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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 RecallNintendo 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 RecallOne 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 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: YODO, Too.
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. Virtual Shackles by Jeremy Vinar and Mike Fahmie published Sept. 3.—Read more of Virtual Shackles Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 3.—Read more of Awkward Zombie…
By Owen Good Published September 9, 2012 -
Culture
This Week in the Business: ‘No Sex Please, We’re Gamers.’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “No sex please, we’re gamers.”—GamesIndustry.biz’s Matt Handrahan talks to Miriam Bellard of No Reply games, who explains why she thinks their erotic game Seduce Me was removed by Steam Greenlight QUOTE | “For all we know, social games are a fad.”—Chris…
By Steve Peterson Published September 8, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhen The Future of Video Games Was…Tape Decks
This is a commercial for Hitachi’s H2 model of the MSX, Microsoft’s unsung hero of Japan’s gaming past. The soothing tones, the brilliant whites, the computer-generated animal…this is the future, people. The distant, star-gazing future! Where video games are so advanced they’re sold not on discs, or downloaded over communications networks, but put on cassette…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Miyamoto’s Worst Game Idea Ever. Or Maybe The Best. Not Sure.
In 1989, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii for an interview. The two spoke about practically everything, from game design to their latest titles (like Link to the Past) to the future, but what I found most interesting was the pair’s ideas on making games about teaching. Both had…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
Culture
Star Wars, Dead Space, Transformers, This is Some of the Best Nerd Art on the Planet
Ryan Church is about as close to the top of the concept art world as you can get. He’s worked on Star Wars movies. He’s working on the new Star Trek movies. He’s worked on Avatar, Transformers and John Carter. In addition to all that movie stuff, though, he’s also found time to lend a…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
Culture
The Art of a Man Working on Blizzard’s Next MMO
The last time we featured the art of Nick Carver was in 2008, when the dude was looking for a job. Today, he seems to be doin’ OK, as he’s a senior artist at Blizzard. Having spent over five years at Free Radical, later Crytek UK, Carver has been at Blizzard since 2009, where he’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Unpublished Nintendo Comic That Said “S**t”
Howard & Nester was a comic staple of Nintendo Power for much of the magazine’s run, but there’d always been one storyline kept out of the public eye. Until today. This issue was never intended to run in the magazine; instead, it was specially made and given to former Nintendo of America icon Howard Phillips…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Most Arcade Games From The 1980s Have Been Smashed To Pieces
While there are plenty boutique arcades and bars across the world that are home to old Asteroids cabinets, and private collectors who own working versions of Centipede, they account for barely a drop in the ocean of the total number of arcade cabinets manufactured in the 1970s and 80s. We’d like to think those machines…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 -
Culture
The Extraordinary Quest to Put All the Super Mario Games On One Timeline
There are at least two timelines on the Internet that put the major Super Mario games in chronological order, as if they happened to one guy named Mario who has been living an extraordinary life. These timeline don’t present Mario as a real man. The people who make these timelines aren’t that free-thinking. But the…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 5, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Street Fighter II’s Vintage Art Book is a Thing of Beauty
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By Luke Plunkett Published September 5, 2012 -
Culture
What You Get When You Cross a Dog With a Giant Tank
Sam Brown is another of the talented kids at concept art studio Massive Black. His work has appeared in games like BioShock 2 and inFamous. Love his robots. They always look their best when they’re functional, dirty and a little banged up. You can see more of Sam’s work at his personal site To see…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 4, 2012 -
Culture
This is Who We Thank For Bastion’s Gorgeous Art
Jen Zee works at Supergiant Games. A small indie team, Jen is art director (and part-time badass cosplayer), meaning she’s the main one to thank for the amazing colours and vibrant world of Bastion, one of the best-looking video games in recent memory. A Seattle native, Jen has also done work for Gaia Interactive and…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 3, 2012 -
Culture
Unreleased Altered Beast Games, Guns And Crazy Naked Dragon Ladies
You’ve got concept art with a pinch of news this morning, as Superannuation points out the portfolio of Kiwi artist Christian MacNevin, which contains images from a pitch for an Altered Beast remake that Sega never picked up. They’re…interesting, to say the least, but I’m just as interested in MacNevin’s other fantastic pieces for projects…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 3, 2012 -
Culture
The Week in Games: Take the Day Off
There are no major retail releases in North America this week as the United States celebrates Labor Day. Downloadable content instead highlights the Week in Games. Tuesday • The Sims 3 Supernatural (PC) • Battlefield 3: Armored Kill (PSN) • ZEN Pinball 2 (PSN, PS Vita) • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim —Hearthfire (XBLA) •…
By Owen Good Published September 2, 2012