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CultureTotal Recall
Welcome to Total Recall
Total Recall is Kotaku’s nightly look back at the history of video games. Think you know where video games come from? You might know a little, but our aim with Total Recall is to dig a little deeper and shine a light on some of the more bizarre and interesting elements of this medium’s past.…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
Culture
Legend of the Time Star is a New Game With Old Visuals
Currently in development (sort of) at New York-based indie outfit Attack Mountain, Legend of the Time Star is a love letter to old 16-bit, side-scrolling RPGs, particularly those coming out of Japan. Thanks to the input of Jake “virt” Kaufman it’s already sounding like its inspiration, but it’s thanks to Brazilan artist Dudu Torres that…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallA Booze Company Smuggled the Sega Mega Drive Into India
Take a look at this commercial, for the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis). It’s for the Indian market, and while it’s a little rough around the edges, it’s mostly what you’d expect from the mid-90s. Except for that weird “Shaw Wallace” business. That’s not a YouTube uploader’s watermark, it’s the name of the company that handled…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
What Assassin’s Creed Looked Like in 2004
Nothing will make you realise just how old this console generation is than today’s Total Recall, which looks at the very first concept art ever put down on paper/computer for the project that would become Assassin’s Creed It was put down in 2004 That’s eight years ago, and while a lot has changed for the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2012 -
Culture
The Astounding Video Game Art of Yang Qi
Yang Qi is a concept artist working in the video game industry. Currently based in Shenzen, he’s most recently worked on Asura Online, a Chinese game. Note in some of these that, in addition to his character artwork, Qi has even dropped in mock screenshots or dioramas featuring the characters or places in question. Neat…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallSega Debuts the World’s First Hologram Video Game
We’ve looked at Sega’s pioneering role in the world of 3D gaming before here on Total Recall, but only briefly stopped on Time Traveler, one of the company’s two and only attempts at holographic, 3D arcade gaming. This antique video, from Time Traveler’s 1991 debut, gives only a few hints as to how unsuccessful these…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Just How Many Damn Call of Duty Games is This Now, Anyway?
Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Activision and Treyarch will spend the next six months telling you this game is a sequel, but the fact the game’s name starts with “Call of Duty” reminds us we’re way past the point of using the number “II” when it comes to these shooters. Unless it’s XII. Or,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012 -
Culture
It’s the End of the World as This Concept Art Knows it
Ioan Dumitrescu is a Romanian concept artist who does mostly freelance work in the video game industry. While you’ve likely never played some of the games he’s worked on, like World of Mercenaries, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying some of his amazing artwork. You can see more of Ioan’s art at his CGHub site…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 1, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe 1970s Movie That Looks Just Like a Video Game
In 1976, a short film called C’était un Rendez-vous was released in France. It ran for ten minutes. And if you’ve ever played a driving game you’ll probably want to watch it. There’s no real plot or anything to it, at least not until the end. It’s just a guy driving a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Video Game Books Used to be Amazing
If cheap magazines or dummy’s guides to dummy’s games are the only exposure you have to video games and the world of words on paper, I’m sorry you weren’t gaming in the 1980s, when you would have been treated to some of these I shared one of them a few weeks back, but seeing a…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2012 -
CultureGas Station Hot Dogs: The Snacktaku Review
Is the hot dog a snack, or is it a sandwich? Snackologists have long debated whether these discount sausage rolls fell under their dominion or were the bailiwick of the culinary elite. I have formulated, I believe, the ultimate answer. If you purchase a package of hot dogs from your local grocery store, bring it…
By Mike Fahey Published April 30, 2012 -
Culture
Time for a Snipe Hunt
Sniper Elite V2 leads the hit list of retail releases for this week. Assuming all is well with the publisher, Awesomenauts is due on PSN and XBLA this week, too. Tuesday • Mortal Kombat (PS Vita) • Sniper Elite V2 (360, PS3, PC) • Forza Motorsport 4: May Top Gear Pack (360) • Awesomenauts (PSN)…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: What Would Valve Do?
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 April 27.—Read more of Virtual Shackles Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published April 23.—Read more of Awkward Zombie…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Classic VHS Horror Game That Was So Funny It Was Scary
Yes my gatekeeper!! Last weekend, I was hanging out at a friend’s board game night. There were some dice on one table, and a deck of cards on the other. Then, over in the corner, some people started fiddling with a VHS player. “Oh,” I thought. “Um.” Before I knew what was happening, we had…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 28, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
In Celebration of Kirby’s 20th Birthday: Fan Art!
Twenty years ago today, Kirby made his debut in Japan on the Gameboy in Kirby’s Dream Land. Today, we celebrate the adorable ball of pink’s birthday, and some of us commiserate with his inability to drink in certain countries. Fortunately I am not amongst those that do. To celebrate, I’ve gathered some standout fan renditions…
By Tina Amini Published April 27, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Quality Time With The Classic Video Game Characters You’d Switch Teams For
Yesterday on #Speakup, commenter chadoban asked which video game characters we’d all go gay (or straight) for. Your answers were as varied as they were enjoyable, so Chris Person thought he’d grab some of the most popular ones and render them into gifs. Check out the gifs below. Enjoy them. Place them on your desktop,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 27, 2012 -
Culture
The Delicious Art of Kinman Chan
Artist Kinman Chan has done a lot of work in the movie business, lending his talents to animated films like Mars Needs Moms and A Christmas Carol. He’s also, though, been an artist in the video game industry, where he’s worked for companies like Rockstar and Sony, on games such as Resistance and Red Dead…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 27, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Shameful History of Hip Hop in Video Game Advertising
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, video game publishers and their cohorts in the marketing world thought it would be a good idea to use rap in their commercials. It was not. This clip takes us on a tour of some of the worst, and while some are stretching the definition of hip-hop, others are entirely…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 26, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Story Behind Sony’s Homebrew Development Kits
Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote a piece on Sony’s Net Yaroze, a kit which allowed PS1 users to make their own video games. Well, anyone who was interested in the subject, please check out this enormous feature over on Gamasutra, which even has in-depth interviews from the men behind it. [Gamasutra]
By Luke Plunkett Published April 26, 2012