Culture

Cosplay So Amazing It Doesn’t Even Need Clothes

A traditional definition of cosplay, if such a thing even existed, would probably include some requirement to wear a costume. But you can sometimes achieve the same end result with nothing but make-up. MadeYewLook is a pro when it comes to make-up, so much so that she can transform herself into characters like Alice, the…

Blade Runner, Is That You?

Saul Espinosa is a concept artist and matte painter who has worked on everything from video games to tabletop RPGs. You can see more of Saul’s art at his personal site and ArtStation page. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper),…

Someone Beat Super Mario 64 In Record Time

120 stars, all collected in under two hours—1:43:54, to be exact. The time is a new world record, and you can watch speedrunner Siglemic collect it with a mesmerizing efficiency here. Siglemic is playing the Japanese version of the game because it “has a 2.7 second advantage,” according his Twitch page. And in case you’re…

Nintendo’s Secret Weapon

On the third floor of Nintendo’s U.S. headquarters, next to the conference rooms named after Mario and Donkey Kong, there’s a door that you can’t open. There’s no boss key or warp pipe here—unless you’re one of the handful of people with a high-security keycard, you’re not getting in. [This article was originally published on…

Johnny Bravo was at Wondercon? Bummed I wasn’t there. Cosplay by metalslimer, photo by Davann Srey

I’d Get Behind A More Realistic Zelda If It Looked This Good

Nate Hallinan is a concept artist who has worked not just in games (for companies like Microsoft) but also on film and animation projects. You may know him best, however, for his pieces depicting “realistic” Zelda characters. You can see more of Nate’s work at his personal site To see the larger pics in all…

Kamen Rider! Cosplay by Sidney Kusanagi, photo by William Phan

Tauriel, from The Hobbit. Photos by Cynthia Veekens, cosplay by Linda v. P.

The World’s Fastest Ocarina of Time Player Set Another New Record

Last month, speedrunner Cosmo Wright beat The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 18 minutes and 56 seconds. Over the weekend, he hit 18:40. That’s with glitches, but without tools or cheats. He plays on a Chinese version of the game that loads text faster than the others It’s not quite as fun to…

The Week In Games: Dark Souls II: The Second Coming

Game releases have slowed to a trickle here at the end of April, but it’s not about quantity. With Dark Souls II hitting PC, LEGO: The Hobbit coming to Wii U and a little PlayStation Vita dungeon crawling, owners of at least three platforms will have plenty to do this week. Feeling despondent? Just scroll…

Sunday Comics: Into The Baby Box

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published April 19. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published April 14. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

Track: Leave It | Album: 90125 | Artist: Yes Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

This Week In The Business: The Power Of The PlayStation Vita

QUOTE | “People who rag on the Vita don’t understand… the purchasing power of Vita owners.” – Guacamelee developer Chris McQuinn on why they think the PS Vita is a great target for game development Elsewhere in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “When shareholders are more important than the…

Space Invaders And Other Classic Games As Renaissance Paintings

You know what would have made sitting through lectures on early modern European history a lot more bearable? Giant space lasers, and plenty of ’em. Unfortunately, the renaissance painter Fra Angelico would have had to live another 500 years or so in order to get a chance to draw inspiration from the modern-day muse that…

Track: The Naked And The Dead | Album: Triumph And Power | Artist: Grand Magus Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Cheer Up Dude, Elder Scrolls Online Is Alright

Alessandro Baldasseroni is lead cinematic artist at Blur, which means he’s contributed to the amazing trailers for games like *deep breath* Mass Effect 2, Batman: Arkham Origins, Halo Wars, The Force Unleashed, Far Cry 3, The Elder Scrolls Online… *another deep breath*…Dead Rising 3, Wildstar, Fable III, Dante’s Inferno, Star Wars: The Old Republic and…

Here’s What Happens When You Throw A Marshmallow Peep Out An Airlock

Ever wondered what would happen if a marshmallow Peep was exposed to the cold, uncaring, probably Easter-hating vacuum of space? Of course you have. Slate brings us this landmark moment in science straight from Texas A&M’s Physics and Engineering Festival. Experimenter Phil Plait noted that Peeps—with their puffy little bodies, dead eyes, and very nearly…

​Solid Dating Advice For The Modern Geek

Online dating, romance at cons, asking out the girl at the GameStop—it’s a wild world out there for the geek who seeks love. Our resident dating columnist Harris “Dr. Nerdlove” O’Malley is here to help. Since January, we’ve been running a bi-weekly letters column by O’Malley, and we hope that his advice has helped some…

How Islamic Art Can Influence Game Design

Islamic­ influenced art and imagery has cropped up in games from Journey to Prince of Persia, but now a couple of game developers are out to prove that despite its conspicuous rarity in the medium, Islamic art lends itself brilliantly to game design. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK Islamic art can be subject…

“Education”, Right

Concept artist and illustrator Kat Nicole Berkley has worked for companies like Irrational, Epic, 38 Studios and Big Huge Games. You can see more of Kat’s work at her personal site To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the…