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Culture
Zelda Fans, Drop What You’re Doing And Check Out This Art Collection
This. Is. Incredible Fan site History of Hyrule have done an amazing job tracking down all old art from The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past from all kinds of old magazines, manuals, products and publications, and have scanned and uploaded the images online. To say it’s a treasure trove of old Nintendo…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2013 -
CultureTotal RecallWhen Losing A Game Actually Means Something
Death or defeat in a video game is normally something to be glossed over, brushed aside as you continue (or repeat) a stage on your way to inevitable victory. A quick “GAME OVER” screen, maybe a prompt or two, then you’re back into the action. Where’s the realism in that? The sense of consequence? Life…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2013 -
Culture
The Week in Games: Western Dynasty
What can we say, it’s the middle of summer. This is the slow season for new releases. The week’s big highlights include Dynasty Warriors 8 and Shin Megami Tensei IV arriving in North America on Tuesday, Monday • Need For Speed Most Wanted All DLC Bundle (PC) Tuesday • Turbo: Super Stunt Squad (360, PS3,…
By Dealzon Published July 14, 2013 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Critical Miss
Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published July 10. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published July…
By Owen Good Published July 14, 2013 -
Culture
Rest Easy, America. Your Twinkies Have Returned
As promised last month, the relaunched Hostess Brands has brought Twinkies, Cup Cakes and other magical snacks back to America’s store shelves after disappearing last November. I have sampled one of each of these, and the only difference is the sweet taste of relief and an incredibly unnatural freshness. Our national nightmare is over.
By Mike Fahey Published July 14, 2013 -
Culture
This Week in the Business:‘The Wii U Feels Like an Offline Experience’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “The Wii U feels like an offline experience right now.”—Peter Moore, COO of Electronic Arts, talking about why the publisher isn’t working on Wii U titles QUOTE | “We’re always so tongue-in-cheek and irreverent about it, that I think people get…
By Steve Peterson Published July 13, 2013 -
Culture
Let’s Imagine Mos Eisley Was A Little Bit Prettier
Neil Maccormack is one of the most talented artists out there. He’s a constant feature and award-winner on digital art websites, has been published several times in Ballistic’s awesome EXPOSÉ series of art books and has also done work in games, movies and advertising. His most recent work in games was for Japanese dev Applibot…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2013 -
Culture
The Best Monsters (And Heroes) Are The Black & White Ones
Eva Widermann is a German concept artist who now lives in Ireland. She’s worked in the field for a decade now as a freelancer, and lists companies like Disney Interactive and Wizards of the Coast as clients. While some of her stuff features a wonderful use of colour, I’m showcasing only her black & white…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2013 -
Culture
It’s Like League Of Legends, Only For The iPad
Brandon Kitkouski, who used to work at id Software and has also done stuff for Magic: The Gathering cards, now works at a small indie studio called Hammer & Chisel, which is working on “the only MOBA designed exclusively for tablets”. That game is Fates Forever, and while there’s not much to go on at…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 10, 2013 -
Culture
The Real Princess Mononoke, And Other Dreamy Pieces Of Art
Based in London, Daniel Hoang is a freelance artist working in the games business, most recently on racing game GRID 2. Formerly on staff at Codemasters, he’s also worked on Operation Flashpoint: Red River and Bodycount. You can see more of his work at Daniel’s personal site To see the larger pics in all their…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 9, 2013 -
Culture
The Art Of Game Of Thrones
Karakter design studio in Germany were brought on by HBO to do the concept art for pretty much every VFX shot in the show’s second season. Including the epic Battle of Blackwater. Having made a name for themselves doing video game work, on series like Killzone and The Settlers, they won themselves an Emmy last…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 7, 2013 -
Culture
The Week in Games: Roar the Praises of Her Warriors
Oregon’s brand of video-game football returns to the virtual gridiron with NCAA Football 14, EA Sports’ annual simulation of the college game. the second expansion pack for Sid Meier’s Civilization V also arrives, on PC and Mac, with Guncraft coming on Thursday. Tuesday • Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brave New World (PC, Mac) • DARK…
By Dealzon Published July 7, 2013 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: A Dose of Reality
Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Brentalfloss the Comic by Brent Black, Andrew Dobson and Dan Roth. Published July 4. Read more of Brentalfloss the Comic Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2013 -
Culture
This Week in the Business: ‘I’m Not Allowed to Say Bad Things.’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “I’m not allowed to say bad things.”—Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami talking about his new game The Evil Within while avoiding saying what he thinks of the recent directions Capcom has taken with Resident Evil QUOTE | “I think this news…
By Steve Peterson Published July 6, 2013 -
Culture
The Beautiful Promise Of An RPG World At Your Feet
Joe Gloria is a freelance concept artist who most recently worked on Assassin’s Creed IV. You won’t find any art from that game here – most of it is still under lock and key since it’s not out yet – but you will find some awesome fighter jets, future cities and fantasy landscapes. My favourite?…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 5, 2013 -
Culture
Freedom Is A Snazzy Orange Glider
In a previous instalment of Fine Art, we highlighted the work of Ninja Theory’s Alessandro Taini. So it’s cool today to get the chance to show off another of the studio’s talented artists, Dan Baker. Having previously worked for studios like Free Radical and Blitz Games, Baker has been at Ninja Theory since 2009. You…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 4, 2013 -
Culture
All The Street Fighters, Fighting, All At Once
Magnus Rex is an art crew that specialises in content development. Meaning, they’re contracted by companies to help create worlds, whether that be building all-new IP, concept art and/or character design. I showed youtheir Kickstarter book project yesterday, but today we’re looking at their day job stuff, which has seen them work for game series…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 3, 2013 -
Culture
Artist’s Battle With Disease Has Inspired Others To Push Their Limits
The story of Francis Tsai is an inspirational one. An accomplished games, comic and film artist, a few years ago he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a condition which has gradually robbed him of his ability to draw with his hands. Yet through sheer perseverance, and some help from his friends, Tsai has been…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2013 -
Culture
Snacktaku Drive-Thru: Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger Is Gorgeous
As my proper Monday Snacktaku review got pushed to tomorrow, I figured I’d at least slip in a little public service announcement for the hungry masses. Wendy’s has a pretzel bacon cheeseburger. It’s the opposite of horrible. I am a huge fan of pretzels and pretzel bread, so when a friend called me to tell…
By Mike Fahey Published July 1, 2013 -
Culture
The Week in Games: No Fireworks Show
It’s another lackluster week for new releases. The eShop title Crash City Mayhem comes to the 3Ds on Tuesday. Otherwise, it’s a collection of PC and Mac titles to get you through Independence Day. Monday • Sword of the Stars: The Pit—Mind Games (PC) Tuesday • Crash City Mayhem (3DS) Wednesday • Mortal Kombat Komplete…
By Dealzon Published June 30, 2013