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Culture
The Week in Games: Shut Up and Jam
Consoles see two big releases this week, Resident Evil 6 from Capcom and NBA 2K13 from 2K Sports. That leaves little room for other big stars. Tuesday • Resident Evil 6 (PS3, 360) • War of the Roses (PC) • NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, PSP, PC, Wii) • NiGHTS into Dreams (PS3) • Sonic Adventure…
By Owen Good Published September 30, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Teacher’s Pet
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. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 24.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Sept. 27.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published September 30, 2012 -
Culture
This Week in the Business: ‘Steam Ate Microsoft’s Lunch.’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Steam ate Microsoft’s lunch.”—Tony Goodman, founder of now defunct Ensemble Studios, talking about how publishers are going to have to change, and he reflects on how Bungie saw Halo Wars as “whoring out the franchise.” QUOTE | “Sony’s strategy … is…
By Steve Peterson Published September 29, 2012 -
Culture
The Most Beautiful Sunsets in Video Games
What’s the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen in a game? We’ll start. This is a great sunset in Minecraft—transformed into an animated GIF by our own Chris Person, ladled out of a stunning video called “Natural World” made by RxRexhonHD (all the modding details required are in the video’s official YouTube description). Readers, show…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 27, 2012 -
Culture
Stunning Mass Effect Portraits (And Dragon Age on a Leash)
The images you’re about to see were all done by Benjamin Huen, an artist now at Valve who used to work at BioWare. They’re incredible. Especially the Mass Effect portrait pieces, which you’d demand be made available for purchase, if some of them weren’t…already available for purchase Also included in today’s gallery are Benjamin’s Dragon…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 27, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Pokémon Inspired The US Army To Think About Building An Epilepsy Gun
By now, you should all be aware of the 1997 incident in Japan where a number of children were hospitalised after watching an episode of Pokémon. It was weird, and more than a little dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that none other than the US military saw it as an opportunity to invent new and…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 26, 2012 -
Culture
Some of The Concept Art Behind Borderlands 2
Lorin Wood works at Gearbox. Last week, Gearbox released Borderlands 2. This is Kotaku’s concept art showcase feature. You can see where this is going. Aside from his Borderlands stuff, Wood has also worked on Colonial Marines, while outside of Gearbox, he’s worked for companies like Disney, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. You can see…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 26, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Blowing on Cartridges Didn’t Help Them, It Hurt Them
Millions of people grew up worldwide convinced the way to get a busted Nintendo cartridge working was to blow on it. It may have worked sometimes, temporarily, but experts say you were actually doing a lot more harm than good. How? Well, as Mental_Floss writes, the common theory as to the cause (and success) of…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 25, 2012 -
Culture
A Closer Look at Meet the Pyro’s Psychotic Fantasy Land
Laura Dubuk is an artist and designer employed at Valve, where her most recent public work was her contribution to the studio’s terrific Meet the Pyro trailer She’s also worked on games like Portal 2, and in this gallery you’ll see a collection of some of her best stuff, both from personal projects and from…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 24, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
This Statement Nails What Was Great about the Super Nintendo’s Best Games
The above quote, from Mark MacDonald, of the Tokyo-based game localization company 8-4, sums up what felt so special about the best games on the SNES. It rings true for all-time greats such as Super Mario World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, which emerged within a year of the system’s…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 24, 2012 -
Culture
The Week in Game: Kick a Panda
Only Warcraft could survive a matchup with both FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, and that’s what you get this week, along with Dead Or Alive 5 Tuesday • World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (PC) • FIFA 13 (PS3, PC, Xbox 360, Vita, 3DS, PSP, Wii) • Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 (360, PS3, PC) •…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Champion Troll
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. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Sept. 21.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 17.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 -
Culture
This Week in the Business ‘PS3 Superslim Could Be a Super Stumble’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “PS3 superslim could be a super stumble.” —Veteran games journalist Chris Morris writes that Sony is shooting itself in the foot by announcing the new design and not dropping prices QUOTE | “They love games. We need more of that. A…
By Steve Peterson Published September 22, 2012 -
Culture
Some Valve Art From Portal & DOTA 2
Realm Lovejoy is an artist currently working at Half-Life and Team Fortress developers Valve Software. Having helped create student title Narbacular Drop, which later evolved into what we now know as Portal, she’s also interned at Nintendo. So, yeah, dream career path right there. Among her current projects is Valve’s DOTA 2, for which she’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2012 -
CultureE…A…Sports…These Guys Made the Parts That Say “It’s in the Game”
Even if you’ve never played a sports game in your life, EA’s intro catchphrase has become one of the most ubiquitous in all of gaming. So for Fine Art tody, we’re going to take a break from castles and giant robots to look at the people who are now in charge of the slogan (or…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2012 -
Culture
All of Guild Wars 2’s Incredible Art, Together in One Place
Having been in development for so long, the artists behind Guild Wars 2 had literally years to put together an immense volume of images detailing the game’s world and inhabitants. It’s all impressive stuff – so impressive it’s been featured here on Fine Art multiple times – but tonight we’re going to put it all…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 18, 2012 -
Culture
Candy Corn Oreos and Pumpkin Spice Kisses: It’s the Snacktaku Halloween Variety Spooktacular!
For the children and children-at-heart that don fancy costumes for a night of fun and frolicking, Halloween is October 31. For the certified snack professional, the spooky festivities begin in September, when Cadbury, Mars, Hershey and Nabisco roll out their holiday-themed candy. Hold out your bags, boys and girls. Some snack manufacturers play it safe…
By Mike Fahey Published September 17, 2012 -
Culture
The Week In Games: Run for the Border
The overwhelming top release this week is the highly anticipated Borderlands 2, on all three core platforms. Torchlight II at week’s end also is not to be missed. Tuesday • Borderlands 2 (360. PS3, PC) • F1 2012 (PS3, 360, PC) • Kinect Sports: Ultimate Collection (360) • Jet Set Radio (PSN) • Street Fighter…
By Owen Good Published September 16, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: That’s Justifiable
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. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Sept. 15.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 10.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published September 16, 2012