walking Dead Begins a New Season

Retail console releases may be done for this year but there still are marquee names waiting for their closeup as we finish off 2013. Chief among them is the next season of The Walking Dead, which arrives Tuesday along with Terraria on the PS Vita. Here’s the week in games. Tuesday, Dec. 17 The Walking…